托福阅读事实信息题是阅读考试中比较常见的一种题型，tpo则是托福阅读备考最权威的材料，所以托福小编综合二者，为大家集中整理了tpo阅读中考察的事实信息题及其对应的解析，供大家参考使用。本文带来的是TPO14-2的事实信息题，一起来看看吧。
TPO14-2 Maya Water Problems
Paragraph 1:
To understand the ancient Mayan people who lived in the area that is today southern Mexico and Central America and the ecological difficulties they faced, one must first consider their environment, which we think of as “jungle" or 'tropical rainforest." This view is inaccurate, and the reason proves to be important. Properly speaking, tropical rainforests grow in high-rainfall equatorial areas that remain wet or humid all year round. But the Maya homeland lies more than sixteen hundred kilometers from the equator, at latitudes 17 to 22 degrees north, in a habitat termed a “seasonal tropical forest." That is, while there does tend to be a rainy season from May to October, there is also a dry season from January through April. If one focuses on the wet months, one calls the Maya homeland a "seasonal tropical forest"; if one focuses on the dry months, one could instead describe it as a "seasonal desert.”
1. Why does the author call the Mayan homeland both a “seasonal tropical forest” and "seasonal desert”?
○ To illustrate how the climate of the Mayan homeland varied from region to region
○ To explain how the climate of the Mayan homeland is similar to that of a jungle or tropical rainforest
○ To emphasize the vast size of the area that comprised the Mayan homeland in ancient times
○ To make the point that the Mayan homeland is climatically more complex than is generally assumed
解析：修辞目的题，修辞点所在的句子只是单纯在说一个例子，所以往前看，前句说有雨季也有旱季，所以对应的是答案D，MAYA地区的气候复杂多变。A的各个地区不同原文没说;B没说旱季，错;C说明maya地域广大原文没有
【1】为了了解生活在今天南墨西哥和中美洲地区的古玛雅人，以及他们所面对的生态困境，我们必须先研究他们生活的环境，也就是今天我们所谓的“丛林”或者“热带雨林”。这种观点并不准确，但是环境因素的意义还是很重要的。严格意义上讲，热带雨林生长在赤道多雨地区，气候常年潮湿。但是玛雅遗址位于北纬17°到22°，距离赤道1 600公里以上，也就是通常所说的“热带季雨林”地区。也就是说，该地区5～510月为雨季，而1～4月为旱季。如果着眼于雨季，可以说玛雅遗址位于“热带季雨林”，如果着眼于旱季，那玛雅遗址就可以被称之为“季节性沙漠”了。
Paragraph 2:
From north to south in the Yucatan Peninsula, where the Maya lived, rainfall ranges from 18 to 100 inches (457 to 2,540 millimeters) per year, and the soils become thicker, so that the southern peninsula was agriculturally more productive and supported denser populations. But rainfall in the Maya homeland is unpredictably variable between years; some recent years have had three or four times more rain than other years. As a result, modern farmers attempting to grow corn in the ancient Maya homelands have faced frequent crop failures, especially in the north. The ancient Maya were presumably more experienced and did better, but nevertheless they too must have faced risks of crop failures from droughts and hurricanes.
3. Which of the following statements about ancient and modem agriculture in the Yucatan Peninsula is supported by paragraph 2?
○ Modern agricultural methods have solved many of the ancient problems of farming in the Yucatan Peninsula.
○ Ancient Mayan farmers may have been somewhat more successful at farming in the Yucatan Peninsula than farmers are today.
○ Farming today is easier than in the past because environmental
changes in the Yucatan Peninsula have increased available rainfall
○ The Yucatan soils in which ancient farmers worked were richer, more productive, and thicker than they are today.
解析：因为专有名词出现在第一句，所以整段都在说这个地方，明显不适合做关键词，用ancient和modern做关键词定位至倒数两句，说现代和古代的玛雅人都会遇到同样的问题，但在某种程度上说，古代人比现代人解决的好，所以答案是B。A说现代人解决了以前人的问题，说反;C和D原文都没说
【2】玛雅人所居住的尤卡坦半岛自北向南的年降水量为18到100英寸(457到2540毫米)逐级递增的，而且土壤厚度也是逐渐增加，所以半岛南部的农业生产力相对较高，也就能养活更多人口。不过玛雅遗址每年降雨量变化很大，很难预测。最近一些年份的降雨次数要比其他年份多三四倍。因此，如今农民要在玛雅遗址种植谷物就要面临频繁的作物减产的风险，尤其在半岛的北部地区。古玛雅人也许更有经验也做得更好，但是不管怎么说他们都必须面对旱灾和飓风带来的颗粒无收的风险。
Paragraph 3:
Although southem Maya areas received more rainfall than northern areas, problems of water were paradoxically more severe in the wet south. While that made things hard for ancient Maya living in the south, it has also made things hard for modem archaeologists who have difficulty understanding why ancient droughts caused bigger problems in the wet south than in the dry north. The likely explanation is that an area of underground freshwater underlies the Yucatan Peninsula, but surface elevation increases from north to south, so that as one moves south the land surface lies increasingly higher above the water table. In the northern peninsula the elevation is sufficiently low that the ancient Maya were able to reach the water table at deep sinkholes called cenotes, or at deep caves. In low-elevation north coastal areas without sinkholes, the Maya would have been able to get down to the water table by digging wells up to 75 feet (22 meters) deep. But much of the south lies too high above the water table for cenotes or wells to reach down to it. Making matters worse, most of the Yucatan Peninsula consists of karst, a porous sponge-like limestone terrain where rain runs straight into the ground and where little or no surface water remains available.
5 The phrase “The likely explanation" in the passage refers to the explanation for why
○ the southern Maya areas received more rainfall than the northern areas
○ modern archaeologists have difficulty understanding ancient droughts
○ water problems were most severe in the wet south
○ land surface in the south is so high above the water table
解析：问the likely explanation解释的是哪个问题，按照常理肯定是给出问题之后才会给出可能的解释，所以往前找，前文提出了一个问题，为什么本来湿润的南部地区的缺水问题比干燥的北部地区更严重，所以答案是C，如果不确定可以看看=本句的explanation的内容，也是解释为什么南部反而缺水的
【3】尽管玛雅遗址的南部比北部降水量多，但是在潮湿的南方水资源问题反而更加尖锐。生活在南部地区的人古玛雅人所面临的麻烦，如今也困扰着考古学家，他们想不通为什么湿润的南方比干旱的北方更容易受到旱灾影响。一种可能的解释是，尤卡坦半岛的地下水资源区域是倾斜的，但是地表海拔从北向南递增，所以，越往南地表就会越高于地下水位。而半岛北部海拔非常低，因此古玛雅人可以由深层排水口或者深洞到达地下水位，这种深层排水口叫做“竖井” 。在没有排水口且海拔较低的北部沿海地区，玛雅人就需要借助凿井到达75英尺(22米)深的地下水含水层。但在南方若想通过排水口或凿井达到含水层的话，深度就要深得多。更糟糕的是，尤卡坦半岛大部分地区属于喀斯特地貌，多孔状如海绵的石灰岩地形，雨水直接流入地下，几乎没有地表水余留。
6 Which of the following statements about the availability of water in the Mayan homeland is supported by paragraph 3?
○ The construction of wells was an uncommon practice in both the north and the south because it was too difficult to dig through the karst.
○ In most areas in the north and the south, rainwater was absorbed directly into the porous karst.
○ The water table was an important resource for agriculture in both the north and the south of the Yucatan Peninsula,
○ The lack of surface water in both the north and the south was probably due to the fact that most of it was quickly used up for agricultural purposes.
解析：问整段支持下面哪个，所以最好用排除法。A的well做关键词定位至倒数第二句和倒数第三句，原文说北部打井容易，南部难，所以A错;B的karst做关键词定位至最后一句，说大部分地区都是岩溶地貌，所以B正确;C的water table定位至第三句和倒数第二句，没提到重要性，所以C错;D在原文中完全没有对应
【3】尽管玛雅遗址的南部比北部降水量多，但是在潮湿的南方水资源问题反而更加尖锐。生活在南部地区的人古玛雅人所面临的麻烦，如今也困扰着考古学家，他们想不通为什么湿润的南方比干旱的北方更容易受到旱灾影响。一种可能的解释是，尤卡坦半岛的地下水资源区域是倾斜的，但是地表海拔从北向南递增，所以，越往南地表就会越高于地下水位。而半岛北部海拔非常低，因此古玛雅人可以由深层排水口或者深洞到达地下水位，这种深层排水口叫做“竖井” 。在没有排水口且海拔较低的北部沿海地区，玛雅人就需要借助凿井到达75英尺(22米)深的地下水含水层。但在南方若想通过排水口或凿井达到含水层的话，深度就要深得多。更糟糕的是，尤卡坦半岛大部分地区属于喀斯特地貌，多孔状如海绵的石灰岩地形，雨水直接流入地下，几乎没有地表水余留。
7 According to paragraph 3, why was the southern Mayan homeland hard to farm?
○ The presence of numerous sinkholes and wells interfered with farming.
○ Southern soil lacked the depth crops needed for growth.
○ Underground water was too far below the surface to reach.
○ The presence of karst caused frequent flooding.
解析：问题中的关键词难找，所以用排除法。A的sinkhole做关键词定位至倒数第四句，原文没说sinkhole干扰了农业的发展，所以A错;B在文章中彻底没说，错;C正确，因为原文用大量文字说南北的地下水面，说北部地表距离地下水面近，打井容易所以不干旱，南部相反;D的flooding原文没说
【3】尽管玛雅遗址的南部比北部降水量多，但是在潮湿的南方水资源问题反而更加尖锐。生活在南部地区的人古玛雅人所面临的麻烦，如今也困扰着考古学家，他们想不通为什么湿润的南方比干旱的北方更容易受到旱灾影响。一种可能的解释是，尤卡坦半岛的地下水资源区域是倾斜的，但是地表海拔从北向南递增，所以，越往南地表就会越高于地下水位。而半岛北部海拔非常低，因此古玛雅人可以由深层排水口或者深洞到达地下水位，这种深层排水口叫做“竖井” 。在没有排水口且海拔较低的北部沿海地区，玛雅人就需要借助凿井到达75英尺(22米)深的地下水含水层。但在南方若想通过排水口或凿井达到含水层的话，深度就要深得多。更糟糕的是，尤卡坦半岛大部分地区属于喀斯特地貌，多孔状如海绵的石灰岩地形，雨水直接流入地下，几乎没有地表水余留。
以上就是托福阅读TPO14-2中的事实信息题及其解析，大家可以在备考的时候参考复习，希望能够帮助大家的考前准备。最后前程百利祝大家都能取得理想的托福考试成绩。
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