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TPO30-2的事实信息题，一起来看看吧。
TPO30-2 The Pace of Evolutionary Change
Paragraph 2:
Sometimes a closed question must be reopened as new evidence or new arguments based on old evidence come to light. In 1972 paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge challenged conventional wisdom with an opposing viewpoint, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis, which posits that species give rise to new species in relatively sudden bursts, without a lengthy transition period. These episodes of rapid evolution are separated by relatively long static spans during which a species may hardly change at all.
4. According to paragraph 1 and paragraph 2, the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis and the gradualism hypothesis differed about
O Whether the fossil record is complete
O Whether all species undergo change
O Whether evolution proceeds an a constant rate
O How many new species occur over long periods of time
解析：根据原文，渐进论是说物种演变是通过长时间的缓慢改变发生的;断点平衡论是说物种演变是短期爆发的。所以选择C，进化是否是匀速发生的。
【2】有时，已经有了结论的问题必须由在已有证据基础上出现的新的证据和新的论点使其重新展开讨论。在1972年，古生物学者Stephen Jay Gould和 Niles Eldredge用相反的论点挑战了世俗的结论，即断点平衡说，它假设了物种演变为新的物种是通过相对突然的爆发，并非通过长时间的过渡时期。迅速的进化期被时间相对更长的静态期分开，而在静态时期，物种是几乎完全不变的。
Paragraph 3:
The punctuated equilibrium hypothesis attempts to explain a curious feature of the fossil record --- one that has been familiar to paleontologist for more than a century but has usually been ignored. Many species appear to remain unchanged in the fossil record for millions of years --- a situation that seems to be at odds with Darwin' s model of continuous change. Intermediated fossil forms, predicted by gradualism, are typically lacking. In most localities a given species of clam or coral persists essentially unchanged throughout a thick formation of rock, only to be replaced suddenly by a new and different species.
5. According to paragraph 3, the lack of intermediate fossils in the fossil record of some species
O has been extensively studied by paleontologist for over a century
O contradicts the idea that most species have remained unchanged for millions of years
O challenges the view that evolutionary change is gradual
O is most common in the fossil records of clam and coral species
解题：根据lack of intermediate fossils定位到第三段倒数第二句，在往前看一句说，这一情况对于达尔文学说是不和的，而达尔文学说正是渐进论，这一段的最后也说原来的物种突然被替换，而不是渐渐进化改变的。所以C符合原文意思。 A与原文第一句破折号后矛盾，原文说这一现象一直被Ignored，B选项原文矛盾，该现象应该是反对了达尔文学说，支持了物种有长期不改变的论点。D虽然正确但是只是本段的细节，不能表达主题，所以不选。
【3】断点平衡论试着去解释化石记录的一个古怪的特点----在超过一个世纪的时间里它已经为古生物学者所熟悉，但一直被忽视。许多物种似乎在上百万年的化石记录中一直没有改变，这个情况与达尔文的模型所支持的物种的持续变化相悖。进化渐进论的支持者所预测的中间状态的化石一直没有出现。在大部分蛤和珊瑚的聚集地，其化石在很厚的岩石中都实际上没有变化，只是突然被另一新的并且不同的物种而取代。
Paragraph 7:
Occasionally , a sequence of fossil-rich layers of rock permits a comprehensive look at one type of organism over a long period of time. For example, Peter Sheldon' s studies of trilobites, a now extinct marine animal with a segmented body, offer a detailed glimpse into three million years of evolution in one marine environment. In that study, each of eight different trilobite species was observed to undergo a gradual change in the number of segments --- typically an increase of one or two segments over the whole time interval. No significant discontinuous were observed, leading Sheldon to conclude that environmental conditions were quite stable during the period he examined.
9. According to paragraph 7, Peter Sheldon’s studies demonstrated which of the following about trilobites?
O They underwent gradual change over a long time period
O They experienced a number of discontinuous transitions during their history
O They remained unchanged during a long period of environmental stability
O They evolved in ways that cannot be counted for by either of the two competing theories.
解题： 根据peter Sheldon定位到原文第二句。后面对trilobites进行了描述，A选项对应了原文第三句(已用红色字体标注)，后文又继续说没有明显的断点。所以A正确。 B与原文第四句冲突。C与第三句冲突，D原文没有这种说法。而且上文也表明它符合gradual evolvement。
【7】偶尔，有一个系列的化石丰富的岩石可以允许人们综合性的观察一种生物在很长一段时间中的变化。比如，Peter Sheldon对于三叶虫，一种已灭绝的身体分节的海洋生物，的研究提供了其对三百万年来在同一海洋环境下进化的一些细节。研究中，八种三叶虫都观察到了其身体节数数量逐渐改变的过程，在整个时间段中，一般身体都增加了一到两节。没有明显的不连贯，这使sheldon得出结论：海洋环境在那段时间是比较稳定的。
以上就是托福阅读TPO30-2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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