以下文章均選自真題及其他各類托福練習(xí)，在了解托福閱讀文章的題材，形式的同時，應(yīng)該重點(diǎn)掌握和注意下劃線的詞匯：
P1
The first professional clown born in the United States was John Durang (1768-1822), who came from a decidedly noncircus family. Durang was the first in a long line of great clowns to dynamically combine genuine dramatic and comedic talent with a highly developed proficiency in a wide range of circus techniques. He left home at the age of 15 to tour as a dancer with a traveling performer. His lack of formal training did not stop him from becoming an accomplished puppeteer, clown, Harlequin, dancer, ropewalker, equestrian, Shakespearean actor, scene designer, and pyrotechnist. John Bill Ricketts was impressed enough to offer him a job in 1793, but Durang declined because it required superior horsemanship, a skill which he had not yet acquired. In 1795 Ricketts repeated his offer, and this time Durang accepted. He immediately began practicing trick riding and was soon able to add equestrian clowning to his repertoire. By 1797 Durang had become a key member of Rickett’s company, and that summer he and Ricketts led the troupe on a tour into Canada. During continued his remarkable career for the next 20 years, performing in theaters and circuses and even managing his own dramatic touring troupe for nine consecutive summers. Before he died John Durang revealed yet another talent by writing his memoirs, the only extensive first-person account of circus life in the early United States.
clown : n. 小丑,粗魯愚蠢的人
decidedly : adv. 決定,斷然；明了,無凝
circus : n. 馬戲團(tuán),馬戲,競技場
dynamically : ad. 動態(tài)的
genuine : a. 真正的,真實的,誠懇的
dramatic : a. 戲劇性的,生動的
comedic : a. 喜劇的
proficiency : n. 精通,熟練,精練
technique : n. 技術(shù),方法,表演法
lack : n. 缺乏,無,不足;vt. 缺乏,短少,不足,需要;vi. 缺乏
accomplished : a. 完成的,實現(xiàn)的,善社交的,有造詣的,熟練的
puppeteer : n. 操縱木偶的人,操縱傀儡
harlequin : n. 丑角
ropewalker : n. 走鋼絲,繩索特技表演者
equestrian : a. 騎馬的,馬的,在馬背上的;n. 騎手
Shakespearean : a. 莎士比亞的
scene : n. 場,景,情景,景色,鏡頭,發(fā)生地點(diǎn),布景,道具
pyrotechnist : n. 煙火制造者
offer : n. 出價,提議,意圖,報價;vt. 提供,出價,奉獻(xiàn),使出現(xiàn),企圖,演出;vi. 出現(xiàn),獻(xiàn)祭,提議
decline : n. 衰微,跌落,下降;vt. 使降低,婉謝;vi. 下降,衰落,偏斜
superior : n. 長者,高手,上級;a. 上好的,出眾的,高傲的
horsemanship : n. 馬術(shù)
acquired : a. 已取得的,已獲得的,已成習(xí)慣的,后天的
accepted : a. 一般承認(rèn)的,公認(rèn)的
immediately : ad. 立刻,剛,立即
trick : n. 詭計,欺詐,謀略,癖好,惡作劇,決竅;vt. 戲弄,欺騙,裝飾;vi. 哄騙,戲弄;a.有決竅的,特技的,欺詐的,漂亮的,靠不住的,有效的
equestrian : a. 騎馬的,馬的,在馬背上的;n. 騎手
repertoire : n. 全部劇目,保留劇目,全部技能
troupe : n. 一團(tuán),一班,劇團(tuán);vi. 巡回演出
consecutive : a. 連續(xù)的,聯(lián)貫的,始終一貫的
reveal : vt. 露出,顯示,透露,(神)啟示,揭露,泄露;n. 窗側(cè),門側(cè)
memoir : n. 傳記,實錄,追思錄,回憶錄,自傳
P2
Sleep is part of a person’s daily activity cycle. There are several different stages of sleep, and they too occur in cycles. If you are an average sleeper, your sleep cycle is as follows . When you first drift off into slumber, your eyes will roll about a bit, your temperature will drop slightly, your muscles will relax, and your breathing will slow and become quite regular. Your brain wavers slow down a bit too, with the alpha rhythm of rather fast waves predominating for the first few minutes. This is called stage 1 sleep. For the next half hour or so, as you relax more and more, you will drift down through stage 2 and stage 3 sleep. The lower your stage of sleep, the slower your brain waves will be. Then, about 40 to 60 minutes after you lose consciousness, you will have reached the deepest sleep of all. Your brain waves will show the large slow waves that are known as the delta rhythm. This is stage 4 sleep.
You do not remain at this deep fourth stage all night long , but instead about 80 minutes after you fall into slumber, your brain activity level will increase again slightly. The delta rhythm will disappear, to be replaced by the activity pattern of brain waves. Your eyes will begin to dart around under your closed eyelids as if you were looking at something occurring in front of you. This period of rapid eye movement lasts for some 8 to 15 minutes and is called REM sleep. It is during REM sleep that most dreams seem to occur. Provided that you do not wake up during the first REM sleep period,your body will soon relax again, your breathing will grow slow and regular once more, and you will slip gently back from stage 1 to stage 4 sleep---only to rise once again to the surface of near consciousness some 80 minutes later.
activity : n. 活動,動作,活力
cycle : n. 周期,循環(huán),自行車,一段時間,整套;vi. 循環(huán),輪轉(zhuǎn),騎自行車;vt. 使循環(huán),使輪轉(zhuǎn)
occur : vi. 發(fā)生,想到,存在
average : n. 平均,平均數(shù),海損;a. 一般的,通常的,平均的;vt. 平均為,均分,使平衡;vi. 買進(jìn),賣出
drift : n. 漂流物,觀望,漂流;vt. vi. (使)漂流
slumber : n. 睡眠,沉睡狀態(tài);vi. 熟睡,打盹,蜇伏;vt. 睡著渡過(時間)
roll : n. 卷,滾動,名單,壓路機(jī),案卷,翻滾;vi. 滾,滾動,飄流,起伏,繞,卷;vt. 使?jié)L動,卷,繞
slightly : ad. 些微地,苗條地
muscle : n. 肌肉,臂力
relax : vi. 放松,松懈,松弛,變從容,休息,休養(yǎng);vt. 使松馳,緩和,使松懈,使休息
breathing : n. 呼吸,瞬間,微風(fēng);a. 呼吸的,逼真的
alpha : n. 希臘字母的第一個字母,最初,開端
rhythm : n. 旋律,節(jié)奏,韻律,勻稱,節(jié)律
predominate : vt. 掌握,控制,支配;vi. 統(tǒng)治,成為主流
consciousness : n. 意識,知覺,自覺
reach : n. 伸出,延伸,區(qū)域,岬,河段,范圍;vt. 到達(dá),達(dá)到,伸出,延伸,影響;vi. 達(dá)到,延伸,伸出手,傳開
delta : n. 三角州,希臘字母的第四個字
instead : ad. 改為,抵作,更換,替代
disappear : vi. 消失,不見
pattern : n. 模范,典型,式樣,模式,樣品,格調(diào),圖案;vt. 模仿,仿造,以圖案裝飾;vi. 形成圖案
dart : n. 飛鏢,投射;vt. 投射;vi. 疾走,突進(jìn)
eyelid : n. 眼皮,眼瞼
rapid : a. 迅速的,飛快的,急促的,險峻的;n. 急流
REM : rapid eye movement
provided : conj. 倘若
gently : ad. 輕輕地,逐漸地
P1
The first professional clown born in the United States was John Durang (1768-1822), who came from a decidedly noncircus family. Durang was the first in a long line of great clowns to dynamically combine genuine dramatic and comedic talent with a highly developed proficiency in a wide range of circus techniques. He left home at the age of 15 to tour as a dancer with a traveling performer. His lack of formal training did not stop him from becoming an accomplished puppeteer, clown, Harlequin, dancer, ropewalker, equestrian, Shakespearean actor, scene designer, and pyrotechnist. John Bill Ricketts was impressed enough to offer him a job in 1793, but Durang declined because it required superior horsemanship, a skill which he had not yet acquired. In 1795 Ricketts repeated his offer, and this time Durang accepted. He immediately began practicing trick riding and was soon able to add equestrian clowning to his repertoire. By 1797 Durang had become a key member of Rickett’s company, and that summer he and Ricketts led the troupe on a tour into Canada. During continued his remarkable career for the next 20 years, performing in theaters and circuses and even managing his own dramatic touring troupe for nine consecutive summers. Before he died John Durang revealed yet another talent by writing his memoirs, the only extensive first-person account of circus life in the early United States.
clown : n. 小丑,粗魯愚蠢的人
decidedly : adv. 決定,斷然；明了,無凝
circus : n. 馬戲團(tuán),馬戲,競技場
dynamically : ad. 動態(tài)的
genuine : a. 真正的,真實的,誠懇的
dramatic : a. 戲劇性的,生動的
comedic : a. 喜劇的
proficiency : n. 精通,熟練,精練
technique : n. 技術(shù),方法,表演法
lack : n. 缺乏,無,不足;vt. 缺乏,短少,不足,需要;vi. 缺乏
accomplished : a. 完成的,實現(xiàn)的,善社交的,有造詣的,熟練的
puppeteer : n. 操縱木偶的人,操縱傀儡
harlequin : n. 丑角
ropewalker : n. 走鋼絲,繩索特技表演者
equestrian : a. 騎馬的,馬的,在馬背上的;n. 騎手
Shakespearean : a. 莎士比亞的
scene : n. 場,景,情景,景色,鏡頭,發(fā)生地點(diǎn),布景,道具
pyrotechnist : n. 煙火制造者
offer : n. 出價,提議,意圖,報價;vt. 提供,出價,奉獻(xiàn),使出現(xiàn),企圖,演出;vi. 出現(xiàn),獻(xiàn)祭,提議
decline : n. 衰微,跌落,下降;vt. 使降低,婉謝;vi. 下降,衰落,偏斜
superior : n. 長者,高手,上級;a. 上好的,出眾的,高傲的
horsemanship : n. 馬術(shù)
acquired : a. 已取得的,已獲得的,已成習(xí)慣的,后天的
accepted : a. 一般承認(rèn)的,公認(rèn)的
immediately : ad. 立刻,剛,立即
trick : n. 詭計,欺詐,謀略,癖好,惡作劇,決竅;vt. 戲弄,欺騙,裝飾;vi. 哄騙,戲弄;a.有決竅的,特技的,欺詐的,漂亮的,靠不住的,有效的
equestrian : a. 騎馬的,馬的,在馬背上的;n. 騎手
repertoire : n. 全部劇目,保留劇目,全部技能
troupe : n. 一團(tuán),一班,劇團(tuán);vi. 巡回演出
consecutive : a. 連續(xù)的,聯(lián)貫的,始終一貫的
reveal : vt. 露出,顯示,透露,(神)啟示,揭露,泄露;n. 窗側(cè),門側(cè)
memoir : n. 傳記,實錄,追思錄,回憶錄,自傳
P2
Sleep is part of a person’s daily activity cycle. There are several different stages of sleep, and they too occur in cycles. If you are an average sleeper, your sleep cycle is as follows . When you first drift off into slumber, your eyes will roll about a bit, your temperature will drop slightly, your muscles will relax, and your breathing will slow and become quite regular. Your brain wavers slow down a bit too, with the alpha rhythm of rather fast waves predominating for the first few minutes. This is called stage 1 sleep. For the next half hour or so, as you relax more and more, you will drift down through stage 2 and stage 3 sleep. The lower your stage of sleep, the slower your brain waves will be. Then, about 40 to 60 minutes after you lose consciousness, you will have reached the deepest sleep of all. Your brain waves will show the large slow waves that are known as the delta rhythm. This is stage 4 sleep.
You do not remain at this deep fourth stage all night long , but instead about 80 minutes after you fall into slumber, your brain activity level will increase again slightly. The delta rhythm will disappear, to be replaced by the activity pattern of brain waves. Your eyes will begin to dart around under your closed eyelids as if you were looking at something occurring in front of you. This period of rapid eye movement lasts for some 8 to 15 minutes and is called REM sleep. It is during REM sleep that most dreams seem to occur. Provided that you do not wake up during the first REM sleep period,your body will soon relax again, your breathing will grow slow and regular once more, and you will slip gently back from stage 1 to stage 4 sleep---only to rise once again to the surface of near consciousness some 80 minutes later.
activity : n. 活動,動作,活力
cycle : n. 周期,循環(huán),自行車,一段時間,整套;vi. 循環(huán),輪轉(zhuǎn),騎自行車;vt. 使循環(huán),使輪轉(zhuǎn)
occur : vi. 發(fā)生,想到,存在
average : n. 平均,平均數(shù),海損;a. 一般的,通常的,平均的;vt. 平均為,均分,使平衡;vi. 買進(jìn),賣出
drift : n. 漂流物,觀望,漂流;vt. vi. (使)漂流
slumber : n. 睡眠,沉睡狀態(tài);vi. 熟睡,打盹,蜇伏;vt. 睡著渡過(時間)
roll : n. 卷,滾動,名單,壓路機(jī),案卷,翻滾;vi. 滾,滾動,飄流,起伏,繞,卷;vt. 使?jié)L動,卷,繞
slightly : ad. 些微地,苗條地
muscle : n. 肌肉,臂力
relax : vi. 放松,松懈,松弛,變從容,休息,休養(yǎng);vt. 使松馳,緩和,使松懈,使休息
breathing : n. 呼吸,瞬間,微風(fēng);a. 呼吸的,逼真的
alpha : n. 希臘字母的第一個字母,最初,開端
rhythm : n. 旋律,節(jié)奏,韻律,勻稱,節(jié)律
predominate : vt. 掌握,控制,支配;vi. 統(tǒng)治,成為主流
consciousness : n. 意識,知覺,自覺
reach : n. 伸出,延伸,區(qū)域,岬,河段,范圍;vt. 到達(dá),達(dá)到,伸出,延伸,影響;vi. 達(dá)到,延伸,伸出手,傳開
delta : n. 三角州,希臘字母的第四個字
instead : ad. 改為,抵作,更換,替代
disappear : vi. 消失,不見
pattern : n. 模范,典型,式樣,模式,樣品,格調(diào),圖案;vt. 模仿,仿造,以圖案裝飾;vi. 形成圖案
dart : n. 飛鏢,投射;vt. 投射;vi. 疾走,突進(jìn)
eyelid : n. 眼皮,眼瞼
rapid : a. 迅速的,飛快的,急促的,險峻的;n. 急流
REM : rapid eye movement
provided : conj. 倘若
gently : ad. 輕輕地,逐漸地