|
TOEFL READING PRACTICE WITH ANSWERS
TOEFL 1 (PART 5)
|
|
Questions 42-50
|
For a century and a half the piano has been one
of the most popular solo instruments for Western music. Unlike string and
wind instrument, the piano is completely self-sufficient, as it is able to play
both the melody and its accompanying harmony at the same time. For this
reason, it became the favorite household instrument of the nineteenth
century.
The ancestry of the piano can be traced to the
early keyboard instruments of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries – the
spinet, the dulcimer, and the virginal. In the seventeenth century the
organ, the clavichord, and the harpsichord became the chief instruments of the
keyboard group, a supremacy they maintained until the piano supplanted them
at the end of the eighteenth century. The clavichord's tone was metallic
and never powerful; nevertheless, because of the variety of tone possible
to it, many composers found the clavichord a sympathetic instrument for
concert use, but the character of the tone could not be varied save by
mechanical or structural devices.
The piano was perfected in the early eighteenth
century by a harpsichord maker in Italy (though musicologists point out
several previous instances of the instrument). This instrument was called a
piano e forte(soft and loud), to indicate its dynamic versatility; its
strings were struck by a recoiling hammer with a felt-padded head. The
wires were much heavier in the earlier instruments. A series of mechanical
improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century, including the introduction
of pedals to sustain tone or to soften it, the perfection of a metal frame
and steel wire of the finest quality, finally produced an instrument capable
of myriad tonal effects from the most delicate harmonies to an almost
orchestral fullness of sound, from a liquid, singing tone to a sharp, percussive
brilliance.
|
|
42
|
What does the passage mainly discuss?
|
|
(A)
|
The historical development of the piano
|
|
(B)
|
The quality of
tone produced by various keyboard instruments
|
|
(C)
|
The uses of keyboard instruments in various types of compositions
|
|
(D)
|
The popularity
of the piano with composers
|
|
43
|
Which of the following instruments was widely used before the
seventeenth century?
|
|
(A)
|
The harpsichord
|
|
(B)
|
The spinet
|
|
(C)
|
The clavichord
|
|
(D)
|
The organ
|
|
44
|
The words
"a supremacy" in line 9 are closest in meaning to
|
|
(A)
|
a suggestion
|
|
(B)
|
an improvement
|
|
(C)
|
a dominance
|
|
(D)
|
a development
|
|
45
|
The word "supplanted" in line 10 is closest in meaning to
|
|
(A)
|
supported
|
|
(B)
|
promoted
|
|
(C)
|
replaced
|
|
(D)
|
dominated
|
|
46
|
The word
"it" in line 11 refers to the
|
|
(A)
|
variety
|
|
(B)
|
music
|
|
(C)
|
harpsichord
|
|
(D)
|
clavichord
|
|
47
|
According to the passage, what deficiency did the harpsichord have?
|
|
(A)
|
It was fragile
|
|
(B)
|
It lacked variety in tone.
|
|
(C)
|
It sounded
metallic.
|
|
(D)
|
It could not produce a strong sound.
|
|
48
|
Where in the
passage does the author provide a translation?
|
|
(A)
|
Lines 4-5
|
|
(B)
|
Lines 13-15
|
|
(C)
|
Lines 18-19
|
|
(D)
|
Lines 20-25
|
|
49
|
According to the information in the third paragraph, which of the
following improvements made it possible to lengthen the tone produced by
the piano?
|
|
(A)
|
The
introduction of pedals
|
|
(B)
|
The use of heavy wire
|
|
(C)
|
The use of
felt-padded hammerheads
|
|
(D)
|
The metal frame construction
|
|
50
|
The word
"myriad" in line 23 is closest in meaning to
|
|
(A)
|
noticeable
|
|
(B)
|
many
|
|
(C)
|
loud
|
|
(D)
|
unusual
|
|
CLICK HERE FOR READING PASSAGE 4
CLICK HERE FOR READING POST TEST
ANSWER
KEY
|
42
|
A
|
|
43
|
B
|
|
44
|
C
|
|
45
|
C
|
|
46
|
D
|
|
47
|
B
|
|
48
|
C
|
|
49
|
A
|
|
50
|
B
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment
thank you for visiting my blog and for your nice comments