The Blue Mountains of the western United States stretch from southeast Oregon to northwest Washington State. When Euro-Americans first came to the Blue Mountains in the early nineteenth century, they found a land of open forests full of large ponderosa pines-fire-resistant. insect-resistant forests that had been growing for centuries. But after less than ninety years of management by federal government foresters, the great ponderosa pines vanished. In their place were thickets of dying fir trees that were first attacked by defoliating insects and then devastated by intense fires.
In part, the landscape changed for straightforward ecological reasons. When foresters suppressed fires in open, semi-arid disturbance-prone forests dominated by ponderosa pine, firs grew faster than pines in the resultant shade-a change that left firs dominating the forests. Heavy grazing (animals’ feeding on grass) which eliminated the grasses that had previously suppressed tree regeneration and kept forests relatively open, also contributed to the change. High grading-a logging method that removed old pine while leaving firs behind-further encouraged the replacement of open pine forests with dense fir stands. When droughts later hit, firs growing on dry sites succumbed to insect epidemics
But the real story is much more complex than this, since changes in the land are never just ecological changes; people made the decisions that led to these ecological changes, and they made those decisions for a complex set of motives.Federal foresters came to the Blue Mountains with the best of intentions: to save the forest from the scourges of industrial logging, fire, and decay. When they looked at the Blue Mountains, they saw two things: a “human” landscape in need of being saved because it had been ravaged by companies and the profit motive and also a ‘natural” landscape that they felt needed saving because it had become decadent, wasteful, and inefficient. Not only were federal foresters going to rescue the grand old western forests from those who exploited timber resources, they were going to make them better. Using the best possible science of the day, foresters felt they were going to make the best possible forests for America in the twentieth century.
Industrial logging had been underway for less than a decade, and in that short time enormous changes were already beginning. Government foresters firmly believed that these industrial cutting practices produced sterile lands and. in particular. those practices destroyed the vegetation cover that protected the water supply in the arid west. Young trees were critical to the future of the forest, and industry seemed to have sacrificed them for short-term profits. Scientific forestry, the foresters felt, would change everything
Two major interrelated tenets of scientific forestry developed First, foresters felt they should encourage the growth of young trees by suppressing fire; and second, foresters felt they should replace old growth with regulated, rapidly growing forests. Fire seemed to threaten the forests by killing young trees, and since foresters were certain that young trees were the future of the forest, fire was clearly the enemy. The foresters thus decided that to protect the pine forests and the water supply, they needed to keep out fire and encourage reproduction. The federal government’s Forest Service was convinced that the more young pines they had, the more marketable pine would necessarily follow.
Although it was clear to early foresters that suppressing fire would lead to dense thickets of young trees, they felt that this would be a good thing, for reasons that show how their cultural beliefs affected their ecological reasoning. The early twentieth-century United States was a culture that glorified competition. It was commonly believed that competition would produce stronger individuals by eliminating the weak in favor of the mighty. This feeling was encouraged by emerging industrial capitalism and then projected onto the landscape. Foresters reasoned that dense stands of young trees would lead to intense competition for light and water, and that competition in the forest economy, just as in the industrial economy, would create vigorous individuals. Without competition, weaklings would result-or so the foresters reasoned The opposite turned out to be true, unfortunately. Western conifers –trees with cones and needlelike leaves-do not thin themselves; without fires to thin them, what resulted were not a few big trees but thickets of stunted trees all the same age.
1
In part, the landscape changed for straightforward ecological reasons. When foresters suppressed fires in open, semi-arid disturbance-prone forests dominated by ponderosa pine, firs grew faster than pines in the resultant shade-a change that left firs dominating the forests. Heavy grazing (animals’ feeding on grass) which eliminated the grasses that had previously suppressed tree regeneration and kept forests relatively open, also contributed to the change. High grading-a logging method that removed old pine while leaving firs behind-further encouraged the replacement of open pine forests with dense fir stands. When droughts later hit, firs growing on dry sites succumbed to insect epidemics
The word “straightforward” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Arelated
Bdeveloping
Cclear
Dvarious
2
In part, the landscape changed for straightforward ecological reasons. When foresters suppressed fires in open, semi-arid disturbance-prone forests dominated by ponderosa pine, firs grew faster than pines in the resultant shade-a change that left firs dominating the forests. Heavy grazing (animals’ feeding on grass) which eliminated the grasses that had previously suppressed tree regeneration and kept forests relatively open, also contributed to the change. High grading-a logging method that removed old pine while leaving firs behind-further encouraged the replacement of open pine forests with dense fir stands. When droughts later hit, firs growing on dry sites succumbed to insect epidemics
According to paragraph 2, all of the following contributed to the replacement of open pine forests by dense fir stands EXCEPT
Ahigh grading logging
Binsect epidemics
Cheavy grazing
Dfire suppression
3
But the real story is much more complex than this, since changes in the land are never just ecological changes; people made the decisions that led to these ecological changes, and they made those decisions for a complex set of motives.Federal foresters came to the Blue Mountains with the best of intentions: to save the forest from the scourges of industrial logging, fire, and decay. When they looked at the Blue Mountains, they saw two things: a “human” landscape in need of being saved because it had been ravaged by companies and the profit motive and also a ‘natural” landscape that they felt needed saving because it had become decadent, wasteful, and inefficient. Not only were federal foresters going to rescue the grand old western forests from those who exploited timber resources, they were going to make them better. Using the best possible science of the day, foresters felt they were going to make the best possible forests for America in the twentieth century.
The word “exploited” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Aunfairly used up
Bmost needed
Cwere looking for
Dshared
4
But the real story is much more complex than this, since changes in the land are never just ecological changes; people made the decisions that led to these ecological changes, and they made those decisions for a complex set of motives.Federal foresters came to the Blue Mountains with the best of intentions: to save the forest from the scourges of industrial logging, fire, and decay. When they looked at the Blue Mountains, they saw two things: a “human” landscape in need of being saved because it had been ravaged by companies and the profit motive and also a ‘natural” landscape that they felt needed saving because it had become decadent, wasteful, and inefficient. Not only were federal foresters going to rescue the grand old western forests from those who exploited timber resources, they were going to make them better. Using the best possible science of the day, foresters felt they were going to make the best possible forests for America in the twentieth century.
Paragraph 4 suggests that which of the following contributed to the foresters’ idea that the Blue Mountains had a “human” landscape?
APopulation increases that created a growing demand for timber
BHuman activities that led to more accidental forest fires
CScientific discoveries that helped to improve methods of industrial logging
DThe logging industry’s view that forests were mainly a source of income
5
Industrial logging had been underway for less than a decade, and in that short time enormous changes were already beginning. Government foresters firmly believed that these industrial cutting practices produced sterile lands and. in particular. those practices destroyed the vegetation cover that protected the water supply in the arid west. Young trees were critical to the future of the forest, and industry seemed to have sacrificed them for short-term profits. Scientific forestry, the foresters felt, would change everything
According to paragraph 5, industrial cutting practices in the Blue Mountains were suspected of doing all of the following EXCEPT
Alimiting the ability of the land to be productive
Beliminating the necessary vegetation cover
Cremoving mature trees before they could seed new trees
Dthreatening a water supply that needed conservation
6
Two major interrelated tenets of scientific forestry developed First, foresters felt they should encourage the growth of young trees by suppressing fire; and second, foresters felt they should replace old growth with regulated, rapidly growing forests. Fire seemed to threaten the forests by killing young trees, and since foresters were certain that young trees were the future of the forest, fire was clearly the enemy. The foresters thus decided that to protect the pine forests and the water supply, they needed to keep out fire and encourage reproduction. The federal government’s Forest Service was convinced that the more young pines they had, the more marketable pine would necessarily follow.
According to paragraph 6, why did the foresters regard fire as the enemy?
ABecause fire could cut off access to the water supply
BBecause fire reduced the number of young trees
CBecause fire presented a major threat to the old growth in a forest
DBecause fire destroyed large amounts of marketable pine
7
Although it was clear to early foresters that suppressing fire would lead to dense thickets of young trees, they felt that this would be a good thing, for reasons that show how their cultural beliefs affected their ecological reasoning. The early twentieth-century United States was a culture that glorified competition. It was commonly believed that competition would produce stronger individuals by eliminating the weak in favor of the mighty. This feeling was encouraged by emerging industrial capitalism and then projected onto the landscape. Foresters reasoned that dense stands of young trees would lead to intense competition for light and water, and that competition in the forest economy, just as in the industrial economy, would create vigorous individuals. Without competition, weaklings would result-or so the foresters reasoned The opposite turned out to be true, unfortunately. Western conifers –trees with cones and needlelike leaves-do not thin themselves; without fires to thin them, what resulted were not a few big trees but thickets of stunted trees all the same age.
In paragraph 7, why does the author describe the culture of emerging industrial capitalism in the early-twentieth-century United States?
ATo help explain why early foresters believed that intense competition among young trees would improve the forest
BTo emphasize that cultural beliefs should never be allowed to influence practical ecological decisions
CTo contrast forest economy and industrial economy
DTo suggest one reason why the ecological belief of early foresters was so different from the ecological belief of foresters today
8
Although it was clear to early foresters that suppressing fire would lead to dense thickets of young trees, they felt that this would be a good thing, for reasons that show how their cultural beliefs affected their ecological reasoning. The early twentieth-century United States was a culture that glorified competition. It was commonly believed that competition would produce stronger individuals by eliminating the weak in favor of the mighty. This feeling was encouraged by emerging industrial capitalism and then projected onto the landscape. Foresters reasoned that dense stands of young trees would lead to intense competition for light and water, and that competition in the forest economy, just as in the industrial economy, would create vigorous individuals. Without competition, weaklings would result-or so the foresters reasoned The opposite turned out to be true, unfortunately. Western conifers –trees with cones and needlelike leaves-do not thin themselves; without fires to thin them, what resulted were not a few big trees but thickets of stunted trees all the same age.
According to paragraph 7, what happened when young trees had to compete intensely for light and water?
AThey developed into stronger mature trees than they would have otherwise.
BThe ones that survived grew more quickly than they would have otherwise.
CAll but a few of them were soon eliminated.
DThey did not develop normally.
9
The Blue Mountains of the western United States stretch from southeast Oregon to northwest Washington State. ■ When Euro-Americans first came to the Blue Mountains in the early nineteenth century, they found a land of open forests full of large ponderosa pines-fire-resistant. insect-resistant forests that had been growing for centuries. ■ But after less than ninety years of management by federal government foresters, the great ponderosa pines vanished. ■ In their place were thickets of dying fir trees that were first attacked by defoliating insects and then devastated by intense fires. ■
Look at the four squaresthat indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
The best timber trees in the forest had been eliminated.
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
10
In the early nineteenth century, the Blue Mountains were covered by open forests of large, fire- and insect-resistant ponderosa pines
AWithin a short period of time, forest management led to the replacement of ponderosa pines by dense thickets of fir trees, another type of conifer that was less resistant to insects and fires
BLoggers cut down old-growth pines, and the forestry policy of suppressing fires to protect young trees and encourage their growth made forests less open, thereby favoring firs over pines.
CIn the wake of emerging industrial capitalism in the United States many believed that the primary role of federal foresters was managing forests to produce the maximum amount of marketable pine.
DSoon after the forests of the Blue Mountains came under the management of federal government foresters, Euro-Americans moved into the region to harvest ponderosa pines
EAlthough foresters initially believed that the practice of scientific forestry would preserve the water supply, they came to feel that its greatest importance was in helping young pines to grow faster.
FForesters were influenced by the general cultural belief that competition leads to stronger individuals, but without fire to reduce competition in western forests, thickets of stunted trees resulted
