托福阅读常考话题及练习题推荐五：苏美尔和埃及（3）

1托福常考话题：苏美尔和埃及话题练习题

Paragraph 4: Objects themselves suggest that they were the work of skilled professionals. In the late Uruk period(3500-3100 B.C.E.), there first appeared a type of object that remained characteristic for Mesopotamia throughout its entire history: the cylinder seal. ■This was a small cylinder, usually no more than 3 centimeters high and 2 centimeters in diameter, of shell, bone, faience (a glassy type of stoneware), or various types of stones, on which a scene was carved into the surface. ■When rolled over a soft material----primarily the clay of bullae (round seals), tablets, or clay lumps attached to boxes, jars, or door bolts----the scene would appear in relief, easily legible. ■The technological knowledge needed to carved it was far superior to that for stamp seals, which had happened in the early Neolithic period (approximately 10,000-5000 B.C.E.). ■From the first appearance of cylinder seals, the carved scenes could be highly elaborate and refined, indicating the work of specialist stone-cutters. Similarly, the late Uruk period shows the first monumental art, relief, and statuary in the round, made with a degree of mastery that only a professional could have produced.

10. The word “legible” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. printable

B. enjoyable

C. recognizable

D. available

11. Paragraph 4 suggests which of the following about the significances of Mesopotamian cylinder seals?

A. They were designed more for home than for legal use.

B. They demonstrate that their creators were professionals.

C. They were the first example of seals made from materials other than stone.

D. They were the first example of carved seals.

12. According to paragraph 4, one of the artistic achievements of the late Uruk culture was

A. Its sophisticated sculpture and relief carving

B. Its architecturally complex monuments

C. Its invention of stamp seals carved from stone

D. Its use of highly refined glassy stoneware

13.Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

When viewed on the curved surface of the cylinder, the image looked distorted, but the carved image served only as a mold.

Where would the sentence best fit?

14 Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Uruk, located in ancient Mesopotamia, flourished in the fourth millennium B.C.E. and was the first city in human history.

Answer Choices

A. A variety of evidence indicates that Uruk, while it supported itself primarily by agriculture, also had specialized craft workers.

B. The monumental sculptures of Uruk were made by the specialist stone cutters who also produced small-scale relief scenes on shell, bone and faience.

C. The large number, standardized sizes, and simple molded construction of a type of pottery produced in Uruk demonstrate specialized, centrally organized mass production.

D. Cylinder seals from the late Uruk period are far superior to the stamp earlier Neolithic period.

E. Archaeological evidence from across the Near East indicates that Uruk was a center for the production and export of highly decorated pottery made by craft specialists in private homes.

F. The carved designs on cylinder seals produced in Uruk are of such technical and artistic excellence that they could only have been produced by professional artisans.