托福阅读常考话题及练习题推荐四：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: The mercantile economy was also characterized by a peculiar moral stance that is typical of people who live by trade—an attitude that is individualistic, calculating, risk taking, and adaptive to circumstances. As among tribes people, personal relationships and a careful weighing of character have always been crucial in a mercantile economy with little regulation, where one's word is one's bond and where informal ties of trust cement together an international trade network. Nor have merchants and artisans ever had much tolerance for aristocratic professions of moral superiority, favoring instead an egalitarian ethic of the open market, where steady hard work, the loyalty of one's fellows, and entrepreneurial skill make all the difference. And, like the pastoralists, Middle Eastern merchants and artisans unhappy with their environment could simply pack up and leave for greener pastures—an act of self-assertion wholly impossible in most other civilizations throughout history.

7. According to paragraph 4, which of the following was NOT necessary for success in the mercantile economy?

A. Good business sense

B. Reliable associates

C. Family wealth

D. Constant effort

8. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

A. Tribes people were comfortable forming personal relationships with merchants, who, like them, were bound by their promises to one another.

B. Because trade was not formally regulated, merchants were careful about whom they trusted and often conducted business with people they knew personally.

C. While trade among merchants relied somewhat on regulation, among tribes people trade was based on personal relationships and careful character evaluation.

D. Because tribes people were bound only by their promises to one another, personal relationships were formed only after careful weighing of character.

9. The word “ethic” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. set of moral principles

B. division of labor

C. economic system

D. test of character

10. According to paragraph 4, what choice did Middle Eastern merchants and artisans have that many other people have not had?

A. If they were unhappy in the mercantile environment, they could draw on personal connections to find a different kind of work.

B. They were allowed to assert their opinions without having to listen to aristocratic professions of moral superiority.

C. Following the example of the pastoralists, they could demand, and receive, better working conditions.

D. If they didn't like their environment, they could move somewhere else.

►Paragraph 5: Dependence on long-distance trade also meant that the great empires of the Middle East were built both literally and figuratively on shifting sand. The central state, though often very rich and very populous, was intrinsically fragile, since the development of new international trade routes could undermine the monetary base and erode state power, as occurred when European seafarers circumvented Middle Eastern merchants after Vasco da Gama's voyage around Africa in the late fifteenth century opened up a southern route. The ecology of the region also permitted armed predators to prowl the surrounding barrens, which were almost impossible for a state to control. Peripheral peoples therefore had a great advantage in their dealings with the center, making government authority insecure and anxious.

11. The word “intrinsically” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. fundamentally

B. surprisingly

C. consequently

D. particularly

12.In paragraph 5, why does the author mention the new trade route opened up by Vasco da Gama's fifteenth century voyage around Africa?

A. To provide evidence that European seafarers took every opportunity to bypass Middle Eastern merchants

B. To present an instance in which Middle Eastern states lost money and power because of their reliance on long-distance trade

C. To argue this new route became necessary when European seafarers wanted to avoid Middle Eastern states whose central power had begun to erode

D. To explain how da Gama helped European traders avoid the dangerous predators prowling the areas surrounding Middle Eastern cities

►Paragraph2: Reliance on trade had several important consequences. ■Production was generally in the hands of skilled individual artisans doing piecework under the tutelage of a master who was also the shop owner. ■In these shops differences of rank were blurred as artisans and masters labored side by side in the same modest establishment, were usually members of the same guild and religious sect, lived in the same neighborhoods, and often had assumed (or real) kinship relationships. ■The worker was bound to the master by a mutual contract that either one could repudiate, and the relationship was conceptualized as one of partnership. ■

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

For one thing, it created a demand for finished goods to be sold both locally and abroad.

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.

Since ancient times. reliance on trade has shaped the culture and organizational structure of Middle Eastern societies.

Answer Choices

A. Persian and Arabian merchants traveled great distances to sell their finished goods at the marketplaces of ancient Sumeria.

B. Revenue from trade was unevenly distributed, causing Middle Eastern societies to be characterized by growing distinctions in wealth and power.

C. Qualities that were valued in the mercantile economy included individualism, hard work, loyalty, and the willingness to take risks.

D. As production increased, centralized control over production also increased, leading in turn to more-centralized control over fellowship and worship.

E. Crafts were produced by skilled artisans working in close, egalitarian relationships with their masters and other fellow guild members.

F. The stability of Middle Eastern governments was threatened by their lack of control over international trade patterns and over their own peripheral territories.