托福阅读常考话题及练习题推荐六：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 3：The spread of this river valley agriculture in various parts of Asia and Africa was the decisive factor in the rise of the first civilizations. The increase in food production in these regions led to a significant growth in population, while efforts to control the flow of water to maximize the irrigation of cultivated areas and to protect the local inhabitants from hostile forces outside the community provoked the first steps toward cooperative activities on a large scale. The need to oversee the entire process brought about the emergence of an elite that was eventually transformed into a government.

Paragraph 4：The first clear steps in the rise of the first civilizations took place in the fourth and third millennia B.C. in Mesopotamia, northern Africa, India, and China. How the first governments took shape in these areas is not certain, but anthropologists studying the evolution of human communities in various parts of the world have discovered that one common stage in the process is the emergence of what are called “big men” within a single village or a collection of villages. By means of their military prowess, dominant personalities, or political talents, these people gradually emerge as the leaders of that community. In time, the “big men” become formal symbols of authority and pass on that authority to others within their own family. As the communities continue to grow in size and material wealth, the “big men” assume hereditary status, and their allies and family members are transformed into a hereditary monarchy.

9. What is the relationship between paragraphs 3 and 4 in the passage?

A. Paragraph 3 explains why a need for leadership arose in early civilizations, and paragraph 4 describes how that leadership developed.

B. Paragraph 3 suggests that agriculture was first practiced in Asia and Africa, and paragraph 4 discusses how it might have later spread to the rest of the world.

C. Paragraph 3 describes several methods of early government, and paragraph 4 gives an extended example of one of them.

D. Paragraph 3 discusses a cause of the spread of river valley agriculture in early civilizations, and paragraph 4 discusses an effect.

► Paragraph 5：The appearance of these sedentary societies had a major impact on the social organizations, religious beliefs, and way of life of the peoples living within their boundaries. With the increase in population and the development of centralized authority came the emergence of the cities. While some of these urban centers were identified with a particular economic function, such as proximity to gold or iron deposits or a strategic location on a major trade route, others served primarily as administrative centers or the site of temples for the official cult or other ritual observances. Within these cities, new forms of livelihood appeared to satisfy the growing need for social services and consumer goods. Some people became artisans or merchants, while others became warriors, scholars, or priests. In some cases, the physical division within the first cities reflected the strict hierarchical character of the society as a whole, with a royal palace surrounded by an imposing wall and separate from the remainder of the urban population. In other instances, such as the Indus River Valley, the cities lacked a royal precinct and the ostentatious palaces that marked their contemporaries elsewhere.

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

A. Some cities were associated with economic activities, while others were government or religious centers.

B. Emerging cities generally served strategic administrative, economic, and religious purposes.

C. The creation of an economic or administrative activity led to the emergence of a city for its proper supervision.

D. Some cities emerged as economic centers and later became the sites of administrative or religious activities.

11. Paragraph 5 suggests that which of the following was a consequence of the emergence of cities?

A. The decentralization of authority

B. An increase in religious activity

C. The emergence of service- and production-related jobs

D. A decreased reliance on mineral resources

12. According to paragraph 5, why were huge walls built around early royal palaces?

A. To protect the inhabitants from invaders

B. To mark the urban areas

C. To separate the ruling class from the rest of the population

D. To represent the prosperity of a city

►The appearance of these sedentary societies had a major impact on the social organizations, religious beliefs, and way of life of the peoples living within their boundaries. [■]With the increase in population and the development of centralized authority came the emergence of the cities. [■]While some of these urban centers were identified with a particular economic function, such as proximity to gold or iron deposits or a strategic location on a major trade route, others served primarily as administrative centers or the site of temples for the official cult or other ritual observances. [■]Within these cities, new forms of livelihood appeared to satisfy the growing need for social services and consumer goods. [■]Some people became artisans or merchants, while others became warriors, scholars, or priests. In some cases, the physical division within the first cities reflected the strict hierarchical character of the society as a whole, with a royal palace surrounded by an imposing wall and separate from the remainder of the urban population. In other instances, such as the Indus River Valley, the cities lacked a royal precinct and the ostentatious palaces that marked their contemporaries elsewhere.

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

This was accompanied by increased professional specialization. Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square to add the sentence to the passage.

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.

The practice of settled agriculture in some areas of Asia and Africa was crucial to the development of early civilizations.

Answer Choices:

A. Prehistorians disagree as to whether early farmers first cultivated crops along floodplains or first tried cultivating crops in less successful environments.

B. Cultivation in fertile river valleys resulted in predictable harvests, which meant that farmers no longer needed to migrate constantly in search of food.

C. Because crops could be cultivated more successfully where farmers were not completely dependent on rainfall, hostilities between groups arose over control of the river systems.

D. The need to organize the effort to ensure the food supply and defend the land led to the formation of elite supervising groups that eventually became the first governments.

E. Increasingly centralized forms of administration resulted in the emergence of social classes and in the development of cities as trade, administration, or religious centers.

F. Unlike other early civilizations, those that developed in the Indus River Valley did not have any spectacular palaces or areas for exclusive use by the authorities.