托福考试(TOEFL)阅读加试之苏美尔文明

lisalee

　　版本一
　　Mesopotamia 的背景：美索不达米亚亚洲西南部 Tigris['taigris]底格里斯河和 Euphrates[ju:'freiti:z] 幼发拉底河 两河流域间的古王国,美索不达米亚古代西南亚介于底格里斯河和幼发拉底河之间的一个地区，位于现在的伊拉克境内。可能在公元前 5000 年以前就开始有人在此定居。这一地区孕育了众多的人类早期文明，其中包括苏美尔文明、阿卡德文明、巴比伦文明和亚述文明。蒙古侵略者在 公元 1258年破坏了该地区发达的灌溉系统之后，这一地区的重要性就此减小。其中巴比伦Babylon 文明以其成就斐然而成为两河流域文明的典范，古巴比伦王国与古埃及、古印度和中国构成了人们所说的世界四大文明古国。
　　尼罗河文明：发源于非洲尼罗河（Nile）流域，又称古埃及文明，其历史也可追溯到公元前 4000 年。公元前 3100 年左右，上埃及国王美尼斯统一上下埃及，开始了史称的埃及王朝时期，也就代表了古埃及文明的
　　正式开始。
　　美索布达米娅文化 Sumerian civilization
　　第一段：美文化和埃及文化同时，但因为美的地域限制一直没有统一。 （有题）平原，经常受到入侵，四周沙漠，生活好，不统一。开头，it is astonishing that...两个地方在同一时间产生了两种文化，并且互有交流。一个是尼罗河的埃及文化，一个是两河流域的 M 地文化。埃及文化仰仗尼罗河，河水孕育了富饶的土地，两岸有沙漠作为自然屏障。M地不一样，河水土地 narrow and shallow,周围没有起保护作用的天然屏障
　　第二段：直到一种 S人来统一，说了他们的来源和历史，他们建立了一种 s文化
　　第三段：S 文化的实物遗迹少，这又两方面原因：一当地石料不丰富二当地人没有厚葬的习惯。所以对 S的了解主要基于文字。当初美索不达米亚的居民生活好像挺好的，所以一直没有人提出统一的想法，很久以后才有，可是由于大量的花费在战争上什么的，很快就覆灭了。由于当时的环境条件，那里的人们都用泥土/木头盖房子，所以和埃及不一样，现在我们没找到什么当初留下的建筑物。 我们现在还挖出了许多陶器石板，上面刻着文字，只能通过这些推知历史。后来又变成什么苏美尔了，这是从外面迁徙过来的民族他那个 city state 具有很大的 influence，文中讲到的是 economic aspect（经济方面）同时，他传话通过一个叫做人君的人传话。讲Mesopotamia 的culture，和Egypt的文化对比。因为两者是两河流域的同时发展起来的文化（考：Mesopotamia 文化是独立于independence Egypt的文化）然后讲述Mesopotamia culture的特点： 建筑物没有Egypt的牢固，文化没有文字记载等。好像有个考题：locationof Ur。）

lisalee

　　下面涂黑的是答案：
　　1.The word astonishing in the passage is closest in meaning to
　　(A) important (B) unknown (C) amazing (D) interesting
　　2.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) A great civilization arose in Mesopotamia, the “land between the rivers” under pharaonic rule.
　　(B) Egypt and another great civilization both developed in Mesopotamia between 3500 and 3000 B.C.
　　(C) A great civilization arose in Mesopotamia between 3500 and 3000 B.C. at the same time that ancient Egypt was being united.
　　(D) As Egypt was being united under pharaonic rule, a great civilization arose there.
　　3.The phrase its substance refers to
　　(A) the political history of ancient Mesopotamia古代美索不达米亚政治的历史
　　(B) divine kingship
　　(C) Egypt
　　(D) the sudden collapse of military power
　　4.The word obscure in the passage is closest in meaning to
　　(A) unclear (B) unique (C) controversial (D) important
　　5.The author mentions Nor did they share the Egyptians’ concern with the hereafter, in order to作者提到 也不分享埃及人关于从今以后的担忧 为了 。。。
　　(A) To provide one explanation for the relatively few physical remains of ancient Sumerian society.为相对少的关于古代苏美尔社会物理遗迹提供一个解释
　　(B) To explain why ancient Sumerian built with mud brick and wood rather than with stone.
　　(C) To help account for the fact that tombs and vaulted chambers have been found only at Ur.
　　(D) To counter the claim that all ancient societies paid great attention to the afterlife.

lisalee

　　6.According to the passage, it can be inferred that the City of Ur is located in Ur 城（乌尔城）位于
　　(A) Egypt (B) Persia (C) northern Mesopotamia
　　(D) near the confluence of Tigris and Euphrates底格里斯河和幼发拉底河的交汇处
　　7.The word vast in the passage is closest in meaning to
　　(A) random (B) very large (C) surprising (D) relatively small
　　8.According to paragraph 2 and 3, the physical characteristics of Mesopotamia affected Sumerian
　　civilization in all of the following ways EXCEPT:
　　根据 2、3、段美索不达米亚影响苏美尔文明，除了哪方面
　　(A) Foreign invasions were made easy.
　　(B) Creating and maintaining political stability was made difficult.
　　(C) Continuity of cultural and artistic traditions could not be achieved. 文化和艺术传统的一致性得不到
　　(D) Sumerian architecture could not produce long-lasting structures
　　9.Look at the four [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the passage.
　　Despite these achievements, scholars know much less about Sumerian life than they would like. 尽管这些成就，学者们对于苏美尔人的生活知道的更少，比起他们爱好什么而言 Where would the sentence best fit? 选第四方块
　　10.According to paragraph 4, what evidence is used to support the claim that the idea of divine ownership was not “a mere pious fiction”? 对于神的所有权并不仅仅“是虔诚的虚构”这一论点支持的证据是
　　(A) The idea of divine ownership originated with the kings of Sumerian city-state.
　　(B) The idea of divine ownership was the reason why a large part of the harvest was offered to the god.
　　(C) The idea of divine ownership eventually came to replace “theocratic socialism”.
　　(D) The idea of divine ownership served as the basis for the economic organization of Sumerian society.
　　神的所有权服务于苏美尔社会的经济组织形式的基础

lisalee

　　11.，The word considerable in the passage is closest in meaning to
　　(A) substantial (B) fixed (C) valuable (D) limited.
　　12，In the above passage, all of the following were true of the local god EXCEPT 哪项不是关于当地的神的事实
　　(A) The local god owned everything and everyone in the city-state.
　　(B) The local god represented the subjects of the city-state to other gods.
　　(C) The local god communicated with the people of the city-state through a human ruler.
　　(D) The local god sometimes fought against the local gods of rival city-states 当地的神有时候同竞争的
　　城邦的神作战
　　13，fill in a table問題
　　Ancient Egyptian Civilization
　　（1）政治统一了很久时间 （2）有相当多建筑物遗址
　　Sumerian Civilization
　　（1） 城邦city-state国家是一个特色（2）从文件中所记载（3）这一个文明受到外部侵略
　　答案
　　1.c, 2.c, 3.a, 4.a, 5.a 6.d 7.b 8.c 9.d 10.a 11.d 12.d 13.a, f / c, d, g

lisalee

　　版本二
　　1
　　It is an astonishing fact that human civilization should have emerged into the light of history in two separate places at just about the same time. Between 3,500 and 3,000 B.C. when Egypt was being united under pharaonic rule, another great civilization arose in Mesopotamia, the “land between the rivers.” And for close to three thousand years, the two rival centers retained their distinct characters, even though they had contact with each other from their earliest beginnings, and their destinies were interwoven in many ways. The pressure that forced the inhabitants of both regions to abandon the pattern of Neolithic village life may well have been the same. But the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, unlike that of the Nile, is not a narrow fertile strip protected by desert on either side. It resembles a wide, shallow trough with few natural defenses, crisscrossed by two great rivers and their tributaries, and is easily encroached upon from any direction.
　　1. The word astonishing in the passage is closest in meaning to
　　(A) important
　　(B) unknown
　　(C) amazing
　　(D) interesting
　　2. 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) A great civilization arose in Mesopotamia, the “land between the rivers” under pharaonic rule.
　　(B) Egypt and another great civilization both developed in Mesopotamia between 3500 and 3000 B.C.
　　(C) A great civilization arose in Mesopotamia between 3500 and 3000 B.C. at the same time that ancient Egypt was being united.
　　(D) As Egypt was being united under pharaonic rule, a great civilization arose there.
　　3.The phrase its substance refers to
　　(A) the political history of ancient Mesopotamia
　　(B) divine kingship
　　(C) Egypt
　　(D) the sudden collapse of military power
　　4.The word obscure in the passage is closest in meaning to
　　(A) unclear
　　(B) unique
　　(C) controversial
　　(D) important
　　5.The author mentions Nor did they share the Egyptians’ concern with the hereafter, in order to
　　(A) To provide one explanation for the relatively few physical remains of ancient Sumerian society.
　　(B) To explain why ancient Sumerian built with mud brick and wood rather thanwith stone.
　　(C) To help account for the fact that tombs and vaulted chambers have been found only at Ur.
　　(D) To counter the claim that all ancient societies paid great attention to the afterlife.
　　6.According to the passage, it can be inferred that the City of Ur is located in
　　(A) Egypt
　　(B) Persia
　　(C) northern Mesopotamia
　　(D) near the confluence of Tigris and Euphrates
　　7.The word vast in the passage is closest in meaning to
　　(A) random
　　(B) very large
　　(C) surprising
　　(D) relatively small

lisalee

　　8.According to paragraph 2 and 3, the physical characteristics of Mesopotamia affected Sumerian civilization in all of the following ways EXCEPT
　　(A) Foreign invasions were made easy.
　　(B) Creating and maintaining political stability was made difficult.
　　(C) Continuity of cultural and artistic traditions could not be achieved.
　　(D) Sumerian architecture could not produce long-lasting structures.
　　9. Look at the four [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the passage. Despite these achievements, scholars know much less about Sumerian life than they would like.
　　Where would the sentence best fit?
　　10.According to paragraph 4, what evidence is used to support the claim that the idea of divine ownership was not a mere pious fiction”?
　　(A) The idea of divine ownership originated with the kings of Sumerian city-state.
　　(B) The idea of divine ownership was the reason why a large part of the harvest was offered to the god.
　　(C) The idea of divine ownership eventually came to replace “theocratic socialism”.
　　(D) The idea of divine ownership served as the basis for the economic organization of Sumerian society.
　　11.The word considerable in the passage is closest in meaning to
　　(A) substantial
　　(B) fixed
　　(C) valuable
　　(D) limited
　　12. In the above passage, all of the following were true of the local god EXCEPT
　　(A) The local god owned everything and everyone in the city-state.
　　(B) The local god represented the subjects of the city-stat to other gods.
　　(C) The local god communicated with the people of the city-state through a human ruler.
　　(D) The local god sometimes fought against the local god of rival city-states.

lisalee

　　SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION 答案
　　1. astonishing = amazing
　　2. sentence simplification =
　　A great civilization arose in Mesopotamia between 3,50 and 3,000 B.C. at the same time that ancient Egypt was being united.
　　3. its substance refers to - the political history of ancient Mesopotamia
　　4. obscure = unclear
　　5. 原文提到 the ancient Sumerians did not “share the Egyptian’s concern with the afterlife 〞之reason原因= to provide one explanation for the relatively few physicaremains of ancient Sumerian society
　　6. the “city of Ur”位置= near the confluence of Tigris anEuphrates rivers.
　　7. vast = very large
　　8. EXCEPT問題= continuity of cultural and artistic traditions could not bachieved.
　　9.不是宗教事 简单的证据= the idea of divine ownership served as the basis for the economic organization of Sumerian society.
　　10. considerable= substantial
　　11. EXCEPT問題= The local god sometimes fought against the local gods of rival city-stated.
　　12. insertion問題=第 4个方块
　　13. fill in a table問題= Ancient Egyptian Civilization
　　]政治统一了很久时间
　　]有相当多建筑物遗址
　　Sumerian Civilization
　　]城邦国家是一个特色
　　]从文件中所记载
　　]这一个文明受到外部的侵略