【文章內容簡介】 the light of history in two separate places at just about the same time. Between 3,500 and 3,000 . when Egypt was being united under pharaonic rule, another great civilization arose in Mesopotamia, the “l(fā)and 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 “l(fā)and between the rivers” under pharaonic rule. (B) Egypt and another great civilization both developed in Mesopotamia between 3500 and 3000 . (C) A great civilization arose in Mesopotamia between 3500 and 3000 . at the same time that ancient Egypt was being united. (D) As Egypt was being united under pharaonic rule, a great civilization arose there. phrase its substance refers to (A) the political history of ancient Mesopotamia (B) divine kingship (C) Egypt (D) the sudden collapse of military power word obscure in the passage is closest in meaning to (A) unclear (B) unique (C) controversial (D) important 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. 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 word vast in the passage is closest in meaning to (A) random (B) very large (C) surprising (D) relatively small 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 longlasting 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? 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 citystate. (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. word considerable in the passage is closest in meaning to (A) substantial (B) fixed (C) valuable (D) limited12. 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 citystate. (B) The local god represented the subjects of the citystat to other gods. (C) The local god municated with the people of the citystate through a human ruler. (D) The local god sometimes fought against the local god of rival citystates. SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION 答案 1. astonishing = amazing 2. sentence simplification = A great civilization arose in Mesopotamia between 3,50 and 3,000 . 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. 簡單的證據(jù)= 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 citystated. 12. insertion問題=第 4個方塊 13. fill in a table問題= Ancient Egyptian Civilization ]政治統(tǒng)一了很久時間 ]有相當多建筑物遺址 Sumerian Civilization ]城邦國家是一個特色 ]從文件中所記載 ]這一個文明受到外部的侵略五、 托福閱讀經(jīng)典加試三: 威尼斯鹽業(yè)版本一： 說威尼斯的鹽事業(yè)，說威尼斯本來自己產(chǎn)鹽，跟另外一個城市競爭， 但是威尼斯的鹽是細鹽，要粗鹽還要進口，另外自然災害來了，那個威尼斯專門產(chǎn)鹽的地方被端了，所以他只能進口了（有兩項選擇）。然后說沒想到，威尼斯做鹽貿易作發(fā)財了，然后越做越好，鹽的貿易刺激了其他產(chǎn)品的買賣，然后還說政府制定一些規(guī)定，說政府雖然不擁有鹽，