【正文】 , however, such as those that arose in the Levant and eastern Mediterranean, took advantage of their location on munication routes to pursue economies based on trade. Paragraph1: Starting around 8000 ., the most extensive exploitation of agriculture occurred in river valleys, where there were both good soil and a dependable water supply regardless of the amount of rainfall. In the Near East, this happened in the Fertile Crescent, the region extending up the Nile Valley in Egypt, north through the Levant (Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria), and southeast into the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys of Mesopotamia. The richest soil was located in the deltas at the mouths of the rivers, but the deltas were swampy and subject to flooding. Before they could be farmed, they needed to be drained and irrigated, and floodcontrol systems had to be constructed. These activities required administrative anization and the ability to mobilize large pools of labor. In Mesopotamia, perhaps as a consequence of a period of drought, massive landuse projects were undertaken after 4000 . to cultivate the rich delta soils of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The land was so productive that many more people could be fed, and a great population explosion resulted. Villages grew into cities of tens of thousands of persons. 1. Which of the following helps explain why the most extensive exploitation of agriculture occurred in river valleys? ? In river valleys farmers did not have to depend on rain for water. ? The soil in river valleys did not require irrigation. ? Swampy areas in river valleys were easy to drain. ? The expanding populations in river valleys provided large pools of labor. 2. Why does the author mention a period of drought? ? To help explain why the richest soils in the Near East were located in the deltas at the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers ? To suggest a reason for undertaking the massive effort to make the deltas of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers farmable ? To identify a condition that often affected agricultural production in Mesopotamia ? To support the idea that mobilizing large pools of labor after 4000 . required significant administrative anization 3. According to paragraph 1, what was one result of the farming systems developed in river deltas in the Near East? ? There was a large increase in the overall amount of food produced ? Large pools of labor became available to perform administrative tasks. ? The soil in these deltas grew much richer. ? The number of farming villages surrounding cities increased. Paragraph 2: These large cities needed some form of centralized administration. Archaeological evidence indicates that the anization initially was provided by religion, for the largest building in each city was a massive temple honoring one of the Mesopotamian gods. In Uruk, for example, a 60foot long temple known as the White House was built before 3000 . There were no other large public buildings, suggesting that the priests who were in charge of the temples also were responsible for governing the city and anizing people to work in the fields and on irrigation projects building and maintaining systems of ditches and dams. 4. According to paragraph 2, the fact that temples appear to have be en the only large public buildings in Mesopotamian cities has been interpreted as evidence that these cities ? needed some form of central administration ? were initially administered by priests ? were all governed from Uruk ? had difficulty anizing workers for building projects Paragraph 3: The great concentration of wealth and resources in the river valleys brought with it further technological advances, such as wheeled vehicles, multicolored pottery and the pottery wheel, and the weaving of wool garments. Advances in metal technology just before 2020 . resulted in the creation of bronze, a durable alloy (or mixture) of about 90 percent copper and 10 percent tin that provided a sharp cutting edge for weapons. 5. The word “durable” in the passage is closest in meaning to ? existing for a long time without significant damage ? difficult to produce ? recently discovered ? extremely useful 6. Paragraph 3 indicates that technological advances affected all of the following EXCEPT ? transportation ? clothing manufacture ? warfare and hunting ? the distribution of wealth and resources Paragraph 4: By 3000 ., the economies and administrations of Mesopotamia and Egypt had bee so plex that some form of record keeping was needed. As a result, writing was invented. Once a society became literate, it passed from the period known as prehistory into the historic period. In fact, the word history es from a Greek word meaning narrative people could not provide a detailed permanent account of their past until they were able to write. 7. According to paragraph 4, why was writing invented ? To reduce unnecessary social plexity ? To keep economic and administrative records ? To record oral historical narratives ? To help people better understand their own past Paragraph 5: The totality of these developments resulted in the appearance, around 300 ., of a new form of culture called civilization. The first civilizations had several defining characteristics. They had economies based on agriculture. They had cities that functioned as administrative centers and usually had large populations. They had different social classes, such as free persons and slaves. They had specialization of labor, that is, different people serving, for example, as rulers, priests, craft workers, merchants, soldiers, and farmers. And they had metal technology and a system of writing. As of 3000 ., civilization in these terms existed in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. 8. The word