托福閱讀TPO16(試題+答案+譯文)第1篇:TradeandtheAncientMiddleEast
TPO是我們常用的托福?？脊ぞ撸瑢?duì)我們的備考很有價(jià)值，下面小編給大家?guī)硗懈ｉ喿xTPO16(試題+答案+譯文)第1篇:Trade and the Ancient Middle East。
托福閱讀原文
Trade was the mainstay of the urban economy in the Middle East, as caravans negotiated the surrounding desert, restricted only by access to water and by mountain ranges. This has been so since ancient times, partly due to the geology of the area, which is mostly limestone and sandstone, with few deposits of metallic ore and other useful materials Ancient demands for obsidian (a black volcanic rock useful for making mirrors and tools) led to trade with Armenia to the north, while jade for cutting tools was brought from Turkistan, and the precious stone lapis lazuli was imported from Afghanistan. One can trace such expeditions back to ancient Sumeria, the earliest known Middle Eastern civilization. Records show merchant caravans and trading posts set up by the Sumerians in the surrounding mountains and deserts of Persia and Arabia, where they traded grain for raw materials, such as timber and stones, as well as for metals and gems.
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.
This mode of craft production favored the growth of self-governing and ideologically egalitarian craft guilds everywhere in the Middle Eastern city. These were essentially professional associations that provided for the mutual aid and protection of their members, and allowed for the maintenance of professional standards. The growth of independent guilds was furthered by the fact that surplus was not a result of domestic craft production but resulted primarily from international trading; the government left working people to govern themselves, much as shepherds of tribal confederacies were left alone by their leaders. In the multiplicity of small-scale local egalitarian or quasi-egalitarian organizations for fellowship, worship, and production that flourished in this laissez-faire environment, individuals could interact with one another within a community of harmony and ideological equality, following their own popularly elected leaders and governing themselves by shared consensus while minimizing distinctions of wealth and power.
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 tribespeople, 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 ntrepreneurial 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.
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.
托福閱讀試題
1.According to paragraph 1, why has trade been so important throughout the history of the Middle East
A.The rare and valuable metals and stones found in Middle Eastern deserts have always been in high demand in surrounding areas.
B.Growing conditions throughout the Middle East are generally poor, forcing Middle Eastern people to depend on imported grain.
C.Many useful and decorative raw materials cannot be found naturally in the Middle East but are available from neighboring regions.
D.Frequent travel, due to limited water supplies in the Middle East, created many opportunities for trade with neighboring societies.
2.The word “repudiate” in the passage (paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to
A.respect
B.reject
C.review
D.revise
3.According to paragraph 2, how did Middle Eastern shop owners treat their workers?
A.Workers were ranked according to their skill level, with the most-experienced artisans becoming partial owners of the shop.
B.Shop owners treated different workers differently depending on how much the workers had in common with their masters.
C.Workers were bound to their masters by unbreakable contracts that strictly defined the terms of their partnership.
D.The shop owner worked alongside the workers and often considered them partner and members of the family.
4.The author includes the information that surplus was not a result of domestic craft production but resulted primarily from international trading (in passage 3) in order to
A.support the claim that the mode of production made possible by the craft guilds w very good for trade
B.contrast the economic base of the city government with that of the tribal confederacies
C.provide a reason why the government allowed the guilds to be self-controlled
D.suggest that the government was missing out on a valuable opportunity to tax the guilds
5.According to paragraph 3, all of the following are true of the Middle Eastern craft guilds EXCEPT:
A.The guilds were created to support workers and to uphold principles of high-quality craft production.
B.Each guild was very large and included members from a broad geographic area.
C.The leaders of the guilds were chosen by popular vote.
D.All guild members were treated as equals.
6.The word “consensus” in the passage (paragraph 3) is closest in meaning to
A.authority
B.responsibility
C.custom
D.agreement
7.According to paragraph 4, which of the following was NOT necessary for success in themercantile 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 in paragraph 4? 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 (paragraph 4) 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.
11.The word “intrinsically” in the passage (paragraph 5) 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
13. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit? For one thing, it created a demand for finished goods to be sold both locally and abroad.
Paragraph2: Reliance on trade had several important consequences. ■【A】Production was generally in the hands of skilled individual artisans doing piecework under the tutelage of a master who was also the shop owner. ■【B】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. ■【C】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. ■【D】
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.
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.
托福閱讀答案
1.問trade為什么主要，這段第一句就說是mainstay，第二句就給出了原因，說他們沒有這個(gè)沒有那個(gè)，所以答案是C。A說中東有material，明顯與原文說反;B的中東很窮和D的frequent travel原文都沒說。
2.repudiate與……斷絕關(guān)系，駁斥，所以reject正確。原句說師徒之間是一種契約關(guān)系，這個(gè)契約任意一方都可以怎么樣，下一句又說是一種伙伴關(guān)系，也就是沒有強(qiáng)制性，所以答案是任何一方都可以撕毀，所以答案是reject。respect和review都不靠譜;revise單純的改變也不是作者的意思。
3.以shop owners做關(guān)鍵詞定位至第二句，但第二句沒有回答問題，所以往后看，后一句說老板和工人之間的界限被blur模糊了，而且他們同吃同住一起工作，所以答案是D。A的workers rank原文沒說;B說對(duì)不同工人態(tài)度不同，與原文相反;C的unbreakable contract與最后一句相反。
4.修辭目的題，先看修辭點(diǎn)所在句子，只是一個(gè)例子，放棄;往前看，說有行業(yè)協(xié)會(huì)互助互惠，但這明顯也還是一個(gè)例子，所以看本段中心句，說這種生產(chǎn)方式傾向于促進(jìn)自律平等的同業(yè)協(xié)會(huì)的發(fā)展，所以答案是C。
5.EXCEPT題，排除法。A的support workers和uphold principles做關(guān)鍵詞定位至第二句，原文的mutual aid and protection等于support workers，maintaneance of professional standards等于uphold principles，A正確，不選;B的geographic area原文沒有對(duì)應(yīng)點(diǎn)，錯(cuò)，選;C的vote做關(guān)鍵詞定位至最后一句，正確，不選;D的equals做關(guān)鍵詞定位至最后一句，正確，不選。
6.consensus合約，同意，協(xié)定，所以D的agreement正確。原句說人與人之間的關(guān)系非常和諧，他們聽他們領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的話，通過什么實(shí)現(xiàn)自律并盡量減小貧富差距，減小差距就是為了求得某種一致，所以答案是agreement。A權(quán)威，B責(zé)任，C習(xí)慣，都不靠譜。
7.EXCEPT題，排除法。A與倒數(shù)第二句的entrepreneurial skill同義替換，正確，不選;B與倒數(shù)第二句的loyalty of one’s fellow同義替換，正確，不選;C在原文中無對(duì)應(yīng)點(diǎn)，錯(cuò)，選;D與倒數(shù)第二句的steady hard work同義替換，正確，不選。
8.原句的結(jié)構(gòu)是在什么什么人當(dāng)中，什么和什么很重要，在什么什么環(huán)境下。所以B正確。A混淆原文概念，原文說在當(dāng)時(shí)的環(huán)境下只能靠promise形成商業(yè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)，人們和認(rèn)識(shí)的人做生意，不是人們靠promise做生意;C錯(cuò)，原文說沒有regulation，C說反;D錯(cuò)，因?yàn)閛nly原文從來沒說過。
9.ethic道德規(guī)范，倫理，所以A正確。原文說商人和工匠們不能忍受moral superiority，更喜歡open market的什么，既然不喜歡moral superiority，那么他們喜歡的東西也應(yīng)該跟道德有關(guān)，所以答案是A，而B勞力分工C經(jīng)濟(jì)體系和D性格測(cè)試完全不靠譜。
10.以many other people做關(guān)鍵詞定位至最后一句，說如果不滿意當(dāng)?shù)氐纳虡I(yè)環(huán)境，中東商人會(huì)像游牧民族一樣遷移到其他地方，這是其他人做不到的，所以答案是D。
11.intrinsically本質(zhì)的，內(nèi)部的，固有的，所以答案A正確。原句說盡管中部的國(guó)家很富裕而且人口稠密，但他們是怎么樣脆弱的，由于新的國(guó)際貿(mào)易路線可以決定金融資本所在的地方，并且能夠侵蝕國(guó)家的力量，都能侵蝕了，所以應(yīng)該是脆弱的，但前文又說人口密集并且富裕，所以這些都是表象，所以答案是A的fundamentallly基礎(chǔ);B吃驚C結(jié)果D特別都沒反應(yīng)這種內(nèi)外的差別，所以都不對(duì)。
12.修辭目的題，先把本句讀清楚，說新的國(guó)際貿(mào)易路線可以決定金融資本所在的地方，并且能夠侵蝕國(guó)家的力量，接著就說就像達(dá)伽馬發(fā)現(xiàn)了新航路之后歐洲人繞過了中東，所以說達(dá)伽馬的事兒是為了證明航線的發(fā)現(xiàn)能夠削弱國(guó)家的力量，所以答案是B。
13.兩個(gè)過渡點(diǎn)，連詞for one thing和名詞finished goods，既然是for one thing，就應(yīng)該放在比較靠前的位置上，所以A或者B有可能，而放在A正好對(duì)應(yīng)之前的several important consequences;而且finished goods與原文當(dāng)中的production對(duì)應(yīng)，所以A正確。
14.Persian選項(xiàng)是原文第一段中的一個(gè)細(xì)節(jié)，不選;Revenue選項(xiàng)與原文第三段最后一句說反，是貧富差距縮小，不是擴(kuò)大，不選;Qualities選項(xiàng)對(duì)應(yīng)第四段，正確;As選項(xiàng)與原文第三段第一句相反，不選;Crafts選項(xiàng)對(duì)應(yīng)原文第二段和第三段的最后一句，正確;The stability選項(xiàng)對(duì)應(yīng)原文第五段第一句，正確。
托福閱讀譯文
自從中東地區(qū)的商旅們成功跨越周圍的戈壁，只有水路和山巒還是障礙時(shí)，貿(mào)易就成為了中東地區(qū)城市經(jīng)濟(jì)的主要支柱。這種情況(貿(mào)易是主要支柱)從古至今都是如此，一部分原因是中東地區(qū)的地質(zhì)環(huán)境——多為沙石和石灰?guī)r，金屬礦藏和其它有用材料很少。古代對(duì)黑曜石(一種火山巖，可以用來制作鏡子和工具)的需求引發(fā)了(中東地區(qū))與北方的亞美尼亞之間的貿(mào)易;用作切削工具的玉石從土耳其斯坦購買;而稀有貴重的琉璃青金石是從阿富汗地區(qū)進(jìn)口。探險(xiǎn)活動(dòng)最早可以追溯至古蘇美爾——已知最早的中東文明。記錄顯示商隊(duì)和貿(mào)易站由古蘇美爾人在周圍山區(qū)及古波斯和阿拉伯的沙漠地區(qū)建立。
過于依賴貿(mào)易造成了一些重大影響。生產(chǎn)工作一般在師傅也是店主的監(jiān)視下，由熟練的工匠計(jì)件完成。在這些店鋪中，階級(jí)差異并不明顯，因?yàn)楣そ澈偷曛魍谝粋€(gè)相對(duì)舒適的環(huán)境中共事，通常有著相同的宗教信仰，而且又是街坊鄰里，彼此之間還很有可能(沒準(zhǔn)真的)是親戚關(guān)系。工人和店主雙方具有勞務(wù)關(guān)系，任一方都有權(quán)終止，這是合作關(guān)系中的一種。
這種生產(chǎn)模式有助于自主管理制度的發(fā)展，在中東城市里意識(shí)形態(tài)上秉持人人平等的手工行會(huì)比比皆是。他們實(shí)質(zhì)上是專門提供互助且保護(hù)組織成員的協(xié)會(huì)組織，同時(shí)注重維持行業(yè)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。獨(dú)立行會(huì)不斷增加，是因?yàn)槭Ｓ鄡r(jià)值的產(chǎn)生并非由于國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)，而是主要來自于國(guó)際間的貿(mào)易活動(dòng)。政府允許勞動(dòng)人民自主管理，這和部落首領(lǐng)讓牧羊者們離群索居一樣。在當(dāng)?shù)兀瑘F(tuán)體、信仰以及生產(chǎn)方面的小型平等主義團(tuán)體或類似平等主義的組織在這種自由放任的環(huán)境里遍地開花，和諧平等的團(tuán)體中，成員之間相互影響，追隨著他們自己選舉的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人，在縮小財(cái)富和權(quán)力差距的同時(shí)通過分享意見進(jìn)行自我管理。
商品經(jīng)濟(jì)也通過靠貿(mào)易為生的商人所秉持的特定道德立場(chǎng)表現(xiàn)出來。他們具有獨(dú)立自主、精于計(jì)算、敢于冒險(xiǎn)和隨遇而安的優(yōu)秀品質(zhì)。在部落成員之間，人際關(guān)系和謹(jǐn)言慎行的品質(zhì)在監(jiān)管不嚴(yán)的商品經(jīng)濟(jì)中至關(guān)重要,商品經(jīng)濟(jì)里人們出口成契，誠(chéng)信基礎(chǔ)上的非正式聯(lián)系形成了一個(gè)國(guó)際貿(mào)易網(wǎng)絡(luò)。從沒有商人和工匠對(duì)貴族職業(yè)的道德優(yōu)越感如此寬容，這很好地促進(jìn)了開放市場(chǎng)中的平等主義，人們辛勤工作，忠誠(chéng)跟隨，具備企業(yè)家精神非常重要。而且，這和畜牧文明類似，中東的商人和工匠們?nèi)魧?duì)自己所處的環(huán)境不滿意，簡(jiǎn)單收拾一下就可遷移到一個(gè)更加豐茂的牧場(chǎng)——縱觀歷史，如此隨性而為的行為在其他多數(shù)文明中是無法想象的。
對(duì)遠(yuǎn)距離貿(mào)易的依賴也意味著偉大的中東帝國(guó)得以建立在這片飄忽不定卻又無比真實(shí)的沙土之中。帝國(guó)中部盡管非常富足繁盛，但本質(zhì)上脆弱不堪，因?yàn)樾碌膰?guó)際貿(mào)易線路的出現(xiàn)會(huì)動(dòng)搖經(jīng)濟(jì)基礎(chǔ)并腐蝕國(guó)家權(quán)力。就在15世紀(jì)晚期達(dá)伽馬繞過非洲開辟南部航線以后，歐洲的水手們便繞過中東商人改走南部航線了。該地區(qū)的生態(tài)環(huán)境也允許武裝“捕食者”在周圍的荒漠潛行，幾乎很難被帝國(guó)控制。外圍的人借此得到一個(gè)應(yīng)對(duì)中央帝國(guó)的絕好機(jī)會(huì)，這讓政府惴惴不安。
蘇美爾人(也譯作蘇默)，是歷史上兩河流域(底格里斯河和幼發(fā)拉底河中下游)早期的定居民族，他們所建立的蘇美爾文明是整個(gè)美索不達(dá)米亞文明中最早，同時(shí)也是全世界最早產(chǎn)生的文明。
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