托福阅读常考话题及练习题推荐一：希腊与罗马（2）

1托福阅读常考话题-希腊与罗马练习题

Paragraph1: After the Roman Empire’s conquest of Britain in the first century A.D., the presence of administrators, merchants, and troops on British soil, along with the natural flow of ideas and goods from the rest of the empire, had an enormous influence on life in the British Isles. Cultural influences were of three types: the bringing of objects, the transfer of craft workers, and the introduction of massive civil architecture. Many objects were not art in even the broadest sense and comprised utilitarian items of clothing, utensils, and equipment. We should not underestimate the social status associated with such mundane possessions which had not previously been available. The flooding of Britain with red-gloss pottery form Gaul (modern-day France), decorated with scenes from Classical mythology, probably brought many into contact with the styles and artistic concepts of the Greco-Roman world for the first time, whether or not the symbolism was understood. Mass-produced goods were accompanied by fewer more aesthetically impressive objects such as statuettes. Such pieces perhaps first came with officials for their own religious worship; others were then acquired by native leaders as diplomatic gifts or by purchase. Once seen by the natives, such objects created a fashion which rapidly spread through the province.

1. The word “mundane” in the paragraph is closest in meaning to

A. material

B. ordinary

C. valued

D. useful

2. Paragraph 1 suggests that one benefit for British natives in buying such items as red-gloss pottery made in Gaul was

A. improved quality of utilitarian items

B. Understanding the symbolism of Classical mythology

C. higher social standing

D. Learning to mass-produce pottery for a profit

3. Paragraph 1 supports which of the following ideas about contacts that existed between Britain and the Roman Empire before the Roman conquest of Britain?

A. They were sufficient for native Britons to become familiar with everyday Roman objects.

B. They were not sufficient for even very basic aspects of the culture of the Roman Empire to find

their way into British life.

C. They were not sufficient for British to have heard of the power of the Roman Empire.

D. They were sufficient for individual Britons to become very interested in trying to participate in the culture of the Roman Empire.

Paragraph 2: In the most extreme instances, natives literally bought the whole package of Roman culture. The Fishbourne villa, built in the third quarter of the first century A.D., probably for the native client king Cogidubnus, amply illustrates his Roman pretensions. It was constructed in the latest Italian style with imported marbles and stylish mosaics. It was lavishly furnished with imported sculptures and other Classical objects. A visitor from Rome would have recognized its owner as a participant in the contemporary culture of the empire, not at all provincial in taste. Even if those from the traditional families looked down on him, they would have been unable to dismiss him as uncultured. Although exceptional, this demonstrates how new cultural symbols bound provincials to the identity of the Roman world.

4. The word “lavishly” in the paragraph is closest in meaning to

A. exclusively

B. additionally

C. appropriately

D. richly

5. According to paragraph 2, the style and furnishings of the Fishbourne villa suggest that the

person for whom it was built was

A. cultured according to the contemporary standards of the empire

B. caught between native and Roman traditions

C. originally a visitor from Rome

D. a member of a socially inferior family

Paragraph 3: Such examples established a standard to be copied. One result was an influx of craft worker, particularly those skilled in artistic media like stone-carving which had not existed before the conquest. Civilian workers came mostly from Gaul and Germany. The magnificent temple built beside the sacred spring at Bath was constructed only about twenty years after the conquest. Its detail shows that it was carved by artists from northeast Gaul. In the absence of a tradition of Classical stone-carving and building, the desire to develop Roman amenities would have been difficult to fulfill. Administrators thus used their personal contacts to put the Britons in touch with architects and masons. As many of the officials in Britain had strong links with Gaul, it is not surprising that early Roman Britain owes much to craft workers from that area. Local workshops did develop and stylistically similar groups of sculpture show how skills in this new medium became widerspread. Likewise skills in the use of mosaic, wall painting, ceramic decoration, and metal-working developed throughout the province with the eventual emergence of characteristically Romano-British styles.

6. The word “sacred” in the paragraph is closet in meaning to

A. holy

B. ancient

C. natural

D. Secret

7. According to paragraph 3, one factor contributing to success of the earliest Roman-style construction projects in Britain was

A. the fact that long before the conquest many civilian workers from Gaul and Germany had settled in Britain

B. the rapid development of characteristically Romano-British styles

C. the availability, in northeast Gaul, of structures that could serve as standards to be copied

D. the use, by administrators, of personal connections to bring craft workers form Gaul into contact with Britons