托福阅读常考话题及练习题推荐二：希腊与罗马（3）

1   托福阅读常考话题-希腊与罗马练习题

Paragraph 4: This implied that the city-state was based on the idea that citizens were not specialists but had multiple interests and talents——each a so-called jack-of-all-trades who could engage in many areas of life and politics. It implied a respect for the wholeness of life and a consequent dislike of specialization. ■ It implied economic and military self-sufficiency. ■ But with the development of trade and commerce in Alexander’s empire came the growth of cities; it was no longer possible to be a jack-of-all-trades. ■ One now had to specialize, and with specialization came professionalism. ■ There were getting to be too many persons to know, an easily observable community of interests was being replaced by a multiplicity of interests. The city-state was simply too "small-time."

8. According to paragraph 4, Alexander's empire was characterized by all of the following EXCEPT

A. decreased need for military control

B. growing professionalism

C. growth of cities

D. specialization in trades

Paragraph 5: Third, Greek philosophy was opened up to the philosophy and religion of the East At the peak of the Greek city-state, religion played an important part. Its gods—such as Zeus, father of the gods, and his wife Hera—were thought of very much as being like human beings but with superhuman abilities. Their worship was linked to the rituals connected with one’s progress through life—birth, marriage, and death— and with invoking protection against danger, making prophecies, and promoting healing, rather than to any code of behavior. Nor was there much of a theory of afterlife.

9. The word “peak” in the paragraph is closest in meaning to

A. end

B. command

C. high point

D. beginning

10. According to paragraph 5, religion in the Greek city-state involved

A. a set of rules governing behavior

B. a detailed conception of life after death

C. rituals related to significant life events

D. worship of gods who were not like humans

Paragraph 6: Even before Alexander’s time, a life spent in the service of their city-state no longer seemed ideal to Greeks The Athenian philosopher Socrates (470-399 B.C.) was the first person in Greece to propose a morality based on individual conscience rather than the demands of the state, and for this he was accused of not believing in the city’s gods and so corrupting the youth, and he was condemned to death. Greek philosophy—or even a focus on conscience—might complement religion but was no substitute for it, and this made Greeks receptive to the religious systems of the Middle East, even if they never adopted them completely. The combination of the religious instinct of Asia with the philosophic spirit of Greece spread across the world in the era after Alexander’s death, blending the culture of the Middle East with the culture of Greece.

11. According to paragraph 6，what was the basis for the accusation against Socrates?

A. He encouraged people to be guided by their own consciences instead of by the state.

B. He stated that people had a duty to fight against the corruption of their leaders.

C. He reasoned that the needs of the youth were more important than the needs of the state.

D. He argued that people’s behavior should be guided by the religious systems of the Middle East.

Paragraph 7: Even before Alexander’s time, a life spent in the service of their city-state no longer seemed ideal to Greeks The Athenian philosopher Socrates (470-399 B.C.) was the first person in Greece to propose a morality based on individual conscience rather than the demands of the state, and for this he was accused of not believing in the city’s gods and so corrupting the youth, and he was condemned to death. Greek philosophy—or even a focus on conscience—might complement religion but was no substitute for it, and this made Greeks receptive to the religious systems of the Middle East, even if they never adopted them completely. The combination of the religious instinct of Asia with the philosophic spirit of Greece spread across the world in the era after Alexander’s death, blending the culture of the Middle East with the culture of Greece.

12.The word "propose" in the paragraph is closest in meaning to

A. suggest

B. deny

C. consider

D. question

Paragraph 4: This implied that the city-state was based on the idea that citizens were not specialists but had multiple interests and talents——each a so-called jack-of-all-trades who could engage in many areas of life and politics. It implied a respect for the wholeness of life and a consequent dislike of specialization. ■ It implied economic and military self-sufficiency. ■ But with the development of trade and commerce in Alexander’s empire came the growth of cities; it was no longer possible to be a jack-of-all-trades. ■ One now had to specialize, and with specialization came professionalism. ■ There were getting to be too many persons to know, an easily observable community of interests was being replaced by a multiplicity of interests. The city-state was simply too "small-time."

13. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the paragraph.

Likewise, the collective decision-making process of the open marketplace was no longer practical.

Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the paragraph.

14. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the paragraph is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the paragraph Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the paragraph or are minor ideas in the paragraph. This question is worth 2 points.

Alexander the Great’s creation of a vast empire had important consequences for Greece and the conquered areas of southwest Asia.

Answer choices

A. Scholars from Antioch, Alexandria, and other Middle Eastern cultural centers came to Greece to study the Greek language and culture.

B. Increasing urbanization and the elimination of trade barriers meant the end of the Greek city-state and the creation of a much larger political and economic body.

C. The professionalism and specialization so prized by the ancient Greeks were replaced by a more generalized philosophy of education in the empire.

D. The expansion of Alexander’s empire led to the diffusion of Greek language, literature, and thought throughout the Middle East.

E. The empire saw the birth of a new culture, merging Greek philosophical ideas with the religious spirit of Asia.

F. Religion played an important part in the expansion of the empire, as Alexander introduced Zeus and the other Greek gods to Asia.