托福阅读常考话题及练习题推荐四：希腊与罗马（2）

1托福阅读常考话题-希腊与罗马练习题

Paragraph 1: There is a quality of cohesiveness about the Roman world that applied neither to Greece nor perhaps to any other civilization, ancient or modern. Like the stone of Roman wall, which were held together both by the regularity of the design and by that peculiarly powerful Roman cement, so the various parts of the Roman realm were bonded into a massive, monolithic entity by physical, organizational, and psychological controls. The physical bonds included the network of military garrisons, which were stationed in every province, and the network of stone-built roads that linked the provinces with Rome. The organizational bonds were based on the common principles of law and administration and on the universal army of officials who enforced common standards of conduct. The psychological controls were built on fear and punishment—on the absolute certainty that anyone or anything that threatened the authority of Rome would be utterly destroyed.

1. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the paragraph? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

A. The regularity and power of stone walls inspired Romans attempting to unify the parts of their realm.

B. Although the Romans used different types of designs when building their walls, they used regular controls to maintain their realm.

C. Several types of control united the Roman realm, just as design and cement held Roman walls together.

D. Romans built walls to unite the various parts of their realm into a single entity, which was controlled by powerful laws.

2. According to paragraph 1, all of the following are controls that held together the Roman world EXCEPT

A. administrative and legal systems

B. the presence of the military

C. a common language

D. transportation networks

Paragraph 2: The source of Roman obsession with unity and cohesion may well have lain in the pattern of Rome’s early development. Whereas Greece had grown from scores of scattered cities, Rome grew from one single organism. While the Greek world had expanded along the Mediterranean seas lanes, the Roman world was assembled by territorial conquest. Of course, the contrast is not quite so stark: in Alexander the Great the Greeks had found the greatest territorial conqueror of all time; and the Romans, once they moved outside Italy, did not fail to learn the lessons of sea power. Yet the essential difference is undeniable. The key to the Greek world lay in its high-powered ships; the key to Roman power lay in its marching legions. The Greeks were wedded to the sea; the Romans, to the land. The Greek was a sailor at heart; the Roman, a landsman.

3. The phrase “obsession with”in the paragraph is closest in meaning to

A. thinking about

B. fixation on

C. interest in

D. attitude toward

4. According to paragraph 2, which of the following was NOT characteristic of Rome’s early development?

A. Expansion by sea invasion

B. Territorial expansion

C. Expansion from one original settlement

D. Expansion through invading armies

Paragraph 2: The source of Roman obsession with unity and cohesion may well have lain in the pattern of Rome’s early development. Whereas Greece had grown from scores of scattered cities, Rome grew from one single organism. While the Greek world had expanded along the Mediterranean seas lanes, the Roman world was assembled by territorial conquest. Of course, the contrast is not quite so stark: in Alexander the Great the Greeks had found the greatest territorial conqueror of all time; and the Romans, once they moved outside Italy, did not fail to learn the lessons of sea power. Yet the essential difference is undeniable. The key to the Greek world lay in its high-powered ships; the key to Roman power lay in its marching legions. The Greeks were wedded to the sea; the Romans, to the land. The Greek was a sailor at heart; the Roman, a landsman.

5. Why does the author mention “Alexander the Great” in the paragraph?

A. To acknowledge that Greek civilization also expanded by land conquest

B. To compare Greek leaders to Roman leaders

C. To give an example of Greek leader whom Romans studied

D. To indicate the superior organization of the Greek military

Paragraph 3: Certainly, in trying to explain the Roman phenomenon, one would have to place great emphasis on this almost instinct for the territorial imperative. Roman priorities lay in the organization, exploitation, and defense of their territory. In all probability it was the fertile plain of Latium, where the Latins who founded Rome originated, that created the habits and skills of landed settlement, landed property, landed economy, landed administration, and a land-based society. From this arose the Roman genius for military organization and orderly government. In turn, a deep attachment to the land, and to the stability which rural life engenders, fostered the Roman virtues: gravitas, a sense of responsibility, peitas, a sense of devotion to family and country, and iustitia, a sense of the natural order.

6. The word “fostered” in the paragraph is closest in meaning to

A. accepted

B. combined

C. introduced

D. encouraged

7. Paragraph 3 suggests which of the following about the people of Latium?

A. Their economy was based on trade relations with other settlements.

B. They held different values than the people of Rome.

C. Agriculture played a significant role in the society.

D. They possessed unusual knowledge of animal instincts.