托福阅读常考话题及练习题推荐二：苏美尔和埃及（2）

1托福常考话题：苏美尔和埃及练习题

►paragraph 1: The city of Memphis, located on the Nile near the modern city of Cairo, was founded around 3100 B.C. as the first capital of a recently united Egypt. The choice of Memphis by Egypt's first kings reflects the site's strategic importance. First, and most obvious, the apex of the Nile River delta was a politically opportune location for the state's administrative center, standing between the united lands of Upper and Lower Egypt and offering ready access to both parts of the country. The older predynastic (pre-3100 B.C.) centers of power, This and Hierakonpolis, were too remote from the vast expanse of the delta, which had been incorporated into the unified state. Only a city within easy reach of both the Nile valley to the south and the more spread out, difficult terrain to the north could provide the necessary political control that the rulers of early dynastic Egypt (roughly 3000-2600 B.C.) required

1. The word "vast" in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. fertile

B. huge

C. unique

D. irregular

2. According to paragraph 1, why was Memphis a better choice for the capital of a united Egypt than either This or Hierakonpolis?

A. Memphis was in a better location for maintaining administrative control.

B. Memphis had long been a regional administrative center by the time Egypt was united.

C. This and Hierakonpolis had never actually been incorporated into the unified state.

D. Egyptian rulers had failed to keep political control over This and Hierakonpolis in predynastic times.

3. It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that one consequence of the unification of Egypt was

A. the reduction of the strategic importance of older centers of power

B. the opportunity for the recently united Egypt to become economically self-sufficient

C. the increase in political tensions between the rulers of Upper and Lower Egypt

D. the reduction of Egypt's dependence upon the Nile for trade and communications

4. Which of the following best describes how paragraph 1 is organized?

A. Two simultaneous developments are described, as well as the reasons why neither one would have occurred without the other.

B. A hypothesis is presented, and then points in favor of that hypothesis as well as points against it are discussed.

C. A major event is described, and then the most obvious effects of that event are presented.

D. A decision is described, and then one likely motivation for that decision is presented.

► paragraph 2: The region of Memphis must have also served as an important node for transport and communications, even before the unification of Egypt. The region probably acted as a conduit for much, if not all, of the river-based trade between northern and southern Egypt. Moreover, commodities (such as wine, precious oils, and metals) imported from the Near East by the royal courts of predynastic Upper Egypt would have been channeled through the Memphis region on their way south. In short, therefore, the site of Memphis offered the rulers of the Early Dynastic Period an ideal location for controlling internal trade within their realm, an essential requirement for a state-directed economy that depended on the movement of goods.

5. According to paragraph 2, when did Egypt import goods from the Near East?

A. Once internal trade was fully controlled from Memphis

B. Not until early dynastic Egypt established its state-directed economy

C. As early as predynastic times

D. Only when local supplies of those goods had been completely used up

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

A. Thus in Memphis, the rulers of the Early Dynastic Period were ideally placed to control internal trade, which they had to do in order to run their economy.

B. Therefore the rulers of the Early Dynastic Period thought Memphis was the ideal location for trade with nearby countries.

C. In short, a state-directed economy like that of the Early Dynastic Period requires choosing a single location to which goods can be moved-Memphis, in this case.

D. In sum, then, a state-directed economy first developed during Egypt's Early Dynastic Period because Memphis was an ideal location for controlling trade.

► paragraph 3: Equally important for the national administration was the ability to control communications within Egypt. The Nile provided the easiest and quickest artery of communication and the national capital was, again, ideally located in this respect. Recent geological surveys of the Memphis region have revealed much about its topography in ancient times. It appears that the location of Memphis may have been even more advantageous for controlling trade, transport, and communications than was previously appreciated. Surveys and drill cores have shown that the level of the Nile floodplain has steadily risen over the last five millenniums. When the floodplain was much lower, as it would have been in predynastic and early dynastic times, the outwash fans (fan-shaped deposits of sediments) of various wadis (stream-beds or channels that carry water only during rainy periods) would have been much more prominent features on the east bank. The fan associated with the Wadi Hof extended a significant way into the Nile floodplain, forming a constriction in the vicinity of Memphis. The valley may have narrowed at this point to a mere three kilometers, making it the ideal place for controlling river traffic.

7. The word "appreciated" in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. proposed

B. understood

C. approved

D. expected

8. According to paragraph 3, recent research into the topography of the Memphis region in ancient times suggests which of the following?

A. The level of the Nile floodplains was much higher in predynastic and dynastic times than in later times.

B. The sediment deposits of wadis were not as noticeable in predynastic and dynastic times than in later times.

C. The Nile valley at the point of Memphis was narrower in predynastic and dynastic times than it was in later times.

D. Frequent rainy periods may have caused a significant reduction of trade traffic during the predynastic and dynastic times.

9. The word "vicinity" in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. center

B. fields

C. city

D. surrounding area