【考托阅读资料】小站独家深度解析官方原题Official33——阅读

官方真题Official 33 Reading

The First Civilizations

Evidence suggests that an important stimulus behind the rise of early civilizations was the development of settled agriculture, which unleashed a series of changes in the organization of human communities that culminated in the rise of large ancient empires.

The exact time and place that crops were first cultivated successfully is uncertain. Many prehistorians believe that farming may have emerged in dependently in several different areas of the world when small communities, driven by increasing population and a decline in available food resources, began to plant seeds in the ground in an effort to guarantee their survival. The first farmers, who may have lived as long as 10,000 years ago, undoubtedly used simple techniques and still relied primarily on other forms of food production, such as hunting, foraging, or pastoralism. The real breakthrough took place when farmers began to cultivate crops along the floodplains of river systems. The advantage was that crops grown in such areas were not as dependent on rainfall and therefore produced a more reliable harvest. An additional benefit was that the sediment carried by the river waters deposited nutrients in the soil, thus enabling the farmer to cultivate a single plot of ground for many years without moving to a new location. Thus, the first truly sedentary (that is, nonmigratory) societies were born. As time went on, such communities gradually learned how to direct the flow of water to enhance the productive capacity of the land, while the introduction of the iron plow eventually led to the cultivation of heavy soils not previously susceptible to agriculture.

The spread of this river valley agriculture in various parts of Asia and Africa was the decisive factor in the rise of the first civilizations. The increase in food production in these regions led to a significant growth in population, while efforts to control the flow of water to maximize the irrigation of cultivated areas and to protect the local inhabitants from hostile forces outside the community provoked the first steps toward cooperative activities on a large scale. The need to oversee the entire process brought about the emergence of an elite that was eventually transformed into a government.

The first clear steps in the rise of the first civilizations took place in the fourth and third millennia B.C. in Mesopotamia, northern Africa, India, and China. How the first governments took shape in these areas is not certain, but anthropologists studying the evolution of human communities in various parts of the world have discovered that one common stage in the process is the emergence of what are called “big men” within a single village or a collection of villages. By means of their military prowess, dominant personalities, or political talents, these people gradually emerge as the leaders of that community. In time, the “big men” become formal symbols of authority and pass on that authority to others within their own family. As the communities continue to grow in size and material wealth, the “big men” assume hereditary status, and their allies and family members are transformed into a hereditary monarchy.

The appearance of these sedentary societies had a major impact on the social organizations, religious beliefs, and way of life of the peoples living within their boundaries.■With the increase in population and the development of centralized authority came the emergence of the cities.■While some of these urban centers were identified with a particular economic function, such as proximity to gold or iron deposits or a strategic location on a major trade route, others served primarily as administrative centers or the site of temples for the official cult or other ritual observances.■Within these cities, new forms of livelihood appeared to satisfy the growing need for social services and consumer goods.■Some people became artisans or merchants, while others became warriors, scholars, or priests. In some cases, the physical division within the first cities reflected the strict hierarchical character of the society as a whole, with a royal palace surrounded by an imposing wall and separate from the remainder of the urban population. In other instances, such as the Indus River Valley, the cities lacked a royal precinct and the ostentatious palaces that marked their contemporaries elsewhere.

官方真题Official33阅读解析完全版请点击查看：《小站独家深度解析官方真题Official33阅读答案详解》
Paragraph 1

Evidence suggests that an important stimulus behind the rise of early civilizations was the development of settled agriculture, which unleashed a series of changes in the organization of human communities that culminated in the rise of large ancient empires.

1. The phrase “culminated in” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. reached a high point with

B. logically followed from

C. partly contributed to

D. marked

答案 A

解析 词汇题：culminate，达到顶点、高潮，对应A选项：达到高点。

官方真题Official33阅读解析完全版请点击查看：《小站独家深度解析官方真题Official33阅读答案详解》
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.

The practice of settled agriculture in some areas of Asia and Africa was crucial to the development of early civilizations.

Answer Choices:

A. Prehistorians disagree as to whether early farmers first cultivated crops along floodplains or first tried cultivating crops in less successful environments.

错。定位第二段: 没有出现disagree, less successful environments的相关概念。

B. Cultivation in fertile river valleys resulted in predictable harvests, which meant thatfarmers no longer needed to migrate constantly in search of food.

正确。对应第二段An additional benefit was that the sediment carried by the river waters deposited nutrients in the soil, thus enabling the farmer to cultivate a single plot of ground for many years without moving to a new location. Thus, the first truly sedentary (that is, nonmigratory) societies were born.因为土壤中含有丰富的营养，所以一块地农民可以种很多年，因此就不用迁移到别的地方，最后就定居了。

C. Because crops could be cultivated more successfully where farmers were notcompletely dependent on rainfall, hostilities between groups arose over control of the river systems.

错。定位第二, 三段。The advantage was that crops grown in such areas were not as dependent on rainfall and therefore produced a more reliable harvest. The increase in food production in these regions led to a significant growth in population, while efforts to control the flow of water to maximize the irrigation of cultivated areas and to protect the local inhabitants from hostile forces outside the community provoked the first steps toward cooperative activities on a large scale. 原句是转折关系，不是因果关系。

D. The need to organize the effort to ensure the food supply and defend the land led to the formation of elite supervising groups that eventually became the first governments.

正确。对应第三段的核心主旨：政府的形成。

E. Increasingly centralized forms of administration resulted in the emergence of social classes and in the development of cities as trade, administration, or religious centers.

正确。对应第五段核心意思：中央集权导致了社会阶层和不同功能城市的形成。

F. Unlike other early civilizations, those that developed in the Indus River Valley did not have any spectacular palaces or areas for exclusive use by the authorities.

错。定位第五段：In other instances, such as the Indus River Valley, the cities lacked a royal precinct and the ostentatious palaces that marked their contemporaries elsewhere. 意思是说Indus River Valley这个地方没有华丽的宫殿来代表权力。虽然F选项没有什么太大的错误，但它属于段落细节，可以参照E选项正确的原因。

答案：BDE

官方真题Official33阅读解析完全版请点击查看：《小站独家深度解析官方真题Official33阅读答案详解》