toefl真题t2阅读解析翻译

1、The Origins of WritingIt was in Egypt and Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq)t civilizationarose, and it is theret we find the earst examples oft key feature ofcivilization, writing. These examples, he form of inscribed clay tablets t date to shortly before 3000 B.C.E, have been discovered among the archa

2、eological remains of the Sumerians, a gifted people settled in southernMesopotamia.The Egyptians were not far behind in develowriting, but we cannotfollow the history of their writing in detail because they used a perishablewriting material. In ancient times the bs of the Nile were lined withpapyrus

3、 plants, and from the papyrus reeds the Egyptians made a form ofpr, it was excellent in quality but, like any pr, fragile. Mesopotamiasrivers boasted no such useful reeds, but its land did provide good clay, and asa consequence the clay tablet became the standard material. Though clumsyand bulky is

4、a virtue dear to archaeologists, it is durable. Fire, for example,which is death to papyrus pr or other writing materialch as leather andwood, simply bakes ird, thereby making it even more durable. So when aconqueror set a Mesopotamian palace ablaze, he helped ensure the survival ofany clay tablets

5、in it. Clay, moreover, is cheap, and forming ito tablets iseasy, factorst helped the clay tablete the preferred writing materialnot only throughout Mesopotamia but far outside it as well, in Syria, AsiaMinor, Persia, and even for a while in Crete and Greece. Excavators haveunearthed clay tablets in

6、all these lands.he Near East they remained in usefor moren two and a half millennia, and in certain areas they lasted downto the beginning of the common era until finally yielding, one and for all, to more convenient alternatives.The Sumerians perfected a style of writing suited to clay. This script

7、consists of simple shs, basically just wedge shs and linest couldeasily be incised in soft clay with a reed or wooden stylus; scholars havedubbed it cuneiform from the wedge-shd marks (cunei in Latin)t areits hallmark. Although the ingredients are merely wedges and lines, there aredreds of combinati

8、ons of these basic formst stand for different soundswords. Learning these complex signs required long training and much practice,inevitably was largely limited to a small profesal class, the scribes.The Akkadians conquered the Sumerians around the middle of the thirdmillennium B.C.E, and they took o

9、ver the various cuneiform signs used forwriting Sumerian and gave them sound and word valuest fit their ownlanguage. The Babylonians and Assyrians did the same, and so did peoples inSyria and Asia Minor. The literature of the Sumerians was treasured throughout the Near East, and long after Sumerian

10、ceased to be spoken, the Babylonians and Assyrians and others kept it alive as a literary language, the way Europeans kept Latin alive after the fall of Rome. For the scribes of these non-Sumerian languages, training was doubly demanding since they had to know the values of the various cuneiform sig

11、ns for Sumerian as well as fortheir own language.The contents of the earst clay tablets are simple noions of numbersof commodities-animals, jars, baskets, etc. Writing, it would appear, startedas a primitive form of bookke multitudinous things and acts inventories of commoditiesregulations.ng. Its u

12、se soon widened tothet are involved in daily life, from simpletocomplicatedernmentalrulesandArchaeologists frequently find clay tablets in batches. The batches, someof which contahousands of tablets, consist for the most part ofsof the types just mentioned: bills, deliveries, receipts, inventories,

13、loans,marriage contracts, divorettlements, court judgments, and so on. Theserecords of factual matters were kept in storage to be available forreferencethey were in effect, files, or to use the term preferred byspepielistshe ancient Near East, archives. Now and then these files includeof writingt ar

14、e of a distinctly different order, writingst do notmerely record some matter of fact but involve creativeellectual activity.They range from simple textbook material to literature-and they make anappearance very early, even from the third millennium B.C.EParagraph 1It was in Egypt and Mesopotamia (mo

15、dern-day Iraq)t civilizationarose, and it is theret we find the earst examples oft key feature ofcivilization, writing. These examples, he form of inscribed clay tablets t date to shortly before 3000 B.C.E, have been discovered among the archaeological remains of the Sumerians, a gifted people settl

16、ed in southernMesopotamia.1.A.B.C.The word “key” frequent essentialoriginalhe passage is closesteaning toD. familiar1. B：词汇题。两个词都有“关键的，重要的”意思。Paragraph 2The Egyptians were not far behind in develowriting, but we cannotfollow the history of their writing in detail because they used a perishablewritin

17、g material. In ancient times the bs of the Nile were lined withpapyrus plants, and from the papyrus reeds the Egyptians made a form ofpr, it was excellent in quality but, like any pr, fragile. Mesopotamiasrivers boasted no such useful reeds, but its land did provide good clay, and asa consequence th

18、e clay tablet became the standard material. Though clumsy and bulky it has a virtue dear to archaeologists, it is durable. Fire, forexample, which is death to papyrus pr or other writing materialch asleather and wood, simply bakes ird, thereby making it even more durable.So when a conqueror set a Me

19、sopotamian palace ablaze, he helped ensure thesurvival of any clay tablets in it. Clay, moreover, is cheap, and forming itotablets is easy, factorst helped the clay tablete the preferred writingmaterial not only throughout Mesopotamia but far outside it as well, in Syria,Asia Minor, Persia, and even

20、 for a while in Crete and Greece. Excavators haveunearthed clay tablets in all these lands.he Near East they remained in usefor moren two and a half millennia, and in certain areas they lasted downto the beginning of the common era until finally yielding, one and for all, tomore convenient alternati

21、ves.2.A.B.C.The word “virtue”he passage is closest pricedesigndesirable qualityeaning toD. physical characteristic2. C：词汇题。 Virtue 有 “优点”的意思，C 选项符合。3.Which of the sentenbelow best expresses the essential information inthe highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choichange the meaning in impor

22、tant ways or leave out essential information.In part because of its low cost and ease of use, clay became the preferredA.writing material throughout Mesopotamia and wellit.B.Clay was cheap throughout Mesopotamia, so clay tablets from Mesopotamia became the preferred writing material as far as the Me

23、diterranean.For a while, the clay tablets were the preferred writing material in CreteC.and Greece.D. Moreover, because clay was used as the writing material of choice in Mesopotamia, Syria, Asia Minor, Persia, and the Mediterranean, it was cheap and popular.3. A：句子简化题。A 选项体现了原句的主干信息“Clay is cheap,

24、andformingo tablets is easyfactorst helped the clay tablete thepreferred writing material.” 并且逻辑正确。4.A.B.C.D.What can be inferred from paragraph 2 abolay as a writing material?Id to be baked before it could be written on.Its good pos outweighed its bos.Its durability was its most important feature f

25、or its users.It was not available in Egypt.4. B：推理题。本段介绍了 papyrus 的劣势和 clay 的优势，根据原文相关的一句“Though clumsy and bulky is a virtue dear to archaeologists, it isdurable.”可以推断出作者的隐含意思是 clay 的优点多于缺点。5.In paragraph 2, why does the author discuss the Egyptian use of papyrus as a writing material?To describe t

26、he superiority of papyrus over leather and wood as a writing materialTo explain why writing in Egypt did not develop as quickly as it did MesopotamiaTo explain why archaeologists knowledge of the early history of writing res mainly on Sumerian cuneiformTo explain why the Sumerians preferred clay tab

27、lets for writing overpapyrusA.B.C.D.5. D：修辞目的题。根据题干可以定位到原文对 papyrus 的描述是为了引出 Clay 的优点。Paragraph 3The Sumerians perfected a style of writing suited to clay. This scriptconsists of simple shs, basically just wedge shs and linest couldeasily be incised in soft clay with a reed or wooden stylus; scholar

28、s havedubbed it cuneiform from the wedge-shd marks (cunei in Latin)t areits hallmark. Although the ingredients are merely wedges and lines, there aredreds of combinations of these basic formst stand for different soundswords. Learning these complex signs required long training and much practice,inev

29、itably was largely limited to a small profesal class, the scribes.6.According to paragraph 3,all of the following are true of cuneiform writingEXCEPTA.B.C.D.It was comed of very simple shs.It was perfected by the ancient Sumerians.It influenced the choice of material on which it was written. It was

30、understood by very few Sumerians.6. C：否定事实信息题。C 选项中的材料的选择方面在原文根本就没有提到。其他选项都有提及，并且正确。Paragraph 4The Akkadians conquered the Sumerians around the middle of the third millennium B.C.E, and they took over the various cuneiform signs used forwriting Sumerian and gave them sound and word valuest fit their

31、 ownlanguage. The Babylonians and Assyrians did the same, and so did peoples in Syria and Asia Minor. The literature of the Sumerians was treasured throughout the Near East, and long after Sumerian ceased to be spoken, the Babylonians and Assyrians and others kept it alive as a literary language, th

32、e way Europeans kept Latin alive after the fall of Rome. For the scribes of these non-Sumerian languages, training was doubly demanding since they had to know the values of the various cuneiform signs for Sumerian as well as fortheir own language.7.According to paragraph 4, how did the Akkadians use

33、 the Sumerian language?They used Sumerian for speaking but used their own national language for writing.They used the complex cuneiform signs developed by the Babylonians andA.B.Assyrians rathern the Sumerian signs.C.They developed their own cuneiform shthose used by the Sumerians.s on clay tablets

34、to replaceD.They assigned new sound and word values to the signs of Sumeriancuneiform.7.D：事实信息题。 根据题干内容可以定位到原文“and they took overthe various cuneiform signs used for writing Sumerian and gave them soundand word valuest fit their own language.”D 选项是该处信息的同义改写。8.Paragraph 4 answer all the following que

35、stions about Sumerians writing in the period after the Sumerians were conquered EXCEPTDid Sumerians literature continue to be read?Did Sumerians continue to be spoken?A.B.C.D.Did scribes come new texts in Sumerians?Did Sumerians have the same fate as Latin had after the fall of Rome?8. C：否定事实信息题。原文没

36、有提到 Sumerians 编撰 new texts。Paragraph 5The contents of the earst clay tablets are simple noions of numbersof commodities-animals, jars, baskets, etc. Writing, it would appear, startedas a primitive form of bookke multitudinous things and acts inventoriesofcommoditiesregulations.ng. Its use soon widen

37、ed tothet are involved intocomplicateddaily life, from simpleernmentalrulesand9.A.B.C.The word “ include influenceanize”he passage is closesteaning toD. record9. D：词汇题。这两个词都有“记载”的意思。10. According to paragraph 5,writing wasused forA.B.C.D.simpookkengdescription of daily eventscounting the contents of

38、 clay tablets ernment reports10. A：事实信息题。根据题干信息定位到原文“Writing, it would appear,started as a primitive form of bookkeng”。A 选项是该句的同义改写。Paragraph 6Archaeologists frequently find clay tablets in batches. The batches, someof which contahousands of tablets, consist for the most part ofsof the types just me

39、ntioned: bills, deliveries, receipts, inventories, loans,marriage contracts, divorettlements, court judgments, and so on. Theserecords of factual matters were kept in storage to be available forreferencethey were in effect, files, or to use the term preferred byspelistshe ancient Near East, archives

40、. Now and then these filesincludeof writingt are of a distinctly different order, writingstdo not merely record some matter of fact but involve creativeellectualactivity. They range from simple textbook material to literature-and they makean appearance very early, even from the third millennium B.C.

41、E11. The phrase “Now and then”he passage is closesteaning toA.B.C.D.alwaysoccaallysooner or laterand last11. B：词汇题。题干的词组与B 选项的词都是“偶尔，时不时”的意思。12. According to paragraph 6,large batches of clay writing tablets were storedbecause the tabletsA.B.C.D.were being produced quickly and in largetiesdid not se

42、rve any practical pure for most Mesopotamianscontained informationt needed to be available for future referencecould not be used again once they had been written on12. C：事实信息题。根据题干内容定位原文信息“These records octualmatters were kept in storage to be available for reference”。C 选项是此处信息的同义改写。Paragraph 4The A

43、kkadians conquered the Sumerians around the middle of the third millennium B.C.E, and they took over the various cuneiform signs used forwriting Sumerian and gave them sound and word valuest fit their ownlanguage. The Babylonians and Assyrians did the same, and so did peoples inSyria and Asia Minor.

44、 The literature of the Sumerians was treasuredthroughout the Near East, and long after Sumerian ceased to be spoken, the Babylonians and Assyrians and others kept it alive as a literary language, the way Europeans kept Latin alive after the fall of Rome. For the scribes of these non-Sumerian languag

45、es, training was doubly demanding since they had to know the values of the various cuneiform signs for Sumerian as well as fortheir own language. However, the Sumerian language did not entirely disappear.Where would the sentence best fit?13. B：文本题。根据句的转折词However 和not entirely disappear选择点B, 因为B 处后面的

46、信息正是体现了Sumerians 如何treasured 的。14. Directions：Anroductory sentence for a brief summary of the passageis provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answerchoisentent express the most important ideas in the passage. Somedo not belonghe summary because they expreeastare not presented i

47、n the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. Thisquestion is worth 2 pos.The earst example of writing has been foundesopotamiaand date to shortly before 3000 B.C.EAnswer Choiby the Sumerians using wedge-shA. Writing was developedd marksr.(cuneiform) on clay tablets and then by the Egyptians usin

48、g papyrus pB. Scribes using cuneiform in Assyria, Babylon, Syria and Asia Minor had tolearn all the languaget used the cuneiform script.C. Batches of clay tablets, sometimes wiare often found by archaeologists.s marry as a thousand tablets each,D. Writing was inventedhe same areas in which civilizat

49、ion began by theancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Asia Minor and the Mediterranean.E. The development of cuneiform is known because it was written on a long-lasting and because it was long and widely used throughout the ancient Near EastF. Cuneiform tablets generally dealt with business and fact

50、ual matters, butother topics, including literature, were also recorded and valued13. Look at the four squares t indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.14. CEF：小结题。C 选项对应原文的第 6 段，E 选项对应原文的第 3 段主旨，F 选项对应原文的第 4 段主旨。翻译：书写的正是在埃及和美索不达米亚（现代），文明起来了，在那里找到文明，写作的关键特征的最早的例子。这些例子，以到公

51、元前 3000 年的铭在南刻的粘土片的形式，在美索不达米亚。人的考古遗迹中被发现，一个有天赋的人埃及人在开发写作方面并不落后，但不能详细地跟随他们的写作历史，因为他们使用易腐坏的书写材料。 在古代，尼罗河的排列着纸莎草植物，从纸莎草芦苇埃及人做了一种形式的纸，它是优良的质量，但像任何文件，脆弱。 美索不达米亚的河流没有这样有用的芦苇，但它的土地确实提供了好的粘土，因此粘土片变成了标准材料。虽然笨重和笨重，它有一个珍贵的考古学家，它是耐用的。 火，例如，的纸莎草纸或其他书写材料，如皮革和木材，简单地烘烤它硬，从而使它更加耐用。 所以当一个征服者设置美索不达米亚的宫殿燃烧，他帮助确保任何粘土片在它

52、的生存。 此外，粘土是便宜的，形成片剂是容易的，帮助粘土片成为首选的书写材料不仅遍及美索不达米亚，而且远在外面，在叙利亚，亚洲小学，波斯，甚至一段时间在和希腊。 挖掘机在这些土地上出土了粘土片。 在近东，他们继续使用了两个多半年，在某些地区，它们持续到共同时代的开始，直到最终屈服于更方便的替代品。人完善了适合于粘土的写作风格。 这个包括简单的形状，基本上只是楔形和线条，可以很容易地用软木土切割与芦苇或木制手写笔; 学者将它称为楔形标记（拉丁语cunei）中的楔形文字，这是它的标志。 虽然成分仅仅是楔形和线条，但是存在代表不同声音词的这些基本形式的数百种组合。 学习这些复杂的标志需要长时间的训练

53、和许多实践，不可避免类，文士。要限于一个小的专业Akkadians 在公元前三千年中期征服了尔人的各种楔形标志，并给予他们适合自己语言人，他们接管了用于写作和词汇价值。 巴比伦人和亚述人也这样做，叙利亚和亚洲小民族也是如此。人的文学在整个近东地区都很珍贵，在人不再说话之后很长时间，巴比伦人和亚述人以及其他人将它作为一种文学语言保留下来，欧洲人在罗马后仍然活着拉丁。 对于这些非语言的文字，培训是倍增的要求，因为他们不得不知道人的各种楔形标志的价值以及他们自己的语言。最早的粘土片的内容是商品数量的简单符号 - 动物，罐子，篮子等。写作，它会出现，开始作为一种原始的记账形式。 它的使用很快扩大，了涉

54、及日常生活的各种各样的事情和行为，从简单的商品库存到复杂的规章制度。考古学家经常分批找到粘土片。这些批次，其中一些含有数以千计的药片，大部分是上述类型的文件：票据，交货，收据，库存，结婚合同，离婚结算等。这些事实被保存在中以供参考 - 它们实际上是文件，。 现在，然后这些文件包括具有明或者使用古代近东所喜欢的术语，显不同的顺序的写作，不仅仅事实的事情但涉及创造性智力活动的文字。他们从简单的教科书材料到文学，他们出现得很早，甚至在公元前三千年就开始了。Soil FertilizationFertilizerspartiallyrestoreplantnutrientslostbyero, cro

55、pharvesting and leaching. Farmers can use eitheranic fertilizer from plantand animal materials or commerl inanic fertilizer produced fromvarious minerals. Three basic types ofanic fertilizer are animal manure,green manure, and comt. Animal manure includes the waste matter ofcattle, horses, poultry,

56、and other farm animals. It improves soil structure,addsanic, nitrogen, and stimulates benefil soil bacteria and fungi.Despite its effectiveness, the use of animal manurehe United Seshas decreased. There are three reasons for this: the replacement of mostmixed animal-raising and crop-farming operatio

57、ns with separate operationsfrowing crops and raising animals; the high costs of transporting animalmanure from feedlots near urban areas to distant rural crop-growing areas;and the replacement of horses and other draft animalthe soil with tractors and other motorized farm machinery.t added manure to

58、Green manure is freshrowing green vegeion plowedo the soil toincrease theanic matter and humus (degradedanic matter) available tothe next crop. Comt is rich int is a st smelling, dark-brown, humuslike materialanic matter and soil nutrients. It is produced whensoil (mostly fungi and aerobic bacteria)

59、 break downmicroanisms inanic matter such as leaves, food wasters, pr, and woodhe presencet aeratesof oxygen. Comt is a rich natural fertilizer and soil conditionersoil, improves its ability to retain water and nutrients, helps prevent ero,and prevents nutrients from being wasted by being dumped in

60、landfills.Comt is produced by pilling up alternating layers of nitrogen-rich wastes(such as grass clips,ds, animal manure, and vegetable kitchen scraps),carbon-rich plant wastes(dead leaves, hay, straw, sawdust), and topsoil.Comt provides a home for microanismst helpe plant andmanure layers and redu