2015年3月托福真题回忆及解析

2015年3月托福真题回忆及解析

【导语】有志者，事竟成，破釜沉舟，百二秦关终属楚；苦心人，天不负，卧薪尝胆，三

千越甲可吞吴。永不满足是我向上的动力。以下是无忧考网小编为你搜集整理的2015年3

月部分托福真题，希望可以对你有所帮助！2018年3月托福共举行了三场考试分别是3月7

日、3月14日、3月28日

3月7日托福考试写作真题回忆：

第一套：

Takingchildrentofieldtrips(forexample,toamuseum)isabetter

wayofeducationthanlearningatschoolinaclassroom.

这道题目是一个比较对比类的题目。此类题目在托福写作中是非常常见的。对于这

类题目，我们应该注意的是，在分论点的展开过程中，应该每一段都体现出题目中两

个对象的比较和对比。另外，此题属于校园生活类话题，在历年的托福考题中也并不

鲜见，难度并不大。

例文：

Peoplehavealwaysbeenlookingforeffectivewaystoeducateour

children,whodeterminesthefutureofanation.Inthatcase,some

originalandcreativeteachersstarttheirclasseswithfieldtrips,

whichIbelieveisabetterwaythanlearningatschoolinaclassroom

ineducatingstudents.

Inthefirstplace,goingonfieldtripsenablesthestudentstostudy

activelyandpositively.Theunknownexcitementandadventuresoffield

tripscanalwaysattractthestudentsasitisthenatureofthemtobe

curiousabouttheeventsthattheyrarelyorneverexperienced.Before

thetrips,theywillbesocuriousthattheywilldoresearchonthe

destinations,lookingfortheiroriginandhistory.Andthat

helpswiththeabilitytogaininformationfromavarietyofapproaches,

libraries,magazines,TVprograms,theinternet,andsoforth.Conversely,in

normaleverydayclasses,thestudentshavetostudywhatthetextbooksand

teacherstellthem,wherethereexistsnointernalmotivation,whichisan

essentialpartforefficientlearning,wecanseethatthetraditional

classroomscreatespassivelearning,whereasthefieldtripscontributesmore

toactivelearning.

Inaddition,theactivelearningresultingfromout-of-classroom

activitieslastslongerthanpassivelearningandhelpsthestudents

understandthetheoriesandprinciplesbetter.Asdifferentfieldtrips

possessesdifferentexcitement,studentscuriosityneverreduces.Onthe

otherhand,youngpeoplecan

studybetterbywitnessinghowthetheoriesandprinciplesworkandhowgreat

themasters*worksare.

Studentsrememberthingswhentheyareexperiencinginpersoninsteadof

listeningtostoriesinnormalclassrooms.

Iadmitthattheremightbesomedisadvantagesonthefieldtrips,which

classroomsdonothave.Itmightbehardfortheteacherstoputthe

studentsinorderandensuretheirsecurity.Butaslongaswehaveenough

teacherstakingcareofthemonthetripandtellthemtoobeytherules,

thestudentswillbeeasytodealwithandwecanminimizethepossibility

ofdanger.Asaresult,wecannotsacrificethebeautyoffieldtrips

becauseoftheproblemsthatwecanhandle.

Tosumup,thebenefitsthatfieldtripscanbringisevidentand

schoolsshouldprovidemoreopportunitiesforthestudentstogoonthe

trips.Inthisway,thestudentswillbemoreactiveinlearningandthe

studyefficiencywillbeimprovedandtheywillcreateamorebeautiful

worldforus,usingtheknowledgetheyobtainedoncampus.

第二套：

Peoplewillspendlesstimeincookingandpreparingforfoodin20years.

Doyouagreeordisagree.

此题是一道典型的时间对比类题目，考察的是今明对比，考生选择同一或不同意都

比较好想出理由点，此题的难度也不大。

如果同意可以讲：L生活节奏加快，人们忙于工作;2,高科技厨具的发明，减少了

做饭时间;3,人们生活水平提高了，更愿意买饭，因为更美味。

如果不同意可以讲：1,做饭是一件快乐的事，是减轻压力释放心情的好方法;2,人

们不用忙于工作了，更有时间做饭;3,自己做得更健康，更卫生。

例文：

ThemostunforgettablememoriesinmychildhoodwaswhenIsatinthe

kitchenandwatchmymothercookdeliciousfoodforme.Whilecooking,she

usuallytellsmestoriesandthephilosophyoflifeofthosestories.

Untiltoday,shecooksformeinthewayshedidwhenIwaslittle.

However,intwentyyearsfrom

now,societywillundergogreatchangesandsowillpeople'scookinghabits.

Theywonderfulcooking

momentswillnotappearandpeoplewillspendlesstimeincooking.

Inthefirstplace,thedevelopmentoftechnologyallowspeopletoreduce

thetimespentincookingandpreparingforfood,whichcanbepredicted

throughwhatishappeningnow,comparedwithwhatitwasinthepast.Today,

wehavemicrowaveovens,electromagneticovens,blendersandmanyother

cookerstoacceleratethecookingprocess.Whattookhourshoursforusto

preparecostsonlyafewminutes.Sowecansafelysaythatintwentyyears

fromnow,thetechnologywillbemoreadvancedandcontinuetohelpus

reducethetimeforcooking.Andthenewequipmentwillbewidelywelcomed.

Inaddition,thespeedatwhichpeoplelivewillincreaseandpeople

willbebusier.Withtheincrementofhumanpopulation,thejobmarket

willbemoreandmorefierce.Inordernottogetsweptoutofthework

place,peoplewillhavetodevotemoretotheirworkandleavelesstime

forotheractivitiesinlife,cooking,forexample.Andthisisthereason

whyImentionedthepopularityofnewcookingdevicesinthelast

paragraph.

Usingtheadvancedcookingdevicesisnottheonlywaythatpeopleuse

todealwiththecomplicatedwork.Also,deepdownintheirmind,they

willlovetobuywhatevertheythinkisdelicioustorewardthemselves

forthesacrificeinwork.Theyhavealreadyworkedhardenoughtomakea

livingandthedishesfromgoodrestaurants,whicharemoredelicious

thantheonecookedbythemselves,isexactlywhattheydeserve.Thus,it

isevidentthattheywillcookorpreparefoodbythemselvesless.

Admittedly,somefoodinrestaurantsisnothealthyenoughandis

sometimesnotclean.ButIbelievethat,intwentyyears,thesupervision

ofthegovernmentwillbemorecomprehensiveandwecanminimizethis

kindofproblem.

Howyoucookorwhetheryoucookornotdoesnotmatter.Whatreally

mattersisthehealthandhappiness.Sochoosingahealthierwaytocook

andeatisessentialforthefuturehappiness,whichweallpursue.

第一套

第一章

ColonialAmericaandNavigationActs

讲英国对殖民地推行的NavigationActs，有出口法律限制小商品批发之类的

解析：本文属于历史类文章，关注殖民政策。在之前的TPO文章中少有类似内容，

但是跟经济相关的文章还是有的。从机经要点词来看，内容不太难，但是从之前的

TP0文章判断，历史经济类文章，通常句长偏长，而且阅读时易做脑补，对学员的句

法能力是较大的一个挑战，建议还是平时扎实基本功。

参考阅读：

Throughoutthecolonialperiod,afterthemiddleoftheseventeenthcentury,

theonegreatsourceofirritationbetweenthemothercountryandher

colonieswasfoundintheNavigationActs.Thetwofoldobjectoftheseacts

wastoprotectEnglishshipping,andtosecureaprofittothehomecountry

fromthecolonies.AsearlyasthereignofRichardIIstepshadbeentaken

fortheprotectionofshipping,butnotbefore1651werethereanyBritish

statutesthatseriouslyhamperedcolonialtrade.TheLongParliamentin

1642,exemptedNewEnglandexportsandimportsfromallduties,andafew

yearslaterallgoodscarriedtothesoutherncoloniesinEnglishvessels

wereputonthefreelist

In1651,however,whileCromwellwasmasterofEngland,thefirstofthe

famousNavigationActswaspassed.Thechiefprovisionswere,thatnogoods

grownormanufacturedinAsia,Africa,orAmericashouldbetransportedto

EnglandexceptinEnglishvessels,andthatthegoodsofanyEuropean

countryimportedintoEnglandmustbebroughtinBritishvessels,orin

vesselsofthecountryproducingthem.Thelawwasdirectedagainstthe

Dutchmaritimetrade,whichwasverygreatatthattime.Butitwasnowhere

strictlyenforced,andinNewEnglandscarcelyatall.

In1660thesecondofthesememorableactswaspassed,largelyembodying

thefirstandaddingmuchtoitThisactforbadetheimportingintoorthe

exportingfromtheBritishcoloniesofanygoodsexceptinEnglishor

colonialships2anditforbadecertainenumeratedarticles-tobacco,

sugar,cotton,wool,dyeingwoods,etc.—toheshippedtoanycountry,

excepttoEnglandorsomeEnglishplantation.Othergoodswereaddedata

laterdate.SuchgoodsweretopayheavydutieswhenshippedtoEngland,

andin1672thesamedutieswereimposedongoodssoldfromonecolonyto

another.Hadtheselawsbeenstrictlyenforced,theeffectonthecolonies

thatproducedthe"enumerated"articleswouldhavebeendisastrous,for

theyenjoyedaflourishingtradeinthesegoodswithothercountries.Other

articles,suchasgrain,saltprovisions,andfish,werenotputonthe

list,becausethesewereproducedinEngland,and,hadtheentirecolonial

productionbeensenttothatcountry,theEnglishproducerwouldhavebeen

ruined.3Ricewasalsoallowedtobeshippeddirecttoal1portssouthof

CapeFinisterre.Somethings,however,theParliamentdidpurelytofavor

thecolonies,一itprohibitedtheraisingoftobaccoinEnglandandkept

Spanishtobaccooutbyhighduties,itkeptoutSwedishironbyahigh

tariff,totheadvantageofthecolonies,anditpaidabountyonvarious

colonialproducts.

Inadditiontotheselawsthereweretwootherclassesoflaws,all,

however,belongingtothesamesystem,whichtendedtoimpedethe

developmentofthecolonies,?thecornlawsandthelawsagainst

manufacturing.ThecornlawsintheinterestoftheBritishfarnier,

beginningabout1666,practicallyshutoutfromEnglandgrainraisedinthe

colonies.ThisdroveNewEnglandandNewYorktomanufacturing,andthis

againledEnglandtoforbidmanufacturinginthecolonies.Theselawswere

farmoreeffectivethantheNavigationActs.Itisstatedthatin1708New

Yorkmanufacturedthreefourthsofthewoolenandlinengoodsusedinthe

colony,andalsofurhatsingreatnumbers,manyofwhichwereshippedto

EuropeandtheWestIndies.ThistradewaslargelysuppressedbyEnglish

lawspassedatvarioustimes.In1732anactforbadetheexportingofhats

toEngland,toforeigncountries,orfromonecolonytoanother.Italso

limitedthenumberofpersonsamakerofhatsmightemploy.Ironwasfound

inallthecolonies,andforgesandfurnaceswereestablishedinmany

places.Butin1750Parliamentenacteda

lawdeclaringthat“nomillorotherengineforrollingorslittingiron/'

〃noranyfurnaceformakingsteelshallbeerectedinthecolonies”!After

thisonlypigandbarironcouldbemade.Parliamentalsoenactedlawsat

varioustimesrestrictingthemanufactureofwoolengoods.Theselawsbore

heavilyonthenortherncolonies,butwerelittlefeltintheSouth,where

manufactorieswererare.

ProbablytheharshestofEngland'slawsinthesuppressionofcolonial

tradewastheMolassesActof1733.Bythisactprohibitivedutieswere

placedonmolassesandsugar,fromtheFrenchWestIndiestothecolonies.4

NewEnglandenjoyedagreattradewiththeislands,receivingmolassesand

sugarforflour,stock,lumber,andfish,partofwhichcouldnotbesold

toEnglandowingtothecornlaws.HadtheMolassesActbeenenforced,the

prosperityofNewEnglandwouldhavebeenatanend.

第二篇：

MassProduction:MethodandImpact

讲工业革命造成产品过剩，通过广告和其他一些手段推销产品

解析：本文属于历史类文章，关注的是工业革命与广告的问题。在TPO里有很多关

于工业革命的内容，多讲述能量相关内容，还有关注工人地位的，也有关注广告

的，例如ChildrenandAdvertising，而工业革命与广告联系还是首次提到，但是从

机经关键词判断，难度适中，学员仅需重点关注不同手段的目的即可。

参考阅读：

Theeconomiesofmassproductioncomefromseveralsources.Theprimary

causeisareductionofnonproductiveeffortofalltypes.Incraft

production,thecraftsmanmustbustleaboutashop,gettingpartsand

assemblingthem.Hemustlocateandusemanytoolsmanytimesforvarying

tasks.Inmassproduction,eachworkerrepeatsoneorafewrelatedtasks

thatusethesametooltoperformidenticalornear-identicaloperationson

astreamofproducts.Theexacttoolandpartsarealwaysathand,having

beenmoveddowntheassemblylineconsecutively.Theworkerspendslittle

ornotimeretrievingand/orpreparingmaterialsandtools,andsothetime

takentomanufactureaproductusingmassproductionisshorterthanwhen

usingtraditionalmethods.

Theprobabilityofhumanerrorandvariationisalsoreduced,astasksare

predominantlycarriedoutbymachinery.Areductioninlabourcosts,as

wellasanincreasedrateofproduction,enablesacompanytoproducea

largerquantityofoneproductatalowercostthanusingtraditional,non­

linearmethods.

However,massproductionisinflexiblebecauseitisdifficulttoaltera

designorproductionprocessafteraproductionlineisimplemented.Also,

allproductsproducedononeproduction1inewillbeidenticalorvery

similar,andintroducingvarietytosatisfyindividualtastesisnoteasy.

However,somevarietycanbeachievedbyapplyingdifferentfinishesand

decorationsattheendoftheproductionlineifnecessary.Thestarter

costforthemachinerycanbeexpensivesotheproducermustbesureit

sellsortheproducerswilllosealotofmoney.

TheFordModelTproducedtremendousaffordableoutputbutwasnotvery

goodatrespondingtodemandforvariety,customization,ordesignchanges.

AsaconsequenceFordeventuallylostmarketsharetoGeneralMotors,who

introducedannualmodelchanges,moreaccessoriesandachoiceofcolors.

Witheachpassingdecade,engineershavefoundwaystoincreasethe

flexibilityofmassproductionsystems,drivingdowntheleadtimesonnew

productdevelopmentandallowinggreatercustomizationandvarietyof

products.

Inthe1830s,FrenchpoliticalthinkerandhistorianAlexisdeTocqueville

identifiedoneofthekeycharacteristicsofAmericathatwouldlatermake

itsoamenabletothedevelopmentofmassproduction:thehomogeneous

consumerbase.DeTocquevillewroteinhisDemocracyinAmerica(1835)that

〃TheabsenceintheUnitedStatesofthosevastaccumulationsofwealth

whichfavortheexpendituresoflargesumsonarticlesofmereluxury...

impacttotheproductionsofAmericanindustryacharacterdistinctfrom

thatofothercountries，industries.[Productionisgearedtoward]articles

suitedtothewantsofthewholepeople”.

Massproductionimprovedproductivity,whichwasacontributingfactorto

economicgrowthandthedeclineinworkweekhours,alongsideotherfactors

suchastransportationinfrastructures(canals,

railroadsandhighways)andagriculturalmechanization.Thesefactors

causedthetypicalworkweektodeclinefrom70hoursintheearly19th

centuryto60hourslateinthecentury,thento50hoursintheearly

20thcenturyandfinallyto40hoursinthemid-1980s.

Massproductionpermittedgreatincreasesintotalproduction.Usinga

Europeancraftssystemintothelate19thcenturyitwasdifficulttomeet

demandforproductssuchassewingmachinesandanimalpoweredmechanical

harvesters.Bythelate1920smanypreviouslyscarcegoodswereingood

supply.Oneeconomisthasarguedthatthisconstituted"overproduction〃and

contributedtohighunemploymentduringtheGreatDepression.Say'slaw

deniesthepossibilityofgeneraloverproductionandforthisreason

classicaleconomistsdenythatithadanyroleintheGreatDepression.

Massproductionallowedtheevolutionofconsumerismbyloweringtheunit

costofmanygoodsused.

今日托福考试两套题，新旧题混合，其中第一套里新题偏多。词汇汇总如下:

appreciated=understoodv.理解

autonomous=independentadj.独立自主的

capacityn.能力、容量

confinedto=limitedto局限于

diffusion=spreadn.扩散

drasticallyadj.剧烈地

expectV.期望

extensivelyadv.广阔地

keeppacewith跟保持一致

inevitable=unavoidableadj.不可避免的

component=partn.部分

consequently二thereforeadj.因此

modify=changeV.改变

oblige=requireV.要求

surpass=exceedV.超越

prohibit=preventV..禁止

remarkable=extraordinaryadj.不同寻常的

relentess=unceasingadj.不间断的

significant=considerableadj.大量的

storagen.贮藏

swift=fastadj.快的

ultimately=finallyadv.最终地

uncreasingadj.不停的

vast=hugeadj.巨大的

vicinity=surroundingarean.附近

第Afr-二--A篇-A;：

ArtandCultureofPacificNorthwest

讲的美国土著人的图腾柱与面具制作工艺和它们的图案的含义

解析：本文属于艺术类文章，关注美国土著人的图腾柱以及面具，在TP0里类似的

文章不多，少有的艺术类文章也多关注洞穴艺术、电影等内容，没有专门关注图腾柱

或面具相关内容。但在实战中，对于没有没有遇到过的背景知识，学员无需惊恐，导

致思路不清，一般对于特殊的背景，阅读文章都会先来解决背景的问题才会进入主

题，所以对生僻的知识，学员更需要先理解背景再开始做题。

参考阅读：

AlthoughthedominantcultureinthePacificNorthwesttodayisAnglo-

AmericanandAnglo-Canadian,thereissignificantMexicanandChinese

influence.23%ofVancouver,B.C.isChinese,and50%ofresidentsofthe

CityofVancouverdonotspeakEnglishastheirfirstlanguage.Partsof

OregonandWashingtonarebilingualinbothEnglishandSpanish,andNative

AmericancultureisstrongthroughoutthePacificNorthwest.Thehippie

movementalsobeganinCaliforniaandthePacificNorthwest.Therehave

beenproposalsforcertainpartsofthePacificNorthwestbecomingitsown

countrybecauseofthesharedecoregionandculture,themostwell-known

beingCascadia.However,theregionisstronglydividedbythe

internationalborder,andthisdivisionhasgrownmoreratherthanless

powerfuloverthe20thcentury.CarlAbbottarguesthat,giventhetwin

factorsoflimitedeconomicintegrationvis-a-visNAFTA,andcultural

similarities,heviewsthemajorcitiesas"goingtheirseparateways"as

east-westgatewaysofcommerce,competingwitheachother,ratherthan

formingnorth-southconnectorsofatentative〃megaregion.〃

Cannabisuseisrelativelypopular,especiallyaroundVancouverBC,

Bellingham,Seattle,Olympia,Spokane,PortlandandEugene.Severalof

thesejurisdictionshavemadearrestsforcannabisalowenforcement

priority.MedicalmarijuanaislegalinBritishColumbia,Washingtonand

Oregon,aswellasinAlaska,thoughthatstateprohibitsitssaleandhas

nolicenseddispensaries,andintheYukon,althoughlessthan50ofthe

territory,sresidentsarelicensedtousemedicalmarijuanaandnolegal

dispensariesoperatewithinitsborders.AsofDecember6,2012possession

oflessthananounceofmarijuanaforrecreationalusebypersonsover21

yearsofagebecamelegalinWashingtonstateasaresultofstateballot

measureInitiative502,whichwasapprovedbythestate'svoterson

November6,2012byaten-pointmargin.

ThePacificNorthwesthasthelowestrateofchurchattendanceinthe

UnitedStatesandconsistentlyreportsthehighestpercentageofatheism;

thisismostpronouncedonthepartoftheregionwestoftheCascades.A

recentstudyindicatesthatonequarterofthoseinWashingtonandOregon

believeinnoreligion.Similarly,accordingtothe2011NationalHousehold

Survey,44%ofBritishColumbiaresidentsreportednoreligion.

ReligionplaysasmallerpartinPacificNorthwestpoliticsthaninthe

restoftheUnitedStates.Thereligiousrighthasconsiderablyless

politicalinfluencethaninotherregions.Politicalconservativesinthe

PacificNorthwesttendtoidentifymorestronglywithfree-market

libertarianvaluesthantheydowithmorereligioussocialconservatives.

Thatsaid,threeofthefourmajorinternationalcharitiesintheregion

arereligiousinnature:NorthwestMedicalTeamsInternational,World

Concern,WorldVisionInternational,andMercyCorps.Thisispart

ofalongtraditionofactivistreligion.TheSkidRoadGroup,ashelter

offeringsoupandsermonstotheunemployedandrecoveringalcoholics,was

launchedinVancouver,withtheSalvationArmyhavingdeeprootsinthe

Gastowndistrict,datingbacktotheeraoftheconstructionofthe

CanadianPacificRailway(1880s)andattainedprominenceinthesame

centersduringtheKlondikeGoldRush.

Theregionisalsoknownasamagnetforawiderangeofphilosophicaland

spiritualbeliefsystems.Easternspiritualbeliefshavebeenadoptedbyan

unusuallylargenumberofpeople(byNorthAmericanstandards),andTibetan

Buddhisminparticularhasastronglocalfollowing.TheNorthwestTibetan

CulturalAssociation,claimedtobethelargestorganizationofitskindin

theworld,wasfoundedinPortlandin1993.

TheregionishometomanyuniqueChristiancommunities,rangingfromthe

DoukhoborstotheMennonites.TheMennoniteCentralCommitteeSupportive

CareServicesisbasedinAbbotsford,BC.TheMennoniteCentralCommittee

andtheMennoniteDisasterServiceenjoyaheavyrateofenlistmentand

donationsfromthestrongMennonitecommunityinBritishColumbia，sFraser

Valley.TheDoukhobors,whosechurchistheUnionofSpiritualCommunities

ofChrist,areaRussiananabaptistsectwhosemigrationtoCanadawas

aidedbyCountLeoTolstoyandwhoaretodayfocussedintheWestKootenay

andBoundaryregionsofSoutheasternBritishColumbia,theirhistoryin

Canadaincludesresistancetostateeducationandindustrialdevelopment

(seeSonsofFreedom).Alsowithintheregionthereisafairlystrong

representationofOrthodoxchurches(Greek,Russian,Serbianandothers),

aswellastheUkrainianGreekCatholicChurch.Religiousseesthatare

basedinthePacificNorthwestincludetheRomanCatholicecclesiastical

provincesofPortland,Seattle,andVancouver,Province8oftheEpiscopal

ChurchintheUnitedStatesofAmerica,theAnglicanEcclesiastical

ProvinceofBritishColumbiaandtheYukon,andthesuffragandiocesesthat

makeupthoseprovinces.

Yogicteachings,Sufism,tribalandancientbeliefsandotherphilosophies

arewidelystudiedandappreciatedintheregion.TheLowerMainlandof

BritishColumbiahasaverylargeSikhcommunity.Oregonhasa

considerableQuaker(SocietyofFriends)population.Therehasbeenmajor

growthin

ChineseBuddhisttemplessincetheincreaseinimmigrationfromEastAsiain

the1980s,especiallyinVancouver.

第二套

第一'篇：

版本一：埃及首都的选择。现在这个首都之所以选择是因为可以很好地

administrating,里一个地方很近，其他两个城市都离那个地方很远，而且这个首

者P也很好的tradecommunicate之类的。版本二：讲埃及选都，因为M地也很

容易控制整个埃及，然后可以控制尼罗河的贸易和沙漠中的贸易。古埃及M地选址

的好处，第一段是写地理位置好，有助于管理，是在尼罗河的triangle处；第二段

写政治有利，另外还有一个好处是有利于海上贸易。第二段还提到了outwash

fan(冲积扇)，第三段：除了以上两个好处，M地还有陆上贸易的好处。词汇题：

vast。解析：本文属历史类话题，主要关注埃及选都的原因。从机经回忆来看，文章

结构比较清晰，按照常见的因-果类文章的方式，各段一一解释埃及选择M城的原

因。此类文章在TP0中有很多，是同学务必要掌握并熟悉的文章结构。参考阅读：

IntheEarlyDynasticPeriodabout3150BC,thefirstoftheDynastic

pharaohssolidifiedtheircontroloverlowerEgyptbyestablishinga

capitalatMemphis,fromwhichtheycouldcontrolthelaborforceand

agricultureofthefertiledeltaregionaswellasthelucrativeand

criticaltraderoutestotheLevantTheincreasingpowerandwealthofthe

pharaohsduringtheearlydynasticperiodwasreflectedintheirelaborate

mastabatombsandmortuarycultstructuresatAbydos,whichwereusedto

celebratethedeifiedpharaohafterhisdeath.Thestronginstitutionof

kingshipdevelopedbythepharaohsservedtolegitimizestatecontrolover

theland,labor,andresourcesthatwereessentialtothesurvivaland

growthofancientEgyptiancivilization.

AncientMemphisislocatedabout27kmsouthofitsdescendant,themodern

capitalCairo,atandaroundthetownofMitRahina.Memphiswasrecurrently

theadministrativecentreofthepoliticallyunifiedstateofEgyptin

Pharaonictimes:itwasfoundedabout3000BCtocontrolthetradeand

travelroutesthatconvergedontheNileValleyfromthedeltatothenorth

andfromtheRedSeaandSaharanoasesviacaravanroutesacrossthe

easternandwesterndesertsrespectively.Althoughtherewerescattered

agriculturalandlight-industrialsitesinthisregionasearlyas3400BC,

thereissofarnoevidenceofanylargeconurbationbefore3000BC,the

beginningoftheDynasticperiod.

AttheheightofitspoliticalimportanceMemphiswasavastmetropolis

thatstretchedatleast10kmfromnorthtosouthalongthewestbankof

theNile.Itsnecropolis(cemeteryarea),whichisrepresentedbythe

distributionofpyramidsites,wasevenlonger,boundedinthenorthbyAbu

RawashandextendingsouththroughGiza,Abusir,Saqqara,Dahshurand

Mazghuna,withasouthernoutlierfartothesouthatMeidum.Thecent