TPO托福阅读练习题37及参考答案（九）

　　Paragraph 1 There is evidence of agriculture in Africa prior to 3000 B.C. It may have developed independently, but many scholars believe that the spread of agriculture and iron throughout Africa linked it to the major centers of the Near East and Mediterranean world. The drying up of what is now the Sahara desert had pushed many peoples to the south into sub-Sahara Africa. These peoples settled at first in scattered hunting-and-gathering bands, although in some places near lakes and rivers, people who fished, with a more secure food supply, lived in larger population concentrations. Agriculture seems to have reached these people from the Near East, since the first domesticated crops were millets and sorghums whose origins are not African but west Asian. Once the idea of planting diffused, Africans began to develop their own crops, such as certain varieties of rice, and they demonstrated a continued receptiveness to new imports. The proposed areas of the domestication of African crops lie in a band that extends from Ethiopia across southern Sudan to West Africa. Subsequently, other crops, such as bananas, were introduced from Southeast Asia.

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

　　○emerged

　　○was understood

　　○spread

　　○developed

　　2. According to paragraph 1, why do researchers doubt that agriculture developed independently in Africa?

　　○African lakes and rivers already provided enough food for people to survive without agriculture.

　　○The earliest examples of cultivated plants discovered in Africa are native to Asia.

　　○Africa's native plants are very difficult to domesticate.

　　○African communities were not large enough to support agriculture.

　　3. In paragraph 1, what does the author imply about changes in the African environment during this time period?

　　○The climate was becoming milder, allowing for a greater variety of crops to be grown.

　　○Although periods of drying forced people south, they returned once their food supply was secure.

　　○Population growth along rivers and lakes was dramatically decreasing the availability of fish.

　　○A region that had once supported many people was becoming a desert where few could survive

　　Paragraph 2 Livestock also came from outside Africa. Cattle were introduced from Asia, as probably were domestic sheep and goats. Horses were apparently introduced by the Hyksos invaders of Egypt (1780-1560 B.C.) and then spread across the Sudan to West Africa. Rock paintings in the Sahara indicate that horses and chariots were used to traverse the desert and that by 300-200 B.C., there were trade routes across the Sahara. Horses were adopted by peoples of the West African savannah, and later their powerful cavalry forces allowed them to carve out large empires. Finally, the camel was introduced around the first century A.D. This was an important innovation, because the camel's abilities to thrive in harsh desert conditions and to carry large loads cheaply made it an effective and efficient means of transportation. The camel transformed the desert from a barrier into a still difficult, but more accessible, route of trade and communication.

　　4. According to paragraph 2,camels were important because they

　　○were the first domesticated animal to be introduced to Africa

　　○allowed the people of the West African savannahs to carve out large empires

　　○helped African peoples defend themselves against Egyptian invaders

　　○made it cheaper and easier to cross the Sahara

　　5. According to paragraph 2, which of the following were subjects of rock paintings in the Sahara?

　　○Horses and chariots

　　○Sheep and goats

　　○Hyksos invaders from Egypt

　　○Camels and cattle

　　Paragraph 3 Iron came from West Asia, although its routes of diffusion were somewhat different than those of agriculture. Most of Africa presents a curious case in which societies moved directly from a technology of stone to iron without passing through the intermediate stage of copper or bronze metallurgy, although some early copper-working sites have been found in West Africa. Knowledge of iron making penetrated into the forest and savannahs of West Africa at roughly the same time that iron making was reaching Europe. Evidence of iron making has been found in Nigeria, Ghana, and Mali.

　　6. What function does paragraph 3 serve in the organization of the passage as a whole

　　○It contrasts the development of iron technology in West Asia and West Africa.

　　○It discusses a non-agricultural contribution to Africa from Asia.

　　○It introduces evidence that a knowledge of copper working reached Africa and Europe at the same time.

　　○It compares the rates at which iron technology developed in different parts of Africa.

　　Paragraph 4 This technological shift cause profound changes in the complexity of African societies. Iron represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and functions. Iron hoes, which made the land more productive, and iron weapons, which made the warrior more powerful, had symbolic meaning in a number of West Africa societies. Those who knew the secrets of making iron gained ritual and sometimes political power.

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

　　○fascinating

　　○far-reaching

　　○necessary

　　○temporary

　　8. The word "ritual" in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　○military

　　○physical

　　○ceremonial

　　○permanent

　　9. According to paragraph 4, all of the following were social effects of the new metal technology in Africa EXCEPT:

　　○Access to metal tools and weapons created greater social equality.

　　○Metal weapons increased the power of warriors.

　　○Iron tools helped increase the food supply.

　　○Technical knowledge gave religious power to its holders.