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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.
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
rding to paragraph 2, which of the following statements is true of early farmers?
A)They used farming to supplement other food sources.
B)They were driven out of small communities.
C)They were victims of flooding.
D)They farmed several plots of land at once.
word “undoubtedly” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A)increasingly
B)certainly
C)in general
D)apparently
rding to paragraph 2, what are TWO reasons why farmers chose river valleys for cultivation? To receive credit you must select TWO answer choices.
A)The soils in river valleys were rich in nutrients.
B)The crops grown in river valleys were not completely dependent on rainwater.
C)Farming techniques could not be easily applied to soils far from rivers.
D)The heavier weight of river soil resulted in more reliable harvests.
word “enhance” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A)serve
B)improve
C)control
D)protect
word “provoked” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A)secured
B)coordinated
C)modeled
D)brought about
rding to paragraph 3, which of the following is NOT a reason why governments first arose among agricultural communities?
A)A significant increase in population
B)The desire to control water resources for irrigation
C)The need for protection from outside forces
D)The demand for organized communication with other communities
rding to paragraph 4, what is not known about the rise of the first civilizations?
A)Where the first steps toward civilization took place
B)Who was allowed to replace “big men” after the “big men” died
C)Why some individuals became recognized as leaders
D)How governments emerged
is the relationship between paragraphs 3 and 4 in the passage?
A)Paragraph 3 explains why a need for leadership arose in early civilizations, and paragraph 4 describes how that leadership developed.
B)Paragraph 3 suggests that agriculture was first practiced in Asia and Africa, and paragraph 4 discusses how it might have later spread to the rest of the world.
C)Paragraph 3 describes several methods of early government, and paragraph 4 gives an extended example of one of them.
D)Paragraph 3 discusses a cause of the spread of river valley agriculture in early civilizations, and paragraph 4 discusses an effect.
h 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)Some cities were associated with economic activities, while others were government or religious centers.
B)Emerging cities generally served strategic administrative, economic, and religious purposes.
C)The creation of an economic or administrative activity led to the emergence of a city for its proper supervision.
D)Some cities emerged as economic centers and later became the sites of administrative or religious activities.
graph 5 suggests that which of the following was a consequence of the emergence of cities?
A)The decentralization of authority
B)An increase in religious activity
C)The emergence of service- and production-related jobs
D)A decreased reliance on mineral resources
rding to paragraph 5, why were huge walls built around early royal palaces?
A)To protect the inhabitants from invaders
B)To mark the urban areas
C)To separate the ruling class from the rest of the population
D)To represent the prosperity of a city
at the four squares [?] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
This was accompanied by increased professional specialization.
Where would the sentence best fit?
e Summary
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.
B)Cultivation in fertile river valleys resulted in predictable harvests, which meant that farmers no longer needed to migrate constantly in search of food.
C)Because crops could be cultivated more successfully where farmers were not completely dependent on rainfall, hostilities between groups arose over control of the river systems.
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.
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.
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.
譯文：首期文明
證據顯示， 早期文明興起的一個重要刺激因素就是定居農業的發展。 它導致了人類羣落的組織結構出現一系列變更，在古代大型帝國的興起時達到了頂峯。
莊稼究竟是何時何地被首次成功開墾種植還不得而知。 很多史前學家認爲農業可能是當小型羣落迫於不斷增長人口和日益減少的食物資源壓力而開始在地裏種植種子試圖維持他們的生計時，進而在世界不同區域獨自興起的。出現在 10,000 年前的最早的農民，毫無疑問地使用着簡單的技術，並且仍主要依賴着其他的食物生產方式，比如狩獵，覓食或放牧。當農民開始在河川系統的泛濫平原沿岸種植莊稼的時候，真正的突破發生了。它的優點是，在這些區域種植的莊稼不會過於依賴降水， 因此會帶來更可靠地收成。 它另外一個好處就是由河流帶來的沉澱物會把營養物質沉積在土壤裏， 這就使得農民能夠在常年耕作一塊土地而不用去開墾新的耕地。這樣，第一個真正的定居(即不用遷徙的)社會就形成了。隨着時間的推移， 這些社羣逐漸知道了如何引導水流來加強土地的生產能力， 鐵犁的引入也終於使之前不受用於農業的重質土壤得以開墾種植。
這種河谷農業在亞洲和非洲不同地區的傳播是首次文明興起的決定性因素。 這些地區食物產量的增長導致了人口的激增。 與此同時， 爲了努力控制水流來最大化灌溉耕種區域和保護當地居民免受部落外部敵對力量的侵襲， 第一步的大規模合作活動被引發了。 而出於對整個程序步驟監督的需求，一個上層精英團體出現了。它也逐漸轉變成了政府部門。
首期文明興起的第一個明顯的階段發生在公元前三千和四千年的美索不達米亞、 北非、 印度和中國。 究竟第一個政府在這些地區是如何形成的還無法確定， 但是人類學家在研究世界不同地區人類羣體的進化時， 發現在這個過程中有一個共同階段， 那就是在單個或多個村落中“big man”的出現。這些人憑藉他們傑出的軍事力量、超凡的品性和政治天賦，逐漸成爲了那些羣落的領導者。後來， “big man”成爲了權力的正式象徵，並且還會把權力傳給他們家族的其他成員。當這些羣落的面積和物質財富不斷髮展壯大時，這些“big man”就開始採取世襲制，他們的同盟和家族成員便轉變成了世襲君主王室。
這些定居社會的出現對社會組織、 宗教信仰和住在界定範圍內的人們的生活方式都造成了巨大的影響。隨着人口的增長和中央集權的發展，城市開始出現。其中一些城市中心被賦上了一個特定的經濟功能， 像那些靠近金礦或鐵礦的， 或是在主要貿易路線上佔據關鍵戰略位置的;其他地區主要充當行政中心，或是作爲用於官方祭禮和其他典禮儀式的寺廟神殿地址。在這些城市裏，爲滿足不斷增長的社會服務和消費商品的需求，新的生活形式出現了。一些人變成了工匠或商人，另一些人則成了武士、學者或牧師。在某些情況下，首批城市的物理分割整體上反映了社會嚴格的等級特徵。 富麗堂皇的圍牆環繞着皇家宮殿， 也隔離了城市剩下的人們。但另一方面，如印度河流域，城市就沒有像同時期其他地方一樣的皇家區域和豪華招搖的宮殿。
答案： AAB (AB)BDDDA ACCD BDE