托福阅读真题.docx

托福阅读真题.docx

《托福阅读真题.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《托福阅读真题.docx（13页珍藏版）》请在冰点文库上搜索。

托福阅读真题

2014年7月12日托福阅读真题

智课网整理

机经词汇：

initiatev开始、发动

fluctuatev波动

outlyingv/adj放在…之上；边远的

domesticadj国内的；驯养的

posterityn子孙；后羿

furtherv推动

durableadj持久的；耐用的

impedev妨碍

exclusiveadj专属的；排外的

definev定义；规定

inhibitv抑制；禁止

第一篇：

中美洲文明的发展史（thecultureofMesoamerica）

版本1:

关于mesoamerican的发现，出现了中美洲的各种文明（提别是maya文明），提到了金字塔地下的发现，后来强调了旅游景点也有大量可发现的价值。

版本2：

美国原始历史，提到玛雅文明，埃及金字塔，然后继续主题

解析：

历史起源类主题的文章可谓是老少咸宜的文章。

这一类文章通常段落结构清晰，主题明确，对背景的描述会比较详尽，不会出现因为背景知识的生疏而严重影响对于文章理解的情况。

需要注意的是，必须提前对相关类型的TPO文章的生词熟悉，尽量减少生词恐惧带来的内耗。

推荐TPO8的文章TheRiseofTeotihucan与TPO26的SumerandtheFirstCitiesoftheAncientNearEast。

相关背景：

Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica isa region and culturalarea inthe Americas,extendingapproximatelyfromcentral Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, ElSalvador, Honduras, Nicaragua,andnorthern CostaRica,withinwhichanumberof pre-Columbiansocieties flourishedbeforetheSpanishcolonizationoftheAmericas inthe15thand16thcenturies.[1][2] Itisoneofsixareasintheworldwhereancientcivilizationaroseindependently,andthesecondintheAmericasafter NorteChico （Caral-Supe）inpresent-daynortherncoastalPeru.

Asaculturalarea,Mesoamericaisdefinedbyamosaicofculturaltraitsdevelopedandsharedbyitsindigenouscultures.Beginningasearlyas7000BC,thedomesticationof maize, beans, squash and chili,aswellasthe turkey and dog,causedatransitionfrom paleo-Indian hunter-gatherertribalgroupingtotheorganizationofsedentaryagriculturalvillages.Inthesubsequentformativeperiod,agricultureandculturaltraitssuchasacomplex mythologicalandreligioustradition,a vigesimalnumericsystem,anda complexcalendricsystem,a traditionofballplaying,andadistinct architecturalstyle,werediffusedthroughthearea.Alsointhisperiod,villagesbegantobecomesociallystratifiedanddevelopinto chiefdoms withthedevelopmentoflargeceremonialcenters,interconnectedbyanetworkoftraderoutesfortheexchangeofluxurygoods,suchas obsidian, jade,cacao, cinnabar, Spondylus shells, hematite,andceramics.WhileMesoamericancivilizationdidknowofthewheelandbasicmetallurgy,neitherofthesetechnologiesbecameculturallyimportant.[3]

Amongtheearliestcomplexcivilizationswasthe Olmec culture,whichinhabitedtheGulfcoastofMexicoandextendedinlandandsouthwardsacrossthe IsthmusofTehuantepec.FrequentcontactandculturalinterchangebetweentheearlyOlmecandotherculturesinChiapas,GuatemalaandOaxacalaidthebasisfortheMesoamericanculturalarea.Thisformativeperiodsawthespreadofdistinctreligiousandsymbolictraditions,aswellasartisticandarchitecturalcomplexes.Inthesubsequent Preclassicperiod,complexurbanpolitiesbegantodevelopamongthe Maya,withtheriseofcenterssuchas ElMirador, Calakmul and Tikal,andtheZapotec at MonteAlbán.Duringthisperiod,thefirsttrue Mesoamericanwritingsystems weredevelopedinthe Epi-Olmec andtheZapoteccultures,andtheMesoamericanwritingtraditionreacheditsheightintheClassic MayaHieroglyphicscript.

Mesoamericaisoneofonlyfiveregionsoftheworldwherewritingwasindependentlydeveloped.InCentralMexico,theheightoftheClassicperiodsawtheascendancyofthecityof Teotihuacan,whichformedamilitaryandcommercialempirewhosepoliticalinfluencestretchedsouthintotheMayaareaandnorthward.UponthecollapseofTeotihuacánaroundAD600,competitionbetweenseveralimportantpoliticalcentersincentralMexico,suchas Xochicalco and Cholula,ensued.AtthistimeduringtheEpi-Classicperiod,the Nahuapeoples beganmovingsouthintoMesoamericafromtheNorth,andbecamepoliticallyandculturallydominantincentralMexico,astheydisplacedspeakersof Oto-Mangueanlanguages.Duringtheearlypost-Classicperiod,CentralMexicowasdominatedbythe Toltec culture,Oaxacabythe Mixtec,andthelowlandMayaareahadimportantcentersat ChichénItzá and Mayapán.Towardstheendofthepost-Classicperiod,the Aztecs ofCentralMexicobuilta tributary empirecoveringmostofcentralMesoamerica.[4]

ThedistinctMesoamericanculturaltraditionendedwiththe Spanishconquest inthe16thcentury.Overthenextcenturies,MesoamericanindigenousculturesweregraduallysubjectedtoSpanishcolonialrule.AspectsoftheMesoamericanculturalheritagestillsurviveamongtheindigenouspeopleswhoinhabitMesoamerica,manyofwhomcontinuetospeaktheirancestrallanguages,andmaintainmanypracticesharkingbacktotheirMesoamericanroots.[5]

Paleo-Indian[edit]

TheMesoamericanPaleo-Indianperiodprecedestheadventofagricultureandischaracterizedbyanomadic huntingandgathering subsistencestrategy.Big-gamehunting,similartothatseenincontemporaneous NorthAmerica,wasalargecomponentofthesubsistencestrategyoftheMesoamericanPaleo-Indian.EvidenceforthistimeperiodinMesoamericaissparseandthedocumentedsitesscatteredc.10,500BC.Theseinclude Chivacabé, LosTapiales,and PuertaParada inthehighlandsofGuatemala, OrangeWalkinBelize,andtheElGigantecaveinHonduras.[citationneeded] Theselattersiteshadanumberof obsidian bladesand Clovis-stylefluted projectilepoints.Fishtailpoints,themostcommonstylein SouthAmerica,wererecoveredfromPuertaParada,datedtoc.10,000BC,aswellasothersitesincluding LosGrifos cavein Chiapas （c.8500BC）and Iztapan （c.7700–7300BC）,a mammoth killsitelocatedintheValleyofMexiconear Texcoco.[citationneeded]

Archaic[edit]

TheArchaicperiod（8000–2000BC）ischaracterizedbytheriseof incipientagriculture inMesoamerica.TheinitialphasesoftheArchaicinvolvedthecultivationofwildplants,transitioningintoinformaldomesticationandculminatingwith sedentism andagriculturalproductionbythecloseoftheperiod.Archaicsitesinclude Sipacate inEscuintla,Guatemala,wheremaize pollensamples datetoc.3500BC.[13] Thewell-known Coxcatlancave siteintheValleyof Tehuacán, Puebla,whichcontainsover10,000teosinte cobs（anantecedentto maize）,and GuiláNaquitz inOaxacarepresentsomeoftheearliestexamplesofagricultureinMesoamerica.Theearlydevelopmentofpottery,oftenseenasasignofsedentism,hasbeendocumentedatanumberofsites,includingtheWestMexicansitesof Matanchén in Nayarit andPuertoMarquésinGuerrero. LaBlanca, Ocós,and Ujuxte inthe PacificLowlands of Guatemala yieldedpotterydatedtoc.2500BC.[citationneeded]

Classic[edit]

EarlyClassic[edit]

TheClassicperiodismarkedbytheriseanddominanceofseveralpolities.ThetraditionaldistinctionbetweentheEarlyandLateClassicaremarkedbytheirchangingfortuneandtheirabilitytomaintainregionalprimacy.OfparamountimportanceareTeotihuacánincentralMexicoand Tikal inGuatemala;theEarlyClassic’stemporallimitsgenerallycorrelatetothemainperiodsofthesesites.MonteAlbaninOaxacaisanotherClassic-periodpolitythatexpandedandflourishedduringthisperiod,buttheZapoteccapitalexertedlessinterregionalinfluencethantheothertwosites.

DuringtheEarlyClassic,Teotihuacanparticipatedinandperhapsdominatedafar-reachingmacro-regionalinteractionnetwork.Architecturalandartifactstyles（talud-tablero,tripodslab-footedceramicvessels）epitomizedatTeotihuacanweremimickedandadoptedatmanydistantsettlements. Pachuca obsidian,whosetradeanddistributionisarguedtohavebeeneconomicallycontrolledbyTeotihuacan,isfoundthroughoutMesoamerica.

TikalcametodominatemuchofthesouthernMayalowlandspolitically,economically,andmilitarilyduringtheEarlyClassic.AnexchangenetworkcenteredatTikaldistributedavarietyofgoodsandcommoditiesthroughoutsoutheastMesoamerica,suchasobsidianimportedfromcentralMexico（e.g.,Pachuca）andhighlandGuatemala（e.g., ElChayal,whichwaspredominantlyusedbytheMayaduringtheEarlyClassic）,and jade fromthe Motaguavalley inGuatemala.CarvedinscriptionsatthesiteattesttodirectinteractionwithindividualsadornedinTeotihuacan-styleddressc.AD400.[citationneeded] However,Tikalwasofteninconflictwithotherpolitiesinthe PeténBasin,aswellaswithothersoutsideofit,including Uaxactun, Caracol, DosPilas, Naranjo,and Calakmul.TowardstheendoftheEarlyClassic,thisconflictleadtoTikal’smilitarydefeatatthehandsofCaracolin562,andaperiodcommonlyknownasthe TikalHiatus.

LateClassic[edit]

TheLateClassicperiod（beginningca.AD600untilAD909[varies]）ischaracterizedasaperiodofinterregionalcompetitionandfactionalizationamongthenumerousregionalpolitiesintheMayaarea.ThislargelyresultedfromthedecreaseinTikal’ssocio-politicalandeconomicpoweratthebeginningoftheperiod.Itwasthereforeduringthistimethatanumberofothersitesrosetoregionalprominenceandwereabletoexertgreaterinterregionalinfluence,includingCaracol, Copán, Palenque,andCalakmul（whichwasalliedwithCaracolandmayhaveassistedinthedefeatofTikal）,and DosPilas Aguateca and Cancuén inthe Petexbatún regionofGuatemala.Around710,Tikalaroseagainandstartedtobuildstrongalliancesanddefeatitsworstenemies.IntheMayaarea,theLateClassicendedwiththeso-called"Mayacollapse",atransitionalperiodcouplingthegeneraldepopulationofthesouthernlowlandsanddevelopmentandflorescenceofcentersinthenorthernlowlands.

SomeMesoamericanculturesneverachieveddominantstatusorleftimpressivearcheologicalremainsbutshouldbementionedasnoteworthy.Theseincludethe Otomi, Mixe–Zoque groups（whichmayormaynothavebeenrelatedtotheOlmecs）,thenorthern Uto-aztecan groups,oftenreferredtoasthe Chichimeca,thatincludethe Cora andHuichol,theChontales,theHuaves,andt