Crafts in the Ancient Near East

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　　Some of the earliest human civilizations arose in southern Mesopotamia, in what is now southern Iraq, in the fourth millennium B.C.E. In the second half of that millennium, in the south around the city of Uruk, there was an enormous escalation in the area occupied by permanent settlements. A large part of that increase took place in Uruk itself, which became a real urban center surrounded by a set of secondary settlements. While population estimates are notoriously unreliable, scholars assume that Uruk inhabitants were able to support themselves from the agricultural production of the field surrounding the city, which could be reached with a daily commute. But Uruk’s dominant size in the entire region, far surpassing that of other settlements, indicates that it was a regional center and a true city. Indeed, it was the first city in human history.

　　Q1 Which of the sentences below best express the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

　　A. Although scholars cannot accurately determine the size of the Uruk population, they know the citizens were not dependent on agriculture.

　　B. Scholars do not have enough evidence to determine whether the agricultural areas just outside of Uruk were large enough to feed the city’s population

　　C. Because city populations cannot feed themselves, scholars think the surrounding farms provided food for the people in Uruk

　　D. Scholars believe that the inhabitants of Uruk were able to support themselves from produce grown in field surrounding the city.

　　确定句子核心信息

　　While population estimates are notoriously unreliable, scholars assume that Uruk inhabitants were able to support themselves from the agricultural production of the field surrounding the city, which could be reached with a daily commute.

　　分析：本句是由while引导的让步状语从句(注：while出现在句中引导对比对照关系的状语从句;如出现在句首则引导让步关系的状语从句，)+主句scholars assume that…the city组成一个虽然…但是…的大结构。主句句末有一个which引导的非限定性定语从句，该从句意图在于对前面意义完整的主句进行补充说明。所以该句最核心的意思就是句中标红的部分。

　　理解大意

　　词汇：

　　notoriously 臭名昭著地

　　unreliable 不可靠的

　　assume 认为

　　field 田地

　　daily commute 每天往返

　　中文翻译：虽然人口估计数通常是不可靠的，但学者们认为Uruk居民可以通过每日往返城市和城市周围的田地，生产农产品来自给自足，。

　　核对选项

　　A. Although scholars cannot accurately determine the size of the Uruk population, they know the citizens were not dependent on agriculture.

　　A选项后半句出现与原句完全矛盾的信息：居民不是依靠农业;而原句中说到是用城市周围的田地自给自足。

　　B. Scholars do not have enough evidence to determine whether the agricultural areas just outside of Uruk were large enough to feed the city’s population

　　B选项说学者们没有足够证据证明城外的农业地区是否足够大来供给城市人口。这是原句完全没有谈及的信息，所以错误

　　C. Because city populations cannot feed themselves, scholars think the surrounding farms provided food for the people in Uruk

　　C选项出现一个因果关系，这是原句完全没有的信息，该选项是最容易被排掉的。

　　D. Scholars believe that the inhabitants of Uruk were able to support themselves from produce grown in field surrounding the city.

　　D选项说学者们认为U城的居民能够通过长在城市周围田地里的作物供养他们自己。意思与原句主要意思一致，所以正确。

　　所以该题正确选项为D

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The Formation of Volcanic Islands

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　　Generally speaking, the interiors of plates are geologically uneventful. However, there are exceptions. A glance at a map of the Pacific Ocean reveals that there are many islands far out at sea that are actually volcanoes—many no longer active, some overgrown with coral—that originated from activity at points in the interior of the Pacific Plate that forms the Pacific seafloor.

　　Q3 Which 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. Volcanic activity is responsible for the formation of the Pacific seafloor in the interior of the Pacific Plate.

　　B. Many volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean are no longer active and have become islands that support coral.

　　C. There are many islands in the Pacific Ocean that originated as volcanoes in the interior of the Pacific Plate.

　　D. The map of the Pacific Ocean reveals fewer volcanic islands than there truly are because many are no longer active and some are completely overgrown with coral.

　　确定句子核心信息

　　A glance at a map of the Pacific Ocean reveals that there are many islands far out at sea that are actually volcanoes—many no longer active, some overgrown with coral—that originated from activity at points in the interior of the Pacific Plate that forms the Pacific seafloor.

　　分析：通过确定核心信息，我们看到该句最基本的结构是主语(A glance)+谓语动词(reveals)+宾语从句(that…)。该句的难点在于宾语从句里有两个定语从句的嵌套，在句中已用蓝色标出，第一个定语从句是对many islands进行限定修饰;第二个定语从句是对volcanoes进行限定修饰，而破折号中间的成分则是对volcanoes这个信息的补充说明，与句子核心信息关系不大，可忽略不看。

　　理解大意

　　中文翻译：看一眼太平洋的地图就能发现在远离海岸的海洋里有许多其实是火山的岛屿，这些火山起源于形成太平洋海床的太平洋板块内部一些点的活动。

　　核对选项

　　A. Volcanic activity is responsible for the formation of the Pacific seafloor in the interior of the Pacific Plate.

　　A选项句子主语是火山活动，而原句讲的是岛屿，核心信息缺失。

　　B. Many volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean are no longer active and have become islands that support coral.

　　B选项句子主语是火山，且后面有信息no longer active不再活跃，这是原句完全没有出现的信息。

　　C. There are many islands in the Pacific Ocean that originated as volcanoes in the interior of the Pacific Plate.

　　C选项大意为：太平洋里有许多岛屿，这些岛屿起源于太平洋板块内部的火山。与原句意思最贴切。

　　D. The map of the Pacific Ocean reveals fewer volcanic islands than there truly are because many are no longer active and some are completely overgrown with coral.

　　D选项中有比较结构fewer…than…，这在原句中也是完全没有出现的。

　　故正确答案选择C。