2024年4月27日发(作者：)

TPO35 Reading Keys

Passage 1

Speciation in Geographically Isolated Populations

Paragraph 1

The city of Memphis, located on the Nile near the modern city of Cairo, was founded

around 3100 B.C. as the first capital of a recently united Egypt. The choice of

Memphis by Egypt’s first kings reflects the site’s strategic importance. First, and most

obvious, the apex of the Nile River delta was a politically opportune location for the

state’s administrative center, standing between the united lands of Upper and Lower

Egypt and offering ready access to both parts of the country. The older predynastic

(pre-3100BC) centers of power. This and Hierakonpolis, were too remote from the

vast expanse of the delta, which had been incorporated into the unified state. Only a

city within easy reach of both the Nile valley to the south and the more spread out,

difficult terrain to the north could provide the necessary political control that the

rulers of early dynastic Egypt (roughly 3000¬2600 B.C.) required.

Q1 The word vast in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. fertile

B. huge

C. unique

D. irregular

正确答案: B

解析：vast，有“巨大的，浩瀚的”之意；建议考生在考前把这个单词背下来；fertile,

“贫瘠的”；unique“奇特的”；irregular,“不规则的”。

Paragraph 2

The region of Memphis must have also served as an important node for transport

and communications, even before the unification of Egypt. The region probably acted

as a conduit for much, if not all, of the river-based trade between northern and

southern Egypt. Moreover, commodities (such as wine, precious oils, and metals)

imported from the Near East by the royal courts of predynastic Upper Egypt would

have been channeled through the Memphis region on their way south. In short,

therefore, the site of Memphis offered the rulers of the Early Dynastic Period an ideal

location for controlling internal trade within their realm, an essential requirement for

a state-directed economy that depended on the movement of goods.

Paragraph 3

Equally important for the national administration was the ability to control

communications within Egypt. The Nile provided the easiest and quickest artery of

communication, and the national capital was, again, ideally located in this respect.

Recent geological surveys of the Memphis region have revealed much about its

topography in ancient times. It appears that the location of Memphis may have been

even more advantageous for controlling trade, transport, and communications than

was previously appreciated. Surveys and drill cores have shown that the level of the

Nile floodplain has steadily risen over the last five millenniums. When the floodplain

was much lower, as it would have been in predynastic and early dynastic times, the

outwash fans (fan-shaped deposits of sediments) of various wadis (stream-beds or

channels that carry water only during rainy periods) would have been much more

prominent features on the east bank. The fan associated with the Wadi Hof

extended a significant way into the Nile floodplain, forming a constriction in the

vicinity of Memphis. The valley may have narrowed at this point to a mere three

kilometers, making it the ideal place for controlling river traffic.

Q2 The word appreciated in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. proposed

B. understood

C. approved

D. expected

正确答案：B

解析：根据上下文 “It appears that the location of Memphis may have been even

more advantageous for controlling trade, transport, and communications than was

previously appreciated”, “孟菲斯的地理位置在贸易控制、交通、交流方面也许比

之前大家所____的更具优势”，根据上下文意思B最为合适；propose“提议、建

议”； understand“理解”；approve，“赞成，同意”；expect“期望”；appreciate除

了“理解”的意思，还有“欣赏”之意。建议考生在考前把这些单词的意思都掌握。

Q3 The word vicinity in the passage is closest in meaning to

A．center

B．fields

C．city

D．surrounding area

正确答案：D

解析：vicinity，“相邻，附近，邻近”。根据上下文的意思， “The fan associated with

the Wadi Hof extended a significant way into the Nile floodplain, forming a

constriction in the vicinity of Memphis” ; “与瓦迪霍夫河相关联的风扇区以一种显

著的方式拓展进入尼罗河漫滩，形成了在孟菲斯______的收缩区域”；孟菲斯是

一个重要的贸易城市，而4个选项只有将D选项代入最符合上下文的意思；排

除法也可以选出D。