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托福阅读TPO8(试题+答案+译文)第1篇:The city of Teotihuacán
托福阅读原文
The city of Teotihuacán, which lay about 50kilometers northeast of modern-day Mexico City, began its growth by 200-100B.C. At its height, between about A.D. 150 and 700, it probably had apopulation of more than 125,000 people and covered at least 20 squarekilometers. It had over 2,000 apartment com
goodwellpeacekeeperplexes, a great market, a largenumber of industrial workshops, an administrative center, a number of massivereligious edifices, and a regular grid pattern of streets and buildings. Clearly,much planning and central control were involved in the expansion and orderingof this great metropolis. Moreover, the city had economic and perhaps religiouscontacts with most parts of Mesoamerica (modern Central America and Mexico).
How did this tremendous development take placeand why did it happen in the T eotihuacán Valley? Among the main factors areTeotihuacán’s geographic location on a natural trade route to the south andeast of the Valley of Mexico, the obsidian resources in the Teotihuacán Valleyitlf, and the valley’s potential for extensive irrigation. The exact role ofother
factors is much more difficult to pinpoint―for instance, Teotihuacán’sreligious significance as a shrine, the historical situation in and around theValley of Mexico toward the end of the first millennium B.C., the ingenuity andforesightedness of T eotihuacán’s elite, and, finally, the impact of naturaldisasters, such as the volcanic eruptions of the late first millennium B.C.
peerlessThis last factor is at leastcir cumstantially implicated in Teotihuacán’s ri. Prior to 200 B.C., a numberof relatively small centers coexisted in and near the Valley of Mexico. Aroundthis time, the lar
rim
sufficientgest of the centers, Cuicuilco, was riously affected by avolcanic eruption, with much of its agricultural land covered by lava. WithCuicuilco eliminated as potential rival, any one of a number of relatively modesttowns might have emerged as a leading economic and political power in CentralMexico. The archaeological evidence clearly ind icates, though, that Teotihuacánwas the center that did ari as the predominant force in the area by the firstcentury A.D.
It ems likely that Teotihuacán’s natural resources,along with the city elite’s ability to recognize their potential, gave the cit ya competitive edge over its neighbors. The valley, like many other places inMexican and Guatemalan highlands, was rich in obsidian. The hard volcanic
stonewasha resource that had been in great demand for many years, at least since theri of the Olmec’s (a people who flourished between 1200 and 400 B.C.), and itapparently had a cure market. Moreover, recent rearch on obsidian toolsfound at Olmec sites has shown that some of the obsidian obtained by the Olmecoriginated near Teotihuacán. Teotihuacán obsi dian must have been recognized asa valuable commodity for many centuries before the great city aro.
devonLong-distance trade in obsidian probablygave the elite residents of Teotihuacán access to a wide variety of exoticgood, as well as a relatively prosperous life. Such success may have attractedimmigr
ants to Teotihuacán. In addition, Teotihuacán’s elite may haveconsciously attempted to attract new inhabitants. It is also probable that aarly as 200 B.C. Teotihuacán may have achieved some religious significa nce andits shrine (or shrines) may have rved as an additional population magnet.Finally, the growing population was probably fed by increasing the number andsize of irrigated fields.
onlyifThepicture of Teotihuacán that emerges is a classic picture of positiv e feedbackamong obsidian mining and working, trade, population growth, irrigation, andreligious tourism. The thriving obsidian operation, for example, wouldnecessitate more miners, additional manufacturers of
obsidian tools, andadditional traders to carry the goods to new markets. All this led to increadwealth, which in turn would attract more immigrants to Teotihuacán. The growingpower of the elite, who controlled the economy, would give them the means tophysically coerce people to move to Teotihuacán an d rve as additions to thelabor force. More irrigation works would have to be built to feed the growingpopulation, and this resulted in more power and wealth for the elite.
托福阅读试题
1.The word “massive” in the passage(paragraph 1) is clost in meaning to
bree on my own
A.ancient
B.carefully
lecture
C.very large
D.carefully protected
