2014年托福考试模拟试题及答案（1）

　　Crafts in the Ancient Near East

　　Paragraph 1

　　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