『新东方在线托福阅读』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 62 Passage2阅读练习：According to paragraph 7, Chinese rulers spent more on bronze and jade objects at times when真题题目及答案解析，TPO/Official 62 Passage2阅读原文范文音频翻译

托福TPO/Official 62 Passage2阅读原文According to paragraph 7, Chinese rulers spent more on bronze and jade objects at times when题目答案及解析-新东方托福官方网校手机版

在中国历史上，玉和青铜很早就被选为社会中最珍贵物品的材料。

Jade and bronze were chosen early in China's history as the materials for society's most precious objects.

The main reason for this is very straightforward.

这两种材料在视觉上都很美观，而玉在触觉上也同样如此。

Both materials are beautiful to the eye and, in the case of jade, also to the touch.

玉是一种致密的石头，可以被打磨成光滑柔软的表面，呈现出微妙的绿色、灰色和棕色光泽。

Jade is a dense stone that can be ground to smooth, soft surfaces and glows in subtle greens, grays, and browns.

青铜是锡和铜的合金，抛光后呈明亮的金色。

Bronze, an alloy of tin and copper, is a light, bright gold color when polished.

玉（约公元前4500年）被用于制作极为精美的实用石器；青铜（约公元前1650年）则被选为最高品质的烹饪锅具的材料。

Jade was employed (C.4500 B.C.) for exceptionally elegant versions of utilitarian stone tools; bronze was the choice (C.1650 B.C.) for the highest-quality cooking pots.

用玉制作的工具并非用于日常使用，而是用于展示地位和权力；青铜烹饪锅也不是用于普通膳食，而是专为祭祀祖先的食物和酒而保留。

Made in jade, the tools were not for daily use but for displays of status and power, and the bronze cooking pots were not for ordinary meals but were reserved for offerings of food and wine to ancestors.

因此，玉和青铜被用于标准日常用品的特殊仪式或礼仪版本。

Jade and bronze were thus used for special ritual or ceremonial versions of standard everyday items.

这些材料本身比普通石头和陶瓷更稀有，且加工需要更多劳动。

The materials themselves were scarcer and required more labor to work than ordinary stone and ceramic.

这一点在过去一定和今天一样显而易见，并且一定使这些物品在某种程度上显得与众不同。

That this was the case must have been as clear in the past as it is today and must have marked the objects as in some way exceptional.

不仅是材料本身，它们的加工方式也展示了其崇高的功能。

Not only the materials but also the ways in which they were worked demonstrated their exalted functions.

玉杖（由有影响力的人携带的各种形状的礼仪物品，作为权威象征）被打磨得比它们模仿的石器（如斧头或收割刀）更薄。

Jade scepters (ceremonial objects of various shapes that were carried by influential people as symbols of authority) were ground more thinly than the stone tools they copied, such as axes or reaping knives.

如果用它们来砍树，它们会断裂。

Had they been used to chop down a tree, they would have broken.

青铜烹饪锅被制成复杂的形状，带有额外的旋钮和手柄以及密集的装饰，这些在日常陶瓷上都是不切实际的。

Bronze cooking pots were made in intricate forms, with extra knobs and handles and dense decoration, all of which would have been impracticable on everyday ceramics.

如果这些稀有且劳动密集的材料不能立即被识别为出众的，那么用它们替代普通材料就没有意义。

There would be no point in using these scarce and labor-intensive materials in place of common ones if they could not be immediately recognized as outstanding.

因此，工艺致力于开发和展示玉和青铜的特定品质，使它们与普通石头和陶瓷明显不同。

Craftsmanship was therefore directed toward exploiting and displaying the particular qualities of jade and bronze that make them recognizably different from ordinary stone and ceramic.

这些品质必须在视觉上引人注目。

These qualities had to be made visually noticeable.

其他品质，如重量或质地，只能通过手持物体来感受，能够拿起并用手感受其特征的人比能够快速瞥一眼的人要少。

Other qualities, such as weight or texture, can only be appreciated by holding the object, and fewer people will have the opportunity to pick it up and feel its features with their hands than will be able to glance at it quickly.

用于区分礼仪物品和日常物品的视觉差异也可以用来指代礼仪物品等级的较小差异，将国王拥有的与贵族拥有的区分开来。

Visual distinctions deployed to separate the ceremonial from the everyday can also be used to refer to smaller differences in the ranking of ritual items, separating those owned by kings from those owned by nobles.

这种差异可以是尺寸或质量——一件比另一件更大或更厚——或在工艺上，一件比另一件制作得更精良。

Such differences can be in size or mass—one piece being larger or thicker than another—or in skill, with one being better crafted than another.

我们今天在观察古代物品时会做出这样的判断，当时很可能也进行了某种类似的评估。

We make such judgments when looking at ancient objects today, and it seems likely that some sort of similar assessment was made at the time.

因此，实现了两种视觉上可见的等级制度。

Two hierarchies, both visible to the eye, were thus achieved.

首先也是最根本的是功能等级，礼仪物品高于日常物品。

First and most fundamental was a hierarchy of function, the ritual object standing above the everyday object.

其次是每个类别内的等级，制作更精美且通常更大的物品在等级中更高。

Second was the hierarchy within each category, with the more elaborately worked and often larger object higher up the scale.

富有和有权势的人拥有玉杖和青铜器皿。

The rich and powerful owned the jade scepters and bronze vessels.

更重要的是，这些玉杖和器皿不仅表达或反映了其拥有者的地位，还可能强化了这种地位。

What is more, these scepters and vessels not only expressed or reflected the status of their owners but they also probably reinforced it.

通过这种方式，玉器和青铜器与早期中国国家的宗教和政治结构紧密相连，并一直延续到二十世纪。

In this way, jades and bronzes became bound up with the religious and political structures of the early Chinese state, and they remained so linked up to the twentieth century.

因此，当统治者及其宫廷希望彰显权威时，他们会委托制作大量显眼的青铜器，这并不令人惊讶。

It is therefore not surprising that at times when rulers and their courts wished to assert their authority, they commissioned large numbers of conspicuous bronzes.

此外，当他们希望转移对社会弱点的注意力时，他们通过增加对礼仪物品的支出进一步强调其权力。

Further, when they wished to distract attention from weaknesses in society, they emphasized their power even more by increasing expenditure on ritual objects.

因此，玉器和青铜器审美品质的变化可以告诉我们关于生产它们的社会的信息。

Thus changes in the aesthetic qualities of jades and bronzes can inform us about the society that produced them.

宋朝（公元960-1279年）的后代中国学者很快认识到青铜器和玉器与政治权力之间的联系。

Later generations of Chinese scholars of the Song Dynasty (A.D.960-1279) quickly recognized the link between the bronzes and jades and political power.

在寻求政治合法性的过程中，他们收集并研究古代文物，这些活动本身加强了玉和青铜在社会中的崇高地位。

In their search for political legitimacy, they collected and studied ancient artifacts, pursuits that in themselves reinforced the high status of jade and bronze in society.

从政治权力存在于古代物品（包括书法和绘画）的观念中，诞生了最早的艺术收藏。

From the idea that political power resided in ancient objects, including calligraphy and painting, grew the first art collections.

Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1 about bronze?

According to paragraph 2, objects made from jade and bronze were

Why does the author include the comment about jade scepters that "Had they been used to chop down a tree, they would have broken"?

The word "exploiting" in the passage is closest in meaning to

According to paragraph 4, the qualities of jade and bronze that Chinese craftsmanship emphasized were

Paragraphs 5 and 6 support all of the following statements about jade scepters and bronze vessels EXCEPT:

According to paragraph 7, Chinese rulers spent more on bronze and jade objects at times when

It can be inferred from the passage that jade and bronze objects in China were

Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Their prompt realization of this connection helped to strengthen their position as the new official ruling class.  Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square  to add the sentence to the passage.

Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

The Use of Jade and Bronze in China Jade and bronze were chosen early in China's history as the materials for society's most precious objects. The main reason for this is very straightforward. Both materials are beautiful to the eye and, in the case of jade, also to the touch. Jade is a dense stone that can be ground to smooth, soft surfaces and glows in subtle greens, grays, and browns. Bronze, an alloy of tin and copper, is a light, bright gold color when polished. Jade was employed (C.4500 B.C..) for exceptionally elegant versions of utilitarian stone tools; bronze was the choice (C.1650 B.C..) for the highest-quality cooking pots. Made in jade, the tools were not for daily use but for displays of status and power, and the bronze cooking pots were not for ordinary meals but were reserved for offerings of food and wine to ancestors. Jade and bronze were thus used for special ritual or ceremonial versions of standard everyday items. The materials themselves were scarcer and required more labor to work than ordinary stone and ceramic. That this was the case must have been as clear in the past as it is today and must have marked the objects as in some way exceptional. Not only the materials but also the ways in which they were worked demonstrated their exalted functions. Jade scepters (ceremonial objects of various shapes that were carried by influential people as symbols of authority) were ground more thinly than the stone tools they copied, such as axes or reaping knives. Had they been used to chop down a tree, they would have broken. Bronze cooking pots were made in intricate forms, with extra knobs and handles and dense decoration, all of which would have been impracticable on everyday ceramics. There would be no point in using these scarce and labor-intensive materials in place of common ones if they could not be immediately recognized as outstanding. Craftsmanship was therefore directed toward exploiting and displaying the particular qualities of jade and bronze that make them recognizably different from ordinary stone and ceramic. These qualities had to be made visually noticeable. Other qualities, such as weight or texture, can only be appreciated by holding the object, and fewer people will have the opportunity to pick it up and feel its features with their hands than will be able to glance at it quickly. Visual distinctions deployed to separate the ceremonial from the everyday can also be used to refer to smaller differences in the ranking of ritual items, separating those owned by kings from those owned by nobles. Such differences can be in size or mass- -one piece being larger or thicker than another- -or in skill, with one being better crafted than another. We make such judgments when looking at ancient objects today, and it seems likely that some sort of similar assessment was made at the time. Two hierarchies, both visible to the eye, were thus achieved. First and most fundamental was a hierarchy of function, the ritual object standing above the everyday object. Second was the hierarchy within each category, with the more elaborately worked and often larger object higher up the scale. The rich and powerful owned the jade scepters and bronze vessels. What is more, these scepters and vessels not only expressed or reflected the status of their owners but they also probably reinforced it. In this way, jades and bronzes became bound up with the religious and political structures of the early Chinese state, and they remained so linked up to the twentieth century. It is therefore not surprising that at times when rulers and their courts wished to assert their authority, they commissioned large numbers of conspicuous bronzes. Further, when they wished to distract attention from weaknesses in society, they emphasized their power even more by increasing expenditure on ritual objects. Thus changes in the aesthetic qualities of jades and bronzes can inform us about the society that produced them.  Later generations of Chinese scholars of the Song Dynasty (A.D.960-1279) quickly recognized the link between the bronzes and jades and political power. In their search for political legitimacy, they collected and studied ancient artifacts, pursuits that in themselves reinforced the high status of jade and bronze in society. From the idea that political power resided in ancient objects, including calligraphy and painting, grew the first art Collections.