『新东方在线托福阅读』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 24 Passage 3阅读练习：Why does the author state that “Growing food at these elevations is always difficult because of the short growing season”?真题题目及答案解析，TPO/Official 24 Passage 3阅读原文范文音频翻译

托福TPO/Official 24 Passage 3阅读原文Why does the author state that “Growing food at these elevations is always difficult because of the short growing season”?题目答案及解析-新东方托福官方网校手机版

在古代北美西南部的梅萨维德地区，生活方式在13世纪发生了变化，大量的人搬进了被称为普韦布洛（pueblos）的大型公共住宅，这种住宅通常建在峡谷的边缘，尤其是悬崖的两侧。

In the Mesa Verde area of the ancient North American Southwest, living patterns changed in the thirteenth century, with large numbers of people moving into large communal dwellings called pueblos, often constructed at the edges of canyons, especially on the sides of cliffs.

放弃小家庭，与几十几百人搬进这些大型的村庄，可能是不愉快的。

Abandoning small extended-family households to move into these large pueblos with dozens if not hundreds of other people was probably traumatic.

今天这些允许我们处理人口密集的问题的文化传统和规则对这些人来说几乎不存在，因为这些人习惯了家庭自治和几乎可以随意移动的能力。

Few of the cultural traditions and rules that today allow us to deal with dense populations existed for these people accustomed to household autonomy and the ability to move around the landscape almost at will.

除了必须与邻居共用墙壁的尴尬之外，居住在聚集在一起的村庄里还会带来其他问题。

And besides the awkwardness of having to share walls with neighbors, living in aggregated pueblos introduced other problems.

对于住在悬崖边的人来说，往家里运水、木头和食物是一项主要的家务。

For people in cliff dwellings, hauling water, wood, and food to their homes was a major chore.

当地资源受到的压力特别大，特别是每日做饭和取暖所需的柴火，而且聚集在一起的普韦布洛地区的条件也不是很卫生。

The stress on local resources, especially in the firewood needed for daily cooking and warmth, was particularly intense, and conditions in aggregated pueblos were not very hygienic.

考虑到住在集群式城镇的种种弊端，为什么13世纪的人们会搬到这些拥挤的地方呢？

Given all the disadvantages of living in aggregated towns, why did people in the thirteenth century move into these closely packed quarters?

对于这种突然的转变，考古学家认为要么是拉动因素（把家庭拉在一起的好处，要么是推动因素（迫使人们聚集在一起的外部威胁或危机）。

For transitions of such suddenness, archaeologists consider either pull factors (benefits that drew families together) or push factors (some external threat or crisis that forced people to aggregate).

在这种情况下，推动的解释占主导地位。

In this case, push explanations dominate.

人口增长被认为是一个特别有影响力的推动因素。

Population growth is considered a particularly influential push.

经过几代人的人口增长，人们把土地的密度压得如此之高，公共的村庄可能是一个必要的结果。

After several generations of population growth, people packed the landscape in densities so high that communal pueblos may have been a necessary outcome.

例如，在沙峡谷周围，人口从10世纪的每平方公里5-12人增长到13世纪的30-50人。

Around Sand Canyon, for example, populations grew from 5–12 people per square kilometer in the tenth century to as many as 30–50 by the 1200s.

随着密度的增加，住宅建筑变得更大，最终形成拥挤的村庄。

As densities increased, domestic architecture became larger, culminating in crowded pueblos.

一些学者通过强调相应的耕地需求以满足日益增长的人口，来扩大这一概念：小水坝、水库、梯田和农舍的建设表明，在13世纪，农民们正在加紧他们的努力。

Some scholars expand on this idea by emphasizing a corresponding need for arable land to feed growing numbers of people: construction of small dams, reservoirs, terraces, and field houses indicates that farmers were intensifying their efforts during the 1200s.

对良田的争夺也可能促使人们团结起来，维护对良田的权利。

Competition for good farmland may also have prompted people to bond together to assert rights over the best fields.

另一个重要的推动因素是小冰期的开始，这是一种导致北半球温度下降的气候现象。

Another important push was the onset of the Little Ice Age, a climatic phenomenon that led to cooler temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere.

尽管小冰期的高峰仍未到来，但一些证据表明，气温在13世纪时就开始下降了。

Although the height of the Little Ice Age was still around the corner, some evidence suggests that temperatures were falling during the thirteenth century.

与这种转变相关的环境变化还没有被完全了解，但是生活在圣胡安山脉附近、梅萨维德东北部的人们最先受到影响。

The environmental changes associated with this transition are not fully understood, but people living closest to the San Juan Mountains, to the northeast of Mesa Verde, were affected first.

由于生长季节短，在这种海拔地区种植粮食总是很困难。

Growing food at these elevations is always difficult because of the short growing season.

随着小冰河期的发展，农民们可能会把他们的田地移到海拔较低的地方，侵占其他农民的土地，把人们挤在一起，从而形成了集群式的社会。

As the Little Ice Age progressed, farmers probably moved their fields to lower elevations, infringing on the lands of other farmers and pushing people together, thus contributing to the aggregations.

考古学家发现了人口向南部和西部的梅萨维德和远离高海拔地区的相应转移。

Archaeologists identify a corresponding shift in populations toward the south and west toward Mesa Verde and away from higher elevations.

面对所有这些推动，梅萨维德地区的人们有了另一个搬到社区村庄的理由：需要更大的合作。

In the face of all these pushes, people in the Mesa Verde area had yet another reason to move into communal villages: the need for greater cooperation.

分享和合作几乎肯定是早期普韦布洛人生活的一部分，即使是居住在分散在各地的独立的独户住宅中的人也是如此。

Sharing and cooperation were almost certainly part of early Puebloan life, even for people living in largely independent single-household residences scattered across the landscape.

考古学家发现，在11和12世纪，即使是最与世隔绝的居住地，也能从远处得到一些陶器，可能还有食物，而重大的庆典活动则是分享食物和工艺品的机会。

Archaeologists find that even the most isolated residences during the eleventh and twelfth centuries obtained some pottery, and probably food, from some distance away, while major ceremonial events were opportunities for sharing food and crafts.

学者认为,这种合作允许人们应对一个分布不均的环境，在这个环境中，降水和其他资源在整个景观中都是不同的：如果你一年生产很多食物，你可以用它来换一个远方的盟友做的陶器，他在种植农作物方面有困难。第二年，商品可能会向相反的方向流动。

Scholars believe that this cooperation allowed people to contend with a patchy environment in which precipitation and other resources varied across the landscape: if you produce a lot of food one year, you might trade it for pottery made by a distant ally who is having difficulty with crops—and the next year, the flow of goods might go in the opposite direction.

但这一切似乎都在13世纪发生了变化。

But all of this appears to have changed in the thirteenth century.

尽管在这一年到下一年之间，气候仍然像以往一样难以预测，但当地的多样性已经大大减少。

Although the climate remained as unpredictable as ever between one year and the next, it became much less locally diverse.

在农业的一年，每个人都受到了同等的影响。

In a bad year for farming, everyone was equally affected.

No longer was it helpful to share widely.

确实，最明智的做法是让邻居们联合起来努力生产尽可能多的粮食，这样聚集起来的城镇就是一种明智的安排。

Instead, the most sensible thing would be for neighbors to combine efforts to produce as much food as possible, and thus aggregated towns were a sensible arrangement.

The word “traumatic” in the passage is closest in meaning to

The word “intense” in the passage is closest in meaning to

According to paragraph 1, before the thirteenth century the people of southwestern North America lived in households that

Which of the following best indicates the organization of paragraph 1?

According to paragraph 3, which of the following was one of the consequences of increasing population densities?

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.

The word “transition” in the passage is closest in meaning to

Why does the author state that “Growing food at these elevations is always difficult because of the short growing season”?

According to paragraph 4, what did farmers do in response to falling temperatures during the Little Ice Age?

According to paragraph 5, major ceremonial events were occasions for

According to paragraph 5, which of the following was a reason people in the Mesa Verde area formed communal villages in the thirteenth century?

Paragraph 5 supports which of the following statements about cooperation among the people in the Mesa Verde area from the eleventh through the thirteenth century?

Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Performing everyday household tasks required more effort.  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.

Moving into Pueblos In the Mesa Verde area of the ancient North American Southwest, living patterns changed in the thirteenth century, with large numbers of people moving into large communal dwellings called pueblos, often constructed at the edges of canyons, especially on the sides of cliffs. Abandoning small extended-family households to move into these large pueblos with dozens if not hundreds of other people was probably traumatic. Few of the cultural traditions and rules that today allow us to deal with dense populations existed for these people accustomed to household autonomy and the ability to move around the landscape almost at will.  And besides the awkwardness of having to share walls with neighbors, living in aggregated pueblos introduced other problems.  For people in cliff dwellings, hauling water, wood, and food to their homes was a major chore.  The stress on local resources, especially in the firewood needed for daily cooking and warmth, was particularly intense, and conditions in aggregated pueblos were not very hygienic.  Given all the disadvantages of living in aggregated towns, why did people in the thirteenth century move into these closely packed quarters? For transitions of such suddenness, archaeologists consider either pull factors (benefits that drew families together) or push factors (some external threat or crisis that forced people to aggregate). In this case, push explanations dominate. Population growth is considered a particularly influential push. After several generations of population growth, people packed the landscape in densities so high that communal pueblos may have been a necessary outcome. Around Sand Canyon, for example, populations grew from 5–12 people per square kilometer in the tenth century to as many as 30–50 by the 1200s. As densities increased, domestic architecture became larger, culminating in crowded pueblos. Some scholars expand on this idea by emphasizing a corresponding need for arable land to feed growing numbers of people: construction of small dams, reservoirs, terraces, and field houses indicates that farmers were intensifying their efforts during the 1200s. Competition for good farmland may also have prompted people to bond together to assert rights over the best fields. Another important push was the onset of the Little Ice Age, a climatic phenomenon that led to cooler temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere. Although the height of the Little Ice Age was still around the corner, some evidence suggests that temperatures were falling during the thirteenth century. The environmental changes associated with this transition are not fully understood, but people living closest to the San Juan Mountains, to the northeast of Mesa Verde, were affected first. Growing food at these elevations is always difficult because of the short growing season. As the Little Ice Age progressed, farmers probably moved their fields to lower elevations, infringing on the lands of other farmers and pushing people together, thus contributing to the aggregations. Archaeologists identify a corresponding shift in populations toward the south and west toward Mesa Verde and away from higher elevations. In the face of all these pushes, people in the Mesa Verde area had yet another reason to move into communal villages: the need for greater cooperation. Sharing and cooperation were almost certainly part of early Puebloan life, even for people living in largely independent single-household residences scattered across the landscape. Archaeologists find that even the most isolated residences during the eleventh and twelfth centuries obtained some pottery, and probably food, from some distance away, while major ceremonial events were opportunities for sharing food and crafts. Scholars believe that this cooperation allowed people to contend with a patchy environment in which precipitation and other resources varied across the landscape: if you produce a lot of food one year, you might trade it for pottery made by a distant ally who is having difficulty with crops—and the next year, the flow of goods might go in the opposite direction. But all of this appears to have changed in the thirteenth century.Although the climate remained as unpredictable as ever between one year and the next, it became much less locally diverse. In a bad year for farming, everyone was equally affected. No longer was it helpful to share widely. Instead, the most sensible thing would be for neighbors to combine efforts to produce as much food as possible, and thus aggregated towns were a sensible arrangement.