『新东方在线托福阅读』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 27 Passage 1阅读练习：The word “legible” in the passage is closest in meaning to真题题目及答案解析，TPO/Official 27 Passage 1阅读原文范文音频翻译

托福TPO/Official 27 Passage 1阅读原文The word “legible” in the passage is closest in meaning to题目答案及解析-新东方托福官方网校手机版

在公元前四千年，一些最早的人类文明出现在美索不达米亚南部，也就是现在的伊拉克南部。

Some of the earliest human civilizations arose in southern Mesopotamia, in what is now southern Iraq, in the fourth millennium B.C.E.

在那个千年的后半段，在乌鲁克市的南部，被永久定居点占据的地区有了巨型的扩张。

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.

其中很大一部分发生在乌鲁克，它成为了一个真正的城市中心，周围环绕着一组次级定居点。

A large part of that increase took place in Uruk itself, which became a real urban center surrounded by a set of secondary settlements.

虽然对人口的估计是出了名的不可靠，但学者们认为，乌鲁克居民能够从城市周围农田的农业生产中养活自己，每天通勤就可以到达那里。

While population estimates are notoriously unreliable, scholars assume that Uruk inhabitants were able to support themselves from the agricultural production of the fields surrounding the city, which could be reached with a daily commute.

但乌鲁克在整个地区的主导规模，远远超过其他定居点，表明它是一个地区中心和一个真正的城市。

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.

事实上，它是人类历史上的第一个城市。

Indeed, it was the first city in human history.

它的绝大多数人口仍然从事农业活动，甚至那些住在城市里的人也不例外。

The vast majority of its population remained active in agriculture, even those people living within the city itself.

但由于城市作为区域中心的作用，城市社会中的一小部分人开始专门从事非农业工作。

But a small segment of the urban society started to specialize in nonagricultural tasks as a result of the city’s role as a regional center.

在生产部门，出现了各种各样的专业手艺人。

Within the productive sector, there was a growth of a variety of specialist craftspeople.

早在乌鲁克时期，使用未经装饰的实用陶器可能是专业化大规模生产的结果。

Early in the Uruk period, the use of undecorated utilitarian pottery was probably the result of specialized mass production.

在四千年早期的乌鲁克埃安纳（Eanna）考古遗址，一种陶器风格出现了，这是这个过程中最具特色的，所谓的斜边碗。

In an early fourth-millennium level of the Eanna archaeological site at Uruk, a pottery style appears that is most characteristic of this process, the so-called beveled-rim bowl.

这是一个很浅的碗，是在模子里粗糙地做出来的；因此，只有有限数量的标准尺寸。

It is a rather shallow bowl that was crudely made in a mold; hence, in only a limited number of standard sizes.

由于一些未知的原因，许多碗被丢弃，通常仍然完好无损，成千上万的碗在近东被发现。

For some unknown reason, many were discarded, often still intact, and thousands have been found all over the Near East.

斜边碗是鉴定乌鲁克时期遗址最有说服力的诊断发现之一。

The beveled-rim bowl is one of the most telling diagnostic finds for identifying an Uruk-period site.

重要的是，它最有可能是由中心地区的专家迅速大量生产的。

Of importance is the fact that it was produced rapidly in large amounts, most likely by specialists in a central location.

各种各样的文件表明，某些货物曾经是由家庭成员作为许多职责之一制作的，后来由熟练的工匠制作。

A variety of documentation indicates that certain goods, once made by a family member as one of many duties, were later made by skilled artisans.

某些图像描绘了一群人，很可能是妇女，参与纺织，我们从三千年前的文本内容中得知，纺织对经济至关重要，而且是中央管理的活动。

Certain images depict groups of people, most likely women, involved in weaving textiles, an activity we know from later third-millennium texts to have been vital in the economy and to have been centrally administered.

此外，一个专门的金属生产车间可能已经在乌鲁克的一个小区域被挖掘出来。

Also, a specialized metal-producing workshop may have been excavated in a small area at Uruk.

里面有许多通道，排列着一系列深约50厘米的孔洞，所有孔洞上都有烧焦的痕迹，里面填满了灰烬。

It contained a number of channels lined by a sequence of holes, about 50 centimeters deep, all showing burn marks and filled with ashes.

这被解释为一个车间的遗址，熔化的金属从通道中被铲起，倒入洞中的模具中。

This has been interpreted as the remains of a workshop where molten metal was scooped up from the channel and poured into molds in the holes.

这里涉及到一些由专家进行的大规模生产。

Some type of mass production by specialists was involved here.

物品本身表明它们是专业技术人员的作品。

Objects themselves suggest that they were the work of skilled professionals.

在乌鲁克晚期（公元前3500-3100年），首先出现了一种在美索不达米亚的整个历史中一直保持其特色的物品：滚筒印章。

In the late Uruk period (3500–3100 B.C.E.), there first appeared a type of object that remained characteristic for Mesopotamia throughout its entire history: the cylinder seal.

这是一个小圆柱，通常不超过3厘米高，2厘米直径，由贝壳、骨头、陶器（一种玻璃状的炻器）各种各样的石头组成，上面雕刻着一个场景。

This was a small cylinder, usually no more than 3 centimeters high and 2 centimeters in diameter, of shell, bone, faience (a glassy type of stoneware), or various types of stones, on which a scene was carved into the surface.

当在柔软的材料上滚动时——主要是粘土印玺（圆形印章）、石板或粘在盒子、罐子或门闩上的粘土块——场景会以浮雕的形式出现，主体从背景中投射出来，很容易辨认。

When rolled over a soft material—primarily the clay of bullae (round seals), tablets, or clay lumps attached to boxes, jars, or door bolts—the scene would appear in relief a type of sculpture in which the subjects project from the background, easily legible.

雕刻它所需要的技术知识远远超过了印章，印章发生在新石器时代早期（大约公元前10000-5000年）。

The technological knowledge needed to carve it was far superior to that for stamp seals, which had happened in the early Neolithic period (approximately 10,000–5000 B.C.E.).

从圆筒印章第一次出现开始，雕刻的场景就非常精细和精致，展现了专业工匠的水平。

From the first appearance of cylinder seals, the carved scenes could be highly elaborate and refined, indicating the work of specialist stone-cutters.

类似地，乌鲁克晚期展示了第一个完整的纪念性艺术、浮雕和雕像，其制作的熟练程度只有专业人士才能做到。

Similarly, the late Uruk period shows the first monumental art, relief, and statuary in the round, made, with a degree of mastery that only a professional could have produced.

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 “surpassing” in the passage is closest in meaning to

According to paragraph 1, all of the following are true of the ancient settlement at Uruk EXCEPT:

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

According to paragraph 2, which of the following best describes the beveled-rim bowls from the Eanna archaeological site at Uruk?

Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about craft production in the Uruk period?

According to paragraph 3, which of the following is true of textile production after the fourth millennium?

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

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

Paragraph 4 suggests which of the following about the significance of Mesopotamian cylinder seals?

According to paragraph 4, one of the artistic achievements of the late Uruk culture was

Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. When viewed on the curved surface of the cylinder, the image looked distorted, but the carved image served only as a mold.  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.

Crafts in the Ancient Near East 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 fields 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. The vast majority of its population remained active in agriculture, even those people living within the city itself. But a small segment of the urban society started to specialize in nonagricultural tasks as a result of the city’s role as a regional center. Within the productive sector, there was a growth of a variety of specialist craftspeople. Early in the Uruk period, the use of undecorated utilitarian pottery was probably the result of specialized mass production. In an early fourth-millennium level of the Eanna archaeological site at Uruk, a pottery style appears that is most characteristic of this process, the so-called beveled-rim bowl. It is a rather shallow bowl that was crudely made in a mold; hence, in only a limited number of standard sizes. For some unknown reason, many were discarded, often still intact, and thousands have been found all over the Near East. The beveled-rim bowl is one of the most telling diagnostic finds for identifying an Uruk-period site. Of importance is the fact that it was produced rapidly in large amounts, most likely by specialists in a central location. A variety of documentation indicates that certain goods, once made by a family member as one of many duties, were later made by skilled artisans. Certain images depict groups of people, most likely women, involved in weaving textiles, an activity we know from later third-millennium texts to have been vital in the economy and to have been centrally administered. Also, a specialized metal-producing workshop may have been excavated in a small area at Uruk. It contained a number of channels lined by a sequence of holes, about 50 centimeters deep, all showing burn marks and filled with ashes. This has been interpreted as the remains of a workshop where molten metal was scooped up from the channel and poured into molds in the holes. Some type of mass production by specialists was involved here. Objects themselves suggest that they were the work of skilled professionals. In the late Uruk period (3500–3100 B.C.E.), there first appeared a type of object that remained characteristic for Mesopotamia throughout its entire history: the cylinder seal.  This was a small cylinder, usually no more than 3 centimeters high and 2 centimeters in diameter, of shell, bone, faience (a glassy type of stoneware), or various types of stones, on which a scene was carved into the surface.  When rolled over a soft material—primarily the clay of bullae (round seals), tablets, or clay lumps attached to boxes, jars, or door bolts—the scene would appear in relief a type of sculpture in which the subjects project from the background, easily legible.  The technological knowledge needed to carve it was far superior to that for stamp seals, which had happened in the early Neolithic period (approximately 10,000–5000 B.C.E.).  From the first appearance of cylinder seals, the carved scenes could be highly elaborate and refined, indicating the work of specialist stone-cutters. Similarly, the late Uruk period shows the first monumental art, relief, and statuary in the round, made, with a degree of mastery that only a professional could have produced.