『新东方在线托福阅读』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 20 Passage 2阅读练习：The word “momentous” in the passage is closest in meaning to真题题目及答案解析，TPO/Official 20 Passage 2阅读原文范文音频翻译

托福TPO/Official 20 Passage 2阅读原文The word “momentous” 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

冰河世纪末期的全球普遍变暖对亚洲、欧洲和北美洲温带地区造成了剧烈的影响。

The universal global warming at the end of the Ice Age had dramatic effects on temperate regions of Asia, Europe, and North America.

Ice sheets retreated and sea levels rose.

由于涉及到山脉雪线、降水类型和植被覆盖的变化，亚洲西南部地区的气候变化则显得相对较小。

The climatic changes in southwestern Asia were more subtle, in that they involved shifts in mountain snow lines, rainfall patterns, and vegetation cover.

然而，这些同样的变化周期对该地区稀少的人口却带来了重大影响。

However, these same cycles of change had momentous impacts on the sparse human populations of the region.

冰河世纪末期，仅有几千人在地中海沿岸东部的约旦河以及幼发拉底河流域寻觅食物。

At the end of the Ice Age, no more than a few thousand foragers lived along the eastern Mediterranean coast, in the Jordan and Euphrates valleys.

在之后的2000年里，乡村生活和农业使得该地区的人口数量达到了数以万计。

Within 2,000 years, the human population of the region numbered in the tens of thousands, all as a result of village life and farming.

环境学和考古学方面的新发现帮助我们现在可以了解到当地生活中所发生的显著变化。

Thanks to new environmental and archaeological discoveries, we now know something about this remarkable change in local life.

来自叙利亚和其他地区的淡水湖花粉样本告诉我们由于亚洲西南部当时的气候比现在要更加凉爽且相当湿润，因此冰河世纪末期的森林植被扩张迅速。

Pollen samples from freshwater lakes in Syria and elsewhere tell us forest cover expanded rapidly at the end of the Ice Age, for the southwestern Asian climate was still cooler and considerably wetter than today.

当时很多地区的动物和植物种类要比现在丰富，使得这些地区非常适合人类定居。

Many areas were richer in animal and plant species than they are now, making them highly favorable for human occupation.

大约在公元前9000年，大多数人类定居点都位于地中海沿岸以及伊朗的扎格罗斯山脉及其丘陵地带。

About 9000 B.C., most human settlements lay in the area along the Mediterranean coast and in the Zagros Mountains of Iran and their foothills.

当地一些地区（例如约旦河流域、幼发拉底河流域中部以及一些扎格罗斯山谷）就比别处的人口更为稠密。

Some local areas, like the Jordan River valley, the middle Euphrates valley, and some Zagros valleys, were more densely populated than elsewhere.

更为复杂的定居社会在此繁荣兴旺起来。

Here more sedentary and more complex societies flourished.

这些人对该地形进行广泛地开发利用，在山坡上采集野生谷类植物和坚果，在被青草覆盖的低地和河谷中狩猎瞪羚（小型快速奔跑的沙漠动物）以及其他猎物。

These people exploited the landscape intensively, foraging on hill slopes for wild cereal grasses and nuts, while hunting gazelle, a small, swiftly running desert animal and other game on grassy lowlands and in river valleys.

他们的定居点包含外来物品，例如贝壳、石碗以及由黑曜石（火山玻璃）制成的人工制品，都是通过从远方交易所获得的。

Their settlements contain exotic objects such as seashells, stone bowls, and artifacts made of obsidian (volcanic glass), all traded from afar.

这些大量的社会间的交换随后在一定程度上导致了社会复杂性。

This considerable volume of intercommunity exchange brought a degree of social complexity in its wake.

通过极其精细的挖掘和广泛使用的浮选方法（从土壤样本中获取种子），我们可以大量了解叙利亚幼发拉底河流域的阿布胡赖拉居民的觅食活动。

Thanks to extremely fine-grained excavation and extensive use of flotation methods (through which seeds are recovered from soil samples), we know a great deal about the foraging practices of the inhabitants of Abu Hureyra in Syria’s Euphrates valley.

阿布胡赖拉是一座建立于公元前9500年的小村庄，村子里是狭窄的洞穴式民居（房子的一部分是下挖于地下的），屋顶由芦苇制成，四周由木制支柱支撑。

Abu Hureyra was founded about 9500 B.C.a small village settlement of cramped pit dwellings (houses dug partially in the soil) with reed roofs supported by wooden uprights.

在接下来的1500年，这里的居民享受着比现在稍微温暖且潮湿的气候，并居住在树木繁茂的大草原地区，那里拥有丰富的野生谷类植物。

For the next 1,500 years, its inhabitants enjoyed a somewhat warmer and damper climate than today, living in a well-wooded steppe area where wild cereal grasses were abundant.

他们依靠着每年春季由南方迁移来的波斯瞪羚来维持生活。

They subsisted off spring migrations of Persian gazelles from the south.

在这个位置优越的地方，大约有300到400人居住在一个相当大的永久定居点。

With such a favorable location, about 300 to 400 people lived in a sizable, permanent settlement.

他们不再是分散的小伙人群而是居住在一个大的社区里，拥有更为复杂的社会组织，很可能是按照共同血统而划分的部族。

They were no longer a series of small bands but lived in a large community with more elaborate social organization, probably grouped into clans of people of common descent.

从挖掘中获得的浮选样本帮助植物学家来研究这些居民植物采集习惯上的变化，犹如通过望远镜观察不断变化的景色。

The flotation samples from the excavations allowed botanists to study shifts in plant-collecting habits as if they were looking through a telescope at a changing landscape.

数以百计的微小的植物遗存表明这些居民是如何利用在附近的开心果树林和橡树林里所采集到的坚果。

Hundreds of tiny plant remains show how the inhabitants exploited nut harvests in nearby pistachio and oak forests.

然而，随着气候变得干燥，这些树林从定居点周边地区逐渐退去。

However, as the climate dried up, the forests retreated from the vicinity of the settlement.

这些居民转而采集大量的野生谷类植物，而坚果在饮食中所占的比重有所下降。

The inhabitants turned to wild cereal grasses instead, collecting them by the thousands, while the percentage of nuts in the diet fell.

到公元前8200年，非常严重的旱情使得这些人放弃了长期的定居点，分散成了较小的营地。

By 8200 B.C., drought conditions were so severe that the people abandoned their long-established settlement, persing into smaller camps.

500年以后，大约在公元前7700年，一个新的村庄出现在高地之上。

Five centuries later, about 7700 B.C., a new village rose on the mound.

起初那里的居民仍以捕猎瞪羚为主。

At first the inhabitants still hunted gazelle intensively.

大约在公元前7000年，经过了几代人之后，这些人就突然开始放牧家养的山羊和绵羊，同时种植单粒小麦、豆类以及其他谷类植物。

Then, about 7000 B.C., within the space of a few generations, they switched abruptly to herding domesticated goats and sheep and to growing einkorn, pulses, and other cereal grasses.

阿布胡赖拉迅速发展，最终占地将近30英亩。

Abu Hureyra grew rapidly until it covered nearly 30 acres.

它是一座长方形的紧密结合的社区，单层的泥砖房屋与狭窄的小巷和院落相连，该村落最终于大约公元前5000年被遗弃。

It was a close-knit community of rectangular, one-story mud-brick houses, joined by narrow lanes and courtyards, finally abandoned about 5000 B.C..

很多复杂因素导致人们采用新的经济制度，这不仅发生在阿布胡赖拉，在很多其它地方例如同样在叙利亚境内的艾因加扎勒发现的山羊的趾骨上就显示有足部被系留放牧（捆绑）所造成的磨损迹象，这证明了早期的家畜饲养。

Many complex factors led to the adoption of the new economies, not only at Abu Hureyra, but at many other locations such as ‘Ain Ghazal, also in Syria, where goat toe bones showing the telltale marks of abrasion caused by foot tethering (binding) testify to early herding of domestic stock.

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

Major climatic changes occurred by the end of the Ice Age in all of the following geographic areas EXCEPT

The phrase “this remarkable change” in the passage refers to

Why does the author mention “seashells, stone bowls, and artifacts made of obsidian”?

Paragraph 3 suggests which of the following about the settlement of Abu Hureyra?

Paragraph 4 suggests that the people of Abu Hureyra abandoned their long-established settlement because

According to paragraph 5, after 7000 B.C. the settlement of Abu Hureyra differed from earlier settlements at that location in all of the following EXCEPT

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.

Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. One of the major effects was the rapid growth of the human population itself.  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.

Early Settlements in Southwest Asia The universal global warming at the end of the Ice Age had dramatic effects on temperate regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. Ice sheets retreated and sea levels rose.  The climatic changes in southwestern Asia were more subtle, in that they involved shifts in mountain snow lines, rainfall patterns, and vegetation cover.  However, these same cycles of change had momentous impacts on the sparse human populations of the region.  At the end of the Ice Age, no more than a few thousand foragers lived along the eastern Mediterranean coast, in the Jordan and Euphrates valleys. Within 2,000 years, the human population of the region numbered in the tens of thousands, all as a result of village life and farming.  Thanks to new environmental and archaeological discoveries, we now know something about this remarkable change in local life. Pollen samples from freshwater lakes in Syria and elsewhere tell us forest cover expanded rapidly at the end of the Ice Age, for the southwestern Asian climate was still cooler and considerably wetter than today. Many areas were richer in animal and plant species than they are now, making them highly favorable for human occupation. About 9000 B.C., most human settlements lay in the area along the Mediterranean coast and in the Zagros Mountains of Iran and their foothills. Some local areas, like the Jordan River valley, the middle Euphrates valley, and some Zagros valleys, were more densely populated than elsewhere. Here more sedentary and more complex societies flourished. These people exploited the landscape intensively, foraging on hill slopes for wild cereal grasses and nuts, while hunting gazelle, a small, swiftly running desert animal and other game on grassy lowlands and in river valleys. Their settlements contain exotic objects such as seashells, stone bowls, and artifacts made of obsidian (volcanic glass), all traded from afar. This considerable volume of intercommunity exchange brought a degree of social complexity in its wake. Thanks to extremely fine-grained excavation and extensive use of flotation methods (through which seeds are recovered from soil samples), we know a great deal about the foraging practices of the inhabitants of Abu Hureyra in Syria’s Euphrates valley. Abu Hureyra was founded about 9500 B.C. a small village settlement of cramped pit dwellings (houses dug partially in the soil) with reed roofs supported by wooden uprights. For the next 1,500 years, its inhabitants enjoyed a somewhat warmer and damper climate than today, living in a well-wooded steppe area where wild cereal grasses were abundant. They subsisted off spring migrations of Persian gazelles from the south. With such a favorable location, about 300 to 400 people lived in a sizable, permanent settlement. They were no longer a series of small bands but lived in a large community with more elaborate social organization, probably grouped into clans of people of common descent. The flotation samples from the excavations allowed botanists to study shifts in plant-collecting habits as if they were looking through a telescope at a changing landscape. Hundreds of tiny plant remains show how the inhabitants exploited nut harvests in nearby pistachio and oak forests. However, as the climate dried up, the forests retreated from the vicinity of the settlement. The inhabitants turned to wild cereal grasses instead, collecting them by the thousands, while the percentage of nuts in the diet fell. By 8200 B.C., drought conditions were so severe that the people abandoned their long-established settlement, persing into smaller camps. Five centuries later, about 7700 B.C., a new village rose on the mound. At first the inhabitants still hunted gazelle intensively. Then, about 7000 B.C., within the space of a few generations, they switched abruptly to herding domesticated goats and sheep and to growing einkorn, pulses, and other cereal grasses. Abu Hureyra grew rapidly until it covered nearly 30 acres. It was a close-knit community of rectangular, one-story mud-brick houses, joined by narrow lanes and courtyards, finally abandoned about 5000 B.C.. Many complex factors led to the adoption of the new economies, not only at Abu Hureyra, but at many other locations such as ‘Ain Ghazal, also in Syria, where goat toe bones showing the telltale marks of abrasion caused by foot tethering (binding) testify to early herding of domestic stock.