『新东方在线托福阅读』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 40 Passage 1阅读练习：The word “embellishing” in the passage is closest in meaning to真题题目及答案解析，TPO/Official 40 Passage 1阅读原文范文音频翻译

托福TPO/Official 40 Passage 1阅读原文The word “embellishing” 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800年到公元前500年期间，希腊最重要的变化之一是城邦的崛起，并且每个城邦都发展了适合其情况的政府体系。

One of the most important changes in Greece during the period from 800 B.C.to 500 B.C.was the rise of the polis, or city-state, and each polis developed a system of government that was appropriate to its circumstances.

雅典面临和解决的问题是老牌贵族和新兴的其他阶级之间的政治权力分享，以及贵族的生活方式与新城邦的生活方式的调整。

The problems that were faced and solved in Athens were the sharing of political power between the established aristocracy and the emerging other classes, and the adjustment of aristocratic ways of life to the ways of life of the new polis.

正是所有这些元素的和谐融合，才产生了雅典的古典文化。

It was the harmonious blending of all of these elements that was to produce the classical culture of Athens.

进入城邦时代，雅典拥有其他希腊原民主国家的传统制度：成年男性集会，贵族议会，以及每年选举产生官员。

Entering the polis age, Athens had the traditional institutions of other Greek protodemocratic states: an assembly of adult males, an aristocratic council, and annually elected officials.

在这个传统的框架内，雅典人在公元前600年到公元前450年之间，发展了希腊人认为的完全成熟的民主宪法，尽管赋予投票权的人比现代少。

Within this traditional framework the Athenians, between 600 B.C.and 450 B.C., evolved what Greeks regarded as a fully fledged democratic constitution, though the right to vote was given to fewer groups of people than is seen in modern times.

变革的第一步是梭伦在公元前594年采取的，当时他打破了贵族对民选公职的束缚，确立了担任公职的基础是财富而不是出身，取消了普通雅典人对贵族的经济义务，并允许集会（所有公民都是平等的成员）在某些情况下推翻地方法院的裁决。

The first steps toward change were taken by Solon in 594 B.C., when he broke the aristocracy’s stranglehold on elected offices by establishing wealth rather than birth as the basis of office holding, abolishing the economic obligations of ordinary Athenians to the aristocracy, and allowing the assembly (of which all citizens were equal members) to overrule the decisions of local courts in certain cases.

在本世纪余下的时间里，雅典贵族的力量因一种被称为暴政的政府的崛起而进一步削弱，暴政是一种受欢迎的强人的临时统治形式（而不是像这个词的现代用法所暗示的那样由无情的独裁者统治）。

The strength of the Athenian aristocracy was further weakened during the rest of the century by the rise of a type of government known as a tyranny, which is a form of interim rule by a popular strongman (not rule by a ruthless dictator as the modern use of the term suggests to us).

暴君的继承人，佩西斯特拉托斯（以王朝创始人庇西特拉图的名字命名），通过任命地区法官，制造首个雅典硬币，以及增加和美化那些更关注雅典而不是周边村庄的节日，以贵族的利益为代价加强了雅典的中央行政。

The Peisistratids, as the succession of tyrants were called (after the founder of the dynasty, Peisistratos), strengthened Athenian central administration at the expense of the aristocracy by appointing judges throughout the region, producing Athens’ first national coinage, and adding and embellishing festivals that tended to focus attention on Athens rather than on local villages of the surrounding region.

到了本世纪末，进行更多变革的时机已经成熟：暴君被赶下台，公元前508年，一位新的改革者克利斯提尼为减少已经实行的贵族统治的发展提供了最终形式。

By the end of the century, the time was ripe for more change: the tyrants were driven out, and in 508 B.C.a new reformer, Cleisthenes, gave final form to the developments reducing aristocratic control already under way.

克利斯提尼对雅典民主创建的主要贡献是完成了削弱家庭和氏族结构的长期过程，特别是在贵族中，并在他们的位置上建立了名为底默斯的本地社团，这成为雅典所有公民和大多数宗教生活的切入点。

Cleisthenes’ principal contribution to the creation of democracy at Athens was to complete the long process of weakening family and clan structures, especially among the aristocrats, and to set in their place locality-based corporations called demes, which became the point of entry for all civic and most religious life in Athens.

从底默斯中产生了10个人口大致相等的人工部落。

Out of the demes were created 10 artificial tribes of roughly equal population.

在底默斯中通过选举或选举产生了500名新委员会成员，6000名法院陪审员，10名将军和数百名委员。

From the demes, by either election or selection, came 500 members of a new council, 6,000 jurors for the courts, 10 generals, and hundreds of commissioners.

集会在所有事务上都具有主权，但实际上将权力下放给下属机构，例如理事会，为大会的会议作了准备，以及法院，负责大多数司法事务。

The assembly was sovereign in all matters but in practice delegated its power to subordinate bodies such as the council, which prepared the agenda for the meetings of the assembly, and the courts, which took care of most judicial matters.

各个委员会充当行政部门，执行集会的政策并进行监督，例如，食品和水供应以及公共建筑。

Various committees acted as an executive branch, implementing policies of the assembly and supervising, for instance, the food and water supplies and public buildings.

公民在政府中的广泛参与将雅典城邦的民主形式与其他不那么自由的形式区分开来。

This wide-scale participation by the citizenry in the government distinguished the democratic form of the Athenian polis from other, less liberal forms.

克利斯提尼改革的效果是在不破坏地方机构的情况下，确立了雅典社团作为一个整体相对于地方机构的优越性。

The effect of Cleisthenes’ reforms was to establish the superiority of the Athenian community as a whole over local institutions without destroying them.

成为焦点的是国家政治，而不是地方政治或古希腊行政单位的政治。

National politics rather than local or deme politics became the focal point.

与此同时，国家政治开始始于古希腊行政单位层面，并赋予了地方忠诚度一个新的焦点：雅典本身。

At the same time, entry into national politics began at the deme level and gave local loyalty a new focus: Athens itself.

在接下来的两个世纪里，克利斯提尼改革的影响得到了充分的利用。

Over the next two centuries the implications of Cleisthenes’ reforms were fully exploited.

在公元前5世纪，由500人组成的理事会在制定政策方面具有极大的影响力。

During the fifth century B.C.the council of 500 was extremely influential in shaping policy.

然而，在下个世纪，承担决策责任的是成熟的集会。

In the next century, however, it was the mature assembly that took on decision-making responsibility.

除了被所谓的劣等“人民”抢了风头的贵族之外，以任何其他标准衡量，雅典的民主都取得了惊人的成功。

By any measure other than that of the aristocrats, who had been upstaged by the supposedly inferior “people,” the Athenian democracy was a stunning success.

在此之前或之后，从来没有这么多人参与到严肃的自治事务中来。

Never before, or since, have so many people been involved in the serious business of self-governance.

正是这个参与公共生活的机会，为希腊古典文化的灿烂发展提供了刺激。

It was precisely this opportunity to participate in public life that provided a stimulus for the brilliant unfolding of classical Greek culture.

Paragraph 1 supports which of the following statements about the Greek city-states?

According to paragraph 3, an important effect of making wealth the basis of office holding was to

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

In paragraph 3, the author’s explanation of the word “tyranny” indicates that

According to paragraph 3, all of the following were true of the Peisistratids’ rule EXCEPT:

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

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.

According to paragraph 4, one role of the new council was to

Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Indeed, at the height of Athenian democracy there was no government separate from its citizenry.  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.

Ancient Athens One of the most important changes in Greece during the period from 800 B.C. to 500 B.C. was the rise of the polis, or city-state, and each polis developed a system of government that was appropriate to its circumstances. The problems that were faced and solved in Athens were the sharing of political power between the established aristocracy and the emerging other classes, and the adjustment of aristocratic ways of life to the ways of life of the new polis. It was the harmonious blending of all of these elements that was to produce the classical culture of Athens. Entering the polis age, Athens had the traditional institutions of other Greek protodemocratic states: an assembly of adult males, an aristocratic council, and annually elected officials. Within this traditional framework the Athenians, between 600 B.C. and 450 B.C., evolved what Greeks regarded as a fully fledged democratic constitution, though the right to vote was given to fewer groups of people than is seen in modern times. The first steps toward change were taken by Solon in 594 B.C., when he broke the aristocracy’s stranglehold on elected offices by establishing wealth rather than birth as the basis of office holding, abolishing the economic obligations of ordinary Athenians to the aristocracy, and allowing the assembly (of which all citizens were equal members) to overrule the decisions of local courts in certain cases. The strength of the Athenian aristocracy was further weakened during the rest of the century by the rise of a type of government known as a tyranny, which is a form of interim rule by a popular strongman (not rule by a ruthless dictator as the modern use of the term suggests to us). The Peisistratids, as the succession of tyrants were called (after the founder of the dynasty, Peisistratos), strengthened Athenian central administration at the expense of the aristocracy by appointing judges throughout the region, producing Athens’ first national coinage, and adding and embellishing festivals that tended to focus attention on Athens rather than on local villages of the surrounding region. By the end of the century, the time was ripe for more change: the tyrants were driven out, and in 508 B.C. a new reformer, Cleisthenes, gave final form to the developments reducing aristocratic control already under way. Cleisthenes’ principal contribution to the creation of democracy at Athens was to complete the long process of weakening family and clan structures, especially among the aristocrats, and to set in their place locality-based corporations called demes, which became the point of entry for all civic and most religious life in Athens. Out of the demes were created 10 artificial tribes of roughly equal population. From the demes, by either election or selection, came 500 members of a new council, 6,000 jurors for the courts, 10 generals, and hundreds of commissioners. The assembly was sovereign in all matters but in practice delegated its power to subordinate bodies such as the council, which prepared the agenda for the meetings of the assembly, and the courts, which took care of most judicial matters. Various committees acted as an executive branch, implementing policies of the assembly and supervising, for instance, the food and water supplies and public buildings. This wide-scale participation by the citizenry in the government distinguished the democratic form of the Athenian polis from other, less liberal forms. The effect of Cleisthenes’ reforms was to establish the superiority of the Athenian community as a whole over local institutions without destroying them. National politics rather than local or deme politics became the focal point. At the same time, entry into national politics began at the deme level and gave local loyalty a new focus: Athens itself. Over the next two centuries the implications of Cleisthenes’ reforms were fully exploited. During the fifth century B.C. the council of 500 was extremely influential in shaping policy.  In the next century, however, it was the mature assembly that took on decision-making responsibility.  By any measure other than that of the aristocrats, who had been upstaged by the supposedly inferior “people,” the Athenian democracy was a stunning success. Never before, or since, have so many people been involved in the serious business of self-governance.  It was precisely this opportunity to participate in public life that provided a stimulus for the brilliant unfolding of classical Greek culture.