『新东方在线托福阅读』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 43 Passage 1阅读练习：The word “declining” in the passage is closest in meaning to真题题目及答案解析，TPO/Official 43 Passage 1阅读原文范文音频翻译

托福TPO/Official 43 Passage 1阅读原文The word “declining” 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

公元前334年，亚历山大大帝将希腊军队带到东方，仅仅用了几年的时间就在西南亚大部分地区建立了一个帝国。

In 334 B.C.Alexander the Great took his Greek armies to the east and in only a few years completed his creation of an empire out of much of southwest Asia.

在新帝国，贸易和人民流动的壁垒被消除了。市场相互联系。

In the new empire, barriers to trade and the movement of peoples were removed; markets were put in touch with one another.

在下一代，成千上万的希腊商人和工匠将进入这个更广阔的世界，寻求他们的财富。

In the next generation thousands of Greek traders and artisans would enter this wider world to seek their fortunes.

亚历山大的举动对帝国占领的地区产生了重要的影响。

Alexander’s actions had several important consequences for the region occupied by the empire.

首先是希腊文明在整个中东的扩张。

The first of these was the expansion of Greek civilization throughout the Middle East.

Greek became the great international language.

城镇不仅是驻军的“军事要塞”，而且是希腊语言，文学和思想传播的中心，特别是通过图书馆传播，就像在安提阿（在现在的土耳其）的图书馆，最著名的是在埃及的亚历山大图书馆，这将是未来一千年世界上最好的图书馆。

Towns and cities were established not only as garrisons (military posts) but as centers for the diffusion of Greek language, literature, and thought, particularly through libraries, as at Antioch (in modern Turkey) and the most famous of all, at Alexandria in Egypt, which would be the finest in the world for the next thousand years.

其次，这种国际主义意味着古典希腊城邦——古代希腊的政府单位——以及它所代表的一切的终结。

Second, this internationalism spelled the end of the classical Greek city-state—the unit of government in ancient Greece—and everything it stood for.

大多数城邦的公民规模都很小，这被认为是一件好事。

Most city-states had been quite small in terms of citizenry, and this was considered to be a good thing.

生活的焦点是集市，一个开放的市场，在那里可以举行集会，可以讨论当今的问题，也可以讨论更基本的话题，比如政府的目的或者法律与自由之间的关系，也可以由个人亲自做出决定。

The focus of life was the agora, the open marketplace where assemblies could be held and where issues of the day, as well as more fundamental topics such as the purpose of government or the relationship between law and freedom, could be discussed and decisions made by individuals in person.

哲学家柏拉图（公元前428-348年）认为理想的城邦应有大约5,000名公民，因为对于希腊人来说，社区中的每个人都应该相互认识，这很重要。

The philosopher Plato (428–348 B.C.) felt that the ideal city-state should have about 5,000 citizens, because to the Greeks it was important that everyone in the community should know each other.

在决策过程中，即使个人可能没有特别的决定权，整个公民在一起也将具有必要的知识，以便总体地做出正确的决定。

In decision making, the whole body of citizens together would have the necessary knowledge in order generally to reach the right decision, even though the individual might not be particularly qualified to decide.

哲学家亚里斯多德（公元384-322年）生活在城邦体制衰落之际，他认为拥有10万个公民的政治实体根本无法自我管理。

The philosopher Aristotle (384–322 B.C.), who lived at a time when the city-state system was declining, believed that a political entity of 100,000 simply would not be able to govern itself.

这意味着这个城邦基于这样一种理念：公民不是专家，而是拥有多种兴趣和才能——每个人都是所谓的万事通，可以参与生活和政治的许多领域。

This implied that the city-state was based on the idea that citizens were not specialists but had multiple interests and talents—each a so-called jack-of-all-trades who could engage in many areas of life and politics.

这意味着对生活的整体性的尊重，以及随之而来的对专业化的厌恶。

It implied a respect for the wholeness of life and a consequent dislike of specialization.

它暗示着经济和军事上的自给自足。

It implied economic and military self-sufficiency.

但是随着亚历山大帝国贸易和商业的发展，城市也随之发展。人们不再可能成为万事通。

But with the development of trade and commerce in Alexander’s empire came the growth of cities; it was no longer possible to be a jack-of-all-trades.

现在人们必须专门化，专业性随之而来。

One now had to specialize, and with specialization came professionalism.

需要认识的人太多了，以至于大家开始认识不过来。一个易于观察的利益共同体被多种利益所取代。

There were getting to be too many persons to know; an easily observable community of interests was being replaced by a multiplicity of interests.

The city-state was simply too “small-time.”

第三，希腊哲学向东方的哲学和宗教开放。

Third, Greek philosophy was opened up to the philosophy and religion of the East.

在希腊城邦的鼎盛时期，宗教发挥了重要作用。

At the peak of the Greek city-state, religion played an important part.

人们认为它的众神（例如众神之父宙斯和他的妻子赫拉）非常像人类，但具有超人的能力。

Its gods—such as Zeus, father of the gods, and his wife Hera—were thought of very much as being like human beings but with superhuman abilities.

他们的崇拜与仪式有关，该仪式与人的一生的进步（出生，婚姻和死亡）有关，与对危险的保护，预言和促进康复的保护有关，而不是与任何行为守则有关。

Their worship was linked to the rituals connected with one’s progress through life—birth, marriage, and death—and with invoking protection against danger, making prophecies, and promoting healing, rather than to any code of behavior.

Nor was there much of a theory of afterlife.

甚至在亚历山大时代之前，为城邦服务的生活对希腊人来说就不再是理想的了。

Even before Alexander’s time, a life spent in the service of their city-state no longer seemed ideal to Greeks.

雅典哲学家苏格拉底（公元前470-399年）他是希腊第一个提出一种基于个人良心而不是国家需求的道德标准的人，为此他被指控不相信城市的神，因此腐化了年轻人，他被判处死刑。

The Athenian philosopher Socrates (470–399 B.C.) was the first person in Greece to propose a morality based on individual conscience rather than the demands of the state, and for this he was accused of not believing in the city’s gods and so corrupting the youth, and he was condemned to death.

希腊的哲学甚至是对良心的关注可能会补充宗教，但不能替代宗教，这使希腊人即使没有完全采用宗教，也愿意接受中东的宗教制度。

Greek philosophy—or even a focus on conscience—might complement religion but was no substitute for it, and this made Greeks receptive to the religious systems of the Middle East, even if they never adopted them completely.

亚历山大死后，亚洲的宗教本能与希腊的哲学精神相结合，传遍世界，将中东文化与希腊文化相融合。

The combination of the religious instinct of Asia with the philosophic spirit of Greece spread across the world in the era after Alexander’s death, blending the culture of the Middle East with the culture of Greece.

According to paragraph 1, Alexander the Great did which of the following?

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

In paragraph 2, the author mentions the libraries at Antioch and Alexandria in order 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 3, Plato believed that the ideal city-state should be

Why does the author mention “The philosopher Aristotle”?

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

According to paragraph 4, Alexander’s empire was characterized by all of the following EXCEPT

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

According to paragraph 5, religion in the Greek city-state involved

According to paragraph 6, what was the basis for the accusation against Socrates?

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

Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Likewise, the collective decision-making process of the open marketplace was no longer practical.  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 Empire of Alexander the Great In 334 B.C. Alexander the Great took his Greek armies to the east and in only a few years completed his creation of an empire out of much of southwest Asia. In the new empire, barriers to trade and the movement of peoples were removed; markets were put in touch with one another. In the next generation thousands of Greek traders and artisans would enter this wider world to seek their fortunes. Alexander’s actions had several important consequences for the region occupied by the empire. The first of these was the expansion of Greek civilization throughout the Middle East. Greek became the great international language. Towns and cities were established not only as garrisons (military posts) but as centers for the diffusion of Greek language, literature, and thought, particularly through libraries, as at Antioch (in modern Turkey) and the most famous of all, at Alexandria in Egypt, which would be the finest in the world for the next thousand years. Second, this internationalism spelled the end of the classical Greek city-state—the unit of government in ancient Greece—and everything it stood for. Most city-states had been quite small in terms of citizenry, and this was considered to be a good thing. The focus of life was the agora, the open marketplace where assemblies could be held and where issues of the day, as well as more fundamental topics such as the purpose of government or the relationship between law and freedom, could be discussed and decisions made by individuals in person. The philosopher Plato (428–348 B.C.) felt that the ideal city-state should have about 5,000 citizens, because to the Greeks it was important that everyone in the community should know each other. In decision making, the whole body of citizens together would have the necessary knowledge in order generally to reach the right decision, even though the individual might not be particularly qualified to decide. The philosopher Aristotle (384–322 B.C.), who lived at a time when the city-state system was declining, believed that a political entity of 100,000 simply would not be able to govern itself. This implied that the city-state was based on the idea that citizens were not specialists but had multiple interests and talents—each a so-called jack-of-all-trades who could engage in many areas of life and politics. It implied a respect for the wholeness of life and a consequent dislike of specialization.  It implied economic and military self-sufficiency.  But with the development of trade and commerce in Alexander’s empire came the growth of cities; it was no longer possible to be a jack-of-all-trades.  One now had to specialize, and with specialization came professionalism.  There were getting to be too many persons to know; an easily observable community of interests was being replaced by a multiplicity of interests. The city-state was simply too “small-time.” Third, Greek philosophy was opened up to the philosophy and religion of the East. At the peak of the Greek city-state, religion played an important part. Its gods—such as Zeus, father of the gods, and his wife Hera—were thought of very much as being like human beings but with superhuman abilities. Their worship was linked to the rituals connected with one’s progress through life—birth, marriage, and death—and with invoking protection against danger, making prophecies, and promoting healing, rather than to any code of behavior. Nor was there much of a theory of afterlife. Even before Alexander’s time, a life spent in the service of their city-state no longer seemed ideal to Greeks. The Athenian philosopher Socrates (470–399 B.C.) was the first person in Greece to propose a morality based on individual conscience rather than the demands of the state, and for this he was accused of not believing in the city’s gods and so corrupting the youth, and he was condemned to death. Greek philosophy—or even a focus on conscience—might complement religion but was no substitute for it, and this made Greeks receptive to the religious systems of the Middle East, even if they never adopted them completely. The combination of the religious instinct of Asia with the philosophic spirit of Greece spread across the world in the era after Alexander’s death, blending the culture of the Middle East with the culture of Greece.