2021年6月14日托福阅读真题+题目+答案：London's Second-Century Decline

2021年6月14日托福阅读真题+题目+答案：London's Second-Century Decline

The Romans invaded Britain in A.D. 43. ■ In the early part of the second century A.D. , much of Londinium--the Roman outpost city that eventually became modern London--was destroyed by fire. ■ There is no contemporary reference to this great fire, or possibly succession of local fires. ■ However, archaeological evidence leaves no doubt that such a disaster did occur between A.D. 120 and 130. ■ The Hadrianic fire (named for the Roman emperor of that time) marks the onset of a profound change, and in some respects a decline, including a substantial   fall in the population of Londinium after about A.D. 150.   

At its greatest extent in the early second century, the population of Londinium may have been in the region of 30,000--greater, perhaps, than it would be again for over 1,000 years. Recent estimates of the population of Roman Britain as a whole (i.e., of England and Wales), range between almost three million and up to six million. All such estimates must necessarily be uncertain and partly speculative, but they do at least give some idea of the scale of the matter. The population of Londinium, it may be noted, amounted to at most 1 percent (or 0.5 percent if the figure of six million is used) of that of Britain as a whole, far below the ratio of later times--in 1550, for instance, 2.5 percent of the population of all England, and in 1700, 11 percent. In terms of the likely numbers of its inhabitants, it seems therefore that even at its peak, Londinium's position in relation to the provinces was in Roman times less important than it was to become later.     

Despite the extent of the damage that it caused, the Hadrianic fire of A.D. 120-130 cannot have been the main cause of the recession of Londinium. Nor can the frequent military。。。。。余下托福阅读原文省略！

1. The word "substantial" in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. gradual

B. significant

C. surprising

D. total

2. The word "diminish" in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. be reduced

B. be ignored

C. be established

D. be challenged

3. According to paragraph 3, which of the following was an effect of military operations in North Wales and southern Scotland?

A. A decline in the population of Londinium

B. A decrease in resources available in southern Britain

C. The defeat of the Roman governor

The destruction of the governor's palace

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