托福阅读真题+题目+答案：Continuous Script and Oral Culture in Europe

托福阅读真题+题目+答案：Continuous Script and Oral Culture in Europe

Today people commonly read in silence and in private,but that was not the case in Europe during the periods of ancient Greece (800-146 B.C.E.),ancient Rome (753 B.C.E.-476 C.E.),and the centuries that followed.In ancient Greek times,reading was an oral (spoken)practice–one reflected in writing itself.Greek texts were written in a continuous script (without spaces between words)and with minimal punctuation;this both required and rewarded sounding them aloud.Continuous script could not have developed without the Greek introduction of letters for vowels,which allowed readers to identify syllables and hold them in memory as the eye moved across the text.

1.According to paragraph 1,which of the following is true about continuous script?

A It required readers to study texts in quiet,private spaces.

B It was made possible by the introduction of letters to represent vowels.

C It led the Greeks to abandon their previous forms of writing.

D It was developed to make it easier to write down oral speech.

Though it seems awkward to us now,continuous script was not a natural construction,but a choice,as demonstrated by the fact that the Romans discarded their own punctuation in the first century in favor of the Greek model.It established literacy (ability to read and write)as the domain of a cultured elite,who either studied from a young age to master the skills appropriate for reading each individual text or employed a professional reader,or lector,for the task.It also facilitated a culture of shared inquiry,in which challenging texts were read aloud in groups as an incentive for debate.In ancient Greece, literature was primarily a social activity,with audiences gathering for performances of epic poetry and drama.Epic poems bear the hallmarks of this orality:they rely on repetition,formulaic images, meter,and rhyme as mnemonic (memory)aids to the performer.The term used to describe performances of such works,rhapsody,means “to stitch together-suggesting the extent to which oral composition relies on weaving familiar lines.

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

A preparation

B motivation

C topic

D opportunity

3.Why does the author state that "literature was primarily a social activity" in ancient Greece?

A To emphasize the oral nature of literature in ancient Greece

B lb explain why epic poems were popular in ancient Greece

C To support the point about how the elite acquired reading skills

D To suggest that audiences memorized the literary works they heard performed

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