2014年10月18日托福阅读真题P3+题目+答案：The Collapse of the Mays

2014年10月18日托福阅读真题P3+题目+答案：The Collapse of the Mays

The Mayan society of Central America (2000 B.C. – A.D. 1500), like other ancient states, was characterized by populations unprecedented both in their size and density. It was not just the number of people that lived in the Mayan city-states but also the relatively small area into which they were concentrated. To support such populations, societies developed various intensive agricultural methods, including large-scale irrigation and hill-slope terracing (the cutting of horizontal ridges into hillsides so they can be farmed). These were designed both to increase yields from a given area and to increase the absolute amount of land under cultivation. These strategies were in essence very successful: hey made it possible to feed larger populations than ever before and supported the growth of cities. But they also placed considerable strains on the environment and rendered it increasingly fragile and vulnerable to unexpected climatic events, and even to short-term fluctuations. Thus, the argument is that because of their size and ever more intensive agriculture, the Mayan and other ancient state societies were fundamentally unsustainable.

57. According to paragraph 1, ancient societies increased their agricultural output by

A.increasing the percentage of the population that worked as farmers

B.creating large irrigation systems

C.being highly selective of the fields they would farm

D.moving more people into the city to free up farmland

58. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1 about the intensive agricultural methods of the Maya?

A.They helped the Maya overcome short-term fluctuations in the climate.

B.They could not supply all of the food required for the growth of Mayan cities.

C.They strained the environment more than the Maya’s previous farming techniques did.

D.They were invented by the Maya to help them grow new kinds of crops.

Claims about environmental degradation and disaster have figured prominently in discussions of the collapse of the Mayan city-states of the Central American lowlands. When two explorers came upon the Mayan cities in the 1830s, they were struck by the sight of tall pyramids and elaborately carved stones among luxuriant forest growth. Here was the archetypal picture of a great lost civilization: abandoned cities submerged in vegetation. Theories of catastrophic collapse or apocalyptic overthrow came naturally to mind to explain these dramatic scenes.

59. The word "elaborately" in the passage is closest in meaning to

A.with great detail

B.artistically

C.mysteriously

D.gently hand-made

60. The word "abandoned" in the passage is closest in meaning to

A.carefully hidden

B.destroyed

C.enormous

D.no longer occupied

61. In paragraph 2, the author implies which of the following about the collapse of the Mayan city-states?

A.The fact that vegetation had grown over the ruins of Mayan buildings indicates that environmental degradation did not contribute to the Mayan collapse.

B.Early explorers supposed that there was a catastrophic collapse of the Mayan city states largely because this view fit their preconceived ideas about lost civilizations.

C.The condition of the tall pyramids and carved stones discovered by early explorers proves that Mayan city-states were violently overthrown.

D.The Mayan cities were abandoned because they became submerged in vegetation.

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