2015年2月1日托福阅读真题P1+题目+答案：Greek Sacred Groves and Parks

2015年2月1日托福阅读真题P1+题目+答案：Greek Sacred Groves and Parks

In Greek and Roman civilization, parks were associated with spirituality, public recreation, and city living. Greek philosophers pondered the meaning of nature and its innermost workings, the relationships between animals and humankind, and how matter related to spirit. The philosophy of Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) advanced the fundamental notion of nature as the embodiment of everything outside culture, an essence opposed to art and artificiality. This sense of nature and culture as distinct opposites continues to govern ideas about the environment and society today. Meanwhile, the suggestion of a state of nature, wholesome and pure, defined in opposition to civilized life, found acceptance in Aristotle’s time through the concept of the Golden Age—a legendary ideal that had significance for landscape planning and artistic experiment. Described by Greek poets and playwrights, the Golden Age of perpetual spring depicted an era before the adoption of agriculture, when humans embraced nature’s wonder and communicated with spirits in sacred woods. In The Odyssey (800 B.C.), Homer, the great Greek writer, described a garden that was a place of constant productivity, where “fruit never fails nor runs short, winter and summer alike.”

1. The word “pondered” in the passage is closet in meaning to

A explained

B argued over

C thought about

D understood

2. The word “fundamental” in the passage is closet in meaning to

A famous

B basic

C revolutionary

D original

3. 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.

A Aristotle used the concept of the Golden Age to explain how the pure beauty of nature could be recreated in a new, carefully planned state.

B During the Golden Age of Aristotle’s time, human activities such as landscape planning and art reached the height of creativity.

C In ancient Greek thought, both art and nature were characterized by purity and wholesomeness within a Golden Age.

D During Aristotle’s time, the idea that nature is pure and distinct from civilization was expressed in the idea of the perfect Golden Age, which influenced both art and landscape design.

4. In paragraph 1, why does the author include the quotation from The Odyssey?

A To support the idea that modern ideas about nature have not changed much since the ancient Greeks

B To contrast Homer’s ideas about nature with those of Aristotle

C To argue that the adoption of agriculture advanced Greek culture

D To give an example of an ancient Greek description of the Golden Age

Greek interest in spintuality and nature manifested itself in the tradition of the sacred grove. Usually comprised of a few trees, a spring, or a mountain crag, sacred groves became intensely mystical places by their associations with gods, spirits, or celebrated folk heroes. Twisted trees, sections of old-growth forest, and rocks or caves typically surrounded the naturalistic shrines and altars. As the Roman official and writer Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79) put it, “Trees were the first temples of the gods, and even now simple country people dedicate a tree of exceptional height to a god with the ritual of olden times, and we worship forests and the very silences they contain.”

5. In paragraph 2, the author quotes Pliny the Elder in order to support the claim that

A only simply country people believed in gods who lived in forests

B Greek beliefs about forests differed from Roman beliefs about forests

C sacred groves had mystical meanings because of their association with gods

D Greeks were more interested in nature than in spirituality

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