2015年4月18日托福阅读真题+题目+答案：Origins of the Megaliths

2015年4月18日托福阅读真题+题目+答案：Origins of the Megaliths

1. Since the days of the earliest antiquarians, scholars have been puzzled by the many Neolithic (~ 4000 B.C. ¨C 2200 B.C.) communal tombs known as megaliths along Europe's Atlantic seaboard. Although considerable variations are found in the architectural form of these impressive monuments, there is a general overriding similarity in design and, particularly, in the use of massive stones.

2. The construction of such large and architecturally complex tombs by European barbarians struck early prehistorians as unlikely. The Bronze Age seafaring civilizations that lived in the region of the Aegean Sea (~ 3000 B.C.¨C1000 B.C.), among whom collective burial and a diversity of stone-built tombs were known, seemed a probable source of inspiration. It was suggested that Aegean people had visited Iberia in southwestern Europe in search of metal ores and had introduced the idea of collective burial in massive tombs, which then spread northward to Brittany, Britain, North Germany, and Scandinavia.

3. Radiocarbon dates for a fortified settlement of megalith builders at Los Millares in Spain appeared to confirm this picture, though dates for megaliths in Brittany seemed too early. When calibrated, however, it became clear that radiocarbon dates were universally too early to support a Bronze Age Aegean origin. It is now clear that the megaliths are a western and northern European invention, not an introduced idea. Even so, they are still a subject of speculation and inquiry. What induced their builders to invest massive efforts in erecting such monumental tombs How was the necessary labor force assembled What underlies their striking similarities

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托福阅读真题题目：

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

A.above ground

B.public

C.elaborate

D.group

2.According to paragraph 2, early prehistorians thought the Aegean people of the Bronze Age might have influenced megalith building along the Atlantic seaboard because they

A.had established commercial routes along the Atlantic seaboard

B.had been in Iberia, where they introduced the idea of burial in very large tombs

C.were thought to have found megaliths in Iberia when searching for metals

D.were thought to have passed along the concept of burial in monumental tombs as they explored Brittany, Britain, North Germany, and Scandinavia

3.In paragraph 3, why does the author discuss the results of radiocarbon dates?

A.To support the idea that megaliths spread rapidly during the Bronze Age

B.To question the idea that megaliths have a religious origin

C.To provide evidence against the theory that Bronze Age Aegean inspired the megaliths

D.To argue that the megaliths in Brittany are older than the megaliths in Los Millares

4.The word "erecting" in the passage is closest in meaning to

A.designing

B.constructing

C.protecting

D.decorating

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