TPO41阅读文本及答案解析

Trade and Early State Formation

Bartering was a basic trade mechanism for many thousands of years;often sporadic and usually based on notions of reciprocity, it involved themutual exchange of commodities or objects between individuals or groups.Redistribution of these goods through society lay in the hands of chiefs,religious leaders, or kin groups. Such redistribution was a basic element inchiefdoms. The change from redistribution to formal trade—often based onregulated commerce that perhaps involved fixed prices and even currency—wasclosely tied to growing political and social complexity and hence to thedevelopment of the state in the ancient world.

In the 1970s, a number of archaeologists gave trade a primary rolein the rise of ancient states. British archaeologist Colin Renfrew attributedthe dramatic flowering of the Minoan civilization on Crete and through theAegean to intensified trading contacts and to the impact of olive and vinecultivation on local communities. As agricultural economies became morediversified and local food supplies could be purchased both locally and over longerdistances, a far-reaching economic interdependence resulted. Eventually, thisled to redistribution systems for luxuries and basic commodities, systems thatwere organized and controlled by Minoan rulers from their palaces. As time wenton, the self-sufficiency of communities was replaced by mutual dependence.Interest in long­-distance trade brought about some cultural homogeneity fromtrade and gift exchange, and perhaps even led to piracy. Thus, intensifiedtrade and interaction, and the flowering of specialist crafts, in a complexprocess of positive feedback, led to much more complex societies based onpalaces, which were the economic hubs of a new Minoan civilization.

Renfrew’s model made some assumptions that are now discounted. Forexample, he argued that the introduction of domesticated vines and olivesallowed a substantial expansion of land under cultivation and helped to powerthe emergence of complex society. Many archaeologists and paleobotanists nowquestion this view, pointing out that the available evidence for cultivatedvines and olives suggests that they were present only in the later Bronze Age.Trade, nevertheless, was probably one of many variables that led to theemergence of palace economies in Minoan Crete.

American archaeologist William Rathje developed a hypothesis thatconsidered an explosion in long-distance exchange a fundamental cause of Mayancivilization in Mesoamerica. He suggested that the lowland Mayan environmentwas deficient in many vital resources, among them obsidian, salt, stone forgrinding maize, and many luxury materials. All these could be obtained from thenearby highlands, from the Valley of Mexico, and from other regions, if thenecessary trading networks came into being. Such connections, and the trading expeditionsto maintain them, could not be organized by individual villages. The Maya livedin a relatively uniform environment, where every community suffered from thesame resource deficiencies. Thus, argued Rathje, long­-distance trade networkswere organized through local ceremonial centers and their leaders. In time,this organization became a state, and knowledge of its functioning wasexportable, as were pottery, tropical bird feathers, specialized stonematerials, and other local commodities.

Rathje’s hypothesis probably explains part of the complex process ofMayan state formation, but it suffers from the objection that suitablealternative raw materials can be found in the lowlands. It could be, too, thatwarfare became a competitive response to population growth and to theincreasing scarcity of prime agricultural land, and that it played an importantrole in the emergence of the Mayan states.

Now that we know much more about ancient exchange and commerce, weknow that, because no one aspect of trade was an overriding cause of culturalchange or evolution in commercial practices, trade can never be looked on as aunifying factor or as a primary agent of ancient civilization. Manyever-changing variables affected ancient trade, among them the demand forgoods. There were also the logistics of transportation, the extent of thetrading network, and the social and political environment. Intricate marketnetworks channeled supplies along well-defined routes. Authorities at both endsmight regulate the profits fed back to the source, providing the incentive forfurther transactions. There may or may not have been a market organization.Extensive long­-distance trade was a consequence rather than a cause of complexsocieties.

Paragraph 1

Bartering was a basic trade mechanism for many thousands of years;often sporadic and usually based on notions of reciprocity, it involved themutual exchange of commodities or objects between individuals or groups.Redistribution of these goods through society lay in the hands of chiefs,religious leaders, or kin groups. Such redistribution was a basic element inchiefdoms. The change from redistribution to formal trade—often based onregulated commerce that perhaps involved fixed prices and even currency—wasclosely tied to growing political and social complexity and hence to thedevelopment of the state in the ancient world.

The word "notions" in the passage is closest in meaning to

ideas

rules

degrees

traditions

According to paragraph 1, what development occurred as political andsocial complexity increased?

A. The prices of most commodities rose.

B. Formal trade emerged.

C. Chiefs became more powerful

D. Bartering became the preferred means of trade.

Paragraph 2

In the 1970s, a number of archaeologists gave trade a primary rolein the rise of ancient states. British archaeologist Colin Renfrew attributedthe dramatic flowering of the Minoan civilization on Crete and through theAegean to intensified trading contacts and to the impact of olive and vine cultivationon local communities. As agricultural economies became more diversified andlocal food supplies could be purchased both locally and over longer distances,a far-reaching economic interdependence resulted. Eventually, this led toredistribution systems for luxuries and basic commodities, systems that wereorganized and controlled by Minoan rulers from their palaces. As time went on,the self-sufficiency of communities was replaced by mutual dependence. Interestin long­-distance trade brought about some cultural homogeneity from trade andgift exchange, and perhaps even led to piracy. Thus, intensified trade andinteraction, and the flowering of specialist crafts, in a complex process ofpositive feedback, led to much more complex societies based on palaces, whichwere the economic hubs of a new Minoan civilization.

The word “diversified” in the passage is closest in meaning to

organized

selective

varied

efficient

4. According to paragraph 2, which of the following controlled thesystems of redistribution of goods in ancient Crete?

A. Local community leaders

B. Olive growers

C. Minoan rulers

D. Long-distance traders

5. According to paragraph 2, Renfrew believed that one effect oflong-distance trade in the Aegean was

A. a greater effort to control piracy

B. greater cultural similarity throughout the region

C. a decline in local olive production

D. a decline in the use of luxuries for gift exchanges

Paragraph 3

Renfrew’s model made some assumptions that are now discounted. Forexample, he argued that the introduction of domesticated vines and olivesallowed a substantial expansion of land under cultivation and helped to powerthe emergence of complex society. Many archaeologists and paleobotanists nowquestion this view, pointing out that the available evidence for cultivatedvines and olives suggests that they were present only in the later Bronze Age.Trade, nevertheless, was probably one of many variables that led to theemergence of palace economies in Minoan Crete.

6. According to paragraph 3, what was a major problem with Renfrew’smodel?

A. He overlooked the fact that only the Minoan palaces had access todomesticated vines and olives.

B. He wrongly assumed that the introduction of domesticated vinesand olives led to the cultivation of more land.

C. Trade in domesticated plants was much more important to theemergence of Minoan palace economies than he thought.

D. Domesticated vines and olives do not appear to have beenavailable as early as he thought

Paragraph 4

American archaeologist William Rathje developed a hypothesis thatconsidered an explosion in long-distance exchange a fundamental cause of Mayancivilization in Mesoamerica. He suggested that the lowland Mayan environmentwas deficient in many vital resources, among them obsidian, salt, stone forgrinding maize, and many luxury materials. All these could be obtained from thenearby highlands, from the Valley of Mexico, and from other regions, if thenecessary trading networks came into being. Such connections, and the tradingexpeditions to maintain them, could not be organized by individual villages.The Maya lived in a relatively uniform environment, where every communitysuffered from the same resource deficiencies. Thus, argued Rathje, long­-distancetrade networks were organized through local ceremonial centers and theirleaders. In time, this organization became a state, and knowledge of itsfunctioning was exportable, as were pottery, tropical bird feathers,specialized stone materials, and other local commodities.

7. According to paragraph 4, which of the following was true aboutancient Mayan communities?

A. They each created their own separate trading networks withcommunities in the nearby highlands.

B. They all had many luxury materials that they were able to tradefor resources that they lacked.

C. They all needed to obtain a number of important materials throughtrade with other regions.

D. They all gradually reduced their trading activities withcommunities in the Valley of Mexico and developed trading networks with otherregions.

8. What can be inferred from the fact that the Maya lived in a “relativelyuniform environment”?

A. The communities could not obtain resources they lacked by tradingwith each other.

B. The communities’ ceremonial centers were all organized in much thesame way.

C. Increased competition between the communities to export theirlocal commodities expanded commercial networks beyond the nearby highlands.

D. Different communities tended to specialize in the production ofdifferent commodities.

Paragraph 5

Rathje’s hypothesis probably explains part of the complex process ofMayan state formation, but it suffers from the objection that suitablealternative raw materials can be found in the lowlands. It could be, too, thatwarfare became a competitive response to population growth and to theincreasing scarcity of prime agricultural land, and that it played an importantrole in the emergence of the Mayan states.

Paragraph 4

American archaeologist William Rathje developed a hypothesis thatconsidered an explosion in long-distance exchange a fundamental cause of Mayancivilization in Mesoamerica. He suggested that the lowland Mayan environmentwas deficient in many vital resources, among them obsidian, salt, stone forgrinding maize, and many luxury materials. All these could be obtained from thenearby highlands, from the Valley of Mexico, and from other regions, if thenecessary trading networks came into being. Such connections, and the tradingexpeditions to maintain them, could not be organized by individual villages.The Maya lived in a relatively uniform environment, where every communitysuffered from the same resource deficiencies. Thus, argued Rathje, long­-distancetrade networks were organized through local ceremonial centers and theirleaders. In time, this organization became a state, and knowledge of itsfunctioning was exportable, as were pottery, tropical bird feathers,specialized stone materials, and other local commodities.

9. The word “prime” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. low-lying

B. easily accessible

C. unused

D. high-quality

10. What is the role of paragraph 5 in relation to paragraph 4?

A. It restates the hypothesis presented in paragraph 4 andreinforces it with further evidence.

B. It presents evidence that the hypothesis discussed in paragraph 4confuses cause and effect.

C. It presents a critical assessment of the hypothesis presented inparagraph 4.

D. It explains how the hypothesis discussed in paragraph 4 wasinitially formulated.

Paragraph 6

Now that we know much more about ancient exchange and commerce, weknow that, because no one aspect of trade was an overriding cause of culturalchange or evolution in commercial practices, trade can never be looked on as aunifying factor or as a primary agent of ancient civilization. Manyever-changing variables affected ancient trade, among them the demand forgoods. There were also the logistics of transportation, the extent of thetrading network, and the social and political environment. Intricate marketnetworks channeled supplies along well-defined routes. Authorities at both endsmight regulate the profits fed back to the source, providing the incentive forfurther transactions. There may or may not have been a market organization.Extensive long­-distance trade was a consequence rather than a cause of complexsocieties.

11. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essentialinformation in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choiceschange the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

A. We now know that ancient trade cannot be considered a main factorin the rise of civilization, because no one aspect of it caused change inculture or commercial practices.

B. We now know that the growth of civilization was an importantfactor in causing cultural change and in improving commercial practices.

C. We now know much more about how ancient trade and commerce led tocultural changes and the evolution of commercial practices.

D. We now know much more about the main factors and agents that ledto ancient civilization, because we know what aspects of trade affected cultureand commercial practices.

12. According to paragraph 6, all of the following statements abouttrade in ancient civilizations are true EXCEPT:

A. The spread of trade was influenced by many variables, none ofwhich was the main cause.

B. Political conditions were more important than demand for goods inthe development of trade.

C. Some markets had clearly established trading routes.

D. The regulation of profits provided incentives for future trade.

13. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to thepassage.

But demand for locally unobtainable resources was clearly only apart of the story.

Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to thepassage.

Now that we know much more about ancient exchange and commerce, weknow that, because no one aspect of trade was an overriding cause of culturalchange or evolution in commercial practices, trade can never be looked on as aunifying factor or as a primary agent of ancient civilization. [■] Many ever-changing variablesaffected ancient trade, among them the demand for goods.  [■] There were also the logistics of transportation, the extent of thetrading network, and the social and political environment.  [■] Intricate market networks channeled supplies along well-definedroutes.  [■] Authorities at both ends might regulate the profits fed back tothe source, providing the incentive for further transactions. There may or maynot have been a market organization. Extensive long­-distance trade was aconsequence rather than a cause of complex societies.

14. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of thepassage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answerchoices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences donot belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented inthe passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Drag your answer choices to the spaces where they belong. To removean answer choice, click on it.

To review the passage, click VIEW TEXT.

Various attempts have been made to explore the role that tradeplayed in the rise of ancient states.

Answer Choices

A. Barter, a basic trade mechanism that involved the direct exchangeof goods or services, depended on a high degree of social complexity.

B. It was only in the 1970s that most archaeologists began torealize that the long-distance trade typical of Minoan communities variedsignificantly from that of lowland Mayan communities.

C. Renfrew and Rathje are recognized today for having correctlyanalyzed the basic relationship between trade and the emergence of states, eventhough they were wrong about many details.

D. Renfrew suggested that an organized state emerged in Minoan Cretebecause of intensified trade, but current views indicate that trade wasprobably only one of many variables.

E. Rathje's hypothesis that long-distance trade led to the emergenceof a Mayan state has been objected to, and it is argued that other factors suchas warfare may have played an important role too.

F. Current views indicate that trade was not the most importantagent of ancient civilization and that long-distance trade was a result ratherthan a cause of complex societies.