The universal global warming at the end of the Ice Age had dramatic effects on temperate regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. Ice sheets retreated and sea levels rose. The climatic changes in southwestern Asia were more subtle, in that they involved shifts in mountain snow lines, rainfall patterns, and vegetation cover. However, these same cycles of change had momentous impacts on the sparse human populations of the region. At the end of the Ice Age, no more than a few thousand foragers lived along the eastern Mediterranean coast, in the Jordan and Euphrates valleys. Within 2,000 years, the human population of the region numbered in the tens of thousands, all as a result of village life and farming. Thanks to new environmental and archaeological discoveries, we now know something about this remarkable change in local life.
Pollen samples from freshwater lakes in Syria and elsewhere tell us forest cover expanded rapidly at the end of the Ice Age, for the southwestern Asian climate was still cooler and considerably wetter than today. Many areas were richer in animal and plant species than they are now, making them highly favorable for human occupation. About 9000 B.C., most human settlements lay in the area along the Mediterranean coast and in the Zagros Mountains of Iran and their foothills. Some local areas, like the Jordan River valley, the middle Euphrates valley, and some Zagros valleys, were more densely populated than elsewhere. Here more sedentary and more complex societies flourished. These people exploited the landscape intensively, foraging on hill slopes for wild cereal grasses and nuts, while hunting gazelle and other game on grassy lowlands and in river valleys. Their settlements contain exotic objects such as seashells, stone bowls, and artifacts made of obsidian (volcanic glass), all traded from afar. This considerable volume of intercommunity exchange brought a degree of social complexity in its wake.
Thanks to extremely fine-grained excavation and extensive use of flotation methods (through which seeds are recovered from soil samples), we know a great deal about the foraging practices of the inhabitants of Abu Hureyra in Syria's Euphrates valley. Abu Hureyra was founded about 9500B.C, a small village settlement of cramped pit dwellings (houses dug partially in the soil) with reed roofs supported by wooden uprights. For the next 1,500 years, its inhabitants enjoyed a somewhat warmer and damper climate than today, living in a well-wooded steppe area where wild cereal grasses were abundant. They subsisted off spring migrations of Persian gazelles from the south. With such a favorable location, about 300 to 400 people lived in a sizable, permanent settlement. They were no longer a series of small bands but lived in a large community with more elaborate social organization, probably grouped into clans of people of common descent.
The flotation samples from the excavations allowed botanists to study shifts in plant-collecting habits as if they were looking through a telescope at a changing landscape. Hundreds of tiny plant remains show how the inhabitants exploited nut harvests in nearby pistachio and oak forests. However, as the climate dried up, the forests retreated from the vicinity of the settlement. The inhabitants turned to wild cereal grasses instead, collecting them by the thousands, while the percentage of nuts in the diet fell. By 8200B.C., drought conditions were so severe that the people abandoned their long-established settlement, perhaps dispersing into smaller camps.
Five centuries later, about 7700B.C., a new village rose on the mound. At first the inhabitants still hunted gazelle intensively. Then, about 7000 B.C., within the space of a few generations, they switched abruptly to herding domesticated goats and sheep and to growing einkorn, pulses, and other cereal grasses. Abu Hureyra grew rapidly until it covered nearly 30 acres. It was a close-knit community of rectangular, one-story mud-brick houses, joined by narrow lanes and courtyards, finally abandoned about 5000 B.C.. Many complex factors led to the adoption of the new economies, not only at Abu Hureyra, but at many other locations such as 'Ain Ghazal, also in Syria, where goat toe bones showing the telltale marks of abrasion caused by foot tethering (binding) testify to early herding of domestic stock.
Paragraph 1: The universal global warming at the end of the Ice Age had dramatic effects on temperate regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. Ice sheets retreated and sea levels rose. The climatic changes in southwestern Asia were more subtle, in that they involved shifts in mountain snow lines, rainfall patterns, and vegetation cover. However, these same cycles of change had momentous impacts on the sparse human populations of the region. At the end of the Ice Age, no more than a few thousand foragers lived along the eastern Mediterranean coast, in the Jordan and Euphrates valleys. Within 2,000 years, the human population of the region numbered in the tens of thousands, all as a result of village life and farming. Thanks to new environmental and archaeological discoveries, we now know something about this remarkable change in local life.
1.The word "momentous" in the passage is closest in meaning to
O numerous
O regular
O very important
O very positive
2.Major climatic changes occurred by the end of the Ice Age in all of the following geographic areas EXCEPT
O temperate regions of Asia
O southwestern Asia
O North America
O Europe
3.The phrase "this remarkable change" in the passage refers to
O warming at the end of the Ice Age
O shifts in mountain snow lines
O the movement of people from farms to villages
O a dramatic increase in the population
Paragraph 2: Pollen samples from freshwater lakes in Syria and elsewhere tell us forest cover expanded rapidly at the end of the Ice Age, for the southwestern Asian climate was still cooler and considerably wetter than today. Many areas were richer in animal and plant species than they are now, making them highly favorable for human occupation. About 9000 B.C., most human settlements lay in the area along the Mediterranean coast and in the Zagros Mountains of Iran and their foothills. Some local areas, like the Jordan River valley, the middle Euphrates valley, and some Zagros valleys, were more densely populated than elsewhere. Here more sedentary and more complex societies flourished. These people exploited the landscape intensively, foraging on hill slopes for wild cereal grasses and nuts, while hunting gazelle and other game on grassy lowlands and in river valleys. Their settlements contain exotic objects such as seashells, stone bowls, and artifacts made of obsidian (volcanic glass), all traded from afar. This considerable volume of intercommunity exchange brought a degree of social complexity in its wake.
4.The word "exploited" in the passage is closest in meaning to
O explored
O utilized
O inhabited
O improved
5.Why does the author mention "seashells, stone bowls, and artifacts made of obsidian"?
O To give examples of objects obtained through trade with other societies
O To illustrate the kinds of objects that are preserved in a cool climate
O To provide evidence that the organization of work was specialized
O To give examples of the artistic ability of local populations
Paragraph 3: Thanks to extremely fine-grained excavation and extensive use of flotation methods (through which seeds are recovered from soil samples), we know a great deal about the foraging practices of the inhabitants of Abu Hureyra in Syria's Euphrates valley. Abu Hureyra was founded about 9500B.C, a small village settlement of cramped pit dwellings (houses dug partially in the soil) with reed roofs supported by wooden uprights. For the next 1,500 years, its inhabitants enjoyed a somewhat warmer and damper climate than today, living in a well-wooded steppe area where wild cereal grasses were abundant. They subsisted off spring migrations of Persian gazelles from the south. With such a favorable location, about 300 to 400 people lived in a sizable, permanent settlement. They were no longer a series of small bands but lived in a large community with more elaborate social organization, probably grouped into clans of people of common descent.
6.The word "cramped" in the passage is closest in meaning to
O primitive
O secure
O extended
O confined
7.Paragraph 3 suggests which of the following about the settlement of Abu Hureyra?
O The settlement was inhabited by small groups of people from nearby areas.
O Small bands of people migrated in and out of the settlement.
O The location of the settlement made permanent development difficult.
O The easy availability of food led to the growth of the settlement.
Paragraph 4: The flotation samples from the excavations allowed botanists to study shifts in plant-collecting habits as if they were looking through a telescope at a changing landscape. Hundreds of tiny plant remains show how the inhabitants exploited nut harvests in nearby pistachio and oak forests. However, as the climate dried up, the forests retreated from the vicinity of the settlement. The inhabitants turned to wild cereal grasses instead, collecting them by the thousands, while the percentage of nuts in the diet fell. By 8200B.C., drought conditions were so severe that the people abandoned their long-established settlement, perhaps dispersing into smaller camps.
8.The word "shifts" in the passage is closest in meaning to
O effects
O similarities
O changes
O exceptions
9.Paragraph 4 suggests that the people of Abu Hureyra abandoned their long-established settlement because
O the inhabitants had cleared all the trees from the forests
O wild cereal grasses took over pistachio and oak forests
O people wanted to explore new areas
O lack of rain caused food shortages
Paragraph 5: Five centuries later, about 7700B.C., a new village rose on the mound. At first the inhabitants still hunted gazelle intensively. Then, about 7000 B.C., within the space of a few generations, they switched abruptly to herding domesticated goats and sheep and to growing einkorn, pulses, and other cereal grasses. Abu Hureyra grew rapidly until it covered nearly 30 acres. It was a close-knit community of rectangular, one-story mud-brick houses, joined by narrow lanes and courtyards, finally abandoned about 5000 B.C.. Many complex factors led to the adoption of the new economies, not only at Abu Hureyra, but at many other locations such as 'Ain Ghazal, also in Syria, where goat toe bones showing the telltale marks of abrasion caused by foot tethering (binding) testify to early herding of domestic stock.
10.According to paragraph 5, after 7000 B.C. the settlement of Abu Hureyra differed from earlier settlements at that location in all of the following EXCEPT
O the domestication of animals
O the intensive hunting of gazelle
O the size of the settlement
O the design of the dwellings
11.The word "abruptly" in the passage is closest in meaning to
O informally
O briefly
O suddenly
O surprisingly
12.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.
O In many areas besides Abu Hureyra, complex factors led to new economies including the herding of domestic stock.
O In 'Ain Ghazal and Syria, domestic stock was more important than it was at Abu Hureyra.
O Once early methods of herding animals improved, new economies were adopted.
O Many complex theories attempt to explain the early domestication of animals.
The universal global warming at the end of the Ice Age had dramatic effects on temperate regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. Ice sheets retreated and sea levels rose. ■The climatic changes in southwestern Asia were more subtle, in that they involved shifts in mountain snow lines, rainfall patterns, and vegetation cover. ■However, these same cycles of change had momentous impacts on the sparse human populations of the region. ■At the end of the Ice Age, no more than a few thousand foragers lived along the eastern Mediterranean coast, in the Jordan and Euphrates valleys. Within 2,000 years, the human population of the region numbered in the tens of thousands, all as a result of village life and farming. ■Thanks to new environmental and archaeological discoveries, we now know something about this remarkable change in local life.
13.Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence can be added to the passage.
One of the major effects was the rapid growth of the human population itself.
Where would the sentence best fit?
Click on a square [■] to insert the sentence in the passage.
14.Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some answer choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.
At the end of the Ice Age, patterns of human settlement changed in southwestern Asia.
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●
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Answer Choices
O Wild cereals, grasses, and nuts were exchanged for exotic objects.
O Changes in climatic conditions made southwestern Asia highly beneficial to human occupants.
O Social organization in Abu Hureyra decreased as the population grew.
O The favorable location of Abu Hureyra kept the city from experiencing hardship during drought years.
O Within 2,000 years, populations in southwestern Asia greatly increased in number.
O In rich, fertile areas permanent societies evolved to a high level of complexity.
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參考答案：
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5. 1
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14. Changes in climatic ...
Within 2,000 years...
In rich, fertile...
冰河時(shí)代末期全球普遍升溫，這對(duì)亞洲、歐洲和北美洲的溫帶地區(qū)產(chǎn)生了巨大的影響。冰原后退，海平面上升。亞洲西南部氣候的變化則更加細(xì)微，因?yàn)樯婕暗缴矫}雪線、降水類型和植被覆蓋的變化。然而，這些相同的變化周期對(duì)該地區(qū)稀少的人口產(chǎn)生了重要的影響。在冰河時(shí)代末期，地中海東部沿岸的約旦河和幼發(fā)拉底河流域僅生活著數(shù)千人。隨后的兩千年內(nèi)，農(nóng)村生活和農(nóng)業(yè)使該地區(qū)的人口數(shù)量變成了數(shù)以萬(wàn)計(jì)人。正是由于在環(huán)境和考古學(xué)方面的新發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們才得以了解當(dāng)?shù)厣钪邪l(fā)生的這種顯著變化。
來(lái)自敘利亞和其他地方的淡水湖的花粉樣本向我們揭示出在冰河時(shí)代末期森林覆蓋迅速增長(zhǎng)，這是因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)亞洲西南部的氣候比現(xiàn)在要更涼爽，而且要濕潤(rùn)得多。當(dāng)時(shí)很多地區(qū)的動(dòng)植物種類要比現(xiàn)在豐富，這就使得這些地區(qū)非常適宜人類居住。大約在公元前9ooo年，大部分人類定居點(diǎn)都位于地中海沿岸以及伊朗的扎格羅斯山脈和丘陵地帶。某些局部地區(qū)，例如約旦河谷、幼發(fā)拉底河谷中部以及某些扎格羅斯谷地的人口就比別的地方要更密集。遷移性更低、更為復(fù)雜的社會(huì)在這里興旺發(fā)展起來(lái)。這些人對(duì)該地貌進(jìn)行高強(qiáng)度的開(kāi)發(fā)，他們?cè)谏狡律喜杉吧墓任锖蛨?jiān)果，在長(zhǎng)滿青草的低地和河谷中捕捉瞪羚及其他獵物。在他們的定居點(diǎn)發(fā)現(xiàn)了從遠(yuǎn)方交易獲得的外來(lái)物品，例如貝殼、石碗和黑曜石（火山玻璃）制成的古器。這種數(shù)量可觀的社會(huì)間的交換隨后給社會(huì)帶來(lái)了一定的復(fù)雜度。
極精細(xì)的挖掘和浮選法（可以從土壤樣本中發(fā)現(xiàn)種子）的廣泛使用使得我們對(duì)敘利亞境內(nèi)的幼發(fā)拉底河流域阿布胡賴?yán)木用竦囊捠沉?xí)慣有了深入的了解。阿布胡賴?yán)墙ㄓ诠?/span>9500年的一座小村莊，村莊里都是狹小的洞穴房（房子的一部分是挖到地下的），蘆葦做的屋頂是用木頭柱子支撐的。隨后的1 500年，該地的居民享受著比我們現(xiàn)在略為溫暖潮濕的氣候，他們居住在樹(shù)木繁茂的大草原，那里生長(zhǎng)著大量的野生谷類植物。他們喂養(yǎng)著從南部地區(qū)遷移過(guò)來(lái)的波斯瞪羚的后代。在這個(gè)地理位置絕佳的地方，大約有300～ 400人居住在一個(gè)比較大的永久定居點(diǎn)。他們不再是一系列的小型部落而是住在一起的大社區(qū)，擁有更復(fù)雜的社會(huì)組織，很有可能是按照共同祖先劃分的部族。
從挖掘物中獲取的浮選樣本使得植物學(xué)家可以研究他們采集植物習(xí)性的變化，就像是通過(guò)望遠(yuǎn)鏡觀看變化的景致。幾百個(gè)小型植物殘留物顯示了這些居民是如何采集附近森林里的開(kāi)心果和橡子的。然而，隨著氣候變干燥，森林從定居點(diǎn)的附近向后退縮。居民就轉(zhuǎn)而采集大量的野生谷物，而堅(jiān)果在飲食中所占的比例下降了。到公元前8200年的時(shí)候，干旱變得非常嚴(yán)重以至于人們放棄了他們的長(zhǎng)久居住地，也許分散成小的群落了。
五個(gè)世紀(jì)以后，大約是公元前7700年，高地上出現(xiàn)了一個(gè)新的村莊。最初那里的居民仍然集中于獵取瞪羚。后來(lái)大約在公元前7000年，沒(méi)過(guò)幾代，這些居民就忽然轉(zhuǎn)向飼養(yǎng)家養(yǎng)的山羊和綿羊，并種植單粒小麥、豆類及其它谷類植物。阿布胡賴?yán)杆賶汛�，最終擴(kuò)張到了近30英畝。它是一座結(jié)構(gòu)緊湊的矩形村莊，單層的泥磚房屋與狹窄的小道和院子相連，這座村莊最終于公元前5000年被廢棄。有很多復(fù)雜的因素導(dǎo)致人們采用新的經(jīng)濟(jì)形式，這不只是發(fā)生在阿布胡賴?yán)�，在其它很多地方例如在艾因加扎勒和敘利亞發(fā)現(xiàn)的山羊的趾骨上就有顯示足部被栓（綁）造成的磨損的跡象，這就證明該地出現(xiàn)了早期的畜牧業(yè)
