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  3. The Middle East has called a "museum of religious and linguistic history." The origin and growth of the Copts in the Nile valley

The Middle East has called a "museum of religious and linguistic history." The origin and growth of the Copts in the Nile valley

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问题      The Middle East has called a "museum of religious and linguistic history." The origin and growth of the Copts in the Nile valley show the truth of this statement. The present Coptic language is the latest stage in a long evolutionary process beginning with the language of the Pharaohs influenced by many conquering tongues, such as Greed, brought to the Nile Valley twenty-three hundred years ago by Alexander the Great.
     The Copts axe a mixture of the oldest known inhabitants of the Middle East with every successive conqueror. Today they number four million in what is now the Arab Republic of Egypt, a country of almost forty million. The word Egypt itself comes from "Copt", the Greek way of saying Ha-Ka-Ptah, or "the land where the God Ptah is worshiped." Coptic continued as a language and a nationality when Egypt became the bread basket of the Roman Empire. By 313 A.D., when Constantine embraced Christianity in the name of the whole Roman Empire, the majority of Egyptians were Christian by faith and Coptic by nationality.
      The Copts were so persecuted by their fellow Byzantine Christians that the Arabs, when they conquered Egypt around 650, were actually welcomed by most of the Copts. The Prophet Mohammed had forbidden the persecution of Jews and Christians, but Islam required them to pay a sizable tax. In return their property and lives were protected. The minority were also forbidden to bear arms. While they may not have had an ideal life under Muslim rule, they were happier than they had been under Christian domination for three hundred years.
      Many Copts became Muslims after the Arab conquest; some converted because they like Islam, some sought material gain, still others reacted to heavy social pressure by assimilating. Those who remained Christian soon became a minority. Since that time the word Copt has signified a religion more than a nationality. The Copts rapidly adopted Arabic and the ancient Coptic language was used only in their religious liturgy.
      The Copts are loyal to family, to tradition, and to their religion. They have also remained remarkable loyal to Egypt. In spite of this fidelity, their faith linked them to the Christian West and made them suspect in times of crisis. In 1798, when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt, the Copts were at their lowest point numerically and economically. Three years of French occupation made things worse for them because the other Egyptians suspected that they were responsible for this latest European incursion. When the Ottoman Turks regained control of Egypt from the French, many Copts suffered because they had cooperated with Napoleon. In 1882, when the British imperialists invaded Egypt, the Copts welcomed them.  
After the Arabs conquered Egypt, Jews and Christians paid them a fairly large mount of money as tax in exchange for ______.
选项 A、the protection of their lives and property
B、the freedom to preach their religion
C、the privilege of bearing arms
D、the right to remain Christian
答案A
解析 根据文章第三段第二、三句可知，先知穆汉穆德禁止迫害Jews和Christians，但阿拉伯人要求他们缴纳巨额税款(pay a sizable tax)，从而换来对他们生命和财产的保护。
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