首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
"Civilization" Between 4000 and 3000 B.C., significant technological developments began to transform the Neolithic towns. The
"Civilization" Between 4000 and 3000 B.C., significant technological developments began to transform the Neolithic towns. The
admin
2018-07-24
54
问题
"Civilization"
Between 4000 and 3000 B.C., significant technological developments began to transform the Neolithic towns. The invention of writing enabled records to be kept, and the use of metals marked a new level of human control over the environment and its resources. Already before 4000 B.C., craftspeople had discovered that metal-bearing rocks could be heated to liquefy metals, which could then be cast in molds to produce tools and weapons that were more useful than stone instruments. Although copper was the first metal to be utilized in producing tools, after 4000 b.c. craftspeople in western Asia discovered that a combination of copper and tin produced bronze, a much harder and more durable metal than copper. Its widespread use has led historians to call the period the Bronze Age; thereafter, from around 3000 to 1200 b.c, bronze was increasingly replaced by iron.
At first, Neolithic settlements were hardly more than villages. But as their inhabitants mastered the art of farming, more complex human societies emerged. As wealth increased, these societies began to develop armies and to build walled cities. By the beginning of the Bronze Age, the concentration of larger numbers of people in the river valleys of Southwest Asia and Egypt was leading to a whole new pattern for human life.
As we have seen, early human beings formed small groups that developed a simple culture that enabled them to survive. As human societies grew and developed greater complexity, a new form of human existence—called civilization—came into being. A civilization is a complex culture in which large numbers of human beings share a number of common elements. Historians have identified a number of basic characteristics of civilization, most of which are evident in the Southwest Asian and Egyptian civilizations. These include (1) an urban focus: cities became the centers of political, economic, social, cultural, and religious development; (2) a distinct religious structure: the gods were deemed crucial to the community’s success, and professional priestly classes, as stewards of the gods’ property, regulated relations with the gods; (3) new political and military structures: an organized government bureaucracy arose to meet the administrative demands of the growing population while armies were organized to gain land and power and for defense; (4) a new social structure based on economic power: while kings and an upper class of priests, political leaders, and warriors dominated, there also existed large groups of free people (farmers, artisans, craftspeople) and at the very bottom, socially, a class of slaves; (5) the development of writing: kings, priests, merchants, and artisans used writing to keep records; and (6) new forms of significant artistic and intellectual activity: monumental architectural structures, usually religious, occupied a prominent place in urban environments.
Why early civilizations developed remains difficult to explain. A Since civilizations developed independently in India, China, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, can general causes be identified that would explain why all of these civilizations emerged? B A number of possible explanations of the beginning of civilization have been suggested. A theory of challenge and response maintains that challenges forced human beings to make efforts that resulted in the rise of civilization. Some scholars have adhered to a material explanation. C Material forces, such as the growth of food surpluses, made possible the specialization of labor and development of large communities with bureaucratic organization. D But the area of the Fertile Crescent, in which civilization emerged in Southwest Asia, was not naturally conducive to agriculture. Abundant food could be produced only with a massive human effort to carefully manage the water, an effort that created the need for organization and bureaucratic control and led to civilized cities. Some historians have argued that nonmaterial forces, primarily religious, provided the sense of unity and purpose that made such organized activities possible. Finally, some scholars doubt that we are capable of ever discovering the actual causes of early civilization.
Which of the following is the best definition of a "civilization"?
选项
A、Neolithic towns and cities
B、Types of complex cultures
C、An agricultural community
D、Large population centers
答案
B
解析
"... Neolithic settlements were hardly more than villages. But as their inhabitants mastered the art of farming, more complex human societies [civilizations] emerged." Choice A is not correct because the Neolithic settlements preceded civilizations. Choice C is not correct because agriculture is mentioned as a cause of the rise in complex cultures, not as a definition of civilization. Choice D is not correct because the population centers increased in size as civilizations grew, but other basic characteristics had to be present as well.
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/o3fO777K
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
WhatrulesapplytotakingdifferentobjectstotheCentre?Matcheachobjectwiththecorrectrule,A-C.Writethecorrectlett
ChooseTHREEletters,A-ETheinventionofdifferentgearsonabicycleaffectedwhichTHREEofthefollowing?AWheelsizeBBa
ChooseTHREEletters,A-ETheinventionofdifferentgearsonabicycleaffectedwhichTHREEofthefollowing?AWheelsizeBBa
ChooseTHREEletters,A-ETheinventionofdifferentgearsonabicycleaffectedwhichTHREEofthefollowing?AWheelsizeBBa
Whatadvantagedoesthespeakermentionforeachofthefollowingphysicalactivities?ChooseSIXanswersfromtheboxandwrite
ResearchingtheoriginofmedievalmanuscriptsBackgroundMedievalmanuscripts—handwrittenbooksproducedbetweenthefifth
ResearchingtheoriginofmedievalmanuscriptsBackgroundMedievalmanuscripts—handwrittenbooksproducedbetweenthefifth
随机试题
周围神经损伤后,为观察神经的修复情况,应行的检查有
性能验收试验完毕后,每套合同设备都达到合同规定的各项性能保证指标后,采购方与供货方签订()。
城市桥梁混凝土施工,浇筑混凝土前,应检查模板、支架的(),检查钢筋及预埋件的位置、规格,并做好记录。
与弗里德曼的货币需求函数不同,凯恩斯需求函数更加重视( )对货币需求产生的影响。
东北地区的()始兴于本溪的九顶铁刹山。
下列各句句意明确、不存在语病的一项是()。
某教师提供不同形状泡泡器,在学生猜想不同泡泡器可能会吹出的形状后,让学生实验操作,解释和交流实验结论,此教师采用的教学方法是()。
正教授人数所占比重相同的学校是()。丙校助教人数所占比重应为()。
(2012下项管)一个自动化设计团队应该熟悉最新的自动装配技术,团队可通过一系列的途径得到这种知识,它可以雇佣一个专门的项目问题专家,可以请一个顾问,可以将一个现有的工程师送去参加有关机器人的讲座或者一个制造部门的人加入团队。每一种方法的相关成本必须在项目
在设计测试用例时,(41)是用得最多的一种黑盒测试方法。在黑盒测试方法中,等价类划分方法设计测试用例的步骤是:①根据输入条件把数目极多的输入数据划分成若十个有效等价类和若干个无效等价类。②设计一个测试用例,使其覆盖(42)尚未被覆盖的有效等
最新回复
(
0
)