Ancient Egypt Brought Down by Famine
Even ancient Egypts mighty pyramidbuilders were powerless in the face of the faminethat helped bring down their civilization around 2180 B.C..Now evidence collected from mud deposited by the River Nile suggests that a shift in climate thousands of kilometers to the south was ultimately to blame--and the same or worse could happen today.
The ancient Egyptians depended on the Niles annual floods to irrigate their crops.But any change in climate that pushed the African monsoonssouthwards out of Ethiopia would have reduced these floods.考試大-全國最大教育類網站
Declining rains in the Ethiopian highlands would have meant fewer plants to stabilize the soil.W.1len rain did fall it would have washed large amounts of soil into the Blue Nile and into Egypt，along with sedimentfrom the White Nile.
Blue Nile mud has a different isotopesignature from that of the white Nile.So by analyzing isotope differences in mud deposited in the Nile Delta.Michael Krom of LeedsUniversity worked out what proportion of sediment came from each branch of the river.
Krom reasons that during periods of drought，the amount of Blue Nile mud in the river would be relatively high.He found that one of these periods，from 4500 to 4200 years ago。immediately came before the fall of the Egypts old Kingdom.
The weakened waters would have been disaster for the Egyptians.Changes that affect food supply dont have to be very large to have a rippleeffect in societies，says Bill Ryan of the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory in New York.
Similar events today could be even more devastating，says team member Daniel Stanley.ascientist from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.Anything humans do to shift the climate belts would have an even worse effect along the Nile system today because the populations have increased dramatically.
36 Why does the author mention Egypts mighty pyramid builders?
A Because they once worked miracles.
B Because they were wellbuilt.
C Because they were actually very weak.
D Because even they were unable to rescue their civilization.
37 Which of the following factors was ultimately responsible for bringing down the civilization of ancient Egypt?
A Change of climate.
B Corrulption.
C flood.
D Population growth.
38 which of the following statements is true?
A The White Nile is the trunk of the River Nile.
B The White Nile is the trunk of the Blue Nile.
C The White Nile is a branch of the Blue Nile.
D The White Nile is a branch of the River Nile.
39 According to Krom，the Egypts o1d Kingdom fell
A immediately after a period of drought.
B immediately after a period of flood.
C just before a drought struck.
D just before a flood struck.
40 The word devastating in the last paragraph could be best replaced by
A frustrating.
B damaging.
C defeating.
D worrying.
答案解析
36.D這道題問的是：作者為什麼提及古埃及偉大的金字塔建築者?文章開頭有這麼一句話，中文意思是：即使古埃及偉大的金字塔建築者面對那場在公元前2180年促使他們的文明毀滅的饑荒也無能為力。D說的是：即使是他們也不能挽救他們的文明。因此D是正確的答案。A說的是：他們曾創造過奇蹟。B說的是：他們很強壯。C說的是：他們其實很弱。
37.A這道題問的是：下面列出的幾種因素中哪一種因素是造成古埃及文明毀滅的根本性因素。A說的是：氣候變化。第一段中有這樣一個子句：a shift in climatewas ultimately to blame最終歸咎於氣候的變化。在第一題的題解中，我們提到了饑荒 與古埃及文明毀滅的關係。但饑荒是表層的因素，氣候的變化才是古埃及 文明毀滅的深層的因素。因此，A是正確的答案。B：腐敗。c：水災。D：人口增長。採集者退散
38.D這道題問的是：下面列出的幾種陳述哪一種是正確的?D說的是：白尼羅河是尼羅河的支流。第四段中的最後一句話是這麼說的：worked out whatproportion of sediment came from each branch ofthe river.找到了來自河的每條支流的沉積物的比例。這裡的河是指尼羅河，每條支流回指上文所說的青尼羅河和白尼羅河。因此，D是正確的答案。A：白尼羅河是尼羅河的幹流。B：白尼羅河是青尼羅河的幹流。c：白尼羅河是青尼羅河的支流：顯然，這些都不構成答案。
39.A這道題問的是：古埃及王朝毀滅發生在什麼時候?A說的是：就在一個時期的乾旱之後。第五段有這麼一個句子：one of these periodsimmediately came before the fall of the Egypts Old Kingdom.其中的一個時期就發生在古埃及王國毀滅之前。可以看出，A應該是正確的答案。B：就在一個時期的水災之後。C：就在遇到一次旱災之前。D：就在遇到一次水災之前。
40.B devastate是及物動詞。意思是：使荒蕪;破壞。devastating既是現在分詞，又是形容詞。此處devastating不是現在分詞，因為它後面不跟名詞短語，它只能是形容詞。它的意思是：破壞性的。frustrate是動詞。意思是：使受挫;受挫。frustrating是現在分詞，同時也是形容詞。作形容詞時，它的意思是：失望的。可以看出，它跟devastating的意思相差很遠。damage：破壞，毀滅。damaging是它的現在分詞，但它本身也是形容詞，意思是：破壞的或毀滅的。跟devastating意思相近，是合適的選擇。defeat：擊敗。worry：擔憂，發愁。worrying：令人擔憂的，令人發愁的。
Even ancient Egypts mighty pyramidbuilders were powerless in the face of the faminethat helped bring down their civilization around 2180 B.C..Now evidence collected from mud deposited by the River Nile suggests that a shift in climate thousands of kilometers to the south was ultimately to blame--and the same or worse could happen today.
The ancient Egyptians depended on the Niles annual floods to irrigate their crops.But any change in climate that pushed the African monsoonssouthwards out of Ethiopia would have reduced these floods.考試大-全國最大教育類網站
Declining rains in the Ethiopian highlands would have meant fewer plants to stabilize the soil.W.1len rain did fall it would have washed large amounts of soil into the Blue Nile and into Egypt，along with sedimentfrom the White Nile.
Blue Nile mud has a different isotopesignature from that of the white Nile.So by analyzing isotope differences in mud deposited in the Nile Delta.Michael Krom of LeedsUniversity worked out what proportion of sediment came from each branch of the river.
Krom reasons that during periods of drought，the amount of Blue Nile mud in the river would be relatively high.He found that one of these periods，from 4500 to 4200 years ago。immediately came before the fall of the Egypts old Kingdom.
The weakened waters would have been disaster for the Egyptians.Changes that affect food supply dont have to be very large to have a rippleeffect in societies，says Bill Ryan of the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory in New York.
Similar events today could be even more devastating，says team member Daniel Stanley.ascientist from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.Anything humans do to shift the climate belts would have an even worse effect along the Nile system today because the populations have increased dramatically.
36 Why does the author mention Egypts mighty pyramid builders?
A Because they once worked miracles.
B Because they were wellbuilt.
C Because they were actually very weak.
D Because even they were unable to rescue their civilization.
37 Which of the following factors was ultimately responsible for bringing down the civilization of ancient Egypt?
A Change of climate.
B Corrulption.
C flood.
D Population growth.
38 which of the following statements is true?
A The White Nile is the trunk of the River Nile.
B The White Nile is the trunk of the Blue Nile.
C The White Nile is a branch of the Blue Nile.
D The White Nile is a branch of the River Nile.
39 According to Krom，the Egypts o1d Kingdom fell
A immediately after a period of drought.
B immediately after a period of flood.
C just before a drought struck.
D just before a flood struck.
40 The word devastating in the last paragraph could be best replaced by
A frustrating.
B damaging.
C defeating.
D worrying.
答案解析
36.D這道題問的是：作者為什麼提及古埃及偉大的金字塔建築者?文章開頭有這麼一句話，中文意思是：即使古埃及偉大的金字塔建築者面對那場在公元前2180年促使他們的文明毀滅的饑荒也無能為力。D說的是：即使是他們也不能挽救他們的文明。因此D是正確的答案。A說的是：他們曾創造過奇蹟。B說的是：他們很強壯。C說的是：他們其實很弱。
37.A這道題問的是：下面列出的幾種因素中哪一種因素是造成古埃及文明毀滅的根本性因素。A說的是：氣候變化。第一段中有這樣一個子句：a shift in climatewas ultimately to blame最終歸咎於氣候的變化。在第一題的題解中，我們提到了饑荒 與古埃及文明毀滅的關係。但饑荒是表層的因素，氣候的變化才是古埃及 文明毀滅的深層的因素。因此，A是正確的答案。B：腐敗。c：水災。D：人口增長。採集者退散
38.D這道題問的是：下面列出的幾種陳述哪一種是正確的?D說的是：白尼羅河是尼羅河的支流。第四段中的最後一句話是這麼說的：worked out whatproportion of sediment came from each branch ofthe river.找到了來自河的每條支流的沉積物的比例。這裡的河是指尼羅河，每條支流回指上文所說的青尼羅河和白尼羅河。因此，D是正確的答案。A：白尼羅河是尼羅河的幹流。B：白尼羅河是青尼羅河的幹流。c：白尼羅河是青尼羅河的支流：顯然，這些都不構成答案。
39.A這道題問的是：古埃及王朝毀滅發生在什麼時候?A說的是：就在一個時期的乾旱之後。第五段有這麼一個句子：one of these periodsimmediately came before the fall of the Egypts Old Kingdom.其中的一個時期就發生在古埃及王國毀滅之前。可以看出，A應該是正確的答案。B：就在一個時期的水災之後。C：就在遇到一次旱災之前。D：就在遇到一次水災之前。
40.B devastate是及物動詞。意思是：使荒蕪;破壞。devastating既是現在分詞，又是形容詞。此處devastating不是現在分詞，因為它後面不跟名詞短語，它只能是形容詞。它的意思是：破壞性的。frustrate是動詞。意思是：使受挫;受挫。frustrating是現在分詞，同時也是形容詞。作形容詞時，它的意思是：失望的。可以看出，它跟devastating的意思相差很遠。damage：破壞，毀滅。damaging是它的現在分詞，但它本身也是形容詞，意思是：破壞的或毀滅的。跟devastating意思相近，是合適的選擇。defeat：擊敗。worry：擔憂，發愁。worrying：令人擔憂的，令人發愁的。
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