Question

The single, decisive factor(因素) that made it possible for mankind to settle in lasting communities(社区，聚居地) was agriculture. After farming was developed in the Middle East in about 6500 BC, people living in family units did not have to be on the move continually searching for food or hunting their animals. Once people could control the production of food and be assured of a reliable supply of it, their lives changed completely.

Farming was a revolutionary discovery. It not only made settlements possible and later the building of cities but it also made available a reliable food supply. With more food available, more people could be fed. Population therefore increased. The growing number of people available for more kinds of work led to the development of new social formations. With more and more food, a community could support a variety of workers who were not farmers.

Farming in the world over has always relied upon a dependable water supply. For the earliest societies this meant rivers and streams or regular rainfall. The first great civilizations grew up along rivers. Later communities were able to develop by taking advantage of the rainy seasons.

    All of the ancient civilizations probably developed in much the same way, in spite of a few differences. As villages grew, the production of more numerous goods became possible. Cloth could be woven from wool. Houses made of wood, brick, and stone could be put up.

    The science of mathematics was an early outgrowth of agriculture. People studied the movements of the moon, the sun, and the planets to work out seasons. In so doing they created the first calendars(日历). With a calendar it was possible to find out the arrival of each growing season. Measurement of land areas was necessary if field was to be divided accurately. Measurements of amounts, for example, of seeds or grains was also a factor in farming and housekeeping. Later came measures of value as money exchange became common.

    All of the major ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China appeared in the 4^th millennium BC. Historians still argue over which one came into being first. It may well have been the Middle East. This place reaches out from the Nile River in Egypt northward along the coast of former Palestine, then eastward into Asia to include Mesopotamia. In this area people settled along the riverbanks and practiced field agriculture. This kind of farming depended on the reproduction of seed, normally from grain crops.

1. The final result of the development of agriculture was that_________ . 

  A. the population increased slowly

  B. a constant supply of food was certain

  C. a new social formation came into being

  D. a variety of jobs were open to people

2. Which of the following is true according to the writer?

  A. Mathematics helped create the agricultural society.

  B. Societies in the past in different parts of the world grew in similar ways.

  C. Modern cities developed out of originally wealthier villages.

  D. Cloth-making marked an important period in agricultural development.

3. The development of mathematics ________ .

  A. enabled people to arrange their agricultural activities better

  B. got the society out of the agricultural age

  C. helped create early agricultural civilization around the world

  D. made possible the exchange of agricultural goods

4. It can be safely concluded that _______ .

  A. the development of mathematics played a decisive role in the birth of modern cities

  B. the earliest civilization first came into being in the Middle East

  C. all ancient civilizations around the world developed in exactly the same way

  D. the development of agriculture played a very important role in human history

5. The text is mainly about _________ .

  A. the importance of agriculture

  B. the relationship between agriculture and mankind

  C. the origin of agriculture

  D. the ancient civilization

Answer 1

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