70. The passage is mainly about _________.

A. the relationship between agriculture and society

B. the importance of agriculture

C. the origin of agriculture

D. the ancient civilization

D

Frank Lloyd Wright probably is the greatest architect that the United States has ever produced. He was very gifted and had a natural ability to design buildings. His buildings were not only beautiful, but they were also practical and useful. They fit their purposes very well. Wright’s churches, for example, make people feel like thinking and praying. His office buildings make people enjoy working, and his houses make people feel comfortable at home. However, Fank Lloyd Wright’s beautiful, practical and useful buildings are not the only reason that he is famous. There is another reason.

Frank Lloyd Wright is called the greatest American architect because he started an American style in architecture. Most of the architecture in the United States before Wright was really European, not American. Wright’s buildings do not look like old European buildings. They have their　 own style. Wright’s ideas about style are still used in the United States and in other parts of the world.

The most important idea in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Style of Architecture is that a building must fit its purpose and the land around it . His houses are often called “grass-land houses” because their lines are similar to the lines on the grassland. Both the lines of the grassland and the lines of Wright’s house are parallel(平行的)to the horizon, the place where earth and sky seem to meet. They are horizontal lines. Most European style houses, in contrast, have many vertical lines that form 90°angles with the horizon.

69. It can be safely concluded that _________.

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

B. the development of maths played a decisive role in the birth of modern cities

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

68. The development of mathematics _________.

A. got the society out of the agricultural age

B. made possible the exchange of agricultural goods

C. enabled people to arrange their agricultural activities better

D. helped create early agricultural civilization around the world

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

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

B. Cloth making marked an important period in agricultural development.

C. Modern cities developed out of originally wealthier villages. ^{Blog/?UserId=997609}

D. Mathematics helped create the agricultural society.

66. The final result of the development of agriculture was that _________.

A. the population increased slowly.

B. a variety of jobs were open to people

C. a constant supply of food was certain

D. a new social formation came into being

65. From the passage we can learn that ______________.

A. Amy has never recovered from the shock

B. Amy changed her job after the accident

C. Amy lost her memory after the accident

D. Amy has lived quite a normal life.

C

The single, decisive factor 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, By doing so 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, Measurement of amounts, for example, of seeds or grains was also a factor in farming and housekeeping. Later 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 4th 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.

64. The Whites did not blame Amy for Jane’s death because __________.

A. they didn’t want Amy to feel ashamed and sorry for the rest of her life

B. Amy was badly injured herself and they didn’t want to add to her pain

C. they didn’t want to blame their children in front of others

D. Amy was their youngest daughter and they loved her best

63. How did the accident occur?

A. Amy didn’t stop at a crossroads and a truck hit their car.

B. Amy didn’t know what to do when she saw the stop sign.

C. Amy didn’t slow down so their car ran into a truck.

D. Amy didn’t get off the highway at a crossroads.

62. How did the author’s parents differ from the Whites?

A. The author’s parents were less caring.

B. The author’s parents were less loving.

C. The author’s parents were less friendly.

D. The author’s parents were less understanding.

61. The author of the passage is ________.

A. Mrs. White’s niece　　　　　 B. Jane’s school friend

C. The Whites’ cousin　　 　　　 D. Sarah’s friend from college