雅思阅读真题（Part 3）

Ancient Rome

Part 3 · 考频：中频 · 最近考试：2025.8.16

文章内容（节选）

A 

From ancient times to the present, historians have asked the question: How and why did an ordinary little town in central Italy grow so much bigger than any other in the ancient Mediterranean and come to control such a huge empire?’ During the first century BCE, Roman writers themselves began systematically to study the earlier centuries of their city and their empire. Yet these historians had little more direct evidence of the earliest phases of Rome's history than modern writers have, and in some ways perhaps not as much, as there were no surviving documents or archives. Their 'histories' about the foundation of ancient Rome tell us a good deal about how the Romans saw their city, their values, and their failings. However, they tell us very little indeed about what they claim to inform us about: that is, what earliest Rome was actually like. One fact is obvious. Rome was already a very old city by 63 BCE, the birth date of its first emperor. But how exactly are we to access reliable information about the origins of Rome?

 

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题目与答案

  1. 27 Historians have expressed little curiosity about the rise of the Roman Empire.
    • YES
    • NO
    • NOT GIVEN

    答案：NO

    原文定位：From ancient times to the present, historians have asked the question: How and why did an ordinary little town in central Italy grow so much bigger than any other in the ancient Mediterranean and come to control such a huge empire

    同义替换：「rise」↔「grow so much bigger」

  2. 28 Accounts from the first century BCE of Rome's origins may be less reliable than 21st-century accounts.
    • YES
    • NO
    • NOT GIVEN

    答案：YES

    原文定位：Yet these historians had little more direct evidence of the earliest phases of Rome's history than modern writers have, and in some ways perhaps not as much, as there were no surviving documents or archives

    同义替换：「first century BCE accounts」↔「Roman writers」，「21st-century accounts」↔「modern writers」

  3. 29 Most Roman historians viewed their ancient capital in an unrealistically positive light.
    • YES
    • NO
    • NOT GIVEN

    答案：NOT GIVEN

    原文定位：Their 'histories' about the foundation of ancient Rome tell us a good deal about how the Romans saw their city, their values, and their failings

    同义替换：「viewed their ancient capital」↔「how the Romans saw their city」

  4. 30 The accounts by early Roman historians about the founding of Rome provide a full description of life at that time.
    • YES
    • NO
    • NOT GIVEN

    答案：NO

    原文定位：However, they tell us very little indeed about what they claim to inform us about: that is, what earliest Rome was actually like

  5. 31 It is certain that the city of Rome was in existence long before 63 BCE.
    • YES
    • NO
    • NOT GIVEN

    答案：YES

    原文定位：One fact is obvious. Rome was already a very old city by 63 BCE, the birth date of its first emperor

    同义替换：「certain」↔「obvious」，「in existence long before」↔「already a very old city by」

  6. 32 Some people oppose archaeological excavations in Rome because they can damage the ancient monuments.
    • YES
    • NO
    • NOT GIVEN

    答案：NOT GIVEN

    原文定位：The foundations dug in the first and second centuries CE for the vast marble temples of the forum obliterated much of what then lay beneath the surface; the cellars of grand Renaissance houses cut through even more ancient remains in other parts of the city

    同义替换：「damage the ancient monuments」↔「cut through even more ancient remains」

  7. 33 According to the writer, why were the archaeological remains found at Fidenae important?
    • They shed some light on the way of life of ancient Romans.
    • They were the first evidence of an ancient Roman settlement in the area.
    • They overturned common assumptions about the diet of ancient Romans.
    • They showed how sophisticated domestic Roman architecture could be.

    答案：They shed some light on the way of life of ancient Romans.

    原文定位：We have little idea of the nature of these huts;But we can fill in some of the gaps if we look just outside Rome. One of the best preserved;was found at Fidenae;Inside was a central hearth, some large pottery storage jars, and traces of predictable foodstuffs and domestic animals

    同义替换：「shed some light on the way of life」↔「fill in some of the gaps」

  8. 34 What did Rome's marble temples and Renaissance houses have in common?
    • They were the most enduring buildings of their respective eras.
    • They were evidence of Rome's enormous wealth.
    • They were built on previously unoccupied sites.
    • Their construction destroyed evidence of earlier buildings.

    答案：Their construction destroyed evidence of earlier buildings.

    原文定位：The foundations dug in the first and second centuries CE for the vast marble temples of the forum obliterated much of what then lay beneath the surface; the cellars of grand Renaissance houses cut through even more ancient remains in other parts of the city

    同义替换：「destroyed evidence of earlier buildings」↔「obliterated」

  9. 35 What does the writer say in the fifth paragraph about the dating of excavated remains?
    • Only the age of a proportion of remains can be agreed upon.
    • Only an approximate sequence of eras can be established.
    • Serious attempts at dating began only a few decades ago.
    • More thorough investigations will result in reliable dates.

    答案：Only an approximate sequence of eras can be established.

    原文定位：It has taken decades of work;to produce a rough chronological scheme covering the period from around 1000 to 600 BCE

    同义替换：「approximate sequence of eras」↔「rough chronological scheme」

  10. 36 In the final paragraph, the writer makes the point that
    • traditional archaeological methods of dating have been discredited.
    • many archaeologists are reluctant to abandon traditional methods of dating.
    • radiocarbon dating is more accurate than archaeological methods.
    • the findings of traditional archaeology and radiocarbon dating differ.

    答案：the findings of traditional archaeology and radiocarbon dating differ.

    原文定位：The building at Fidenae, for example, was dated around the middle of the eighth century BCE according to traditional archaeological criteria, but that is pushed back to around the end of the ninth century BCE if we follow radiocarbon analysis

  11. The Latin language can be
    • composed of organic materials which are in use in the 21st century.
    • referred to in popular legends about the origins of Rome.
    • constructed on the site of an earlier burial ground.
    • used to determine the relative dates of various Roman artefacts.
    • chosen as the area for the greatest number of archaeological excavations.
    • expected to shed some light on what Rome was originally like.

    答案：expected to shed some light on what Rome was originally like.

    原文定位：One way of doing this is by turning away from the histories of Roman writers and seeking out clues in the Latin language, or in later Roman institutions that might point back to features of earliest Rome

    同义替换：「shed some light on what Rome was originally like」↔「point back to features of earliest Rome」

  12. The Roman Forum was
    • composed of organic materials which are in use in the 21st century.
    • referred to in popular legends about the origins of Rome.
    • constructed on the site of an earlier burial ground.
    • used to determine the relative dates of various Roman artefacts.
    • chosen as the area for the greatest number of archaeological excavations.
    • expected to shed some light on what Rome was originally like.

    答案：constructed on the site of an earlier burial ground.

    原文定位：Beneath the Forum itself (an ancient marketplace at the centre of the city) lie the remains of an early cemetery

    同义替换：「earlier burial ground」↔「early cemetery」

  13. The recently discovered building at Fidenae was
    • composed of organic materials which are in use in the 21st century.
    • referred to in popular legends about the origins of Rome.
    • constructed on the site of an earlier burial ground.
    • used to determine the relative dates of various Roman artefacts.
    • chosen as the area for the greatest number of archaeological excavations.
    • expected to shed some light on what Rome was originally like.

    答案：composed of organic materials which are in use in the 21st century.

    原文定位：It is a rectangular building, some six by five metres, made of wood and rammed earth - a construction method still utilised up to the present day

  14. Ancient Greek pottery is sometimes
    • composed of organic materials which are in use in the 21st century.
    • referred to in popular legends about the origins of Rome.
    • constructed on the site of an earlier burial ground.
    • used to determine the relative dates of various Roman artefacts.
    • chosen as the area for the greatest number of archaeological excavations.
    • expected to shed some light on what Rome was originally like.

    答案：used to determine the relative dates of various Roman artefacts.

    原文定位：using such diagnostics as the existence of wheel-made pottery (assumed to be later than handmade), the occasional presence on graves of Greek ceramics (whose dating is better, but still not perfectly understood) and careful comparison from site to site - to produce a rough chronological scheme covering the period from around 1000 to 600 BCE

    同义替换：「pottery」↔「ceramics」

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