托福阅读真题Official 47 Passage 1（四）

托福阅读真题Official 47 Passage 1（四）

Roman Cultural Influence on Britain

After the Roman Empire’s conquest of Britain in the first century A.D.,the presence of administrators,merchants,and troops on British soil,along with the natural flow of ideas and goods from the rest of the empire,had an enormous influence on life in the British Isles.Cultural influences were of three types:the bringing of objects,the transfer of craft workers,and the introduction of massive civil architecture.Many objects were not art in even the broadest sense and comprised utilitarian items of clothing,utensils,and equipment.We should not underestimate the social status associated with such mundane possessions which had not previously been available.The flooding of Britain with red-gloss pottery from Gaul(modern-day France),decorated with scenes from Classical mythology,probably brought many into contact with the styles and artistic concepts of the Greco-Roman world for the first time,whether or not the symbolism was understood.Mass-produced goods were accompanied by fewer more aesthetically impressive objects such as statuettes.Such pieces perhaps first came with officials for their own religious worship;others were then acquired by native leaders as diplomatic gifts or by purchase.Once seen by the natives,such objects created a fashion which rapidly spread through the province.

In the most extreme instances,natives literally bought the whole package of Roman culture.The Fishbourne villa,built in the third quarter of the first century A.D.,probably for the native client king Cogidubnus,amply illustrates his Roman pretensions.It was constructed in the latest Italian style with imported marbles and stylish mosaics.It was lavishly furnished with imported sculptures and other Classical objects.A visitor from Rome would have recognized its owner as a participant in the contemporary culture of the empire,not at all provincial in taste.Even if those from the traditional families looked down on him,they would have been unable to dismiss him as uncultured.Although exceptional,this demonstrates how new cultural symbols bound provincials to the identity of the Roman world.

Such examples established a standard to be copied.One result was an influx of craft workers,particularly those skilled in artistic media like stone-carving which had not existed before the conquest.Civilian workers came mostly from Gaul and Germany.The magnificent temple built beside the sacred spring at Bath was constructed only about twenty years after the conquest.Its detail shows that it was carved by artists from northeast Gaul.In the absence of a tradition of Classical stone-carving and building,the desire to develop Roman amenities would have been difficult to fulfill.Administrators thus used their personal contacts to put the Britons in touch with architects and masons.As many of the officials in Britain had strong links with Gaul,it is not surprising that early Roman Britain owes much to craft workers from that area.Local workshops did develop and stylistically similar groups of sculpture show how skills in this new medium became widespread.Likewise skills in the use of mosaic,wall painting,ceramic decoration,and metal-working developed throughout the province with the eventual emergence of characteristically Romano-British styles.

This art had a major impact on the native peoples,and one of the most important factors was a change in the scale of buildings.Pre-Roman Britain was highly localized,with people rarely traveling beyond their own region.On occasion large groups amassed for war or religious festivals,but society remained centered on small communities.Architecture of this era reflected this with even the largest of the fortified towns and hill forts containing no more than clusters of medium-sized structures.The spaces inside even the largest roundhouses were modest,and the use of rounded shapes and organic building materials gave buildings a human scale.But the effect of Roman civil architecture was significant.The sheer size of space enclosed within buildings like the basilica of London must have been astonishing.This was an architecture of dominance in which subject peoples were literally made to feel small by buildings that epitomized imperial power.Supremacy was accentuated by the unyielding straight lines of both individual buildings and planned settlements since these too provided a marked contrast with the natural curvilinear shapes dominant in the native realm.

Question 7 of 14

According to paragraph 3,one factor contributing to the success of the earliest Roman-style construction projects in Britain was

A.the fact that long before the conquest many civilian workers from Gaul and Germany had settled in Britain

B.the rapid development of characteristically Romano-British styles

C.the availability,in northeast Gaul,of structures that could serve as standards to be copied

D.the use,by administrators,of personal connections to bring craft workers from Gaul into contact with Britons

正确答案：D

题目详解

题型分类：事实信息题

原文定位：根据Roman-style construction projects in Britain定位到段落最后一句。Likewise skills in the use...Romano-British styles，题干在问罗马式建筑项目成功原因，因此需要往前找答案，倒数第四五句Administrators thus used...with architects and masons.As many of the officials...from that area。

选项分析：

原文说管理者们利用个人关系使英国人和建筑师、石匠保持联系，并且早期罗马统治下的英国人很感谢高卢地区的工匠，说明早罗马风格的建筑之所以成功是因为管理者利用个人关系让许多Gaul的建筑师和石匠来到英国，因此D选项为正确答案。

A选项，早在征服之前，许多来自高卢和德国的平民工人就已经在英国定居了，无中生有。

B选项，Romano-British styles定位到最后一句，但这是罗马风格建筑所产生的结果，而非原因，与原文矛盾。

C选项，原文说的是高卢民间匠人大量涌入，而不是高卢东北部有structures that could serve as standards to be copied，张冠李戴。

Question 8 of 14

In paragraph 4,why does the author mention that“Pre-Roman Britain was highly localized,with people rarely traveling beyond their own region”?

A.To suggest that the Roman conquest of Britain increased the standard of living for natives

B.To indicate that pre-Roman Britain was more interested in festivals and community life than conquering other regions

C.To explain why architecture during this period was not built to be particularly large

D.To illustrate how the traditional roundhouse evolved under the influence of Roman civil architecture

正确答案：C

题目详解

题型分类：修辞目的题

题干分析：考察对段落主旨的理解

选项分析：

原文On occasion large groups amassed for war or religious festivals,but society remained centered on small communities，说明当时建筑比较小的原因是人们活动范围比较小。即选择C。

A建议罗马征服英国提高当地人的生活水平，无中生有。

B原文并没有提到festivals and community life，无中生有。

D本段在讲change in the scale of buildings，而不是traditional roundhouse演变过程，与原文不符。