托福阅读真题+题目+答案：Early Astronomy

As surviving records and artifacts make abundantly clear, many early cultures took a keen interest in the changing nighttime sky. But unlike today, the major driving force behind the development of astronomy in those early societies was probably neither scientific nor religious. Instead, it was decidedly practical. Seafarers needed to navigate their vessels, and farmers had to know when to plant their crops. In a real sense, then. human survival depended on knowledge of the heavens. The ability to predict the arrival of the seasons, as well as other astronomical events, was undoubtedly a highly prized, perhaps jealously guarded, skill.

1.The word “keen”in the passage is closest in meaning to

O surprising

O long-term

O intense

O occasional

2.Paragraph 1 supports which of the following inferences about individuals in early societies who could accurately predict astronomical events?

O They regarded astronomy mainly as a way of finding religious meaning.

O They became interested in astronomy after crop failures followed certain events in the nighttime sky.

O Their skills may not have been appreciated much at the time.

O They may not have wanted to share their knowledge of the heavens with others.

The human brain's ability to perceive patterns in the stars led to the "invention" of constellations as convenient means of labeling regions of the nighttime sky. The realization that these patterns returned to the night sky at the same time each year met the need for a practical means of tracking the seasons. Widely separated cultures all over the world built elaborate structures to serve, at least in part, as primitive calendars, but often early experts on astronomy enshrined their knowledge in myth and ritual, sometimes turning sites used for astronomical observation into places for religious ceremonies.

3.The word "realization” in the passage is closest in meaning to

O fact

O recognition

O theory

O connection

4.Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

O Widely separated cultures built elaborate structures that served as calendars at sites that early experts on astronomy identified as places suitable for religious ceremonies.

O Expert astronomers with a knowledge of the myths and rituals of different cultures built elaborate structures serving as primitive calendars at sites used for astronomical observation.

O Early astronomers often enshrined astronomical sites in myth and ritual when explaining to those without expert knowledge how structures built at the sites could serve as calendars.

O Structures used as calendars were built by many cultures, and some were turned into religious sites, as astronomical knowledge was often enshrined in myth and ritual.

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