托福阅读事实信息题是阅读考试中比较常见的一种题型，tpo则是托福阅读备考最权威的材料，所以托福小编综合二者，为大家集中整理了tpo阅读中考察的事实信息题及其对应的解析，供大家参考使用。本文带来的是TPO16-1的事实信息题，一起来看看吧。
TPO16-1 Trade and the Ancient Middle East
Paragraph 1
Trade was the mainstay of the urban economy in the Middle East, as caravans negotiated the surrounding desert, restricted only by access to water and by mountain ranges. This has been so since ancient times, partly due to the geology of the area, which is mostly limestone and sandstone, with few deposits of metallic ore and other useful materials. Ancient demands for obsidian (a black volcanic rock useful for making mirrors and tools) led to trade with Armenia to the north, while jade for cutting tools was brought from Turkistan, and the precious stone lapis lazuli was imported from Afghanistan. One can trace such expeditions back to ancient Sumeria, the earliest known Middle Eastern civilization. Records show merchant caravans and trading posts set up by the Sumerians in the surrounding mountains and deserts of Persia and Arabia, where they traded grain for raw materials, such as timber and stones, as well as for metals and gems.
1. According to paragraph1, why has trade been so important throughout the history of the Middle East ?
A. The rare and valuable metals and stones found in Middle Eastern deserts have Always been in high demand in surrounding areas.
B. Growing conditions throughout the Middle East are generally poor forcing Middle Eastern people to depend on imported grain.
C. Many useful and decorative raw materials cannot be found naturally in the Middle East but are available from neighboring regions.
D. Frequent travel due to limited water supplies in the Middle East created many Opportunities for trade with neighboring societies.
解析：问trade为什么主要，这段第一句就说是mainstay，第二句就给出了原因，说他们没有这个没有那个，所以答案是C。A说中东有material，明显与原文说反;B的中东很穷和D的frequent travel原文都没说
【1】自从中东地区的商旅们成功跨越周围的戈壁，只有水路和山峦还是障碍时，贸易就成为了中东地区城市经济的主要支柱。这种情况(贸易是主要支柱)从古至今都是如此，一部分原因是中东地区的地质环境——多为沙石和石灰岩，金属矿藏和其它有用材料很少。古代对黑曜石(一种火山岩，可以用来制作镜子和工具)的需求引发了(中东地区)与北方的亚美尼亚之间的贸易;用作切削工具的玉石从土耳其斯坦购买;而稀有贵重的琉璃青金石是从阿富汗地区进口。探险活动最早可以追溯至古苏美尔——已知最早的中东文明。记录显示商队和贸易站由古苏美尔人在周围山区及古波斯和阿拉伯的沙漠地区建立。
Paragraph 2
Reliance on trade had several important consequences. Production was generally in the hands of skilled individual artisans doing piecework under the tutelage of a master who was also the shop owner. In these shops differences of rank were blurred as artisans and masters labored side by side in the same modest establishment, were usually members of the same guild and religious sect, lived in the same neighborhoods, and often had assumed (or real) kinship relationships. The worker was bound to the master by a mutual contract that either one could repudiate, and the relationship was conceptualized as one of partnership.
3. According to paragraph 2, how did Middle Eastern shop owners treat their workers?
A. Workers were ranked according to their skill level, with the most-experienced Artisans becoming partial owners of the shop
B. Shop owners treated different workers differently depending on how much the workers had in common with their masters.
C. Workers were bound to their masters by unbreakable contracts that strictly defined the terms of their partnership.
D. The shop owner worked alongside the workers and often considered them partners and members of the family.
解析：以shop owners做关键词定位至第二句，但第二句没有回答问题，所以往后看，后一句说老板和工人之间的界限被blur模糊了，而且他们同吃同住一起工作，所以答案是D。A的workers rank原文没说;B说对不同工人态度不同，与原文相反;C的unbreakable contract与最后一句相反
【2】过于依赖贸易造成了一些重大影响。生产工作一般在师傅也是店主的监视下，由熟练的工匠计件完成。在这些店铺中，阶级差异并不明显，因为工匠和店主同在一个相对舒适的环境中共事，通常有着相同的宗教信仰，而且又是街坊邻里，彼此之间还很有可能(没准真的)是亲戚关系。工人和店主双方具有劳务关系，任一方都有权终止，这是合作关系中的一种。
Paragraph 4
The mercantile economy was also characterized by a peculiar moral stance that is typical of people who live by trade—an attitude that is individualistic, calculating, risk taking, and adaptive to circumstances. As among tribespeople, personal relationships and a careful weighing of character have always been crucial in a mercantile economy with little regulation, where one's word is one's bond and where informal ties of trust cement together an international trade network. Nor have merchants and artisans ever had much tolerance for aristocratic professions of moral superiority, favoring instead an egalitarian ethic of the open market, where steady hard work, the loyalty of one's fellows, and entrepreneurial skill make all the difference. And, like the pastoralists, Middle Eastern merchants and artisans unhappy with their environment could simply pack up and leave for greener pastures—an act of self-assertion wholly impossible in most other civilizations throughout history.
10. According to paragraph 4,what choice did Middle Eastern merchants and artisans have that many other people have not had?
A. If they were unhappy in the mercantile environment , they could draw on personal connections to find a different kind of work.
B. They were allowed to assert their opinions without having to listen to aristocratic professions of moral superiority.
C. Following the example of the pastoralists ,they could demand, and receive, better working conditions
D. If they didn’t like environment, they could move somewhere else.
解析：以many other people做关键词定位至最后一句，说如果不满意当地的商业环境，中东商人会像游牧民族一样迁移到其他地方，这是其他人做不到的，所以答案是D
【4】商品经济也通过靠贸易为生的商人所秉持的特定道德立场表现出来。他们具有独立自主、精于计算、敢于冒险和随遇而安的优秀品质。在部落成员之间，人际关系和谨言慎行的品质在监管不严的商品经济中至关重要,商品经济里人们出口成契，诚信基础上的非正式联系形成了一个国际贸易网络。从没有商人和工匠对贵族职业的道德优越感如此宽容，这很好地促进了开放市场中的平等主义，人们辛勤工作，忠诚跟随，具备企业家精神非常重要。而且，这和畜牧文明类似，中东的商人和工匠们若对自己所处的环境不满意，简单收拾一下就可迁移到一个更加丰茂的牧场——纵观历史，如此随性而为的行为在其他多数文明中是无法想象的。
以上就是托福阅读TPO16-1中的事实信息题及其解析，大家可以在备考的时候参考复习，希望能够帮助大家的考前准备。最后前程百利祝大家都能取得理想的托福考试成绩。
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