托福阅读tpo46R-1 原文+译文+题目+答案+背景知识.pdf

托福阅读tpo46R-1TheOriginsofWriting

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原文

TheOriginsofWriting

①ItwasinEgyptandMesopotamia(modern-dayIraq)that

civilizationarose,anditistherethatwefindtheearliestexamplesof

thatkeyfeatureofcivilization,writing.Theseexamples,intheform

ofinscribedclaytabletsthatdatetoshortlybefore3000B.C.E.,have

beendiscoveredamongthearchaeologicalremainsoftheSumerians,

agiftedpeoplesettledinsouthernMesopotamia.

②TheEgyptianswerenotfarbehindindevelopingwriting,butwe

cannotfollowthehistoryoftheirwritingindetailbecausetheyused

aperishablewritingmaterial.InancienttimesthebanksoftheNile

werelinedwithpapyrusplants,andfromthepapyrusreedsthe

Egyptiansmadeaformofpaper;itwasexcellentinqualitybut,like

anypaper,fragile.Mesopotamia’sriversboastednosuchuseful

reeds,butitslanddidprovidegoodclay,andasaconsequencethe

claytabletbecamethestandardmaterial.Thoughclumsyandbulky

ithasavirtuedeartoarchaeologists:itisdurable.Fire,forexample,

whichisdeathtopapyruspaperorotherwritingmaterialssuchas

leatherandwood,simplybakesithard,therebymakingitevenmore

durable.SowhenaconquerorsetaMesopotamianpalaceablaze,he

helpedensurethesurvivalofanyclaytabletsinit.Clay,moreover,is

cheap,andformingitintotabletsiseasy,factorsthathelpedtheclay

tabletbecomethepreferredwritingmaterialnotonlythroughout

Mesopotamiabutfaroutsideitaswell,inSyria,AsiaMinor,Persia,

andevenforawhileinCreteandGreece.Excavatorshaveunearthed

claytabletsinalltheselands.IntheNearEasttheyremainedinuse

formorethantwoandahalfmillennia,andincertainareasthey

lasteddowntothebeginningofthecommonerauntilfinallyyielding,

onceandforall,tomoreconvenientalternatives.

③TheSumeriansperfect