TPO11托福阅读Passage1Ancient Egyptian Sculpture文本+题目原文+答案解析

Ancient Egyptian Sculpture

In order to understand ancient Egyptian art, it is vital to know as much as possible of the elite Egyptians' view of the world and the functions and contexts of the art produced for them. Without this knowledge we can appreciate only the formal content of Egyptian art, and we will fail to understand why it was produced or the concepts that shaped it and caused it to adopt its distinctive forms. In fact, a lack of understanding concerning the purposes of Egyptian art has often led it to be compared unfavorably with the art of other cultures: Why did the Egyptians not develop sculpture in which the body turned and twisted through space like classical Greek statuary? Why do the artists seem to get left and right confused? And why did they not discover the geometric perspective as European artists did in the Renaissance? The answer to such questions has nothing to do with a lack of skill or imagination on the part of Egyptian artists and everything to do with the purposes for which they were producing their art.

The majority of three-dimensional representations, whether standing, seated, or kneeling, exhibit what is called frontality: they face straight ahead, neither twisting nor turning. When such statues are viewed in isolation, out of their original context and without knowledge of their function, it is easy to criticize them for their rigid attitudes that remained unchanged for three thousand years. Frontality is, however, directly related to the functions of Egyptian statuary and the contexts in which the statues were set up. Statues were created not for their decorative effect but to play a primary role in the cults of the gods, the king, and the dead. They were designed to be put in places where these beings could manifest themselves in order to be the recipients of ritual actions. Thus it made sense to show the statue looking ahead at what was happening in front of it, so that the living performer of the ritual could interact with the divine or deceased recipient. Very often such statues were enclosed in rectangular shrines or wall niches whose only opening was at the front, making it natural for the statue to display frontality. Other statues were designed to be placed within an architectural setting, for instance, in front of the monumental entrance gateways to temples known as pylons, or in pillared courts, where they would be placed against or between pillars: their frontality worked perfectly within the architectural context.

Statues were normally made of stone, wood, or metal. Stone statues were worked from single rectangular blocks of material and retained the compactness of the original shape. The stone between the arms and the body and between the legs in standing figures or the legs and the seat in seated ones was not normally cut away. From a practical aspect this protected the figures against breakage and psychologically gives the images a sense of strength and power, usually enhanced by a supporting back pillar. By contrast, wooden statues were carved from several pieces of wood that were pegged together to form the finished work, and metal statues were either made by wrapping sheet metal around a wooden core or cast by the lost wax process. The arms could be held away from the body and carry separate items in their hands; there is no back pillar. The effect is altogether lighter and freer than that achieved in stone, but because both perform the same function, formal wooden and metal statues still display frontality.

Apart from statues representing deities, kings, and named members of the elite that can be called formal, there is another group of three-dimensional representations that depicts generic figures, frequently servants, from the nonelite population.  [■]The function of these is quite different.  [■]Many are made to be put in the tombs of the elite in order to serve the tomb owners in the afterlife.  [■]Unlike formal statues that are limited to static poses of standing, sitting, and kneeling, these figures depict a wide range of actions, such as grinding grain, baking bread, producing pots, and making music, and they are shown in appropriate poses, bending and squatting as they carry out their tasks. [■]

TPO11托福阅读Passage1Ancient Egyptian Sculpture题目

Question 1 of 14: According to paragraph 1， The word“vital” in the passage is closest in

A. attractive

B. essential

C. usual

D. practical

Question 2 of 14: Paragraph 1 suggests that one reason Egyptian art is viewed less favorably than other art is that Egyptian art lacks

A. a realistic sense of human body proportion

B. a focus on distinctive forms of varying sizes

C. the originality of European art

D. the capacity to show the human body in motion

Question 3 of 14:  In paragraph 1, the author mentions all of the following as necessary in appreciating Egyptian art EXCEPT an understanding of

A. the reasons why the art was made

B. the nature of aristocratic Egyptian beliefs

C.the influences of Egyptian art on later art such as classical Greek art

D. how the art was used

Question 4 of 14: According to paragraph 2, why are Egyptian statues portrayed frontalty?

A.To create a psychological effect of distance and isolation

B.To allow them to fulfill their important role in ceremonies of Egyptian life

C.To provide a contrast to statues with a decorative function

D.To suggest the rigid, unchanging Egyptian philosophical attitudes

Question 5 of 14: The word“context”  in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. connection

B. influence

C. environment

D. requirement

Question 6 of 14: The author mentions an architectural setting in the passage in order to

A.suggest that architecture was as important as sculpture to Egyptian artists

B.offer 3 further explanation for the frontal pose of Egyptian statues

C.explain how the display of statues replaced other forms of architectural decoration

D.illustrate the religious function of Egyptian statues

Question 7 of 14: The word “they ”in the passage refers to

A. statues

B. gateways

C. temples

D.pillared courts

Question 8 of 14: According to paragraph 3, why were certain areas of a stone statue left uncarved?

A. To prevent damage by providing physical stability

B. To emphasize that the material was as important as the figure itself

C. To emphasize that the figure was not meant to be a real human being

D. To provide another artist with the chance to finish the carving

Question 9 of 14: The word “core” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. material

B. layer

C. center

D. frame

Question 10 of 14: According to paragraph 3, which of the following statements about wooden statues is true?

A.Wooden statues were usually larger than stone statues.

B.Wooden statues were made from a single piece of wood.

C.Wooden statues contained pieces of metal or stone attached to the front.

D.Wooden statues had a different effect on the viewer than stone statues.

Question 11 of 14：Paragraph 4: The word “depicts” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. imagines

B. classifies

C. elevates

D. portrays

Question 12 of 14： According to paragraph 4, what is the difference between statues that represent the Egyptian elite and statues that represent the nonelite classes?

A.Statues of the elite are included in tombs, but statues of the nonelite are not.

B. Statues of the elite are in motionless poses, while statues of the nonelite are in active poses.

C. Statues of the elite are shown standing, while statues of the nonelite are shown sitting or kneeling

D. Statues of the elite serve an important function, while statues of the nonelite are decorative

Question 13 of 14： Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?

In fact, it is the action and not the figure itself that is important.

Question 14 of 14：Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. The distinctive look of ancient Egyptian sculpture was determined largely by its function.

A.The twisted forms of Egyptian statues indicate their importance in ritual actions.

B. The reason Egyptian statues are motionless is linked to their central role in cultural rituals.

C.Stone, wood, and metal statues all display the feature of frontality.

D. Statues were more often designed to be viewed in isolation rather than placed within buildings.

E. The contrasting poses used in statues of elite and nonelite Egyptians reveal their difference in social status.

F. Although the appearances of formal and generic statues differ, they share the same function.

TPO11托福阅读Passage1Ancient Egyptian Sculpture真题解析

Question 1 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：vital“至关重要的，生死攸关的”，所以B的essential正确，两者都可以替换important。原句说为了理解古埃及艺术，尽量多地了解埃及精英阶层的想法，后面列出的是实现前面的前提，所以essential“主要的”正确，A“有吸引力”C“平常”D“实际”都不正确。

Question 2 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：题目问的是古埃及艺术不那么受重视的原因是缺乏什么，定位到原文第三句，第三句说到根本原因是对这种艺术形式的目的缺乏一定了解。后面用冒号引出三个问题：为什么雕塑没有肢体动作，为什么创作者们好像左右不分，为什么他们不能像欧洲文艺复兴时期的艺术家们那样发现几何角度。也就是说这三个问题的疑问都导致了其艺术形式的目的缺乏了解，对照选项，只有D选项对应了提到的第一个问题。所以选择D。

Question 3 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：EXCEPT题，排除法。A的reasons对应原文第三句的understanding concerning the purposes，正确，不选；B的aristocratic Egyptian belief对应第一句的elite Egyptian’s view，正确，不选；C没有对应的原文，错误，选；D对应第一句的functions，正确，不选。

Question 4 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：以statue和frontality双关键词定位至第三到五句，说frontality跟埃及雕塑的作用有关，并在后一句进一步说不是为了装饰，而是确实起到某种实际作用的，in order to be the recipients of ritual actions，所以答案是B。

Question 5 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：context背景，所以environment正确。原句说当孤立地看这些雕像的时候，后面紧接着解释在他们原有的context之外，既然是孤立，就是和别的东西隔开，而且又说不知道他们的作用，所以答案是和背景隔开，所以只能选择C答案。

Question 6 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：修辞目的题，先看所在的句子，是个例子，讲 statues 放在哪儿。往前看一句，说这样的雕塑被放进只有正面开口的矩形神龛里，使得这些作品必须通过正面展现。我们可以发现，architectural setting 对应的是 shrine和 niche，后面的例子也在讲 frontality 在这些建筑里也能完美表现。所以后面的例子是用来继续讲 frontality 的表现的。 看选项B：offer a further explanation for the frontal pose of Egyptian statues frontal pose就是 frontality，就是继续讲 frontality 怎么摆的。

Question 7 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：本题注意的关键点是for instance引导的是一个插入语，根句子的主要成分没有关系，刨除插入语部分之后，就可以知道答案A statues是句子主语。

Question 8 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：uncarved与原文第二句中的not normally cut away重合，但这句只在说明这个现象，往后看，说有两个作用，实用角度能够避免损坏，心理角度能够给人有力量的感觉，A答案“防止破坏”说到了第一个方面，正确；其他选项都未提及。

Question 9 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：core“核心，中心”，所以center正确。core所在的半句说金属塑像是把金属薄片包在木头上做成的；既然外面包的是金属，说明木头是里面的内核，所以是中心的意思。

Question 10 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：根据wooden status定位关键信息，排除法解答。A选项的两者大小的比较在段落中并没有出现，排除；B选项从By contrast，wooden statues…开始看，carved from several pieces of wood that were pegged together to form the finished work，几块木头拼接而成，矛盾，排除；C选项，and metal statues were either made by wrapping sheet metal around a wooden core or cast by the lost wax process，跟此句矛盾，只能选择D选项。

Question 11 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：depict“描述”，de表示“向下”，pict表示“画，图，染料”等，所以D的portray画，描绘正确。原句说这些statue除了描述精英阶层外，还有非精英阶层的，当然跟上面的represent对应，是“代表”的意思，所以portray正确。

Question 12 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：段落一开头就说明了精英和非精英阶层两个类别，然后从The function of these is quite different. Many are made…unlike 引导的句子是答案关键。提到formal statues只有几种姿势，或坐或站或跪，但另外一些人就在做各种劳动，所以B正确。

Question 13 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：.三个过渡点，起到转折连词作用的副词in fact，两个名词action和figure，根据名词可以确定C或者D正确；但插入C的话无法形成in fact体现出的转折意义，给的句子里面有action，而且最后一句话里面有action 就是在这里these figures depict a wide range of actions。给的句子里面是it is the action，所以在它前面必须要有指代的对象，所以D正确，前面说了elite和nonelite的区别，然后给出总结，主要的是姿势而不是塑像本身。

Question 14 of 14

正确答案：BCE

解析：the reason选项对应原文第二段内容正确；stone选项对应原文第三段内容，正确；the contrasting选项对应原文第四段，正确。

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