Agricultural Practices of the Maya
题目：
The Maya civilization flourished for centuries on the Yucatan Peninsula and other areas of Mesoamerica, reaching its peak around 800 c.E. But over the next two hundred years its population dropped from as many as six million people to less than half a million. There has been a vigorous debate about what caused this decline, but there is wide agreement that agricultural practices played some role. Maya agriculture began with a system known as slash- and-burn agriculture, in which a patch of jungTe was cleared with stone axes and then burned before the onset of the rains, when maize and beans were planted. Ash from burning the cleared forest fertilized the soil and guaranteed good crops for a few years, after which fertility of the nutrient-poor tropical soil fell rapidly. Cleared patches could not be farmed for long before being abandoned to the jungle to restore soil fertility.
Slash-and-burn agriculture worked well while the population density remained low and there was enough land for farmers to move their fields every few years. As the great Maya cities rose from the jungle, people kept clearing land as their ancestors had done, but they stopped moving their fields. The tropical soils of the Yucatan Peninsula are thin and easily eroded (worn away) by wind and water. Under sustained cultivation, the high productivity obtained right after clearing and burning rapidly declines. Compounding this problem, the lack of domesticated animals meant no manure for replenishing the soil. Just as in Greece and Rome, rising demand for food and declining productivity compelled cultivation of increasingly poor land.
After about 300 B.c.E., when large towns began to emerge, the region’s increasing population led people to begin farming poorly drained valley bottoms and limestone slopes (hills) with thin, fragile soils. They built raised fields in swamps by digging networks of drainage canals and piling up the excavated material in between to create raised planting beds located above the water table. In some areas, extensive terracing began around 250 c.E. and then spread across the landscape as the population continued to expand for another five and a half centuries. Maya farmers terraced hillsides to create flat planting surfaces, to slow erosion by overland flow, and to divert water to fields. However, in major areas like Tikal and Copan, there is little evidence for soil conservation efforts. Even with erosion control efforts, deposition of soil that had eroded from surrounding slopes disrupted wetland agriculture practiced in natural depressions in the ground in which water collects.
Sediment samples from lakes in the Maya heartland suggest that agricultural intensification increased soil erosion. The rate at which sedimentation piled up on lake beds(the floor or bottom of lakes) increased substantially from 250 B.c.E. through the ninth century c.E. While not necessarily responsible for the collapse of Maya society, soil erosion peaked shortly before Maya civilization unraveled about 900 c.E., when the food surpluses that sustained the social hierarchy disappeared. Some Maya cities were abandoned with buildings half finished
In the 1990s, geographers studying small depressions (areas sunk below their surroundings), known as bajos, around Maya sites in northwestern Belize found that cultivated wetlands had filled with soils eroded after deforestation (clearing the land) of the surrounding slopes. This part of the Yucatan is broken into depressions that formed natural wetlands extensively cultivated during the peak of Maya civilization. Trenches (long narrow channels) revealed buried soils dating from the pre-Maya period covered by two and a half to six feet of dirt, which had eroded from the surrounding slopes and was transported into the trenches in two distinct episodes. The first corresponded to forest clearing during the spread of pioneer farmers from the valleys up onto the surrounding hillsides. The second occurred during agricultural intensification immediately before the end of Maya civilization. Once Maya society collapsed, soil began to rebuild on hillsides as the forest reclaimed fields and wetlands. Researchers also found evidence for accelerated soil erosion caused by extensive deforestation of sloping land in the Maya lowlands. Where Maya terraces remain intact, they hold three to four times more soil than lies on adjacent cultivated slopes. Development of erosion control methods allowed the Maya heartland to support large populations, but the expansion depended on intensive cultivation of erosion-prone slopes and sedimentation- prone wetlands. Eventually, Maya civilization reached a point where its agricultural methods could no longer sustain its population.
1
The Maya civilization flourished for centuries on the Yucatan Peninsula and other areas of Mesoamerica, reaching its peak around 800 c.E. But over the next two hundred years its population dropped from as many as six million people to less than half a million. There has been a vigorous debate about what caused this decline, but there is wide agreement that agricultural practices played some role. Maya agriculture began with a system known as slash- and-burn agriculture, in which a patch of jungTe was cleared with stone axes and then burned before the onset of the rains, when maize and beans were planted. Ash from burning the cleared forest fertilized the soil and guaranteed good crops for a few years, after which fertility of the nutrient-poor tropical soil fell rapidly. Cleared patches could not be farmed for long before being abandoned to the jungle to restore soil fertility.
According to paragraph 1, which of the following statements is true about the Maya civilization?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AIt first appeared on the Yucatán Peninsula around A.D. 800.
BIt took two hundred years for the Maya population to reach its peak.
CIts population was reduced to less than half a million people around A.D. 1000.
DIt employed slash-and-burn agriculture in some areas but not in others.
2
The Maya civilization flourished for centuries on the Yucatan Peninsula and other areas of Mesoamerica, reaching its peak around 800 c.E. But over the next two hundred years its population dropped from as many as six million people to less than half a million. There has been a vigorous debate about what caused this decline, but there is wide agreement that agricultural practices played some role. Maya agriculture began with a system known as slash- and-burn agriculture, in which a patch of jungTe was cleared with stone axes and then burned before the onset of the rains, when maize and beans were planted. Ash from burning the cleared forest fertilized the soil and guaranteed good crops for a few years, after which fertility of the nutrient-poor tropical soil fell rapidly. Cleared patches could not be farmed for long before being abandoned to the jungle to restore soil fertility.
According to paragraph 1, scholars are NOT yet certain about which of the following questions about the Maya civilization?
Negative Factual Information Questions否定事实信息题
AWhen did the Maya civilization reach its peak?
BHow did the Maya make land usable for agriculture?
CHow long did the Maya civilization flourish before beginning to decline?
DWhat factors other than agricultural practices caused the decline of the Maya civilization?
3
The Maya civilization flourished for centuries on the Yucatan Peninsula and other areas of Mesoamerica, reaching its peak around 800 c.E. But over the next two hundred years its population dropped from as many as six million people to less than half a million. There has been a vigorous debate about what caused this decline, but there is wide agreement that agricultural practices played some role. Maya agriculture began with a system known as slash- and-burn agriculture, in which a patch of jungTe was cleared with stone axes and then burned before the onset of the rains, when maize and beans were planted. Ash from burning the cleared forest fertilized the soil and guaranteed good crops for a few years, after which fertility of the nutrient-poor tropical soil fell rapidly. Cleared patches could not be farmed for long before being abandoned to the jungle to restore soil fertility.
Slash-and-burn agriculture worked well while the population density remained low and there was enough land for farmers to move their fields every few years. As the great Maya cities rose from the jungle, people kept clearing land as their ancestors had done, but they stopped moving their fields. The tropical soils of the Yucatan Peninsula are thin and easily eroded (worn away) by wind and water. Under sustained cultivation, the high productivity obtained right after clearing and burning rapidly declines. Compounding this problem, the lack of domesticated animals meant no manure for replenishing the soil. Just as in Greece and Rome, rising demand for food and declining productivity compelled cultivation of increasingly poor land.
What do paragraphs 1 and 2 suggest about slash-and-burn agriculture?
Inference Questions推理题
AIt was used by the Maya people for only 200 years.
BIt resulted in poor soil quality right after it was practiced.
CIt was usually employed right after maize and beans were harvested.
DIt probably would have remained an effective practice if the Maya population had not increased.
4
Slash-and-burn agriculture worked well while the population density remained low and there was enough land for farmers to move their fields every few years. As the great Maya cities rose from the jungle, people kept clearing land as their ancestors had done, but they stopped moving their fields. The tropical soils of the Yucatan Peninsula are thin and easily eroded (worn away) by wind and water. Under sustained cultivation, the high productivity obtained right after clearing and burning rapidly declines. Compounding this problem, the lack of domesticated animals meant no manure for replenishing the soil. Just as in Greece and Rome, rising demand for food and declining productivity compelled cultivation of increasingly poor land.
The word “compelled” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Vocabulary Questions词汇题
Aallowed
Bimproved
Cforced
DExpanded
5
After about 300 B.c.E., when large towns began to emerge, the region’s increasing population led people to begin farming poorly drained valley bottoms and limestone slopes (hills) with thin, fragile soils. They built raised fields in swamps by digging networks of drainage canals and piling up the excavated material in between to create raised planting beds located above the water table. In some areas, extensive terracing began around 250 c.E. and then spread across the landscape as the population continued to expand for another five and a half centuries. Maya farmers terraced hillsides to create flat planting surfaces, to slow erosion by overland flow, and to divert water to fields. However, in major areas like Tikal and Copan, there is little evidence for soil conservation efforts. Even with erosion control efforts, deposition of soil that had eroded from surrounding slopes disrupted wetland agriculture practiced in natural depressions in the ground in which water collects.
According to paragraph 3, in their efforts to feed an increasing population, the Maya did all of the following EXCEPT
Negative Factual Information Questions否定事实信息题
Adig canals to improve the drainage of fields
Bconstruct extensive terracing to create flat planting surfaces on hillsides
Cdivert water flowing down hillsides to provide irrigation for fields
Dmove towns from valleys to the tops of hills
6
Sediment samples from lakes in the Maya heartland suggest that agricultural intensification increased soil erosion. The rate at which sedimentation piled up on lake beds(the floor or bottom of lakes) increased substantially from 250 B.c.E. through the ninth century c.E. While not necessarily responsible for the collapse of Maya society, soil erosion peaked shortly before Maya civilization unraveled about 900 c.E., when the food surpluses that sustained the social hierarchy disappeared. Some Maya cities were abandoned with buildings half finished
Why does the author mention that “soil erosion peaked shortly before Maya civilization unraveled”?
Rhetorical Purpose Questions修辞目的题
ATo support the claim that soil erosion may have played a role in the collapse of Maya civilization
BTo offer evidence that the variety of agricultural practices used at the end of Maya civilization caused soil erosion
CTo suggest that the Maya people may have begun to take steps to control sedimentation before Maya civilization collapsed
DTo help explain why some Maya cities were abandoned with buildings half finished
7
In the 1990s, geographers studying small depressions (areas sunk below their surroundings), known as bajos, around Maya sites in northwestern Belize found that cultivated wetlands had filled with soils eroded after deforestation (clearing the land) of the surrounding slopes. This part of the Yucatan is broken into depressions that formed natural wetlands extensively cultivated during the peak of Maya civilization. Trenches (long narrow channels) revealed buried soils dating from the pre-Maya period covered by two and a half to six feet of dirt, which had eroded from the surrounding slopes and was transported into the trenches in two distinct episodes. The first corresponded to forest clearing during the spread of pioneer farmers from the valleys up onto the surrounding hillsides. The second occurred during agricultural intensification immediately before the end of Maya civilization. Once Maya society collapsed, soil began to rebuild on hillsides as the forest reclaimed fields and wetlands. Researchers also found evidence for accelerated soil erosion caused by extensive deforestation of sloping land in the Maya lowlands. Where Maya terraces remain intact, they hold three to four times more soil than lies on adjacent cultivated slopes. Development of erosion control methods allowed the Maya heartland to support large populations, but the expansion depended on intensive cultivation of erosion-prone slopes and sedimentation- prone wetlands. Eventually, Maya civilization reached a point where its agricultural methods could no longer sustain its population.
The word “distinct” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Vocabulary Questions词汇题
Aextended
Bfollowing
Cseparate
Drelated
8
In the 1990s, geographers studying small depressions (areas sunk below their surroundings), known as bajos, around Maya sites in northwestern Belize found that cultivated wetlands had filled with soils eroded after deforestation (clearing the land) of the surrounding slopes. This part of the Yucatan is broken into depressions that formed natural wetlands extensively cultivated during the peak of Maya civilization. Trenches (long narrow channels) revealed buried soils dating from the pre-Maya period covered by two and a half to six feet of dirt, which had eroded from the surrounding slopes and was transported into the trenches in two distinct episodes. The first corresponded to forest clearing during the spread of pioneer farmers from the valleys up onto the surrounding hillsides. The second occurred during agricultural intensification immediately before the end of Maya civilization. Once Maya society collapsed, soil began to rebuild on hillsides as the forest reclaimed fields and wetlands. Researchers also found evidence for accelerated soil erosion caused by extensive deforestation of sloping land in the Maya lowlands. Where Maya terraces remain intact, they hold three to four times more soil than lies on adjacent cultivated slopes. Development of erosion control methods allowed the Maya heartland to support large populations, but the expansion depended on intensive cultivation of erosion-prone slopes and sedimentation- prone wetlands. Eventually, Maya civilization reached a point where its agricultural methods could no longer sustain its population.
According to paragraph 5, the soil within trenches reveals which of the following about the Maya in northwestern Belize?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AThey cut down forests for agriculture during two periods in their history.
BThey began farming on hillsides in the area before they began farming in its low-lying areas.
CThey selected hillsides that remained partly forested as locations for building terraces.
DThey sometimes added soil to terraces, fields, and wetlands in an effort to reclaim them for farming.
9
The Maya civilization flourished for centuries on the Yucatan Peninsula and other areas of Mesoamerica, reaching its peak around 800 c.E. But over the next two hundred years its population dropped from as many as six million people to less than half a million. There has been a vigorous debate about what caused this decline, but there is wide agreement that agricultural practices played some role. [■] Maya agriculture began with a system known as slash- and-burn agriculture, in which a patch of jungTe was cleared with stone axes and then burned before the onset of the rains, when maize and beans were planted.[■] Ash from burning the cleared forest fertilized the soil and guaranteed good crops for a few years, after which fertility of the nutrient-poor tropical soil fell rapidly. Cleared patches could not be farmed for long before being abandoned to the jungle to restore soil fertility.[■]
Slash-and-burn agriculture worked well while the population density remained low and there was enough land for farmers to move their fields every few years. [■] As the great Maya cities rose from the jungle, people kept clearing land as their ancestors had done, but they stopped moving their fields. The tropical soils of the Yucatan Peninsula are thin and easily eroded (worn away) by wind and water. Under sustained cultivation, the high productivity obtained right after clearing and burning rapidly declines. Compounding this problem, the lack of domesticated animals meant no manure for replenishing the soil. Just as in Greece and Rome, rising demand for food and declining productivity compelled cultivation of increasingly poor land.
Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
As a result, more jungle was cleared to compensate for the fields that needed to recover.
Insert Text Questions句子插入题
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
10
The Maya civilization flourished for centuries, but then experienced a major decline.
Prose Summary Questions概要小结题
Select 3 answers
AMaya people practiced slash-and-burn agriculture which enriched the thin, nutrient-poor tropical soil enough to ensure high crop yields for a few years, after which fertility declined rapidly.
BTerracing slopes was the most popular means of controlling soil erosion in the Maya civilization, but after A.D. 250 the Maya had to abandon this agricultural practice.
CMaya agriculture intensification increased erosion so extensively that cultivation of wetlands had to be abandoned and buildings became buried in soil.
DEarly soil conservation efforts enabled the Maya heartland to support large population, but after further expansion into hillside farming, erosion became a serious problem.
EPopulation pressure led to agricultural intensification, and productivity declined so much that Maya agriculture could not sustain the population.
FMaya civilization fell for the same reason that ancient Greece and Rome fell the adoption of agricultural practices that reduced soil fertility.
