2010年中國人民大學考博英語真題5

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Passage Four

In modem days, on the western bank of the upper Tigris River stands an Iraqi city called QaFat Shartlat. Thousands of years ago, this very site was once the capital of a great Mesopotamian empire. At the time, the place had a different name. It was called Ashur or Arrur. The word Ashur eventually gave rise to the team Assyria, which was the northern part of Mesopotamia. People living in that region later became known as the Assyrians.

Historians often divide the long history of Assyria into three periods even though they cannot reach a consensus over the exact dates of each era. The three periods was the Old Assyrian Period (circa 2000 B. C. 一1400 B. C. )，the Middle Assyrian Period (circa 1365 B. C. —1100 B. C. ) and the Neo- Assyrian Empire ( circa 934 B. C. —609 B. C.).

Archaeological evidence showed that people began to settle in Ashur as early as 2500 B. C. But it did not attain any political significance until the third dynasty of Ur collapsed in 2004 B. C. After that fiasco, the Assyrians transformed the Ashur into a bustling commercial center, controlling trade routes to and from Anatolia. In 1813 B. C. , the first great Assyrian king, Shamshi-Adad I, ascended the throne and began a series of military expansions. At the height of his reign, his kingdom owned the entire northern Mesopotamia. Its growing influence gave its neighbor plenty of reasons to be wary.

While things were going splendidly for this Assyrian upstart, Shamshi-Adad passed away in 1791 B. C. Soon after his death, the kingdom began to fall apart. Knowing that the Shamshi-Adad5s empire was on the verge of collapse, Hammurabi of the 1st dynasty of Babylon jumped at the chance and invaded northern Mesopotamia. He conquered Ashur in 1760 B. C. From that point on to the middle of 1300s B. C. , Assyria was reduced to a mere vassal state. At first, it had to answer to the 1st dynasty of Babylon. After that empire was eradicated, it turned to submit to a Human kingdom called Mitanni. It was not until 1365 B. C. that Assayria, then ruled by Ashur-uballit I, was able to regain its independence. For the next couple hundred years, Assyria grew increasingly powerful. It eventually defeated Babylonia and even occupied Egypt.

36. According to the article, the Assyrian lived in part of modern-day .

A. Egypt B. India C. China D. Iraq

37. According to the historians, the history of Assyria has lasted for about .

A. 4, 000 years B. 3, 800 years C. 3, 100 years D. 1，400 years

38. It was during the reign of Shamshi-Adad I，the first great Assyrian King, when the Assyrians

A. began to expand their empire with military forces

B. began to open new trade routes

C. began to encourage commercial activities

D. began to establish diplomatic relations with other countries

39. During the reign of Shamshi-Adad I, the neighboring countries of Assyrian Empire ?

A. all showed their respect

B. all admired the achievements of Shamshi-Adad I

C. all became vigilant and anxious

D. all paid tribute to Shamshi-Adad I

40. In history, the Assyrians were once very powerful, and they even occupied at one st^e.

A. India B. Russia C. Egypt D. Greece

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