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TOEFL Directory > TOEFL writing > TOEFL Reading Class Unit 1_Passage 19_Question 199-209
TOEFL Reading Class Unit 1_Passage 19_Question 199-209
You have about 15 minutes to finish this passage.
First,use about 3-4 minutes to read the passage, try to understand the main idea of this passage.
Don't read it so slowly or try to remember all details.You need to do "fast reading",and "scan" the passage.
Second, read questions 1-11, and with questions you go back the passage again and look for correct answers.
Questions 199-209
Passage 19
Diffusion, the process of introducing cultural elements from one society into another, occurs in three basic patterns: direct contact, intermediate contact, and stimulus diffusion.
In direct contact, elements of a society's culture may be adopted first by neighboring societies and then gradually spread farther afield. The spread of the manufacture of paper is an example of extensive diffusion by direct contact. The invention of paper is attributed to the Chinese Ts'ai Lun in A.D. 105. Within fifty years, paper was being made in many places in central China. By 264 it was found in Chinese Turkmenistan, and from then on the successive places of manufacture were Samarkand (751), Baghdad (793), Egypt (about 900), Morocco (about 1100), and France (1189). In general, the pattern of accepting the borrowed invention was the same everywhere. Paper was first imported into each area as a luxury, then in ever-expanding quantities as a staple product. Finally, usually within one to three centuries, local manufacture started.
Diffusion by intermediate contact occurs through the agency of third parties. Frequently, traders carry a cultural trait from the society that originated it to another group. As an example of diffusion through intermediaries, Phoenician traders spread the alphabet, which may have been invented by another Semitic group, to Greece. At times, soldiers serve as intermediaries in spreading a culture trait. During the Middle Ages, European soldiers acted as intermediaries in two ways: they carried European culture to Arab societies of North Africa and brought Arab culture back to Europe. In the nineteenth century Western missionaries brought Western-style clothing to such places as Africa and the Pacific Islands.
In stimulus diffusion, knowledge of a trait belonging to another culture stimulates the invention or development of a local equivalent. A classic example of stimulus diffusion is the creation of the Cherokee syllabic writing system by a Native American named Sequoya. Sequoya got the idea from his contact with the English; yet he did not adopt the writing system nor did he even learn to write English. He utilized some English alphabetic symbols, altered others, and invented new ones. All the symbols he used represented Cherokee syllables and had a distinctly Cherokee form.
199.The passage mainly discusses how
a) cultures retain their unique characteristics
b) cultural elements transfer from one culture to another
c) paper came into general use
d) economies grew through trade and manufacturing
200. The word attributed in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) credited
b) presented
c) promised
d) limited
201. The word successive in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) specialized
b) principal
c) prosperous
d) subsequent
202. The word it in the passage refers to
a) diffusion
b) contact
c) trait
d) society
203. According to the passage, a change that occurred in Africa and the Pacific Islands as a result of the arrival of missionaries was
a) an increase in the presence of soldiers
b) variation in local style of dressing
c) the manufacture of paper
d) the introduction of new alphabetical systems
204. The word stimulates in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) causes
b) restricts
c) requires
d) simplifies
205. In stating that the Cherokee writing system is a classic example, the author means that this example is especially
a) representative
b) understandable
c) difficult
d) old
206. What did Sequoya do?
a) Adopt the English writing system for use in Cherokee
b) Study English intensively in order to learn to write it
c) Teach English to Cherokee Native Americans
d) Create a Cherokee writing system based on elements of the English alphabet
207. The origins of the Greek and Cherokee writing systems were discussed in the passage because both systems
a) underwent identical patterns of development in different parts of the world
b) influenced the development of alphabets of other languages
c) represented distinct ways in which elements could be introduced into a culture
d) were introduced by religious missionaries
208. Which of the following statements about direct contact, intermediate contact, and stimulus diffusion is NOT true?
a) They all cause changes in cultures.
b) They all occur in more than one culture.
c) They all involve the interaction of cultures.
d) They all require the trading of manufactured products.
209. The author organized the discussion in the passage by
a) establishing a historical chronology from the past through the present
b) illustrating specific categories with examples
c) identifying important geographic regions
d) ranking categories from most to least significant
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