Pastoralism is a lifestyle in whicheconomicactivityis basedprimarilyonlivestock. Archaeologicalevidencesuggests that by 3000 B.C., and perhapsevenearlier, there had emerged on the steppes ofInnerEurasiathedistinctivetypes of pastoralism that were todominatetheregion'shistoryfor severalmillennia. Here, the horse was already becoming the animal ofprestigein many regions, though sheep, goats, andcattlecould also play avitalrole. It is the use of horses fortransportationandwarfarethat explains whyInnerEurasian pastoralism proved the mostmobileand the most militaristic of allmajorforms of pastoralism. Theemergenceandspreadof pastoralism had aprofoundimpacton thehistoryofInnerEurasia, and also, indirectly, on the parts of Asia and Europe just outside this area. Inparticular, pastoralism favors amobilelifestyle, and thismobilityhelps to explain theimpactof pastoralist societies on this part of the world.

Themobilityof pastoralist societies reflects their dependence on animal-based foods. While agriculturalistsrelyondomesticatedplants, pastoralistsrelyondomesticatedanimals. As a result, pastoralists, like carnivores in general,occupya higherpositionon the foodchain. All else beingequal, this means they mustexploitlarger areas of land than do agriculturalists tosecurethe sameamountof food, clothing, and other necessities. So pastoralism is a moreextensivelifeway than farming is. However, the larger theterrainused to support a group, the harder it is toexploitthatterrainwhileremainingin one place. So,basicecologicalprinciplesimplya strongtendencywithinpastoralist lifeways toward nomadism (amobilelifestyle). As the archaeologist Roger Cribb puts it, “The greater thedegreeof pastoralism, the stronger thetendencytoward nomadism.” A modern Turkic nomad interviewed by Cribb commented: "The more animals you have, the farther you have to move."

Nomadism has further consequences. It means that pastoralist societiesoccupyand can influence very large territories. This is particularly true of the horse pastoralism that emerged in theInnerEurasian steppes, for this was the mostmobileof allmajorforms of pastoralism. So, it is noaccidentthat with theappearanceof pastoralist societies thereappearlarge areas that sharesimilarcultural,ecological, andevenlinguisticfeatures. By the late fourthmillenniumB.C., there is alreadyevidenceof largeculturezones reaching from Eastern Europe to the western borders of Mongolia. Perhaps the moststrikingsign ofmobilityis the fact that by the thirdmillenniumB.C., most pastoralists in this hugeregionspoke related languages ancestral to the modern Indo-European languages. Theremarkablemobilityand range ofpastoralsocieties explain, in part, why so many linguists have argued that the Indo-European languages began their astonishing expansionistcareernot among farmers in Anatolia (present-dayTurkey), but among early pastoralists fromInnerEurasia. Such theoriesimplythat the Indo-European languages evolved not inNeolithic(10,000 to 3,000 B.C.) Anatolia, but among the foraging communities of the cultures in theregionof the Don and Dnieper rivers, which took upstockbreedingand began toexploitthe neighboring steppes.

Nomadism also subjects pastoralist communities tostrictrules of portability. If you areconstantlyon the move, you cannotaffordtoaccumulatelargematerialsurpluses. Such rules limit variations in accumulatedmaterialgoods between pastoralist households (though they may alsoencourageatasteforportablegoods of high value such as silks orjewelry). So, by and large, nomadism implies a highdegreeof self-sufficiency and inhibits theappearanceof anextensivedivisionof labor. Inequalities of wealth andrankcertainly exist, and have probably existed in most pastoralist societies, but except in periods ofmilitaryconquest, they arenormallytooslighttogeneratethestable,hereditaryhierarchies that are usually implied by the use of thetermclass. Inequalities ofgenderhave also existed in pastoralist societies, but theyseemto have been softened by theabsenceofsteephierarchies of wealth in most communities, and also by the requirement that womenacquiremost of the skills of men, including, often, theirmilitaryskills.

Questions:
question_stem: The word “prestige” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: interest

tag: B
text: status

tag: C
text: demand

tag: D
text: profit
answer_key: B
explanation: B prestige: 威望，声望。A 是兴趣；B 是地位；C 是需求，要求；D 是利益，利润。所以 B 的 status 正确。

question_stem: According to paragraph 1, what made it possible for Inner Eurasian pastoralism to become the most mobile and militaristic form of pastoralism?
choices: tag: A
text: It involved the domestication of several types of animals.

tag: B
text: It was based primarily on horses rather than on other animals.

tag: C
text: It borrowed and improved upon European ideas for mobility and warfare.

tag: D
text: It could be adapted to a wide variety of environments.
answer_key: B
explanation: B 以 most mobile and most militarilistic 做关键词定位至倒数第三句，说以马匹做运输工具和福利使得 Inner Eurasia pastoralism 最 mobile，答案是 B，C 虽然提到了 welfare，但不是 borrow 的，所以不选；D 在原文没有提及。

question_stem: The word “profound” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: strange

tag: B
text: positive

tag: C
text: direct

tag: D
text: far-reaching
answer_key: D
explanation: D, profound: 深远的，深厚的。A 是奇怪的；B 是正面的；C 是直接的；D 是深远的。所以答案 D 的 far-reaching 正确。

question_stem: In paragraph 2, why does the author contrast pastoralists with agriculturalists?
choices: tag: A
text: To explain why pastoralism requires more land than agriculturalism to support basic needs

tag: B
text: To identify some advantages that mobile societies have over immobile societies

tag: C
text: To demonstrate that ecological principles that apply to pastoralism do not apply to agriculturalism

tag: D
text: To argue that agriculturalism eventually developed out of pastoralism
answer_key: A
explanation: A 首先找到对比，本段前两句分别说了游牧民族和定居民族的特点，一是依靠动物及其食物，一是驯养动物。紧接着说了这种对比的结果，也就是作者做这个对比的目的。游牧民族就像食肉动物一样，在食物链中占据了较高的等级，所以需要更多地盘。所以对比的目的就是解释为什么游牧民族需要占领更多地方，答案是 A。此题特殊，修辞目的在修辞点所在句子后面，需要多加注意.

question_stem: According to paragraph 2, pastoralists tend to
choices: tag: A
text: prefer grazing their animals on agricultural lands

tag: B
text: consume comparatively large amounts of food and clothing

tag: C
text: avoid eating plant foods

tag: D
text: move from place to place frequently
answer_key: D
explanation: D 问题当中关键词难找，但可以从上题 pastoralist 和 agriculturalist 的对比，也就是本段的第一二两句中得出答案 D，说游牧民族经常四处游走。A 在原文没有提及，B 项与原文矛盾，原文强调的是 same amount（第四局），原文第四句说游牧民族必须四处走以保证同样量的 food and clothing，所以 B 错；虽然原文说了他们是 animal-based food, 但这不意味着他们不吃 plant food，所以 C 错。

question_stem: In paragraph 3, why does the author discuss languages spoken in the region spanning from Eastern Europe to the western borders of Mongolia?
choices: tag: A
text: To emphasize the frequency with which Indo-European languages changed as a result of the mobile nature of pastoralism

tag: B
text: To indicate one method linguists use to determine that inhabitants of the Don and Dnieper river area had taken up stock breeding

tag: C
text: To provide evidence that Indo-European languages have their roots in what is now Turkey

tag: D
text: To provide evidence that pastoralist societies can exercise cultural influence over a large area
answer_key: D
explanation: D 首先以 Eastern Europe 和 Mongolia 做关键词定位至第四句，原句单纯讲述了一个例子，所以往前看，前句说由于游牧民族的存在，出现了很大一块地域范围内共享相似的生态上的，文化上的甚至语言上的特点。紧接着就说了语言上的一个例子，所以语言的这个例子是为了证明前文的，答案是 D。

question_stem: The word "striking” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: reliable

tag: B
text: noticeable

tag: C
text: convincing

tag: D
text: violent
answer_key: B
explanation: B strike 有打击，敲击或者罢工的意思，所以 striking 意思是明显的，引人注意的，noticeable 正确。前一句说在公元前四千年，就有某某 evidence，接着说或许最怎么样的 evidence，前面已经有了一个 evidence，后面再说应该是加强作用的，所以答案是 B。A 的 reliable 和 C 的 convincing 意思差不多，都是可信之意，原文没有这个意思，都不选；D 完全不靠谱。

question_stem: The word "exploit” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: use to advantage

tag: B
text: depart from

tag: C
text: pay attention to

tag: D
text: travel across
answer_key: A
explanation: A exploit 利用，开采，剥削，所以 A 正确。本句说已经把原来有的草用完了，然后怎么样临近的草原，当然就是去临近的草原吃的意思，所以应当猜得出开发之意。B 离开明显说反，应该是离开原来的去附近的；C 注意或者 D 穿过也不行，只是注意或者只是穿过去没吃都不对。

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, the fact that pastoralist communities are subject to “strict rules of portability” encourages such communities to
choices: tag: A
text: relocate less frequently than they would otherwise

tag: B
text: have households that are more or less equal in wealth

tag: C
text: become self-sufficient in the manufacture of silk and jewelry

tag: D
text: share large material surpluses with neighboring communities
answer_key: B
explanation: B 关键词已经划出，而第一句只是在说这件事，所以往后看，而下一句是对第一句内容的解释，不是答案。下句说这些规则限制了大家拥有的财产的差别，也就是说大家的财富都差不多，所以答案是 B。没推出来的用排除法，A 的 relocate 原文没说；C 把原文 self-sufficient 和括号里的例子搅在一起，偷换概念，错；D 的 share 原文没说。

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, all of the following are true of social inequality in pastoralist societies EXCEPT:
choices: tag: A
text: It exists and has existed to some degree in most pastoral societies.

tag: B
text: It is most marked during periods of military conquest.

tag: C
text: It is expressed in the form of a rigid hierarchy based largely on heredity.

tag: D
text: It is usually too insignificant to be discussed in terms of class differences.
answer_key: C
explanation: 选项 A 对应倒数第二句的“have probably existed in most pastoralist societies”，符合原文，排除。
选项 B 对应倒数第二句“except in periods of military conquest, they are normally too slight to generate the stable”，即除了战乱时期，他们由于太过弱小难以形成通常的稳定、世袭的统治阶级，B 选项说法符合原文，排除。
选项 C 对应“they are normally too slight to generate the stable, hereditary hierarchies”，因为太过弱小难以形成通常的稳定、世袭的统治阶级，选项中 expressed 说法与原文矛盾，正确。
选项 D 对应“they are normally too slight to generate the stable, hereditary hierarchies that are usually implied by the use of the term class”，即因为平时不重要而不被讨论，选项与原文一致，排除。

question_stem: Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
choices: tag: A
text: Despite the fact that wealth is relatively evenly distributed in pastoral societies, gender inequality still exists because only men can acquire military skills and social status.

tag: B
text: Inequalities of gender existed in pastoralist societies until most communities began to require women to possess the same skills as men and take part in the military.

tag: C
text: Inequalities of gender in pastoralist societies were caused by steep hierarchies of wealth and differences in military training between men and women.

tag: D
text: In pastoral societies, gender inequality is comparatively mild because wealth is relatively evenly distributed and women have to learn most of the same skills that men do.
answer_key: D
explanation: D : 原句的主要逻辑是转折，次要逻辑是并列。原句的结构是不平等存在，但是由于两个因素被减弱了。A 有原文的转折，但后面给出的原因反了，而且仔细看发现 despite 之后的东西也和原文不一样，所以 A 错；B 的直到什么什么时候原文没有，而且原文的很重要的谓语 softened 答案没有，所以错；C 只说到原因，也没说到减弱，错；D 正确。