In order to understandancientEgyptian art, it isvitalto 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 canappreciateonly theformalcontentof Egyptian art, and we will fail to understand why it was produced or the concepts that shaped it and caused it toadoptitsdistinctiveforms. In fact, alackof 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 developsculpturein which the body turned and twistedthroughspacelikeclassicalGreek statuary? Why do the artistsseemto get left and rightconfused? And why did they not discover the geometricperspectiveas European artists did in the Renaissance? The answer to such questions has nothing to do with alackof skill or imagination on the part of Egyptian artists and everything to do with the purposes for which they were producing their art.

Themajorityof three-dimensional representations, whether standing, seated, or kneeling,exhibitwhat is called frontality: they face straight ahead, neither twisting nor turning. When such statues are viewed in isolation, out of theiroriginalcontextand without knowledge of theirfunction, it is easy tocriticizethem for theirrigidattitudes 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 theirdecorativeeffect but to play aprimaryrole in the cults of the gods, the king, and the dead. They were designed to be put in places where these beings couldmanifestthemselves in order to be the recipients ofritualactions. Thus it madesenseto show thestatuelooking ahead at what was happening in front of it, so that the living performer of theritualcouldinteractwith the divine or deceased recipient. Very often such statues were enclosed inrectangularshrines or wall niches whose only opening was at the front, making it natural for thestatuetodisplayfrontality. Other statues were designed to be placedwithinan architecturalsetting, forinstance, in front of themonumentalentrancegateways to temples known as pylons, or in pillared courts, wheretheywould be placed against or between pillars: their frontality worked perfectlywithinthe architecturalcontext.

Statues werenormallymade of stone, wood, or metal. Stone statues were worked from singlerectangularblocks ofmaterialand retained the compactness of theoriginalshape. 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 notnormallycut away. From apracticalaspectthis protected the figures against breakage and psychologically gives the images asenseof strength and power, usually enhanced by a supporting back pillar. Bycontrast, 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 woodencoreorcastby the lostwaxprocess. The arms could be held away from the body and carryseparateitems in their hands; there is no back pillar. The effect isaltogetherlighter and freer than that achieved in stone, but because bothperformthe samefunction,formalwooden and metal statues stilldisplayfrontality.

Apart from statues representing deities, kings, and named members of the elite that can be calledformal, there is another group of three-dimensional representations that depicts generic figures, frequently servants, from the nonelitepopulation. Thefunctionof 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. Unlikeformalstatues that are limited tostaticposes of standing, sitting, and kneeling, these figuresdepicta wide range of actions, such as grindinggrain, baking bread, producing pots, and making music, and they are shown inappropriateposes, bending and squatting as they carry out their tasks.

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

tag: B
text: essential

tag: C
text: usual

tag: D
text: practical
answer_key: B
explanation: vital: 至关重要的，生死攸关的。A 是有吸引力的；B 是必要的；C 是通常的；D 是实际的，实用的。所以 B 的 essential 正确，两者都可以替换 important。 对应原文 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.

question_stem: Paragraph 1 suggests that one reason Egyptian art is viewed less favorably than other art is that Egyptian art lacks
choices: tag: A
text: a realistic sense of human body proportion

tag: B
text: a focus on distinctive forms of varying sizes

tag: C
text: the originality of European art

tag: D
text: the capacity to show the human body in motion
answer_key: D
explanation: 以 less favorably 做关键词定位至第三句，而冒号之后的连续几个问号，罗列了埃及雕塑不受欢迎的几个原因，答案必然在其中。正确答案出现在第一个问句：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? 冒号后说：为什么埃及的雕塑的 body 不是 turned and twisted，也就是身体是不动的，所以答案是 D。容易选错，D 选项的这个改写比较大，不容易理解。A 选项的身体比例(body proportion)在原文没有提及；B 选项的 varing sizes 也没有提及；C 选项的创新(originality)也没有提及。

question_stem: In paragraph 1, the author mentions all of the following as necessary in appreciating Egyptian art EXCEPT an understanding of
choices: tag: A
text: the reasons why the art was made

tag: B
text: the nature of aristocratic Egyptian beliefs

tag: C
text: the influences of Egyptian art on later art such as classical Greek art

tag: D
text: how the art was used
answer_key: C
explanation: A 的 reasons 对应原文第三句：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...A 选项和原文中的 understanding concerning the purposes 对应，正确，不选；B 的 aristocratoc Egyptian belief 对应第一句的 elite Egyptian’s view，D 对应第一句的 functions：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. 
BD 正确，不选。

question_stem: According to paragraph 2, why are Egyptian statues portrayed frontality?
choices: tag: A
text: To create a psychological effect of distance and isolation

tag: B
text: To allow them to fulfill their important role in ceremonies of Egyptian life

tag: C
text: To provide a contrast to statues with a decorative function

tag: D
text: To suggest the rigid, unchanging Egyptian philosophical attitudes
answer_key: B
explanation: 以 statue 和 frontalty 双关键词定位至第三句，说 frontality 跟珍惜雕塑的作用有关，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，而在第五句话直接说出了起到的作用： They were designed to be put in places where these beings could manifest themselves in order to be the recipients of ritual actions. 这里说了是为了 ritual actions,所以答案是 B，ceremonies 和 ritual 同意替换了。A 和 D 在原文中都有说到，但都跟问题无关，所以不选；C 的对比从来没说过，所以不对。

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

tag: B
text: influence

tag: C
text: environment

tag: D
text: requirement
answer_key: C
explanation: context: 背景，环境。A 是联系；B 是影响；C 是环境；D 是要求。所以 C 的 environment 正确。 对应原文 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. 原句说当孤立地看这些雕像的时候，后面紧接着就用插入短语来解释在他们原有的 context 之外，既然是孤立，就是和别的东西隔开，而且只会又说不知道他们的作用，所以答案是和背景隔开。connection 代入后明显前后搭配有问题，应该说切断联系，不是在联系之外，所以 connection 不对；至于 influence 和 requirement 都不靠谱。

question_stem: The author mentions “an architectural setting” in the passage in order to
choices: tag: A
text: suggest that architecture was as important as sculpture to Egyptian artists

tag: B
text: offer a further explanation for the frontal pose of Egyptian statues

tag: C
text: explain how the display of statues replaced other forms of architectural decoration

tag: D
text: illustrate the religious function of Egyptian statues
answer_key: B
explanation: 功能目的题，先看所在的句子，说其他的 statue 主要是放在建筑背景下的，因为有了 other 的出现，说明这只是几个例子中的一个，往前跳过所有的例子和细节，找到主旨句，也就是全文第三句：Frontality is, however, directly related to the functions of Egyptian statuary and the contexts in which the statues were set up.这句强调了雕塑之所以是 frontality 的是和其功能和使用的环境有关系，后面的例子都在举例说明在不同环境下，雕塑起到的功能。所以答案是 B，further explanation 对应原文的 other。当然，这一题也可以借鉴整段主旨去进行选择，整段主旨在第一句，强调的也是 frontality。而这些选项中和 frontality 有关的也只有 B 和 C，而 C 的 replace 明显和原文内容不符。

question_stem: The word “they” in the passage refers to
choices: tag: A
text: statues

tag: B
text: gateways

tag: C
text: temples

tag: D
text: pillared courts
answer_key: A
explanation: A 指代，向前找，找主语，而这句话的主语是 statues，所以答案是 A，代入，正确。

question_stem: According to paragraph 3, why were certain areas of a stone statue left uncarved?
choices: tag: A
text: To prevent damage by providing physical stability

tag: B
text: To emphasize that the material was as important as the figure itself

tag: C
text: To emphasize that the figure was not meant to be a real human being

tag: D
text: To provide another artist with the chance to finish the carving
answer_key: A
explanation: A 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，心理角度能够给人以有力量之感，A 答案防止破坏说到了第一个方面，正确；其他都没说。

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

tag: B
text: layer

tag: C
text: center

tag: D
text: frame
answer_key: C
explanation: C core: 核心，中心。A 是材料，原料；B 是层，层次；C 是中心；D 是框架，结构。所以 C 的 center 正确。 对应原文 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. core 所在的半句说金属塑像是把金属薄片包在木头的什么上做成的；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。A 材料和 B 层都没有内外对应的意思，错；D 的 frame 框架应该是在外面的，与意思不符。

question_stem: According to paragraph 3, which of the following statements about wooden statues is true?
choices: tag: A
text: Wooden statues were usually larger than stone statues.

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

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

tag: D
text: Wooden statues had a different effect on the viewer than stone statues.
answer_key: D
explanation: 如果以 wooden statues 做关键词，可能需要大量阅读，所以用排除法。A 的 larger 错，原文没说二者谁大谁小；   根据倒数第三句话，证明 BC 错， By contrast, wooden statues were carved from several pieces of wood that were pegged together to form the finished workk, and metal statues were either made by wrapping sheet metal around a wooden core or cast by the lost wax process. 原文说木质雕塑是由多块拼接而成的，和 B 的 single pieces 矛盾；C 错，原文说 metal 的是由 wooden 的核包了外皮做的，没说有金属附着在前面，属于概念偷换；   D 对，而 wooden 的 effect 是最后一句说的： 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. 这里强调了和石雕相比，木雕更加 lighter and freer，所以不同，而且 by contrast 也说明两者是对照关系。

question_stem: The word depicts in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: imagines

tag: B
text: classifies

tag: C
text: elevates

tag: D
text: portrays
answer_key: D
explanation: D : 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。A 是想象；B 是分类；C 是提升。 对应原文 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.   原句说这些 statue 除了描述精英阶层外，还有怎么样非精英阶层的，当然跟上面的 represent 对应，是描述代表的意思，所以 portray 正确；A 想象 B 分类 C 举高抬起都不靠谱。

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, what is the difference between statues that represent the Egyptian elite and statues that represent the nonelite classes?
choices: tag: A
text: Statues of the elite are included in tombs, but statues of the nonelite are not.

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

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

tag: D
text: Statues of the elite serve an important function, while statues of the nonelite are decorative.
answer_key: B
explanation: B，以 elite 和 nonelite 做关键词定位至第一句，但通过刚才的题得知，第一句只是在陈述一个现象，并没有说两者具体哪里不同，而正确答案应该在第三句，unlike 说明这句是正确答案。说 formal 的人只有几种姿势，或坐或站，但另外一些人就在做各种劳动，所以 B 正确，C 稍显迷惑，注意二者的区别主要是静止还是干活。