2016SHSAT_English
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2016SHSAT_English

2016SHSAT_English 2016SHSAT_English

akilbello
30.07.2015 Views

51015202530354045The African country of Zimbabwe took itsname from the Shona word meaning “stoneenclosures” or “venerated houses.” In fact,dozens of stone ruins are today scatteredthroughout Zimbabwe and other areas insoutheastern Africa. One of these ruins,known as “Great Zimbabwe,” was once afabled city that inspired tales thatcirculated throughout Europe. Where wasthis remarkable city, and who had built it?For centuries the mystery occupied theminds of explorers and treasure-seekers.The first reports to Europeans of GreatZimbabwe were spread a thousand yearsago by Arab traders sailing between theMiddle East and the east coast of Africa.They told of the fabulous wealth of amysterious stone city in the African interior.In their tales, that city became associatedwith their understanding of Middle Easternhistory—with the Queen of Sheba, KingSolomon, and his legendary gold mines,long since lost to the world. By thesixteenth century, Portuguese explorersregularly visited East Africa, searching for“King Solomon’s gold,” but they never foundGreat Zimbabwe. In 1552, a Portuguesehistorian, João de Barros, recorded a storytold by the Arabs about a city with a“square fortress of masonry within andwithout, built of stones of marvelous size,and there appears to be no mortar joiningthem.”In fact, Great Zimbabwe was a marvel. Inone area, a massive wall, over thirty feethigh and twenty feet thick, created a greatenclosure. Another area contained afortress-like series of walls, corridors, andsteps built into the bluff above. Throughoutthe city, each stone was precisely fitted tothe others without the use of mortar.In the 1870s, a German geologist, KarlMauch, was the first European to see GreatZimbabwe, by then in ruins. Mauchrealized that he had “rediscovered” thefabled city from de Barros’s story. Hejumped to the conclusion that GreatZimbabwe had been built by the Queen of5101520253035404550556065707580Sheba. British authorities sent a Britishjournalist, Richard Hall, to Great Zimbabweto investigate Mauch’s report. Archaeologywas still in its infancy, and Hall, convincedthat the structures had been built byancient people from the Middle East, dug upand discarded archaeological deposits thatwould have revealed much about the truehistory of Great Zimbabwe. Later Europeanexcavations destroyed even more valuableevidence.In the twentieth century, after excavatingareas that had not been disturbed, DavidRandall-MacIver, a Scottish Egyptologist,and Gertrude Caton-Thompson, an Englisharchaeologist, concluded that the ruins wereunmistakably African in origin. GreatZimbabwe was most likely built during thefourteenth or fifteenth century by theancestors of the present-day Shona people.Recent carbon-14 dating supports theirconclusion. Great Zimbabwe was once hometo an estimated 20,000 people, the center ofa great Shona kingdom. Wealthy Shonakings traded their ivory and gold in coastaltowns for other goods, thus accounting forthe discovery of beads and other foreignwares in the ruins.One mystery of Great Zimbabwe had beensolved. Another mystery remains: why wasthe settlement at Great Zimbabweabandoned, leaving the magnificent stonearchitecture to fall into ruins?39. Which of the following best tells what thispassage is about?A. a brief history of the nation of ZimbabweB. inaccuracies in the recording of AfricanhistoryC. a comparison of Great Zimbabwe withother African archaeological sitesD. the true story of the Great Zimbabwe ruinsE. how Karl Mauch discovered GreatZimbabwe50556065707580FORM A46CONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT PAGE

40. With which of the following statementsabout Richard Hall’s opinion regarding GreatZimbabwe would the author most likely agree?F. First impressions are generally accurate.G. Preconceptions can cloud a person’sjudgment.H. The history of a people can best be judgedby looking at its present culture.J. Advanced cultures developed first in theMiddle East, then spread to the rest of theworld.K. Much of Middle Eastern culture wasderived from the culture of the Shonapeople.41. What was “one mystery of Great Zimbabwe”(line 77) that had been solved?A. why foreign wares were found in the ruinsB. why the settlement was abandonedC. the source of the ivory and goldD. why it was not discovered by Europeansuntil the 1870sE. who had built it and when44. Which of the following best describes therelationship of Portuguese explorers to GreatZimbabwe?F. They searched for it but never found it.G. They told Arab traders where to find it.H. They found King Solomon’s mines butdidn’t realize it.J. They destroyed archaeological evidenceabout its history.K. They were responsible for itsabandonment.CONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT PAGE42. Which of the following statements about theShona people is best supported by thepassage?F. They no longer exist as a distinct group.G. They live along Africa’s East Coast.H. They are descendents of the people whobuilt Great Zimbabwe.J. They lived in the Middle East beforesettling in Africa.K. They were once ruled by King Solomonand the Queen of Sheba. 43. Which of the following best illustrates thestatement that “Archaeology was still in itsinfancy” (lines 51-52)?A. the stone buildings built without mortarB. the abandonment of Great ZimbabweC. the conclusions of David Randall-MacIverand Gertrude Caton-ThompsonD. the discovery of beads and other foreignmaterials at Great ZimbabweE. the excavations conducted by Richard HallFORM A47

40. With which of the following statementsabout Richard Hall’s opinion regarding GreatZimbabwe would the author most likely agree?F. First impressions are generally accurate.G. Preconceptions can cloud a person’sjudgment.H. The history of a people can best be judgedby looking at its present culture.J. Advanced cultures developed first in theMiddle East, then spread to the rest of theworld.K. Much of Middle Eastern culture wasderived from the culture of the Shonapeople.41. What was “one mystery of Great Zimbabwe”(line 77) that had been solved?A. why foreign wares were found in the ruinsB. why the settlement was abandonedC. the source of the ivory and goldD. why it was not discovered by Europeansuntil the 1870sE. who had built it and when44. Which of the following best describes therelationship of Portuguese explorers to GreatZimbabwe?F. They searched for it but never found it.G. They told Arab traders where to find it.H. They found King Solomon’s mines butdidn’t realize it.J. They destroyed archaeological evidenceabout its history.K. They were responsible for itsabandonment.CONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT PAGE42. Which of the following statements about theShona people is best supported by thepassage?F. They no longer exist as a distinct group.G. They live along Africa’s East Coast.H. They are descendents of the people whobuilt Great Zimbabwe.J. They lived in the Middle East beforesettling in Africa.K. They were once ruled by King Solomonand the Queen of Sheba. 43. Which of the following best illustrates thestatement that “Archaeology was still in itsinfancy” (lines 51-52)?A. the stone buildings built without mortarB. the abandonment of Great ZimbabweC. the conclusions of David Randall-MacIverand Gertrude Caton-ThompsonD. the discovery of beads and other foreignmaterials at Great ZimbabweE. the excavations conducted by Richard HallFORM A47

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