TOEFL Experts Reading Section Diagnostic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   There is evidence of agriculture in Africa prior to 3000 b.c. It may have developed independently, but many scholars believe that the spread of agriculture and iron throughout Africa linked it to the major centers of the Near East and Mediterranean world. The drying up of what is now the Sahara desert had pushed many peoples to the south into sub-Saharan Africa. These peoples settled at first in scattered hunting-and-gathering bands, although in some places near lakes and rivers, people who fished, with a more secure food supply, lived in larger population concentrations. Agriculture seems to have reached these people from the Near East, since the first domesticated crops were millets and sorghums whose origins are not African but West Asian. Once the idea of planting diffused, Africans began to develop their own crops, such as certain varieties of rice, and they demonstrated a continued receptiveness to new imports. The proposed areas of the domestication of African crops lie in a band that extends from Ethiopia across southern Sudan to West Africa. Subsequently, other crops, such as bananas, were introduced from Southeast Asia.

   Livestock also came from outside Africa. Cattle were introduced from Asia, as probably were domestic sheep and goats. Horses were apparently introduced by the Hyksos invaders of Egypt (1780-1560 b.c.) and then spread across the Sudan to West Africa. Rock paintings in the Sahara indicate that horses and chariots were used to traverse the desert and that by 300–200 b.c., there were trade routes across the Sahara. Horses were adopted by peoples of the West African savannah, and later their powerful cavalry forces allowed them to carve out large empires. Finally, the camel was introduced around the first century a.d. This was an important innovation, because the camel’s ability to thrive in harsh desert conditions and to carry large loads cheaply made it an effective and efficient means of transportation. The camel transformed the desert from a barrier into a still difficult, but more accessible, route of trade and communication.

   Iron came from West Asia, although its routes of diffusion were somewhat different than those of agriculture. Most of Africa presents a curious case in which societies moved directly from a technology of stone to iron without passing through the intermediate stage of copper or bronze metallurgy, although some early copper-working sites have been found in West Africa. Knowledge of iron making penetrated into the forests and savannahs of West Africa at roughly the same time that iron making was reaching Europe. Evidence of iron making has been found in Nigeria, Ghana, and Mali.

   This technological shift caused profound changes in the complexity of African societies. Iron represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and weapons had an important place in society, often with special religious powers and functions. Iron hoes, which made the land more productive, and iron weapons, which made the warrior more powerful, had symbolic meaning in a number of West African societies. Those who knew the secrets of making iron gained ritual and sometimes political power.

   Unlike in the Americas, where metallurgy was a very late and limited development, Africans had iron from a relatively early date, developing ingenious furnaces to produce the high heat needed for production and to control the amount of air that reached the carbon and iron ore necessary for making iron. Much of Africa moved right into the Iron Age, taking the basic technology and adapting it to local conditions and resources.

   The diffusion of agriculture and later of iron was accompanied by a great movement of people who may have carried these innovations. These people probably originated in eastern Nigeria. Their migration may have been set in motion by an increase in population caused by a movement of peoples fleeing the desiccation, or drying up, of the Sahara. They spoke a language, proto-Bantu (“bantu” means “the people”), which is the parent tongue of a large number of Bantu languages still spoken throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Why and how these people spread out into central and southern Africa remains a mystery, but archaeologists believe that their iron weapons allowed them to conquer their hunting-gathering opponents, who still used stone implements. Still, the process is uncertain, and peaceful migration—or simply rapid demographic growth—may have also caused the Bantu explosion.

→ There is evidence of agriculture in Africa prior to 3000 b.c. It may have developed independently, but many scholars believe that the spread of agriculture and iron throughout Africa linked it to the major centers of the Near East and Mediterranean world. The drying up of what is now the Sahara desert had pushed many peoples to the south into sub-Saharan Africa. These peoples settled at first in scattered hunting-and-gathering bands, although in some places near lakes and rivers, people who fished, with a more secure food supply, lived in larger population concentrations. Agriculture seems to have reached these people from the Near East, since the first domesticated crops were millets and sorghums whose origins are not African but West Asian. Once the idea of planting diffused, Africans began to develop their own crops, such as certain varieties of rice, and they demonstrated a continued receptiveness to new imports. The proposed areas of the domestication of African crops lie in a band that extends from Ethiopia across southern Sudan to West Africa. Subsequently, other crops, such as bananas, were introduced from Southeast Asia.

Q: The word “diffused” in the passage is closest in meaning to

→ There is evidence of agriculture in Africa prior to 3000 b.c. It may have developed independently, but many scholars believe that the spread of agriculture and iron throughout Africa linked it to the major centers of the Near East and Mediterranean world. The drying up of what is now the Sahara desert had pushed many peoples to the south into sub-Saharan Africa. These peoples settled at first in scattered hunting-and-gathering bands, although in some places near lakes and rivers, people who fished, with a more secure food supply, lived in larger population concentrations. Agriculture seems to have reached these people from the Near East, since the first domesticated crops were millets and sorghums whose origins are not African but West Asian. Once the idea of planting diffused, Africans began to develop their own crops, such as certain varieties of rice, and they demonstrated a continued receptiveness to new imports. The proposed areas of the domestication of African crops lie in a band that extends from Ethiopia across southern Sudan to West Africa. Subsequently, other crops, such as bananas, were introduced from Southeast Asia.

Q: According to paragraph 1, why do researchers doubt that agriculture developed independently in Africa?

→ There is evidence of agriculture in Africa prior to 3000 b.c. It may have developed independently, but many scholars believe that the spread of agriculture and iron throughout Africa linked it to the major centers of the Near East and Mediterranean world. The drying up of what is now the Sahara desert had pushed many peoples to the south into sub-Saharan Africa. These peoples settled at first in scattered hunting-and-gathering bands, although in some places near lakes and rivers, people who fished, with a more secure food supply, lived in larger population concentrations. Agriculture seems to have reached these people from the Near East, since the first domesticated crops were millets and sorghums whose origins are not African but West Asian. Once the idea of planting diffused, Africans began to develop their own crops, such as certain varieties of rice, and they demonstrated a continued receptiveness to new imports. The proposed areas of the domestication of African crops lie in a band that extends from Ethiopia across southern Sudan to West Africa. Subsequently, other crops, such as bananas, were introduced from Southeast Asia.

Q:  In paragraph 1, what does the author imply about changes in the African environment during this time period?

→ Livestock also came from outside Africa. Cattle were introduced from Asia, as probably were domestic sheep and goats. Horses were apparently introduced by the Hyksos invaders of Egypt (1780-1560 b.c.) and then spread across the Sudan to West Africa. Rock paintings in the Sahara indicate that horses and chariots were used to traverse the desert and that by 300–200 b.c., there were trade routes across the Sahara. Horses were adopted by peoples of the West African savannah, and later their powerful cavalry forces allowed them to carve out large empires. Finally, the camel was introduced around the first century a.d. This was an important innovation, because the camel’s ability to thrive in harsh desert conditions and to carry large loads cheaply made it an effective and efficient means of transportation. The camel transformed the desert from a barrier into a still difficult, but more accessible, route of trade and communication.

Q:  According to paragraph 2, camels were important because they

→ Livestock also came from outside Africa. Cattle were introduced from Asia, as probably were domestic sheep and goats. Horses were apparently introduced by the Hyksos invaders of Egypt (1780-1560 b.c.) and then spread across the Sudan to West Africa. Rock paintings in the Sahara indicate that horses and chariots were used to traverse the desert and that by 300–200 b.c., there were trade routes across the Sahara. Horses were adopted by peoples of the West African savannah, and later their powerful cavalry forces allowed them to carve out large empires. Finally, the camel was introduced around the first century a.d. This was an important innovation, because the camel’s ability to thrive in harsh desert conditions and to carry large loads cheaply made it an effective and efficient means of transportation. The camel transformed the desert from a barrier into a still difficult, but more accessible, route of trade and communication.

Q: A ccording to paragraph 2, which of the following were subjects of rock paintings in the Sahara?

→ Iron came from West Asia, although its routes of diffusion were somewhat different than those of agriculture. Most of Africa presents a curious case in which societies
moved directly from a technology of stone to iron without passing through the intermediate stage of copper or bronze metallurgy, although some early copperworking
sites have been found in West Africa. Knowledge of iron making penetrated into the forests and savannahs of West Africa at roughly the same time that iron making was reaching Europe. Evidence of iron making has been found in Nigeria, Ghana, and Mali.

Q:  What function does paragraph 3 serve in the organization of the passage as a whole?

→ This technological shift caused profound changes in the complexity of African societies. Iron represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and weapons had an important place in society, often with special religious powers and
functions. Iron hoes, which made the land more productive, and iron weapons, which
made the warrior more powerful, had symbolic meaning in a number of West African
societies. Those who knew the secrets of making iron gained ritual and sometimes
political power.

Q:  The word “profound” in the passage is closest in meaning to

→ This technological shift caused profound changes in the complexity of African
societies. Iron represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and
weapons had an important place in society, often with special religious powers and
functions. Iron hoes, which made the land more productive, and iron weapons, which
made the warrior more powerful, had symbolic meaning in a number of West African
societies. Those who knew the secrets of making iron gained ritual and sometimes
political power.

Q:  The word “ritual” in the passage is closest in meaning to

→ This technological shift caused profound changes in the complexity of African
societies. Iron represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and
weapons had an important place in society, often with special religious powers and
functions. Iron hoes, which made the land more productive, and iron weapons, which
made the warrior more powerful, had symbolic meaning in a number of West African
societies. Those who knew the secrets of making iron gained ritual and sometimes
political power.

Q:  According to paragraph 4, all of the following were social effects of the new metal technology in Africa EXCEPT:

→ Unlike in the Americas, where metallurgy was a very late and limited development,
Africans had iron from a relatively early date, developing ingenious furnaces to
produce the high heat needed for production and to control the amount of air that
reached the carbon and iron ore necessary for making iron. Much of Africa moved
right into the Iron Age, taking the basic technology and adapting it to local conditions
and resources.

Q:  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.

→ The diffusion of agriculture and later of iron was accompanied by a great movement
of people who may have carried these innovations. These people probably originated
in eastern Nigeria. Their migration may have been set in motion by an increase in
population caused by a movement of peoples fleeing the desiccation, or drying up,
of the Sahara. They spoke a language, proto-Bantu (“bantu” means “the people”),
which is the parent tongue of a large number of Bantu languages still spoken
throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Why and how these people spread out into central
and southern Africa remains a mystery, but archaeologists believe that their iron
weapons allowed them to conquer their hunting-gathering opponents, who still used
stone implements. Still, the process is uncertain, and peaceful migration—or simply
rapid demographic growth—may have also caused the Bantu explosion.

Q:  The word “fleeing” in the passage is closest in meaning to

→ The diffusion of agriculture and later of iron was accompanied by a great movement
of people who may have carried these innovations. These people probably originated
in eastern Nigeria. Their migration may have been set in motion by an increase in
population caused by a movement of peoples fleeing the desiccation, or drying up,
of the Sahara. They spoke a language, proto-Bantu (“bantu” means “the people”),
which is the parent tongue of a large number of Bantu languages still spoken
throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Why and how these people spread out into central
and southern Africa remains a mystery, but archaeologists believe that their iron
weapons allowed them to conquer their hunting-gathering opponents, who still used
stone implements. Still, the process is uncertain, and peaceful migration—or simply
rapid demographic growth—may have also caused the Bantu explosion.

Q:  Paragraph 6 mentions all of the following as possible causes of the “Bantu explosion” EXCEPT

 

 

Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. 

 

Agriculture and iron working probably spread to Africa from neighboring regions.