第二篇　　　　　　　　　　　AnCiEnt Egypt Brought Down By FAminE
EvEn AnCiEnt Egypt’s mighty pyrAmiD(金字塔)BuilDErs wErE powErlEss in thE FACE oF thE　FAminE(饥荒)thAt hElpED Bring Down thEir CivilizAtion ArounD 2180 B． &nBsp;C． &nBsp;． &nBsp;now EviDEnCE CollECtED From muD DEpositED By thE rivEr nilE suggEsts thAt A shiFt in ClimAtE thousAnDs oF &nBsp;kilomEtErs to thE south wAs ultimAtEly to BlAmE--AnD thE sAmE or worsE CoulD hAppEn toDAy． &nBsp;
thE AnCiEnt EgyptiAns DEpEnDED on thE nilE’s AnnuAl FlooDs to irrigAtE thEir Crops． &nBsp;But Any ChAngE in ClimAtE thAt pushED thE AFriCAn monsoons(季风)southwArDs out oF EthiopiA woulD hAvE rEDuCED thEsE FlooDs． &nBsp;
DEClining rAins in thE EthiopiAn highlAnDs woulD hAvE mEAnt FEwEr plAnts to stABilizE thE soil． &nBsp;EllEn rAin DiD FAll it woulD hAvE wAshED lArgE Amounts oF soil into thE BluE nilE AnD into &nBsp;Egypt，Along with sEDimEnt(沉积)From thE whitE nilE． &nBsp;
BluE nilE muD hAs A DiFFErEnt isotopE(同位素)signAturE From thAt oF thE whitE nilE． &nBsp;so By AnAlyzing isotopE DiFFErEnCEs in muD DEpositED in thE nilE DEltA． &nBsp;miChAEl krom oF lEEDs univErsity workED out whAt proportion oF sEDimEnt CAmE From EACh BrAnCh oF thE rivEr． &nBsp;
krom rEAsons thAt During pErioDs oF Drought，thE Amount oF BluE nilE muD in thE rivEr　woulD BE rElAtivEly high． &nBsp;hE FounD thAt onE oF thEsE pErioDs，From 4500 to 4200 yEArs Ago &nBsp;immEDiAtEly CAmE BEForE thE FAll oF thE Egypt’s olD kingDom． &nBsp;&nBsp;
thE wEAkEnED wAtErs woulD hAvE BEEn DisAstEr For thE EgyptiAns． &nBsp;‘‘ChAngEs thAt AFFECt FooD supply Don’t hAvE to BE vEry lArgE to hAvE A ripplE(波浪)EFFECt in soCiEtiEs，”sAys Bill ryAn oF thE lAmont DohErty EArth oBsErvAtory in nEw york． &nBsp;
similAr EvEnts toDAy CoulD BE EvEn morE DEvAstAting，sAys tEAm mEmBEr DAniEl stAnlEy． &nBsp; AsCiEntist From thE smithsoniAn institution in wAshington D． &nBsp;C． &nBsp;“Anything humAns Do to shiFt thE ClimAtE BElts woulD hAvE An EvEn worsE EFFECt Along thE nilE systEm toDAy BECAusE thE　populAtions hAvE inCrEAsED DrAmAtiCAlly． &nBsp;”
36 why DoEs thE Author mEntion “Egypt’s mighty pyrAmiD BuilDErs’’?
A BECAusE thEy onCE workED mirAClEs． &nBsp;
B BECAusE thEy wErE wEll—Built． &nBsp;
C BECAusE thEy wErE ACtuAlly vEry wEAk． &nBsp;
D BECAusE EvEn thEy wErE unABlE to rEsCuE thEir CivilizAtion． &nBsp;
37 whiCh oF thE Following FACtors wAs ultimAtEly rEsponsiBlE For Bringing Down thE
CivilizAtion oF AnCiEnt Egypt?
A, ChAngE oF ClimAtE． &nBsp;
B, Corruption． &nBsp;
C, FlooD． &nBsp;
D, populAtion growth． &nBsp;
38 whiCh oF thE Following stAtEmEnts is truE?
A, thE whitE nilE is thE trunk oF thE rivEr nilE． &nBsp;
B, thE whitE nilE is thE trunk oF thE BluE nilE． &nBsp;
C, thE whitE nilE is A BrAnCh oF thE BluE nilE． &nBsp;
D, thE whitE nilE is A BrAnCh oF thE rivEr nilE． &nBsp;
39 ACCorDing to krom，thE Egypt’s olD kingDom FEll
A, immEDiAtEly AFtEr A pErioD oF Drought． &nBsp;
B, immEDiAtEly AFtEr A pErioD oF FlooD． &nBsp;
C, just BEForE A Drought struCk． &nBsp;
D, just BEForE A FlooD struCk． &nBsp;
40 thE worD “DEvAstAting” in thE lAst pArAgrAph CoulD BE BEst rEplACED By
A, “FrustrAting'’． &nBsp;
B, “DAmAging'’． &nBsp;
C, “DEFEAting”． &nBsp;
D, “worrying'’． &nBsp;