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OFFICIAL51 According to paragraph 1, why was Memphis a better choice for the capital of a united Egypt than either This or Hierakonpolis?

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Memphis: United Egypt's First Capital
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QQ20170920171137.pngThe city of Memphis, located on the Nile near the modern city of Cairo, was founded around 3100 B.C. as the first capital of a recently united Egypt. The choice of Memphis by Egypt's first kings reflects the site's strategic importance. First, and most obvious, the apex of the Nile River delta was a politically opportune location for the state's administrative center, standing between the united lands of Upper and Lower Egypt and offering ready access to both parts of the country. The older predynastic (pre-3100 B.C.) centers of power, This and Hierakonpolis, were too remote from the vast expanse of the delta, which had been incorporated into the unified state. Only a city within easy reach of both the Nile valley to the south and the more spread out, difficult terrain to the north could provide the necessary political control that the rulers of early dynastic Egypt (roughly 3000-2600 B.C.) required.

The region of Memphis must have also served as an important node for transport and communications, even before the unification of Egypt. The region probably acted as a conduit for much, if not all, of the river-based trade between northern and southern Egypt. Moreover, commodities (such as wine, precious oils, and metals) imported from the Near East by the royal courts of predynastic Upper Egypt would have been channeled through the Memphis region on their way south. In short, therefore, the site of Memphis offered the rulers of the Early Dynastic Period an ideal location for controlling internal trade within their realm, an essential requirement for a state-directed economy that depended on the movement of goods.

Equally important for the national administration was the ability to control communications within Egypt. The Nile provided the easiest and quickest artery of communication and the national capital was, again, ideally located in this respect. Recent geological surveys of the Memphis region have revealed much about its topography in ancient times. It appears that the location of Memphis may have been even more advantageous for controlling trade, transport, and communications than was previously appreciated. Surveys and drill cores have shown that the level of the Nile floodplain has steadily risen over the last five millenniums. When the floodplain was much lower, as it would have been in predynastic and early dynastic times, the outwash fans (fan-shaped deposits of sediments) of various wadis (stream-beds or channels that carry water only during rainy periods) would have been much more prominent features on the east bank. The fan associated with the Wadi Hof extended a significant way into the Nile floodplain, forming a constriction in the vicinity of Memphis. The valley may have narrowed at this point to a mere three kilometers, making it the ideal place for controlling river traffic.

Furthermore, the Memphis region seems to have been favorably located for the control not only of river-based trade but also of desert trade routes. The two outwash fans in the area gave access to the extensive wadi systems of the eastern desert. In predynastic times, the Wadi Digla may have served as a trade route between the Memphis region and the Near East, to judge from the unusual concentration of foreign artifacts found in the predynastic settlement of Maadi. Access to, and control of, trade routes between Egypt and the Near East seems to have been a preoccupation of Egypt’s rulers during the period of state formation. The desire to monopolize foreign trade may have been one of the primary factors behind the political unification of Egypt. The foundation of the national capital at the junction of an important trade route with the Nile valley is not likely to have been accidental. Moreover, the Wadis Hof and Digla provided the Memphis region with accessible desert pasturage. As was the case with the cities of Hierakonpolis and Elkab, the combination within the same area of both desert pasturage and alluvial arable land (land suitable for growing crops) was a particularly attractive one for early settlement; this combination no doubt contributed to the prosperity of the Memphis region from early predynastic times.

2.According to paragraph 1, why was Memphis a better choice for the capital of a united Egypt than either This or Hierakonpolis?

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【题目翻译】根据第1段,为什么孟菲斯是统一的埃及的首都更好的选择,而不是这个或希拉孔波利斯? A:孟菲斯在维持行政控制方面处于更好的位置。 B:在埃及统一之前,孟菲斯长期以来一直是一个地区行政中心。 C:希拉康波利斯和希拉康波利斯实际上从未被并入统一的国家。 D:埃及统治者未能保持对这个和希拉孔波利斯的政治控制。 【判定题型】:题目问的是文章中的具体细节信息,故根据题目问法可以判断本题为事实信息题。 【关键词定位】根据题干中的关键词“choice”定位到第一段中的这句话。“The choice of Memphis by Egypt's first kings reflects the site's strategic importance.”意思是:埃及第一位国王对孟菲斯的选择反映了这个遗址的战略重要性。 还有一句话:“First, and most obvious, the apex of the Nile River delta was a politically opportune location for the state's administrative center, standing between the united lands of Upper and Lower Egypt and offering ready access to both parts of the country.”意思是:首先,也是最明显的是,尼罗河三角洲的顶点是该州行政中心的政治合适位置,它位于上埃及和下埃及的统一土地之间,提供通往该国两地的方便通道。 【逻辑分析】这2句定位句说明了:1、孟斐斯的选址有战略意义;2、还着重强调了孟斐斯的地理位置处于国家的两个部分之间,其地理位置非常有利于管理整个国家。而后作者所举的“This”和“Hierakonpolis”的例子,是在于孟斐斯的位置作对比,这两个城市距离尼罗河三角洲太遥远了,无法为早期埃及王朝的统治者们提供政治统治的必要条件。 【选项分析】 A选项:与原文意思相符,正确。 B选项:孟斐斯在埃及统一之前就一直是该地区的行政中心。错误, 因为文中说“The older predynastic (pre-3100 B.C.) centers of power. This and Hierakonpolis, were too remote from the vast expanse of the delta……”明确提到埃及的前政治中心是“This”和“Hierakonpolis”。故B选项错误。 C选项:“This”和“Hierakonpolis”从来没有真正被并入到统一后的埃及。错误,因为文章说“This and Hierakonpolis, ……had been incorporated into the unified state.”C选项与原文矛盾,故排除。 D选项:在前王朝时代,埃及统治者们在“This”和“Hierakonpolis”无法进行政治统治。文中并未提及,故排除。

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