TOEFL Test Reading Comprehension 2
Sample Paragraph 2
The Maya were a
large group of Indians who lived mainly in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and
Honduras. It is believed that these
people came across the Bering Strait with the other Native Americans, but
quickly migrated south. About 5000
B.C., the Maya people had formed small fishing villages, settling on the coast
lands. By 2000 B.C., the Maya had
moved inland and began to raise maize and beans.
These vegetables became their main source of food, as they are today.
During the next 2000 years the Maya developed into highly civilized
people. They settled in many areas
of Mesoamerica and became prosperous. They
developed the art of making pottery and introduced the first known American
systems of irrigation, or methods for watering crops.
A form of writing emerged, and the Maya began the first recorded history.
About the year
1000, a heavy drought hit Mesoamerica. The
Mayan crops failed, causing famine and death for many Maya in the mountain
areas. Maya in the lowlands fared a
little better and cities such as Uxmal and Chichen Itza in the Yucatan Peninsula
of Mexico became the center of Mayan government, art, and architecture.
The Spanish explorers of the 13th and 14th
centuries brought new diseases that the Maya could not cope with.
Disease and Spanish conquerors finally caused the Mayan empires to cave
in. The last Mayan kingdom
surrendered to the Spanish in 1697.
1.
What is the main idea of this passage?
- The
Maya developed irrigation.
- The
Mayan Indians have a rich history that is at least 6000 years old.
- Many
Mayan continue to live as their ancestors did.
- The
Spanish conquered the Maya
2.
The Maya first moved inland into Mesoamerica in:
- 2000
B. C.
- 5000
B. C.
- 1000
B. C.
- 2000 A. D
3.
What brought about the collapse of the Mayan kingdoms?
- Lack
of irrigation systems
- Their
crops were poisoned
- A
heavy drought
- Disease
and Spanish conquerors
TOEFL Test Answer
Key Paragraph
1. B
2. A
3. D