2015年3月托福真題回憶及解析

2015年3月托福真題回憶及解析

【導語】有志者，事竟成，破釜沉舟，百二秦關終屬楚；苦心人，天不負，臥薪嘗膽，三

千越甲可吞吳。永不滿足是我向上的動力。以下是無憂考網小編為你搜集整理的2015年3

月部分托福真題，希望可以對你有所幫助！2018年3月托福共舉行了三場考試分別是3月7

日、3月14日、3月28日

3月7日托?？荚噷懽髡骖}回憶：

第一套：

Takingchildrentofieldtrips(forexample,toamuseum)isabetter

wayofeducationthanlearningatschoolinaclassroom.

這道題目是一個比較對比類的題目。此類題目在托福寫作中是非常常見的。對于這

類題目，我們應該注意的是，在分論點的展開過程中，應該每一段都體現出題目中兩

個對象的比較和對比。另外，此題屬于校園生活類話題，在歷年的托?？碱}中也并不

鮮見，難度并不大。

例文：

Peoplehavealwaysbeenlookingforeffectivewaystoeducateour

children,whodeterminesthefutureofanation.Inthatcase,some

originalandcreativeteachersstarttheirclasseswithfieldtrips,

whichIbelieveisabetterwaythanlearningatschoolinaclassroom

ineducatingstudents.

Inthefirstplace,goingonfieldtripsenablesthestudentstostudy

activelyandpositively.Theunknownexcitementandadventuresoffield

tripscanalwaysattractthestudentsasitisthenatureofthemtobe

curiousabouttheeventsthattheyrarelyorneverexperienced.Before

thetrips,theywillbesocuriousthattheywilldoresearchonthe

destinations,lookingfortheiroriginandhistory.Andthat

helpswiththeabilitytogaininformationfromavarietyofapproaches,

libraries,magazines,TVprograms,theinternet,andsoforth.Conversely,in

normaleverydayclasses,thestudentshavetostudywhatthetextbooksand

teacherstellthem,wherethereexistsnointernalmotivation,whichisan

essentialpartforefficientlearning,wecanseethatthetraditional

classroomscreatespassivelearning,whereasthefieldtripscontributesmore

toactivelearning.

Inaddition,theactivelearningresultingfromout-of-classroom

activitieslastslongerthanpassivelearningandhelpsthestudents

understandthetheoriesandprinciplesbetter.Asdifferentfieldtrips

possessesdifferentexcitement,studentscuriosityneverreduces.Onthe

otherhand,youngpeoplecan

studybetterbywitnessinghowthetheoriesandprinciplesworkandhowgreat

themasters*worksare.

Studentsrememberthingswhentheyareexperiencinginpersoninsteadof

listeningtostoriesinnormalclassrooms.

Iadmitthattheremightbesomedisadvantagesonthefieldtrips,which

classroomsdonothave.Itmightbehardfortheteacherstoputthe

studentsinorderandensuretheirsecurity.Butaslongaswehaveenough

teacherstakingcareofthemonthetripandtellthemtoobeytherules,

thestudentswillbeeasytodealwithandwecanminimizethepossibility

ofdanger.Asaresult,wecannotsacrificethebeautyoffieldtrips

becauseoftheproblemsthatwecanhandle.

Tosumup,thebenefitsthatfieldtripscanbringisevidentand

schoolsshouldprovidemoreopportunitiesforthestudentstogoonthe

trips.Inthisway,thestudentswillbemoreactiveinlearningandthe

studyefficiencywillbeimprovedandtheywillcreateamorebeautiful

worldforus,usingtheknowledgetheyobtainedoncampus.

第二套：

Peoplewillspendlesstimeincookingandpreparingforfoodin20years.

Doyouagreeordisagree.

此題是一道典型的時間對比類題目，考察的是今明對比，考生選擇同一或不同意都

比較好想出理由點，此題的難度也不大。

如果同意可以講：L生活節(jié)奏加快，人們忙于工作;2,高科技廚具的發(fā)明，減少了

做飯時間;3,人們生活水平提高了，更愿意買飯，因為更美味。

如果不同意可以講：1,做飯是一件快樂的事，是減輕壓力釋放心情的好方法;2,人

們不用忙于工作了，更有時間做飯;3,自己做得更健康，更衛(wèi)生。

例文：

ThemostunforgettablememoriesinmychildhoodwaswhenIsatinthe

kitchenandwatchmymothercookdeliciousfoodforme.Whilecooking,she

usuallytellsmestoriesandthephilosophyoflifeofthosestories.

Untiltoday,shecooksformeinthewayshedidwhenIwaslittle.

However,intwentyyearsfrom

now,societywillundergogreatchangesandsowillpeople'scookinghabits.

Theywonderfulcooking

momentswillnotappearandpeoplewillspendlesstimeincooking.

Inthefirstplace,thedevelopmentoftechnologyallowspeopletoreduce

thetimespentincookingandpreparingforfood,whichcanbepredicted

throughwhatishappeningnow,comparedwithwhatitwasinthepast.Today,

wehavemicrowaveovens,electromagneticovens,blendersandmanyother

cookerstoacceleratethecookingprocess.Whattookhourshoursforusto

preparecostsonlyafewminutes.Sowecansafelysaythatintwentyyears

fromnow,thetechnologywillbemoreadvancedandcontinuetohelpus

reducethetimeforcooking.Andthenewequipmentwillbewidelywelcomed.

Inaddition,thespeedatwhichpeoplelivewillincreaseandpeople

willbebusier.Withtheincrementofhumanpopulation,thejobmarket

willbemoreandmorefierce.Inordernottogetsweptoutofthework

place,peoplewillhavetodevotemoretotheirworkandleavelesstime

forotheractivitiesinlife,cooking,forexample.Andthisisthereason

whyImentionedthepopularityofnewcookingdevicesinthelast

paragraph.

Usingtheadvancedcookingdevicesisnottheonlywaythatpeopleuse

todealwiththecomplicatedwork.Also,deepdownintheirmind,they

willlovetobuywhatevertheythinkisdelicioustorewardthemselves

forthesacrificeinwork.Theyhavealreadyworkedhardenoughtomakea

livingandthedishesfromgoodrestaurants,whicharemoredelicious

thantheonecookedbythemselves,isexactlywhattheydeserve.Thus,it

isevidentthattheywillcookorpreparefoodbythemselvesless.

Admittedly,somefoodinrestaurantsisnothealthyenoughandis

sometimesnotclean.ButIbelievethat,intwentyyears,thesupervision

ofthegovernmentwillbemorecomprehensiveandwecanminimizethis

kindofproblem.

Howyoucookorwhetheryoucookornotdoesnotmatter.Whatreally

mattersisthehealthandhappiness.Sochoosingahealthierwaytocook

andeatisessentialforthefuturehappiness,whichweallpursue.

第一套

第一章

ColonialAmericaandNavigationActs

講英國對殖民地推行的NavigationActs，有出口法律限制小商品批發(fā)之類的

解析：本文屬于歷史類文章，關注殖民政策。在之前的TPO文章中少有類似內容，

但是跟經濟相關的文章還是有的。從機經要點詞來看，內容不太難，但是從之前的

TP0文章判斷，歷史經濟類文章，通常句長偏長，而且閱讀時易做腦補，對學員的句

法能力是較大的一個挑戰(zhàn)，建議還是平時扎實基本功。

參考閱讀：

Throughoutthecolonialperiod,afterthemiddleoftheseventeenthcentury,

theonegreatsourceofirritationbetweenthemothercountryandher

colonieswasfoundintheNavigationActs.Thetwofoldobjectoftheseacts

wastoprotectEnglishshipping,andtosecureaprofittothehomecountry

fromthecolonies.AsearlyasthereignofRichardIIstepshadbeentaken

fortheprotectionofshipping,butnotbefore1651werethereanyBritish

statutesthatseriouslyhamperedcolonialtrade.TheLongParliamentin

1642,exemptedNewEnglandexportsandimportsfromallduties,andafew

yearslaterallgoodscarriedtothesoutherncoloniesinEnglishvessels

wereputonthefreelist

In1651,however,whileCromwellwasmasterofEngland,thefirstofthe

famousNavigationActswaspassed.Thechiefprovisionswere,thatnogoods

grownormanufacturedinAsia,Africa,orAmericashouldbetransportedto

EnglandexceptinEnglishvessels,andthatthegoodsofanyEuropean

countryimportedintoEnglandmustbebroughtinBritishvessels,orin

vesselsofthecountryproducingthem.Thelawwasdirectedagainstthe

Dutchmaritimetrade,whichwasverygreatatthattime.Butitwasnowhere

strictlyenforced,andinNewEnglandscarcelyatall.

In1660thesecondofthesememorableactswaspassed,largelyembodying

thefirstandaddingmuchtoitThisactforbadetheimportingintoorthe

exportingfromtheBritishcoloniesofanygoodsexceptinEnglishor

colonialships2anditforbadecertainenumeratedarticles-tobacco,

sugar,cotton,wool,dyeingwoods,etc.—toheshippedtoanycountry,

excepttoEnglandorsomeEnglishplantation.Othergoodswereaddedata

laterdate.SuchgoodsweretopayheavydutieswhenshippedtoEngland,

andin1672thesamedutieswereimposedongoodssoldfromonecolonyto

another.Hadtheselawsbeenstrictlyenforced,theeffectonthecolonies

thatproducedthe"enumerated"articleswouldhavebeendisastrous,for

theyenjoyedaflourishingtradeinthesegoodswithothercountries.Other

articles,suchasgrain,saltprovisions,andfish,werenotputonthe

list,becausethesewereproducedinEngland,and,hadtheentirecolonial

productionbeensenttothatcountry,theEnglishproducerwouldhavebeen

ruined.3Ricewasalsoallowedtobeshippeddirecttoal1portssouthof

CapeFinisterre.Somethings,however,theParliamentdidpurelytofavor

thecolonies,一itprohibitedtheraisingoftobaccoinEnglandandkept

Spanishtobaccooutbyhighduties,itkeptoutSwedishironbyahigh

tariff,totheadvantageofthecolonies,anditpaidabountyonvarious

colonialproducts.

Inadditiontotheselawsthereweretwootherclassesoflaws,all,

however,belongingtothesamesystem,whichtendedtoimpedethe

developmentofthecolonies,?thecornlawsandthelawsagainst

manufacturing.ThecornlawsintheinterestoftheBritishfarnier,

beginningabout1666,practicallyshutoutfromEnglandgrainraisedinthe

colonies.ThisdroveNewEnglandandNewYorktomanufacturing,andthis

againledEnglandtoforbidmanufacturinginthecolonies.Theselawswere

farmoreeffectivethantheNavigationActs.Itisstatedthatin1708New

Yorkmanufacturedthreefourthsofthewoolenandlinengoodsusedinthe

colony,andalsofurhatsingreatnumbers,manyofwhichwereshippedto

EuropeandtheWestIndies.ThistradewaslargelysuppressedbyEnglish

lawspassedatvarioustimes.In1732anactforbadetheexportingofhats

toEngland,toforeigncountries,orfromonecolonytoanother.Italso

limitedthenumberofpersonsamakerofhatsmightemploy.Ironwasfound

inallthecolonies,andforgesandfurnaceswereestablishedinmany

places.Butin1750Parliamentenacteda

lawdeclaringthat“nomillorotherengineforrollingorslittingiron/'

〃noranyfurnaceformakingsteelshallbeerectedinthecolonies”!After

thisonlypigandbarironcouldbemade.Parliamentalsoenactedlawsat

varioustimesrestrictingthemanufactureofwoolengoods.Theselawsbore

heavilyonthenortherncolonies,butwerelittlefeltintheSouth,where

manufactorieswererare.

ProbablytheharshestofEngland'slawsinthesuppressionofcolonial

tradewastheMolassesActof1733.Bythisactprohibitivedutieswere

placedonmolassesandsugar,fromtheFrenchWestIndiestothecolonies.4

NewEnglandenjoyedagreattradewiththeislands,receivingmolassesand

sugarforflour,stock,lumber,andfish,partofwhichcouldnotbesold

toEnglandowingtothecornlaws.HadtheMolassesActbeenenforced,the

prosperityofNewEnglandwouldhavebeenatanend.

第二篇：

MassProduction:MethodandImpact

講工業(yè)革命造成產品過剩，通過廣告和其他一些手段推銷產品

解析：本文屬于歷史類文章，關注的是工業(yè)革命與廣告的問題。在TPO里有很多關

于工業(yè)革命的內容，多講述能量相關內容，還有關注工人地位的，也有關注廣告

的，例如ChildrenandAdvertising，而工業(yè)革命與廣告聯系還是首次提到，但是從

機經關鍵詞判斷，難度適中，學員僅需重點關注不同手段的目的即可。

參考閱讀：

Theeconomiesofmassproductioncomefromseveralsources.Theprimary

causeisareductionofnonproductiveeffortofalltypes.Incraft

production,thecraftsmanmustbustleaboutashop,gettingpartsand

assemblingthem.Hemustlocateandusemanytoolsmanytimesforvarying

tasks.Inmassproduction,eachworkerrepeatsoneorafewrelatedtasks

thatusethesametooltoperformidenticalornear-identicaloperationson

astreamofproducts.Theexacttoolandpartsarealwaysathand,having

beenmoveddowntheassemblylineconsecutively.Theworkerspendslittle

ornotimeretrievingand/orpreparingmaterialsandtools,andsothetime

takentomanufactureaproductusingmassproductionisshorterthanwhen

usingtraditionalmethods.

Theprobabilityofhumanerrorandvariationisalsoreduced,astasksare

predominantlycarriedoutbymachinery.Areductioninlabourcosts,as

wellasanincreasedrateofproduction,enablesacompanytoproducea

largerquantityofoneproductatalowercostthanusingtraditional,non-

linearmethods.

However,massproductionisinflexiblebecauseitisdifficulttoaltera

designorproductionprocessafteraproductionlineisimplemented.Also,

allproductsproducedononeproduction1inewillbeidenticalorvery

similar,andintroducingvarietytosatisfyindividualtastesisnoteasy.

However,somevarietycanbeachievedbyapplyingdifferentfinishesand

decorationsattheendoftheproductionlineifnecessary.Thestarter

costforthemachinerycanbeexpensivesotheproducermustbesureit

sellsortheproducerswilllosealotofmoney.

TheFordModelTproducedtremendousaffordableoutputbutwasnotvery

goodatrespondingtodemandforvariety,customization,ordesignchanges.

AsaconsequenceFordeventuallylostmarketsharetoGeneralMotors,who

introducedannualmodelchanges,moreaccessoriesandachoiceofcolors.

Witheachpassingdecade,engineershavefoundwaystoincreasethe

flexibilityofmassproductionsystems,drivingdowntheleadtimesonnew

productdevelopmentandallowinggreatercustomizationandvarietyof

products.

Inthe1830s,FrenchpoliticalthinkerandhistorianAlexisdeTocqueville

identifiedoneofthekeycharacteristicsofAmericathatwouldlatermake

itsoamenabletothedevelopmentofmassproduction:thehomogeneous

consumerbase.DeTocquevillewroteinhisDemocracyinAmerica(1835)that

〃TheabsenceintheUnitedStatesofthosevastaccumulationsofwealth

whichfavortheexpendituresoflargesumsonarticlesofmereluxury...

impacttotheproductionsofAmericanindustryacharacterdistinctfrom

thatofothercountries，industries.[Productionisgearedtoward]articles

suitedtothewantsofthewholepeople”.

Massproductionimprovedproductivity,whichwasacontributingfactorto

economicgrowthandthedeclineinworkweekhours,alongsideotherfactors

suchastransportationinfrastructures(canals,

railroadsandhighways)andagriculturalmechanization.Thesefactors

causedthetypicalworkweektodeclinefrom70hoursintheearly19th

centuryto60hourslateinthecentury,thento50hoursintheearly

20thcenturyandfinallyto40hoursinthemid-1980s.

Massproductionpermittedgreatincreasesintotalproduction.Usinga

Europeancraftssystemintothelate19thcenturyitwasdifficulttomeet

demandforproductssuchassewingmachinesandanimalpoweredmechanical

harvesters.Bythelate1920smanypreviouslyscarcegoodswereingood

supply.Oneeconomisthasarguedthatthisconstituted"overproduction〃and

contributedtohighunemploymentduringtheGreatDepression.Say'slaw

deniesthepossibilityofgeneraloverproductionandforthisreason

classicaleconomistsdenythatithadanyroleintheGreatDepression.

Massproductionallowedtheevolutionofconsumerismbyloweringtheunit

costofmanygoodsused.

今日托?？荚噧商最}，新舊題混合，其中第一套里新題偏多。詞匯匯總如下:

appreciated=understoodv.理解

autonomous=independentadj.獨立自主的

capacityn.能力、容量

confinedto=limitedto局限于

diffusion=spreadn.擴散

drasticallyadj.劇烈地

expectV.期望

extensivelyadv.廣闊地

keeppacewith跟保持一致

inevitable=unavoidableadj.不可避免的

component=partn.部分

consequently二thereforeadj.因此

modify=changeV.改變

oblige=requireV.要求

surpass=exceedV.超越

prohibit=preventV..禁止

remarkable=extraordinaryadj.不同尋常的

relentess=unceasingadj.不間斷的

significant=considerableadj.大量的

storagen.貯藏

swift=fastadj.快的

ultimately=finallyadv.最終地

uncreasingadj.不停的

vast=hugeadj.巨大的

vicinity=surroundingarean.附近

第Afr-二--A篇-A;：

ArtandCultureofPacificNorthwest

講的美國土著人的圖騰柱與面具制作工藝和它們的圖案的含義

解析：本文屬于藝術類文章，關注美國土著人的圖騰柱以及面具，在TP0里類似的

文章不多，少有的藝術類文章也多關注洞穴藝術、電影等內容，沒有專門關注圖騰柱

或面具相關內容。但在實戰(zhàn)中，對于沒有沒有遇到過的背景知識，學員無需驚恐，導

致思路不清，一般對于特殊的背景，閱讀文章都會先來解決背景的問題才會進入主

題，所以對生僻的知識，學員更需要先理解背景再開始做題。

參考閱讀：

AlthoughthedominantcultureinthePacificNorthwesttodayisAnglo-

AmericanandAnglo-Canadian,thereissignificantMexicanandChinese

influence.23%ofVancouver,B.C.isChinese,and50%ofresidentsofthe

CityofVancouverdonotspeakEnglishastheirfirstlanguage.Partsof

OregonandWashingtonarebilingualinbothEnglishandSpanish,andNative

AmericancultureisstrongthroughoutthePacificNorthwest.Thehippie

movementalsobeganinCaliforniaandthePacificNorthwest.Therehave

beenproposalsforcertainpartsofthePacificNorthwestbecomingitsown

countrybecauseofthesharedecoregionandculture,themostwell-known

beingCascadia.However,theregionisstronglydividedbythe

internationalborder,andthisdivisionhasgrownmoreratherthanless

powerfuloverthe20thcentury.CarlAbbottarguesthat,giventhetwin

factorsoflimitedeconomicintegrationvis-a-visNAFTA,andcultural

similarities,heviewsthemajorcitiesas"goingtheirseparateways"as

east-westgatewaysofcommerce,competingwitheachother,ratherthan

formingnorth-southconnectorsofatentative〃megaregion.〃

Cannabisuseisrelativelypopular,especiallyaroundVancouverBC,

Bellingham,Seattle,Olympia,Spokane,PortlandandEugene.Severalof

thesejurisdictionshavemadearrestsforcannabisalowenforcement

priority.MedicalmarijuanaislegalinBritishColumbia,Washingtonand

Oregon,aswellasinAlaska,thoughthatstateprohibitsitssaleandhas

nolicenseddispensaries,andintheYukon,althoughlessthan50ofthe

territory,sresidentsarelicensedtousemedicalmarijuanaandnolegal

dispensariesoperatewithinitsborders.AsofDecember6,2012possession

oflessthananounceofmarijuanaforrecreationalusebypersonsover21

yearsofagebecamelegalinWashingtonstateasaresultofstateballot

measureInitiative502,whichwasapprovedbythestate'svoterson

November6,2012byaten-pointmargin.

ThePacificNorthwesthasthelowestrateofchurchattendanceinthe

UnitedStatesandconsistentlyreportsthehighestpercentageofatheism;

thisismostpronouncedonthepartoftheregionwestoftheCascades.A

recentstudyindicatesthatonequarterofthoseinWashingtonandOregon

believeinnoreligion.Similarly,accordingtothe2011NationalHousehold

Survey,44%ofBritishColumbiaresidentsreportednoreligion.

ReligionplaysasmallerpartinPacificNorthwestpoliticsthaninthe

restoftheUnitedStates.Thereligiousrighthasconsiderablyless

politicalinfluencethaninotherregions.Politicalconservativesinthe

PacificNorthwesttendtoidentifymorestronglywithfree-market

libertarianvaluesthantheydowithmorereligioussocialconservatives.

Thatsaid,threeofthefourmajorinternationalcharitiesintheregion

arereligiousinnature:NorthwestMedicalTeamsInternational,World

Concern,WorldVisionInternational,andMercyCorps.Thisispart

ofalongtraditionofactivistreligion.TheSkidRoadGroup,ashelter

offeringsoupandsermonstotheunemployedandrecoveringalcoholics,was

launchedinVancouver,withtheSalvationArmyhavingdeeprootsinthe

Gastowndistrict,datingbacktotheeraoftheconstructionofthe

CanadianPacificRailway(1880s)andattainedprominenceinthesame

centersduringtheKlondikeGoldRush.

Theregionisalsoknownasamagnetforawiderangeofphilosophicaland

spiritualbeliefsystems.Easternspiritualbeliefshavebeenadoptedbyan

unusuallylargenumberofpeople(byNorthAmericanstandards),andTibetan

Buddhisminparticularhasastronglocalfollowing.TheNorthwestTibetan

CulturalAssociation,claimedtobethelargestorganizationofitskindin

theworld,wasfoundedinPortlandin1993.

TheregionishometomanyuniqueChristiancommunities,rangingfromthe

DoukhoborstotheMennonites.TheMennoniteCentralCommitteeSupportive

CareServicesisbasedinAbbotsford,BC.TheMennoniteCentralCommittee

andtheMennoniteDisasterServiceenjoyaheavyrateofenlistmentand

donationsfromthestrongMennonitecommunityinBritishColumbia，sFraser

Valley.TheDoukhobors,whosechurchistheUnionofSpiritualCommunities

ofChrist,areaRussiananabaptistsectwhosemigrationtoCanadawas

aidedbyCountLeoTolstoyandwhoaretodayfocussedintheWestKootenay

andBoundaryregionsofSoutheasternBritishColumbia,theirhistoryin

Canadaincludesresistancetostateeducationandindustrialdevelopment

(seeSonsofFreedom).Alsowithintheregionthereisafairlystrong

representationofOrthodoxchurches(Greek,Russian,Serbianandothers),

aswellastheUkrainianGreekCatholicChurch.Religiousseesthatare

basedinthePacificNorthwestincludetheRomanCatholicecclesiastical

provincesofPortland,Seattle,andVancouver,Province8oftheEpiscopal

ChurchintheUnitedStatesofAmerica,theAnglicanEcclesiastical

ProvinceofBritishColumbiaandtheYukon,andthesuffragandiocesesthat

makeupthoseprovinces.

Yogicteachings,Sufism,tribalandancientbeliefsandotherphilosophies

arewidelystudiedandappreciatedintheregion.TheLowerMainlandof

BritishColumbiahasaverylargeSikhcommunity.Oregonhasa

considerableQuaker(SocietyofFriends)population.Therehasbeenmajor

growthin

ChineseBuddhisttemplessincetheincreaseinimmigrationfromEastAsiain

the1980s,especiallyinVancouver.

第二套

第一'篇：

版本一：埃及首都的選擇?，F在這個首都之所以選擇是因為可以很好地

administrating,里一個地方很近，其他兩個城市都離那個地方很遠，而且這個首

者P也很好的tradecommunicate之類的。版本二：講埃及選都，因為M地也很

容易控制整個埃及，然后可以控制尼羅河的貿易和沙漠中的貿易。古埃及M地選址

的好處，第一段是寫地理位置好，有助于管理，是在尼羅河的triangle處；第二段

寫政治有利，另外還有一個好處是有利于海上貿易。第二段還提到了outwash

fan(沖積扇)，第三段：除了以上兩個好處，M地還有陸上貿易的好處。詞匯題：

vast。解析：本文屬歷史類話題，主要關注埃及選都的原因。從機經回憶來看，文章

結構比較清晰，按照常見的因-果類文章的方式，各段一一解釋埃及選擇M城的原

因。此類文章在TP0中有很多，是同學務必要掌握并熟悉的文章結構。參考閱讀：

IntheEarlyDynasticPeriodabout3150BC,thefirstoftheDynastic

pharaohssolidifiedtheircontroloverlowerEgyptbyestablishinga

capitalatMemphis,fromwhichtheycouldcontrolthelaborforceand

agricultureofthefertiledeltaregionaswellasthelucrativeand

criticaltraderoutestotheLevantTheincreasingpowerandwealthofthe

pharaohsduringtheearlydynasticperiodwasreflectedintheirelaborate

mastabatombsandmortuarycultstructuresatAbydos,whichwereusedto

celebratethedeifiedpharaohafterhisdeath.Thestronginstitutionof

kingshipdevelopedbythepharaohsservedtolegitimizestatecontrolover

theland,labor,andresourcesthatwereessentialtothesurvivaland

growthofancientEgyptiancivilization.

AncientMemphisislocatedabout27kmsouthofitsdescendant,themodern

capitalCairo,atandaroundthetownofMitRahina.Memphiswasrecurrently

theadministrativecentreofthepoliticallyunifiedstateofEgyptin

Pharaonictimes:itwasfoundedabout3000BCtocontrolthetradeand

travelroutesthatconvergedontheNileValleyfromthedeltatothenorth

andfromtheRedSeaandSaharanoasesviacaravanroutesacrossthe

easternandwesterndesertsrespectively.Althoughtherewerescattered

agriculturalandlight-industrialsitesinthisregionasearlyas3400BC,

thereissofarnoevidenceofanylargeconurbationbefore3000BC,the

beginningoftheDynasticperiod.

AttheheightofitspoliticalimportanceMemphiswasavastmetropolis

thatstretchedatleast10kmfromnorthtosouthalongthewestbankof

theNile.Itsnecropolis(cemeteryarea),whichisrepresentedbythe

distributionofpyramidsites,wasevenlonger,boundedinthenorthbyAbu

RawashandextendingsouththroughGiza,Abusir,Saqqara,Dahshurand

Mazghuna,withasouthernoutlierfartothesouthatMeidum.Thecent