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1TheFirstCivilizationsParagraph1:Evidencesuggeststhatanimportantstimulusbehindtheriseofearlycivilizationswasthedevelopmentofsettledagriculture,whichunleashedaseriesofchangesintheorganizationofhumancommunitiesthatculminatedintheriseoflargeancientempires.Paragraph2:Theexacttimeandplacethatcropswerefirstcultivatedsuccessfullyisuncertain.Manyprehistoriansbelievethatfarmingmayhaveemergedindependentlyinseveraldifferentareasoftheworldwhensmallcommunities,drivenbyincreasingpopulationandadeclineinavailablefoodresources,begantoplantseedsinthegroundinanefforttoguaranteetheirsurvival.Thefirstfarmers,whomayhavelivedaslongas10,000yearsago,undoubtedlyusedsimpletechniquesandstillreliedprimarilyonotherformsoffoodproduction,suchashunting,foraging,orpastoralism.Therealbreakthroughtookplacewhenfarmersbegantocultivatecropsalongthefloodplainsofriversystems.Theadvantagewasthatcropsgrowninsuchareaswerenotasdependentonrainfallandthereforeproducedamorereliableharvest.Anadditionalbenefitwasthatthesedimentcarriedbytheriverwatersdepositednutrientsinthesoil,thusenablingthefarmertocultivateasingleplotofgroundformanyyearswithoutmovingtoanewlocation.Thus,thefirsttrulysedentary(thatis,nonmigratory)societieswereborn.Astimewenton,suchcommunitiesgraduallylearnedhowtodirecttheflowofwatertoenhancetheproductivecapacityoftheland,whiletheintroductionoftheironploweventuallyledtothecultivationofheavysoilsnotpreviouslysusceptibletoagriculture.Paragraph3:ThespreadofthisrivervalleyagricultureinvariouspartsofAsiaandAfricawasthedecisivefactorintheriseofthefirstcivilizations.Theincreaseinfoodproductionintheseregionsledtoasignificantgrowthinpopulation,whileeffortstocontroltheflowofwatertomaximizetheirrigationofcultivatedareasandtoprotectthelocalinhabitantsfromhostileforcesoutsidethecommunityprovokedthefirststepstowardcooperativeactivitiesonalargescale.Theneedtooverseetheentireprocessbroughtabouttheemergenceofanelitethatwaseventuallytransformedintoagovernment.Paragraph4:ThefirstclearstepsintheriseofthefirstcivilizationstookplaceinthefourthandthirdmillenniaB.C.inMesopotamia,northernAfrica,India,andChina.Howthefirstgovernmentstookshapeintheseareasisnotcertain,butanthropologistsstudyingtheevolutionofhumancommunitiesinvariouspartsoftheworldhavediscoveredthatonecommonstageintheprocessistheemergenceofwhatarecalled“bigmen”withinasinglevillageoracollectionofvillages.Bymeansoftheirmilitaryprowess,dominantpersonalities,orpoliticaltalents,thesepeoplegraduallyemergeastheleadersofthatcommunity.Intime,the“bigmen”becomeformalsymbolsofauthorityandpassonthatauthoritytootherswithintheirownfamily.Asthecommunitiescontinuetogrowinsizeandmaterialwealth,the“bigmen”assumehereditarystatus,andtheiralliesandfamilymembersaretransformedintoahereditarymonarchy.Paragraph5:Theappearanceofthesesedentarysocietieshadamajorimpactonthesocialorganizations,religiousbeliefs,andwayoflifeofthepeopleslivingwithintheirboundaries.Withtheincreaseinpopulationandthedevelopmentofcentralizedauthoritycametheemergenceofthe2cities.Whilesomeoftheseurbancenterswereidentifiedwithaparticulareconomicfunction,suchasproximitytogoldorirondepositsorastrategiclocationonamajortraderoute,othersservedprimarilyasadministrativecentersorthesiteoftemplesfortheofficialcultorotherritualobservances.Withinthesecities,newformsoflivelihoodappearedtosatisfythegrowingneedforartisansormerchants,whileothersbecamewarriors,scholars,orpriests.Insomecases,thephysicaldivisionwithinthefirstcitiesreflectedthestricthierarchicalcharacterofthesocietyasawhole,witharoyalpalacesurroundedbyanimposingwallandseparatefromtheremainderoftheurbanpopulation.Inotherinstances,suchastheIndusRiverValley,thecitieslackedaroyalprecinctandtheostentatiouspalacesthatmarkedtheircontemporarieselsewhere.Paragraph1:Evidencesuggeststhatanimportantstimulusbehindtheriseofearlycivilizationswasthedevelopmentofsettledagriculture,whichunleashedaseriesofchangesintheorganizationofhumancommunitiesthatculminatedintheriseoflargeancientempires.1.Thephrase“culminatedin”inthepassageisclosestinmeaningtoA)reachedahighpointwithB)logicallyfollowedfromC)partlycontributedtoD)markedParagraph2:Theexacttimeandplacethatcropswerefirstcultivatedsuccessfullyisuncertain.Manyprehistoriansbelievethatfarmingmayhaveemergedindependentlyinseveraldifferentareasoftheworldwhensmallcommunities,drivenbyincreasingpopulationandadeclineinavailablefoodresources,begantoplantseedsinthegroundinanefforttoguaranteetheirsurvival.Thefirstfarmers,whomayhavelivedaslongas10,000yearsago,undoubtedlyusedsimpletechniquesandstillreliedprimarilyonotherformsoffoodproduction,suchashunting,foraging,orpastoralism.Therealbreakthroughtookplacewhenfarmersbegantocultivatecropsalongthefloodplainsofriversystems.Theadvantagewasthatcropsgrowninsuchareaswerenotasdependentonrainfallandthereforeproducedamorereliableharvest.Anadditionalbenefitwasthatthesedimentcarriedbytheriverwatersdepositednutrientsinthesoil,thusenablingthefarmertocultivateasingleplotofgroundformanyyearswithoutmovingtoanewlocation.Thus,thefirsttrulysedentary(thatis,nonmigrator