托福综合写作完全攻略

　　Reading

　　You will have 3 minutes to read the passage.

　　Maya was one of the most densely populated and culturally dynamic societies in the world, reaching its peak of economic development from 250 to 900 AD. Afterwards, the Maya centers of the southern lowlands “collapsed”, but in the next six hundred years, there was continued development in the northern centers of the area, continuing through to the present. Although Mayan culture survives in different forms, the world famous civilization with its extraordinary temples, cities and infrastructure, experienced a sharp decline for notable reasons.

　　Scientists have determined that in the 9th and 10th centuries, deforestation and the consequent soil erosion and temperature increase caused a 200-year-long drought. This left the Mayans unable to provide enough food and water to sustain the Mayan human population.

　　Farmland deterioration may be another factor in the collapse of the Mayan region. Land clearing may have led to systemic ecological collapse including deforestation, siltation, and the decline of biological diversity, which degenerate the function of farmland. With unfertilized farmland, Mayans would suffer from massive starvation, which could directly result in the collapse of the civilization.

　　Another theory posits that before Maya collapsed there was a fierce war between Mayans and foreign invaders. The latest hypothesis states that the southern lowland was invaded by an outside group whose homeland was probably in the Gulf Coast Lowlands. This invasion began in the 9th century and set off, within 100 years, a group of events that destroyed the Classic Maya civilization. It is believed that this invasion was somehow influenced by the Toltec people of Central Mexico.

　　Listening

　　Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.

　　Writing

　　Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they oppose specific points made in the reading passage.

　　听力原文

　　Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.

　　Mayan civilization survives today in various forms, but the glorious civilization that has claimed the attention of world famous archeologists and centered in their southern lowlands apparently “collapsed” abruptly. Was it due to serious farmland deterioration or a devastating drought or even a bloody war? These theories seem true, but when you take a closer look at them, some incongruities arise.

　　For starters, there was a series of droughts that took place in the history of the Mayan civilization approximately once every two hundred years. If these droughts were the source of the Mayans’ downfall, the northern region would have been the first place to collapse. However, as a matter of fact, the southern region crashed first.

　　Second, some experts contend that farmland deterioration led to the collapse of the Mayan civilization. Thankfully though, the Mayans had mastered exquisite solutions to this problem, such as fertilizing and nourishing the farmland.

　　Another theory is about warfare by foreign invaders in Maya, which could be the cause of Maya collapse. Warfare and foreign invasion is indisputably a theme throughout Mayan history. However, the Mayans had a mighty military with well-trained soldiers that had experience of numerous wars. Therefore, it is unlikely that one single war by foreign invaders can cause the demise of the Mayans.

　　参考范文

　　The writer and the speaker disagree on why Mayan civilization collapsed. The writer holds the opinion that warfare, malfunction of farmland, and severe drought contributed to the demise of Mayan civilization. However, the speaker opposes them one by one.

　　To begin with, the passage argues that there was a devastating drought for two hundred years, which made Mayans suffer from a shortage of food and water. However, the speaker contradicts this by stating that the drought happened initially in the north while the southern part of Maya was the first place to collapse. Thus the drought could not be the reasonable cause to explain why Maya civilization collapsed.

　　The passage then states that the unfertilized farmland due to ecological collapse can be another cause, which leaves Mayans without sufficient food. On the contrary, the lecturer thinks that since Mayans mastered adept agriculture techniques, they were capable of solving this problem by fertilizing the farmland or building an artificial island.

　　Lastly, the writer insists that a war declared by foreign invaders occurred before the demise of Mayan civilization. However, the speaker disagrees with it by claiming that warfare is the theme through all the Mayan history. Thus one war cannot ruin the whole empire since they have a mighty military.