III. Cloze: Choose one best answer.
A.
Deep in the desert, three hours by car from Amman, Jordan’s capital city, stands all that remains of the great civilization of the Nabataeans although
“stands” may not be the right word for striking buildings hewed out of solid rock. We know the place by the name the Greeks gave it: Petra, Greek for
stone. And certainly the Hellenic influence is present in the remarkable buildings at this site, __(31)__ the Treasury building, or al-Khazneh, is the
largest and most famous: its pediment and Corinthian columns are the unmistakable signature of the culture that built the Acropolis, although there are
also Egyptian elements in the carvings on the façade. The name of the building is perhaps a misnomer; it may have been a royal tomb, perhaps holding
a dead king’s riches at one time.
Originally a nomadic Arab people, the Nabataeans __(32)__ in this region of wind- and water-carved canyons around the 6th century B.C. Through
its mile-long main canyon, the Sik passed silk and spices from Asia to Arabia and the Mediterranean. But the Nabataeans controlled the Sik, and they
demanded tribute of all who ventured through.
Yet if the Nabataeans’ wealth was ill-gotten, it was well spent. They mastered hydraulic technology, channeling water through tunnels carved into
the hills and along elaborate ceramic pipes to irrigate the land. They also __(33)__ at pottery and metallurgy. By 100 B.C. the Nabataeans commanded
a mighty empire of trade with outposts around the Mediterranean, and __(34)__ was a flourishing capital that boasted an 8,000-seat theater, temples,
proud villas and broad avenues, the remains of which can still be seen. Petra’s wealth attracted the interest of the Romans, who became the first to
conquer the city: the Emperor Trajan entered it in A.D. 106. The city continued to flourish under __(35)__, until an earthquake destroyed many of its
buildings in A.D. 363; two centuries later, another earthquake led inhabitants to leave the city forever. Thinly resettled in recent centuries, Petra was
“lost” to Europeans until Swiss explorer Johann Burkhardt, disguised as a Muslim, managed to enter the city in 1812. 【題組】33. (A)excelled (B)elaborated (C)superior (D)insufficient
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