Question

Before the first Egyptian pyramid was ever built, pharaohs were buried in mastabas. Mastabas are rectangular-shaped tombs with flat roofs and sloping sides. These tombs were normally made of mud bricks. Then, around 2630 BC, the pharaoh at the time, Pharaoh Djoser, decided he wanted something different. He asked his royal architect, Imhotep, to build him a tomb made of stone. Imhotep ended up building a stone structure made up of 6 mastabas, one on top of the other. Each mastaba was a bit smaller than the one below it. The result was a pyramid of mastabas. It became the first Egyptian pyramid. Pharaoh Djoser’s pyramid looks like it has a set of steps along each side. Today people call such pyramids step pyramids. By the end of its construction, Pharaoh Djoser’s tomb was 204 feet high, making it the tallest structure of its time.
3Question 3
How does the concept the author introduces at the beginning contribute to the development of the passage?
A.
by explaining how mastabas could be made of different types of materials
B.
by showing how mastabas became a new way to create tall structures
C.
by illustrating how mastabas had to include a set of steps on each side
D.
by describing how mastabas were an early version of the pyramids

Answer 1

D

The author introduces mastabas as the earlier form of tombs to show they were the precursors to pyramids—Imhotep stacked mastabas to create the first (step) pyramid.