托福阅读真题Official 49 Passage 3（二）

托福阅读真题Official 49 Passage 3（二）

Background for the Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution had several roots,one of which was a commercial revolution that,beginning as far back as the sixteenth century,accompanied Europe’s expansion overseas.Both exports and imports showed spectacular growth,particularly in England and France.An increasingly larger portion of the stepped-up commercial activity was the result of trade with overseas colonies.Imports included a variety of new beverages,spices,and foodstuffs.At the same time,a growing export market took European textiles,hardware,firearms,ships,and ships’goods around the world and brought money flowing back.Europe’s economic institutions,particularly those in England,were strong,had wealth available for new investment,and seemed almost to be waiting for some technological breakthrough that would expand their profit-making potential even more.

That breakthrough came in Great Britain,where several economic advantages created a climate especially favorable to the encouragement of new technology.One was its geographic location at the crossroads of international trade.Internally,Britain was endowed with easily navigable natural waterways,which helped its trade and communication with the world.Beginning in the 1770’s,it enjoyed a boom in canal building,which helped make its domestic markets more accessible.Because water transportation was the cheapest means of carrying goods to market,canals reduced prices and thus increased consumer demand.Great Britain also had rich deposits of coal that fed the factories springing up in industrial areas and iron ore that provided the raw material for the manufacture of railroad equipment,tools,and a variety of industrial and consumer goods.

Another advantage was Britain’s large population of rural,agricultural wage earners,as well as cottage workers1,who had the potential of being more mobile than peasants of some other countries.Eventually they found their way to the cities or mining communities and provided the human power upon which the Industrial Revolution was built.The British people were also consumers;the absence of internal tariffs,such as those that existed in France or Italy or between the German states,made Britain the largest free-trade area in Europe.Britain’s relatively stable government also helped create an atmosphere conducive to industrial progress.

Great Britain’s better-developed banking and credit system also helped speed the industrial process,as did the fact that it was the home of an impressive array of entrepreneurs and inventors.Among them were a large number of nonconformists whose religious principles encouraged thrift and industry rather than luxurious living and who tended to pour their profits back into their businesses,thus providing the basis for continued expansion.

A precursor to the Industrial Revolution was a revolution in agricultural techniques.Ideas about agricultural reform developed first in Holland,where as early as the mid-seventeenth century,such modern methods as crop rotation,heavy fertilization,and diversification were all in use.Dutch peasant farmers were known throughout Europe for their agricultural innovations,but as British markets and opportunities grew,the English quickly learned from them.As early as the seventeenth century the Dutch were helping them drain marshes and fens where,with the help of advanced techniques,they grew new crops.By the mid-eighteenth century new agricultural methods as well as selective breeding of livestock had caught on throughout the country.

Much of the increased production was consumed by Great Britain`s burgeoning population.At the same time,people were moving to the city,partly because of the enclosure movement;that is,the fencing of common fields and pastures in order to provide more compact,efficient privately held agricultural parcels that would produce more goods and greater profits.In the sixteenth century enclosures were usually used for creating sheep pastures,but by the eighteenth century new farming techniques made it advantageous for large landowners to seek enclosures in order to improve agricultural production.Between 1714 and 1820 over 6 million acres of English land were enclosed.As a result,many small,independent farmers were forced to sell out simply because they could not compete.Non-landholding peasants and cottage workers,who worked for wages and grazed cows or pigs on the village common,were also hurt when the common was no longer available.It was such people who began to flock to the cities seeking employment and who found work in the factories that would transform the nation and,the world.

Question 3 of 14

Select the TWO answer choices that according to paragraph 2,enabled the development of British technology.To receive credit you must select TWO answer choices.

A.An accessible water transportation system

B.A mild climate and plenty of fresh water

C.The availability of newly developed international technology

D.A fuel supply that supported industrial growth

正确答案：AD

题目详解

题型分类：事实信息题

原文定位：关键词：enable，British technology；根据关键词定位到第二句话和第三句话：“One was its geographic location at the crossroads of international trade.Internally,Britain was endowed with easily navigable natural waterways,which helped its trade and communication with the world.”以及最后一句话：“Great Britain also had rich deposits of coal that fed the factories springing up in industrial areas and iron ore that provided the raw material for the manufacture of railroad equipment,tools,and a variety of industrial and consumer goods.”总结了两个促进英国信科技发展的经济优势，分别是地理位置在国际贸易的中心，交通方便，另一个是有大量的煤炭和铁储备。

选项分析：

A选项：是定位句中“Britain was endowed with easily navigable natural waterways,”的改写。

D选项：是定位句中“Great Britain also had rich deposits of coal”的改写。

B选项：没有提到气候变化，属于无中生有。

C选项：文中说这些变化特别适合新科技发展，并没说国际上的科技。

Question 4 of 14

Paragraph 3 suggests that the Industrial Revolution did not originate outside Great Britain because

A.the labor force in other countries could not as easily relocate to cities

B.workers in other countries preferred working independently rather than in groups

C.there was a lack of cooperation between agricultural and cottage workers in other countries

D.governments in other countries placed limits on economic gain

正确答案：A

题目详解

题型分类：推论题

原文定位：关键词：great Britain；根据关键词定位到第三段第一句话“Another advantage was Britain’s large population of rural,agricultural wage earners,as well as cottage workers,who had the potential of being more mobile than peasants of some other countries.”大意是说英国的人比国外的平民更加能够灵活移动。

选项分析：

A选项：他国的劳动力不能如此轻易地移动到其他城市。原文定位句说英国的更加灵活，能够推断出国外的不灵活，所以正确。

B选项：未提到其他国家的工人是否喜欢独立工作，属于无中生有。

C选项：未提到他国的居家工人和农业工人是否愿意合作，属于无中生有。

D选项：和原文：“the absence of internal tariffs,such as those that existed in France or Italy or between the German states,”的部分相悖，其他国家也有免税的政策。