TPO10托福阅读Passage3Seventeenth-Century European Economic Growth文本+题目原文+答案解析

Seventeenth-Century European Economic Growth

In the late sixteenth century and into the seventeenth, Europe continued the growth that had lifted it out of the relatively less prosperous medieval period (from the mid 400s to the late 1400s). Among the key factors behind this growth were increased agricultural productivity and an expansion of trade.

Populations cannot grow unless the rural economy can produce enough additional food to feed more people. During the sixteenth century, farmers brought more land into cultivation at the expense of forests and fens (low-lying wetlands). Dutch land reclamation in the Netherlands in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries provides the most spectacular example of the expansion of farmland: the Dutch reclaimed more than 36.000 acres from 1590 to 1615 alone.

Much of the potential for European economic development lay in what at first glance would seem to have been only sleepy villages. Such villages, however, generally lay in regions of relatively advanced agricultural production, permitting not only the survival of peasants but also the accumulation of an agricultural surplus for investment. They had access to urban merchants, markets, and trade routes.

Increased agricultural production in turn facilitated rural industry, an intrinsic part of the expansion of industry. Woolens and textile manufacturers, in particular, utilized rural cottage (in-home) production, which took advantage of cheap and plentiful rural labor. In the German states, the ravages of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) further moved textile production into the countryside. Members of poor peasant families spun or wove cloth and linens at home for scant remuneration in an attempt to supplement meager family income.

More extended trading networks also helped develop Europe's economy in this period. English and Dutch ships carrying rye from the Baltic states reached Spain and Portugal. Population growth generated an expansion of small-scale manufacturing, particularly of handicrafts, textiles, and metal production in England, Flanders, parts of northern Italy, the southwestern German states, and parts of Spain. Only iron smelting and mining required marshaling a significant amount of capital (wealth invested to create more wealth).

The development of banking and other financial services contributed to the expansion of trade. By the middle of the sixteenth century, financiers and traders commonly accepted bills of exchange in place of gold or silver for other goods. Bills of exchange, which had their origins in medieval Italy, were promissory notes (written promises to pay a specified amount of money by a certain date) that could be sold to third parties. In this way, they provided credit.  [■] At mid-century, an Antwerp financier only slightly exaggerated when he claimed, “0ne can no more trade without bills of exchange than sail without water."  [■] Merchants no longer had to carry gold and silver over long, dangerous journeys.  [■] An Amsterdam merchant purchasing soap from a merchant in Marseille could go to an exchanger and pay the exchanger the equivalent sum in guilders, the Dutch currency.  [■] The exchanger would then send a bill of exchange to a colleague in Marseille, authorizing the colleague to pay the Marseille merchant in the merchant's own currency after the actual exchange of goods had taken place.

Bills of exchange contributed to the development of banks, as exchangers began to provide loans. Not until the eighteenth century, however, did such banks as the Bank of Amsterdam and the Bank of England begin to provide capital for business investment. Their principal function was to provide funds for the state.

The rapid expansion in international trade also benefitted from an infusion of capital, stemming largely from gold and silver brought by Spanish vessels from the Americas. This capital financed the production of goods, storage, trade, and even credit across Europe and overseas. Moreover an increased credit supply was generated by investments and loans by bankers and wealthy merchants to states and by joint-stock partnerships—an English innovation (the first major company began in 1600). Unlike short-term financial cooperation between investors for a single commercial undertaking, joint-stock companies provided permanent funding of capital by drawing on the investments of merchants and other investors who purchased shares in the company.

TPO10托福阅读Passage3Seventeenth-Century European Economic Growth题目

Question 1 of 14: According to paragraph 1, what was true of Europe during the medieval period?

A. Agricultural productivity declined.

B. There was relatively little economic growth.

C. The general level of prosperity declined.

D. Foreign trade began to play an important role in the economy.

Question 2 of 14: The word "key " in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. historical

B. many

C. important

D. hidden

Question 3 of 14: According to paragraph 2, one effect of the desire to increase food production was that

A. land was cultivated in a different way

B. more farmers were needed

C. the rural economy was weakened

D. forests and wetlands were used for farming

Question 4 of 14: According to paragraph 3, what was one reason villages had such great economic potential?

A. Villages were located in regions where agricultural production was relatively advanced.

B. Villages were relatively small in population and size compared with urban areas.

C. Some village inhabitants made investments in industrial development.

D. Village inhabitants established markets within their villages.

Question 5 of 14: Paragraph 4 supports the idea that increased agricultural production was important for the expansion of industry primarily because it

A. increased the number of available workers in rural areas

B. provided new types of raw materials for use by industry

C. resulted in an improvement in the health of the rural cottage workers used by manufacturers

D. helped repair some of the ravages of the Thirty Years’ War

Question 6 of 14: The word “meager ” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. very necessary

B. very low

C. traditional

D. primary

Question 7 of 14: Why does the author mention that “English and Dutch ships carrying rye from the Baltic states reached Spain and Portugal ”?

A. To suggest that England and the Netherlands were the two most important trading nations in seventeenth-century Europe

B. To suggest how extensive trading relations were

C. To contrast the importance of agricultural products with manufactured products

D. To argue that shipping introduced a range of new products

Question 8 of 14: By including the quotation in paragraph 6 by the financier from Antwerp, the author is emphasizing that

A. sailing was an important aspect of the economy

B. increasing the number of water routes made trade possible

C. bills of exchange were necessary for successful trading

D. financiers often exaggerated the need for bills of exchange

Question 9 of 14: According to paragraph 6, merchants were able to avoid the risk of carrying large amounts of gold and silver by

A. using third parties in Marseille to buy goods for them

B. doing all their business by using Dutch currency

C. paying for their purchases through bills of exchange

D. waiting to pay for goods until the goods had been delivered

Question 10 of 14: According to paragraph 7, until the eighteenth century, it was the principal function of which of the following to provide funds for the state?

A. Bills of exchange

B. Exchangers who took loans

C. Banks

D. Business investment

Question 11 of 14：The phrase “an English innovation ” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. a new development introduced by the English

B. an arrangement found only in England

C. a type of agreement negotiated in English

D. a type of partnership based on English law

Question 12 of 14： According to paragraph 8, each of the following was a source of funds used to finance economic expansion EXCEPT

A. groups of investors engaged in short-term financial cooperation

B. the state

C. wealthy merchants

D. joint-stock companies

Question 13 of 14： Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?

They could also avoid having to identify and assess the value of a wide variety of coins issued in many different places..

Question 14 of 14： Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. In late sixteenth-and early seventeenth-century Europe, increased agricultural production and the expansion of trade were important in economic growth.

A.Bringing more land under cultivation produced enough food to create surpluses for trade and investment as well as for supporting the larger populations that led to the growth of rural industry.

B.Most rural villages established an arrangement with a nearby urban center that enabled villagers to take advantage of urban markets to sell any handicrafts they produced.

C.Increases in population and the expansion of trade led to increased manufacturing, much of it small-scale in character but some requiring significant capital investment.

D.Increased capital was required for the production of goods, for storage, for trade, and for the provision of credit throughout of Europe as well as distant markets overseas.

E.Bills of exchange were invented in medieval Italy but became less important as banks began to provide loans for merchants.

F. The expansion of trade was facilitated by developments in banking and financial services and benefitted from the huge influx of capital in the form of gold silver from the Americas.

TPO10托福阅读Passage3Seventeenth-Century European Economic Growth解析

Question 1 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：B 以medieval period做关键词定位至第一句，说medieval period不那么prosperous繁荣，但如果只看这句的话很容易错选答案C，C的decline叫做减少，也就是说C说medieval时期prosperity下降了，但原文说不prosperous，是一种低的状态，不是下降的趋势，所以C错;而B的经济几乎没有增长是less prosperous的同义替换，正确;A与C错的原因类似;D没说。

Question 2 of 14

正确答案：C

题目解析：key: 关键的，重要的。A是历史的;B是许多;C是重要的;D是隐藏的。key众所周知的意思是钥匙，当然还有关键的意思，所以C的important正确。对应原文：Among the key factors behind this growth were increased agricultural productivity and an expansion of trade.前文说欧洲经济开始增长，然后说发展的什么因素是blabla，后面特别指出的原因，肯定是相对比较重要的，所以important正确。句子只给出了两个原因，many不对;historical历史的和hidden完全不靠谱。

Question 3 of 14

正确答案：D

题目解析：D, 以increase food production做关键词定位至第一句，但问的是影响，所以答案应该是下一句。说人们开垦更多土地，以森林和湿地为代价，所以答案是D。A原文没说以不同方式开垦，错;B的farmers没有相关信息;C的rural economy没有信息。

Question 4 of 14

正确答案：A

题目解析：A 以economic potential做关键词定位至第一句，但第一句中的at first glance和第二句的however都说明有用的信息在第二句，说这些村子的agriculture是advanced，所以答案是A，B/C/D都没说。

Question 5 of 14

正确答案：A

题目解析：A 以expansion of industry做关键词定位至第一句，但第一句只是陈述了一个事实，有用的信息在第二句，说那些manufacturers利用了大量廉价的rural labor，所以答案是A，B/C/D都没说。

Question 6 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：meager: 贫乏的，不足的，瘦弱的。A是必要的;B是非常少的，贫瘠的;C是传统的;D是主要的。所以B的very low是正确答案。对应原文:Members of poor peasant families spun or wove cloth and linens at home for scant remuneration in an attempt to supplement meager family income.原句说很多穷人纺线或者织布赚补贴，来贴补什么样的家庭收入，肯定是少才需要贴补的，所以是very low，A必要和D基本都不能用纺线来补贴;原文没有时间概念，所以B传统的不对。

Question 7 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：功能目的题，整个句子是一个细节，所以看前一句，也就是本段的中心句，说不断扩展的贸易网络有助于当时欧洲经济发展，紧接着就给出了荷兰和英国的船到了西班牙和葡萄牙，用来证明贸易的扩展，所以答案是B，其他的都不靠谱。

Question 8 of 14

正确答案：C

题目解析：功能目的题，先以Antewerp做关键词定位至第五句，原句整个就是一个细节，看前一句，前一句的信息过少，所以再往前看，就找到答案，说汇票是一种可以转卖给第三方的约定票据，答案是C，汇票的必要性，当然也可以看第一句，说银行及其他金融服务助推贸易的扩展，同样能选出答案。

Question 9 of 14

正确答案：C

题目解析：C 以gold or silver做关键词定位至第二句，说financiers和traders接受汇票来替代金银，只有C提到了汇票bills of exchange，所以答案是C，其他都没说。

Question 10 of 14

正确答案：C

题目解析：C 以funds，state和principle function做关键词定位至最后一句，说他们的最主要作用是给国家提供资金，因为有their，所以往前看，前句说直到十八世纪银行才给business investment提供钱，然后就说之前都是给国家提供钱的，their指的是银行，所以答案C正确。

Question 11 of 14

正确答案：A

题目解析：A : an English innovation本意指英国人的发明，即使从本意看，B/C/D也不靠谱，而且破折号之后解释之前的内容，之前说joint-stock partnership，合股，之后的括号又对这一现象进行了解释，说明这是一个以前没有的新东西，所以A正确。

Question 12 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：B，EXCEPT题，排除法。A的short-term financial cooperation对应最后一句，正确，不选;B好像对应第三句，但原文说银行家和富商贷款给state，state的钱是从别人那借的，没法促进发展，所以B错，选;C和D都对应原文第三句，正确，不选。

Question 13 of 14

正确答案：C

题目解析：C 四个过渡点，分别是名词coins，many different places，代词they和副词also。coins与原文倒数第二句的currency货币同义替换，many different places与原文倒数第二句的Amsterdam和Marseille对应，所以C或者D正确;此外，coins还可以与倒数第三句的coins and silver对应，所以B或者C正确;而且they also avoid说明之前他们已经避免了一件事，刚好对应倒数第三句的no longer have to carry gold and silver，所以C正确。

Question 14 of 14

正确答案：ACF

题目解析：ACF bringing选项对应原文第二段第一句，正确。most选项原文没说，不选。increases in选项对应原文第四段第一句，正确。increased capital选项MS对应第八段第二句，但原文说capital促进了blabla的发展，没说blabla的发展需要资金，所以错，不选。bills选项与第六段第二局说反，不选。the expansion选项对应原文第六段和第八段的首句，正确。

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