TPO17 托福阅读Passage1Europe’s Early Sea Trade with Asia文本+题目原文+答案解析

Europe’s Early Sea Trade with Asia

In the fourteenth century, a number of political developments cut Europe's overland trade routes to southern and eastern Asia, with which Europe had had important and highly profitable commercial ties since the twelfth century. This development, coming as it did when the bottom had fallen out of the European economy, provided an impetus to a long-held desire to secure direct relations with the East by establishing a sea trade. Widely reported, if somewhat distrusted, accounts by figures like the famous traveler from Venice, Marco Polo, of the willingness of people in China to trade with Europeans and of the immensity of the wealth to be gained by such contact made the idea irresistible. Possibilities for trade seemed promising, but no hope existed for maintaining the traditional routes over land. A new way had to be found.

The chief problem was technological: How were the Europeans to reach the East? Europe's maritime tradition had developed in the context of easily navigable seas—the Mediterranean, the Baltic, and, to a lesser extent, the North Sea between England and the Continent—not of vast oceans. New types of ships were needed, new methods of finding one's way, new techniques for financing so vast a scheme. The sheer scale of the investment it took to begin commercial expansion at sea reflects the immensity of the profits that such East-West trade could create. ■Spices were the most sought-after commodities. ■Spices not only dramatically improved the taste of the European diet but also were used to manufacture perfumes and certain medicines. ■But even high-priced commodities like spices had to be transported in large bulk in order to justify the expense and trouble of sailing around the African continent all the way to India and China.■

The principal seagoing ship used throughout the Middle Ages was the galley, a long, low ship fitted with sails but driven primarily by oars. The largest galleys had as many as 50 oarsmen. Since they had relatively shallow hulls, they were unstable when driven by sail or when on rough water: hence they were unsuitable for the voyage to the East. Even if they hugged the African coastline, they had little chance of surviving a crossing of the Indian Ocean. Shortly after 1400, shipbuilders began developing a new type of vessel properly designed to operate in rough, open water: the caravel. It had a wider and deeper hull than the galley and hence could carry more cargo: increased stability made it possible to add multiple masts and sails. In the largest caravels, two main masts held large square sails that provided the bulk of the thrust driving the ship forward, while a smaller forward mast held a triangular-shaped sail, called a lateen sail, which could be moved into a variety of positions to maneuver the ship.

The astrolabe had long been the primary instrument for navigation, having been introduced in the eleventh century. It operated by measuring the height of the Sun and the fixed stars: by calculating the angles created by these points, it determined the degree of latitude at which one stood (The problem of determining longitude, though, was not solved until the eighteenth century.) By the early thirteenth century. Western Europeans had also developed and put into use the magnetic compass, which helped when clouds obliterated both the Sun and the stars. Also beginning in the thirteenth century, there were new maps refined by precise calculations and the reports of sailors that made it possible to trace one's path with reasonable accuracy. Certain institutional and practical norms had become established as well. A maritime code known as the Consulate of the Sea, which originated in the western Mediterranean region in the fourteenth century, won acceptance by a majority of sea goers as the normative code for maritime conduct; it defined such matters as the authority of a ship's officers, protocols of command, pay structures, the rights of sailors, and the rules of engagement when ships met one another on the sea-lanes. Thus by about 1400 the key elements were in place to enable Europe to begin its seaward adventure.

TPO17托福阅读Passage1Europe’s Early Sea Trade with Asia 题目

Question 1 of 14: The word “impetus” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. return

B. opportunity

C. stimulus

D. obstacle

Question 2 of 14: According to paragraph 1 why was it necessary to find a new way for European merchants to reach the East?

A. People in China were finally ready to trade with Europeans

B. The European economy was failing because there was no trade with the East

C. Traditional ways of trading with the East had become very costly

D. Commercial routes over land had become blocked because of political events

Question 3 of 14:  According to paragraph 2 what was the main difficulty Europeans had to overcome in order to develop a new way of trading with the East?

A. Europeans were unwilling to invest in large-scale commercial ventures

B. Europeans lacked the means for navigating long distances across oceans

C. Europeans were unwilling to experiment with new business techniques

D. Europeans lacked knowledge about the commercial methods of other peoples

Question 4 of 14: Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information

A. The high cost to investors of developing trade by sea between East and West indicates the great size of the profits that such trade could produce

B. The profits that could be created by sea trade between East and West were immense compared with the investment required to develop such trade

C. The increase in commercial activity by using sea routes reflects the importance trade between East and West had for investors seeking great profits

D. Because people made large investments in sea commerce between East and West, they expected to make immense profits

Question 5 of 14: The word “dramatically” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. artifically

B. greatly

C. immediately

D. regularly

Question 6 of 14: It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that spices from Asia were desirable in Europe in the Middle Ages because they

A. were easily transported in large quantities

B. could not be produced in European countries

C. could be traded for products such as perfumes and medicines

D. were expected to increase in value over time

Question 7 of 14: According to paragraph 3, all of the following statements comparing the caravel with the galley are true EXCEPT

A. The caravel had fewer masts than the galley.

B. The caravel had a wider hull than the galley.

C. The caravel could carry more cargo than the galley.

D. The caravel was more stable in rough water than the galley.

Question 8 of 14: According to paragraph 3, what did the lateen sail contribute to the caravel as a sailing ship?

A. It provided stability for the front part of the ship

B. It made it possible for the hull to be wider and deeper

C. It added considerably to the speed of the wind-driven ship.

D. It improved the capacity of the ship to be guided.

Question 9 of 14:  Why does the author include the information that Western Europeans had developed and put into use the magnetic compass?

A. To provide an example of an instrument that was developed after caravels had begun traveling across oceans

B. To provide an example of an improvement that resulted directly from the invention of the astrolabe

C. To identify one of the technological advances that made sea trade with the East possible

D. To explain how the problem of determining longitude was solved

Question 10 of 14: The word “refined” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. completed

B. improved

C. drawn

D. checked

Question 11 of 14:  The word “norms” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. purposes

B. skills

C. activities

D. rules

Question 12 of 14: According to paragraph 4 which of the following is true of the maritime code developed in Europe in the fourteenth century?

A. It mapped out lanes in the seas for trading ships to follow

B. It defined the ways in which people should behave at sea

C. It replaced an earlier code that could not be adapted to the sea trade with the East.

D. It gave instructions on how to navigate a ship

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 were highly valued for a couple of reasons.

A. Spices were the most sought-after commodities. 

B. Spices not only dramatically improved the taste of the European diet but also were used to manufacture perfumes and certain medicines. 

C. But even high-priced commodities like spices had to be transported in large bulk in order to justify the expense and trouble of sailing around the African continent all the way to India and China.

D. /

Question 14 of 14: Because land routes to Asia had been cut off in the fourteenth century, Europeans had to find a new way to trade with Asia.

A. Reports by travelers indicated that

people in Asia were interested in renewing trade with Europeans.

B. For trade in Asian goods such as spices to be profitable, these items needed to be transported in large quantities by sea

C. Wind-driven caravels were developed to carry cargo across the oceans.

D. Europeans wanted to import spices from Asia in order to improve the taste of food and to make perfumes and medicines

E. European galleys were able to bring Asian goods across the Indian Ocean and around the African coastline.

F. The development of maps, navigational instruments and a maritime code of conduct provided crucial elements for long-distance navigation

TPO17托福阅读Passage1Europe’s Early Sea Trade with Asia 真题解析

Question 1 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：impetus “动力，推动力”，所以C stimulus正确。

Question 2 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：对应第一段第一、二句，政治的发展切断了欧洲通往南亚和东亚的陆路贸易路线，因此刺激欧洲通过建立新的海上贸易路线的方式来保证与亚洲的关系。A错在finally隐含意义是之前中国没有同意与欧洲进行贸易，而这在原文中是没有提到的，另外原文第一句就提到了自从12世纪以来，欧洲通过陆路方式与东亚和南亚有贸易往来。B错在原文没有体现这样的因果关系，只是说到这两个事情是同时发性的；C错在原文没有提到成本是否昂贵这一问题。

Question 3 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：以main difficulty做关键词定位至第一句，提到主要的问题是技术问题，西方人怎么到达东方，之前欧洲航行只是局限于易于航行的海域，并非宽阔的海洋，因此需要需要新型的轮船、新的导航技术等，所以答案是B。欧洲人非常想与亚洲人贸易，所以A和C的unwilling错误；D的commercial methods未提及。

Question 4 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：原句的结构是scale反映了immensity，也就是投资的规模反映了能够获得利益的规模，所以答案是A。B的对比关系错误，C的意思原文没有体现，D的因果关系原文也没有体现。

Question 5 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：dramatically“剧烈地，戏剧性地”，所以答案是B，表示程度大。

Question 6 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：以spice做关键词定位至倒数三句话，提到香料最受欢迎，能用来给食物提味，也可以用来做香水和药材，接着又提到即使高价的香料也要大量运输才能平衡高昂的运输成本。既然是运来的，就说明本地不产，所以答案是B。A原文没有提及大批量容易运输；C偷换原文概念，原文说香料能用来生产香水和药，不是用香料交换香水和药；D原文完全未提及香料能增值。

Question 7 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：EXCEPT题，排除法，A的masts做关键词定位至第三段倒数第二句：made it possible to add multiple masts，能增加多个桅杆，说明caravel的mast比galley多，所以A与原文相反，可选；B的hull做关键词定位至倒数第二句，说caravel的hull更大更深，能装更多货物，B和C正确，不选；D的stable做关键词定位至倒数第二句，increased stability，所以D正确，不选。

Question 8 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：以lateen sail做关键词定位至最后一句，提到lateen sail能够挪到很多位置来操作这艘船，所以答案是D，引导船的能力。其他的都未提及。

Question 9 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：修辞目的题，修辞点所在句子只是单纯说明一个事实，西欧人发明了一个磁针罗盘，没有观点，往前看又是一个例子：星盘的发明，也不是观点；后面一句也是个事实：规则的确定。给出这三个事例是为了印证最后一句的中心句：正是1400年左右多个重要因素的具备，欧洲人才能够开启他们的海上冒险之旅，所以C是答案， 磁针罗盘也是技术上的一个突破，使得海上航行变得可能。

Question 10 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：refined“精密的”，所以improved正确，从单词本身看，re表示“再次”，fine表示“好”，再次好，也能猜到是“提升”的意思，原文说通过精确计算和海员的报告_____的地图使得路线的追踪变得更准确，所以肯定是好的，A、C、D三个答案均是中性，没有好的意思。

Question 11 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：norm “规范，标准”，所以答案是D rules。这里说到建立了一系列的norms，后面就举例提到a maritime code，通过code一词也能推出norm的意思是规范。

Question 12 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：以maritime code做关键词定位至倒数第二句，提到《海运法典》为大多数水手们所接受，成为海事行为的规范标准，法典规定了船长的职权范围、命令协议、薪酬结构、水手们的权利，以及航行中与其他船只的交战规则，对应B选项。

Question 13 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：三个过渡点，名词a couple of reasons，代词they和形容词highly valued。形容词highly valued与原文A中的most sought-after同义替换，说到香料是最受欢迎的商品，a couple of reasons说明这句话之后会列举一些原因，所以B是答案，后面提到了香料受欢迎的原因。

Question 14 of 14

正确答案：BCF

解析：B选项对应第二段最后一句话：香料要大批量地运送才能中和高昂的运输费用，正确；C选项对应第三段后半部分，正确；F选项对应第四段内容，正确。

A选项是第一段中的一个不重要的细节，不选；D选项是第二段中的一个细节，不选；E选项与第三段第三句内容相反：galley不适宜做长途航行用，不选。

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