TPO18 托福阅读Passage1Industrialization in the Netherlands and Scandinavia文本+题目原文+答案解析

Industrialization in the Netherlands and Scandinavia

While some European countries, such as England and Germany, began to industrialize in the eighteenth century, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden developed later. █All four of these countries lagged considerably behind in the early nineteenth century. █However, they industrialized rapidly in the second half of the century, especially in the last two or three decades. █In view of their later start and their lack of coal—undoubtedly the main reason they were not among the early industrializers—it is important to understand the sources of their success.█

All had small populations. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Denmark and Norway had fewer than 1 million people, while Sweden and the Netherlands had fewer than 2.5 million inhabitants. All exhibited moderate growth rates in the course of the century (Denmark the highest and Sweden the lowest), but all more than doubled in population by 1900. Density varied greatly. The Netherlands had one of the highest population densities in Europe, whereas Norway and Sweden had the lowest. Denmark was in between but closer to the Netherlands.

Considering human capital as a characteristic of the population, however, all four countries were advantaged by the large percentages of their populations who could read and write. In both 1850 and 1914, the Scandinavian countries had the highest literacy rates in Europe, or in the world, and the Netherlands was well above the European average. This fact was of enormous value in helping the national economies find their niches in the evolving currents of the international economy.

Location was an important factor for all four countries. All had immediate access to the sea, and this had important implications for a significant international resource, fish, as well as for cheap transport, merchant marines, and the shipbuilding industry. Each took advantage of these opportunities in its own way. The people of the Netherlands, with a long tradition of fisheries and mercantile shipping, had difficulty in developing good harbors suitable for steamships: eventually they did so at Rotterdam and Amsterdam, with exceptional results for transit trade with Germany and central Europe and for the processing of overseas foodstuffs and raw materials (sugar, tobacco, chocolate, grain, and eventually oil). Denmark also had an admirable commercial history, particularly with respect to traffic through the Sound (the strait separating Denmark and Sweden). In 1857, in return for a payment of 63 million kronor from other commercial nations, Denmark abolished the Sound toll dues the fees it had collected since 1497 for the use of the Sound. This, along with other policy shifts toward free trade, resulted in a significant increase in traffic through the Sound and in the port of Copenhagen.

The political institutions of the four countries posed no significant barriers to industrialization or economic growth. The nineteenth century passed relatively peacefully for these countries, with progressive democratization taking place in all of them. They were reasonably well governed, without notable corruption or grandiose state projects, although in all of them the government gave some aid to railways, and in Sweden the state built the main lines. As small countries dependent on foreign markets, they followed a liberal trade policy in the main, though a protectionist movement developed in Sweden. In Denmark and Sweden agricultural reforms took place gradually from the late eighteenth century through the first half of the nineteenth, resulting in a new class of peasant landowners with a definite market orientation.

The key factor in the success of these countries (along with high literacy, which contributed to it) was their ability to adapt to the international division of labor determined by the early industrializers and to stake out areas of specialization in international markets for which they were especially well suited.  This meant a great dependence on international commerce, which had notorious fluctuations; but it also meant high returns to those factors of production that were fortunate enough to be well placed in times of prosperity. In Sweden exports accounted for 18 percent of the national income in 1870, and in 1913, 22 percent of a much larger national income. In the early twentieth century, Denmark exported 63 percent of its agricultural production: butter, pork products, and eggs. It exported 80 percent of its butter, almost all to Great Britain, where it accounted for 40 percent of British butter imports.

TPO18托福阅读Passage1 Industrialization in the Netherlands and Scandinavia 题目

Question 1 of 14: Paragraph 1 supports which of the following ideas about England and Germany?

A. They were completely industrialized by the start of the nineteenth century.

B. They possessed plentiful supplies of coal.

C. They were overtaken economically by the Netherlands and Scandinavia during the early nineteenth century.

D. They succeeded for the same reasons that the Netherlands and Scandinavia did.

Question 2 of 14: Paragraph 2 suggests which of the following about the importance of population density in the industrialization of the Netherlands and Scandinavia?  

A. It was a more important factor than population size.

B. It was more influential than the rate of population growth.

C. It was more important in the early stages than it was later.

D. It was not a significant factor.

Question 3 of 14:  According to paragraphs 2 and 3, which of the following contributed significantly to the successful economic development of the Netherlands and of Scandinavia?

A. The relatively small size of their populations

B. The rapid rate at which their populations were growing

C. The large amount of capital they had available for investment

D. The high proportion of their citizens who were educated

Question 4 of 14: According to paragraph 4, because of their location the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries had all of the following advantages when they began to industrialize EXCEPT

A. low-cost transportation of goods

B. access to fish

C. shipbuilding industrial

D. military control of the sea

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

A. extraordinary

B. surprising

C. immediate

D. predictable

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

A. ended

B. raised

C. returned

D. lowered

Question 7 of 14: According to paragraph 5, each of the following contributed positively to the industrialization of the Netherlands and Scandinavia EXCEPT

A. generally liberal trade policies

B. huge projects undertaken by the state

C. relatively uncorrupt governments

D. relatively little social or political disruption

Question 8 of 14: The word “progressive” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. rapid

B. partial

C. increasing

D. individual

Question 9 of 14: The author includes the information that "a protectionist movement developed in Sweden" in order to

A. support the claim that the political institutions of the four countries posed no significant barriers to industrialization or economic growth

B. identify an exception to the general trend favoring liberal trade policy

C. explain why Sweden industrialized less quickly than the other Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands

D. provide evidence that agricultural reforms take place more quickly in countries that have a liberal trade policy than in those that do not

Question 10 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 early industrializes controlled most of the international economy, leaving these countries to stake out new areas of specialization along the margins.

B. Aided by their high literacy rates these countries were able to claim key areas of specialization within established international markets.

C. High literacy rates enabled these countries to take over international markets and adapt the international division of labor to suit their strengths.

D. The international division of labor established by the early industrializes was well suited to these countries, a key factor in their success.

Question 11 of 14: According to paragraph 6, a major problem with depending heavily on international markets was that they

A. lacked stability

B. were not well suited to agricultural products

C. were largely controlled by the early industrializes

D. led to slower growth of local industries

Question 12 of 14: According to paragraph 6, what advantage could a country gain from being heavily involved in international commerce?

A. A steadily rising national income

B. Greater control over market fluctuations

C. High returns when things went well

D. A reduced need for imports

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?

During this period, Sweden had the highest rate of growth of output per capita of any country in Europe, and Denmark was second.

A. All four of these countries lagged considerably behind in the early nineteenth century. 

B. However, they industrialized rapidly in the second half of the century, especially in the last two or three decades. 

C. In view of their later start and their lack of coal—undoubtedly the main reason they were not among the early industrializers—it is important to understand the sources of their success.

D. /

Question 14 of 14: Although the Netherlands and Scandinavia began to industrialize relatively late, they did so very successfully.

A. Although these countries all started with small, uneducated populations, industrialization led to significant population growth and higher literacy rates.

B. Because they all started with good harbors for steamships, these countries started with an important advantage in the competition for transit trade

C. These countries were successful primarily because their high literacy rates helped them fill specialized market niches

D. Thanks to their ready access to the sea, these countries enjoyed advantages in mercantile shipping, fishing, and shipbuilding

E. These countries were helped by the fact that their governments were relatively stable and honest and generally supported liberal trade policies

F. Because they were never fully dependent on international commerce, these countries were able to survive notorious fluctuations in international markets

TPO18托福阅读Passage1Industrialization in the Netherlands and Scandinavia真题解析

Question 1 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：通过关键词England and Germany 定位到第一句，但只是提到了英国和德国在十八世纪就开始工业化了，而丹麦挪威等其它国家的工业化进程要比它们晚。选项中并没有信息与此句相关，所以也可以采取排除法先排错误选项。A中的start of 19th century 做关键词定位到第二句，说的是这四个国家在19世纪初工业化进度相对落后，没提到英国德国工业化是否完成，不选；同理C也错误，与第二句意思相反；原文没有具体阐述英国德国工业化成功原因，所以不确定是否与其它国家成功原因一样，D错误。原文最后一句话说这四个国家工业化起步晚是因为缺少煤炭资源，可以推出英国德国这些国家起步早是因为煤炭资源丰富，选B。

Question 2 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：根据population density定位到最后两句，说到这几个国家人口密度差异比较大，但是它们都实现了工业化，且成功原因一致，说明人口密度并不重要，D选项正确。

Question 3 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：定位到第三段最后一句，提到这个事实帮助经济发展，因为有代词this，所以看前一句，前句说北欧国家有全欧洲甚至是全世界最高的识字率，所以应该是受教育程度高帮助经济发展，所以答案是D。

Question 4 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：EXCEPT题，A的transportation，B的fish和C的shipbuilding做关键词都可以定位至第四段第二句的，所以都正确，都不选；只有D在原文没有对应点，错误，选。

Question 5 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：exceptional“出色的，出众的，例外的”，所以extraordinary正确。

Question 6 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：abolish“中止，中断”，所以end是正确答案。

Question 7 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：EXCEPT题，排除法，A的liberal trade policies做关键词定位至第五段第二句，与progressive demogcratization相对应，所以A正确，不选；B的huge projects 做关键词定位至第三句，原文提到without notable corruption or grandiose state projects，所以B与原文相反，选；同一句话说明C正确，不选；D的little disruption做关键词定位至第二句的relatively peacefully，所以D正确，不选。

Question 8 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：progressive“先进的，前进的”，所以C的increasing正确。

Question 9 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：修辞目的题，先看修辞点所在句子，提到作为依赖国际市场的小国家，北欧国家通常执行比较开放的贸易政策，虽然瑞典是奉行保护主义的。这里提到瑞典说明它是个例外，所以答案是B。

Question 10 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：主干说成功的因素是适应并且开拓了专业领域。所以B正确。A错在早期的工业化国家并没有控制国际经济，而是国际分工，并且这也不是原句的重点；C的take over原文未提及；D与原文相反，应该是这些国家适应labour market，不是labour market适应这些国家。

Question 11 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：以international market做关键词定位至第二句，提到国际贸易存在巨大波动，所以正确答案是A “缺乏稳定性”。剩下的三个答案文章都未提及。

Question 12 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：以international market做关键词定位至第二句，前半句说了依靠国际贸易的缺点——存在巨大波动，但后面but转折，又说了国际贸易的好处——高回报，所以答案是C。

Question 13 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：插入句句首是During this period，说明前一句出现了时间点，因此只能从B或C中选。根据意义，C合适，B前说的是这四个国家工业化进度落后，C前出现转折，说到19世纪后半期，特别是后两三百年工业化高度发展，插入句则具体举例到底有多快。

Question 14 of 14

正确答案：CDE

解析：C选项对应第三段的首尾句，正确；D选项对应第四段第二句，正确；E选项对应第五段前三句，正确。

A选项与第三段第一句相反，不选；B选项与第四段第四句相反，不选; F与第六段第二句相反，不选。

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