托福真题0110Reading十六世纪欧洲工匠+疾病与历史+地球大气.docx

1、托福真题0110Reading十六世纪欧洲工匠+疾病与历史+地球大气CACBB, DCDAA,BCD, 124BDCDC, BB(与上一题重复)DCA, CC B, 123ACDBD, AABCD, ABD, 135Vulnerable toSusceptible toArtisans in Sixteenth-Century EuropeFor centuries European artisans had operated in small, autonomous handcraft businesses, but by the sixteenth century an evolving

2、economic systemmoving toward modern capitalism, with its free-market pricing, new organization of production, investments, and so onhad started to erode their stable and relatively prosperous position. What forces contributed to the decline of the artisan?In a few industries there appeared technolog

3、ical innovations that cost more to install and operate than artisanseven associations of artisanscould afford. For example, in iron production, such specialized equipment as blast furnaces, tilt hammers, wire-drawing machines, and stamping, rolling, and slitting mills became more familiar components

4、 of the industry. Thus the need for fixed capital (equipment and buildings used in production) soared. Besides these items, expensive in their own right, facilities for water, storage, and deliveries were needed. In addition, pig (raw) iron turned out by blast furnaces could not be forged until refi

5、ned further in a new intermediate stage. In late sixteenth-century Antwerp, where a skilled worker earned 125 to 250 guilders a year, a large blast furnace alone cost 3,000 guilders, and other industrial equipment was equally or more expensive.Raw materials, not equipment, constituted artisans major

6、 expense in most traders, however. Whereas in 1583 an Antwerp silk weaver paid 12 guilders for a loom (and made small payments over many years to pay off the debt for purchasing the loom), every six weeks he or she had to lay out 24 guilders for the 2 pounds of raw silk required to make a piece of c

7、loth. Thus access to cheap and plentiful primary materials was a constant preoccupation for independent producers. Using local materials might allow even the poorest among them to avoid reliance on merchant suppliers. The loss of nearby sources could therefore be devastating. As silk cultivation wan

8、ed around the Spanish cities of Cordoba and Toledo, weavers in these cities were forced to become employees of merchants who put out raw silk from Valencia and Murcia provinces. In the Dutch Republic, merchants who imported unprocessed salt from France, Portugal, and Spain gained control of the salt

9、-refining industry once exploitation of local salt marshes was halted for fear that dikes (which held back the sea from the low-lying Dutch land) would be undermined.Credit was necessary for production but created additional vulnerabilities for artisans. Prices for industrial products lagged behind

10、those of raw materials and foodstuffs, and this, coupled with rising taxes, made it difficult for many producers to repay their creditors. Periodic downturns, when food prices shot up and demand for manufactures fell off, drove them further into debt or even into bankruptcy, from which they might em

11、erge only by agreeing to sell their products exclusively to merchants or fellow artisans who extended them loans. Frequent enough during periods of growth, such credit crises became deeper and lasted longer after about 1570, as did war-related disruptions of raw-material supplies and markets.Artisan

12、s autonomy was imperiled, too, by restrictions on their access to markets. During the sixteenth century, a situation like this often resulted from the concentration of export trade in a few great storage and distribution centers. The disappearance of regional markets where weavers in Flanders (what

13、is now northern Belgium) had previously bought flax and sold linen left them at the mercy of big-city middlemen, who quickly turned them into domestic workers. In a similar fashion, formerly independent producers in southern Wiltshire in England, who had bought yarn from spinners or local brokers an

14、d sold their cloth to merchants in nearby Salisbury, became subject to London merchants who monopolized both wool supplies and woolens exports.With good reason, finally, urban artisans feared the growth of industries in the countryside. For one thing, they worried that the spread of village crafts w

15、ould reduce their supply of raw materials, driving up prices. City producers also knew that rural locations enjoyed lower living costs, wages, and taxes, and often employed fewer or simplified processes. These advantages became a major preoccupation as competition intensified in the 1570s and 1580sP

16、aragraph 1For centuries European artisans had operated in small, autonomous handcraft businesses, but by the sixteenth century an evolving economic systemmoving toward modern capitalism, with its free-market pricing, new organization of production, investments, and so onhad started to erode their st

17、able and relatively prosperous position. What forces contributed to the decline of the artisan?1. 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 informatio

18、n. C (句子主干) In the sixteenth century, the European economy moved toward a system of free-market pricing, new ways of production, and investments. Before the sixteenth century, European makers of handcrafts enjoyed stability, autonomy, and relative prosperity. By the sixteenth century, the rise of ca

19、pitalism began to weaken the autonomy and relative prosperity of European artisans. European artisans operated small, autonomous businesses before modern capitalism emerged in the sixteenth century.Paragraph 2In a few industries there appeared technological innovations that cost more to install and

20、operate than artisanseven associations of artisanscould afford. For example, in iron production, such specialized equipment as blast furnaces, tilt hammers, wire-drawing machines, and stamping, rolling, and slitting mills became more familiar components of the industry. Thus the need for fixed capit

21、al (equipment and buildings used in production) soared. Besides these items, expensive in their own right, facilities for water, storage, and deliveries were needed. In addition, pig (raw) iron turned out by blast furnaces could not be forged until refined further in a new intermediate stage. In lat

22、e sixteenth-century Antwerp, where a skilled worker earned 125 to 250 guilders a year, a large blast furnace alone cost 3,000 guilders, and other industrial equipment was equally or more expensive.2. The word “Besides” in the passage is closet in meaning to A In addition to More important than Diffe

23、rent from Together with3. According to paragraph 2, how did technological advances contribute to the economic decline of artisans? Artisans had no place to store or use the new machines. Goods produced by the new technology were cheaper than those produced by artisans. The fixed costs of remaining i

24、n business became very high. Artisans did not know how to use the new machines.Paragraph 3Raw materials, not equipment, constituted artisans major expense in most traders, however. Whereas in 1583 an Antwerp silk weaver paid 12 guilders for a loom (and made small payments over many years to pay off

25、the debt for purchasing the loom), every six weeks he or she had to lay out 24 guilders for the 2 pounds of raw silk required to make a piece of cloth. Thus access to cheap and plentiful primary materials was a constant preoccupation for independent producers. Using local materials might allow even

26、the poorest among them to avoid reliance on merchant suppliers. The loss of nearby sources could therefore be devastating. As silk cultivation waned around the Spanish cities of Cordoba and Toledo, weavers in these cities were forced to become employees of merchants who put out raw silk from Valenci

27、a and Murcia provinces. In the Dutch Republic, merchants who imported unprocessed salt from France, Portugal, and Spain gained control of the salt-refining industry once exploitation of local salt marshes was halted for fear that dikes (which held back the sea from the low-lying Dutch land) would be

28、 undermined.4. The word “preoccupation” in the passage is closet in meaning to necessity concern struggle uncertainty5. In paragraph 3, why does the author provide the information about an Antwerp silk weavers costs in 1583? To describe some typical costs in the silk-weaving industry To support the

29、statement that artisans main expense was materials, not equipment To argue against the view that artisans did not have to borrow money to buy equipment To show that materials were cheap and plentiful for most artisans6. What can be inferred from paragraph 3 about local materials? They were of higher

30、 quality than imported materials. They were usually more plentiful than imported materials. They remained available even after merchants began to control the industries. They tended to be more affordable than materials supplied by merchants.7. According to paragraph 3, which of the following was som

31、etimes an effect on artisans of the loss of local sources of their primary materials? They had to sell their products to merchants. They needed to take loans in order to buy the materials from merchants. They could no longer afford to be independent producers. They imported the materials from distan

32、t sources.Paragraph 4Credit was necessary for production but created additional vulnerabilities for artisans. Prices for industrial products lagged behind those of raw materials and foodstuffs, and this, coupled with rising taxes, made it difficult for many producers to repay their creditors. Periodic downturns, when food prices shot up and demand for manufactures fell off, drove them further into debt or even into bankruptcy, from which they might emerge only by agreeing to sell their products exclusively to merchants or fellow artisans