新托福阅读真经.docx

1、新托福阅读真经新托福阅读真经5(总13页)Passage Agricultural Society in Eighteenth-Century British AmericaP1: Throughout the colonial period, most Northerners, especially New Englanders,depended on the land for a livelihood, although a living had literally to be wrested from the earth. Community lands were used for gr

2、azing and logging (people could petition the town for the right to cut wood). Agriculture was the predominant occupation, and what industrial and commercial activity there was revolved almost entirely around materials extracted from the land, the forests, and the ocean.P2: At the end of the eighteen

3、th century, approximately 90 percent of all Americans earned a major portion of their living by farming. Generally, high ratios of land and other natural resources to labor generated exceptionally high levels of output per worker in the colonies. Located between the Potomac and the Hudson rivers, th

4、e Middle Colonies were, on the whole, fertile and readily tillable, and therefore enjoyed a comparative advantage in the production of grains and other foodstuffs. Most production in the New World was for the colonists own consumption, but sizable proportions of colonial goods and services were prod

5、uced for commercial exchange. In time, New England colonists had tapped into a sprawling Atlantic trade network that connected them to the English homeland as well as the West African Slave Coast, the Caribbeans plantation islands, and the Iberian Peninsula.1.Paragraph 1 mentions all of the followin

6、g as economic activities that New Englanders practiced EXCEPT A growing crops B raising animals C trading goods D cutting timber2.Paragraph 1 and Passage 2 support all of the following statements about the economies in colonial period EXCEPT A The northern colonies engaged in international trade. B

7、The middle colonies had agricultural advantages the northern colonies did not. C The northern colonists earned their living by farming D The middle colonies were less prosperous than the northern colonies.3.According to paragraph2, what can be inferred about New Englanders at the end of the eighteen

8、th century A They wanted to connect with their homeland. B They prepared products for international trade. C They could not be self-sufficient on grains. D They produced most of the goods in the New World. 4.The word “sizable” in the passage is closet in meaning to A mixed B enormous C growing D con

9、stantP3: In the North, land was seemingly limitless in extent and therefore not highly priced, and almost every colonist wanted to be a landholder. The widespread ownership of land distinguished farming society in Colonial America from every other agricultural region of the Western world. Equal acce

10、ss to land ownership in this early period made it possible for most men other than indentured servants to purchase or inherit a farm of at least 50 acres. The North was developed as a rigidly hierarchical society in which status was determined by or at least strongly correlated with the extent to wh

11、ich one owned, controlled, or labored on land.5.According to paragraph 3 in what way did farming society in the northern colonies differ from farming societies in the rest of the Western world A The differences between social classes were much greater. B People lived much closer together. C The prop

12、ortion of land owners was much higher. D Many more families had servants.P4: The eighteenth century witnessed a sharp rise in population, which left many faced with the harsh reality of an increasingly limited supply of land; this was especially true in New England, where farms inherited from prior

13、generations could not be divided and subdivided indefinitely. An example of this principle in action was the life of Edward Richards in Dedham, Massachusetts, a proprietor of the town, who had significant civic responsibilities, including road-building, militia duty, and fence-viewing, and who recei

14、ved parcels of land in return for his investment and work. By 1653, he owned over 55 acres and ranked twelfth of 78 property owners in terms of the size of his holdings. Eventually, the Richards family controlled several hundred acres of land, enough for Nathaniel Richards, Edwards son, to give 80-a

15、cre farms to two sons while a third retained the central farm after his death. In this way, the average farm would shrink by two thirds in a century.6.The word “indefinitely” in the passage is closet in meaning toA fairlyB safelyC more than onceD without limit7.Why does author include a discussion o

16、f “Edward Richards in Dedham, Massachusetts”A To give an example of the type of inheritance farm owners generally provided for their sons.B To help explain why the farms started by the founders averaged at least 250 acres.C To indicate that New England farms were always inherited by the oldest sons

17、from their fathers.D To help illustrate how limited the overall land supply was in New England.P5: The decreasing fertility of the soil compounded the problem of dwindling farm size in New England. When land had been plentiful, farmers had planted crops in the same field for three years and then let

18、 it lie fallow in pasture seven years or more until it regained its fertility. On the smaller farms of the eighteenth century, however, farmers reduced fallow time to only a year or two. Such intense use of the soil reduced crop yields, forcing farmers to plow marginal land or shift to livestock pro

19、duction.8.The word “compounded” in the passage is closet in meaning toA added toB resulted fromC led toD occurred before9.According to paragraph5, what causes the crop yields in New England to fail A The shift to livestock production by many farmers. B The decreased amount of time that fields were l

20、eft fallow. C The practice of planting crops in the same field for three years in a row. D The reduced size of the average field.P6: Under these circumstances, those families who were less well-off naturally struggled to make ends meet farming what little land they had. The diminishing size and prod

21、uctivity of family farms forced many New Englanders to move to the frontier or out of the area altogether in the eighteenth century. Vital as the agriculture of New England was to the people of the area, it constituted a relatively insignificant portion of the regions total commercial output for sal

22、e (its destiny lay in another kind of economic endeavor). In addition, the growing season was much shorter in the North, and the cultivation of cereal crops required incessant labor only during spring planting and autumn harvesting; and so, from a very early date, many New Englanders combined farmin

23、g with other intermittent work, such as clock-making, shoe-making, carpentry, and weaving, thereby enabling themselves to live better lives than they would have had they been confined to the resources of their own farms. Homecrafts and skilled trades of all varieties were common features of rural li

24、fe in all the colonies, but especially in New England.10.According to paragraph 6 why did many New Englanders move out of the area in the eighteenth century A They wanted to live in towns rather than on farms. B Their farms no longer provided them with good living. C There was unequal distribution o

25、f males and females in New England. D They were being crowded out by migrants from outside New England.11.The word “endeavor” in the passage is closet in meaning to A effect B improvement C effort D accelerator12.Why does the author include the information about the “intermittent work, such as clock

26、-making, shoe-making, carpentry, and weaving” that northern cultivators engaged inA To suggest that northern cultivators were not as skilled at agricultural work as southern cultivators were.B To indicate an economic effect of the shorter northern growing season on northern cultivators.C To challeng

27、e the claim that work routines in the north were less intense than they were in the south.D To emphasize that northern workers tried to change their agriculturally centered economy.P6: Under these circumstances, those families who were less well-off naturally struggled to make ends meet farming what

28、 little land they had. The diminishing size and productivity of family farms forced many New Englanders to move to the frontier or out of the area altogether in the eighteenth century. Vital as the agriculture of New England was to the people of the area, it constituted a relatively insignificant po

29、rtion of the regions total commercial output for sale. (its destiny lay in another kind of economic endeavor). In addition, the growing season was much shorter in the North, and the cultivation of cereal crops required incessant labor only during spring planting and autumn harvesting; and so, from a

30、 very early date, many New Englanders combined farming with other intermittent work, such as clock-making, shoe-making, carpentry, and weaving, thereby enabling themselves to live better lives than they would have had they been confined to the resources of their own farms. Homecrafts and skilled tra

31、des of all varieties were common features of rural life in all the colonies, but especially in New England.13.Look at the four squares that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. By the end of the eighteenth century, New England was a net importer of food and fiber. Whe

32、re would the sentence best fit Click on a square to add the sentence to the passage.14.Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some answer choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. Drag your choices