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1、PassageAgricultural 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 grazing and logging (peo

2、ple 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 eighteenth century, approximat

3、ely 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, the Middle Colonies were

4、, 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 produced for commercial ex

5、change. 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 Caribbean's plantation islands, and the Iberian Peninsula.1. Paragraph 1 mentions all of the following as economic ac

6、tivities that New Englanders practiced EXCEPTA growing cropsB raising animalsC trading goodsD cutting timber精選文庫(kù)2. Paragraph 1 and Passage 2 support all of the following statements about the economies in colonial period EXCEPTA The northern colonies engaged in international trade.B The middle coloni

7、es had agricultural advantagesthe northern colonies didnot.C The northern colonists earned their living by farmingD 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 eighteenth century?A They wa

8、nted 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 toA mixedB enormousC growingD constantP3: In the North, land

9、 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 access to land ownership in thi

10、s 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 which one owned, controlled,

11、or labored on land.-2精選文庫(kù)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 proportion of land owners

12、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 generations could not b

13、e 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 received parcels of land in

14、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, Edward s son, to give 80-acre farms to two sons

15、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 of Edward Richards“

16、in Dedham, Massachusetts”-3精選文庫(kù)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 from their fa

17、thers.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 it lie fallo

18、w in pasture sevenyears 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 production.8. The

19、 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 left fallow.C

20、The practice of planting crops in the same field for three years in a row.D The reduced size of the average field.-4精選文庫(kù)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 productivity

21、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 region s totalcommercial output for sale (its de

22、stiny 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 farming with ot

23、her 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 life in all

24、 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 centuryA 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 of males and

25、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 toA effectB improvementC effortD accelerator-5精選文庫(kù)12.Why does the author include the information about the intermittent work,“ such as clock-making, sh

26、oe-making, carpentry, and weaving” that northern cultivators engaged in?A 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 challenge the clai

27、m 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 little la

28、nd 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 portion of t

29、he region s totalcommercial output for sale. (its destinylay 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

30、 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 trades of all

31、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.-6精選文庫(kù)Where woul

32、d the sentence best fit? Click on a square add the sentenceto 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 cho

33、ices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passageThis. question is worth 2 points.Drag your choices to the spaces where they belong. To review the passage, clickon View Text .In eighteenth century British America agri

34、culture was more productive and profitable in the middle colonies than in New England.Answer ChoicesA By the mid-eighteenth century shipping had become important to the economy of the middle colonies where farmers produced large surpluses of foodstuffs for trade with Europe and elsewhere.B The labor

35、 provided by indentured servants allowed most New England farmers to raise enough food and livestock to earn a living and leave a comfortable inheritance for their children.C Declining farm size forced farmers to greatly reduce the time fields were left fallow, and this more intensive use of relativ

36、ely poor soil resulted in seriously decreased fertility and lowered crop yields.-7精選文庫(kù)D Land ownership was far more important to New Englanders than to people in the middle colonies because it was necessary for political rights and economic independence only in the North.E Land ownership was widespr

37、ead in the North but a shortage of farmland and the practice of dividing family farms among the sons had left the average farm barely big enough to support a family.F The reduced size and productivity of northern farms forced many farmers to move to other regions or to take up other occupations at l

38、east during those periods when little work was required on a farm.-8精選文庫(kù)AnswersPassage 1.C2.D3.B 4.B 5.C 6.D 7.D 8.A 9.B 10.B 11.C12.B13.C14.CEFExplanations1.【否定事實(shí)信息題】第一段提到放牧、砍柴、農(nóng)業(yè)種植，而沒有提到貿(mào)易。2.【否定事實(shí)信息題】第一、二兩段提到新英格蘭人，也就是北方殖民地居民參與到貿(mào)易當(dāng)中；中部殖民地的土壤更肥沃，所以在農(nóng)業(yè)上比北方有優(yōu)勢(shì)；新英格蘭人靠農(nóng)業(yè)生存。3.【推斷題】文中提到在新大陸，生產(chǎn)大多數(shù)是為了滿足自己的日

39、常消耗，但是還有很大一部分的產(chǎn)品被生產(chǎn)出來(lái)是為了商業(yè)貿(mào)易。因?yàn)樾掠⒏裉m人加入了貿(mào)易組織，所以他們應(yīng)該準(zhǔn)備了貿(mào)易的貨物。4.【詞匯題】 sizable 意為“相當(dāng)大的”。5.【事實(shí)信息題】文中提到北方的農(nóng)耕社會(huì)與西方世界不同的地方在于北方有更多人擁有土地。6.【詞匯題】 indefinitely意為“無(wú)限地”。7.【修辭目的題】前文提到越來(lái)越多的人口使得土地供應(yīng)越來(lái)越有限，從先輩那里繼承來(lái)的土地不能一再分割，尤其是在新英格蘭，所以作者提到該地區(qū)的例子是為了說(shuō)明新英格蘭土地非常有限。8.【詞匯題】 compound 意為“加重，惡化”。9.【事實(shí)信息題】文中提到當(dāng)土地很多的時(shí)候，土地的休耕時(shí)間在七

40、年左右或者直到土地重新變得肥沃，而后來(lái)土地減少，休耕時(shí)間只有一兩年，所以土地使用強(qiáng)度過(guò)大導(dǎo)致土地產(chǎn)量下降。10.【事實(shí)信息題】文中提到家庭農(nóng)場(chǎng)的規(guī)模以及生產(chǎn)力的下降迫使新英格蘭人在18 世紀(jì)搬去其他地方，所以他們搬走是因?yàn)榧彝マr(nóng)場(chǎng)再也不能滿足他們的生活需要。11.【詞匯題】 endeavor 意為“努力”。12.【修辭目的題】 前文提到作物的生長(zhǎng)期較短，只有春季種植與秋季收割時(shí)才需要不停-9精選文庫(kù)地勞作， 于是很多北方的種植者會(huì)間斷性地從事一些其他工作，所以作者提到其他階段性的工作是為了說(shuō)明較短的生長(zhǎng)期給北方種植者帶來(lái)的經(jīng)濟(jì)方面的影響。13.【句子插入題】 空前提到農(nóng)業(yè)對(duì)新英格蘭很重要， 但

41、是在商業(yè)出口方面卻沒有太多貢獻(xiàn)，而且在 18 世紀(jì)末，新英格蘭甚至只進(jìn)口產(chǎn)品，所以空后講它必須找到其他的經(jīng)濟(jì)模式。14.【文章總結(jié)題】本文主要介紹了18 世紀(jì)美洲殖民地農(nóng)業(yè)社會(huì)的一些變化及特征。當(dāng)時(shí)土地私有，但是隨著土地被分給下一代，農(nóng)場(chǎng)的土地就少的不足以養(yǎng)活整個(gè)家庭；因?yàn)橥恋刈兩?，休耕的時(shí)間也隨之變短，導(dǎo)致土地貧瘠，產(chǎn)量下降；越來(lái)越多的人被迫離開，北方莊稼生長(zhǎng)期比較短，所以除了春秋季節(jié)人們忙于農(nóng)耕，其余時(shí)間也要從事一些其他職業(yè)。所以涉及到當(dāng)時(shí)農(nóng)業(yè)社會(huì)變化的C、E、F 三個(gè)選項(xiàng)正確，A 、B 、D 三個(gè)選項(xiàng)屬于細(xì)節(jié)偏離主旨，或者與文章內(nèi)容不一致。-10精選文庫(kù)參考譯文18 世紀(jì)英屬美洲殖民地的農(nóng)業(yè)社會(huì)在整個(gè)殖民統(tǒng)治時(shí)期， 即使從土地中謀生存真的很艱難， 但是大多數(shù)北方人尤其是新英格蘭人還是依靠種地生活。 集體土地被用來(lái)放牧、 砍伐木材（人民可以向鎮(zhèn)上申請(qǐng)砍伐樹木的權(quán)利） 。務(wù)農(nóng)是最普遍的職業(yè)， 而且當(dāng)?shù)毓I(yè)以及商業(yè)活動(dòng)所用的材料幾乎都來(lái)自于土地、森林和海洋。18 世紀(jì)末，大約 90% 的美洲人