各位宝宝们,今日的练习要求如下:
苏州山塘街攻略
1.20分钟做完一篇整真题(如果20分钟做不完的话,需要至少在当天之内完成)
2 .查单词并背诵!如果在阅读的过程中有单词不认识,则需要查出来,并且记下来这些单词(可以在第二天背诵这些单词,作为复习)
Europe in the High Middle Ages
For 500 years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 A.D., a period known as the early Middle Ages, Europe endured an age of political instability, economic decline, and reduced population. But as the millennium approached, the situation began to improve. Toward the end of the tenth century, an increa in the amount of crop-producing land was accompanied by an increa in population, with the potential for that number to ri even higher. The increa in agricultural production came about as a result of a combination of factors, the most prominent of which were changing methods of field management and improvements in agricultural technology.
For much of the early Middle Ages, peasants continued the Roman practice of dividing their fields in two leaving one fallow, or uncultivated, for a year, and planting their crops in the other half. Fallow land
restored its nutrients, but the practice meant that half the land produced nothing every year. In southern Europe with its drier climate this system of two-field crop rotation continued, but in northern Europe, peasants improved on this system by dividing their land into three parts. One they left fallow, another they planted in the spring, and the third they planted with winter crops. This three-field crop rotation, dependent on more rainfall than southern Europe received, meant that two-thirds instead of one-half of a peasant's land was under production in one year.
Related to the changes in crop rotation were improvements in plows and animal harnessing. More land under cultivation spurred experimentation in the construction of plows. Peasants attached wheels to their plows, which made it easier for oxen to pull them through the heavier, wetter soil of northern Europe, and made it possible for a plow to move more quickly down a row provided it had a speedy animal pulling it.
Oxen are slow and unintelligent compared to hors, but peasants could not u hors to pull plows until they devid a different kind of harnessing than the strap that circled an ox's neck. With a harness resting on its shoulders instead of its neck, a hor could be ud to plow, and hors could walk more quickly and work longer hours than oxen. They also required less guidance, since they understood verbal signals to turn or to stop. Heavier, wheeled plows pulled by suitably harnesd ho
rs meant that peasants could work more land in a day than ever before. Whether an increa in population across western Europe, but particularly in the north, stimulated innovations or whether such innovations contributed to a ri in population, the cumulative effect of the changes in agriculture was apparent in the tenth century. Conditions in Europe were ripe for an economic and cultural upswing.
Even before trade with the eastern Mediterranean incread starting in the twelfth century, trade and towns were on the ri. Travel was still dangerous, but merchants were willing to risk transporting goods over long distances. By the late thirteenth century, a few merchants from Italy had even reached China. Greater surplus in crops meant people had more to ll at market. More people and goods led to regularly held markets in the most populated location in a region. It would be impossible to say whether trade gave ri to towns or vice versa. What is clear is that each fostered the other in conditions of greater social stability.
Travel on trade routes incread, and some towns sprang up to provide rest and refreshment to traders. The distance between towns often corresponded
to the distance that traders could cover in a day. Merchants kept their eyes open for customers with
money to spend. The residences of kings, nobles, and powerful officials became sites of markets for local and long-distance traders. In Champagne, in northeastern France, six large annual markets attracted merchants from all over Europe in the twelfth century. Their
different currencies prompted the first development of banking techniques.
With the u of coins now the norm, money changers daily posted changing exchange rates so that merchants would know the worth of their coins in relation to the worth of other merchants' coins. By 1300, trade had
transformed life for the better throughout western Europe.
♦For much of the early Middle Ages, peasants continued the Roman practice of dividing their fields in two leaving one fallow, or uncultivated, for a year, and planting their crops in the other half. Fallow land restored its nutrients, but the practice meant that half the land produced nothing every year. In southern Europe with its drier climate this system of two-field crop rotation continued, but in northern Europe, peasants improved on this system by dividing their land into three parts. One they left fallow, another they planted in the spring, and the third they planted with winter crops. This three-field crop rotation, dependent on more rainfall than southern Europe received, meant that two-thirds instead of
one-half of a peasant's land was under production in one year.
1 Paragraph
2 suggests that the land-management practices developed in
the north could not have been adopted in southern Europe becau
∙ A.
品牌化妆品the southern climate was too dry
∙ B.
southern farmers were too strongly tied to traditional Roman farming practices
∙ C.
the new practice would have required much additional farmland, which was lacking in the south
∙ D.
题张司业诗
southern farmers had already developed a new crop-rotation system
♦Related to the changes in crop rotation were improvements in plows and animal harnessing. More land under cultivation spurred experimentation in the construction of plows. Peasants attached wheels to their plows, which made it easier for oxen to pull them through the heavier, wetter soil of northern Europe, and made it possible for a plow to move more quickly down a row provided it had a speedy animal pulling it.
2 Which of the ntences below best express the esntial information in
the highlighted ntence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the
meaning in important ways or leave out esntial information.
∙ A.
立面图cad
Peasants had to attach wheels to their plows to make it possible for their oxen to plow the heavy, wet soil of northern Europe.
∙ B.
With speedy oxen pulling the plow, peasants were able to plow the heavy soil of northern Europe.
∙ C.
爱的礼物Adding wheels to a plow made plowing the heavy soil of northern Europe much easier and potentially faster.
∙ D.
Attaching wheels to a plow made it necessary to u speedier animals.
♦Oxen are slow and unintelligent compared to hors, but peasants could not u hors to pull plows until they devid a different kind of harnessing than the strap that circled an ox's neck. With a harness resting on its
shoulders instead of its neck, a hor could be ud to plow, and hors could walk more quickly and work longer hours than oxen. They also required less guidance, since they understood verbal signals to turn or to stop. Heavier, wheeled plows pulled by suitably harnesd hors meant that peasants
could work more land in a day than ever before. Whether an increa in population across western Europe, but particularly in the north, stimulated innovations or whether such innovations contributed to a ri in population, the cumulative effect of the changes in agriculture was apparent in the tenth century. Conditions in Europe were ripe for an economic and cultural upswing.
3 According to paragraph 4, what initially kept farmers from using hors to
pull their plows期待落空
∙ A.
Hors moved too quickly for traditional farmwork.
∙ B.
Farmers did not have access to many hors.
∙ C.女生做什么工作好
Hors were thought to be too weak to pull plows.
∙ D.
The traditional harness was unsuitable for hors
♦Oxen are slow and unintelligent compared to hors, but peasants could not u hors to pull plows until they devid a different kind of harnessing than the strap that circled an ox's neck. With a harness resting on its
shoulders instead of its neck, a hor could be ud to plow, and hors could walk more quickly and work longer hours than oxen. They also required less guidance, since they understood verbal signals to turn or to stop. Heavier, wheeled plows pulled by suitably harnesd hors meant that peasants could work more land in a day than ever before. Whether an increa in population across western Europe, but particularly in the north, stimulated innovations or whether such innovations contributed to a ri in population, the cumulative effect of the changes in agriculture was apparent in the tenth century. Conditions in Europe were ripe for an economic and cultural upswing.
4 According to paragraph 4, farmers found hors to be better than oxen for
pulling plows for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
∙ A.
Hors are smarter than oxen.
∙ B.
Hors can pull plows faster.
∙ C.
Hors are able to plow for longer periods of time.
奥会∙ D.
Hors do not need verbal signals to turn and stop.
♦Oxen are slow and unintelligent compared to hors, but peasants could not u hors to pull plows until they devid a different kind of harnessing than the strap that circled an ox's neck. With a harness resting on its
shoulders instead of its neck, a hor could be ud to plow, and hors could walk more quickly an
d work longer hours than oxen. They also required less guidance, since they understood verbal signals to turn or to stop. Heavier, wheeled plows pulled by suitably harnesd hors meant that peasants could work more land in a day than ever before. Whether an increa in population across western Europe, but particularly in the north, stimulated innovations or whether such innovations contributed to a ri in population, the cumulative effect of the changes in agriculture was apparent in the tenth century. Conditions in Europe were ripe for an economic and cultural upswing.
5 The word “cumulative” in the passage is clost in meaning to
∙ A.
eventual
∙ B.
positive
∙ C.
combined