Siam, 1851 – 1910
In thelatenineteenth century, political and socialchanges wereoccurringrapidly in Siam (nowThailand).Theold rulingfamilies werebeingdisplaced byanevolving centralizedgovernment.The families werepensioned off(givenasum ofmoneyto liveon)orsimplyhad their revenues takenawayor restricted; theirsons were enticed awayto schools fordistrict officers, laterto beposted in some farawayprovince; and theold patron-client relations that had bound togetherlocal societies simply disintegrated.Localrulers could no longerprotecttheir relatives andattendants in legal cas,and with theendingin 1905 ofthepracticeof forcingpeasant farmers to work part-time forlocal rulers, the rulers no longerhad aregularba forrelations with rural populations.Theold local ruling families, then, wereveredfrom their traditional social context.
Thesamesituation viewed from theperspectiveofthe rural population is even morecomplex.Accordingto thegovernment’s first census ofthe rural population, taken in 1905, therewereabout thirtythousand villages in Siam.This was probablyalargeincreaoverthe figure even twoorthreedecades earlier,duringthe
late1800s.It is difficult to imagineit now, but Siam’s Central Plain in thelate1800s was nowherenear as d
enlyttledas it is today. Therewerestill forests cloly surrounding Bangkok into thelast halfofthenineteenth century, andevenat century’s
end therewerewild elephants and tigers roaming the countrysideonlytwentyorthirty miles away.
姚文俊Much population movement involved theopeningup ofnew landsfor rice cultivation.Two thingsmadethis possible and encouraged it to happen. First, the openingofthekingdom to the full forceofinternational tradebytheBowringTreaty (1855) rapidlyencouraged economicspecialization in thegrowingof rice,mainlyto feed therice-deficient portions ofAsia(India andChinain particular).Theaverage annual volumeof rice exported from Siam grewfrom under60 million kilograms per yearin thelate1850s tomorethan 660 million kilograms peryearat theturn ofthe century; and overthesameperiod the averagepriceperkilogram doubled.Duringthe sameperiod, theareaplanted in riceincreadfrom about 230,000 acres tomore than350,000 acres.Thisgrowth was achieveas the result ofthe collectivedecisions of thousands ofpeasants families to expand the amount ofland theycultivated, clearand plant new land, or adoptmoreintensivemethods ofagriculture.
Theywere abletodo so becauofourcond consideration. They wererelativelyfreerthantheyhad been halfacenturyearlier. Overthecourof the Fifth Reign (1868 – 1910), theties that bound rural pe
opleto thearistocracyand local ruling elites weregreatlyreduced. Peasants now paid ataxon individuals instead ofbeingrequiredto renderlaborrvicetothegovernment. Underthe conditions, it madegoodnto thousands ofpeasant families to in effectwork
full-time at what theyhad been ableto do onlypart-timepreviouslybecauofthe requirement to workforthegovernment:growrice forthemarketplace.
Numerous changesaccompanied thedevelopments.The rural population both disperd andgrew, and was probablyless homogeneous and moremobilethan it had beenageneration earlier.Thevillages becamemorevulnerableto arbitrary treatment by government bureaucrats as local elites now had less control overthem. Bytheearlytwentieth century, asgovernment modernization in an caught up with what had been happeningin thecountrysidesincethe1870s, thegovernment bureaucracyintruded more and moreinto villagelife. Provincial policebegan to appear,alongwith district officersand cattle registration and land deeds and registration forcompulsorymilitaryrvice.Villagehandicrafts diminished ordied out completelyas peoplebought imported consumergoods, like cloth and tools, instead ofmakingthem themlves. Moreeconomicvariation took shapein rural villages, as somegrew prosperous from farmingwhileothers did not.As well as can bemeasured, rural standards oflivingimproved inthe Fifth
Reign. But thestatistical
averages mean littlewhen measuredagainst theharsh realities ofpeasant life.
1. Theword “vere d”in t hepassageis clost in meaningto
A)cut off B)
viewed C)
protected D)
rescued
2. Accordingto paragraph1, thesituation forSiam’s old rulingfamilies changed in all
ofthe following waysEXCEPT:
A)Theirincomes werereduced.
B) Theirsons wereposted as district officers in distant provinces.
C)Theycould ll lands that had traditionallybelonged to them.
D)Theyhad less control overthe rural populations.
3. Accordingto paragraph2, which ofthe following was trueofSiam in 1905?
A)Its urban population began to migrateout ofthe cities and into the country. B)
Its Central Plain was almost as denlypopulatedas it is today.
C)It was so rural that wild elephants and tigers sometimes roamed Bangkok.
D)It had manymorevillages than it did in thelate1800s.
4. Thephra“rice-deficient por tions”in thepassageis clost in meaningto
A)theparts that consume rice
B) theparts that do not haveenoughrice
C)theparts where riceis grown
D)theparts that depend primarilyon rice
5. Paragraph 3 mentions all ofthe following as signsof economicgrowth in Siam
EXCEPT
A)an increain thepriceof rice
B) an increain the amountof riceleavingSiam
C)an increain thenutritional qualityofthericegrown
D)an increain the amountofland ud forriceproduction
6. Accordingto paragraph3, farmingfamilies incread the amount of ricethey
grew in part by
A)growingvarieties ofricethat producedgreateryields
B) forming collectivefarmsbyjoiningtogetherwithother farmfamilies
小学上课时间表C)plantingricein areas thathad previouslyremainedunplanted
D)hiringlaborers to help them tend their fields
7. Accordingto paragraph4, what happened afterthegovernment ended thepractice of
requiringrural peopleto perform laborforit?
A)Rural peoplebecamemore clolyconnected to the aristocracy. B)
Rural peoplespent moretimegrowingrice forprofit.
C)Thegovernment began to paythelaborers whogrew riceforit.
D)Thegovernment introduced aspecial taxon rice.
8. Which ofthe followingbest describes therelationship between paragraphs3 and 4 in
晋国
thepassage?
A)Paragraph 4 provides further evidenceofthe economicgrowth ofSiam
discusd in paragraph 3.
B) Paragraph 4continues thediscussion begun in paragraph 3 offarming
improvements that led to economicgrowth.
C)Paragraph4examines aparticulareffect oftheBowringTreatymentioned in
paragraph 3.低碳生活的方式
历史揭秘D)Paragraph 4 discuss thecond oftwofactors that contributed to the
expansion of rice farmingmentioned in paragraph 3.
9. Theword “disperd”in thep assageis clost inmeaningto
A)spread out
B) gained power
C)adapted
D)specialized
10. Theword “compulsory”in thep assageis clost in meaningto
A)foreign B)
formal
C)required
瞠目结舌读音D)preferred
11. Accordingto paragraph5, which ofthe following was trueofSiam’s rural people
duringtheFifth Reign?
A)Theywere forced to spend most oftheprofits from ricegrowingon
registrations required bythegovernment.
B) Theirlives remained verydifficult even though statistics suggest that their
自然风景画
qualityoflifeimproved.
C)Thenon-farmersamongthem werehelped bythegovernment morethan the
farmersamongthem were.
D)Theyweremoreprosperous when theywere ruled bylocal elites than when
theywereruled bythemoremoderngovernmentofthe Fifth Reign.
12. Accordingto paragraph5, thegovernment bureaucracyintruded in villagelifeby
A)requiringthepeopleto registertheircattle and land
B) requiringthepeopleto buycertain kinds ofimported goods
C)discouragingthepeoplefrom makinghandicrafts and tools
D)encouragingmorepeopleto takeup farming
13. Look at thefoursquares[ ]that indicatewherethe followingntence could be
正本清源什么意思
added to thepassage.
Andyet, howis it thatthepeasants wereable to choo to expandtheir
economicactivity inrespon to themarketopportunities?
Wheredoes thentencebest fit?
14. ProSummary
During thelatenineteenthcentury, changes in Siam’s powerstructure had importanteconomicconquences.
AnswerChoices:
A)Population movement occurredand rice cultivation intensified becauSiam
becamemoreactivelyinvolved in international trade.
B) Changes in taxation and the endingoftherequirement that peoplework
part-time fortherulers allowed farmers to producemore rice forthe
marketplace.
C)Population increas occurred in part becauSiam’s farmers wereableto
producemore ricetofeed thepopulation.
D)Land becameso valuablethat villagers had to paythegovernment fortheland that
theyworked on.
E) Although rural livingstandards mayhaveimproved somewhat, prosperity
varied from villageto village andgovernment bureaucracyplayed agreater
rolein villagelife.
F) Government modernization in the earlytwentiethcenturyresulted in theloss
ofsome freedoms that the rural population hadgained from thetraditional
rulingclass.
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