While some European countries, such as England and Germany, began to industrialize in the eighteenthcentury, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden developed later. All four of these countries laggedconsiderablybehind in the early nineteenthcentury. However, they industrialized rapidly in the second half of thecentury, especially in the last two or three decades. In view of their later start and theirlackofcoal—undoubtedly the mainreasonthey were not among the early industrializers—it is important to understand the sources of their success.

All had small populations. At the beginning of the nineteenthcentury, Denmark and Norway had fewer than 1 million people, while Sweden and the Netherlands had fewer than 2.5 million inhabitants. All exhibitedmoderategrowth rates in the course of thecentury(Denmark the highest and Sweden the lowest), but all more than doubled in population by 1900. Densityvariedgreatly. The Netherlands had one of the highest population densities in Europe, whereas Norway and Sweden had the lowest Denmark was in between but closer to the Netherlands.

Considering human capital as acharacteristicof the population, however, all four countries were advantaged by the large percentages of their populations who could read and write. In both 1850 and 1914, the Scandinavian countries had the highestliteracyrates in Europe, or in the world, and the Netherlands was well above the Europeanaverage. This fact was ofenormousvalue in helping the national economies find their niches in the evolving currents of the internationaleconomy.

Location was an importantfactorfor all four countries. All hadimmediateaccessto the sea, and this had important implications for asignificantinternationalresource, fish, as well as for cheaptransport,merchantmarines, and the shipbuildingindustry. Each tookadvantageof these opportunities in its own way. The people of the Netherlands, with a long tradition of fisheries andmercantileshipping, had difficulty in developing good harborssuitablefor steamships:eventuallythey did so at Rotterdam and Amsterdam, withexceptionalresults fortransittradewith Germany and central Europe and for the processing ofoverseasfoodstuffs andrawmaterials (sugar, tobacco, chocolate,grain, andeventuallyoil). Denmark also had an admirablecommercialhistory, particularly withrespectto trafficthroughtheSound(thestraitseparating Denmark and Sweden). In 1857, in return for a payment of 63 million kronor from othercommercialnations, Denmark abolished theSoundtoll dues the fees it had collected since 1497 for the use of theSound. This,alongwith otherpolicyshifts toward freetrade, resulted in asignificantincrease in trafficthroughtheSoundand in the port of Copenhagen.

Thepoliticalinstitutions of the four countries posed nosignificantbarriers toindustrializationoreconomicgrowth. The nineteenthcenturypassedrelativelypeacefully for these countries, withprogressivedemocratization taking place in all of them. They were reasonably well governed, withoutnotablecorruption or grandiose state projects, although in all of them thegovernmentgave some aid to railways, and in Sweden the state built the main lines. As small countries dependent on foreign markets, they followed a liberaltradepolicyin the main, though a protectionist movement developed in Sweden. In Denmark and Sweden agricultural reforms took placegraduallyfrom the late eighteenthcenturythroughthe first half of the nineteenth, resulting in a new class of peasant landowners with adefinitemarketorientation.

The keyfactorin the success of these countries (alongwith highliteracy, which contributed to it) was theirabilitytoadaptto the internationaldivisionof labordeterminedby the early industrializers and tostakeout areas ofspecializationin international markets for which they were especially well suited. This meant a great dependence on internationalcommerce, which hadnotoriousfluctuations; but it also meant high returns to those factors of production that were fortunate enough to be well placed in times ofprosperity. In Sweden exports accounted for 18 percent of the national income in 1870, and in 1913, 22 percent of a much larger national income. In the early twentiethcentury, Denmark exported 63 percent of its agricultural production:butter, pork products, and eggs. It exported 80 percent of itsbutter, almost all to Great Britain, where it accounted for 40 percent of Britishbutterimports.

Questions:
question_stem: Paragraph 1 supports which of the following ideas about England and Germany?
choices: tag: A
text: They were completely industrialized by the start of the nineteenth century.

tag: B
text: They possessed plentiful supplies of coal.

tag: C
text: They were overtaken economically by the Netherlands and Scandinavia during the early nineteenth century.

tag: D
text: They succeeded for the same reasons that the Netherlands and Scandinavia did.
answer_key: B
explanation: B 注意这道题没有明显关键词，England 和 Germany 是不能用的，因为跟主题相关，所以用排除法。A 的 start of the 19th century 做关键词定位至第二句，说相对落后，A 和 C 都反了；B 的 coal 做关键词定位至最后一句，原文说没有 coal 因此北欧国家没有很早实现工业化，也就是很早实现工业化的英国和德国有 coal，所以 B 正确；D 与原文第一句相反，不选。

question_stem: Paragraph 2 suggests which of the following about the importance of population density in the industrialization of the Netherlands and Scandinavia?
choices: tag: A
text: It was a more important factor than population size.

tag: B
text: It was more influential than the rate of population growth.

tag: C
text: It was more important in the early stages than it was later.

tag: D
text: It was not a significant factor.
answer_key: D
explanation: population density 做关键词定位至第二段最后两句，说人口密度变化大，丹麦最大瑞典最小，但他们都实现了工业化，所以 density 不重要，所以 D 正确。

question_stem: According to paragraphs 2 and 3, which of the following contributed significantly to the successful economic development of the Netherlands and of Scandinavia?
choices: tag: A
text: The relatively small size of their populations

tag: B
text: The rapid rate at which their populations were growing

tag: C
text: The large amount of capital they had available for investment

tag: D
text: The high proportion of their citizens who were educated
answer_key: D
explanation: D, 以 economic development 做关键词定位至第三段最后一句，说这个事实帮助经济发展，因为有代词，所以看前一句，前句说北欧国家有全欧洲甚至是全世界最高的识字率，所以应该是受教育程度帮助经济发展，所以答案是 D。A 的 size，B 的 rate 和 C 的 investment 原文都没说。

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, because of their location, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries had all of the following advantages when they began to industrialize EXCEPT
choices: tag: A
text: low-cost transportation of goods

tag: B
text: access to fish

tag: C
text: shipbuilding industries

tag: D
text: military control of the sea
answer_key: D
explanation: D EXCEPT 题，排除法。A 的 transportation，B 的 fish 和 C 的 shipbuilding 做关键词都可以定位至第二句的，所以都正确，都不选；只有 D 在原文没有对应点，错，选。

question_stem: The word “exceptional” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: extraordinary

tag: B
text: surprising

tag: C
text: immediate

tag: D
text: predictable
answer_key: A
explanation: A exceptional: 出色的，出众的，例外的。A 是非凡的，特别的；B 是令人惊讶的；C 是立即的；D 是可预测的。所以 A 的 extraordinary 正确。

question_stem: The word “abolished” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: ended

tag: B
text: raised

tag: C
text: returned

tag: D
text: lowered
answer_key: A
explanation: A abolish: 中止，中断。A 是终结；B 是引起，提出；C 是归还，归来；D 是降低。所以 A 的 end 是正确答案。

question_stem: According to paragraph 5, each of the following contributed positively to the industrialization of the Netherlands and Scandinavia EXCEPT
choices: tag: A
text: generally liberal trade policies

tag: B
text: huge projects undertaken by the state

tag: C
text: relatively uncorrupt governments

tag: D
text: relatively little social or political disruption
answer_key: B
explanation: B EXCEPT 题，排除法，A 的 liberal trade policies 做关键词定位至倒数第二句，所以 A 正确，不选；B 的 huge projects 做关键词定位至第三句，原文说没有 state projects，所以 B 说反，选；同一句话说明 C 正确，不选；D 的 little disruption 做关键词定位至第二句的 relatively peacefully，所以 D 正确，不选。

question_stem: The word “progressive” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: rapid

tag: B
text: partial

tag: C
text: increasing

tag: D
text: individual
answer_key: C
explanation: C progressive: 先进的，前进的。A 是快速的；B 是部分的；C 是增加的，进步的；D 是个人的，个别的，个体的。所以 C 的 increasing 正确。

question_stem: The author includes the information that “a protectionist movement developed in Sweden” in order to
choices: tag: A
text: support the claim that the political institutions of the four countries posed no significant barriers to industrialization or economic growth

tag: B
text: identify an exception to the general trend favoring liberal trade policy

tag: C
text: explain why Sweden industrialized less quickly than the other Scandinavian countries and Netherlands

tag: D
text: provide evidence that agricultural reforms take place more quickly in countries that have a liberal trade policy than in those that do not
answer_key: B
explanation: 修辞目的题，先看修辞点所在句子，说作为小国家，北欧国家通常执行比较开放的贸易政策，但瑞典是奉行保护主义的，也就是说作者写的是个例外，所以答案是 B，很多人看到本段的中心句之后选了 A，注意 A 是错的，因为瑞典的保护主义其实是设置了障碍的，所以 A 反了，C 和 D 都没说。

question_stem: 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 information.
choices: tag: A
text: The early industrializes controlled most of the international economy, leaving these countries to stake out new areas of specialization along the margins.

tag: B
text: Aided by their high literacy rates these countries were able to claim key areas of specialization within established international markets.

tag: C
text: High literacy rates enabled these countries to take over international markets and adapt the international division of labor to suit their strengths.

tag: D
text: The international division of labor established by the early industrializers was suited to these countries, a key factor in their success.
answer_key: B
explanation: B 这句话的主要逻辑就是并列，主干说成功的因素是：1）适应国际分工；2）开拓了专业领域。所以 B 正确。A 的 stake out new areas 原文没说，原文说的是 areas of specialization；C 的 take over 原文没说；D 说反了，应该是这些国家适应 labour market，不是 labour market 适应这些国家。

question_stem: According to paragraph 6, a major problem with depending heavily on international markets was that they
choices: tag: A
text: lacked stability

tag: B
text: were not well suited to agricultural products

tag: C
text: were largely controlled by the early industrializers

tag: D
text: led to slower growth of local industries
answer_key: A
explanation: A  以 international market 做关键词定位至第二句，说 international commerce 存在巨大波动，所以正确答案是 A 缺乏稳定性。剩下的三个答案都没说。

question_stem: According to paragraph 6, what advantage could a country gain from being heavily involved in international commerce?
choices: tag: A
text: A steadily rising national income

tag: B
text: Greater control over market fluctuations

tag: C
text: High returns when things went well

tag: D
text: A reduced need for imports
answer_key: C
explanation: C 还是 international market 做关键词定位至第二句，上题问 international commerce 有什么问题，这题问什么好处，第二句的后半句突然一个 but，说明前面说不好后面要说好了，说回报率很高，所以答案是 C，其他都没说。