In Britain one of the mostdramaticchanges of theIndustrialRevolutionwas the harnessing of power. Until the reign of George Ⅲ(1760-1820),availablesources of power for work and travel had not increased since the Middle Ages. There were three sources of power: animal or human muscles; the wind, operating on sail or windmill; and running water. Only the last of these was suited at all to thecontinuousoperating of machines, and although waterpower abounded in Lancashire and Scotland and rangrainmills as well astextilemills, it had one great disadvantage: streams flowed where nature intended them to, and water-driven factories had to be located on their banks whether or not the location wasdesirablefor other reasons. Furthermore,eventhe mostreliablewaterpowervariedwith the seasons and disappeared in adrought. The new age ofmachinery, in short, could not have been born without a newsourceof both movable andconstantpower.

Thesourcehad long been known but not exploited. Early in the eighteenthcentury, apumphad come into use in which expanding steam raised a piston in acylinder, andatmosphericpressurebrought it down again when the steam condensed inside thecylinderto form avacuum. This “atmosphericengine,” invented by Thomas Savery and vastly improved by his partner, Thomas Newcomen, embodiedrevolutionaryprinciples, but it was so slow and wasteful offuelthat it could not be employed outside thecoalmines for which it had been designed. In the 1760s, James Watt perfected aseparatecondenser for the steam, so that thecylinderdid not have to be cooled at everystroke; then he devised a way to make the piston turn a wheel and thusconvertreciprocating (back and forth)motioninto rotarymotion. Hetherebytransformed an inefficientpumpof limited use into a steamengineof a thousand uses. The final step came when steam was introduced into thecylindertodrivethe piston backward as well asforward,therebyincreasing the speed of theengineand cutting itsfuelconsumption.

Watt's steamenginesoon showed what it could do.

It liberatedindustryfrom dependence on running water. Theengineeliminated water in the mines by drivingefficientpumps, which made possible deeper and deepermining. The readyavailabilityofcoalinspired William Murdoch during the 1790s to develop the first new form of nighttime illumination to be discovered in amillenniumand a half. Coalgas rivaled smoky oil lamps and flickering candles, and early in the newcentury, well-to-do Londoners grewaccustomedto gaslit houses andevenstreets. Iron manufacturers,

which had starved forfuelwhile depending oncharcoal, also benefited from ever-increasing supplies of coal:blastfurnaces with steam-poweredbellowsturned out more iron andsteelfor the newmachinery. Steam became themotiveforce of theIndustrialRevolutionascoaland ironorewere therawmaterials.

By 1800 more than a thousand steam engines were in use in the British Isles, and Britain retained a virtualmonopolyon steamengineproduction until the 1830s. Steam power did not merelyspincotton androlliron; early in the newcentury, it also multiplied ten times over theamountof paper that a single worker could produce in a day. At the same time, operators of the first printing presses run by steam rather than by hand found it possible to produce a thousand pages in an hour rather than thirty. Steam also promised toeliminateatransportationproblem not fully solved by eithercanalboats or turnpikes. Boats could carry heavy weights, but canals could not cross hillyterrain; turnpikes could cross the hills, but the roadbeds could not stand up under great weights. These problems needed still anothersolution, and the ingredients for itlayclose at hand. In someindustrialregions, heavily laden wagons, with flanged wheels, were being hauled by horsesalongmetal rails; and thestationarysteamenginewas puffing in the factory andmine. Anothergenerationpassed before inventors succeeded in combining these ingredients, by putting theengineon wheels and the wheels on the rails, so as to provide a machine to take the place of the horse. Thus therailroadage sprang from what had already happened in the eighteenthcentury.

Questions:
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: Running water was the best power source for factories since it could keep machines operating continuously, but since it was abundant only in Lancashire and Scotland, most mills and factories that were located elsewhere could not be water driven.

tag: B
text: The disadvantage of using waterpower is that streams do not necessarily flow in places that are the most suitable for factories, which explains why so many water-powered grain and textile mills were located in undesirable places.

tag: C
text: Since machines could be operated continuously only where running water was abundant, grain and textile mills, as well as other factories, tended to be located only in Lancashire and Scotland.

tag: D
text: Running water was the only source of power that was suitable for the continuous operation of machines, but to make use of it, factories had to be located where the water was, regardless of whether such locations made sense otherwise.
answer_key: D
explanation: D 原句很长，首先分析清楚最应该断句的地方，是第一个逗号，前半句是只有最后一个，也就是前面说的流水能够满足要求；后半句的结构是尽管怎样，有一个很大的缺点，缺点是 blabla；原文说 L 和 S 两个地方水能充足，但没说只有这两个地方充足，A 和 C 错；B 缺失了原文的前半句，属于遗漏重要信息，错。

question_stem: Which of the following best describes the relation of paragraph 2 to paragraph 1?
choices: tag: A
text: Paragraph 2 shows how the problem discussed in paragraph 1 arose.

tag: B
text: Paragraph 2 explains how the problem presented in paragraph 1 came to be solved.

tag: C
text: Paragraph 2 provides a more technical discussion of the problem introduced in paragraph 1.

tag: D
text: Paragraph 2 shows why the problem discussed in paragraph 1 was especially important to solve.
answer_key: B
explanation: B 问第二段与第一段的关系，第一段说了水能的缺点，这是上一题读到的，提出了一个问题；第二段一开始就说这个能源早就发现了，也就是蒸汽。两段就说一个提出问题，一个提出解决方案，所以 B 对。

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

tag: B
text: recognized

tag: C
text: examined

tag: D
text: fully understood
answer_key: A
explanation: exploit: 开采，开发，利用，剥削。所以 A 的 utilize 正确。B 是认知；C 是检查；D 是充分理解。对应原文:The source had long been known but not exploited.原文说已经知道了，但是没怎么样，所以 B 的 recognize 明显和 known 矛盾,排除；而且整段都在说怎么用，也描述了蒸汽使用的推进过程，一开始没什么效率，后来改良了，所以 A 的选项代入后符合这个语境；而 fully understood 和 examine 的信息都没有，所以都不选。

question_stem: The word “vastly” in the passage is closet in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: quickly

tag: B
text: ultimately

tag: C
text: greatly

tag: D
text: initially
answer_key: C
explanation: vastly: 极大地。A 是快速地；B 是最后；C 是极大地；D 是开始。所以 C 的 greatly 正确。对应原文:This “atmospheric engine,” invented by Thomas Savery and vastly improved by his partner, Thomas Newcomen, embodied revolutionary principles, but it was so slow and wasteful of fuel that it could not be employed outside the coal mines for which it had been designed.原文说了呈现了“革命性的“（revolutionary）原理，那么就可以推断出改良是比较大的，答案就是 C。ABD 都不能和 revolutionary 呼应。

question_stem: According to paragraph 2, the “atmospheric engine” was slow because
choices: tag: A
text: it had been designed to be used in coal mines

tag: B
text: the cylinder had to cool between each stroke

tag: C
text: it made use of expanding steam to raise the piston in its cylinder

tag: D
text: it could be operated only when a large supply of fuel was available
answer_key: B
explanation: 以画出来的 atmospheric engine 和 slow 做关键词，读所在句第三句。但这句话中，slow 的地方没给出原因，往下看：In the 1760s, James Watt perfected a separate condenser for the steam, so that the cylinder did not have to be cooled at every stroke; then he devised a way to make the piston turn a wheel and thus convert reciprocating (back and forth) motion into rotary motion.说1760年瓦特完善了这个蒸汽机，使得每个 stroke 之间不再需要冷却了，也就是说以前的蒸汽机是要冷却的，所以慢，正确答案 B。

question_stem: According to paragraph 2, Watt's steam engine differed from earlier steam engines in each of the following ways EXCEPT:
choices: tag: A
text: It used steam to move a piston in a cylinder.

tag: B
text: It worked with greater speed.

tag: C
text: It was more efficient in its use of fuel.

tag: D
text: It could be used in many different ways.
answer_key: A
explanation: A 选项的 piston 对应到第二句和最后一句：Early in the eighteenth century, a pump had come into use in which expanding steam raised a piston in a cylinder, and atmospheric pressure brought it down again when the steam condensed inside the cylinder to form a vacuum. 从第二句话知道以前就用 steam 去 move piston，而最后一句说后来也是，所以这个并没有改变。所以 A 错，选。B 第 speed 定位到最后一句，对应 increasing the speed，所以 B 正确，不选：The final step came when steam was introduced into the cylinder to drive the piston backward as well as forward, thereby increasing the speed of the engine and cutting its fuel consumption.C 的 efficient 和 D 的 many different ways 都可以从倒数第二句中找到：He thereby transformed an inefficient pump of limited use into a steam engine of a thousand uses.
CD 正确，不选。

question_stem: In paragraph 3, the author mentions William Murdoch’s invention of a new form of nighttime illumination in order to
choices: tag: A
text: indicate one of the important developments made possible by the introduction of Watt's steam engine

tag: B
text: make the point that Watt's steam engine was not the only invention of importance to the Industrial Revolution

tag: C
text: illustrate how important coal was as a raw material for the Industrial Revolution

tag: D
text: provide an example of another eighteenth-century invention that used steam as a power source
answer_key: A
explanation: 功能目的题，整个 William Murdoch 所在的那句都是一个例子，往前看，之前一句话说这个 engine 能够排水，使得深层开矿成为可能，但还是在说一个机器的作用，不是中心，所以看到中心句，说瓦特的蒸汽机能做很多事情，William Murdoch 的这个东西是一个根据瓦特的东西弄出来的，所以答案 A。

question_stem: The phrase “grew accustomed to” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: began to prefer

tag: B
text: wanted to have

tag: C
text: became used to

tag: D
text: insisted on
answer_key: C
explanation: get accustomed to: 习惯于，所以 C 的 became used to 正确。A 是开始倾向于；B 是想要拥有；D 是坚持。对应原文：Coal gas rivaled smoky oil lamps and flickering candles, and early in the new century, well-to-do Londoners grew accustomed to gaslit houses and even streets. 原文说煤气胜过了油灯和蜡烛，伦敦人怎么样了由煤气照明的屋子和街道；A 的 prefer 表示比较，前文已经胜过了就没必要再比较了；B 说想要有，同理前文已经说有了，所以 B 错；insist on 是坚持，原文没说要改，所以跟坚持无关。

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

tag: B
text: established

tag: C
text: profited from

tag: D
text: maintained
answer_key: D
explanation: retain: 保留，保持。A 是获得；B 是建立；C 是从…中获益；D 是保持，坚持。所以 D 的 maintain 正确。对应原文：By 1800 more than a thousand steam engines were in use in the British Isles, and Britain retained a virtual monopoly on steam engine production until the 1830s.原文说已经有一千部蒸汽机在英伦三岛，而且英国怎么样了垄断；选项当中的 gain 和 establish 都有从无到有的意思，而原文从一开始就说英国工业革命成功的原因是利用能源，所以不是从无到有，profit from 从中获利原文没说，错。

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, which of the following statements about steam engines is true?
choices: tag: A
text: They were used for the production of paper but not for printing.

tag: B
text: By 1800, significant numbers of them were produced outside of Britain.

tag: C
text: They were used in factories before they were used to power trains.

tag: D
text: They were used in the construction of canals and turnpikes.
answer_key: C
explanation: 问题当中无明显关键词，排除法。第二句的分号之后和第三句说明 A 不对，造纸和印刷都用了蒸汽机：At the same time, operators of the first printing presses run by steam rather than by hand found it possible to produce a thousand pages in an hour rather than thirty. B 的1800做关键词定位至第一句，说直到1830年英国才失去蒸汽机的垄断地位，所以 B 反了：By 1800 more than a thousand steam engines were in use in the British Isles, and Britain retained a virtual monopoly on steam engine production until the 1830s.C 对应到倒数第二句，说 another generation passed before 蒸汽机用在铁路上，所以 C 正确：By 1800 more than a thousand steam engines were in use in the British Isles, and Britain retained a virtual monopoly on steam engine production until the 1830s.原文第四句提到 canal 和 turnpike 的时候，没说蒸汽机用来建设它们：Steam also promised to eliminate a transportation problem not fully solved by either canal boats or turnpikes.

question_stem: According to paragraph 4, providing a machine to take the place of the horse involved combining which two previously separate ingredients?
choices: tag: A
text: Turnpikes and canals

tag: B
text: Stationary steam engines and wagons with flanged wheels

tag: C
text: Metal rails in roadbeds and wagons capable of carrying heavy loads

tag: D
text: Canal boats and heavily laden wagons
answer_key: B
explanation: 以 ingredients 做关键词定位至倒数第二句，有 combining these ingredients：Another generation passed before inventors succeeded in combining these ingredients, by putting the engine on wheels and the wheels on the rails, so as to provide a machine to take the place of the horse.这句话 by 后面就提到了两个事物就是 wheel 和 engine。如果还不确定的话，可以往前看一句，these 说明答案在前句。前句分别说到蒸汽机和马车，所以答案是 B。