In the late sixteenthcenturyand into the seventeenth, Europe continued the growth that had lifted it out of therelativelylessprosperousmedievalperiod (from the mid 400s to the late 1400s). Among the key factors behind this growth were increased agriculturalproductivityand anexpansionoftrade.

Populations cannot grow unless theruraleconomycan produce enoughadditionalfood to feed more people. During the sixteenthcentury, farmers brought more land intocultivationat the expense of forests and fens (low-lyingwetlands). Dutch landreclamationin the Netherlands in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries provides the mostspectacularexample of theexpansionof farmland: the Dutch reclaimed more than 36.000 acres from 1590 to 1615 alone.

Much of thepotentialfor Europeaneconomicdevelopmentlayin what at firstglancewouldseemto have been only sleepy villages. Such villages, however, generallylayin regions ofrelativelyadvancedagricultural production, permitting not only thesurvivalof peasants but also theaccumulationof an agriculturalsurplusfor investment. They hadaccesstourbanmerchants, markets, andtraderoutes.

Increased agricultural production in turn facilitatedruralindustry, anintrinsicpart of theexpansionofindustry. Woolens andtextilemanufacturers, inparticular, utilizedruralcottage (in-home) production, which tookadvantageof cheap andplentifulrurallabor. In the German states, the ravages of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) further movedtextileproduction into the countryside. Members of poor peasant families spun or wove cloth and linens at home for scant remuneration in anattempttosupplementmeagerfamily income.

More extended trading networks also helped develop Europe'seconomyin this period. English and Dutch ships carryingryefrom the Baltic states reached Spain and Portugal. Populationgrowth generated anexpansionof small-scale manufacturing, particularly of handicrafts, textiles, and metal production in England, Flanders, parts of northern Italy, the southwestern German states, and parts of Spain. Only ironsmeltingandminingrequired marshaling asignificantamountof capital (wealth invested to create more wealth).

Thedevelopmentof banking and otherfinancialservices contributed to theexpansionoftrade. By the middle of the sixteenthcentury, financiers and traders commonly accepted bills ofexchangein place of gold or silver for other goods. Bills ofexchange, which had their origins inmedievalItaly, were promissory notes (written promises topaya specifiedamountof money by a certaindate) that could be sold to third parties. In this way, they providedcredit. At mid-century, an Antwerp financier onlyslightlyexaggerated when he claimed, “0ne can no moretradewithout bills ofexchangethan sail without water." Merchants no longer had to carry gold and silver over long, dangerous journeys. An Amsterdammerchantpurchasing soap from amerchantin Marseille could go to an exchanger andpaythe exchanger theequivalentsumin guilders, the Dutchcurrency. The exchanger would then send abillofexchangeto acolleaguein Marseille, authorizing thecolleaguetopaythe Marseillemerchantin themerchant's owncurrencyafter the actualexchangeof goods had taken place.

Bills ofexchangecontributed to thedevelopmentof banks, as exchangers began to provide loans. Not until the eighteenthcentury, however, did such banks as the Bank of Amsterdam and the Bank of England begin to provide capital for business investment. Theirprincipalfunctionwas to provide funds for thestate.

The rapidexpansionin internationaltradealso benefitted from an infusion of capital, stemming largely from gold and silver brought by Spanish vessels from the Americas. This capital financed the production of goods,storage,trade, andevencreditacrossEurope andoverseas. Moreover an increasedcreditsupplywas generated by investments and loans by bankers and wealthy merchants to states and by joint-stock partnerships—an Englishinnovation(the firstmajorcompanybegan in 1600). Unlike short-termfinancialcooperationbetween investors for a singlecommercialundertaking, joint-stock companies providedpermanentfundingof capital by drawing on the investments of merchants and other investors who purchased shares in thecompany.

Questions:
question_stem: According to paragraph 1, what was true of Europe during the medieval period?
choices: tag: A
text: Agricultural productivity declined.

tag: B
text: There was relatively little economic growth.

tag: C
text: The general level of prosperity declined.

tag: D
text: Foreign trade began to play an important role in the economy.
answer_key: B
explanation: B 以 medieval period 做关键词定位至第一句，说 medieval period 不那么 prosperous 繁荣，但如果只看这句的话很容易错选答案 C，C 的 decline 叫做减少，也就是说 C 说 medieval 时期 prosperity 下降了，但原文说不 prosperous，是一种低的状态，不是下降的趋势，所以 C 错；而 B 的经济几乎没有增长是 less prosperous 的同义替换，正确；A 与 C 错的原因类似；D 没说。

question_stem: The word "key" in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: historical

tag: B
text: many

tag: C
text: important

tag: D
text: hidden
answer_key: C
explanation: key: 关键的，重要的。A 是历史的；B 是许多；C 是重要的；D 是隐藏的。key 众所周知的意思是钥匙，当然还有关键的意思，所以 C 的 important 正确。对应原文：Among the key factors behind this growth were increased agricultural productivity and an expansion of trade.前文说欧洲经济开始增长，然后说发展的什么因素是 blabla，后面特别指出的原因，肯定是相对比较重要的，所以 important 正确。句子只给出了两个原因，many 不对；historical 历史的和 hidden 完全不靠谱。

question_stem: According to paragraph 2, one effect of the desire to increase food production was that
choices: tag: A
text: land was cultivated in a different way

tag: B
text: more farmers were needed

tag: C
text: the rural economy was weakened

tag: D
text: forests and wetlands were used for farming
answer_key: D
explanation: D, 以 increase food production 做关键词定位至第一句，但问的是影响，所以答案应该是下一句。说人们开垦更多土地，以森林和湿地为代价，所以答案是 D。A 原文没说以不同方式开垦，错；B 的 farmers 没有相关信息；C 的 rural economy 没有信息。

question_stem: According to paragraph 3, what was one reason villages had such great economic potential?
choices: tag: A
text: Villages were located in regions where agricultural production was relatively advanced.

tag: B
text: Villages were relatively small in population and size compared with urban areas.

tag: C
text: Some village inhabitants made investments in industrial development.

tag: D
text: Village inhabitants established markets within their villages.
answer_key: A
explanation: A 以 economic potential 做关键词定位至第一句，但第一句中的 at first glance 和第二句的 however 都说明有用的信息在第二句，说这些村子的 agriculture 是 advanced，所以答案是 A，B/C/D 都没说。

question_stem: Paragraph 4 supports the idea that increased agricultural production was important for the expansion of industry primarily because it
choices: tag: A
text: increased the number of available workers in rural areas

tag: B
text: provided new types of raw materials for use by industry

tag: C
text: resulted in an improvement in the health of the rural cottage workers used by manufacturers

tag: D
text: helped repair some of the ravages of the Thirty Years’ War
answer_key: A
explanation: A 以 expansion of industry 做关键词定位至第一句，但第一句只是陈述了一个事实，有用的信息在第二句，说那些 manufacturers 利用了大量廉价的 rural labor，所以答案是 A，B/C/D 都没说。

question_stem: The word “meager” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: very necessary

tag: B
text: very low

tag: C
text: traditional

tag: D
text: primary
answer_key: B
explanation: meager: 贫乏的，不足的，瘦弱的。A 是必要的；B 是非常少的，贫瘠的；C 是传统的；D 是主要的。所以 B 的 very low 是正确答案。对应原文:Members of poor peasant families spun or wove cloth and linens at home for scant remuneration in an attempt to supplement meager family income.原句说很多穷人纺线或者织布赚补贴，来贴补什么样的家庭收入，肯定是少才需要贴补的，所以是 very low，A 必要和 D 基本都不能用纺线来补贴；原文没有时间概念，所以 B 传统的不对。

question_stem: Why does the author mention that “English and Dutch ships carrying rye from the Baltic states reached Spain and Portugal”?
choices: tag: A
text: To suggest that England and the Netherlands were the two most important trading nations in seventeenth-century Europe

tag: B
text: To suggest how extensive trading relations were

tag: C
text: To contrast the importance of agricultural products with manufactured products

tag: D
text: To argue that shipping introduced a range of new products
answer_key: B
explanation: 功能目的题，整个句子是一个细节，所以看前一句，也就是本段的中心句，说不断扩展的贸易网络有助于当时欧洲经济发展，紧接着就给出了荷兰和英国的船到了西班牙和葡萄牙，用来证明贸易的扩展，所以答案是 B，其他的都不靠谱。

question_stem: By including the quotation in paragraph 6 by the financier from Antwerp, the author is emphasizing that
choices: tag: A
text: sailing was an important aspect of the economy

tag: B
text: increasing the number of water routes made trade possible

tag: C
text: bills of exchange were necessary for successful trading

tag: D
text: financiers often exaggerated the need for bills of exchange
answer_key: C
explanation: 功能目的题，先以 Antewerp 做关键词定位至第五句，原句整个就是一个细节，看前一句，前一句的信息过少，所以再往前看，就找到答案，说汇票是一种可以转卖给第三方的约定票据，答案是 C，汇票的必要性，当然也可以看第一句，说银行及其他金融服务助推贸易的扩展，同样能选出答案。

question_stem: According to paragraph 6, merchants were able to avoid the risk of carrying large amounts of gold and silver by
choices: tag: A
text: using third parties in Marseille to buy goods for them

tag: B
text: doing all their business by using Dutch currency

tag: C
text: paying for their purchases through bills of exchange

tag: D
text: waiting to pay for goods until the goods had been delivered
answer_key: C
explanation: C 以 gold or silver 做关键词定位至第二句，说 financiers 和 traders 接受汇票来替代金银，只有 C 提到了汇票 bills of exchange，所以答案是 C，其他都没说。

question_stem: According to paragraph 7, until the eighteenth century, it was the principal function of which of the following to provide funds for the state?
choices: tag: A
text: Bills of exchange

tag: B
text: Exchangers who took loans

tag: C
text: Banks

tag: D
text: Business investment
answer_key: C
explanation: C 以 funds，state 和 principle function 做关键词定位至最后一句，说他们的最主要作用是给国家提供资金，因为有 their，所以往前看，前句说直到十八世纪银行才给 business investment 提供钱，然后就说之前都是给国家提供钱的，their 指的是银行，所以答案 C 正确。

question_stem: The phrase “an English innovation” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: a new development introduced by the English

tag: B
text: an arrangement found only in England

tag: C
text: a type of agreement negotiated in English

tag: D
text: a type of partnership based on English law
answer_key: A
explanation: A : an English innovation 本意指英国人的发明，即使从本意看，B/C/D 也不靠谱，而且破折号之后解释之前的内容，之前说 joint-stock partnership，合股，之后的括号又对这一现象进行了解释，说明这是一个以前没有的新东西，所以 A 正确。

question_stem: According to paragraph 8, each of the following was a source of funds used to finance economic expansion EXCEPT
choices: tag: A
text: groups of investors engaged in short-term financial cooperation

tag: B
text: the state

tag: C
text: wealthy merchants

tag: D
text: joint-stock companies
answer_key: B
explanation: B，EXCEPT 题，排除法。A 的 short-term financial cooperation 对应最后一句，正确，不选；B 好像对应第三句，但原文说银行家和富商贷款给 state，state 的钱是从别人那借的，没法促进发展，所以 B 错，选；C 和 D 都对应原文第三句，正确，不选。