The city of Venice, on Italy’scoastline, achievedcommercialdominance of southern Europe during the Middle Ages largely because of itsextensivetradein thevaluablecommodityof salt. At first, Venice produced its own salt at its Chioggia saltworks. For a time itsprincipalcompetitor in theregionwas the town of Cervia, with Venice having theadvantagebecause Chioggia was moreproductive. But Chioggia produced afine-grainedsalt, so when Venetianswantedcoarser salt, they had toimportit. Then, in the thirteenthcentury, after aseriesof floods and storms destroyed about a third of the salt-producing ponds in Chioggia, the Venetians were forced toimportevenmore salt.

That was when the Venetians made an important discovery. More money could be made buying and selling salt than producing it. Beginning in 1281, thegovernmentpaid merchants asubsidyon salt landed in Venice from other areas. As a result of thisassistance, shipping salt to Venice became soprofitablethat the salt merchants couldaffordto ship other goods at prices that undersold their competitors. Growing fat on the saltsubsidy, Venice merchants couldaffordto send ships to the easternMediterranean, where they picked upvaluablecargoes of Indian spices and sold them in western Europe at low prices that their non-Venetian competitors could notaffordtooffer. That meant that Venetians were paying extremely high prices for salt, but they did notmindexpensive salt if they coulddominatethespicetradeand be leaders in thegraintrade. Whengrainharvests failed in Italy, Venice would use its salt income tosubsidizegrainimports from other parts of theMediterraneanandtherebycorner the Italiangrainmarket.

Unlike the Chinese saltmonopoly, the Venetiangovernmentnever owned salt butsimplytook a profit from regulating itstrade. Enriched by its share of sales on high- priced salt, the saltadministrationcouldofferloans tofinanceothertrade. Between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, a period when Venice was aleadingport for grains and spices, 30 to 50 percent of the tonnage of imports to Venice was in salt. All salt had to gothroughgovernmentagencies. The saltadministrationissued licenses that told merchants not only how much salt they couldexportbut also to where and at what price. The saltadministrationalso maintained Venice’s palatial public buildings and thecomplexhydraulic system that prevented themetropolisfrom washing away. Many of Venice’s grand statues and ornamental buildings were financed by the saltadministration.

Venice carefully built itsreputationas areliablesupplier, and so contracts with themerchantstateweredesirable. Venice was able todictateterms for these contracts. In 1250, when Venice agreed tosupplyMantua and Ferrara with salt, thecontractstipulated that these cities would not buy salt from anyone else. This became the model for Venetian salt contracts. As Venice became the salt supplier to more and more countries, it needed more and more salt producers from which to buy. Merchants financed by the saltadministrationwent farther into theMediterranean, buying salt from manydistantsources. Wherever they went, they tried todominatethesupply, control the saltworks, andevenacquirethem if they could.

Venice manipulated markets by controlling production. In the late thirteenthcentury, wishing toraisethe worldmarketprice, Venice had all saltworks on the Greek island of Crete destroyed, and it banned thelocalproduction of salt. The Venetians then brought in all the salt needed forlocalconsumption, built stores to sell the imported salt, and paid damages to the owners of the saltworks. Thepolicywas designed to control prices and at the same time keep the locals happy. Aiding itsabilityto ruthlesslymanipulatecommerceand controlterritory, Venice maintained the ships of themerchantfleet as anavalreserveand called them intocombatwhen needed. The Venetian fleet patrolled the Adriatic Sea, stopped ships, inspectedcargo, and demanded licensing documents to make sure allcommercialtraffic was conforming with its regulations.

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: Non-Venetian merchants preferred to trade in Indian spices rather than salt because they did not have the salt subsidy that merchants from Venice had.

tag: B
text: The salt subsidy enabled Venetian merchants to sell Indian spices in western Europe at cheaper prices than their competitors could.

tag: C
text: The expense of shipping heavy salt cargoes to western Europe convinced merchants from Venice to sell expensive Indian spices instead.

tag: D
text: By sending ships to the eastern Mediterranean and western Europe, merchants from many nations were able to offer both salt and spices at profitable prices.
answer_key: B
explanation: 首先进行句子结构分析，（Growing fat on the salt subsidy）, Venice merchants could afford to send ships to the eastern Mediterranean, 【where they picked up valuable cargoes of Indian spices and sold them in western Europe at low prices （that their non-Venetian competitors could not afford to offer）】.句子核心主干意思为 Venice merchants could afford to send ships to the eastern Mediterranean 威尼斯商人可以向地主海东部派遣船只，（Growing fat on the salt subsidy）是用来修饰 Venice merchants，由于盐津贴而越来越富裕，where they picked up valuable cargoes of Indian spices and sold them in western Europe at low prices 为定语从句修饰 eastern Mediterranean，在东部地中海地区，他们可以收获有价值的印度香料并且低价在西欧进行出售；that their non-Venetian competitors could not afford to offer 为定语从句修饰 low prices, 整句话的意思大概是：由于盐津贴而越来越富裕的威尼斯商人可以向地中海东部派遣船只，在那里他们可以收获有价值的印度香料并且以他们竞争对手不具备的低价能力在西欧进行出售。A 错误，句子主干对象并不是讲非威尼斯商人，其次原句并未直接出现香料和盐的比较；B 正确，盐津贴可以让威尼斯商人比竞争对手以更低的价格在西欧出售印度香料，符合原句主要意思；C 错误，高昂的的盐的运输费用使得威尼斯商人销售高价的印度香料，与原句意思完全相反了；D 错误，选项种“许多国家的商人能够以有利可图的价格提供盐和香料”这一层意思文本没有提到。

question_stem: According to paragraph 2, Venetians were willing to pay extremely high prices for their salt because they understood that
choices: tag: A
text: salt was still cheaper in Venice than it was in other places

tag: B
text: the government would provide them with all of their other needs

tag: C
text: the salt trade enabled them to control trade of other profitable products

tag: D
text: the profits from salt could be used to develop the agricultural economy of Italy
answer_key: C
explanation: 定位信息到倒数第二句话，That meant that Venetians were paying extremely high prices for salt……，这就意味着威尼斯人以极高的价格购买盐，但他们并不介意昂贵的盐，只要他们能主宰香料贸易，成为谷物贸易的领导者；也就是说威尼斯人愿意高价购买盐是因为他们觉得可以通过这种方式来主宰香料和谷物贸易从而获得好处，所以答案选 C，盐贸易使他们能够控制其他盈利产品的贸易。

question_stem: Which of the following statements about Chinese salt can be inferred from paragraph 3?
choices: tag: A
text: The Chinese government owned all of the salt in China and controlled its trade.

tag: B
text: The Chinese government was in direct competition with Venice for control of the salt trade.

tag: C
text: Venice bought a great deal of salt from Chinese merchants, whose salt was of better quality.

tag: D
text: The governments of China and Venice cooperated with each other so that both could make a profit on the salt trade.
answer_key: A
explanation: 根据题干所问定位信息到第一句话，意思是：与中国的盐业垄断不同，威尼斯政府从来不拥有盐，只是通过管制盐贸易来获取利润。这句话把中国政府与威尼斯政府对盐控制程度做了相反比较，威尼斯政府不占有盐，只是管制盐的贸易获取利润，那中国政府就是拥有盐，故答案选 A。B、C、D 文章都未提及。

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

tag: B
text: required

tag: C
text: revealed

tag: D
text: suggested
answer_key: B
explanation: stipulated 首先考虑单词本身释义为“规定、保证”，选项与之匹配的是 B，代入原文也符合语境意思。

question_stem: According to paragraph 3, the salt administration was responsible for all of the following EXCEPT
choices: tag: A
text: permitting merchants to set the price for exported salt

tag: B
text: granting licenses to salt merchants

tag: C
text: ensuring proper functioning of the city’s hydraulics

tag: D
text: maintaining public buildings
answer_key: A
explanation: 题干问盐务局主要不负责什么。A 允许商人对出口盐进行定价，与原文不符，倒数第三句中讲到定价是盐务管理局颁发的许可证上规定的，并不是商人自行定价；B 向盐商发放许可证，也是对应的到倒数第三句话中的 The salt administration issued licenses…盐务管理局颁发了许可证，不仅告诉商人他们可以出口多少盐，还告诉他们可以出口到哪里，以什么价格出口。C 和 D 都对应倒数第二句 The salt administration also maintained Venice’s palatial public buildings and the complex hydraulic system 中的“maintained Venice’s palatial public buildings and the complex hydraulic system”，即不仅维护了威尼斯宫殿般的公共建筑而且维护了复杂的水利系统。综上，选 A。

question_stem: The word “ruthlessly”in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: without pressure

tag: B
text: without mercy

tag: C
text: without effort

tag: D
text: without expense
answer_key: B
explanation: ruthlessly 无情的，冷酷的；A 没有压力，B 残忍的，毫不留情的，C 毫不费力，D 无需花费；故选 B。

question_stem: In paragraph 5, why does the author include information about Venice’s merchant ships?
choices: tag: A
text: To explain how Venice succeeded in destroying the saltworks on Crete

tag: B
text: To provide a reason for the high prices of Venetian salt

tag: C
text: To identify a measure Venice took to control the salt trade

tag: D
text: To argue that Venice’s policies made it unpopular in the rest of the world
answer_key: C
explanation: 定位题干信息所在句子，在倒数第二句话，该句意思为：为了无情地操纵商业和控制领土，威尼斯保留了商船队作为海军预备队，并在需要时召集他们作战。优先结合前文内容考虑，本段第一句话是主旨句，威尼斯通过控制生产来操纵盐的交易市场；后续展开具体的控制方式，Venice had all saltworks on the Greek island of Crete destroyed, and it banned the local production of salt. The Venetians then brought in all the salt needed for local consumption, built stores to sell the imported salt, and paid damages to the owners of the saltworks. The policy was designed to control prices and at the same time keep the locals happy.破坏所有的盐厂，禁止当地的盐生产，建立商店出售进口盐，制定政策来控制盐价等；并为了进一步控制，保留商船作为军队预备，需要时召集作战；所以作者提到威尼斯商船的目的还是为了突出该策略作为一种方式来控制盐的市场交易，故而选 C。