In the late thirteenthcentury, northern Italian cities such as Genoa, Florence, and Venice began aneconomicresurgence that made them into the most importanteconomiccenters of Europe. By the seventeenthcentury, however, other European powers had taken over, as the Italian cities lost much of theireconomicmight.

Thisdeclinecan be seen clearly in the changes that affected Venetian shipping andtrade.

First, Venic’sintermediaryfunctions in the Adriatic Sea, where it had dominated the business of

shipping for other parties, were lost to direct trading. In the fifteenthcenturythere was little problem recruiting sailors to row the galleys (large ships propelled by oars):

guilds (business associations) were required to provide rowers, andthroughadraftsystem free citizens servedcompulsorilywhen called for. In the early sixteenthcenturytheshortageof rowers was not serious because the demand for galleys was limited by a move to round ships (round-hulled ships with morecargospace), with required fewer rowers. But theshortageof crews proved to be a greater and greater problem, despitecontinuousappealto Venic’s tradition ofmaritimegreatness. Eventhough sailors’ wages doubled among the northern Italian cities from 1550 to 1590, this did notelicitan increasedsupply.

The problem in shipping extended to the Arsenale, Venice’s huge and powerful shipyard. Timberran short, and it was necessary to procure it from farther and farther away. InancientRoman times, the Italianpeninsulahad great forest of fir preferred for warships, butscarcitywasapparentas early as the early fourteenthcentury. Arsenale officers first broughttimberfrom the foothills of the Alps, then from north toward Trieste, and finally fromacrossthe Adriatic. Private shipbuilders were required to buy theiroakabroad. As the costs of shipbuilding rose, Venice clung to its outdatedstandardwhile the Dutch wereinnovationin the lighter and more easily handled ships.

The step from buying foreigntimberto buying foreign ships was regarded as a short one, especially when complaints were heard in thelattersixteenthcenturythat the standards and traditions of the Arsenale were running down. Work was stretched out and done poorly. Older workers had been allowed to stop work a half hour before theregulartime, and in 1601 younger works left with them. Merchants complained that the privileges reserved for Venetian-built and owned ships were first extended to those Venetians who bought ships fromabroadand then to foreign-built and owned vessels. Historian Frederic Lane observes that after the loss of ships in battle in the late sixteenthcentury, the shipbuildingindustryno longer had thecapacitytorecoverthat it had displayed at the start of thecentury.

Theconventionalexplanation for the loss of Venetian dominance intradeisestablishmentof the Portuguese direct searouteto the East, replacing the overland Silk Road from the Black sea and the highlyprofitableIndian Ocean-caravan-easternMediterraneanrouteto Venice. The Portuguese Vasco da Gama’sVoyagearound southern Africa to India took place at the end of the fifteenthcentury, and by 1502 the trans- Abrabiancaravanroutehad been cut off bypoliticalunrest.

The VenetianCouncilfinally allowed round ships to enter thetradethat waspreviouslyreserved formerchantgalleys, thus reducingtransportcostby one third. Prices of spices delivered by ship from the easternMediterraneancame toequalthose of spices transported by Portuguese vessels, but the increase inquantitywith both routes in operation drove the price far down. Gradually, Venice’s role as astorageanddistributioncenter for spices and silk, dyes cotton, and golddecayed, and by the early seventeenthcenturyVenice had lost itsmonopolyin markets such as France and southern Germany.

Venetian shipping had started todeclinefrom about 1530-before theentryinto theMediterraneanof large volumes of Dutch and British shipping-and was clearly outclassed by the end of thecentury. Acontemporaryof Shakespeare (1564-1616) observed that theproductivityof Italian shipping had declined, compared with that of the British, because of conservatism and loss ofexpertise. Moreover, Italian sailors were deserting and emigrating, and captains, no longer recruited from the ranks of nobles, were weak on navigations.

Questions:
question_stem: The word “compulsorily” in the passage is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: for free

tag: B
text: for a time

tag: C
text: by requirement

tag: D
text: by design
answer_key: C
explanation: Acompulsorily 强制地，必须地，义务地，所以正确答案是 C 的 by requirement。代入得到 guild 通过 draft system 征用没事干的公民做桨手，当需要的时候，这些人会怎样服务，有义务服务说得通，所以是答案，但 for free 貌似也说得通，所以就要靠单词量了，但至少 for a time 和 by design 说不通.

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

tag: B
text: comeback

tag: C
text: program

tag: D
text: expansion
answer_key: B
explanation: B resurgence: 复苏，死灰复燃。A 选项是转化，B 选项是恢复，C 选项是程序，方案，D 选项是扩张。从词意来说，还是 B 选项最合适。

question_stem: According to paragraph 2, which of the following contributed to the decline of Venetian shipping?
choices: tag: A
text: The loss of trade in Adriatic Sea

tag: B
text: The move from galleys to round ships

tag: C
text: The decreased demand for galleys

tag: D
text: The doubling of sailor’s wages
answer_key: A
explanation: C 用 decline of venetian shipping 做关键词并不是很好，看第二句得到答案，原文讲由于 direct trading，威尼斯的 intermediary 地位丢失了，正是选项 A 的内容， B 和 C 没讲到，D 是好事儿，不能用来解释 decline.

question_stem: All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 2 as ways that Venice provided rowers for its galley EXCEPT
choices: tag: A
text: Requiring business associations to provide sailors

tag: B
text: Recruiting sailors from other cities in northern Italy

tag: C
text: Drafting Venetian citizens into services as rowers

tag: D
text: Appealing to the traditions of Venice as a sea power.
answer_key: B
explanation: B Except 题，找到文中未提及的。通过定位第二段第四句话& 第五句。排除 ACD，正确选项 B。

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

tag: B
text: enforced

tag: C
text: improved

tag: D
text: old-fashioned
answer_key: D
explanation: D outdated: 过时的。A 选项是严格的，B 是执行的，实施的，C 是改进的，D 选项是过时的。根据词意，D 选项是正确选项。

question_stem: According to paragraphs 3, why did the building of ships in Venetian shipyards become increasingly expensive?
choices: tag: A
text: The wages of officers and workers in the Arsenale kept rising

tag: B
text: Roman shipyards were using all the available fir trees for the warships

tag: C
text: The timber used in the shipbuilding had to be brought from farther and farther away

tag: D
text: Venetian standards required that shipbuilders use top-quality materials.
answer_key: C
explanation: C 原因题，找到逻辑上一层。为什么造船越来越贵？用 expensive 定位到最后一句话，很明显，这是一句总结，原因就在前面的描述中：

question_stem: All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 3 and 4 as contributing to the problems of the Venetian shipbuilding industry at the end of the sixteenth century EXCEPT
choices: tag: A
text: The quality of work performed in the Arsenale had declined

tag: B
text: Venetian–built ships were heavy and generally inefficient

tag: C
text: Arsenale shipbuilders worked more slowly

tag: D
text: Only a few merchants controlled the buying and selling of most of the Venetian-built ships
answer_key: D
explanation: A 选项的 quality of work 定位到第四段的第一句话：
...especially when complaints were heard in the latter sixteenth century that the standards and traditions of the Arsenale were running down. 
这句话的 runnning down 和 A 选项的 decline 呼应，所以 A 不选；

B 选项用 heavy 和 inefficient 定位到第三段最后一句话：
Venice clung to its outdated standard while the Dutch were innovation in the lighter and more easily handled ships.
这里拿 Venice 的船和 Dutch 的工艺对比，显出 Venice 船的中和难操作。和 B 选项对应，所以 B 不选。

C 选项的 worked more slowly 定位到第四段第二句话：
Work was stretched out and done poorly.
这里强调了工作拉长了，也就是速度慢了，所以 C 正确，不选。

D 选项的 buying 和 selling 定位，发现原文无提及，所以选 D。

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 loss of ships in battle at the end of the sixteenth century showed that Venetian shipbuilders lacked the skills they had possessed at the beginning of the century.

tag: B
text: Venetian shipbuilding failed to quickly replace the ships lost in battle at the end of the sixteenth century as it would have done earlier in the century.

tag: C
text: Frederic Lane noted that Venice lost ships in battle at the end of the sixteenth century, showing that Venetian shipbuilding was not longer known for its reliability.

tag: D
text: Venetian shipbuilding had been known for its high quality of work at the beginning of the sixteenth century, but toward the end of the century Venetian ships were poorer in quality.
answer_key: B
explanation: B 原句关键词 the shipbuilding... at the start of century, 强调重点是 no longer had the capacity to recover，没有在能够恢复了， 和原文重点相符合的只有选项 B。A 选项的 lack the skilled 原句没有提及；C 选项的 known for its reliability 原句没有提及；D 选项少了 no longer…这部分的核心内容。

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

tag: B
text: logical

tag: C
text: correct

tag: D
text: usual
answer_key: D
explanation: D conventional: 传统的，常见的，惯例的。A 是非正式的，B 是合理的，C 是正确的，D 是通常的，惯例的。根据词意，D 是正确选项。

question_stem: Why does the author mention “Vasco da Gama’s Voyage around southern Africa to India” in the passage?
choices: tag: A
text: to indicate how the Portuguese came to challenge Venetian dominance of trade with the East

tag: B
text: to explain why political troubles resulted in the closing of the usual routes to India

tag: C
text: to prove that Venetians could not sail round ships as efficiently as sailors from other countries did

tag: D
text: to show that Venetian reliance on round ships rather than galleys proved to be weakness
answer_key: A
explanation: A  这一段总共就2句话，这个例子出现在第二句，那么它所要支撑的观点应该就出现在第五段第一句话： “replacing ... Ocean- caravan-eastern Mediterranean route to Venice."  这句话中强调了葡萄牙直接的航海路线取代了陆地上的 silk road, 这个解释了威尼斯在贸易中是去主导地位。故选项为 A。

question_stem: Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 6 about the Venetian Council’s decision concerning the use of round ships?
choices: tag: A
text: It resulted in a return to profitable in luxury goods for Venetian merchants.

tag: B
text: Ultimately it did not restore the superiority in the spice trade that Venice had enjoyed earlier.

tag: C
text: It eventually enabled Venetian merchants to increase the quantity and price of the spices they sold in Europe.

tag: D
text: . It means a long-awaited improvement in the fortunes of the shipbuilding industry in Venice.
answer_key: B
explanation: B Infer 题，定位原文第六段最后一句话” Venice's role... center for spices... decayed..." 故选项为 B。

question_stem: According to paragraphs 6, in the sixteenth century the price of spices declined because
choices: tag: A
text: France and Germany established monopolies and dictated prices

tag: B
text: Venetian merchant galleys competed with Venetian round ships for the spice trade

tag: C
text: More spices were available because both the Venetians and the Portuguese were importing them

tag: D
text: Increased demand for silk, dyes, cotton and gold meant that people had less money to spend on spices.
answer_key: C
explanation: C 原因题，关键词“spices decline"，定位第六段第二句 but the increase in quantity with both routes", 重点词”both routes", 故，选项为 C.。