Agricultureand fishing formed theprimarysector of theeconomyin the Netherlands in the seventeenthcentury. Dutchagriculturewas modernized andcommercializednew crops and agricultural techniques raised levels of production so that they wereinlinewithmarketdemands, and cheapgrainwas imported annually from the Balticregionin large quantities. According to estimates, about 120,000 tons of importedgrainfed about 600,000 people: that is about a third of the Dutchpopulation. Importing thegrain, which would have been expensive and time consuming for the Dutch to have produced themselves, kept the price ofgrainlow and thusstimulatedindividualdemand for other foodstuffs and consumer goods.

Apart from this, being able to give up labor-intensivegrainproduction freed both the land and the workforce for moreproductiveagricultural divisions. The peasantsspecializedinlivestockhusbandryanddairyfarming as well as in cultivatingindustrialcrops and fodder crops: flax, madder, and rape were grown, as were tobacco, hops, and turnips. These products were bought mostly byurbanbusinesses. There was also a demand amongurbanconsumers fordairyproducts such asbutterand cheese, which, in the sixteenthcentury, had become more expensive thangrain. The high prices encouraged the peasants toimprovetheir animalhusbandrytechniques; for example, they began feeding their animals indoors in order toraisethe milkyieldof their cows.

Inadditiontodairyfarming and cultivatingindustrialcrops, a third sector of the Dutcheconomyreflected the way in whichagriculturewas being modernized-horticulture.In the sixteenthcentury, fruit and vegetables were to be found only in gardens belonging to wealthy people.This changed in the early part of the seventeenthcenturywhen horticulture

became accepted as an agricultural sector.Whole villages began tocultivatefruit and vegetables.The produce was then transported by water to markets in the cities, where theconsumptionof fruit and vegetables was no longerrestrictedto the wealthy In the sixteenthcentury, fruit and vegetables were to be found only in gardens belonging to wealthy people. This changed in the early part of the seventeenthcenturywhen horticulture

became accepted as an agricultural sector. Whole villages began tocultivatefruit and vegetables. The produce was then transported by water to markets in the cities, where theconsumptionof fruit and vegetables was no longerrestrictedto the wealthy

As the demand for agricultural produce from both consumers andindustryincreased, agricultural land became morevaluableand people tried to work theavailableland more intensively and to reclaim more land from wetlands and lakes. In order to increase production on existing land, the peasants made more use of croprotationand, inparticular, began toapplyanimalwasteto the soil regularly, rather than leaving the fertilizationprocessup to thegrazinglivestock. For the first timeindustrialwaste, such as ash from the soap-boilers, was collected in the cities and sold in the country asartificialfertilizer. The increasedyieldand price of land justified reclaiming and drainingevenmore land.

The Dutch battle against the sea islegendary. Noorderkwartier in Holland, with itsnumerouslakes and stretches of water, was particularlysuitablefor landreclamationand one of the biggest projects undertaken there was the draining of the Beemster lake which began in 1608. The richest merchants in Amsterdam contributed money to reclaim a good 7,100 hectares of land. Forty-three windmills powered thedrainagepumps so that they were able toleasethereclamationto farmers as early as 1612, with the investors receivingannualleasing payments at aninterestrateof 17 percent. Landreclamationcontinued, and between 1590 and 1665, almost 100,000 hectares were reclaimed from the wetland areas of Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland. However, landreclamationdecreasedsignificantlyafter the middle of the seventeenthcenturybecause the price of agricultural products began to fall, making landreclamationfar lessprofitablein thesecondpart of thecentury.

Dutchagriculturewas finally affected by the general agricultural crisis in Europe during the last two decades of the seventeenthcentury. However, what is astonishing about this is not that Dutchagriculturewas affected bycriticalphenomena such as adecreasein sales and production, but the fact that the crisis appeared onlyrelativelylate in Dutchagriculture. In Europe as a whole, theexceptionalreductionin thepopulationand the related fall in demand forgrainsince the beginning of the seventeenthcenturyhad caused the price of agricultural products to fall. Dutch peasants were able toremainunaffected by this crisis for a long time because they hadspecializedindairyfarmingindustrialcrops, and horticulture. However, toward the end of the seventeenthcentury, they too were overtaken by the general agricultural crisis.

Questions:
question_stem: By indicating that production was in line with market demands the author means that Dutch farmers were able to
choices: tag: A
text: exceed other European countries in agricultural production

tag: B
text: produce crops mat were similar to those popular in other European countries

tag: C
text: supply sufficient quantities of the agricultural products that the Dutch population wanted to buy

tag: D
text: satisfy the demand for high quality agricultural products from the Baltic region
answer_key: C
explanation: C 以 market demands 做关键词定位至第二句，说农业现代化，commercialized 的作物和先进的 agricultural technique 使得产量升高，从而可以满足市场的需要，因此这些人满足市场需要的原因是作物的产量高，所以正确答案是 c。a 和 b 都完全没提到，d 错，因为原文说的是从 baltic 进口，不是满足 baltic 的需要。

question_stem: Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage (paragraph 1)? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
choices: tag: A
text: Buying imported grain led to the Dutch demanding that other foodstuffs and consumer goods be imported.

tag: B
text: Because the Dutch were able to import inexpensive grain, they had money available to create a demand for other food products and consumer goods.

tag: C
text: Keeping the price of grain low was a primary goal of the Dutch at a time when they could not produce enough grain to provide for all their needs.

tag: D
text: The demand for other foodstuffs and consumer goods forced the Dutch to import grain and other products at a time when maintaining low prices was especially important.
answer_key: B
explanation: B 将两个逗号之间的从句去掉，类似的定于成分可以先搁置不看，得到：import 使得价格下降，因此刺激需求。所以正确答案是 B。选项 a 的进口其他食物和 c 的 primary goal 原文都没说，d 的结构完全和原文不相干，且意思出入较大，错。

question_stem: The phrase “Apart from” in the passage (paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: Besides

tag: B
text: Despite

tag: C
text: As a result of

tag: D
text: Instead of
answer_key: A
explanation: A, apart from: 除...之外(还有...)。A 是除…之外，B 是尽管，C 是作为…的结果，D 是不是…而是。所以正确答案是 A 的 besides。

question_stem: According to paragraph 2, the increases demands on Dutch agriculture made by urban consumers had which of the following results?
choices: tag: A
text: Seasonal shortages of the products consumers most wanted

tag: B
text: Increased production of high-quality grain products

tag: C
text: Raised prices charged by peasants to urban consumers

tag: D
text: Different ways of caring for dairy-producing animals
answer_key: D
explanation: D 以 urban consumers 做关键词定位至倒数第二句，说城市消费者需要奶制品，而奶制品比谷物价格贵得多，但这句只说了现象，没说结果，往下看。说高价使农民改善了牲畜饲养技术，所以正确答案是 D。A 的 shortage 原文没说，B 的 grain 是原文说放弃的，C 的 high price 不是农民收的。

question_stem: The word “consumption” in the passage (paragraph 3) is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: sale

tag: B
text: storage

tag: C
text: exportation

tag: D
text: utilization
answer_key: D
explanation: consumption: 消费，使用。A 是销售，B 是储存，C 是出口，D 是利用，使用。所以正确答案是 D 的 utilization。

question_stem: According to paragraph 3, the modernization of agriculture in the Netherlands was evident in all of the following ways EXCEPT:
choices: tag: A
text: The production of fruits and vegetables became a commercial venture.

tag: B
text: The wealthy stopped growing fruits and vegetables in their gardens and grew flowers instead.

tag: C
text: Horticultural produce was transported to city markets by water.

tag: D
text: Many more people were able to afford to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.
answer_key: B
explanation: B EXCEPT 题，排除法。A 选项没有很好的关键词，暂时放弃；B 的 flower 没说，原文说的是不只是富人种蔬果，不是富人改种花，所以 B 说反，选；C 的 city markets by water 做关键词定位至最后一句，正确，不选；同时这句话也说了 D 选项也正确，不选；倒数第二句说整个村子都种蔬果，也就是 A 说的 commercial venture，A 正确，不选。

question_stem: The word “they” in the passage (paragraph 5) refers to
choices: tag: A
text: merchants

tag: B
text: hectares

tag: C
text: windmills

tag: D
text: drainage pumps
answer_key: A
explanation: A they 本来往前看主语应该选 windmills 的，但代入后发现不对，只有人才能 lease the reclaimation，所以正确答案是前句的主语 merchants，正确答案 A。

question_stem: According to paragraph 5, which of the following was an important reason why land-reclamation projects in the first half of the seventeenth century proceeded rapidly?
choices: tag: A
text: Windmills became powerful enough to run drainage pumps efficiently.

tag: B
text: Merchants invested large amounts of money in reclamation.

tag: C
text: High interest rates discouraged people from buying land already available.

tag: D
text: Reclaimed land was much more suitable for agriculture than the existing land.
answer_key: B
explanation: B 以 land-reclaimation projects in the first half of the seventeenth century 做关键词定位至第二句，说 N 这个地方特别适合 land reclaimation，又说最大的工程是1608年排开 B 湖的水，但一直都没说原因，所以往下看。下一句说阿姆斯特丹的富商给了钱，这才是 land reclaimation 的原因，所以正确答案是 B。A，C 和 D 都没说。

question_stem: The word “legendary” in the passage (paragraph 5) is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: continuous

tag: B
text: well documented

tag: C
text: famous

tag: D
text: expensive
answer_key: C
explanation: C legendary: 传说的，传奇的，著名的。所以正确答案是 C。A 是持续的，B 是良好记载，C 是著名的，D 是昂贵的。根据词意，C 正确。

question_stem: The word “astonishing” in the passage (paragraph 6) is closest in meaning to
choices: tag: A
text: incredible

tag: B
text: unfortunate

tag: C
text: predicted

tag: D
text: evident
answer_key: A
explanation: A astonishing: 吃惊的，令人惊讶的。A 是难以置信的，B 是不幸的，C 是预测的，D 是明显的。所以正确答案是 A 的 incredible。

question_stem: Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
choices: tag: A
text: A presentation of a theory and the evidence in favor of it

tag: B
text: A general statement followed by examples and relevant details

tag: C
text: A analysis of a problem and its solution

tag: D
text: A series of statements leading to a conclusion
answer_key: B
explanation: B 问全文的题，看各段的开头。第一段首句说农业和渔业是十七世纪荷兰经济最主要的部分，第二段到第四段都在说农业的变迁，第五段说围海造地，第六段说受到整体危机的影响，整个都围绕农业展开的。纵观每一段，都是由主旨句开头，然后后面进行例证或者用细节论证，所以正确答案是 B。原文没有提到任何理论，所以 A 错误; C 的 problem/solution 结构在原文不存在；D 的 statement 引到结论，原文也没体现，原文叙述的是一个发展过程。