For years historians have sought to identify crucial elements in the eighteenth-century rise in industry, technology, and economic power known as the Industrial Revolution, and many give prominence to the problem of energy. Until the eighteenth century, people relied on energy derived from plants as well as animal and human muscle to provide power. Increased efficiency in the use of water and wind helped with such tasks as pumping, milling, or sailing. However, by the eighteenth century, Great Britain in particular was experiencing an energy shortage. Wood, the primary source of heat for homes and industries and also used in the iron industry as processed charcoal, was diminishing in supply. Great Britain had large amounts of coal; however, there were not yet efficient means by which to produce mechanical energy or to power machinery. This was to occur with progress in the development of the steam engine.
In the late 1700s James Watt designed an efficient and commercially viable steam engine that was soon applied to a variety of industrial uses as it became cheaper to use. The engine helped solve the problem of draining coal mines of groundwater and increased the production of coal needed to power steam engines elsewhere. A rotary engine attached to the steam engine enabled shafts to be turned and machines to be driven, resulting in mills using steam power to spin and weave cotton. Since the steam engine was fired by coal, the large mills did not need to be located by rivers, as had mills that used water- driven machines. The shift to increased mechanization in cotton production is apparent in the import of raw cotton and the sale of cotton goods. Between 1760 and 1850, the amount of raw cotton imported increased 230 times. Production of British cotton goods increased sixtyfold, and cotton cloth became Great Britain’s most important product, accounting for one-half of all exports. The success of the steam engine resulted in increased demands for coal, and the consequent increase in coal production was made possible as the steam-powered pumps drained water from the ever-deeper coal seams found below the water table.
The availability of steam power and the demands for new machines facilitated the transformation of the iron industry. Charcoal, made from wood and thus in limited supply, was replaced with coal-derived coke (substance left after coal is heated) as steam-driven bellows came into use for producing of raw iron. Impurities were burnt away with the use of coke, producing a high-quality refined iron. Reduced cost was also instrumental in developing steam-powered rolling mills capable of producing finished iron of various shapes and sizes. The resulting boom in the iron industry expanded the annual iron output by more than 170 times between 1740 and 1840, and by the 1850s Great Britain was producing more tons of iron than the rest of the world combined. The developments in the iron industry were in part a response to the demand for more machines and the ever-widening use of higher-quality iron in other industries.
Steam power and iron combined to revolutionize transport, which in turn had further implications. Improvements in road construction and sailing had occurred, but shipping heavy freight over land remained expensive, even with the use of rivers and canals wherever possible. Parallel rails had long been used in mining operations to move bigger loads, but horses were still the primary source of power. However, the arrival of the steam engine initiated a complete transformation in rail transportation, entrenching and expanding the Industrial Revolution. As transportation improved, distant and larger markets within the nation could be reached, thereby encouraging the development of larger factories to keep pace with increasing sales. Greater productivity and rising demands provided entrepreneurs with profits that could be reinvested to take advantage of new technologies to further expand capacity, or to seek alternative investment opportunities. Also, the availability of jobs in railway construction attracted many rural laborers accustomed to seasonal and temporary employment. When the work was completed, many moved to other construction jobs or to factory work in cities and towns, where they became part of an expanding working class.
Paragraph 1: For years historians have sought to identify crucial elements in the eighteenth-century rise in industry, technology, and economic power known as the Industrial Revolution, and many give prominence to the problem of energy. Until the eighteenth century, people relied on energy derived from plants as well as animal and human muscle to provide power. Increased efficiency in the use of water and wind helped with such tasks as pumping, milling, or sailing. However, by the eighteenth century, Great Britain in particular was experiencing an energy shortage. Wood, the primary source of heat for homes and industries and also used in the iron industry as processed charcoal, was diminishing in supply. Great Britain had large amounts of coal; however, there were not yet efficient means by which to produce mechanical energy or to power machinery. This was to occur with progress in the development of the steam engine.
1: Why does the author provide the information that “Great Britain had large amounts of coal”?
○ To reject the claim that Britain was facing an energy shortage in the eighteenth century
○ To explain why coal rather than other energy resources became the primary source of heat for homes and industries in eighteenth-century Britain
○To indicate that Britain’s energy shortage was not the result of a lack of fuel
○ To explain why coal mining became an important industry in nineteenth-century
2: What was “the problem of energy" that had to be solved to make the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century possible?
○ Water and wind could not be used efficiently.
○ There was no efficient way to power machinery.
○ Steam engines required large amounts of coal, which was in short supply.
○ Neither humans nor animals were strong enough to provide the power required for industrial application.
Paragraph 2: In the late 1700s James Watt designed an efficient and commercially viable steam engine that was soon applied to a variety of industrial uses as it became cheaper to use. The engine helped solve the problem of draining coal mines of groundwater and increased the production of coal needed to power steam engines elsewhere. A rotary engine attached to the steam engine enabled shafts to be turned and machines to be driven, resulting in mills using steam power to spin and weave cotton. Since the steam engine was fired by coal, the large mills did not need to be located by rivers, as had mills that used water- driven machines. The shift to increased mechanization in cotton production is apparent in the import of raw cotton and the sale of cotton goods. Between 1760 and 1850, the amount of raw cotton imported increased 230 times. Production of British cotton goods increased sixtyfold, and cotton cloth became Great Britain’s most important product, accounting for one-half of all exports. The success of the steam engine resulted in increased demands for coal, and the consequent increase in coal production was made possible as the steam-powered pumps drained water from the ever-deeper coal seams found below the water table.
3: Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 2 as a development in cotton mills brought about by Watt’s steam engine?
○ The importing of huge quantities of raw cotton by Britain
○ Increased mechanization
○ More possibilities for mill location
○ Smaller mills
4: The phrase “apparent in” in the passage is closest in meaning to
○ clearly seen in
○ aided by
○ associated with
○ followed by
5: According to paragraph 2, what was Britain’s most important export by 1850?
○ Raw cotton
○ Cotton cloth
○ Steam-powered pumps
○ Coal
6: The word “consequent” in the passage is closest in meaning to
○ resulting
○ encouraging
○ well documented
○ immediate
7: What is the role of paragraph 2 in the passage as a whole?
○ It explains how by increasing the supply of raw materials from other countries, British industries were able to reduce costs and increase production.
○ It explains how the production of mechanical energy and its benefits spread quickly across countries that were linked commercially with Great Britain.
○ It demonstrates why developments in a single industry could not have caused the Industrial Revolution.
○ It illustrates why historians have assigned great importance to the issue of energy in the rise of the Industrial Revolution.
Paragraph 3: The availability of steam power and the demands for new machines facilitated the transformation of the iron industry. Charcoal, made from wood and thus in limited supply, was replaced with coal-derived coke (substance left after coal is heated) as steam-driven bellows came into use for producing of raw iron. Impurities were burnt away with the use of coke, producing a high-quality refined iron. Reduced cost was also instrumental in developing steam-powered rolling mills capable of producing finished iron of various shapes and sizes. The resulting boom in the iron industry expanded the annual iron output by more than 170 times between 1740 and 1840, and by the 1850s Great Britain was producing more tons of iron than the rest of the world combined. The developments in the iron industry were in part a response to the demand for more machines and the ever-widening use of higher-quality iron in other industries.
8: According to paragraph 3, why was the use of coke important for the iron industry?
○ It helped make wood into charcoal.
○ It reduced the dependency on steam-powered machines used for the production of iron.
○ It replaced charcoal in the production of raw and refined iron.
○ It powered the machines used to extract coal in coal mines.
9: According to paragraph 3, all of the following were true of the iron industry in Great Britain during the 1800s EXCEPT:
○ Steam-driven bellows were used to produce raw iron.
○ By the 1850s Britain was the world’s largest producer of iron.
○ Steam-powered mills made it possible to produce iron of different shapes and sizes.
○ Greater demand for higher-quality iron increased its price.
Paragraph 4: Steam power and iron combined to revolutionize transport, which in turn had further implications. Improvements in road construction and sailing had occurred, but shipping heavy freight over land remained expensive, even with the use of rivers and canals wherever possible. Parallel rails had long been used in mining operations to move bigger loads, but horses were still the primary source of power. However, the arrival of the steam engine initiated a complete transformation in rail transportation, entrenching and expanding the Industrial Revolution. As transportation improved, distant and larger markets within the nation could be reached, thereby encouraging the development of larger factories to keep pace with increasing sales. Greater productivity and rising demands provided entrepreneurs with profits that could be reinvested to take advantage of new technologies to further expand capacity, or to seek alternative investment opportunities. Also, the availability of jobs in railway construction attracted many rural laborers accustomed to seasonal and temporary employment. When the work was completed, many moved to other construction jobs or to factory work in cities and towns, where they became part of an expanding working class.
10: The word “initiated” in the passage is closest in meaning to
○anticipated
○accelerated
○spread
○ started
11: Paragraph 4 implies which of the following about the transformation in rail transportation?
○ Because railway construction employed mostly rural laborers, unemployment increased among urban workers.
○ It resulted in more trade within the country, but less trade with markets that could be reached only by ocean shipping.
○ It made shipping freight overland to distant markets less expensive.
○ It resulted in higher wages for factory workers.
12: The phrase “accustomed to" in the passage is closest in meaning to
○ in need of
○ used to
○ tired of
○ encouraged by
Paragraph 4: Steam power and iron combined to revolutionize transport, which in turn had further implications. Improvements in road construction and sailing had occurred, but shipping heavy freight over land remained expensive, even with the use of rivers and canals wherever possible. Parallel rails had long been used in mining operations to move bigger loads, but horses were still the primary source of power. ■However, the arrival of the steam engine initiated a complete transformation in rail transportation, entrenching and expanding the Industrial Revolution. ■As transportation improved, distant and larger markets within the nation could be reached, thereby encouraging the development of larger factories to keep pace with increasing sales. ■Greater productivity and rising demands provided entrepreneurs with profits that could be reinvested to take advantage of new technologies to further expand capacity, or to seek alternative investment opportunities. ■Also, the availability of jobs in railway construction attracted many rural laborers accustomed to seasonal and temporary employment. When the work was completed, many moved to other construction jobs or to factory work in cities and towns, where they became part of an expanding working class.
13: Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
The first steam-powered locomotives were slow but they rapidly improved in speed and carrying capacity.
Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square to add the sentence to the passage.
14: Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.
The coming of the Industrial Revolution in eighteenth-century Britain depended on the development of the steam engine to power machinery.
Answer Choices
○ For years, historians disregarded the issue of energy as a major element in the rise of the Industrial Revolution and focused instead on technological developments and increased production.
○ The introduction and growth of steam-powered rail transport was a major factor in Britain's economic expansion during the Industrial Revolution.
○ An expansion of the Industrial Revolution outside Great Britain occurred when British industries began to import raw cotton and high-quality iron.
○ By 1850, the use of steam power in Britain's mills, mines, and iron industry made Britain a world leader in the production of cotton cloth and iron.
○ Since the basic infrastructure was in place, the Industrial Revolution fueled itself with enlarging markets requiring ever more expansion of factories and workforce.
○ By the end of the 1800s, railway construction attracted so many laborers that factories could not find enough workers to keep up with increasing sales.
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14 ○ The introduction and growth of steam-powered rail transport was a major factor in Britain's economic expansion during the Industrial Revolution.
○ By 1850, the use of steam power in Britain's mills, mines, and iron industry made Britain a world leader in the production of cotton cloth and iron.
○ Since the basic infrastructure was in place, the Industrial Revolution fueled itself with enlarging markets requiring ever more expansion of factories and workforce.
多年來，歷史學(xué)家試圖找到18世紀(jì)工業(yè)革命在工業(yè)、技術(shù)和經(jīng)濟領(lǐng)域興起的關(guān)鍵因素，許多人把能源問題放在突出位置。直到18世紀(jì)，人們依靠工廠、畜力以及人力來提供動力。高效地利用水能和風(fēng)能有助于完成諸如抽泵、碾磨或航海等工作。然而，到了18世紀(jì)，尤其是大不列顛卻經(jīng)歷了能源短缺。木材，這一為家庭和工業(yè)供暖供能,同時也以加工木炭的形式被使用在鋼鐵工業(yè)中的主要能源，其供應(yīng)量日益減少。大不列顛有大
量的煤礦；然而，還沒有產(chǎn)生機械能或為機器提供動力的有效方法。這一切隨著蒸汽機的改良而發(fā)生。
在18世紀(jì)末期，詹姆斯•瓦特設(shè)計了一款高效且具商業(yè)利益的蒸汽機，由于其價格低廉，很快就被運用到各項工業(yè)生產(chǎn)之中。這款蒸汽機幫助解決了煤礦中地下水的排水問題并且提高了煤的產(chǎn)量，這些煤用來為別處的蒸汽機提供動力。與蒸汽機相連的旋轉(zhuǎn)式發(fā)動機帶動軸承轉(zhuǎn)動，從而驅(qū)動機器，運用蒸汽動力紡織棉布的紡織廠隨之出現(xiàn)。因為蒸汽機靠燃煤而驅(qū)動，一些大型棉紡織廠就不再像那些使用水力驅(qū)動機器的工廠一樣必須依河而建。這種棉紡織業(yè)日益機械化的轉(zhuǎn)變在棉花原料的進口和棉紡產(chǎn)品的銷售中得到突出的體現(xiàn)。在1760年到1850年間，原棉的進口量增長了230倍。英國棉紡產(chǎn)品的生產(chǎn)量增加了60倍，而棉布則成了英國最重要的產(chǎn)品，占出口總額的一半。蒸汽機的成功帶來了對煤需求量的增加，而且隨著蒸汽動力泵從位于地下水位下的更深的煤層中排出水來，隨之而來的煤產(chǎn)量的增加成為可能。
蒸汽動力的可利用性以及對新機器的需求促進了鋼鐵工業(yè)的轉(zhuǎn)型。當(dāng)蒸汽驅(qū)動風(fēng)箱投入到生鐵生產(chǎn)中后，木炭這種用木材燒成因此供應(yīng)量有限的物質(zhì)就被焦炭（煤加熱后殘留的物質(zhì)）替代了。隨著焦炭的使用，生鐵中的雜質(zhì)被燃燒完，從而生產(chǎn)出更高質(zhì)量的精煉鐵。降低的成本也有助于那些能夠生產(chǎn)不同形狀和尺寸的成品鐵制品的蒸汽動力軋鋼廠的發(fā)展。因此導(dǎo)致的鋼鐵工業(yè)的繁榮使鋼鐵的年產(chǎn)量在1740年到1840年間增長了170多倍，到19世紀(jì)50年代，大不列顛生產(chǎn)的鋼鐵比世界其他地區(qū)生產(chǎn)的總和還要高。鋼鐵工業(yè)的發(fā)展從某種意義上說，是對更多機器的需求以及在其他工業(yè)中更廣泛使用高質(zhì)量鐵的一種回應(yīng)。
蒸汽動力和鋼鐵帶來了交通運輸?shù)母镄�，反過來也有著更加深遠(yuǎn)的影響。道路設(shè)施以及航海的改善已經(jīng)初見成效，但是船運重型貨物到陸地的費用仍然很高，即使在可以使用河流和運河的地方。平行鐵軌長期以來被用于采礦作業(yè)來運輸大型貨物，但是馬匹仍然是主要的動力來源。然而，蒸汽機的到來引發(fā)了鐵路運輸?shù)膹氐鬃兏铮柟毯蛿U大了工業(yè)革命的成果。隨著交通運輸?shù)母纳�，全國范圍�?nèi)更遠(yuǎn)更大的市場可以到達(dá)，因此鼓勵著大型工廠的生產(chǎn)與日益增長的銷售量保持同步。更大規(guī)模的生產(chǎn)和日益增長的需求給企業(yè)家?guī)砹死麧�，這種利潤可用于再投資新技術(shù)，進一步擴大產(chǎn)能或?qū)で笃渌耐顿Y機會。同時，鐵道建設(shè)方面的更多就業(yè)機會也吸引了那些習(xí)慣于季節(jié)性工作或者短工制的農(nóng)村勞動力。一旦工作完成，其中的很多人就會參與到其他的建筑工作中或是城鎮(zhèn)中的工廠工作中，并成為其中的不斷壯大的工人階級。
