『新东方在线托福阅读』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 26 Passage 1阅读练习：What was “the problem of energy" that had to be solved to make the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century possible?真题题目及答案解析，TPO/Official 26 Passage 1阅读原文范文音频翻译

托福TPO/Official 26 Passage 1阅读原文What was “the problem of energy" that had to be solved to make the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century possible?题目答案及解析-新东方托福官方网校手机版

多年来，历史学家一直试图找出18世纪工业、技术和经济实力崛起的关键因素，即所谓的工业革命，许多历史学家都强调能源问题。

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.

直到18世纪，人们还依赖于来自植物、动物和人类肌肉的能量来提供能量。

Until the eighteenth century, people relied on energy derived from plants as well as animal and human muscle to provide power.

提高水和风的利用效率有助于抽水、碾磨或航行等工作。

Increased efficiency in the use of water and wind helped with such tasks as pumping, milling, or sailing.

然而，到了18世纪，特别是英国，经历了能源短缺。

However, by the eighteenth century, Great Britain in particular was experiencing an energy shortage.

木材是家庭和工业的主要热源，也作为加工木炭用于铁工业，其供应正在减少。

Wood, the primary source of heat for homes and industries and also used in the iron industry as processed charcoal, was diminishing in supply.

英国有大量的煤；然而，当时还没有有效的方法来产生机械能或为机器提供动力。

Great Britain had large amounts of coal; however, there were not yet efficient means by which to produce mechanical energy or to power machinery.

这是随着蒸汽机的发展而发生的。

This was to occur with progress in the development of the steam engine.

18世纪晚期，詹姆斯·瓦特设计了一种高效的、商业上可行的蒸汽机，它很快被应用于各种工业用途，因为它的使用成本越来越低。

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.

这台发动机帮助解决了开采煤矿地下水的问题，并增加了在其他地方为蒸汽机提供动力所需的煤炭产量。

The engine helped solve the problem of draining coal mines of groundwater and increased the production of coal needed to power steam engines elsewhere.

连接在蒸汽机上的旋转式发动机使轴得以转动，机器得以驱动，从而使磨坊可以利用蒸汽动力纺线和织布。

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.

由于蒸汽机是由煤来驱动的，所以大型磨坊就不需要像那些使用水力驱动的机器一样坐落在河边。

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.

棉花生产向机械化程度提高的转变在原棉进口和棉织品销售方面表现得很明显。

The shift to increased mechanization in cotton production is apparent in the import of raw cotton and the sale of cotton goods.

从1760年到1850年，原棉进口量增长了230倍。

Between 1760 and 1850, the amount of raw cotton imported increased 230 times.

英国的棉织品产量增加了60倍，棉布成为英国最重要的产品，占所有出口的一半。

Production of British cotton goods increased sixtyfold, and cotton cloth became Great Britain’s most important product, accounting for one-half of all exports.

蒸汽机的成功增加了对煤的需求，随着蒸汽动力泵从地下水位以下越来越深的煤层中抽干水，煤产量也随之增加。

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.

蒸汽动力的可用性和对新机器的需求促进了钢铁工业的转型。

The availability of steam power and the demands for new machines facilitated the transformation of the iron industry.

木炭是由木头制成的，因此供应有限，后来随着蒸汽驱动的风箱开始用于生铁的生产，木炭被煤制焦（煤加热后留下的物质）所取代。

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.

用焦炭把杂质烧掉，制成高质量的炼铁。

Impurities were burnt away with the use of coke, producing a high-quality refined iron.

降低成本也有助于开发蒸汽动力轧机，能够生产各种形状和大小的成品铁。

Reduced cost was also instrumental in developing steam-powered rolling mills capable of producing finished iron of various shapes and sizes.

由此带来的钢铁工业的繁荣，使英国每年的铁产量在1740年至1840年间增加了170多倍，到19世纪50年代，英国的铁产量已超过世界其他国家的总和。

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.

钢铁工业的发展在一定程度上是为了满足对更多机器的需求，以及在其他工业中对高质量铁的广泛使用。

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.

蒸汽动力和铁的结合使交通运输发生了革命性的变化，这又产生了更深远的影响。

Steam power and iron combined to revolutionize transport, which in turn had further implications.

道路建设和航行技术有所改进，但即使尽可能使用河流和运河，通过陆地运送沉重货物的费用仍然很高。

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.

平行铁轨在采矿作业中早已被用来运送更大的货物，但马匹仍然是主要的动力来源。

Parallel rails had long been used in mining operations to move bigger loads, but horses were still the primary source of power.

然而，蒸汽机的出现引发了铁路运输的彻底变革，巩固和扩大了工业革命。

However, the arrival of the steam engine initiated a complete transformation in rail transportation, entrenching and expanding the Industrial Revolution.

随着交通状况的改善，可以到达全国范围内更远更大的市场，从而鼓励了大型工厂的发展，以跟上销售增长的步伐。

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.

更高的生产率和不断增长的需求为企业家提供了利润，这些利润可用于再投资，以利用新技术进一步扩大产能，或寻求替代投资机会。

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.

此外，铁路建设的就业机会吸引了许多习惯于季节性和临时性工作的农村劳动力。

Also, the availability of jobs in railway construction attracted many rural laborers accustomed to seasonal and temporary employment.

工程完工后，许多人转到其他建筑工地或城镇的工厂工作，在那里，他们成为了不断扩大的工人阶级的一部分。

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.

Why does the author provide the information that “Great Britain had large amounts of coal”?

What was “the problem of energy" that had to be solved to make the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century possible?

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 2 as a development in cotton mills brought about by Watt’s steam engine?

The phrase “apparent in” in the passage is closest in meaning to

According to paragraph 2, what was Britain’s most important export by 1850?

The word “consequent” in the passage is closest in meaning to

What is the role of paragraph 2 in the passage as a whole?

According to paragraph 3, why was the use of coke important for the iron industry?

According to paragraph 3, all of the following were true of the iron industry in Great Britain during the 1800s EXCEPT:

The word “initiated” in the passage is closest in meaning to

Paragraph 4 implies which of the following about the transformation in rail transportation?

The phrase “accustomed to" in the passage is closest in meaning to

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.

Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selected 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.

Energy and the Industrial Revolution 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.