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农业和渔业是十七世纪荷兰经济的主要部分。

Agriculture and fishing formed the primary sector of the economy in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century.

荷兰的农业已经实现了现代化和商业化：新的农作物和农业技术提高了生产水平，使其满足市场需求，并且可以每年从波罗的海地区大量进口廉价粮食。

Dutch agriculture was modernized and commercialized: new crops and agricultural techniques raised levels of production so that they were in line with market demands, and cheap grain was imported annually from the Baltic region in large quantities.

据估计，大约12万吨的进口谷物养活了60万人；这大约占荷兰人口的三分之一。

According to estimates, about 120,000 tons of imported grain fed about 600,000 people; that is, about a third of the Dutch population.

如果荷兰人自己生产谷物，会非常昂贵和费时，而进口谷物可以使谷物的价格保持较低水平，从而刺激了个人对其他食品和消费品的需求。

Importing the grain, which would have been expensive and time consuming for the Dutch to have produced themselves, kept the price of grain low and thus stimulated individual demand for other foodstuffs and consumer goods.

除此之外，荷兰能够放弃劳动密集型的谷物生产，从而释放了土地和劳动力，来从事更有效率的农业生产。

Apart from this, being able to give up labor-intensive grain production freed both the land and the workforce for more productive agricultural divisions.

农民可以专门从事畜牧业和奶业以及种植工业作物和饲料作物的生产；亚麻、茜草、油菜、烟草、啤酒花和萝卜也都种植了。

The peasants specialized in livestock husbandry and dairy farming as well as in cultivating industrial crops and fodder crops; flax, madder, and rape were grown, as were tobacco, hops, and turnips.

这些产品主要由城市企业购买。

These products were bought mostly by urban businesses.

城市消费者中也对乳制品（如黄油和奶酪）有需求，在16世纪，乳制品已变得比谷物更昂贵。

There was also a demand among urban consumers for dairy products such as butter and cheese, which, in the sixteenth century, had become more expensive than grain.

高昂的价格鼓励农民改善畜牧业技术。例如，他们开始在室内喂养动物，以提高奶牛的产奶量。

The high prices encouraged the peasants to improve their animal husbandry techniques; for example, they began feeding their animals indoors in order to raise the milk yield of their cows.

除了奶业和种植工业作物外，荷兰经济的第三部分反映了农业现代化的方式-园艺。

In addition to dairy farming and cultivating industrial crops, a third sector of the Dutch economy reflected the way in which agriculture was being modernized—horticulture.

在十六世纪，水果和蔬菜只能在属于富人的花园中找到。

In the sixteenth century, fruit and vegetables were to be found only in gardens belonging to wealthy people.

这种情况在17世纪初期发生了变化，当时园艺业被认为是农业部门。

This changed in the early part of the seventeenth century when horticulture became accepted as an agricultural sector.

整个村庄开始种植水果和蔬菜。

Whole villages began to cultivate fruit and vegetables.

然后人们将农产品通过水运到城市的市场，那里的水果和蔬菜的消费不再局限于富人。

The produce was then transported by water to markets in the cities, where the consumption of fruit and vegetables was no longer restricted to the wealthy.

随着消费者和工业对农产品的需求增加，农业用地变得越来越有价值，人们试图更加集中地耕种可用土地，并从湿地和湖泊中开垦更多土地。

As the demand for agricultural produce from both consumers and industry increased, agricultural land became more valuable and people tried to work the available land more intensively and to reclaim more land from wetlands and lakes.

为了增加现有土地上的产量，农民更多地利用了作物轮作，特别是开始定期将动物粪便施加到土壤上，而不是将施肥过程交给放牧的牲畜。

In order to increase production on existing land, the peasants made more use of crop rotation and, in particular, began to apply animal waste to the soil regularly, rather than leaving the fertilization process up to the grazing livestock.

工业废料（例如肥皂锅中的灰）第一次从城市中收集，并作为人造肥料在农村出售。

For the first time industrial waste, such as ash from the soap-boilers, was collected in the cities and sold in the country as artificial fertilizer.

土地产出的提高和价格的上升证明，人们有理由开垦和排干更多的（沼泽地来变成）土地。

The increased yield and price of land justified reclaiming and draining even more land.

The Dutch battle against the sea is legendary.

荷兰的Noorderkwartier拥有众多的湖泊和绵延的河水，特别适合于土地开垦，其中最大的项目之一是1608年开始的Beemster湖的排水工程。

Noorderkwartier in Holland, with its numerous lakes and stretches of water, was particularly suitable for land reclamation and one of the biggest projects undertaken there was the draining of the Beemster lake, which began in 1608.

阿姆斯特丹最富有的商人捐款来开垦7100公顷。

The richest merchants in Amsterdam contributed money to reclaim a good 7,100 hectares of land.

四十三台风车为排水泵提供动力，以便他们能够在1612年将复垦的土地租给农民，投资者以每年17％的利率获得租赁费用。

Forty-three windmills powered the drainage pumps so that they were able to lease the reclamation to farmers as early as 1612, with the investors receiving annual leasing payments at an interest rate of 17 percent.

土地开垦继续进行，在1590年至1665年之间，荷兰、泽兰和弗里斯兰的湿地开垦了近100,000公顷。

Land reclamation continued, and between 1590 and 1665 almost 100,000 hectares were reclaimed from the wetland areas of Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland.

然而，由于农产品价格开始下跌，开垦土地在17世纪中叶之后显著减少，这使得开垦土地在本世纪下半叶的利润大大降低。

However, land reclamation decreased significantly after the middle of the seventeenth century because the price of agricultural products began to fall, making land reclamation far less profitable in the second part of the century.

在十七世纪的最后二十年中，荷兰的农业终于受到了欧洲普遍农业危机的影响。

Dutch agriculture was finally affected by the general agricultural crisis in Europe during the last two decades of the seventeenth century.

但是，令人惊讶的并不是荷兰农业受到诸如销售和产量下降之类的严重现象的影响，而是这一危机仅在相对较晚时出现在荷兰农业中的事实。

However, what is astonishing about this is not that Dutch agriculture was affected by critical phenomena such as a decrease in sales and production, but the fact that the crisis appeared only relatively late in Dutch agriculture.

在整个欧洲，自17世纪初以来，人口的大量减少以及相应的谷物需求下降导致农产品价格下跌。

In Europe as a whole, the exceptional reduction in the population and the related fall in demand for grain since the beginning of the seventeenth century had caused the price of agricultural products to fall.

因为荷兰农民专门从事奶制品制造，工业作物和园艺业，所以他们能够长期不受这场危机的影响。

Dutch peasants were able to remain unaffected by this crisis for a long time because they had specialized in dairy farming, industrial crops, and horticulture.

但是，到了17世纪末，它们也被迫遭遇了普遍的农业危机。

However, toward the end of the seventeenth century, they too were overtaken by the general agricultural crisis.

By indicating that production was “in line with market demands” the author means that Dutch farmers were able to

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.

The phrase “Apart from” in the passage is closest in meaning to

According to paragraph 2, the increased demands on Dutch agriculture made by urban consumers had which of the following results?

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

According to paragraph 3, the modernization of agriculture in the Netherlands was evident in all of the following ways EXCEPT:

Select the TWO answer choices that, according to paragraph 4, indicate two methods people used to increase the productivity of their land. To receive credit, you must select TWO answers.

The word “they” in the passage refers to

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?

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

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

Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Some villages specialized in growing cabbages and carrots; others grew onions, mustard, and coriander; and still others produced fruit and cultivated trees in nurseries.  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 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.

Seventeenth-Century Dutch Agriculture Agriculture and fishing formed the primary sector of the economy in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century. Dutch agriculture was modernized and commercialized: new crops and agricultural techniques raised levels of production so that they were in line with market demands, and cheap grain was imported annually from the Baltic region in large quantities. According to estimates, about 120,000 tons of imported grain fed about 600,000 people; that is, about a third of the Dutch population. Importing the grain, which would have been expensive and time consuming for the Dutch to have produced themselves, kept the price of grain low and thus stimulated individual demand for other foodstuffs and consumer goods. Apart from this, being able to give up labor-intensive grain production freed both the land and the workforce for more productive agricultural divisions. The peasants specialized in livestock husbandry and dairy farming as well as in cultivating industrial crops and fodder crops; flax, madder, and rape were grown, as were tobacco, hops, and turnips. These products were bought mostly by urban businesses. There was also a demand among urban consumers for dairy products such as butter and cheese, which, in the sixteenth century, had become more expensive than grain. The high prices encouraged the peasants to improve their animal husbandry techniques; for example, they began feeding their animals indoors in order to raise the milk yield of their cows. In addition to dairy farming and cultivating industrial crops, a third sector of the Dutch economy reflected the way in which agriculture was being modernized—horticulture.  In the sixteenth century, fruit and vegetables were to be found only in gardens belonging to wealthy people.  This changed in the early part of the seventeenth century when horticulture became accepted as an agricultural sector.  Whole villages began to cultivate fruit and vegetables.  The produce was then transported by water to markets in the cities, where the consumption of fruit and vegetables was no longer restricted to the wealthy. As the demand for agricultural produce from both consumers and industry increased, agricultural land became more valuable and people tried to work the available land 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 crop rotation and, in particular, began to apply animal waste to the soil regularly, rather than leaving the fertilization process up to the grazing livestock. For the first time industrial waste, such as ash from the soap-boilers, was collected in the cities and sold in the country as artificial fertilizer. The increased yield and price of land justified reclaiming and draining even more land. The Dutch battle against the sea is legendary. Noorderkwartier in Holland, with its numerous lakes and stretches of water, was particularly suitable for land reclamation and 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 the drainage pumps so that they were able to lease the reclamation to farmers as early as 1612, with the investors receiving annual leasing payments at an interest rate of 17 percent. Land reclamation continued, and between 1590 and 1665 almost 100,000 hectares were reclaimed from the wetland areas of Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland. However, land reclamation decreased significantly after the middle of the seventeenth century because the price of agricultural products began to fall, making land reclamation far less profitable in the second part of the century. Dutch agriculture was finally affected by the general agricultural crisis in Europe during the last two decades of the seventeenth century. However, what is astonishing about this is not that Dutch agriculture was affected by critical phenomena such as a decrease in sales and production, but the fact that the crisis appeared only relatively late in Dutch agriculture. In Europe as a whole, the exceptional reduction in the population and the related fall in demand for grain since the beginning of the seventeenth century had caused the price of agricultural products to fall. Dutch peasants were able to remain unaffected by this crisis for a long time because they had specialized in dairy farming, industrial crops, and horticulture. However, toward the end of the seventeenth century, they too were overtaken by the general agricultural crisis.