2014年4月27日托福阅读真题P3+题目+答案：Economic Decline in Europe During the Fourteenth Century

4月27日考试的三篇托福阅读真题分别为：Economic Decline in Europe During the Fourteenth Century、The Climate of Japan、Urban Development in the United States in the Nineteenth Century。具体真题，请不要错过以下内容。

2014年4月27日托福阅读真题P3+题目+答案：Economic Decline in Europe During the Fourteenth Century

After three hundred years of impressive gains in wealth and population, Europe`s economy began to slow around 1300. Several factors accounted for the decline. One of the most important, though perhaps the least dramatic to relate, was a shift in climate. The remarkably fair weather of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries took a decided turn for the worse in the fourteenth. Chronicler`s comments, tree-ring examination, and pollen analysis all indicate that over the course of the fourteenth century Europe`s average annual temperature declined approximately two degrees Celsius, which may sound like very little at first, but if one considers current projections about the possible effects of global warming, in which the average annual temperature shift is only one degree Celsius, a rather different impression emerges. As the temperature dropped, shortening the summer growing season and affecting the resilience of certain vegetable species, the wind and rain increased. This meant that crop yields declined precipitously and the agricultural economy began to contract. As food supplies dwindled, costs rose accordingly and cut into the amount of capital that people had available for other purchases or investments. This in turn added to the gradual constriction of the commercial economy.

1. The word “accounted for” in the passage is closet in meaning to

A.predicted

B.explained

C.typified

D.worsened

2. Why does the author mention “current projections about the possible effects of global warming” in the passage?

A.To argue that global warning was a factor in the climate shift of the fourteenth century in Europe

B.To suggest that the current climate change is greater than the climate change in the fourteenth century in Europe

C.To show the direct connection between temperature changes in the fourteenth century and changes that are currently occurring in Europe

D.To emphasize the impact of the temperature change that occurred during the fourteenth century in Europe

3. In paragraph 1, all of the following are mentioned as factors that contributed to the decline of the agricultural economy in the fourteenth century EXCEPT

A.an increase in rain and wind

B.a shortened growing season

C.the investment of capital in areas other than agriculture

D.a significant drop in temperature

Just as significant were changes in the geopolitics of the Mediterranean world. The decline of the Byzantine Empire, which had dominated the eastern Mediterranean, meant the interruption of trade routes to central and eastern Asia. The rise of new political powers signaled a new era in Mediterranean connections, one in which religious loyalty and ethnic fidelity mattered more than commercial ties. Consequently the movement of goods and services between east and west began to slow. European interest in circumnavigating Africa and exploring westward into the Atlantic Ocean, in fact, originated in the desire into the trade with eastern Asia that had long sustained Europe`s economic growth.

4. In paragraph 2, the author implies that the Byzantine Empire

A.allowed international trade from which Europe benefited

B.became a dominant force during the fourteenth century

C.centered its rule on religion and ethnic ties

D.interrupted trade routes to Asia that had already been established

5. According to paragraph 2, European interest in exploring the coast of Africa and the Atlantic Ocean grew out of a wish to

A.build a roadblock against Asian powers

B.restore valuable trade with eastern Asia

C.create faster trade routes to eastern Asia

D.connect trade between the eastern Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean

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