Part 3 真题 Passage
The Rise of Florence
Paragraph 1
In the Central Middle Ages, starting around 1000 A.D., a number of northern Italian cities, including Venice and Genoa, rode a wave of economic and population growth that saw them become among the most prosperous and powerful cities in Europe. Florence, though a late starter because of its isolation from the sea and the trade opportunities it offered, caught up with and overtook its rivals by engaging in manufacture and commerce, as well as trade. How did it manage to climb to its powerful position by the end of the Middle Ages (ca. 1400 A.D.)?
1. The word “rivals” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. critics
B. competitors
C. neighbors
D. superiors
Paragraph 1
In the Central Middle Ages, starting around 1000 A.D., a number of northern Italian cities, including Venice and Genoa, rode a wave of economic and population growth that saw them become among the most prosperous and powerful cities in Europe. Florence, though a late starter because of its isolation from the sea and the trade opportunities it offered, caught up with
and overtook its rivals by engaging in manufacture and commerce, as well as trade. How did it manage to climb to its powerful position by the end of the Middle Ages (ca. 1400 A.D.)?
2. What can be inferred from paragraph 1 about Venice and Genoa during the Central Middle Ages?
A. They were more involved in commerce than they were in manufacturing.
B. They were dependent upon trade with Florence.
C. They benefited from being close to ocean trade routes.
D. They had strong economic ties to other European cities.
Paragraph 2
All the cities of Europe were becoming manufacturing centers, but Florence did it better than most. The industry was textiles, or cloth production. During most of the Middle Ages, textile production tasks such as spinning, weaving, and dyeing were carried out in small workshops that combined together in a complex collective organization. Master craftsmen controlled the manufacturing, while the buying and selling was carried on by merchants. This medieval system was transformed in two ways, and Florence took the decisive lead in both. Firstly, the master craftsmen and merchants were replaced by a new breed of entrepreneur who controlled both the trading and manufacture of textiles. From the thirteenth century Florentine merchant entrepreneurs set up offices in cities all over Europe from Edinburgh to Constantinople- -the archive of the Datini family shows letters from customers and suppliers from 200 different European towns- -while they also bought up workshops in Florence and employed managers to run them.
3. According to paragraph 2, all of the following are true of the textile industry during most of the Middle Ages EXCEPT:
A. Textiles were produced in small workshops.
B. Textiles trading and manufacturing were separately controlled.
C. Textiles products were transported to markets by master craftsmen.
D. Some textile workshops were joined in collective organizations.
Paragraph 2
From the thirteenth century Florentine merchant entrepreneurs set up offices in cities all over Europe from Edinburgh to Constantinople- -the archive of the Datini family shows letters from customers and suppliers from 200 different European towns- -while they also bought up workshops in Florence and employed managers to run them.
4. 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.
A. The archive of the Datini family reveals the duties of Florentine merchant entrepreneurs, which included establishing and managing workshops.
B. During the thirteenth century, merchant entrepreneurs traveled throughout Europe, setting up and managing workshops in cities as far apart as Edinburgh and Constantinople.
C. Powerful merchant entrepreneurs such as the Datini family communicated with customers all over Europe who wanted to buy and manage workshops in Florence.
D. Thirteenth-century merchant entrepreneurs in Florence established offices throughout Europe in addition to purchasing workshops in Florence and hiring managers to operate them.
Paragraph 3
The second commercial innovation was the development of banking. To support their network of trade, the new merchant entrepreneurs needed a sophisticated method of making money available and moving it around. Florentines got into this role sooner than anyone else, acting as guarantors and providing credit and financial and accounting services to the new merchant entrepreneurs. The banker, someone who did not make or trade in goods and services, but only in money, was a new and powerful commercial phenomenon. At the height of its power Florence was controlled by about a hundred families, all of whom were involved in banking.
5. The phrase “this role” in the passage refers to
A. commercial innovation
B. trade
C. new merchant entrepreneurs
D. making money available and moving it around
Paragraph 4
These commercial innovations may seem mundane, but improvements in organization were to have a revolutionary effect on European commerce. In part these depended on technological advances, many of them made or promoted in Florence. By the thirteenth century paper was being manufactured in Italy, while the use of Arabic numerals was also spreading. Mechanical clocks became widespread in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, giving a new dimension to levels of organization and productivity. Double-entry bookkeeping, an important new accounting technique, was first introduced in Florence, while Florentine bankers organized the exchange of currency (a potential barrier to trade when every city-state was minting its own coinage), advancing credit, overdrafts, deposits, and withdrawals. By 1355 the Peruzzi family had offices in Florence, Palermo, Naples, Avignon, Bruges, and London, with agents running local banks in other major European cities, while the Bardi family had agents in Constantinople, Jerusalem, Cyprus, Majorca, Barcelona, Nice, Marseilles, Paris, Avignon, Lyons, and Bruges. The Florentines were not just bankers to the merchant entrepreneurs of Florence, they were the bankers of Europe- and its richest merchants.
6. The phrase “barrier to” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. limitation to
B. alternative to
C. component of
D. development of
7. According to paragraph 4，why was it important for Florentine bankers to organize the exchange of money?
A. To allow Florentine bankers to participate in trade as merchant entrepreneurs
B. To allow foreign merchants to use Florentine banks
C. To allow Florentine families to set up offices in other cities
D. To make it possible for people using different currencies to trade
Paragraph 4
These commercial innovations may seem mundane, but improvements in organization were to have a revolutionary effect on European commerce. In part these depended on technological advances, many of them made or promoted in Florence. By the thirteenth century paper was being manufactured in Italy, while the use of Arabic numerals was also spreading. Mechanical clocks became widespread in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, giving a new dimension to levels of organization and productivity. Double-entry bookkeeping, an important new accounting technique, was first introduced in Florence, while Florentine bankers organized the exchange of currency (a potential barrier to trade when every city-state was minting its own coinage), advancing credit, overdrafts, deposits, and withdrawals. By 1355 the Peruzzi family had offices in Florence, Palermo, Naples, Avignon, Bruges, and London, with agents running local banks in other major European cities, while the Bardi family had agents in Constantinople,
Jerusalem, Cyprus, Majorca, Barcelona, Nice, Marseilles, Paris, Avignon, Lyons, and Bruges. The Florentines were not just bankers to the merchant entrepreneurs of Florence, they were the bankers of Europe- and its richest merchants.
8. What is the author’s purpose in listing the office locations of the “Peruzzi family” and the “Bardi family”?
A. To suggest that Florentine banking was dominated by two families in the fourteenth century
B. To compare the wealth of Florentine bankers with the wealth of Florentine merchant entrepreneurs
C. To illustrate the influence of Florentine banking throughout EuropeD. To show the strong competition among Florentine banking families
All the cities of Europe were becoming manufacturing centers, but Florence
did it better than most. The industry was textiles, or cloth production. ⬛
During most of the Middle Ages, textile production tasks such as spinning,
weaving, and dyeing were carried out in small workshops that combined
together in a complex collective organization. ⬛ Master craftsmen controlled
the manufacturing, while the buying and selling was carried on by merchants.
⬛ This medieval system was transformed in two ways, and Florence took
the decisive lead in both. ⬛ Firstly, the master craftsmen and merchants
were replaced by a new breed of entrepreneur who controlled both the
trading and manufacture of textiles. From the thirteenth century Florentine
merchant entrepreneurs set up offices in cities all over Europe from
Edinburgh to Constantinople- -the archive of the Datini family shows letters
from customers and suppliers from 200 different European towns- -while they
also bought up workshops in Florence and employed managers to run them.
9. Look at the four squares [⬛ ] that indicate where the following sentence
could be added to the passage
By the end of the Middle Ages, however, the manufacture and trading of
textiles began to undergo fundamental changes.
10. Directions:…
Drag your answer choices to the spaces where they belong to remove an
answer choice, click on it. To review the passage, click VIEW TEXT
Florence’s success in manufacturing and commerce placed it in a powerful
position in the late Middle Ages.
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Answer Choices
A. Because of its ideal geographic location, Florence was one of the first
Italian cities to prosper economically, leading to a large increase in
population.
B. The bankers of Florence facilitated trade in significant ways by making
currency exchange possible and providing numerous financial services
to new entrepreneurs.
C. Despite Italy’s tradition of republican government, the successful
merchant entrepreneurs of Florence made it difficult for other groups to
participate in civic governance.
D. Florence modernized the textile industry by producing a new type of
entrepreneur who was in charge of both the manufacture of cloth and its
trade.
E. New accounting techniques such as double-entry bookkeeping were
learned by Florentine bankers working in other European centers and
imported to Florence.
F. Florence had a developed education system that provided citizens with
the skills necessary to succeed in commerce, as well as access to new
technologies which increased organization and productivity.
