2. 外语
  3. The technology of the North American colonies did not differ strikingly from that of Europe, but in one respect, the colonists e

The technology of the North American colonies did not differ strikingly from that of Europe, but in one respect, the colonists e

admin2012-01-19  83
问题     The technology of the North American colonies did not differ strikingly from that of Europe, but in one respect, the colonists enjoyed a great advantage．Especially by comparison with Britain，Americans had a wonderfully plentiful supply of wood．
    The first colonists did not, as many people imagine, find an entire continent covered by a continuous forest．Even along the Atlantic seaboard, the forest was broken at many points．Nevertheless, all sorts of fine trees abounded, and through the early colonial period, those who pushed westward encountered new forests．By the end of the colonial era, the price of wood had risen slightly in eastern cities, but wood was still extremely abundant．
    The availability of wood brought advantages that have seldom been appreciated． Wood was a foundation of the economy．Houses and all manner of buildings were made of wood to a degree unknown in Britain．Secondly, wood was used as a fuel for heating and cooking．Thirdly, it was used as the source of important industrial compounds, such as potash, an industrial alkali; charcoal, a component of gunpowder, and tannic acid, used for tanning leather．
    The supply of wood conferred advantages but had some negative aspects as well． Iron at that time was produced by heating iron ore with charcoal．Because Britain was so stripped of trees，she was unable to exploit her rich iron mines．But the American colonies had both iron ore and wood；iron production was encouraged and becamesuccessful. However, when Britain developed coke smelting, the colonies did not follow suit because they had plenty of wood and besides, charcoal iron was stronger than coke iron．Coke smelting led to technological innovations and was linked to the emergence of the Industrial Revolution．In the early nineteenth century, the former colonies lagged behind Britain in industrial development because their supply of wood led them to cling to charcoal iron．
Why was the use of coke smelting advantageous according to the text?
选项 A、It led to advances in technology．
B、It stimulated the demand for wood．
C、It was less expensive than wood smelting．
D、It produced a stronger type of iron than charcoal smelting．
答案A
解析  细节题。由文章最后一段中“Coke smelting led to technological innovations and was linked to the emergence of the Industrial Revolution.”可知，焦炭冶炼引发了技术革新，科技进步，因此应选择[A] 。[D] “焦炭冶炼 产生的铁比木炭冶炼的铁坚固”与文章第四段中“charcoal iron was stronger than coke iron.”相矛盾。英国缺少树，于是开发出焦炭冶炼技术，[B] “刺激 对木材的需求”与此不符，文章没有比较焦炭冶炼和木材冶炼的成本，[C]  不正确。
转载请注明原文地址:https://www.kaotiyun.com/show/TWjd777K
本试题收录于： 公共英语三级笔试题库公共英语（PETS）分类
0

公共英语三级笔试

公共英语（PETS）

相关试题推荐
随机试题
最新回复(0)