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  3. There were several reasons why the Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain rather than in France, the other great powers

There were several reasons why the Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain rather than in France, the other great powers

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问题     There were several reasons why the Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain rather than in France, the other great powers of the day. In the first place, Britain had the money necessary to finance the larger enterprises. England’s supremacy on the seas had encouraged commerce, and Englishmen had been accumulating wealth through their commerce and industry. The newly rich class in that country was not the aristocratic(贵族的)group, but merchants and businessmen who were willing to devote themselves to industry and scientific agriculture. The wealth of France, on the other hand, was largely in the hands of the nobility, and they were not willing to do the necessary work to develop industry.
    In the second place, Great Britain had undertaken very early the manufacturing of inexpensive and more practical products for which there would be ever-growing demand from the people, especially the new middle class. On the other hand, France produced articles in the luxury class. These could never be turned out in quantities because they demanded individuality. England was the producer of goods that were produced in quantities, and if she could find a cheaper means of producing them, her markets would grow. So she was ready for methods that would make it possible to manufacture in large quantities.
    In the third place, for a long time England had large numbers of semiskilled workers. When the feudal system broke down in England and the manors(领地)were turned to sheep rising, numbers of Englishmen went to the towns. There they engaged in weaving, making shoes, woodcarving and many other occupations that developed skills. When the industrial revolution began, these men were available for the work on the new machines. Moreover they were free men who could move from place to place as the need for workers arose. This had not been the case in France, which was still chiefly an agricultural country with peasants bound to their masters in many ways so they could not easily move to the cities.
    In the fourth place, coal was abundant in Great Britain, and a large amount of this cheap fuel was necessary for running the factories. There was coal in northern France, too, but France was late in tapping such resources because nearly everyone depended directly or indirectly on farming for his living.
When the industrial revolution began, Frenchmen ______.
选项 A、were busy accumulating wealth through commerce and industry
B、could move from place to place as the need for workers arose
C、depended on farming for their living
D、had found a cheaper means of producing goods needed in qualities
答案C
解析 由题干中的When the industrial revolution began定位到文章第三段中间：当封建体制在英国瓦解和圈地运动开始时，大量英国人涌进城里，这为大机器生产提供了自由劳动力。而此时法国仍以农业为主，农民被束缚在主人那里，他们很难进城，可知在工业革命开始时，法国依然以农业为主，所以选 C)。A)和D)说的是英国的情况；B)和文章内容相反。
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