The agriculture revolution in the nineteenth century involved two things; the invention of labor-saving machinery and the development of scientific agriculture. Labor-saving machinery naturally appeared first where labor was scarce. "In Europe", said Thomas Jefferson, "the object is to make the most of their land, labor being sufficient; here it is to make the most of our labor, land being abundant. " It was in America, therefore, that the great advances in nineteenth — century agricultural machinery first came. At the opening of the century, with the exception of a crude (粗糙的) plow, farmers could have carried practically all of the existing agricultural tools on their backs. By 1860, most of the machinery in use today had been designed in an early form. The most important of the early inventions was the iron plow. As early as 1890 Charles Newbolt of New Jersey had been working on the idea of a cast-iron plow and spent his entire fortune in introducing his invention. The farmers, however, would home none of it, claiming that the iron poisoned the soil and made the weeds grow. Nevertheless, many people devoted their attention to the plow, until in 1869, James Oliver of South Bend, Indiana, turned out the first chilled-steel plow.
　　11. The word "here" (Para, 1) refers to_________.
　　A Europe
　　B America
　　C New Jersey
　　D Indiana
　　答案:B
　　本题考查的是考生对细节的把握。根据here上文Thomas Jefferson(美国人)和下文的in America，这里的“here”指的是美国。
　　12. Which of the following statement is NOT true?
　　A The need for labor helped the invention of machinery in America
　　B The farmer rejected Charles Newbolt’s plow for fear of ruin of their fields.
　　C Both Europe and America had great need for farm machinery.
　　D It was in Indiana that the first chilled-steel plow was produced.
　　答案:C
　　本题考查的是考生对细节的把握。文章中有这样的句子：“In Europe…the object is to make the most of their land，labor being sufficient；here it is to make the most of our labor，and land being abundant．(在欧洲……我们的目标是劳动力充足，要充分利用土地；在美国土地充足，要正确使用劳动力。)”因此说欧洲和美国都亟须农业机械化是错误的。C正确答案。
　　13. The passage is mainly about_________.
　　A the agriculture revolution
　　B the invention of labor saving machinery
　　C the development of scientific agriculture
　　D the farming machinery in America
　　答案:B
　　此题考查的是考生对整篇短文主要内容的理解。由部分文章总体结构分析“围绕节省劳力的机械发明展开”文章的中心思想应当是“节省劳力的机器发明”。
　　14. At the opening of the nineteenth- century, farmers in America_________.
　　A preferred light tools
　　B were extremely self-reliant(自给的)
　　C had many tools
　　D had very few tools
　　答案:D
　　本题考查的是考生对细节的把握。文章中有这样的句子：“At the opening of the century，with the ex-caption of a crude plow，farmers could have carried practically all of the existing agricultural tools on their backs．(在本世纪初，除了一个粗糙的耕犁之外，农民可以把其余所有的农具放在背上。)”说明当时的农具很少。D为正确答案。
　　15. It is implied but not stated in the passage that_________.
　　A there was a shortage of workers on American farms
　　B the most important of the early invention was the iron plow
　　C after 1869, many people devoted their attention to the plow
　　D Charles Newbolt had made a fortune by his cast-iron plow
　　答案:A
　　本题是推断题，也是对文章细节的考查。根据“In Europe…the object is to make the most of their land，labor being sufficient；here it is to make the most of our labor，and land being abundant．(在欧洲……我们的目标是劳动力充足，要充分利用土地；在美国土地充足，要正确使用劳动力。)”可推知“美国缺乏劳动力。”B在文章中“The most important of the early inventions was the iron plow．”有说明；根据“many people devoted their attention to the plow，until in 1869，James Oliver of South Bend，Indiana，turned out the first chilled steel plow．”可知C与此句意思相反，为错误项。根据“spent his entire fortune in introducing his invention．The farmers，However，would home none of it”可推知Charles Newbolt并没有因此而发财，D项也错误。

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