近几年参加
The Cmmercial Revlutin in Medieval Eurpe
Beginning in the 1160s, the pening f new silver mines in nrthern Eurpe led t the minting and circulatin f vast quantities f silver cins. The widespread use f cash greatly increased the vlume f internatinal trade. Business prcedures changed radically. The individual traveling merchant wh alne handled virtually all aspects f exchange evlved int an peratin invh/ing three separate types f merchants: the sedentary merchant wh ran the "hme ffice," financing and rganizing the firm’s entire exprt-imprt trade; the carriers wh transprted gds by land and sea; and the cmpany agents resident in cities abrad wh, n the advice f the hme ffice, lked after sales and prcurements.
Cmmercial crrespndence, unnecessary when ne businesspersn versaw everything and made direct bargains with buyers and sellers, multiplied. Regular curier service amng cmmercial cities began. Cmmercial accunting became mre cmplex when firms had t deal with sharehlders, manufacturers, custmers, branch ffices, emplyees, and cmpeting firms. Tlls n rads became high enugh t finance what has been called a rad revlutin, invlving new surfaces and bridges, new passes thrugh the Alps, and new inns and hspices fr travelers. The grwth f mutual trust amng merchants facilitated the grwth f sales n credit and led t new develpments in finance, such as the bill f exchange, a device that made the lng, slw, and very dangerus shipment f cins unnecessary.
The ventures f the German Hanseatic League illustrate these advancements. The Hanseatic League was a mercantile assciatin f Eurpean twns dating frm 1159. The league grew by the end f the furteenth century t include abut 200 cities frm Hlland t Pland. Acrss regular, well- defined trade rutes alng the Baltic and Nrth seas, the ships f league cities carried furs, wax, cpper, fish, grain, timber, and wine. These gds were exchanged fr finished prducts, mainly clth and salt, frm western cities. At cities such as Bruges and Lndn, Hanseatic merchants secured special trading cncessins, exempting them frm all tlls and allwing them t trade at lcal fairs. Hanseatic merchants established freign trading centers, the mst famus f which was the Lndn Steelyard, a walled cmmunity with warehuses, ffices, a church, and residential quarters fr cmpany representatives. By the late thirteenth century, Hanseatic merchants had develped an imprtant business technique, the business register. Merchants publicly recrded their debts and cntracts and received a league guarantee fr them. This device prved a decisive factr in the later develpment f credit and cmmerce in nrthern Eurpe.
These develpments added up t what ne mdern schlar has called "a cmmercial revlutin." In the lng run, the cmmercial revlutin f the High Middle Ages (A D 1000-1300) brught abut radical change in Eurpean sciety. ne remarkable aspect f this change was that the cmmercial classes cnstituted a small part f the ttal ppulatin—never mre than 10 percent. They exercised an influence far in excess f their numbers. The cmmercial revlutin created a great deal f new wealth, which meant a higher standard f living. The existence f wealth did nt escape the attentin f kings and ther rulers. Wealth culd be taxed, and thrugh taxatin, kings culd create strng and centralized states. In the years t cme, alliances with the middle classes were t enable kings t weaken aristcratic interests and build the states that came t be called mdern.
The cmmercial revlutin als prvided the pprtunity fr thusands f agricultural wrkers t imprve their scial psitin. The slw but steady transfrmatin f Eurpean sciety frm almst cmpletely rural and islated t relatively mre urban cnstituted the greatest effect f the cmmercial revlutin that began in the eleventh century. Even s, merchants and business peple did nt run medieval cmmunities, except in central and nrthern Italy and in the cunty f Flanders. Mst twns remained small. The nbility and churchmen determined the predminant scial attitudes, values, and patterns f thught and behavir. The cmmercial changes f the eleventh thrugh furteenth centuries did hwever, lay the ecnmic fundatin fr the develpment f urban life and culture.
1. Accrding t paragraph 1, ne effect f the increased use f cash was that
an individual merchant n lnger perfrmed all aspects f trading peratins
a cmpany's hme ffice declined in imprtance
merchants n lnger had t transprt their gds t distant places
the vlume f trade declined in areas lacking silver mines
2. The wrd “radically”， in the passage is clsest in meaning t
fundamentally
quickly
unexpectedly
gradually
3. The wrd versaw" in the passage is clsest In meaning t
understd
included
delivered
supervised
4. Accrding t paragraph 2, which f the fllwing was NT an effect f the change in business prcedures?
An increase in credit sales
The use f curier services between cities
The adptin f simpler accunting prcedures
The imprvement f rads
5. Which f the sentences belw best expresses the essential infrmatin in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incrrect chices change the meaning in imprtant ways r leave ut essential infrmatin.
Credit sales and bills f exchange were devices that merchants develped in rder t increase their mutual trust.
Merchants develped ways t finance their sales withut having t rely n slw and dangerus shipments f cins.
Greater trust amng merchants led t an increase in credit sales and t the use f bills f exchange that made the shipping f cins unnecessary.
Merchants began t trust ne anther when it became t slw and dangerus fr a single merchant t ship cins.
6. Accrding t paragraph 3, Hanseatic merchants benefited by all f the fllwing EXCEPT
the use f trading centers in distant cities
a new system f recrding cmmercial transactins
the pening f verland trade rutes acrss nrthern Eurpe
access t markets in abut 200 cities
7. The wrd "decisive" in the passage is clsest in meaning t
prbable
determining
helpful
limiting
8. Why des the authr prvide the infrmatin in paragraph 4 that the cmmercial classes never exceeded 10 percent f the ppulatin?
T argue that the wealth created by the cmmercial revlutin benefited nly a small number f peple
T challenge the view that the cmmercial classes made up a majrity f the ppulatin f Eurpe
T suggest a reasn that the cmmercial revlutin ended arund A. D. 1300
T emphasize the pint that the cmmercial revlutin was brught abut by a small part f the ppulatin
9. Accrding t paragraph 4, which f the fllwing was assciated with the rise f mdem states?
Increased wealth fr the ruling classes
The weakening f the aristcracy
The decline f the middle class
A reductin in taxes
10. The wrd "alliances" in the passage is clsest in meaning t
transactins
cmmunicatins
partnerships
cnflicts
11. Accrding t paragraph 5, the mst imprtant result f the cmmercial revlutin was t
simplify the rganizatin f Eurpean sciety
prvide emplyment t agricultural wrkers
encurage merchants t becme cmmunity leaders
change Eurpe frm a rural t a mre urban sciety
12. Paragraph 5 supprts which f the fllwing inferences abut the cmmercial revlutin between ad 1000 and 1300?
It had very little impact n scial attitudes and values.
It brught abut majr plitical changes thrughut Eurpe.
It lessened the influence f the church.
It increased the ppulatin f small twns.
13. Lk at the fur squares [] that indicate where the fllwing sentence culd be added t the passage.
While It riginated in the German city f Liibeck, it began t expand in 1241 when Liibeck entered int a mutual prtectin treaty with the city f Hamburg.
Where wuld the sentence best fit? Click n a square [] t add the sentence t the passage.
14. Directins: An intrductry sentence fr a brief summary f the passage is prvided belw. Cmplete the summary by selecting the THREE answer chices that express the mst imprtant ideas in the passage. Sme sentences d nt belng in the summary because they express ideas that are nt presented in the passage r are minr ideas in the passage. This questin is wrth 2 pints.
Drag yur answer chices t the spaces where they belng T remve an answer chice, click n it
T review the passage, click VIEW TEXT
During the High Middle Ages (A.D. 1000-1300), Eurpe underwent a cmmercial revlutin.
Answer Chices
Merchants adpted new accunting and trading prcedures t make lng-distance trading mre efficient.
The faster transprtatin made pssible by imprved rads expanded the variety f gds that culd be brught t Eurpean twns frm far away.
The increasing imprtance f cmmercial trade led t a decline in the influence f traditinal surces f pwer, such as kings and church leaders.
The mining f silver imprved the security f cmmercial transactins by allwing cins t replace credit and bills f exchange as the means f exchange.
The Hanseatic League was an assciatin f Eurpean twns that btained shipping, trading, and financial benefits fr its members.
Eurpean sciety became increasingly urban, with better living cnditins and a strnger centralized gvernment.