首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
It is the world’s fourth-most-important food crop, after maize, wheat and rice. It provides more calories, more quickly, using l
It is the world’s fourth-most-important food crop, after maize, wheat and rice. It provides more calories, more quickly, using l
admin
2014-06-13
30
问题
It is the world’s fourth-most-important food crop, after maize, wheat and rice. It provides more calories, more quickly, using less land and in a wider range of climates than any Other plant. It is, of Course, the potato.
The United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato. It hopes that greater awareness of the merits of potatoes will contribute to the achievement of its Millennium Development Goals, by helping to alleviate poverty, improve food security and promote economic development. It is always the international year of this or month of that. But the potato’s unusual history means it is well worth celebrating by readers of The Economist because the potato is intertwined with economic development, trade liberalisation and globalisation.
Unlikely though it seems, the potato promoted economic development by underpinning the industrial revolution in England in the 19th century. It provided a cheap source of calories and was easy to cultivate, so it liberated workers from the land. Potatoes became popular in the north of England, as people there specialised in livestock farming and domestic industry, while farmers in the south (where the soil was more suitable ) concentrated on wheat production. By a happy accident, this concentrated industrial activity in the regions where coal was readily available, and a potato-driven population boom provided ample workers for the new factories. Friedrich Engels even declared that the potato was the equal of iron for its "historically revolutionary role".
The potato promoted free trade by contributing to the abolition of Britain’s Corn Laws-the cause which prompted the founding of The Economist in 1843. The Corn Laws restricted imports of grain into the United Kingdom in order to protect domestic wheat producers. Landowners supported the laws, since cheap imported grain would reduce their income, but industrialists opposed them because imports would drive down the cost of food, allowing people to spend more on manufactured goods. Ultimately it was not the eloquence of the arguments against the Corn Laws that led to their abolition-and more’s the pity. It was the tragedy of the Irish potato famine of 1845, in which 1million Irish perished when the potato crop on which they subsisted succumbed to blight. The need to import grain to relieve the situation in Ireland forced the government, which was dominated by landowners who backed the Corn Laws, to reverse its position.
This paved the way for liberalisation in other areas, and free trade became British policy. As the Duke of Wellington complained at the time, "rotten potatoes have done it all. "
In the form of French fries, served alongside burgers and Coca-Cola, potatoes are now an icon of globalisation. This is quite a turnaround given the scepticism which first greeted them on their arrival in the Old World in the 16th century. Spuds were variously thought to cause leprosy, to be fit only for animals, to be associated with the devil or to be poisonous. They took hold in 18th century Europe only when war and famine meant there was nothing else to eat; people then realised just how versatile and reliable they were. As Adam Smith, one of the potato’s many admirers, observed at the time, "The very general use which is made of potatoes in these kingdoms as food for man is a convincing proof that the prejudices of a nation, with regard to diet, however deeply rooted, are by no means unconquerable. " Mashed, fried, boiled and roast, a humble tuber changed the world, and free-trading globalisers everywhere should celebrate it.
According to the text, which of the following is NOT true about Britain’s Corn Laws?
选项
A、These laws were ultimately abolished after a fierce argument in the Parliament.
B、Landowners supported the laws because domestic products were more expensive, and then they could gain more.
C、Industrialists opposed the laws because cheap imported grains would help them develop the market.
D、Irish potato famine of 1845 directly forced the government to reverse its position of sustaining these laws.
答案
A
解析
A项说是经过议会激烈辩论后被废除的,而在文中是说最终并不是口若悬河的辩论而是同情废止了《谷物法》,故答案选A项。B项说国内产品更贵,地主可以赚更多的钱,对应文中“廉价进口的谷物会降低他们的收益”。C项说进口谷物有助于他们开拓市场,这需要找到文中说的进口谷物“会降低食物价格,从而让人们在制造好的商品上花费更多”,这两者意思相同。D项则是第四段的最后两句的总结。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/IsK4777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Insomeearlyattemptsbypsychologiststodescribethebasiclearningprocess,theterms’stimulus’,’response’and’reinforcem
Thefollowingparagraphsaregiveninawrongorder.ForQuestions41-45,youarerequiredtoreorganizetheseparagraphsintoa
WiththeMetOfficepredictingasummerheatwave,MacmillanCancerReliefthisweek(1)_____itscustomarywarningaboutthesun
ReadthefollowingtextcarefullyandthentranslatetheunderlinedsegmentsintoChinese.Yourtranslationshouldbewrittencl
Writeanessayof160—200wordsbasedonthefollowingdrawing.Inyouressay,youshould1)describethedrawingbriefly.2)ex
Scientistsaroundtheworldareracingtolearnhowtorapidlydiagnose,treatandstopthespreadofanew,deadlydisease.SAR
FromTheTippingPointtoNudge,theriseofpop-socialsciencehasbeenanoticeablefeatureofthepastdecadeinpublishing.
Recentlyscientistshavebeen【C1】______andperfectingothersourcesofenergy:nuclearoratomicpower,solar(sun)power,ands
ThePredicamentthatJapaneseMenOutofOccupationFacesAfterclashesbetweenriotpoliceandprotesters,workersattheK
随机试题
A.膝腱反射改变B.跟腱反射改变C.两者均有D.两者均无L4~L5间盘突出
患者,男,38岁。晨起及半夜有上腹痛,进食后缓解已经2个月。既往2年每到秋冬季均有发作,经胃镜检查确诊为十二指肠溃疡。本病的主要因素是
A.胎漏B.滑胎C.胎动不安D.小产E.堕胎孕早期.感小腹胀痛,腰酸,阴道有少量出血者,诊断为
在中风化花岗岩的岩体内作钻孔压水试验。该岩层的渗透系数k=3×10—4cm/s。压水试到第三阶段试段压力P3=1.2MPa和流量Q3=16.08L/min,试段长度L=9.3m。按《水利水电工程地质勘察规范》(GB50287—1999)规定,该岩体的渗透性
按照财务制度和企业会计准则,新增固定资产价值的计算对象为()。
某地级市的某地下购物广场(地下两层,地下第二层的室内地面与室外出入口地坪高差为12m,电影院部分的高差为9.7m)沿城市某道路布置,总建筑面积81780m2,内设有商业步行街、超市、餐饮场所和电影院,场所内设有室内消火栓系统、自动喷水灭火系统、火灾自动报警
该金店12月份可抵扣增值税进项税额为( )元。该金店12月份采取“以旧换新”方式销售货物应征消费税为( )元。
位于中国尼泊尔边境上的喜马拉雅山是目前地球上最高的山脉。它的顶峰珠穆朗玛峰高达8848米,堪称世界之最。近半个世纪以来,地质学家对喜马拉雅山进行了研究,特别是近20年来世界各国学者纷纷对青藏高原进行实地勘测,弄清了喜马拉雅山脉的来龙去脉。科学家们
Shortstoriesareduearevival.Inrecentyears,therehavebeencritically【C1】______collectionsbyAmericanwriterssuchasLy
A、It’stough.B、It’sasnap.C、It’sapieceofcake.D、It’seasy.A
最新回复
(
0
)