Pennsylvania's colonial ironmasters forged iron and a revolution that had both* S$ e: e: I4 b; I! Z/ v1 Y3 V: v
industrial and political implications. The colonists in North America wanted the right to8 N } v+ `" q V9 R7 M- F2 {) ?5 a
the profits gained from their manufacturing. However, England wanted all of the
+ U/ a- t* Q: x# Y- n% O Line colonies' rich ores and raw materials to feed its own factories, and also wanted the
# K6 }: k9 W0 _' C (5) colonies to be a market for its finished goods. England passed legislation in 1750 to. v% a& m# ?0 x7 L; y: }# P2 g
prohibit colonists from making finished iron products, but by 1771, when entrepreneur
% U# i$ `- _% _; } Mark Bird established the Hopewell blast furnace in Pennsylvania, iron making had
6 d+ s, ^: h# W8 n+ j Z4 r become the backbone of American industry. It also had become one of the major issues6 N1 v9 G+ [) u
that fomented the revolutionary break between England and the British colonies. By the
1 y* G5 a5 U/ N/ } (10) time the War of Independence broke out in 1776, Bird, angered and determined, was
" T. R4 |. ^ I* L; v5 Q2 z- d B manufacturing cannons and shot at Hopewell to be used by the Continental Army.
" x; u4 u' p+ M1 m After the war, Hopewell, along with hundreds of other "iron plantations," continued to+ `/ f8 H* N, } f W# j
form the new nation's industrial foundation well into the nineteenth century. The rural$ D) m* U: p7 E
landscape became dotted with tall stone pyramids that breathed flames and smoke,; k' X- q6 P. |( j
(15) charcola-fueled iron furnaces that produced the versatile metal so crucial to the nation's* e1 B& M/ ?* d% L7 n
growth. Generations of ironmasters, craftspeople, and workers produced goods during' B/ Q8 y; A' |) b. o/ d5 J* w! D
war and peace-—ranging from cannons and shot to domestic items such as cast-iron a* e- n. t T) I; H( @
stoves, pots, and sash weights for windows.
6 ?, M+ M# T! i, N1 J2 M* D The region around Hopewell had everything needed for iron production: a wealth of5 l; ~- f2 @0 Y1 [
(20) iron ore near the surface, limestone for removing impurities from the iron, hardwood
2 [- U8 `: {% ~/ A1 y forests to supply the charcoal used for fuel, rushing water to power the bellows that. |* p* L8 h1 _& k
pumped blasts of air into the furnace fires, and workers to supply the labor. By the
( i* w+ o( F8 M* U; N. A4 } 1830's, Hopewell had developed a reputation for producing high quality cast-iron stoves,
8 F! |* `5 ?; l9 }0 N" ]! T for which there was a steady market. As Pennsylvania added more links to its
: I/ t8 y+ S" l (25) transportation system of roads, canals, and railroads, it became easier to ship parts made
. c# P9 [5 G' s4 D9 a$ K by Hopewell workers to sites all over the east coast. There they ware assembled into' V" h4 J* K9 m% w: t
stoves and sold from Rhode Island to Maryland as the "Hopewell stove". By the time the
& {8 |4 l/ U. z4 M9 O$ L last fires burned out at Hopewell ironworks in 1883, the community had produced some
( W" n, { ]- U: i 80,000 cast-iron stoves.5 @1 A/ d- R8 o, V- j: W7 t6 x) R
5. Pennsylvania was an ideal location for the Hopewell ironworks for all of the following reasons EXCEPT
& m: [9 D2 |& d5 O% B9 V (A) Many workers were available in the area
. E# x6 \* L; i( x (B) The center of operations of the army was nearby* H9 ^. [- K3 M+ Q' X5 b5 a
(C) The metal ore was easy to acquire @ [$ a. d- s% S# E4 i' o
(D) There was an abundance of wood6 a* Q2 Q8 h9 `) d! v
答案:B
+ r& v; U" P* b' c7 ^" M) y Under the Earth's topsoil, at various levels, sometimes under a layer of rock, there are
( q) J6 M! q+ \1 [% X. E deposits of clay. Look at cuts where highways have been built to see exposed clay beds;
7 K0 J2 w9 ]) @: s# ~3 @% W% n v6 B or look at a construction site, where pockets of clay may be exposed. Rivers also reveal
% e ~! @8 z8 B: P6 Y Line clay along their banks, and erosion on a hillside may make clay easily accessible.
0 P( r% J! E. b: b1 s$ C (5) What is clay made of? The Earth's surface is basically rock, and it is this rock that1 G) l% u. |! Q# I' t
gradually decomposes into clay. Rain, streams, alternating freezing and thawing, roots of3 e" f0 j' C! C* O
trees and plants forcing their way into cracks, earthquakes, volcanic action, and glaciers
1 M; Y+ l! j1 S2 Z4 j2 @" i2 _ —all of these forces slowly break down the Earth's exposed rocky crust into smaller and' @: P1 R7 X: z" f0 J# b! F6 S u
smaller pieces that eventually become clay.$ J) n9 J8 I/ A6 ]3 U a2 N
(10) Rocks are composed of elements and compounds of elements. Feldspar, which is the
$ K" ?3 _! R8 f; m most abundant mineral on the Earth's surface, is basically made up of the oxides3 w7 f0 ^ `: h( `' y
silica and alumina combined with alkalis like potassium and some so-called impurities
+ R6 Z1 }( j3 y+ A; b, S6 A! u6 {# W: h such as iron. Feldspar is an essential component of granite rocks, and as such it is the& R5 G& s8 ~ e+ i# X7 h9 @" }
basis of clay. When it is wet, clay can be easily shaped to make a variety of useful
% O9 L g+ R: s. e- G5 q (15) objects, which can then be fired to varying degrees of hardness and covered with
6 {: S& O! z+ G- f1 y5 e) ]6 W impermeable decorative coatings of glasslike material called glaze. Just as volcanic
( G9 N( H' A* _ v0 D, u6 ]& ~ action, with its intense heat, fuses the elements in certain rocks into a glasslike rock
1 o/ q4 O% u0 G6 f, v! D) c called obsidian, so can we apply heat to earthen materials and change them into a hard,
* J6 A( A% y, f8 q dense material. Different clays need different heat levels to fuse, and some, the low-fire
) i. I& }. u k) w9 v0 L* u8 v (20) clays, never become nonporous and watertight like highly fired stoneware. Each clay can! l3 X& i- u2 d T8 l
stand only a certain amount of heat without losing its shape through sagging or melting.
: Z% O- h2 l( E* D( r5 Y7 s; ~ Variations of clay composition and the temperatures at which they are fired account for2 ~. q- {. O; ]8 x' G' S
the differences in texture and appearance between a china teacup and an earthenware5 y W6 N7 Z' u; f6 r5 E! f
flowerpot.3 m6 _" z) |+ [, N: @- ~
2. It can be inferred from the passage that clay is LEAST likely to be plentiful in which of the following areas?
8 ~3 z. ?- A% [! E+ M0 b (A) in desert sand dunes' f0 ^' |- F8 }1 S. |9 O. [
(B) in forests
8 y2 r3 D- m; T' v% G8 W (C) on hillsides
P' w# D) c& S4 z" w (D) near rivers
; q0 g: H+ k# ^) N- s4 `# T 答案:A |