Paragraph 1

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the British parliament enacted a number of laws,called Navigation Acts, governing commerce between Britain and its overseas colonies. For example, the Navigation Acts of 1660 and 1663 barred the empire’s colonial merchants from exporting such commodities as sugar and tobacco anywhere except to England and from

importing goods in non-English ships. Similarly, the Molasses Act of 1733 taxed all foreign molasses (a thick liquid drained from sugarcane and used to make rum) entering the mainland American colonies at sixpence per gallon. This act was intended less to raise revenue than to serve as a protective tariff (tax) that would benefit British West Indies sugar producers at the expense of their French rivals. By 1750 a long series of Navigation Acts were in force, with several effects on the North American colonial economy.

每篇文章的第一段如果出题了，就一定要把结构理清楚，如果没有出题，至少要把中心句找出来，因为它统领全文，很可能有全文中心句，甚至各分论点。本段出了题目，所以结构理清楚。本段的结构是：中心句是首句，核心词是commerce，Britain and its overseas colonies（徐老师的阅读课程中会教你如何找中心句以及核心词）。所以本段中心就是：英国颁布的法律是用来规范英国和其殖民地之间的商业贸易的。后面for example，很显然是例子，所以后面是2个例子分别阐述了2种法律是如何规范商业贸易的。

1. According to paragraph 1, the Navigation Acts of 1660 and 1663 did not allow

¡  importing goods without paying taxes on them

¡  importing goods made outside the British Empire

¡  using English ships to transport goods to non-British colonies

¡  using non-English ships to bring in goods from outside the colonies

细节题。题目关键词是1660 and 1663, 题目逻辑是not。本题对应第二句话，核心信息是：Navigation Acts阻止殖民地商人出口商品到任何地方（除了英国），同时也阻止他们进口非英国船只的商品（这个句子的难点是并列句and，要看出来and是后面的from是和前面的from并列的，并且省略了宾语empire’s colonial merchants）。所以对应B选项。

此题有一个非常强的干扰选项D：使用非英国的船只把殖民地以外的商品带进来。仔细看会发现，原文并不是说不允许“使用”船只，而是不允许“进口”非英国的船只的商品。

今天考试的同学，你做对了么？

2. What was the purpose of “the Molasses Act of 1733”?

¡  To produce the funds needed to protect British West Indian sugar producers from attack by the French

¡  To give British sugar producers in the West Indies an advantage over their French rivals

¡  To prevent rum from being made outside of the British West Indies

¡  To discourage the mainland American colonies from importing molasses

细节题。

看题目还以为是目的题，问的是中心，但是带着心中的正确答案（段落中心）看选项，发现都不是，所以只好看细节了，看这个法律的具体内容：给所有的外国molasses 船只收税。这个法律不是用来增加收入，而是为了提供一种保护税，这个税是为了让英国西部的小型糖生产商受益，免受法国竞争对手的影响。

这个句子中的词组：at the expense of：在牺牲（或损害）…的情况下。这个词组很重要，经常会出现，同学们应该积累起来。

所以选B。

Paragraph 2

For one thing, the laws limited all imperial trade to British ships, defined as those with British ownership and crews that were three-quarters British. For purposes of the legislation, Parliament classified all colonists as British. This restriction not only contributed to Great Britain’s rise as Europe’s foremost shipping nation but also laid the foundations for an American shipbuilding industry and merchant marine. By the 1750s one-third of all imperial vessels were American-owned, mostly by merchants in the northeast and in mid-Atlantic colonies. The swift growth of this merchant marine diversified the northern colonial economy and made it more

self-sufficient. The expansion of colonial shipping in turn accelerated urbanization by creating a need for centralized docks, warehouses, and repair shops in the colonies. By 1770 Philadelphia and New York City had emerged as two of the British Empire’s busiest ports.

3. The word “swift” in the passage is closet in meaning to

¡  gradual

¡  fast

¡  protective

¡  long-term

4. According to paragraph 2, the Navigation Acts had all of the following effects on the northern colonies in North America EXCEPT:

¡  The region’s economic dependence on Britain declined.

¡  The region’s ports became increasingly busy.

¡  Shipbuilding and related industries grew in strength.

¡  Ownership of vessels by merchants in the northeast and mid-Atlantic colonies declined.

Paragraph 3

The Navigation Acts also barred the export of certain “enumerated goods” to foreign nations unless those items first passed through England or Scotland. The American mainland’s chief items of this sort were tobacco, rice, furs, indigo (a Carolina plant that produced a blue dye), and naval

supplies (such as masts and tar). Parliament never restricted grain, livestock, fish, lumber, or rum, which altogether made up 60 percent of American colonial exports. Furthermore, Anglo-American exporters of tobacco and rice—the chief commodities affected by

enumeration—had their burdens reduced by two significant concessions. First, Parliament gave tobacco growers a monopoly over the British market by excluding foreign tobacco, even though this hurt British consumers. (Rice planters enjoyed a natural monopoly because they had no

competitors.) Second, Parliament tried to minimize the added cost of landing tobacco and rice in Britain (where customs officials collected duties on both) by refunding the duties on all tobacco and rice that the colonists later shipped to other countries.

本段中心句是首句，核心词：certain goods。后面的展开分两层，从furthermore分开：第一层是讲如何限制，第二层是讲政府的让步措施。

5. Select the TWO answer choices that, according to paragraph 3, indicate how the Navigation

Acts affected rice and tobacco exporters. To receive credit, you must select TWO answer

choices.

¨  They first had to ship their products to either England or Scotland before shipping them elsewhere.

¨  Their exports were reduced by 60 percent.

¨  They received special concessions by Parliament.

¨  They had to use their own ships to export their products.

双选细节题。题目关键词是：how，effected，rice and tobacco exporters。本段首句：法律也限制特定商品出口到其他国家，除非那些商品首先经过英国或者苏格兰。对应选项A。C选项对应原文的这句话：Furthermore, Anglo-American exporters of tobacco and rice—the chief commodities affected by enumeration—had their burdens reduced by two significant concessions. 香烟和大米的出口商由于2个重要的让步使得他们的重担减少了。所以此题选AC。

6.  The author mentions “grain, livestock, fish, lumber, or rum” in the passage in order to

¡  indicate the colonial exports that were affected by enumeration

¡  provide examples of important commodities that had not been allowed to be exported before the Navigation Acts were introduced

¡  explain why Britain decided to introduce the Navigation Acts

¡  show how North American exporters quickly increased the exports of certain products to compensate for the restrictions imposed by the Navigation Acts

7. The word “significant” in the passage is closet in meaning to

¡  problematic

¡  considerable

¡  minor

¡  temporary

Paragraph 4

The navigation system’s impact on the colonies encouraged economic diversification as well. Parliament used British tax money to pay modest incentives to Americans producing such items as silk, iron, dyes, hemp, and lumber, which Britain would otherwise have had to import from

other countries, and it raised the price of commercial rivals’ imports by imposing protective tariffs on them. The trade laws did prohibit Anglo-Americans from competing with large-scale British manufacturing of certain products, most notably clothing. However, colonial tailors,

hatters, and other small clothes manufacturers could continue to make any item of dress in their households or small shops. Manufactured by low-paid labor, British clothing imports generally undersold whatever the colonists could have produced given their higher labor costs. The colonists were also free to produce iron and built numerous iron works.

8. The word “modest” in the passage is closet in meaning to

¡  direct

¡  relatively small

¡  adequate

¡  various

9. Paragraph 4 supports which of the following statements about why Britain did not pass laws restricting the small-scale manufacture of clothing in the colonies?

¡  Such clothing presented no serious competition to clothing imported from Britain.

¡  The British realized that any attempt to enforce such laws would be ineffective.

¡  Clothing manufactured in the American colonies generally did not sell well in Britain.

¡  The quality of clothing produced in the colonies was lower than that of British clothing.

Paragraph 5

Finally, the Navigation Acts made the colonies a protected market for low-priced consumer goods and other exports from Britain. Steady overseas demand for colonial products created a prosperity that enabled colonists to consume ever-larger amounts not only of clothing but of dishware, home furnishings, tea, and a range of other items both produced in Britain and

imported by British and colonial merchants from elsewhere. Consequently, the share of British exports sold to the colonies rapidly increased from just 5 percent in 1700 to almost 40 percent by 1760. Cheap imported goods enabled many colonists to adopt a lifestyle similar to that of

middle-class Britons.

10. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

¡  British and colonial merchants prospered because of a demand in the colonies for increasing amounts of consumer goods made in Britain.

¡  Both the colonists and the British increasingly consumed clothing and other household items imported from foreign countries by colonial merchants.

¡  The wealth gained from exporting their products enabled the colonists to buy increasing quantities of consumer goods brought into North America by British and colonial merchants.

¡  As merchants increased their wealth, they began to widen the range of products they exported from North America to Britain and the British colonies elsewhere.

Paragraph 5

Finally, the Navigation Acts made the colonies a protected market for low-priced consumer goods and other exports from Britain. Steady overseas demand for colonial products created a prosperity that enabled colonists to consume ever-larger amounts not only of clothing but of dishware, home furnishings, tea, and a range of other items both produced in Britain and

imported by British and colonial merchants from elsewhere. Consequently, the share of British exports sold to the colonies rapidly increased from just 5 percent in 1700 to almost 40 percent by 1760. Cheap imported goods enabled many colonists to adopt a lifestyle similar to that of middle-class Britons.

11. The word “Consequently” in the passage is closet in meaning to

¡  However

¡  Similarly

¡  In addition

¡  Therefore

12. According to paragraph 5, which of the following was one effect that the Navigation Acts had during the period from 1700 to 1760?

¡  They reduced the attractiveness of most locally produced commodities for the American colonists.

¡  They protected colonial merchants from having to compete with low-priced imports.

¡  They greatly increased the importance of the American colonies as purchasers of British exports.

¡  They raised the production costs for many commodities manufactured in the American colonies.

Paragraph 3

The Navigation Acts also barred the export of certain “enumerated goods” to foreign nations unless those items first passed through England or Scotland. The American mainland’s chief items of this sort were tobacco, rice, furs, indigo (a Carolina plant that produced a blue dye), and naval

supplies (such as masts and tar). Parliament never restricted grain, livestock, fish, lumber, or rum, which altogether made up 60 percent of American colonial exports. Furthermore, Anglo-American exporters of tobacco and rice—the chief commodities affected by enumeration—had their burdens reduced by two significant concessions. ■ First, Parliament

gave tobacco growers a monopoly over the British market by excluding foreign tobacco, even though this hurt British consumers. ■ (Rice planters enjoyed a natural monopoly because they had no competitors.) ■ Second, Parliament tried to minimize the added cost of landing tobacco and rice in Britain (where customs officials collected duties on both) by refunding the duties on all tobacco and rice that the colonists later shipped to other countries. ■

13. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence can be added to the passage.

About 85 percent of all North American tobacco and rice was eventually reexported and sold outside the British Empire.

Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the passage.

14. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below.

Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some answer choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage.

This question is worth 2 points.

Drag your choices to the spaces where they belong. To review the passage, click on View Text.

The Navigation Acts put in place by Britain had significant effects on the economy of the American colonies.