2000年1月托福阅读.docVIP

2000年1月TOEFL试题 Section Three: Reading Comprehension Questions 1-10 As Philadelphia grew from a small town into a city in the first half of the eighteenth century, it became an increasingly important marketing center for a vast（广阔的） and growing agricultural hinterland（内地）. Market days saw the crowded city even more crowded, as fanners （通风机）from within a radius（半径） of 24 or more kilometers brought their sheep, cows, pigs, vegetables, cider, and other products for direct sale to the townspeople（市民）. The High Street Market was continuously enlarged throughout the period until 1736, when it reached from Front Street to Third. By 1745 New Market was opened on Second Street between Pine and Cedar. The next year the Callowhill Market began operation（经营）. Along with market days, the institution（制度） of twice-yearly fairs（定期集市） persisted（持续） in Philadelphia even after similar trading days had been discontinued in other colonial（殖民地） cities. The fairs provided a means of bringing handmade goods from outlying(边远的) places to would-be（想成为） buyers in the city. Linens and stockings（床单和被罩） from Germantown, for example, were popular items（物品）. Auctions（拍卖） were another popular form of occasional（偶尔的） trade. Because of the competition, retail（零售商） merchants（商人） opposed（反对） these as well as the fairs. Although governmental attempts to eradicate（根绝） fairs and auctions were less than successful, the ordinary course（正规贸易） of economic development was on the merchants side, as increasing business specialization（特殊化的） became the order of the day. Export merchants became differentiated from their importing counterparts（相对物）, and specialty shops （专卖店）began to appear in addition to general stores（杂货店） selling a variety of goods. One of the reasons Philadelphias merchants generally prospered was because the surrounding area was undergoing tremendous（极大的） economic and demographic growth（人口增长）. They did their business, after all, in the capital city of the province. Not only did they cater to the