During the earliest period of industrialization in Britain, steam engines were more expensive to build and operate than either windmills or water mills, the other practicable sources of power for factories. Yet despite their significant cost disadvantage, steam-powered factories were built in large numbers well before technical improvements brought their cost down. Furthermore, they were built even in regions where geographical conditions permitted the construction of wind- and water-powered factories close to major markets.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the proliferation of steam-powered factories during the earliest period of industrialization in Britain?
A. In many areas of Britain, there were fewer steam-powered factories than wind- or water-powered factories in the earliest period of industrialization.
B. Unlike wind- or water-powered factories, steam-powered factories were fueled with coal, which sometimes had to be transported significant distances from the mine to the site of the factory.
C. It was both difficult and expensive to convert a factory from wind power or water power to steam power.
D. In the early period of industrialization, many goods sold in towns and cities could not be mass-produced in factories.
E. In Britain, the number of sites where a wind- or water-powered factory could be built was insufficient to provide for all of the demand for factory-produced goods at the time.
Situation
Although steam engines were more expensive than windmills and water mills in early industrial Britain, many steam-powered factories were built even in regions where the construction of wind- and water-powered factories was geographically feasible.
Reasoning
Why might steam-powered factories have proliferated despite their cost disadvantage? Early industrialists would have needed some positive reason to choose steam over less expensive power sources for their factories. For example, steam engines might have operated faster or more effectively than windmills or water mills. Or steam engines might have received government subsidies. Or conditions restricting the number or locations of windmills and water mills might have forced industrialists to use steam power instead.
A This suggests that the steam-powered factories did not initially proliferate as widely as they might have, but it does not explain why they proliferated to the extent that they did.
B The inconvenience of transporting coal for steam-powered factories would have made those factories less likely to proliferate, not more likely.
C The difficulty of converting factories to steam power would have made steam-powered factories less likely to proliferate, not more likely.
D The technological inability to mass-produce popular products in factories would have made factories in general less likely to proliferate, including steam-powered factories.
E Correct. The inadequate number of sites for wind- and water-powered factories might have encouraged early industrialists to build steam-powered factories instead, since the high demand for factory-produced goods could have made these factories profitable despite their cost disadvantage.
Yilan_asg 发表于 2016-8-28 11:47
看了五个选项只有E是对的，不矛盾啊，是说能建的最多数量的风力水电还是不能满足需求，所以需要Steam engin ...
beiyuj 发表于 2016-9-9 11:42
我的理解是这样的，问题要求你解释为什么蒸汽机会扩建。原文有一个gap，就是明明蒸汽机的cost很高，却被大 ...
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