The Industrial Revolution in Britain

In Britain, the eighteenth century was marked with a series of inventions that brought new uses to known energy sources (coal) and new machines to improve efficiencies(steam engines) and enable other new inventions (water pumps and railroads). Funding the inventions and financially supporting inventors and inventions through several trials required money. The eighteenth century was marked with a flow of capital (money or wealth) from Britain’s colonies and from global trade into Western Europe.The flow of capital into Western Europe enabled investors to fund inventors and to perfect inventions. For example,James Watt is credited with improving the steam engine by creating a separate chamber to house the steam and by improving the engine’s moving parts, getting them to perform correctly. The invention did not happen overnight: a series of attempts over a few decades finally worked when Watt partnered with toymaker and metalworker Matthew Boulton. Boulton,who had inherited money, financed the final trials and errors that made Watt’s steam engine functional and reliable.

Innovations in iron manufacturing enabled the production of the steam engine and other products made of iron. In Coalbrookdale, England, in 1709, ironworker Abraham Darby found a way to smelt iron (remove the oxygen from rock containing iron). By burning coal in a vacuum-like environment, the English already knew they could cook off the impurities, leaving behind coke, the high-carbon portion of coal. Darby put iron ore and coke in a blast furnace, and then pushed air into the furnace, a combination that allowed the furnace to burn at a much higher temperature than wood charcoal or coal allowed. Mixing the iron ore with limestone (to attract impurities) and water and smelting it with coke enabled ironworkers to pour melted iron ore into molds (instead of shaping it with heat and hammers), making cast iron. The use of molds allowed more consistency in iron parts and increased production of iron components.

The steam engine alone had dramatic effects on production. It was used to pump water out of coal mines, enabling coal workers to reach deeper coal seams; to power spinning wheels that spun 100- plus spools of thread at a time; to power dozens of looms in a factory all at once; and to create a new mode of transportation, the railroad. The first railroad in England was opened in 1825. In 1830, Manchester (a center of textile manufacturing) was connected by rail to the nearby port of Liverpool, and in the next several decades thousands of miles of iron tracks were laid.

Before the railroad connected places and reduced the transportation costs of coal, manufacturing needed to be located close to coalfields. Manufacturing plants also needed to be connected to ports where raw materials could arrive and finished products could depart. In the late 1700s, plants were usually connected to ports by broad canal or river systems. In Britain, densely populated and heavily urbanized industrial regions developed near the coalfields. In the early 1800s, as the innovations of Britain’s Industrial Revolution diffused into mainland Europe, the same set of locational criteria for industrialized zones applied: nearby coalfields and connection via water to a port.

Once the railroad was well established,some manufacturing moved to or grew in existing urban areas with large markets, such as London and Paris. London was an attractive site for industry because of its port location on the Thames River and more importantly because of its major role in the flow of regional and global capital. By locating in London,an industry was at the pulse of Britain’s global influence. Paris was already continental Europe’s greatest city, but like London, it did not have coal or iron deposits in its immediate vicinity. When a railroad system was added to the existing network of road and waterway connections in Paris, it strengthened the city’s position as the largest local market for manufactured products for hundreds of miles. Paris attracted major industries, and the city, long a center for the manufacture of luxury items,experienced substantial growth in such industries as metallurgy and chemical manufacturing. These urban centers became, and remain, important industrial complexes not because of coalfields’ proximity but because of the centers’ commercial and political connectivity to the rest of the world.

 

 

1

In Britain, the eighteenth century was marked with a series of inventions that brought new uses to known energy sources (coal) and new machines to improve efficiencies(steam engines) and enable other new inventions (water pumps and railroads). Funding the inventions and financially supporting inventors and inventions through several trials required money. The eighteenth century was marked with a flow of capital (money or wealth) from Britain’s colonies and from global trade into Western Europe.The flow of capital into Western Europe enabled investors to fund inventors and to perfect inventions. For example,James Watt is credited with improving the steam engine by creating a separate chamber to house the steam and by improving the engine’s moving parts, getting them to perform correctly. The invention did not happen overnight: a series of attempts over a few decades finally worked when Watt partnered with toymaker and metalworker Matthew Boulton. Boulton,who had inherited money, financed the final trials and errors that made Watt’s steam engine functional and reliable.

According to paragraph 1, British inventions of the eighteenth century were made possible in part by which of the following?

AThe discovery of new energy sources

BThe flow of capital from Britain’s colonies

CThe demand by the railroad industry for new technology

DThe increased cooperation among inventors

 

2

In Britain, the eighteenth century was marked with a series of inventions that brought new uses to known energy sources (coal) and new machines to improve efficiencies(steam engines) and enable other new inventions (water pumps and railroads). Funding the inventions and financially supporting inventors and inventions through several trials required money. The eighteenth century was marked with a flow of capital (money or wealth) from Britain’s colonies and from global trade into Western Europe.The flow of capital into Western Europe enabled investors to fund inventors and to perfect inventions. For example,James Watt is credited with improving the steam engine by creating a separate chamber to house the steam and by improving the engine’s moving parts, getting them to perform correctly. The invention did not happen overnight: a series of attempts over a few decades finally worked when Watt partnered with toymaker and metalworker Matthew Boulton. Boulton,who had inherited money, financed the final trials and errors that made Watt’s steam engine functional and reliable.

Why does the author mention “Matthew Boulton”?

ATo call into question the idea that James Watt was the only inventor of the steam engine

BTo show that the development of more efficient machines can alter the flow of capital

CTo illustrate the importance of capital for perfecting inventions

DTo help explain why successful inventions generally require several trials

 

3

Innovations in iron manufacturing enabled the production of the steam engine and other products made of iron. In Coalbrookdale, England, in 1709, ironworker Abraham Darby found a way to smelt iron (remove the oxygen from rock containing iron). By burning coal in a vacuum-like environment, the English already knew they could cook off the impurities, leaving behind coke, the high-carbon portion of coal. Darby put iron ore and coke in a blast furnace, and then pushed air into the furnace, a combination that allowed the furnace to burn at a much higher temperature than wood charcoal or coal allowed. Mixing the iron ore with limestone (to attract impurities) and water and smelting it with coke enabled ironworkers to pour melted iron ore into molds (instead of shaping it with heat and hammers), making cast iron. The use of molds allowed more consistency in iron parts and increased production of iron components.

The word “consistency” in the passage is closest in meaning to

Aregularity

Bstrength

Cmass

Dvariation

 

4

Innovations in iron manufacturing enabled the production of the steam engine and other products made of iron. In Coalbrookdale, England, in 1709, ironworker Abraham Darby found a way to smelt iron (remove the oxygen from rock containing iron). By burning coal in a vacuum-like environment, the English already knew they could cook off the impurities, leaving behind coke, the high-carbon portion of coal. Darby put iron ore and coke in a blast furnace, and then pushed air into the furnace, a combination that allowed the furnace to burn at a much higher temperature than wood charcoal or coal allowed. Mixing the iron ore with limestone (to attract impurities) and water and smelting it with coke enabled ironworkers to pour melted iron ore into molds (instead of shaping it with heat and hammers), making cast iron. The use of molds allowed more consistency in iron parts and increased production of iron components.

Paragraph 2 suggests that the production of steam engines became possible in part because

Ait had become possible to make parts from cast iron

Bnew manufacturing techniques had made it possible to build much larger furnaces

Cironworkers had developed new ways of using hammers to shape iron

Diron-ore supplies had increased

 

5

The steam engine alone had dramatic effects on production. It was used to pump water out of coal mines, enabling coal workers to reach deeper coal seams; to power spinning wheels that spun 100- plus spools of thread at a time; to power dozens of looms in a factory all at once; and to create a new mode of transportation, the railroad. The first railroad in England was opened in 1825. In 1830, Manchester (a center of textile manufacturing) was connected by rail to the nearby port of Liverpool, and in the next several decades thousands of miles of iron tracks were laid.

According to paragraph 3, steam engines were used for all of the following EXCEPT

Aremoving coal from the mines

Boperating factory looms

Cpowering spinning wheels

Dtaking water out of the mines

 

6

Before the railroad connected places and reduced the transportation costs of coal, manufacturing needed to be located close to coalfields. Manufacturing plants also needed to be connected to ports where raw materials could arrive and finished products could depart. In the late 1700s, plants were usually connected to ports by broad canal or river systems. In Britain, densely populated and heavily urbanized industrial regions developed near the coalfields. In the early 1800s, as the innovations of Britain’s Industrial Revolution diffused into mainland Europe, the same set of locational criteria for industrialized zones applied: nearby coalfields and connection via water to a port.

According to paragraph 4, which TWO of the following were true of manufacturing plants before the railroad was introduced? To receive credit, you must select TWO answers.

ATheir highest production cost was for the transportation of coal

BThey were located near coalfields.

CThey were found mainly in port cities.

DThey often had access to canals or rivers.

 

7

Once the railroad was well established,some manufacturing moved to or grew in existing urban areas with large markets, such as London and Paris. London was an attractive site for industry because of its port location on the Thames River and more importantly because of its major role in the flow of regional and global capital. By locating in London,an industry was at the pulse of Britain’s global influence. Paris was already continental Europe’s greatest city, but like London, it did not have coal or iron deposits in its immediate vicinity. When a railroad system was added to the existing network of road and waterway connections in Paris, it strengthened the city’s position as the largest local market for manufactured products for hundreds of miles. Paris attracted major industries, and the city, long a center for the manufacture of luxury items,experienced substantial growth in such industries as metallurgy and chemical manufacturing. These urban centers became, and remain, important industrial complexes not because of coalfields’ proximity but because of the centers’ commercial and political connectivity to the rest of the world.

The word “substantial” in the passage is closest in meaning to

Aadditional

Brapid

Clarge

Dsurprising

 

8

Once the railroad was well established,some manufacturing moved to or grew in existing urban areas with large markets, such as London and Paris. London was an attractive site for industry because of its port location on the Thames River and more importantly because of its major role in the flow of regional and global capital. By locating in London,an industry was at the pulse of Britain’s global influence. Paris was already continental Europe’s greatest city, but like London, it did not have coal or iron deposits in its immediate vicinity. When a railroad system was added to the existing network of road and waterway connections in Paris, it strengthened the city’s position as the largest local market for manufactured products for hundreds of miles. Paris attracted major industries, and the city, long a center for the manufacture of luxury items,experienced substantial growth in such industries as metallurgy and chemical manufacturing. These urban centers became, and remain, important industrial complexes not because of coalfields’ proximity but because of the centers’ commercial and political connectivity to the rest of the world.

According to paragraph 5, which of the following was the most important reason manufacturers chose to locate in London?

ALondon had coal and iron deposits nearby.

BLondon was already an important area for the manufacture of luxury items.

CLondon was a center of the world’s flow of money and wealth

DLondon was the largest market for manufactured goods in the region.

 

9

Look at the four squaresthat indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage

Nevertheless, it soon became an industrial center as well.

Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square  sentence to the passage.

10

Eighteenth-century British inventions contributed significantly to the Industrial Revolution in Britain and in mainland Europe.

AIn Western Europe, the increased availability of wealth for investment made it possible to support inventors through the extended and numerous trials required to perfect their inventions.

BThe steam engine-and the many and varied industrial efficiencies it introduced-was made possible by the development of iron smelting which transformed the production of iron components.

CAlthough most inventions occurred in Britain and were not implemented in mainland Europe until the late 1800s, by that time many European cities were linked by a complex railroad system.

DOne major innovation in iron manufacturing was adding limestone to coke in a blast furnace to increase the temperature, allowing iron ore to be more easily shaped into parts

EThe steam engine produced significant effects in many industries, but some areas such as textile manufacturing were largely untouched by this innovation.

FThe development of railroads meant that manufacturing plants no longer had to be near coalfields but could be located in existing urban areas with large markets and waterway connections to ports.

 

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