Passage E
There were several reasons why the Industrial Revolution started in the Great Britain rather than in France, the other great power of the day. In the first place, Britain had the money necessary to finance the larger enterprises. England’s supremacy on the seas had encouraged commerce, and Englishmen had been amassing wealth through their commerce and industry. The newly rich classes in that country were not the aristocratic group, but merchants and businessmen who were willing to devote themselves to industry and scientific agriculture. The wealth of France, on the other hand, was largely in the hands of the nobility, and they were not willing to do the necessary work to develop industry. In the second place, Great Britain had undertaken very early the manufacturing of inexpensive and more practical products for which there would be ever-growing demand from the people, especially the new middle class. On the other hand, France produced articles in the luxury class. These could never be turned out in quantities because they demanded individuality. England was the producer of goods that were produced in quantities, and if she could find a cheaper means of producing them, her markets would grow. So she was ready for methods that would make it possible to manufacture in large quantities. In the third place, for a long time England had large numbers of semiskilled workers. When the feudal system broke down in England and the manors were turned to sheep raising, numbers of Englishmen went to the towns. There they engaged in weaving, making shoes, wood carving and many other occupations that developed skills. When the industrial revolution began, these men were available for the work on the new machines. Moreover they were free men who could move from place to place as the need for workers arose. This and not been the case in France, which was still chiefly and agricultural country with peasants bound to their masters in many ways so they could not easily move to the cities. In the fourth place, coal was abundant in Great Britain, and a large amount of this cheap fuel was necessary for running the factories. There was coal in northern France, too, but France was late in tapping such resources because really everyone depended directly or indirectly on farming for his living.
Britain had the money necessary to develop industry because ________.
根据第四句“The newly rich classes in that country were not the aristocratic group, but merchants and businessmen who were willing to devote themselves to industry and scientific agriculture.”可知，国家的新贵阶层 不是贵族阶层，而是愿意投身于工业和科学农业的商人，因此英国有资金进行工业发展，答案选C。
According to the passage, French people attached importance to ________.
根据中间部分“These could never be turned out in quantities because they demanded individuality.”可知， 法国在奢侈品上大做文章，因为他们要求个性，所以批量生产是不可能的，因此答案选B。
Which of the following statements is true?
根据倒数第三句“This and not been the case in France, which was still chiefly and agricultural country with peasants bound to their masters in many ways so they could not easily move to the cities.”可知，法国仍然是主要 的农业国家，农民与主人捆绑在一起，所以法国缺少自由劳动力，因此答案选D。
When the industrial revolution began, Englishmen ________.
根据倒数第四句“Moreover they were free men who could move from place to place as the need for workers arose.”可知，而且英国的工人是自由的，他们可以工业对工人的需求而自由移动。因此答案选D。
What can be inferred from the passage?
全文主旨题。本文分析了工业革命最先发生在英国而不是法国的四个主要原因，包括资金、资源、劳 动力、产品生产等方面，所以英国的工业革命是在多重因素下产生的结果，因此答案选B。