托福阅读事实信息题是阅读考试中比较常见的一种题型，tpo则是托福阅读备考最权威的材料，所以托福小编综合二者，为大家集中整理了tpo阅读中考察的事实信息题及其对应的解析，供大家参考使用。本文带来的是TPO17-1的事实信息题，一起来看看吧。
TPO17-1 Europe's Early Sea Trade With Asia
paragraph 1
In the fourteenth century, a number of political developments cut Europe's overland trade routes to southern and eastern Asia, with which Europe had had important and highly profitable commercial ties since the twelfth century. This development, coming as it did when the bottom had fallen out of the European economy, provided an impetus to a long-held desire to secure direct relations with the East by establishing a sea trade. Widely reported, if somewhat distrusted, accounts by figures like the famous traveler from Venice. Marco Polo, of the willingness of people in China to trade with Europeans and of the immensity of the wealth to be gained by such contact made the idea irresistible Possibilities for trade seemed promising, but no hope existed for maintaining the traditional routes over land A new way had to be found.
2. According to paragraph 1 why was it necessary to find anew way for European merchants to reach the East?
People in China were finally ready to trade with Europeans
The European economy was failing because there was no trade with the East
Traditional ways of trading with the East had become very costly
Commercial routes over land had become blocked because of political events
解析：以a new way做关键词定位至最后一句，这句信息太少，所以往前看，前句说没法维持传统的陆路贸易，但还是没说为什么，这时候可以使用排除法，也可以去看这段的开头，开头说政治因素切断了陆路贸易，所以答案是D
【1】自12世纪起，欧洲就已经建立起与南亚和东亚之间高度互利的贸易关系，但14世纪时，政治的发展切断了双方的陆路贸易路线。政治的发展在将欧洲经济带入谷底的同时，也提供了一个新契机，通过建立一个欧洲与东方的海上航路确保两者之间直接的贸易往来，实现长久以来的愿景。
paragraph 2
The chief problem was technological: How were the Europeans to reach the East? Europe's maritime tradition had developed in the context of easily navigable seas—the Mediterranean, the Baltic, and. to a lesser extent, the North Sea between England and the Continent—not of vast oceans. New types of ships were needed, new methods of finding one's way, new techniques for financing so vast a scheme. The sheer scale of the investment it took to begin commercial expansion at sea reflects the immensity of the profits that such East-West trade could create. ■Spices were the most sought-after commodities. ■Spices not only dramatically improved the taste of the European diet but also were used to manufacture perfumes and certain medicines. ■But even high-priced commodities like spices had to be transported in large bulk in order to justify the expense and trouble of sailing around the African continent all the way to India and China. ■
3. According to paragraph 2 what was the main difficulty Europeans had to overcome in order to develop a new way of trading with the East?
Europeans were unwilling to invest in large-scale commercial ventures
Europeans lacked the means for navigating long distances across oceans
Europeans were unwilling to experiment with new business techniques
Europeans lacked knowledge about the commercial methods of other peoples
解析：以main difficulty做关键词定位至第一句，说主要的问题是技术问题，西方人怎么到达东方，也就是航行技术问题，而且接着也说欧洲传统的航路是在哪里哪里，所以答案是B。欧洲人非常想与亚洲人贸易，所以A和C的unwilling说错;D的commercial methods没说
【2】对此有诸多报道，有些可能不足为信，威尼斯著名旅行家马可•波罗在其书中就描述了中国人希望和欧洲人通商的意愿，认为通过贸易关系欧洲可以获得巨额财富，他的这些描述让欧洲人难以抗拒。双方贸易有无限商机，前景看好，但传统的陆路贸易已然无望，所以开辟新的贸易路线势在必行。
paragraph 3
The principal seagoing ship used throughout the Middle Ages was the galley, a long, low ship fitted with sails but driven primarily by oars. The largest galleys had as many as 50 oarsmen Since they had relatively shallow hulls, they were unstable when driven by sail or when on rough water: hence they were unsuitable for the voyage to the East. Even if they hugged the African coastline, they had little chance of surviving a crossing of the Indian Ocean Shortly after 1400. Shipbuilders began developing a new type of vessel properly designed to operate in rough, open water: the caravel. It had a wider and deeper hull than the galley and hence could carry more cargo: increased stability made it possible to add multiple masts and sails. In the largest caravels, two main masts held large square sails that provided the bulk of the thrust driving the ship forward, while a smaller forward mast held a triangular-shaped sail, called a lateen sail, which could be moved into a variety of positions to maneuver the ship.
8. According to paragraph 3, what did the lateen sail contribute to the caravel as a sailing ship?
It provided stability for the front part of the ship
It made it possible for the hull to be wider and deeper
It added considerably to the speed of the wind-driven ship.
It improved the capacity of the ship to be guided.
解析：以lateen sail做关键词定位至最后一句，说lateen sail能够挪到很多位置来操作这艘船，所以答案是D，引导船的能力。其他的都没说
【3】技术问题最为重要：欧洲人如何到达东方?欧洲的航海传统是在那些易于航行的海域中建立和发展起来的——地中海、波罗的海，以及一条比较狭长的海域，英格兰和欧洲大陆之间的北海，而这些都并非广阔的海洋。因此，开辟新的航线就需要新型的轮船、新的导航技术，以及支持这一庞大计划的新的融资技术。开启海上商业扩张投入的资金规模反映出东西方贸易所能创造出的巨大财富。香料在当时成为最受欢迎的商品，不仅显著提高了欧洲菜肴的口感，同时也被用于制作香水和一些药品。但即使是香料这样的高价商品也不得不大批量运输，以平衡绕行非洲运输至中国和印度所耗费的巨额成本和麻烦。
paragraph 4
The astrolabe had long been the primary instrument for navigation, having been introduced in the eleventh century. It operated by measuring the height of the Sun and the fixed stars: by calculating the angles created by these points, it determined the degree of latitude at which one stood (The problem of determining longitude, though, was not solved until the eighteenth century.) By the early thirteenth century. Western Europeans had also developed and put into use the magnetic compass, which helped when clouds obliterated both the Sun and the stars. Also beginning in the thirteenth century, there were new maps refined by precise calculations and the reports of sailors that made it possible to trace one's path with reasonable accuracy. Certain institutional and practical norms had become established as well. A maritime code known as the Consulate of the Sea. which originated in the western Mediterranean region in the fourteenth century, won acceptance by a majority of sea goers as the normative code for maritime conduct; it defined such matters as the authority of a ship's officers, protocols of command, pay structures, the rights of sailors, and the rules of engagement when ships met one another on the sea-lanes. Thus by about 1400 the key elements were in place to enable Europe to begin its seaward adventure.
12. According to paragraph 4 which of the following is true of the maritime code developed in Europe in the fourteenth century?
It mapped out lanes in the seas for trading ships to follow
It defined the ways in which people should behave at sea
It replaced an earlier code that could not be adapted to the sea trade with the East.
It gave instructions on how to navigate a ship
解析：以martime code做关键词定位至倒数第二句，说航海准则规定了这个规定了那个，最能概括的是B，而且martime conduct是B的同义替换，A和C没说，D是B的一个例子，所以答案是B
【4】中世纪应用最为广泛的海船是划桨帆船，船体低矮狭长能够使用帆，但主要还是靠浆操控。最大的划桨帆船有50个划手由于船体相对较浅，靠帆航行或是在汹涌的海面上航行时很难保持稳定。因此它们不适合在去往东方的航线上航行。即使紧贴着非洲海岸线行驶，这种船也很难穿越印度洋。15世纪初，造船专家们开始研制一种能够适用于波涛汹涌的开放海域的新型船只——轻快帆船。这种海船船体比划桨帆船更宽更深，因此可以运送更多的货物，稳定性的提升使得船体能够增加多个桅杆和船帆。最大型的轻快帆船上，两根主桅杆撑起大块船帆就能够提供足够的推力驱动帆船前进，同时一个小型的前桅杆撑起一块三角形船帆，这种船帆叫做三角帆，它可以移动到不同位置控制帆船。
以上就是托福阅读TPO17-1中的事实信息题及其解析，大家可以在备考的时候参考复习，希望能够帮助大家的考前准备。最后前程百利祝大家都能取得理想的托福考试成绩。
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