参考答案

正确答案：D
OneofthemostpopularmythsabouttheUnitedStatesinthe19thcenturywasthatofthefreeandsimplelifeofthefarmer.Itwassaidthatfarmersworkedhardontheirownlandtoproducewhatevertheirfamiliesneeded.Theymightsometimestradewithneighborsbutingeneraltheycouldgetalongjustfinebyrelyingonthemselves,notoncommercialtieswithothers.ThisishowThomasJeffersonidealizedthefarmeratthebeginningofthe19thcentury.Andatthattimethiswayhadbeenclosetothetruth,especiallyonthefrontier.[33]Butbythemidcentury,sweepingchangesinagriculturewerewellunderwayasfarmersbegantospecializeintheraisingofcropsuchascotton,cornorwheat.Bylateinthecentury,revolutionaryadvancesinfarmmachineryhadvastlyincreasedtheproductionofspecializedcrops.Andtheextensivenetworkofrailroadshadlinkedfarmersthroughoutthecountrytomarketsintheeastandevenoverseas.Byraisingandsellingspecializedcrops,farmerscouldaffordmoreandfindtheirgoods,andachievedamuchhigherstandardoflivingbutataprice.Nowfarmerswerenolongerdependentjustontheweatherandtheirowneffort.[34]Theirliveswereincreasinglycontrolledbythebankswhichhadpowertograntordenyloansfornewmachineryandbytherailroadswhichsettherateforshippingtheircropstomarket.[35]Asbusinessmen,farmersnowhadtoworryaboutnationaleconomicdepressionsandtheinfluenceofworldsupplyanddemandon,forexample,thepriceofwheatinKansas.Andalsobytheendofthe19thcentury,theeraofJeffersonsindependentfarmerhadcometoaclose.32.Whatisthemaintopicofthetalk?33.Accordingtothetalk,whatwasthemajorchangeinagricultureduringthe19thcentury?34.WhatwasoneresultoftheincreaseduseofmachineryonfarmsintheUnitedStates?35.Accordingtothetalk,whywereworldmarketsimportantfortheUnitedStatesagriculture?【解题思路】四项均为名词性短语，推知本题应该是用what进行提问。四项分别为：Jefferson对于商业化农业的看法、19世纪的国际贸易、美国农业机械的改进、农民独立性的丧失。本题很可能考查短文主题。【解析】短文开头提到，19世纪初的美国农民基本上是自给自足，与外界没有太多的商业联系。到了19世纪中期，随着农民开始专业化种植作物，农业的变化发生了。19世纪晚期，农业技术的突飞猛进极大地提高了专业化作物的生产量，密集的铁路网将农民与东部甚至海外市场联系起来，这时的农民不再仅仅依赖天气和自己的努力了，他们的生活越来越被银行和铁路控制，杰斐逊时代的独立农民也走到了尽头，因此本段短文主要讲述的是美国农民失去独立性的过程，故选D。