The civilization(文化) of the Renaissance was the creation of prosperous cities and of rulers who drew substantial income from their urban subjects in the Italian city states and the countries of England and France. The commerce that kept cities alive also provided the capital and the flow of ideas that helped build Renaissance culture. During the early Middle Ages foreign trade had virtually come to a halt. By the 11th century, however, population growth and contact with other cultures through military efforts such as the Crusades(十字军东征) helped revive commercial activity. Trade slowly increased with the exchange of luxury goods in the Mediterranean region and various commodities such as fish, furs, and metals across the North and Baltic seas. Commerce soon moved inland, bringing new opulence to the citizens of towns along major trade routes. As traffic along these routes increased, existing settlements grew and new ones were established.
The cities of Italy were located between western Europe and the area along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea known as the Levant. Italy's leadership in the Renaissance was due in part to its central location for trade. The cities became important and wealthy commercial centers, and the riches collected by the merchants of Venice, Genoa, Milan, and a host of smaller cities supported Italy's political and cultural achievements.
Important towns developed beyond Italy as well. Especially with the expansion of trade, towns grew along the Danube and Rhine rivers of Europe; around the North Sea and the Baltic Sea; and in the Low Countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands where northern and southern trade routes met. Wherever these towns were located, they became a unique element in a medieval world that up to this time was dominated by seignorialism(领主制), an agricultural system in which the primary economic and political relationship was between landowners and their tenants.
The Renaissance ______.
A. was an ideological movement throughout the world
B. took place in Italy only
C. was originated in Italy
D. was influential in most European countries
The most probable meaning of the word "opulence"(Para. 1) may be ______.
A. technologies
B. commercial means
C. culture
D. prosperity
听力原文: It's common knowledge that music can have a powerful effect on our emotions. In fact, since the 1930s, music therapists have relied on music to calm patients and help control pain. Now psychologists are confirming that music can also help relieve depression and improve concentration. For instance, in a recent study, 50 surgeons were given some high-stressed math problems to solve. They were divided into three groups: one worked in silence, and in another, the surgeons listened to music of their choice on headphones; the third group listened to classical music chosen by the researchers. The results of the study may surprise you. The doctors who got to choose their own music experienced less stress and scored better than the others. One possible explanation is that listening to the music you like stimulates Alfa waves in the brain, increases heart rate and expands breathing. That helps to reduce stress and sharpen concentration. Other research suggests a second relationship between music and the brain: By examining the blood of students after they listened to a variety of classical music selections, researchers found that some students showed a large increase in endorphin, a natural pain reliever. This supports what music therapists have known for years; Music can help revitalize or calm the patient.
(33)
A. Training given to music therapists.
B. How music prevents disease.
C. Studies on the benefits of music.
D. How musicians create music.
听力原文: Too often young people get themselves employed quite by accident, not knowing what lies in the way of opportunity for promotion, happiness and security. As a result, they are employed doing jobs that afford them little or no satisfaction. Our school graduates face so much competition that they seldom care what they de so long as they can earn a living. Some stay long at a job and learn to like it, others move from one job to another looking for something to suit them. The young graduates who leave the university look for Jobs that offer a salary up to their expectations. Very few go out into the world knowing exactly what they want and realizing their own abilities. The reason behind all this confusion is that there never has been a proper vocational guidance in our educational institutions. Nearly all grope in the dark and their chief concern when they look for a job is to ask what the salary is like. They never bother to think whether they are suited for the job or, even more important, whether the job suits them. Having a job is more than merely providing yourself and your dependents with daily bread and some money for leisure and entertainment. It sets a pattern of life and in many ways, determines social status in life, selection of friends, leisure and interests.
In choosing a career you should first consider the type of work which will suit your interests, Nothing is more sad than taking on a job in which you have no interest, for it will not only discourage your desire to succeed in life but also waste your talents and ultimately, make you an emotional wreck and a bitter person.
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A. Because they want to earn high salary.
Because schools do not teach students how to choose jobs.
C. Because there has been severe competition in the job market.
D. Because they have no working experience.