Directions: Actively read the following selection, highlight key ideas so you are prepared to
answer the questions that follow.
Industrial Revolution
For thousands of years, people lived in small farming villages. Villagers had always grown their
own food and made all the goods they needed, like clothes. Beginning in the mid1700s in Great
Britain, the Industrial Revolution changed everything. People started to buy food, clothes, and
other goods from stores, just like we do today. Over the years, farming in Europe had been
changing. People had invented new ways to farm that made farming easier and more efficient. As
a result, it took fewer workers to grow more food. During the same time period, Europe's
population grew. It was no longer possible for everyone to earn a living working on a farm. So,
many people moved to cities looking for work. The Industrial Revolution started in Britain's
textile, or cloth, industry. British merchants had been importing cotton from India since the
1600s. This raw cotton was spun into thread and then woven into cloth. The merchants wanted to
expand the cotton industry in England. They developed a system in which raw cotton was sent
out to peasant families. Workers would spin and weave the cotton and then send it back to the
merchants. Because the families worked in their homes, this production method was called
cottage industry. Under this system, production was slow. Inventors came up with ways to make
spinning and weaving cloth faster. They invented tools like the spinning jenny, which spun many
threads at one time, and the water-powered loom, which wove cloth quickly. With the invention
of these machines, it did not make sense for people to work at home. Some machines were
powered by water, so they had to be built next to rivers. Others were too big to be kept in
people's homes. So, manufacturers built large sheds where they kept the machines. Spinners and
weavers came to work in these factories instead of working at home, this was called the factory
system. From Great Britain's textile industry, the Industrial Revolution spread to other industries.
It also spread to other countries. For example, Belgium, France, and Germany all experienced the
Industrial Revolution. The ideas also crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. In
industrialized nations, people's lives became very different than they had been a hundred years
before. The majority of people in these nations now lived in cities instead of small farming
villages. People bought food and clothing from stores. Instead of working on farms, many people
worked in factories. The Industrial Revolution had changed the world forever
Questions
1. Before the Industrial Revolution, most people lived in _____________.
A. cities
B. factories
C. small farming villages
D. apartments
2. The Industrial Revolution started in _____________'s textile industry.
A. Britain
B. Belgium
C. Italy
D. Germany
3. An early production method was called cottage industry because workers _____.
A. built cottages
B. worked in their homes
C. lived in factories
D. made cottage cheese
4. The spinning jenny ______________.
A. wove cloth quickly
B. was powered by water
C. made production slow
D. spun many threads at one time
5. After the Industrial Revolution, people __________________.
A. bought food and clothing from stores
B. worked in factories
C. lived in cities
D. all of the above
6. Under the production method called cottage industry, people worked ________.
A. in factories
B. at home
C. on farms
D. for free
7. After the Industrial Revolution, people _____________.
A. made their own clothes
B. grew their own food
C. bought goods in stores
D. lived mostly on farms
8. The idea of going to work outside of the home was called the _____________.
A. factory system.
C. urban system.
B. domestic system
D. career choice.
The above questions are based on the passage, the following questions below are based on your
notes:
9. Before the revolution, Britain was predominantly a(n) society.
A. Agricultural
B. Industrial
C. Mechanized
D. Liberated
10. The system that was used in farming before the Agrarian Revolution was?
A. Closed Field
B. Open field
C. Restore field
D. Enclosed field
11. Selective breeding was discovered by
A. John Kay and Jethro Tull
B. James Watt and Charles Townsend
C. Andrew Meikle and John Deere
D. Robert Bakewell and Thomas Coke
12. To domesticate animals means
A. Training animals to do trick
B. Hunting animals for food
C. To raise animals for human use
D. To learn to cook and clean
13. Two methods of food preservation introduced by the Agrarian Revolution were
A. Smoking and drying
B. Flash freezing and canning
C. Canning and refrigeration
D. Refrigeration and smoking
14. The Industrial Revolution transformed societies in Europe and the Western World. This
transformation is mainly
A. From primarily agricultural and rural to manufacturing and urban
B. From primarily subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture
C. From primarily bartering to use of money
D. From primarily sedentary to migration
15. One of the main inventions of the Industrial Revolution is the?
A. Seed drill
B. Steel plough
C. Spinning Jenny
D. Tractor
