ReadingComprehension

1．________

Transportisoneoftheaidstotrade．Bymovinggoodsfromplaceswheretheyareplentifultoplaceswheretheyarescarcetransportaddstotheirvalue．Themoreeasilygoodscanbebroughtoverthedistancethatseparatesproducerandconsumerthebetterfortrade．Whentherewerenorailwaysnogoodroadsnocanalsandonlysmallsailingshipstradewasonasmallscale．

2．________

Thegreatadvancesmadeintransportduringthelasttwohundredyearswereaccompaniedbyabigincreaseintrade．BiggerandfastershipsenabledatradeinmeattodevelopbetweenBritainandNewZealandforinstance．Quickertransportmakespossiblemass-productionandbigbusinessdrawingsuppliesfromandsellinggoodstoallpartsoftheglobe．Bigfactoriescouldnotexistwithouttransporttocarrythelargenumberofworkerstheyneedtoandfromtheirhomes．Bigcitystorescouldnothavedevelopedunlesscustomerscouldtraveleasilyfromthesuburbsandgoodsdeliveredtotheirhomes．Bigcitiescouldnotsurviveunlessfoodcouldbebroughtfromadistance．

3．________

Transportalsopreventswaste．Muchofthefishlandedattheportswouldbewastedifitcouldnotbetakenquicklytoinlandtowns．Transporthasgivenusamuchgreatervarietyoffoodsandgoodssincewenolongerhavetoliveonwhatisproducedlocally．Foodswhichatonetimecouldbeobtainedonlyduringapartoftheyearcannowbeobtainedallthroughtheyear．Transporthasraisedthestandardofliving．

4．________

Bymovingfuelrawmaterialsandevenpowerforexamplethroughelectriccablestransporthasledtotheestablishmentofindustriesandtradeinareaswheretheywouldhavebeenimpossiblebefore．Districtsandcountriescanconcentrateonmakingthingswhichtheycandobetterandmorecheaplythanothersandcanthenexchangethemwithoneanother．Thecheaperandquickertransportbecomesthelongerthedistanceoverwhichgoodscanprofitablybecarried．Countrieswithpoortransporthavealowerstandardofliving．

5．________

Commercerequiresnotonlythemovingofgoodsandpeoplebutalsothecarryingofmessagesandinformation．Meansofcommunicationliketelephonescablesandradiosendinform