영어속독--How Geography Affects Human Progress

How Geography Affects Human Progress

 

Geography and history have been called "the stage and the book of God's household." "Whoever studies either without the other understands neither." Geography was responsible for the way men lived and the things they did in more cases than perhaps we realize.

 

Ocean currents, winds, nearness to large bodies of water, rivers and mountains, deserts, altitude above sea level, all have their effect upon the products of a particular district and people's activities there. England, for instance, has a much warmer climate on the average than the corresponding latitude on the eastern coast of North America, and much of the Pacific coast of North America is relatively warmer than the corresponding points on the Atlantic coast. Southern Europe is warmed by the winds that blow north over the Sahara Desert and many of its products are the semitropical kind, which could not be grown in corresponding latitudes in North America.

 

River valleys usually have more fertile soil than mountainous regions. The mountains, on the other hand, most often contain the metals and minerals which means so much to a nation's industrial life.

 

Refer again to the map between 14 and 15 to illustrate the facts stated in this section. Mention ten cities whose location was determined by geographical influences. What natural reasons are there for the establishment of the community in which you live? Do you think geography affects history now as much as it did in former days? (239 words)

 

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