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这是一篇社会科学类议论文。

Industrial Revolution


Until recently most historians spoke very critically of the Industrial Revolution. They admitted that in the long run industrialization greatly raised the standard of living for the average man. But they insisted that its immediate results during the period from 1750 to 1850 were widespread poverty and misery for the bulk of the English population. By contrast, they saw in the preceding hundred years from 1650 to 1750, when England was still a completely agricultural country, a period of great abundance and prosperity. This view, however, is generally thought to be wrong. Specialists in history and economics, have shown two things: that the period from 1650 to 1750 was marked by great poverty, and that industrialization certainly did not worsen and may have actually improved the conditions for the majority of the populace.
直到最近，大多数历史学家都猛烈抨击工业革命。他们承认，从长远的观点看，工业化确实极大地提高了广大民众的生活水平。但是，他们坚持认为，1750年到1850年期间，工业化给大多数英国人民带来的直接结果是全面的贫穷和苦难。与之相反，他们认为，在此之前的1650到1750年的100年是一个相当富有和繁荣的时期，当时英国还是一个完全的农业国。 然而， 人们普遍认为这种观点不正确。研究历史和经济学方面的专家已经证明了两件事：其一是1650到1750年期间的特征是极度贫穷，而工业化无疑并没有使这种状况恶化，实际上，它可能改善了大多数平民百姓的生活条件。