大学英语四级考试备考阅读练习
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大学英语四级考试备考阅读练习
task 1
On January 10, 1962, an enormous piece of glacier broke away and tumbled down the side of a mountain in Peru. A mere seven minutes later, when cascading ice finally came to a stop ten miles down the mountain, it had taken the lives of 4,000 people.?
This disaster is one of the most “devastating”examples of a very common event: an avalanche of snow or ice. Because it is extremely cold at very high altitudes, snow rarely melts. It just keeps piling up higher and higher. Glaciers are eventually created when the weight of the snow is so great that the lower layers are pressed into solid ice. But most avalanches occur long before this happens. As snow accumulates on a steep slope, it reaches a critical point at which the slightest vibration will send it sliding into the valley below.? Even an avalanche of light power can be dangerous, but the Peruvian catastrophe was particularly terrible because it was caused by a heavy layer of ice. It is estimated that the ice that broke off weighed three million tons. As it crashed down the steep mountainside like a gigantic snow plough, it swept up trees, boulders and tons of topsoil, and completely crushed and destroyed the six villages that lay in its path.
At present there is no way to predict or avoid such enormous avalanches, but, luckily, they are very rare. Scientists are constantly studying the smaller, more common avalanches, to try to understand what causes them. In the future, perhaps dangerous masses of snow and ice can be found and removed before they take human lives.?
1. The first paragraph catches the reader’s attention with a ?_____?
A. first hand report? B. dramatic description? C. tall tale?D. vivid world picture ?
2. In this passage "devastating" means ?______?.
A. violently ruinous? B. spectacularly interesting? C. stunning? D. unpleasant ?
3. The passage is mostly about ?______?.?
A. avalanches B. glaciers C. Peru D. mountains
答案解析
1. A) 文章的第一段就像一个新闻报道，报道了在秘鲁发生的雪崩的灾难性后果，一下子就吸引了读者的注意力。
2. A) 根据语境线索可判断出词义为A。?
3. A) 通读全文可知，文章主要是讲述雪崩的形成。
task 2
As the merchant class expanded in the eighteenth?century North American Colonies, the silversmith and the coppersmith businesses rose to serve it. Only a few silversmiths were available in New York or Boston in the late seventeenth century, but in the eighteenth century they could be found in all major colonial cities. No other colonial artisans rivaled the silversmiths’ prestige. They handled the most expensive materials and possessed direct connections to prosperous colonial merchants. Their products, primarily silver plates and bowls, reflected their exalted status and testified to their customers’ prominence. Silver stood as one of the surest ways to store wealth at a time before neighborhood banks existed. Unlike the silver coins from which they were made, silver articles were readily identifiable. Often formed to individual specifications, they always carried the silversmith’s distinctive markings and consequently could be traced and retrieved. Customers generally secure the silver for the silver object they ordered. They saved coins, took them to smiths, and discussed the type of pieces they desired. Silversmiths complied with these requests by melting the money in a small furnace, adding a bit of copper to form a stronger alloy, and casting the alloy in rectangular blocks. They hammered these ingots to the appropriate thickness by hand, shaped them and pressed designs into them for adornment. Engraving was also done by hand. In addition to plates and bowls, some customers sought more intricate products, such as silver teapots. These were made by shaping or casting parts separately and then soldering them together. Colonial coppersmithing also come of age in the early eighteenth century and prospered in northern cities. Copper’s ability to conduct heat efficiently and to resist corrosion contributed to its attractiveness. But because it was expensive in colonial America, coppersmiths were never very numerous. Virtually all copper worked by Smiths was imported as sheets or obtained by recycling old copper goods. Copper was used for practical items, but it was not admired for its beauty. Coppersmiths employed it to fashion pots and kettles for the home. They shaped it in much the same manner as silver or melted it in a foundry with lead or tin. They also mixed it with zinc to make brass for maritime and scientific instruments.?
1.According to the passage, which of the following eighteenth century developments had strong impact on silversmiths? ?
A. A decrease in the cost of silver. ?
B. The invention of heat efficient furnaces. ?
C. The growing economic prosperity of colonial merchants. ?
D. The development of new tools used to shape silver. ?
2.In colonial America, where did silversmiths usually obtain the material to make silver articles? ?
A. From their own mines. ? B. From importers.
C. From other silversmiths. ? D. From customers.
3.The passage mentions all of the following as uses for copper in Colonial America EXCEPT ?______?.?
A. cooking pots ?B. scientific instruments ? C. musical instruments ? D. maritime instruments
4.According to the passage, silversmiths and coppersmiths in colonial America were similar in which of the following ways? ?
A. The amount of social prestige they had.?
B. The way they shaped the metal they worked with. ?
C. The cost of the goods they made. ?
D. The practicality of the goods they made.
答案解析
1. C) 根据文章第一句“As the merchant class expanded in the eighteenth?century North American Colonies,...”可知，随着在十八世纪的北美殖民地商人阶级膨胀起来，也就是说那时的`商人财富有了很大的发展，银匠铜匠们有机会发挥他们的专长了，这与选项C正好相符。?
2. D) 根据文章第十四、五行“Customers generally secures …object they ordered. They saved coins, took them to smiths, and...”可知顾客要做银器，首先要积攒银币，然后拿到银匠处加工成他们想要的形状。选项D“来自客户”与之相符。
3. C) 文章末尾在提到铜的用途时惟独没有提到乐器。?
4. B) 根据文章倒数第四行“They shaped it in much the same manner as silver or melted it in a foundry with lead or tin.”可知银匠和铜匠在银器和铜器的塑型方式上是一样的，故选项B为正确答案。
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