2017英語(yǔ)專業(yè)四級(jí)閱讀理解練習(xí)(10)

　　2017英語(yǔ)專業(yè)四級(jí)閱讀理解要求考生掌握對(duì)一定難度新聞、文學(xué)等題材文章的閱讀能力，從閱讀速度和技巧，理解、判斷和推理能力上都有更高要求，這就需要考生平時(shí)強(qiáng)加訓(xùn)練。

　　As the merchant class expanded in the eighteenth?century North American Colonies, the silversmithand the coppersmith businesses rose to serve it.Only a few silversmiths were available in New Yorkor Boston in the late seventeenth century, but in theeighteenth century they could be found in all majorcolonial cities. No other colonial artisans rivaled thesilversmiths’ prestige. They handled the mostexpensive materials and possessed direct connections to prosperous colonial merchants. Theirproducts, primarily silver plates and bowls, reflected their exalted status and testified to theircustomers’ prominence. Silver stood as one of the surest ways to store wealth at a time beforeneighborhood banks existed. Unlike the silver coins from which they were made, silver articleswere readily identifiable. Often formed to individual specifications, they always carried thesilversmith’s distinctive markings and consequently could be traced and retrieved.Customers generally secure the silver for the silver object they ordered. They saved coins, tookthem to smiths, and discussed the type of pieces they desired. Silversmiths complied with theserequests by melting the money in a small furnace, adding a bit of copper to form a strongeralloy, and casting the alloy in rectangular blocks. They hammered these ingots to theappropriate 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 soughtmore intricate products, such as silver teapots. These were made by shaping or casting partsseparately and then soldering them together. Colonial coppersmithing also come of age in theearly eighteenth century and prospered in northern cities. Copper’s ability to conduct heatefficiently and to resist corrosion contributed to its attractiveness. But because it wasexpensive in colonial America, coppersmiths were never very numerous. Virtually all copperworked by Smiths was imported as sheets or obtained by recycling old copper goods. Copperwas used for practical items, but it was not admired for its beauty. Coppersmiths employed it tofashion pots and kettles for the home. They shaped it in much the same manner as silver ormelted it in a foundry with lead or tin. They also mixed it with zinc to make brass for maritimeand scientific instruments.?

　　1、According to the passage, which of the following eighteenth century developments had strongimpact 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 inwhich 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.

　　參考答案：

　　1. C) 根據(jù)文章第一句

　　“As the merchant classexpanded in the eighteenth?century North AmericanColonies,...”可知，隨著在十八世紀(jì)的北美殖民地商人階級(jí)膨脹起來(lái)，也就是說(shuō)那時(shí)的商人財(cái)富有了很大的發(fā)展，銀匠銅匠們有機(jī)會(huì)發(fā)揮他們的專長(zhǎng)了，這與選項(xiàng)C正好相符。

　　2. D) 根據(jù)文章第十四、五行

　　“Customers generallysecures …object they ordered. They saved coins, took them to smiths, and...”可知顧客要做銀器，首先要積攢銀幣，然后拿到銀匠處加工成他們想要的形狀。選項(xiàng)D“來(lái)自客戶”與之相符。

　　3. C) 文章末尾在提到銅的用途時(shí)惟獨(dú)沒(méi)有提到樂(lè)器。

　　4. B) 根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第四行

　　“They shaped it in much the same manner as silver or melted it in afoundry with lead or tin.”可知銀匠和銅匠在銀器和銅器的塑型方式上是一樣的，故選項(xiàng)B為正確答案。