1、PASSAGE 1 By the mid-nineteenth century, the term icebox had entered the American language, but ice was still only beginning to affect the diet of ordinary citizens in the United States. The ice trade grew with the growth of cities. Ice was used in hotels, taverns, and hospitals, and by some forward
2、-looking city dealers in fresh meat, fresh fish, and butter. After the Civil War (1861-1865), as ice was used to refrigerate freight cars, it also came into household use. Even before 1880, half the ice sold in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and one-third of that sold in Boston and Chicago,
3、went to families for their own use. This had become possible because a new household convenience, the icebox, a precursor of the modern refrigerator, had been invented. Making an efficient icebox was not as easy as we might now suppose. In the early nineteenth century, the knowledge of the physics o
4、f heat, which was essential to a science of refrigeration, was rudimentary. The commonsense notion that the best icebox was one that prevented the ice from melting was of course mistaken, for it was the melting of the ice that performed the cooling. Nevertheless, early efforts to economize ice inclu
5、ded wrapping the ice in blankets, which kept the ice from doing its job. Not until near the end of the nineteenth century did inventors achieve the delicate balance of insulation and circulation needed for an efficient icebox. But as early as 1803, an ingenious Maryland farmer, Thomas Moore, had bee
6、n on the right track. He owned a farm about twenty miles outside the city of Washington, for which the village of Georgetown was the market center. When he used an icebox of his own design to transport his butter to market, he found that customers would pass up the rapidly melting stuff in the tubs
7、of his competitors to pay a premium price for his butter, still fresh and hard in neat, one-pound bricks. One advantage of his icebox, Moore explained, was that farmers would no longer have to travel to market at night in order to keep their produce cool. 1. What does the passage mainly discuss?(A)
8、The influence of ice on the diet(B) The development of refrigeration(C) The transportation of goods to market(D) Sources of ice in the nineteenth century2. According to the passage , when did the word icebox become part of the language of the United States?(A) in 1803(B) sometime before 1850(C) duri
9、ng the civil war(D) near the end of the nineteenth century3. The phrase forward-looking in line 4 is closest in meaning to(A) progressive(B) popular(C) thrifty(D) well-established4. The author mentions fish in line 4 because(A) many fish dealers also sold ice(B) fish was shipped in refrigerated frei
10、ght cars(C) fish dealers were among the early commercial users of ice(D) fish was not part of the ordinary persons diet before the invention of the icebox5. The word it in line 5 refers to(A) fresh meat(B) the Civil War(C) ice(D) a refrigerator6. According to the passage , which of the following was
11、 an obstacle to the development of the icebox?(A) Competition among the owners of refrigerated freight cars(B) The lack of a network for the distribution of ice(C) The use of insufficient insulation(D) Inadequate understanding of physics7. The word rudimentary in line 12 is closest in meaning to(A)
12、growing(B) undeveloped(C) necessary(D) uninteresting8. According to the information in the second paragraph, an ideal icebox would(A) completely prevent ice from melting(B) stop air from circulating(C) allow ice to melt slowly(D) use blankets to conserve ice9. The author describes Thomas Moore as ha
13、ving been on the right track (lines 18-19) to indicate that(A) the road to the market passed close to Moores farm(B) Moore was an honest merchant(C) Moore was a prosperous farmer(D) Moores design was fairly successful10. According to the passage , Moores icebox allowed him to(A) charge more for his
14、butter(B) travel to market at night(C) manufacture butter more quickly(D) produce ice all year round11. The produce mentioned in line 25 could include(A) iceboxes(B) butter(C) ice(D) marketsPASSAGE 2 The geology of the Earths surface is dominated by the particular properties of water. Present on Ear
15、th in solid, liquid, and gaseous states, water is exceptionally reactive. It dissolves, transports, and precipitates many chemical compounds and is constantly modifying the face of the Earth. Evaporated from the oceans, water vapor forms clouds, some of which are transported by wind over the contine
16、nts. Condensation from the clouds provides the essential agent of continental erosion: rain. Precipitated onto the ground, the water trickles down to form brooks, streams, and rivers, constituting what are called the hydrographic network. This immense polarized network channels the water toward a si
17、ngle receptacle: an ocean. Gravity dominates this entire step in the cycle because water tends to minimize its potential energy by running from high altitudes toward the reference point, that is, sea level. The rate at which a molecule of water passes though the cycle is not random but is a measure
18、of the relative size of the various reservoirs. If we define residence time as the average time for a water molecule to pass through one of the three reservoirs atmosphere, continent, and ocean we see that the times are very different. A water molecule stays, on average, eleven days in the atmospher
19、e, one hundred years on a continent and forty thousand years in the ocean. This last figure shows the importance of the ocean as the principal reservoir of the hydrosphere but also the rapidity of water transport on the continents. A vast chemical separation process takes places during the flow of w
20、ater over the continents. Soluble ions such as calcium, sodium, potassium, and some magnesium are dissolved and transported. Insoluble ions such as aluminum, iron, and silicon stay where they are and form the thin, fertile skin of soil on which vegetation can grow. Sometimes soils are destroyed and
21、transported mechanically during flooding. The erosion of the continents thus results from two closely linked and interdependent processes, chemical erosion and mechanical erosion. Their respective interactions and efficiency depend on different factors. 1. The word modifying in line 4 is closest in
22、meaning to(A) changing(B) traveling(C) describing(D) destroying2. The word which in line 5 refers to(A) clouds(B) oceans(C) continents(D) compounds3. According to the passage , clouds are primarily formed by water(A) precipitating onto the ground(B) changing from a solid to a liquid state(C) evapora
23、ting from the oceans(D) being carried by wind4. The passage suggests that the purpose of the hydrographic network (line 8) is to(A) determine the size of molecules of water(B) prevent soil erosion caused by flooding(C) move water from the Earths surface to the oceans(D) regulate the rate of water fl
24、ow from streams and rivers5. What determines the rate at which a molecule of water moves through the cycle, as discussed in the third paragraph?(A) The potential energy contained in water(B) The effects of atmospheric pressure on chemical compounds(C) The amounts of rainfall that fall on the contine
25、nts(D) The relative size of the water storage areas6. The word rapidity in line 19 is closest in meaning to(A) significance(B) method(C) swiftness(D) reliability7. The word they in line 24 refers to(A) insoluble ions(B) soluble ions(C) soils(D) continents8. All of the following are example of solubl
26、e ions EXCEPT(A) magnesium(B) iron(C) potassium(D) calcium9. The word efficiency in line 27 is closest in meaning to(A) relationship(B) growth(C) influence(D) effectivenessPASSAGE 3 The Native Americans of northern California were highly skilled at basketry, using the reeds, grasses, barks, and root
27、s they found around them to fashion articles of all sorts and sizes not only trays, containers, and cooking pots, but hats, boats, fish traps, baby carriers, and ceremonial objects. Of all these experts, none excelled the Pomo a group who lived on or near the coast during the 1800s, and whose descen
28、dants continue to live in parts of the same region to this day. They made baskets three feet in diameter and others no bigger than a thimble. The Pomo people were masters of decoration. Some of their baskets were completely covered with shell pendants; others with feathers that made the baskets surf
29、aces as soft as the breasts of birds. Moreover, the Pomo people made use of more weaving techniques than did their neighbors. Most groups made all their basketwork by twining the twisting of a flexible horizontal material, called a weft, around stiffer vertical strands of material, the warp. Others
30、depended primarily on coiling a process in which a continuous coil of stiff material is held in the desired shape with tight wrapping of flexible strands. Only the Pomo people used both processes with equal ease and frequency. In addition, they made use of four distinct variations on the basic twini
31、ng process, often employing more than one of them in a single article. Although a wide variety of materials was available, the Pomo people used only a few. The warp was always made of willow, and the most commonly used weft was sedge root, a woody fiber that could easily be separated into strands no
32、 thicker than a thread. For color, the Pomo people used the bark of redbud for their twined work and dyed bullrush root for black in coiled work. Though other materials were sometimes used, these four were the staples in their finest basketry. If the basketry materials used by the Pomo people were l
33、imited, the designs were amazingly varied. Every Pomo basketmaker knew how to produce from fifteen to twenty distinct patterns that could be combined in a number of different ways. 1. What best distinguished Pomo baskets from baskets of other groups?(A) The range of sizes, shapes, and designs(B) The
34、 unusual geometric(C) The absence of decoration(D) The rare materials used2. The word fashion in line 2 is closest in meaning to(A) maintain(B) organize(C) trade(D) create3. The Pomo people used each of the following materials to decorate baskets EXCEPT(A) shells(B) feathers(C) leaves(D) bark4. What
35、 is the authors main point in the second paragraph?(A) The neighbors of the Pomo people tried to improve on the Pomo basket weaving techniques.(B) The Pomo people were the most skilled basket weavers in their region.(C) The Pomo people learned their basket weaving techniques from other Native Americ
36、ans.(D) The Pomo baskets have been handed down for generations.5. The word others in line 9 refers to(A) masters(B) baskets(C) pendants(D) surfaces6. According to the passage , a weft is a(A) tool for separating sedge root(B) process used for coloring baskets(C) pliable maternal woven around the war
37、p(D) pattern used to decorate baskets7. According to the passage , what did the Pomo people use as the warp in their baskets?(A) bullrush(B) willow(C) sedge(D) redbud8. The word article in line 17 is close in meaning to(A) decoration(B) shape(C) design(D) object9. According to the passage . The rela
38、tionship between redbud and twining is most similar to the relationship between(A) bullrush and coiling(B) weft and warp(C) willow and feathers(D) sedge and weaving10. The word staples in line 23 is closest in meaning to(A) combinations(B) limitations(C) accessories(D) basic elements11. The word dis
39、tinct in lime 26 is closest in meaning to(A) systematic(B) beautiful(C) different(D) compatible12. Which of the following statements about Pomo baskets can be best inferred from the passage ?(A) Baskets produced by other Native Americans were less varied in design than those of the Pomo people.(B) B
40、askets produced by Pomo weavers were primarily for ceremonial purposes.(C) There were a very limited number of basketmaking materials available to the Pomo people.(D) The basketmaking production of the Pomo people has increased over the years.PASSAGE 4 The term Hudson River school was applied to the
41、 foremost representatives of nineteenth-century North American landscape painting. Apparently unknown during the golden days of the American landscape movement, which began around 1850 and lasted until the late 1860s, the Hudson River school seems to have emerged in the 1870s as a direct result of t
42、he struggle between the old and the new generations of artists, each to assert its own style as the representative American art. The older painters, most of whom were born before 1835, practiced in a mode often self-taught and monopolized by landscape subject matter and were securely established in
43、and fostered by the reigning American art organization, the National Academy of Design. The younger painters returning home from training in Europe worked more with figural subject matter and in a bold and impressionistic technique; their prospects for patronage in their own country were uncertain,
44、and they sought to attract it by attaining academic recognition in New York. One of the results of the conflict between the two factions was that what in previous years had been referred to as the American, native, or, occasionally, New York school the most representative school of American art in a
45、ny genre had by 1890 become firmly established in the minds of critics and public alike as the Hudson River school. The sobriquet was first applied around 1879. While it was not intended as flattering, it was hardly inappropriate. The Academicians at whom it was aimed had worked and socialized in Ne
46、w York, the Hudsons port city, and had painted the river and its shores with varying frequency. Most important, perhaps, was that they had all maintained with a certain fidelity a manner of technique and composition consistent with those of Americas first popular landscape artist, Thomas Cole, who b
47、uilt a career painting the Catskill Mountain scenery bordering the Hudson River. A possible implication in the term applied to the group of landscapists was that many of them had, like Cole, lived on or near the banks of the Hudson. Further, the river had long served as the principal route to other
48、sketching grounds favored by the Academicians, particularly the Adirondacks and the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire. 1. What does the passage mainly discuss?(A) The National Academy of Design(B) Paintings that featured the Hudson River(C) North American landscape paintings(D) The training of American artists in European academies2. Before 1870, what was considered the most representative kind of Amer
