英語四級閱讀提分練習與答案

　　下面是小編整理的，希望對大家有幫助。

　　The most interesting architectural phenomenon of the 1970's was the enthusiasm for refurnishing older building. Obviously, this was not an entirely new phenomenon. What is new is the whole scale in reusing the past, in recycling, in adaptive rehabilitation ***更新 ***. A few trial efforts, such as Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, proved their financial feasibility in the 1960's, but it was in the 1970's, with strong government support through tax incentives and rapid depreciation ***貶值*** , as well as growing interest in ecology ***生態*** issues, that recycling became a major factor on the urban scene. One of the most comprehensive ventures was the restoration and transformation of Boston's eighteenth century Faneuil Hall and the Quincy Market, designed in 1824. This section had fallen on hard times, but beginning with the construction of a new city hall immediately nearby, it has returned to life with the intelligent reuse of these fine old buildings under the design leadership of Benjamin Thompson. He has provided a marvelous setting for dining, shopping, professional office, and simply walking.

　　Butler Square, in Minneapolis, serves as an example of major changes in its complex of offices, commercial space, and public amenities carved out of a massive pile designed in 1906 as a hardware warehouse. The exciting interior timber structure of the building was highlighted by cutting light courts through the interior and adding large skylights.

　　San Antonio, Texas, offers a big object lesson for numerous other cities combating urban decay. Rather than bringing in the bulldozers *** 推土機*** , San Antonio's leaders rehabilitated existing structures, while simultaneously cleaning up the San Antonio River, which runs through the business district.

　　26. The main idea of the passage is_______.

　　A. during the 1970's, old building in many cities were recycled for modern use

　　B. recent interest in ecology issues has led to the cleaning up of many rivers

　　C. the San Antonio example shows that bulldozers are not the right way to fight urban decay

　　. D. strong government support has made adaptive rehabilitation a reality in Boston

　　27. According to the passage, Benjamin Thompson was the designer for a project in

　　A. Boston B. San Francisco

　　C. Minneapolis D. San Antonio

　　28. The space at Quincy Market is now used as_______.

　　A. Boston's new city hall B. sports and recreational facilities

　　C. commercial and industrial warehouses D. restaurants, offices, and stores

　　29. What is the author's opinion of the San Antonio's project?

　　A. It is clearly the best of the projects discussed.

　　B. It is a good project that could be copied by other cities.

　　C. The extensive use of bulldozers made the project unnecessarily costly.

　　D. The work done on the river was more important than work done on the buildings.

　　30. The passage states that the San Antonio project differed from those in Boston and Minneapolis in that_______.

　　A. it consisted primarily of new buildings

　　B. it occurred in the business district

　　C. it involved the environment as well as buildings

　　D. it was designed to combat urban decay

　　答案：

　　26. A 27. A 28. D 29.B 30.C

　　Antarctica has actually become a kind of space station a unique observation post for detecting important changes in the world's environment. Remote from major sources of pollution and the complex geological and ecological systems that prevail elsewhere, Antarctica makes possible scientific measurements that are often sharper and easier to interpret than those made in other parts of the world.

　　Growing numbers of scientists therefore see Antarctica as a distant-early-warning sensor, where potentially dangerous global trends may be spotted before they show up to the north. One promising field of investigation is glaciology. Scholars from the United States, Switzerland, and France are pursuing seven separate but related projects that reflect their concern for the health of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet a concern they believe the world at large should share.

　　The Transantarctic Mountain, some of them more than 14,000 feet high, divide the continent into two very different regions. The part of the continent to the "east" of the mountains is a high plateau covered by an ice sheet nearly two miles thick. "West" of the mountain, the half of the continent south of the Americas is also covered by an ice sheet, but there the ice rests on rock that is mostly well below sea level. If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared, the western part of the continent would be reduced to a sparse cluster of island.

　　While ice and snow are obviously central to many environmental experiments, others focus on the mysterious "dry valley"of Antarctica, valleys that contain little ice or snow even in the depths of winter. Slashed through the mountains of southern Victoria Land, these valleys once held enormous glaciers that descended 9,000 feet from the polar plateau to the Ross Sea. Now the glaciers are gone, perhaps a casualty of the global warming trend during the 10,000 years since the ice age. Even the snow that falls in the dry valleys is blasted out by vicious winds that roars down from the polar plateau to the sea. Left bare are spectacular gorges, rippled fields of sand dunes, clusters of boulders sculptured into fantastic shapes by 100-mile-an-hour winds, and an aura of extraterrestrial desolation.

　　Despite the unearthly aspect of the dry valleys, some scientists believe they may carry a message of hope of the verdant parts of the earth. Some scientists believe that in some cases the dry valleys may soak up pollutants faster than pollutants enter them.

　　1. What is the best title for this passage?

　　[A] Antarctica and environmental Problems.

　　[B] Antarctica: Earth's Early-Warning station.

　　[C] Antarctica: a Unique Observation Post.

　　[D] Antarctica: a Mysterious Place.

　　2. What would the result be if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared?

　　[A] The western part of the continent would be disappeared.

　　[B] The western part of the continent would be reduced.

　　[C] The western part of the continent would become scattered Islands.

　　[D] The western part of the continent would be reduced to a cluster of Islands.

　　3. Why are the Dry Valleys left bare?

　　[A] Vicious wind blasts the snow away.