共用题干
第三篇
Houses in 18th Century North America
Seventeenth-century houses in colonial North America were simple structures that were primarily functional,carrying over traditional designs that went back to the Middle Ages.During the first half of the eighteenth century,however,houses began to show a new elegance.As wealth increased, more and more colonists built fine houses.
Since architecture was not yet a specialized profession in the colonies,the design of buildings was left either to amateur designers or to carpenters who undertook to interpret architectural manuals imported from England.Inventories of colonial libraries show an astonishing number of these handbooks for builders,and the houses erected during the eighteenth century show their influence.Nevertheless,most domestic architecture of the first three-quarters of the eighteenth century displays a wide divergence of taste and freedom of application of the rules laid down in these books.
Increasing wealth and growing sophistication throughout the colonies resulted in houses of improved design,whether the material was wood,stone or brick.New England still favored wood, though brick houses became common in Boston and towns, where the danger of fire gave an impetus to the use of more durable material. A few houses in New England were built of store,but only in Pennsylvania and adjacent area was stone widely used in dwellings.An increased use of brick in houses and outbuildings is noticeable in Virginia and Maryland,but wood remained the most popular material even in houses built by wealthy landowners.In the Carolinas,even in closely packed Charleston,wooden houses were much more common than brick.
Eighteenth-century houses showed great interior improvement over their predecessors.Windows were made larger and shutters removed.Large,clear panes replaced the small leaded glass of the seventeenth century.Doorways were larger and more decorative.Fireplaces became decorative features of rooms.Walls were made of plaster or wood,sometimes elaborately paneled.White paint began to take the place of blues,yellows,greens,and lead colors,which had been popular for walls in the earlier years.After about 1730,advertisements for wallpaper styles in scenic patterns began to appear in colonial newspapers.
The word"predecessors"(Line 1,Para. 4)refer to______.
A:colonists who arrived in North America in the seventeenth century
B:houses constructed before the eighteenth-century
C:interior improvements
D:wooden houses in Charleston
答案：B
解析：
根据文章第一段中第二句“During the first half of the eighteenth century, however , houses began to show a new elegance."（然而在18世纪前半叶，房屋开始显示出新的优稚风格。），可知本文要讨论的是18世纪殖民地房屋的设计改进。故选项A为正确答案。
根据第二段首句“Since architecture was not yet a specialized profession in the colonies,the design of buildings was left either to amateur designers or to carpenters who under-took to interpret architectural manuals imported from England."（由于建筑在殖民地还不是一项专奋门的职业，房屋设计或者由业余设计者来做，或者由那些翻译英国进口建筑手册的木匠来做），可知在18世纪的北美，木匠负责设计房屋。故正确答案为选项D。
根据文中第三段第四、五句“An increased use of brick in houses and outbuildings is noticeable in Virginia and Maryland,but wood remained the most popular material even in houses built by wealthy landowners.In the Carolinas,even in closely packed Charleston,wooden houses were much more common than brick."（在弗吉尼亚和马里兰，人们在房屋和外屋的建造上明显越来越喜欢使用砖料，但甚至在富有的土地主建造的房屋里面，木料仍然是最流行的材料。在南北卡罗来纳州，甚至在拥挤的查理斯顿，木制房屋也比砖房要普遍），可知正确答案为选项B。
根据第四段第一句“Eighteenth-century houses showed great interior improvement over their predecessors.”可以看出文章是拿18世纪的房屋和“their predecessors”相比较，但从句子意思上看，肯定是与18世纪以前建造的房屋相比较。故正确答案为选项B。
文中最后一句话“After about 1730 , advertisements for wallpaper styles in scenic patterns began to appear in colonial newspapers."（大概1730年后，殖民地报纸上开始出现了风景画形式的壁纸风格广告），言外之意就是，在此之前这种风景画式的壁纸还没有广泛使用。故正确答案为选项C。
