题目内容
We lived in a technological society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. Because of this, most people think that craft(手艺) no longer exists.
One of the ways these people wrongly support their view is by pointing to 100-year-old homes which are still solid, and arguing that it is the craftsmanship that is responsible for their durability(持久性). “Homes in those days were well-built,” they say. No doubt these homes were well-built, but what these people have done is mix up the quality of material used in the house with the quality of the craftsmanship.
Homes today could be built to last just as long as those old homes if people were willing or able to pay the price. For example, more people can no longer afford solid oak stairways, although they were once fairly common in older homes. Nor can they afford the high labor cost of employing a carpenter to build the stairway. Yet if someone can pay the high cost, there are still plenty of carpenters around able to make those stairways. And not only would these carpenters know how to build them, they would probably do a better job than carpenters of old.
One thing the modern carpenter has which enables him to do a better job is much more advanced tools. Such tools as laser beams and power planes help them lay out a house better and make more precision cuts on the wood. Also, it is not uncommon any more to find carpenters with college degrees and carpenters with a solid knowledge of mathematics, which would enable them to deal with more difficult house designs.
The problems of modern quality, then, really boils down to the problem of material, for the modern carpenter is just as able to produce craftsmanship as the carpenter of fifty years ago, but only if given proper material.
1. Compared to the carpenters in the past, modern carpenters are _______.
A.more successful |
B.more learned |
C.more imaginative |
D.more hardworking |
2. What does the underlined word “they” (paragraph 2) refer to?
carpenters who are fond of oak stairways.
carpenters who have college degrees.
people who think highly of carpenters of old.
people who think that modern material is of low quality.
3. What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?
People in the past preferred to use oak to build stairways.
It is now expensive to employ a carpenter.
Modern houses last as long as the old one.
Good carpenters still exist in modern times.
4. What would be the best title for the text?
Is Craft Dead?
Craft, Back to life?
History of craftsmanship
Carpenters Today and Yesterday
B
C
B
D
【解析】略
There is much more to growing up in a bilingual(双语的) family than learning two languages, and the cultural influences from both cultures are just as important.
In July we had a curious incident that shows the slight differences between cultures. My son has already changed a few of his baby teeth and since we lived in Italy we decided to go with the Italian version(版本) of the Tooth Fairy, which is not a fairy(仙女) but a little mouse. So last year when he lost his first tooth we had a visit from the little mouse who took the tooth away and left a rather good amount of coins --- when he lost the second tooth a few days later, however, the amount was significantly less! That in itself caused quite a few questions, but the real questions started when in July during a visit to the UK another tooth left my son’s mouth in Tooth Fairy land! The grandparents made a real problem out of it --- it was their first grandson’s tooth they got to say Goodbye to, so it was Tooth Fairy and rather generous, too!
The Qs & As
Son: Mum, how is the little mouse going to smell my tooth all this way? (as the story goes the little mouse smells a milk tooth and comes to collect it)
Me: No dear, it won’t! We are in England now so the Tooth Fairy will come.
Son: Oh, is she stronger than the little mouse? (I knew where this was going)
Me: She is very strong, and she is magic.
Son: What does the Tooth Fairy bring? (straight to the point)
Me: I am not sure. We’ll find out maybe a nice message.
Son: So is the little mouse coming too?
Me: No, it won’t make it all the way from Italy.
Son: But why don’t they have little mice in England?
Me: Because here the Tooth Fairy collects all baby teeth and she’s too fast, so the little mouse would always get there late.
Son: Oh!?
【小题1】Italian kids are supposed to believe ________ will come and collect the milk teeth.
A.a little mouse |
B.Tooth Fairy |
C.their parents |
D.the grandparents |
A.Italian parents often give much money for their kids’ lost baby teeth[ |
B.she knew Tooth Fairy was more generous than the little mouse |
C.she knew the grandparents would give her son a big gift |
D.English people are usually more generous than Italians |
A.the tooth fairy’s health |
B.the little mouse’s coming |
C.the amount of coins he could get |
D.the story his grandparents know |
A.make kids know the folk stories |
B.help kids choose one of the cultures |
C.teach kids two languages |
D.keep the balance of both cultures |