Question

We live in a technological society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. Because of this, most people think that craft 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, “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, most 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 stairway. 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 sold knowledge of mathematics, which would enable them to deal with more difficult house designs.

The problem 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 yeas ago, but only if given proper material.

1.Compared with the carpenters in the past, modern carpenters are ________ .

A. more learned B. more successful

C. more imaginative D. more hardworking

2.What does the underlined word “they” (paragraph 2) refer to?

A. Carpenters who are fond of oak stairways.

B. People who think highly of carpenters of old.

C. Carpenters who have college degrees.

D. People who think that modern material is of low quality.

3.What dose the third paragraph mainly discuss?

A. People in the past preferred to use oak to build stairways.

B. It is now expensive to employ a carpenter.

C. Good carpenters still exist in modern times.

D. Modern houses last as long as the old ones.

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A. Carpenters Today and Yesterday

B. Craft, Back to Life?

C. History of Craftsmanship

D. Is Craft Dead?

 

Answer 1

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：文章大意：本文主要讲了现代与古代的木工及他们的建筑。

1. live in a technological society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. 由文章前两段可知，现在的木工都是学习过知识的。故选A

2. 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. 可知B正确。

3. are still plenty of carpenters around able to make those stairways.说明好的木工在现代依旧存在。故选C

4.D正确。

考点：考查社会现象类短文阅读