Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.
Some houses are designed to be smart. Others have smart designs. An example of the second type of house won an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.
Located on the shore of Sullivan’s Island off the coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane (飓风) Hugo 10 years ago. In September 1989, Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state.
Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina’s shoreline were poorly constructed, and enforcement of building codes wasn’t strict, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house. In Hugo’s wake, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes. The new beach house on Sullivan’s Island should be able to withstand a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour.
At first sight, the house on Sullivan’s Island looks anything but hurricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it resemble “a large party lantern (灯笼)” at night, according to one observer. But looks can be deceiving. The house’s wooden frame is reinforced with long steel rods to give it extra strength.
To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings—long, slender columns of wood anchored deep in the sand. Pilings might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house. They also elevate the house above storm surges. The pilings allow the surges to run under the house instead of running into it. “These swells of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings,” said Huff.
Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed by the house’s ground-to-roof shell. “The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn’t look like it’s standing with its pant legs pulled up,” said Huff. In the event of a storm surge, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.
36. After the tragedy caused by Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina’s shore line are required ________.
A) to be easily reinforced
B) to look smarter in design
C) to meet stricter building standards
D) to be designed in the shape of cubes(C)
37. The award-winning beach house is quite strong because ________.
A) it is strengthened by steel rods
B) it is made of redwood
C) it is in the shape of a shell
D) it is built with timber and concrete(A)
38. Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings in order to ________.
A) withstand peak winds of about 200 km/hr
B) anchor stronger pilings deep in the sand
C) break huge sea waves into smaller ones
D) prevent water from rushing into the house(D)
39. The main function of the shell is ________.
A) to strengthen the pilings of the house
B) to give the house a better appearance
C) to protect the wooden frame of the house
D) to slow down the speed of the swelling water(B)
40. It can be inferred from the passage that the shell should be ________.
A) fancy-looking
B) waterproof
C) easily breakable
D) extremely strong(C)
这篇材料的内容核心是防风暴的海边房屋。文章开篇很有意思，巧妙地利用smart的多重含义，达到了双关语的效果。Some houses are designed to be smart，Others have smart designs。smart的意思很多，如巧妙的，聪明的，漂亮的，潇洒的，敏捷的。第一个smart应该是漂亮、时髦的意思，而第二个则是聪明的意思。这两句话的意思就是：有些房子设计时是为了漂亮，另一些房子的设计却能显现智慧。而后作者举出了第二种情况的一个例子，这就引出了文章的核心：防风屋，前文的smart则暗示文章讨论的重点可能在于这种房屋的设计聪明在何处。
第一段语焉不详，必然引起读者诸多悬疑，第二段马上把事情前前后后做了概述。这栋聪明的房屋位于南卡罗来纳的某岛屿海岸，建造目的是为了代替十年前被飓风摧毁的屋子。十年前的那场飓风造成了18人死亡，破坏或摧毁36000座房屋(killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes)。这一数据旨在说明设计这样一所“聪明”房屋的意义所在。
事件概述完毕，读者基本了解了这栋房屋的由考试*大]来。接下来，作者可以把房屋的设计经过详细说明了。
还是从为何要考虑建造这样一座房屋说起。第二段已经提到，原因是飓风的破坏力太大，这也从另一方面说明房子的抗风性很差。根据建筑师Ray Huff的说法，这里以前的房子都是简简单单建造起来，房子建造要求方面的法律也很松散(poorly constructed, and enforcement of building codes wasn’t strict)。飓风给人们提了个醒(In Hugo’s wake)，新的法规更为严格了，所有新建房屋必须能够抵御一定量级飓风的冲击，比如Huff设计的这所房子就能抵御时速179 到209 公里的飓风(should be able to withstand a Category 3 hurricane)。
房屋由来介绍完毕，该描述一下房屋本身了。第四段介绍了房子的外观。看过房子的人说它在晚上就像一个大灯笼(it resemble “a large party lantern ” at night)，而实际上，房屋的木质结构已经被钢管加强了(long steel rods to give it extra strength.)。
这是房子设计上的第一个特点：钢管。为了使房子不受飓风破坏，设计者还用木桩把房子支起，使其离地2.7米(raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings)。这是第二个特点。木桩都非常坚固，足以支持房屋重量(strong enough to support the weight);而木桩提供的空间可以使海水从屋底流过，避免流入屋内(pilings allow the surges to run under the house instead of running into it)。
最后一段还讲了另外一个设计特点。Huff在木桩外面设计了一圈护板(the timber pilings to be partially concealed by the house’s ground-to-roof shell)，这主要是出于视觉美观的考虑(so that the house doesn’t look like it’s standing with its pant legs pulled up)。这一设计会不会使得木桩结构失效呢?不会，在遇到海水冲击时，围板会很容易破碎，从而让海水从屋底流过(the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house)。
36. After the tragedy caused by Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina’s shore line are required ________.
A) to be easily reinforced
B) to look smarter in design
C) to meet stricter building standards
D) to be designed in the shape of cubes(C)
题目问在由Hugo飓风所引起的灾难发生之后，南卡罗来纳海岸附近的新建房屋被要求……
相关信息可以在第三段中找到：In Hugo’s wake, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes，意思是在飓风警醒下，新建的房子都必须要满足更为严格的规定。
A，简单地加固。文中有相关描述，Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina’s shoreline were poorly constructed。这里的poorly constructed与easily reinforced意思近似，不过注意这里是飓风袭击之前，而题目问的是之后。
B，设计上要看上去更为聪明。这一说法出现在第一段，特指Huff所设计的房子，而不是所有的新建房子。从道理上讲，新建的房子只要满足政府规定的要求就可以了，没必要非要在聪明的设计上下功夫。
C，满足更为严格的建筑标准。这个说法与我们的分析一致。
D，要设计成立方体形。立方体形也是Huff所设计房子的独有特点，此说法的错误与B一样。
37. The award-winning beach house is quite strong because ________.
A) it is strengthened by steel rods
B) it is made of redwood
C) it is in the shape of a shell
D) it is built with timber and concrete(A)
题目问获奖的海边房屋之所以非常坚固是因为……
A，受到了钢管的加固。
B，材料是红木。
C，外形为壳状。
D，由木材和混凝土筑成。
坚固与否与设计相关，答案应该在描述房屋设计特点的内容中寻找。由篇章分析可知，文章讲到这所获奖房屋设计上的特点是最后三段，每一段提到一种特点，分别是第四段的考试&大钢管加固(wooden frame is reinforced with long steel rods)，第五段的木桩悬撑(Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings)，和第六段的围板(the house’s ground-to-roof shell)。其中第一点是为了加固，第二点是为了避免海水冲入房内，第三点是为了美观。显然，这道题应该选择A。
38. Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings in order to ________.
A) withstand peak winds of about 200 km/hr
B) anchor stronger pilings deep in the sand
C) break huge sea waves into smaller ones
D) prevent water from rushing into the house(D)
题目问Huff利用木桩把房子撑起至离地2.7米的高度，目的是什么。
用木桩撑起房屋，这是文章所介绍的Huff设计中的第二点。答案应该在第五段中寻找。
A，为了抵御最快时速200公里的强风。这是第三段末尾的一句话所提到的内容，目的是为了说明如今的建房要求比以前要严格多了，与木桩无关。按道理来说，房子越高，抵御风力的能力应该越弱。
B，为了使更为坚固的木桩深深地楔入沙地。第五段第一句话提到了类似内容：long, slender columns of wood anchored deep in the sand，木桩深入沙地，这应该是为了使支撑房屋全部重量的木桩更为稳固，与为何用木桩撑起房子的目的无关。
C，将巨大的海浪击成细浪。第五段应该没有类似的说法，倒是第六段里出现了break apart这样表示破碎的词组，但是这里破碎的是围板，不是海浪。
D，使海水不致冲入房内。第五段后半部分是对目的的解释。作者先是自己做了说明：The pilings allow the surges to run under the house instead of running into it。这句话和D的说法一致。应该选择D。
39. The main function of the shell is ________.
A) to strengthen the pilings of the house
B) to give the house a better appearance
C) to protect the wooden frame of the house
D) to slow down the speed of the swelling water(B)
题目问围板的主要功能是什么。
A，加强房屋木桩的坚固度。
B，使房屋外观更加美观。
C，保护房子的木质结构。
D，减缓暴涨海水的速度。
文章的结构非常清晰，讲围板的内容完全限定在最后一段。这一段一共三句话，第一句Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed by the house’s ground-to-roof shell，这里介绍的应该是围板的功能：遮住部分木桩。但这句话没有讲遮住的目的是什么。第二句用Huff的话交代了目的：the house doesn’t look like it’s standing with its pant legs pulled up，使房子不至于看起来像是光着腿——这应该是出于美观的考虑。第三句附带说明围板*考试&大并不会影响海水从屋底通过。这样的话，应该选择B。
40. It can be inferred from the passage that the shell should be ________.
A) fancy-looking
B) waterproof
C) easily breakable
D) extremely strong
这道题问从文章可以推断出围板应当是……
这道题依然是在讲围板，那好，最后一段的三句话我们都已经分析过了，只须看看四个选项是如何推理的，排除错误的说法即可。
A，外观漂亮。最后一段的三句话中讲到美观的只有第二句。不过这个美观是指不至于使整个房屋样貌太难看，至于围板本身如何，文章没有提到，也就无从推理。
B，防水。第一句说围板可以把木桩遮住，似乎有防水功能，但第三句又说the shell should break apart，围板可以被水冲碎，可见并不防水。
C，易碎。the shell should break apart这句话讲到围板*考试&大在海水冲击下会碎掉，但是不是很容易碎掉没有说明。后面还有一句and let the waves rush under the house，意思是围板碎掉是为了使海浪从屋底冲过。从这里可以推测，如果围板不是很容易碎掉的话，那么冲击力很强的海水就可能冲倒房屋，因此围板一定是易碎的。可以选择C。
D，极为坚固。这个说法和C相反，是错误的。
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