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2018年專四英語閱讀題預(yù)熱練習(xí)
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Before the mid 1860’s, the impact of the railroads in the UnitedStates was limited, in the sense that the tracks ended at thisMissouri River, approximately the center of the country. At thepoint the trains turned their freight, mail, and passengers overto steamboats, wagons, and stagecoaches. This meant thatwagon freighting, stage coaching, and steam boating did notcome to an end when the first train appeared; rather theybecame supplements or feeders. Each new “end of track”became a center for animal drawn or waterbornetransportation. The major effect of the railroad was to shorten the distance that had to be coveredby the older, slower, and more costly means. Wagon freighters continued operating throughoutthe 1870’s and 1880’s and into the 1890’s. Although over constantly shrinking routes, andcoaches and wagons continued to crisscross the West wherever the rails had not yet been laid.The beginning of a major change was foreshadowed in the later 1860’s, when the Union PacificRailroad at last began to build westward from the Central Plains city of Omaha to meet the CentralPacific Railroad advancing eastward from California through the formidable barrier of the SierraNevada. Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the original Pacific Railroad bill in 1862 and arevised, financially much more generous version in 1864, little construction was completed until1865 on the Central Pacific and 1866 on the Union Pacific. The primary reason was skepticism thata Railroad built through so challenging and thinly settled a stretch of desert, mountain, andsemiarid plain could pay a profit. In the words of an economist, this was a case of “prematureenterprise”, where not only the cost of construction but also the very high risk deterred privateinvestment. In discussing the Pacific Railroad bill, the chair of the congressional committee bluntlystated that without government subsidy no one would undertake so unpromising a venture; yet itwas a national necessity to link East and West together.
1. The author refers to the impact of railroads before the late 1860’s as “limited” because ____
A. the track did not take the direct route from one city to the next
B. passengers and freight had to transfer to other modes of transportation to reach westerndestinations
C. passengers preferred stagecoaches
D. railroad travel was quite expensive
2. What can be inferred about coaches and wagon freighters as the railroad expanded?
A. They developed competing routes.
B. Their drivers refused to work for the railroads.
C. They began to specialize in private investment.
D. There were insufficient numbers of trained people to operate them.
3. Why does the author mention the Sierra Nevada in line 17
A. To argue that a more direct route to the West could have been taken.?
B. To identify a historically significant mountain range in the West.
C. To point out the location of a serious train accident.
D. To give an example of an obstacle faced by the central pacific.
4. The word “subsidy” in line 27 is closest in meaning to _____.
A. persuasion B. financing C. explanation D. penalty
答案解析：
1. B)根據(jù)文章前五句可知，在十九世紀(jì)六十年代晚期前鐵路在美國的影響是有限的“limited”，當(dāng)時(shí)鐵路只從美國東部修到了美國中部，運(yùn)到美國西部地區(qū)的貨物只有在鐵路的盡頭“end-of-track”改用其他的'運(yùn)輸方式，比如：汽船、馬車等，它們的運(yùn)輸效率可想而知。故選項(xiàng)B為正確答案。
2. D)這是一道推論題。可用排除法做此題。根據(jù)文章第六行至第七行“rather they becamesupplements or feeders”和第十行至第十三行“Wagon freighters continued operating throughoutthe 1870’s and 1880’s and into the 1890’s. Although over constantly shrinking routes, andcoaches and wagons continued to crisscross the West wherever the rails had not yet been laid.”可知隨著鐵路線的不斷延伸，馬車貨運(yùn)的路線日益減少，雖然馬車貨運(yùn)經(jīng)營者們繼續(xù)在西部發(fā)展貨運(yùn)線路，但是它們只是鐵路運(yùn)輸?shù)难a(bǔ)充。因此選項(xiàng)A“他們發(fā)展了有競爭性的線路”可以排除。而選項(xiàng)B、C文中根本沒有提及。故只有選項(xiàng)D為正確答案。
3. D)根據(jù)“the Sierra Nevada”所在句可知作者提到它是因?yàn)樗切藿M跨東西鐵路的一個(gè)巨大的障礙，故D為正確答案。
4. B)Subsidy意為“補(bǔ)助金，津貼”，與financing意義相符
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