英语专业四级阅读理解考试题及答案解析

英语专业四级阅读理解考试题及答案解析

英语专业四级阅读理解考试题及答案解析

韩愈说过这样一句话："业精于勤荒于嬉，行成于思毁于随";";。天才就是无止境刻苦勤奋的努力。成绩优与良;才思浓与淡，都是由勤奋注定的`。以下是小编为大家搜索整理的英语专业四级阅读理解考试题及答案解析，希望对正在关注的您有所帮助!更多精彩内容请及时关注我们应届毕业生考试网!

As the merchant class expanded in the eighteenth?century North American Colonies, the silversmithand the coppersmith businesses rose to serve it.Only a few silversmiths were available in New Yorkor Boston in the late seventeenth century, but in theeighteenth century they could be found in all majorcolonial cities. No other colonial artisans rivaled thesilversmiths’ prestige. They handled the mostexpensive materials and possessed direct connections to prosperous colonial merchants. Theirproducts, primarily silver plates and bowls, reflected their exalted status and testified to theircustomers’ prominence. Silver stood as one of the surest ways to store wealth at a time beforeneighborhood banks existed. Unlike the silver coins from which they were made, silver articleswere readily identifiable. Often formed to individual specifications, they always carried thesilversmith’s distinctive markings and consequently could be traced and retrieved.Customers generally secure the silver for the silver object they ordered. They saved coins, tookthem to smiths, and discussed the type of pieces they desired. Silversmiths complied with theserequests by melting the money in a small furnace, adding a bit of copper to form a strongeralloy, and casting the alloy in rectangular blocks. They hammered these ingots to theappropriate thickness by hand, shaped them and pressed designs into them for adornment.Engraving was also done by hand. In addition to plates and bowls, some customers soughtmore intricate products, such as silver teapots. These were made by shaping or casting partsseparately and then soldering them together. Colonial coppersmithing also come of age in theearly eighteenth century and prospered in northern cities. Copper’s ability to conduct heatefficiently and to resist corrosion contributed to its attractiveness. But because it wasexpensive in colonial America, coppersmiths were never very numerous. Virtually all copperworked by Smiths was imported as sheets or obtained by recycling old copper goods. Copperwas used for practical items, but it was not admired for its beauty. Coppersmiths employed it tofashion pots and kettles for the home. They shaped it in much the same manner as silver ormelted it in a foundry with lead or tin. They also mixed it with zinc to make brass for maritimeand scientific instruments.?

1、According to the passage, which of the following eighteenth century developments had strongimpact on silversmiths

A. A decrease in the cost of silver.

B. The invention of heat efficient furnaces.