英语四级阅读理解练习题第081组

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:02:25 18:36:26
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

The development of Jamestown in Virginia during the second half of the senventeenth century was closely related to the making and the use of bricks. There are several practical reasons why bricks become important to the colony.

Although the forests could initially supply sufficient timber, the process of lumbering(采伐) was extremely difficult, particularly because of the lack of roads.

Later, when the timber on the peninsula(半岛) had been depleted(耗尽), wood had to be brought from some distance, Building stone was also in short supply. However, as clay was plentiful, it was inevitable that the colonists should turn to brick-making.

In addition to practical reason for using brick as the principal construction meterial, there was also an ideological reason. Brick represented durability and permanence. The Virginia Company of London instructed the colonists to build hospitals and new residences out of brick. In 1662, the Town Act of the Virginia Assembly provided for the construction of thirty-two brick buildings and prohibited the use of wood as a construction material. Had this law ever been successfully enforced, Jamestown would have been a model city. Instead, the residents failed to comply fully with the law. and by 1699 Jamestown had collapsed into a pile of rubble with only three or four habitable houses.

11. In the first half of 1600s most building in Jamestown were probably made of _____ .
(A) earth
(B) stone
(C) wood
(D) brick

12. Which of the following was NOT a reason for using brick in construction?
(A) Wood had to be brought from some distance.
(B) There was considerable clay available.
(C) The lumbering process depended on good roads.
(D) The timber was not of good quality.

13. It can be inferred from the passage that settlers who built with bricks in the 1600s were _____ .
(A) planning to return to England
(B) not concerned about durability.
(C) obeying the laws
(D) interested in large residences

14. It can be inferred from the passage that prior to the action of the Virginia Company of London, Jamestown had an insufficient number of _____ .
(A) colonists
(B) material facilities
(C) clay sources
(D) bricklayers

15. According to the passage, what eventually happened to Jamestown?
(A) It was practically destroyed.
(B) It remained the seat of government.
(C) It became a model city.
(D) It was almost completed.