1. Which one of the following statements is NOT the reason Hadid thought she could do a lot of buildings in China?

[A] China had just opened up to the outside world, having the potential in building.

[B] The buildings in China were so dark and drab.

[C] Hadid liked Chinese architecture very much.

[D] China was a big market for her architectural design.

2. That Galaxy SOHO is an eye-opener lies in _____.

[A] every part of the building is different

[B] Galaxy SOHO is a very huge building

[C] people never saw this kind of building

[D] the designer is more attractive

3. The word “iridescent” (Line 7, Paragraph 3) most probably means _____.

[A] exotic

[B] baroque

[C] beautiful

[D] colorized

4. Which one of the following is NOT the reason why Hadid's projects are so welcomed in China?

[A] Chinese never saw this kind of building before.

[B] The buildings Hadid designs are part of nature.

[C] The design of the buildings is subliminally “Chinese”.

[D] The way they evoke water and land forms is preferred by Chinese.

5. According to the text, Zhang Xin's attitude to the future of the Galaxy SOHO is _____.

[A] wait-and-see

[B] optimistic

[C] lukewarm

[D] enthusiastic





文章剖析


这篇文章讲述了建筑师扎哈·哈迪德与中国的缘分并着重介绍了她在中国的作品银河SOHO等。第一段讲述了建筑师哈迪德在中国的经历及其“在中国建很多建筑”的想法的萌生。第二段和第三段主要讲述了银河SOHO的盛大亮相，并介绍了几位人物对银河SOHO的评价。第四段主要介绍了哈迪德的其他作品。第五段介绍了哈迪德在中国的作品的特色。





词汇注释


drab adj. 单调的，乏味的；缺乏生气的

dusk n. 黄昏，傍晚

converge v. 聚集

atrium n.（建筑的）中庭

bulging adj. 凸出的；膨胀的

mesmerizing adj. 迷人的，有吸引力的

iridescent adj. 彩色的，色彩斑斓的

fuchsia n. 紫红色

subliminally adv. 下意识地





难句突破


① As dusk fell on a crisp October day, thousands of well-wishers converged on Beijing's second ring road, jamming traffic and thronging what had been for several years a vast construction site.

主体句式：As dusk fell..., thousands of well-wishers converged...

结构分析：这是一个复合句。As dusk fell...是时间状语从句，后面的jamming traffic and thronging... 也作状语，来修饰前面的内容。末尾为what引导的宾语从句。

句子译文：干冷的十月里的一天，夜幕降临，成千上万的支持者聚集在北京二环路，堵塞了交通，涌向那好几年来一直是个巨大建筑工地的地方。

② As if the building's sinuous, swooping lines weren't otherworldly enough, female staff hired for the opening celebration wore white Star Trek-style outfits with iridescent wigs in fuchsia, violet, and lime green.

主体句式：As if...lines weren't otherworldly enough, female staff...wore...

结构分析：这是一个复合句。前面as if引导的是方式状语从句，hired for the opening celebration作定语，来修饰female staff。with引导的介词短语修饰outfits。

句子译文：仿佛这个建筑蜿蜒且俯冲的线条还不够超凡脱俗一般，为开幕式典礼而雇用的女性工作人员都穿上了白色的星际迷航式全套装备，戴着色彩斑斓的假发：紫红色的、蓝紫色的和橙绿色的。





题目分析


1. Which one of the following statements is NOT the reason Hadid thought she could do a lot of buildings in China?

[A] China had just opened up to the outside world，having the potential in building.

[B] The buildings in China were so dark and drab.

[C] Hadid liked Chinese architecture very much.

[D] China was a big market for her architectural design.

1. 关于哈迪德会萌生出要在中国建很多建筑的原因，下列哪项陈述是错误的？

[A] 中国刚刚对外开放，在建筑方面的发展很有潜力。

[B] 中国的建筑很昏暗、单调。

[C] 哈迪德很喜欢中国的建筑。

[D] 对于她的建筑设计来讲，中国是一个很大的市场。

答案：C　难度系数：☆☆

分析：细节题。第一段提到，中国刚刚对外开放，什么都是未开发的，所以在建筑领域有很大的发展空间，因此选项A和D的说法正确。文中还提到：中国的城市是昏暗的、单调的。因此，哈迪德萌生了要在中国建很多的建筑的想法。选项B的说法正确。而选项C指出，哈迪德很喜欢中国的建筑，但这并未在文中提及，也不是她要在中国进行建筑设计的原因。

2. That Galaxy SOHO is an eye-opener lies in _____.

[A] every part of the building is different

[B] Galaxy SOHO is a very huge building

[C] people never saw this kind of building

[D] the designer is more attractive

2. “银河SOHO”让人大开眼界体现在_____。

[A] 建筑的每个部分都不一样

[B] “银河SOHO”是一个非常巨大的建筑

[C] 人们从没有见过这样的建筑

[D] 设计者更有魅力

答案：A　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：细节题。第三段首句提到，即使按照北京的标准，这个超现实主义的项目，有着圆润的、有机的形体及迷人的曲线，足以让人大开眼界。而后文引用了SOHO中国合作创始人潘石屹先生对“银河SOHO”的评价，提到该建筑的每个部分都是不一样的，而这正是体现“银河SOHO”足以让人大开眼界的地方，选项A符合文意，故为答案。其他三项都无法直接体现这一点，故排除。

3. The word “iridescent” (Line 7, Paragraph 3) most probably means _____.

[A] exotic

[B] baroque

[C] beautiful

[D] colorized

3. iridescent这个词（第三段第七行）最有可能的意思是_____。

[A] 具有异域风情的

[B] 怪异的

[C] 漂亮的

[D] 彩色的

答案：D　难度系数：☆☆

分析：猜词题。根据fuchsia, violet, lime green等词推测可知，iridescent一词表示“彩色的”，因此，选项D为正确答案。

4. Which one of the following is NOT the reason why Hadid's projects are so welcomed in China?

[A] Chinese never saw this kind of building before.

[B] The buildings Hadid designs are part of nature.

[C] The design of the buildings is subliminally “Chinese”.

[D] The way they evoke water and land forms is preferred by Chinese.

4. 下列哪项不是哈迪德的作品在中国如此受欢迎的原因？

[A] 中国人以前从来没有见过这样的建筑。

[B] 哈迪德设计的建筑是作为大自然的一部分而存在的。

[C] 这些建筑的设计都下意识地“中国化”了。

[D] 它们塑造水和大地的样子的方式很受中国人的喜爱。

答案：A　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：细节题。文章第五段提到：旁观者认为广州歌剧院和银河SOHO的设计都下意识地“中国化”了，特别是它们塑造水和大地的样子的方式。由此可知，选项C和D的说法是其作品受欢迎的原因。第五段还提到：扎哈曾强调建筑作为大自然的一部分而存在的重要性。从中可以看出扎哈·哈迪德非常重视自然在作品中的体现，这正符合了中国人崇尚自然的精神，因此受到中国人的欢迎。因此，选项B也是受欢迎的原因之一。而文中虽然提到：即使按照北京的标准，这个超现实主义的项目，有着圆润的、有机的形体及迷人的曲线，足以让人大开眼界，证明了中国人很少见到这样的建筑，但这并非中国人喜欢其作品的真正原因。此外，文中也未明确指出中国人以前从未见过这样的建筑。因此，答案为选项A。

5. According to the text, Zhang Xin's attitude to the future of the Galaxy SOHO is _____.

[A] wait-and-see

[B] optimistic

[C] lukewarm

[D] enthusiastic

5. 根据文章，张欣对银河SOHO的前景的态度为_____。

[A] 观望的

[B] 乐观的

[C] 冷淡的

[D] 热心的

答案：B　难度系数：☆☆

分析：态度题。根据文章中张欣对哈迪德作品的满意的态度，以及银河SOHO对外开放时人们的关注，还有哈迪德作品受欢迎的程度，可以推断出张欣对该建筑的前景是很乐观的。





参考译文


事后看来，伊拉克裔英国建筑师扎哈·哈迪德第一次到中国的故事听起来像是一段命运的传说。1981年，中国刚刚“苏醒”并对外开放。哈迪德对中国非常着迷，她买了能找得到的各种颜色的中山装（黑色、炭灰色、绿色、蓝色）。城市是昏暗而单调的，但是她说这是一次“非常非常重要的旅行”。她乘火车去了许多不同的城镇，见到了以前从来没有见过外国人的中国人。“我买了随身听磁带，中国人借了在晚上听。”她告诉《新闻周刊》她最近去北京的一次旅行，“就在那时，我想‘你可以在这里建很多建筑。’”

之后，她真的做了。干冷的十月里的一天，夜幕降临，成千上万的支持者聚集在北京二环路，堵塞了交通，涌向那好几年来一直是巨大建筑工地的地方。每一个人都争着能一睹建筑师的风采以及她迄今为止最大胆的工程——一个现代化的楼盘，银河SOHO。“几天以前我们通过微博发布了工程已经完成的消息并邀请人们来参加开幕式。”这项工程的建筑公司SOHO中国的合作创始人及总裁张欣说，“15000人在微博上给出回应，说他们要来。”当哈迪德和张欣进入中央大厅迎接粉丝时，每个人都争相上前，要拿手机拍照，差点儿发生踩踏事件。

即使按照北京的标准，这个超现实主义的项目，有着圆润的、有机的形体及迷人的曲线，足以让人大开眼界。SOHO中国的合作创始人潘石屹先生（张欣的丈夫）说，如果没有过去十年高科技电脑设计方式的发展，“根本不可能做到这一点。这处的每一块玻璃都是不一样的，那处的每一根铝条也都是不相同的。”在中国工作的建筑师安东尼奥·奥乔亚说这个建筑的“流动感是独一无二的”。而美国驻华大使骆家辉把它定义为“就像星舰企业”。仿佛这个建筑蜿蜒且俯冲的线条还不够超凡脱俗一般，为开幕式典礼而雇用的女性工作人员都穿上了白色的星际迷航式全套装备，戴着色彩斑斓的假发：紫红色的、蓝紫色的和橙绿色的。“我第一次到北京是三十多年前。”哈迪德告诉崇拜她的人群。“我们总是想我们能在这里做一些令人称奇的事情。现在正是时候，这里也正是地方。”

“没有人比扎哈更受欢迎了。”张欣说，她的公司还与哈迪德合作了其他两个工程。“与其他国家相比，哈迪德的公司在中国的项目更多。”中国和哈迪德似乎是自然的搭配。1994年，哈迪德为威尔士的加的夫设计了一座前卫的歌剧院，但是却由于官僚习气而没有建成。2011年，由哈迪德公司设计的令人震惊的黑色的花岗岩和玻璃结构的广州歌剧院在开放后获得了一致好评，很多人评论说这是英国本来可以拥有的歌剧院。

事实上，旁观者认为广州歌剧院和银河SOHO的设计都下意识地“中国化”了，特别是它们塑造水和大地的样子的方式。“扎哈曾强调建筑作为大自然的一部分而存在的重要性。”北京建筑师朱锫说。甚至她自己的公司用来描述银河的话也有大自然的影子：它的四个穹顶主体建筑“相互聚结、融合、分离以及通过天桥和开阔地带再连接。”附加建筑都围绕着中央“峡谷”。毫无疑问，这位2004年普利兹克建筑奖（相当于建筑师的诺贝尔奖）的获得者在中国的景观上留下了她的印迹。哈迪德在这里取得成功的秘诀可能或多或少和中国也在她身上留下了印迹有关系。





TEXT TWO


When Archaeopteryx, a feathered skeleton that was seemingly half dinosaur and half bird, turned up in 1862—three years after the publication of The Origin of Species—the origin of birds became a subject of raging debate among palaeontologists. Suggestions that they were the direct descendants of theropod dinosaurs (a group of bipedal meat-eaters that include Allosaurus, Velociraptor and Tyrannosaurus) caused quite a flap. Today, most researchers agree that birds are, indeed, a branch of the Dinosauria. How they made the transition from the land to the sky, though, has yet to be agreed. But a paper in this week's Current Biology, by Christopher Glen and Michael Bennett of the University of Queensland, makes a strong case that they did it by jumping.

Considering the diversity of life on Earth, flight is surprisingly rare. It has evolved only four times: among the insects about 300m years ago, the pterosaurs (230m), the birds (150m) and the bats (50m). That suggests it is a hard trick to pull off. For birds, there is general agreement that feathers came before flight. Fossils from north-eastern China show animals that had feathers but clearly could not have flown, as well as ones that look like proper birds. The best guesses are that feathers evolved either for insulation (as fur did in mammals) or for display, and that natural selection took advantage by turning them into a means of transport.

There are two broad schools of thought about what happened next. One argues that birds' immediate ancestors lived in trees. Members of this school think that powered flight developed as a natural extension of gliding (such controlled falling is used as a way of travelling from tree to tree by several arboreal species today). Gliding itself developed because of the lift provided by feathered forearms.

The alternative is that flight evolved on the ground. Some researchers who belong to this school of thought suggest that the power provided by flapping protowings may have given their owners an edge in the pursuit of prey. Others hypothesise that feathery forearms helped animals steer and stabilise themselves.

Unfortunately, behaviour does not fossilise, so it looked as though the question might never be answered. But Dr. Glen, a palaeobiologist, and Dr. Bennett, a biomechanic, think they have worked out how to do so. Their crucial observation is that in modern birds the curvature of the third toe (which carries a lot of weight during walking and climbing) varies with species' lifestyles. Birds that spend lots of time climbing around on the trunks of trees have dramatically curved third toes. Those that hop around on branches have mildly curved ones. Those that forage mainly on the ground have the least curved of all.

The two researchers compared these observations with their findings for the bird-like dinosaurs and dinosaur-like birds of China. They noticed that the toes of both feathered dinosaurs and of the earliest flying birds were similar to those of modern birds that spend most of their time on the ground. Flight, in other words, came before birds took to the trees. They are not fallen angels, but risen reptiles.

1. Which one of the following statements is NOT true of the current debate on the origin of birds?

[A] The opinion that birds were the direct descendants of dinosaurs gives the world a shock.

[B] Palaeontologists have get consensus on the species' transition from the land to the sky.

[C] Palaeontologists have different opinions on the process of the transition.

[D] The paper in this week's Current Biology demonstrates that the species moved by hopping before they flied.

2. The reason why flight is surprisingly rare is that _____.

[A] life on Earth is diversified

[B] many species of this kind were eliminated during evolution

[C] feathers evolved not for a means of transport

[D] it is very hard to have such evolution

3. The two schools of thought have different opinions on _____.

[A] the functions of feathered forearms in transition from ground to sky

[B] the location of living place before the animals' evolution to birds

[C] the development of powered flight

[D] the power provided by either gliding or flapping

4. The conclusion of the study carried out by Dr. Glen and Dr. Bennet is that _____.

[A] powered flight developed as feathered forearms provided lift

[B] flight evolved on the ground before they descend on the trees

[C] earliest birds share similar toes with their modern counterparts

[D] earliest flying birds evolved from feathered dinosaurs

5. Which one of the following statements is NOT true of opinions of Dr. Glen and Dr. Bennet?

[A] Birds realized the transition from reptile to flight by jumping.

[B] Dinosaurs are, as a matter of fact, the direct descendents of birds.

[C] Feathers evolves not for the purpose of flight.

[D] The bird's behaviours is indeed fossilized by their various shape of the third toe.





文章剖析


这篇文章讲述了关于鸟类进化的一些研究的情况。第一段讲述研究者对于鸟类如何从陆地转到空中生活的进化史有一定的分歧；第二段讲述了鸟类羽毛出现的过程；第三段和第四段讲述了关于接下来的进化有两派看法；第五段和第六段讲述研究者根据鸟类脚趾弯曲的情况确定了上述转化是如何发生的。





词汇注释


Archaeopteryx n. 始祖鸟

palaeontologist n. 古生物学家

theropod adj. 兽脚亚目的

bipedal adj. 两足动物的

Allosaurus n. 异龙

Velociraptor n. 速龙

Tyrannosaurus n. 霸王龙

arboreal adj. 树栖的

biomechanic n. 生物力学家

curvature n. 弯曲

hop vi. 跳跃

forage vi. 四处搜寻食物





难句突破


① When Archaeopteryx, a feathered skeleton that was seemingly half dinosaur and half bird, turned up in 1862—three years after the publication of The Origin of Species—the origin of birds became a subject of raging debate among palaeontologists.

主体句式：... the origin of birds became...

结构分析：这是一个复合句，when引导的是时间状语从句。

句子译文：当始祖鸟这种看上去一半是恐龙一半是鸟类的有羽毛的动物的骨架于1862年被发现，也就是《物种起源》出版的三年后，鸟类的起源成为古生物学家激烈争论的主题。

② Fossils from north-eastern China show animals that had feathers but clearly could not have flown, as well as ones that look like proper birds.

主体句式：Fossils... show animals..., as well as ones...

结构分析：这是一个复合句，两个that引导的都是定语从句，修饰前面的名词。

句子译文：在中国东北发现的化石表明，当时拥有羽毛的动物并不能飞行，即使那些看起来完全像鸟类的也是这样。





题目分析


1. Which one of the following statements is NOT true of the current debate on the origin of birds?

[A] The opinion that birds were the direct descendants of dinosaurs gives the world a shock.

[B] Palaeontologists have get consensus on the species' transition from the land to the sky.

[C] Palaeontologists have different opinions on the process of the transition.

[D] The paper in this week's Current Biology demonstrates that the species moved by hopping before they flied.

1. 关于鸟类起源的争论，下列哪个陈述是错误的？

[A] 鸟类是恐龙的直接后裔，这个观点让世界震惊。

[B] 古生物学家就该物种从地上到空中的转化这个问题达成了一致。

[C] 古生物学家对于转变的过程有不同的观点。

[D] 本周的《当今生物》上的论文表明，它们在掌握飞行能力之前是靠跳跃来移动的。

答案：D　难度系数：☆☆

分析：细节题。选项A，第一段提到了这点。选项B，第一段提到，许多研究者同意鸟类是恐龙的一个分支，与这点相符。选项C，第一段提到了他们在该问题上有争议。选项D，鸟类是靠跳跃实现由地到空的转变，而不是移动。因此，答案为D。

2. The reason why flight is surprisingly rare is that _____.