单选题 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 red wood 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. (358 words)

单选题 After the tragedy caused by Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina"s shore line are required______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：本题属于细节题。相关信息可以在第三段第二句找到：“In Hugo"s wake，all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter，better—enforced codes．”意思是在飓风的警醒下，新建的房子都必须要满足更为严格的规定。因此c“满足更严格的建筑标准”为正确答案。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。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。

单选题 The award-winning beach house is quite strong because______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：本题属于细节题。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，分别是第四段的钢管加固(wooden frame is reinforted with long steel rods)，第五段的木桩悬撑(Huff raised it 2．7 meters off the grOImd on timher pilings)，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人房内，第三点是为了美观。显然，这道题应该选择A。

单选题 Huff raised the house 7 meters off the ground on timber pilings in order to

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：本题属于细节推断题。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“避免海水冲人房内”，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。

单选题 The main function of the shell is______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：本题属于细节推断题。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并不会影响海水从屋底通过。因此应该选择B。

单选题 It can be inferred from the passage that the shell should be______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：本题属于推断题。此题可用排除法。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。因此选择C。D“极为坚固”，这个说法和C相反，是错误的。