单选题
Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate) is one
of the two alkalis (the other being soda, sodium carbonate) that were used from
remote antiquity in the making of glass, and from the early Middle Ages in the
making of soap: the former being the product of heating a mixture of alkali and
sand, the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil. Their importance in the
communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed. Potash and soda
are not interchangeable for all purposes, but for glass or soap making either
would do. Soda was obtained largely from the ashes of certain Mediterranean sea
plants, potash from those of inland vegetation. Hence potash was more familiar
to the early European settlers of the Noah American continent.
The settlement at Jamestown in Virginia was in many ways a microcosm of the
economy of colonial North America, and potash was one of its first concerns. It
was required for the glassworks, the first factory in the British colonies, and
was produced in sufficient quantity to permit the inclusion of potash in the
first cargo shipped out of Jamestown. The second ship to arrive in the
settlement from England included among its passengers exports in potash
making. The method of making potash was simple enough. Logs was
piled up and burned in the open, and the ashes collected. The ashes were placed
in a barrel with holes in the bottom, and water was poured over them. The
solution draining from the barrel was boiled down in iron kettles. The resulting
mass was further heated to fuse the mass into what was called potash. In North
America, potash making quickly became an adjunct to the clearing of land for
agriculture, for it was estimated that as much as half the cost of clearing land
could be recovered by the sale of potash. Some potash was ex- ported from Maine
and New Hampshire in the seventeenth century, but the market turned out to be
mainly domestic, consisting mostly of shipments from the northern to the
southern colonies. For de- spite the beginning of the trade at Jamestown and
such encouragements as a series of acts "to encourage the making of potash,"
beginning in 1707 in South Carolina, the softwoods in the South proved to be
poor sources of the substance.
单选题
What aspect of potash does the passage mainly talks about?
单选题
The phrase "the latter" in paragraph 1 refers to ______.
A. alkali.
B. glass.
C. soda.
D. soap.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是一个推断题，即给出一个指代词，要求考生理解该词在文中指代的对象。解答这种推断题要求读者同时具有较好的语法功底和阅读理解能力。分析这个长句子：“Potash (the old name for potassium carbonate )is one of the two alkalis (the other being soda， sodium carbonate )that were used from remote antiquity in the making of glass，and from the early Middle Ages in the making of soap：the former being the product of heating a mixture of alkali and sand，the latter a product of alkali and vegetable oil”注意在这个句子中出现了多个并列的成分。
A．碱。从语法上可以判断，句子中没有出现和这个选项并列的成分。错误。
B．玻璃。句子中glass 和soap 并列，但是显然不能称为后者。
C．苏打。句子中soda 和前面出现了的carbonate 并列，也可以称为the latter，但是，如果这个选项正确的话。后面紧接的句子“Their importance in the communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed．”无法解释原因。
D．肥皂。正确，和glass 并列，根据后面紧接着的陈述，不难解释后面关于它们重要性的说法。
单选题
The word "stressed" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. mentioned.
B. emphasized.
C. adjusted.
D. pointed out.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是一个词义理解题，给出一个超纲词，要求考生理解该词在上下文中的意思。解答这种推断题要求考生能够联系上下文语境，分析具体句子：“Their importance in the communities of colonial North America need hardly be stressed．”：“他们的重要性不需要被 ()”。
A．提及。错误，如果正确的话，那作者说这句话的时候在做什么?
B．强调。正确，意思是他们的重要性是不需要强调就知道有多么重要。
C．调整。错误，把这个翻译代入句子中不通顺。
D．指出。错误，理由同A。
单选题
It can be inferred from the passage that, a major benefit of making
potash was that ______.
A. it could be exported to Europe in exchange for other goods.
B. it helped finance the creation of farms.
C. it could be made with a variety of materials.
D. stimulated the development of new ways of glassmaking.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是一个推断题，要求考生对一个推断的理由作出解释。解答这种类型的推断题要求考生能够对相应的细节阅读比较细致，能够体会到作者的弦外之音。
A．够被出口到欧洲来换别的货物。错误，文章中提到可以用来出口，但是并没有清楚地指出出口的好处。
B．为农场的建设提供了资金。正确，考生可以详细阅读文章最后一段。
C．可以用很多不同的材料制成。错误，作者并没有强调potash making 的这一好处；只是一笔带过。
D．刺激了新的玻璃制造工艺的产生。错误，这个选项属于臆断，文中没有提到。
单选题
According to the passage, the softwoods in the South posed which of the
following problems for southern settles?
A. The softwoods were not very plentiful.
B. The softwoods could not be used to build houses.
C. The softwoods were not very marketable.
D. The softwoods were not very useful for making potash.