grace什么意思专家解析英语四级考试历年阅读真题(二十)

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Passage Three


Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.


When families gather for Christmas dinner, some will stick to formal traditions
dating back to Grandma
’
s generation. Their tables will be set with the good dishes
and silver, and the dress code will be Sunday-best.


But
in
many
other
homes,
this
china-and-silver
elegance
has
given
way
to
a
stoneware
(
粗
陶
)-and- stainless
informality,
with
dresses
assuming
an
equally
casual-Friday
look.
For
hosts
and
guests,
the
change
means
greater
simplicity
and
comfort. For makers of fine china in Britain, it spells economic hard times.


Last
week
Royal
Doulton,
the
largest
employer
in
Stoke-on-Trent,
announced
that it is eliminating 1,000 jobs
—
one-fifth of its total workforce. That brings to more
than
4,000
the
number
of
positions
lost
in
18
months
in
the
pottery
(
陶瓷
)
region.
Wedgwood and other pottery factories made cuts earlier.


Although a strong pound and weak markets in Asia play a role in the downsizing,
the
layoffs
in
Stoke
have
their
roots
in
earthshaking
social
shifts.
A
spokesman
for
Royal Doulton admitted that the company
“
has been somewhat slow in catching up
with the trend
”

toward casual dining. Families eat together less often, he explained,
and
more
people
eat
alone,
either
because
they
are
single
or
they
eat
in
front
of
television;


Even
dinner
parties,
if
they
happen
at
all,
have
gone
casual.
In
a
time
of
long
work hours and demanding family schedules, busy hosts insist, rightly, that it
’
s better
to share a takeout pizza on paper plates in the family room than to wait for the perfect
moment or a
“
real
”

dinner party. Too often, the perfect moment never comes. Iron
a fine-patterned tablecloth? Forget it. Polish the silver? Who has time?


Yet the loss of formality has its down side. The fine points of etiquette (
礼节
)
that children might once have learned at the table by observation or instruction from
parents and grandparents (
“
Chew with your mouth closed.
”

“
Keep your elbows off
the
table.
”
)
must
be
picked
up
elsewhere.
Some
companies
now
offer
etiquette
seminars for employees who may be competent professionally but clueless socially.


31. The trend toward casual dining has resulted in ________.


A) bankruptcy of fine china manufacturers


B) shrinking of the pottery industry


C) restructuring of large enterprises


D) economic recession in Great Britain(B)


32. Which of the following may be the best reason for casual dining?


A) Family members need more time to relax.


B) Busy schedules leave people no time for formality.


C) People want to practice economy in times of scarcity.


D) Young people won
’
t follow the etiquette of the older generation.(B)


33. It can be learned from the passage that Royal Doulton is ________.


A) a retailer of stainless steel tableware








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B) a dealer in stoneware


C) a pottery chain store


D) a producer of fine china(D)


34. The main cause of the layoffs in the pottery industry is ________.


A) the increased value of the pound


B) the economic recession in Asia


C) the change in people
’
s way of life


D) the fierce competition at home and abroad(C)


35. Refined table manners, though less popular than before in current social life
________.


A) are still a must on certain occasions


B) axe bound to return sooner or later


C) are still being taught by parents at home
D) can help improve personal relationships(A)
这篇材料讲的是生活方式的改变对精制陶瓷业的冲击。
从这个核心内容出
发，在布局时首先 应该介绍的当然是生活方式的改变情况。作者也是这么做的，
在开头两段，
作者先是叙述了原有 生活方式的状况：
以圣诞节晚餐为例，
人们遵
循着奶奶那辈的传统，
桌上摆放 了精美的陶瓷器具和银器，
衣着华丽。
作者在这
里虽然使用的是一般现在时，
也就是说这一情况在现在依然存在，
但从第二段所
使用的
But
一词来看，这 种情况应该是少数情况或者并非那么流行了。而后，又
讲述如今很多家庭的做法：
瓷器换成了粗 陶，
银器换成了不锈钢器具
(a stoneware
-and- stainless
informality)
，衣服也成了便装。这样做的目的是出于简朴 和舒适
(greater simplicity and comfort)
。然而这一变化却给精瓷制造商们带来了“艰难时
世”
(it spells economic hard times)
。这第二段的最后一句恰好起到了承上启下 的
作用，预示着下文要开始讨论精瓷制造商们的苦处。



作者从 制造商裁员讲起。一家最大的制造商
Doulton
宣布裁员
1000
个职位，这个数字是其总职位的五分之一
(one-fifth of its total wor kforce)
。行业领袖
尚且如此，可以推测，小型厂商实行裁员恐怕要更早一些
( made cuts earlier)
。



作者罗列的这些事 实是极具冲击力的，
人们不禁要问，
是什么原因致使
行业衰微
?
随后 的两段回答了这个问题。第四段给出了根本原因：剧烈的社会变
迁
(have their roots in earthshaking social shifts)
，
而制造商们没能适时而变
(has been
somewhat slow in catching up with the trend)。不过如今制造商对这种变化是清楚
的，
他们首先谈到家庭内部的变化。
他们知道 现在的家庭聚餐的次数减少了，
更
多人是单独进餐，原因是单身或者想边看电视边吃饭
(Families
eat
together
less
often, he explained, and more people eat alone, either because they are single or they
eat in front of television)
。



要注意上一段末尾使用了分 号，
也就意味着第五段所述的情形依然是制
造商们的说法。
除了家庭内部，
受 影响的还有晚餐会
(Even dinner parties have gone
cas ual)
。因为时间紧，日程多，晚会主人情愿用外卖招待客人，这些外卖只要装
盛在纸质的盘 子里就可以了。人们不再期待
perfect moment
，不愿去熨烫精美的
桌布，也不愿费力去擦磨银器。



材料的核心内容到此基本论述完毕。
最后一段附带说明了由正式转为随
便后 所带来的一些不利影响
(the loss of formality has its down side)
。
The fine points
of
etiquette
that
children
might
once
have
learned
at
the
table
by
observation
or








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instruction from parents and grandparents (
“
Chew with your mouth closed.
”

“
Keep
your elbows off the table.
”
) must be picked up elsewhere
—— 这句话虽然很长，但
说明的意思却很简单：
社会变迁使得孩子们的礼节意识无从培养。
这个问题如何
解决
?
作者举出了一个例子：一些公司开始召开礼节研讨会，以给在社交 方面较
为懵懂的人们提供帮助。



31. The trend toward casual dining has resulted in ________.


A) bankruptcy of fine china manufacturers


B) shrinking of the pottery industry


C) restructuring of large enterprises


D) economic recession in Great Britain(B)


这道题是问随意风格的晚宴的流行其结果是什么。
Result in
表示导致了
什么样的结果。



A
，精瓷厂商的破产。



B
，陶瓷产业的缩水。



C
，大型企业的重组。



D
，英国经济的衰落。



文章的前两段讲的是人们的生 活方式是如何改变的，
没有述及这种转变
的结果。
所以答案应该不在那里。
第 三段开始讲述新晚宴风格对精瓷厂商们的影
响，答案选项的
A
和
B
均 与此有关，可以判断答案很可能出自第三段。我们要
做的就是比照第三段排除错误答案。



精瓷厂商的破产——文中提到了此类厂商裁员的情形，从未提及
bank ruptcy
一词，可以判断
A
错误。



陶瓷 产业的缩水——厂商集体裁员，
意味着业务量减少，
意味着整个产
业的利润不能支撑原 来的就业规模，也就是产业的缩水。



大型企业的重组——文中没有此类 说法，找不到与重组
restructuring
类
似的内容，即使说到较大型的企业
Doulton
，也应该是限定在陶瓷产业，而不是
笼统的
large enterprises
。



英国经济的衰落，
这一说 法就离文意更远了。
确实可以认为陶瓷产业的
缩水使得英国经济缩水，
但随着陶瓷业的 缩水，
像不锈钢器具制造、
纸质器具等
行业会相应得到发展，弥补了陶瓷业的损失，英 国经济总体上不会衰退。



32. Which of the following may be the best reason for casual dining?


A) Family members need more time to relax.


B) Busy schedules leave people no time for formality.


C) People want to practice economy in times of scarcity.


D) Young people won
’
t follow the etiquette of the older generation.(B)


题目问下列哪一项可以作为随意风格晚宴的最佳原因。



A
，家庭成员需要更多的时间放松。



B
，繁忙的日程安排留给了人们太少的时间，来不及进行正式晚宴。



C
，人们想在困难时期实行节约。



D
，年轻人不想遵循老一辈的繁文缛节。



题目问的内 容似乎涉及的文章内容较广，
如前两段就提到了风格转变的
问题，后面的四、五段也有涉及。这 里我们要记住一个要点，除了在每篇最后一
题
(
有时是最后
2
题，但 极为少见
)
可能出现总括式的问题外，其余问题所涉及的
内容不会超出
2个段落
(
如果是大段，通常不会超出本段
)
。另外要记住的是，已