高考英语阅读理解难题Reading+Comprehension+for+top+students-4

高考培优阅读-5Fisher‘sclassReadingComprehension-4-Agriculture​Potash(theoldnameforpotassiumcarbonate)isoneofthetwoalkalis(theotherbeingsoda,sodiumcarbonate)thatwereusedfromremoteantiquityinthemakingofglass,andfromtheearlyMiddleAgesinthemakingofsoap:theformerbeingtheproductofheatingamixtureofalkaliandsand,thelatteraproductofalkaliandvegetableoil.TheirimportanceinthecommunitiesofcolonialNorthAmericaneedhardlybestressed.Potashandsodaarenotinterchangeableforallpurposes,butforglass-orsoap-makingeitherwoulddo.SodawasobtainedlargelyfromtheashesofcertainMediterraneanseaplants,potashfromthoseofinlandvegetation.HencepotashwasmorefamiliartotheearlyEuropeansettlersoftheNorthAmericancontinent.ThesettlementatJamestowninVirginiawasinmanywaysamicrocosmoftheeconomyofcolonialNorthAmerica,andpotashwasoneofitsfirstconcerns.Itwasrequiredfortheglassworks,thefirstfactoryintheBritishcolonies,andwasproducedinsufficientquantitytopermittheinclusionofpotashinthefirstcargoshippedoutofJamestown.ThesecondshiptoarriveinthesettlementfromEnglandincludedamongitspassengersexpertsinpotashmaking.Themethodofmakingpotashwassimpleenough.Logswaspiledupandburnedintheopen,andtheashescollected.Theasheswereplacedinabarrelwithholesinthebottom,andwaterwaspouredoverthem.Thesolutiondrainingfromthebarrelwasboileddowninironkettles.Theresultingmasswasfurtherheatedtofusethemassintowhatwascalledpotash.InNorthAmerica,potashmakingquicklybecameanadjuncttotheclearingoflandforagriculture,foritwasestimatedthatasmuchashalfthecostofclearinglandcouldberecoveredbythesaleofpotash.SomepotashwasexportedfromMaineandNewHampshireintheseventeenthcentury,butthemarketturnedouttobemainlydomestic,consistingmostlyofshipmentsfromthenortherntothesoutherncolonies.FordespitethebeginningofthetradeatJamestownandsuchencouragementsasaseriesofactstoencouragethemakingofpotash,beginningin1707inSouthCarolina,thesoftwoodsintheSouthprovedtobepoorsourcesofthesubstance.题目：

1.Whataspectofpotashdoesthepassagemainlydiscuss?(A)Howitwasmade(B)Itsvalueasaproductforexport(C)Howitdiffersfromotheralkalis(D)ItsimportanceincolonialNorthAmerica2.AllofthefollowingstatementsaretrueofbothpotashandsodaEXPECT:(A)Theyarealkalis.(B)Theyaremadefromseaplants.(C)Theyareusedinmakingsoap.(D)Theyareusedinmakingglass.3.Theyphrasethelatterinline4refersto(A)alkali(B)glass(C)sand(D)soap4.Thewordstressedinline6isclosestinmeaningto

(A)defined(B)emphasized(C)adjusted(D)mentioned5.Thewordinterchangeableinline7isclosestinmeaningto(A)convenient(B)identifiable(C)equivalent(D)advantageous6.ItcanbeinferredfromthepassagethatpotashwasmorecommonthansodaincolonialNorthAmericabecause(A)thematerialsneededformakingsodawerenotreadilyavailable(B)makingpotashrequiredlesstimethanmakingsoda(C)potashwasbetterthansodaformakingglassandsoap(D)thecolonialglassworksfoundsodamoredifficulttouse7.Accordingtoparagraph4,allofthefollowingwereneededformakingpotashEXCEPT(A)wood(B)fire(C)sand(D)water8.Thewordadjunctinline22isclosestinmeaningto(A)addition(B)answer(C)problem(D)possibility9.Accordingtothepassage,amajorbenefitofmakingpotashwasthat(A)itcouldbeexportedtoEuropeinexchangeforothergoods(B)ithelpedfinancethecreationoffarms(C)itcouldbemadewithavarietyofmaterials(D)stimulatedthedevelopmentofnewwaysofglassmaking10.Accordingtoparagraph5,thesoftwoodsintheSouthposedwhichofthefollowingproblemsforsouthernsettles?(A)Thesoftwoodswerenotveryplentiful.(B)Thesoftwoodscouldnotbeusedtobuildhouses.(C)Thesoftwoodswerenotverymarketable.(D)Thesoftwoodswerenotveryusefulformakingpotash.答案：

DBDBCACABD钾肥（碳酸钾的旧称）是两种碱（另一种是苏打水、碳酸钠）之一，从遥远的古代开始用于制造玻璃，从中世纪早期开始用于制造肥皂：前者是加热碱和沙子混合物的产物，后者是碱和植物油的产物。它们在北美殖民地社区中的重要性几乎无需强调。钾肥和苏打水不能互换用于所有用途，但对于玻璃或肥皂制造来说，两者都可以。苏打水主要来自某些地中海植物的灰烬，钾肥来自内陆植被的灰烬。因此，北美大陆的早期欧洲定居者更熟悉钾肥。弗吉尼亚州詹姆斯敦的定居点在许多方面都是北美殖民地经济的缩影，钾肥是其首要关注的问题之一。它是英国殖民地的第一家工厂玻璃厂所必需的，并且生产量足够大，可以将钾肥包含在从詹姆斯敦运出的第一批货物中。第二艘从英国抵达定居点的船的乘客中包括钾肥制造专家。制造钾肥的方法很简单。原木被堆积起来，露天焚烧，灰烬被收集起来。将骨灰放入底部有孔的桶中，然后将水倒在上面。从桶中排出的溶液在铁釜中煮沸。所得物质被进一步加热，将物质融合成所谓的钾肥。在北美，钾肥生产很快成为农业开垦土地的辅助手段，因为据估计，通过出售钾肥可以收回多达一半的土地开垦成本。17世纪，缅因州和新罕布什尔州出口了一些钾肥，但市场主要是国内的，主要包括从北部到南部殖民地的运输。因为尽管从1707年开始，在南卡罗来纳州开始了钾肥贸易，并采取了一系列鼓励钾肥生产的行动，但南方的软木被证明是这种物质的不良来源。1.这段经文主要讨论钾肥的哪个方面？（A）它是如何制作的（B）其作为出口产品的价值（C）它与其他碱的区别（D）它在北美殖民地的重要性2.以下所有陈述都适用于钾肥和苏打水EXPECT：（A）它们是碱。（B）它们是由海洋植物制成的。（C）它们用于制造肥皂。（D）它们用于制造玻璃。3.他们在第4行中将后者称为（一）碱（二）玻璃（C）沙子（四）肥皂4.第6行中强调的单词在含义上最接近

（一）界定（二）强调（三）调整（四）提及5.第7行中“可互换”一词的意思最接近（一）方便（二）可识别的（三）等价物（四）有利条件6.从这段话中可以推断，在殖民地北部，钾肥比苏打水更常见美国因为（一）制造苏打水所需的材料不容易获得（B）制造钾肥所需的时间比制造苏打水的时间少（C）钾肥比苏打水更适合制造玻璃和肥皂（四）殖民地玻璃厂发现苏打更难用7.根据第4段，制造钾肥需要以下所有条件，但（一）木材