Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42.
A mansion is a very large home. McDonald's is the name of a fast food hamburger chain. What do you get when you put the two together? You get McMansion, the recently created name for a type of large suburban, two storied home that originated in the United States. Many people love McMansions for their low price, abundant space and impressive styling, but the news is not all gooD. In fact, McMansions may now be a threatened species.
McMansion became very popular in the United States during the 1990s, and this popularity continued for almost 20 years. During those years the economy was relatively strong, and banks were willing to lend large sums of money to people who wanted to buy a home. The result was an increase in the average home size. In 1988, the average new American home was 170 square meters, but by 2008 this had risen to 244 square meters, a 44% increase.
To offset the greater costs of these large homes, land developers built many homes that all used a similar basic design and identical construction methods. Framing and interior fittings were constructed in
factories, instead of on site, and the materials used were often of a lower quality. Finally, the sections of land used for each house were much smaller than before.
The result was suburban developments full of huge homes, often over 280 square meters in floor area, that all looked similar to each other. Their standardization and lowest possible-cost construction reminded people of McDonald's hamburgers, hence the term McMansion. For many people a McMansion was their dream home, but that dream is now rapidly turning sour.
There are two main problems with McMansions. One problem is that their huge size means that they cost a lot to heat or cool. Energy is becoming more expensive, so owners are faced with huge bills if they try to heat or cool their home. The other problem is that McMansion owners are often in a lot of debt. They borrowed a lot of money to pay for their impressive home, but during the 2000s, with struggling economy and high unemployment, they couldn't afford to repay their loan.
McMansion are still popular in some area, but no one is sure how long it will last. Will energy become even more expensive and force owners to downsize? Will the economy grow and banks become more willing to end again? Will the drop-in house prices allow larger, less affluent families to afford a McMansion? These questions are weighing heavily on the future of one of the most popular housing styles of the late 20th century.
Why does the writer ask questions in paragraph 6?
A. to discuss the rise and fall of energy prices for America houses
B. to emphasize the importance of McMansions in American culture
C. to make readers think about the future of McMansions
D. to explain why McMansions are still popular these days
Giải bởi Vietjack
C
Kiến thức: Đọc hiểu
Giải thích:
Tại sao người viết đặt câu hỏi trong đoạn 6?
A. để thảo luận về sự tăng giảm của giá năng lượng đối với nhà ở Mỹ
B. để nhấn mạnh tầm quan trọng của McMansion trong văn hóa Mỹ
C. để khiến độc giả suy nghĩ về tương lai của McMansion
D. để giải thích tại sao McMansion vẫn còn phổ biến ngày nay
Thông tin: These questions are weighing heavily on the future of one of the most popular housing styles of the late 20th century.
Tạm dịch: Những câu hỏi này đang cân nhắc rất nhiều về tương lai của một trong những phong cách nhà ở phổ biến nhất vào cuối thế kỷ 20.
Chọn C
Dịch bài đọc:
Một khu chung cư là một ngôi nhà rất lớn. McDonald là tên của một chuỗi hamburger thức ăn nhanh. Bạn nhận được gì khi kết hợp cả hai? Bạn có được McMansion, tên được tạo gần đây cho một loại ngoại ô lớn, hai ngôi nhà có nguồn gốc từ Hoa Kỳ. Nhiều người yêu thích McMansions vì giá thấp, không gian phong phú và kiểu dáng ấn tượng, nhưng không phải tất cả đều tốt. Trên thực tế, McMansions hiện có thể bị đe dọa.
McMansion trở nên rất phổ biến ở Hoa Kỳ trong những năm 1990, và sự phổ biến này tiếp tục trong gần 20 năm. Trong những năm đó nền kinh tế tương đối mạnh, và các ngân hàng sẵn sàng cho vay một số tiền lớn cho những người muốn mua nhà. Kết quả là sự gia tăng kích thước nhà trung bình. Năm 1988, ngôi nhà mới của người Mỹ trung bình là 170 mét vuông, nhưng đến năm 2008, con số này đã tăng lên tới 244 mét vuông, tăng 44%.
Để bù đắp chi phí lớn hơn cho những ngôi nhà lớn này, các nhà phát triển đất đã xây dựng nhiều ngôi nhà mà tất cả đều sử dụng một thiết kế cơ bản tương tự và phương pháp xây dựng giống hệt nhau. Khung và phụ kiện nội thất được xây dựng trong các nhà máy, thay vì tại chỗ, và các vật liệu được sử dụng thường có chất lượng thấp hơn. Cuối cùng, các phần đất được sử dụng cho mỗi ngôi nhà nhỏ hơn nhiều so với trước đây.
Kết quả là sự phát triển ở ngoại ô đầy những ngôi nhà khổng lồ, thường có diện tích sàn hơn 280 mét vuông, tất cả đều trông giống nhau. Tiêu chuẩn hóa và xây dựng với chi phí thấp nhất có thể khiến người ta nhớ đến hamburger của McDonald, do đó, có thuật ngữ McMansion. Đối với nhiều người, McMansion là ngôi nhà mơ ước của họ, nhưng giấc mơ đó giờ đang nhanh chóng trở nên tồi tệ.
Có hai vấn đề chính với McMansion. Một vấn đề là kích thước khổng lồ của chúng có nghĩa là chúng tốn rất nhiều chi phí để sưởi ấm hoặc làm mát. Năng lượng đang trở nên đắt đỏ hơn, vì vậy chủ sở hữu phải đối mặt với các hóa đơn khổng lồ nếu họ cố gắng sưởi ấm hoặc làm mát ngôi nhà của họ. Vấn đề khác là chủ sở hữu McMansion thường mắc nợ rất nhiều. Họ đã vay rất nhiều tiền để trả cho ngôi nhà ấn tượng của mình, nhưng trong những năm 2000, với nền kinh tế khó khăn và tỷ lệ thất nghiệp cao, họ không đủ khả năng trả nợ.
McMansion vẫn còn phổ biến ở một số khu vực, nhưng không ai chắc chắn nó sẽ kéo dài bao lâu. Năng lượng sẽ trở nên đắt hơn và buộc các chủ sở hữu phải giảm quy mô? Nền kinh tế sẽ phát triển và các ngân hàng trở nên sẵn sàng hơn để kết thúc một lần nữa? Giá nhà giảm sẽ cho phép các gia đình lớn, ít giàu hơn có thể mua McMansion? Những câu hỏi này đang cân nhắc rất nhiều về tương lai của một trong những phong cách nhà ở phổ biến nhất vào cuối thế kỷ 20.
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 25 to 29.
It is true that digital manufacturing does cut out the middle-man. More and more routine, repetitive assembly tasks will be taken (25)______ by machines. But as certain jobs disappear, new ones open up in other parts of the factory. Germany in many ways exemplifies this trend. Today, German manufacturers (26)______ three times more robots than U.S. companies, but they also still employ more humans. Relative to the size of our economies, German's manufacturing workforce is twice the size of America's.
From its very beginning, the fourth Industrial revolution has never presented manufacturers with an
either-or choice - robots or humans. It has always been about combining the talents of (27)______ . (28) ______, it is the convergence of artificial and human intelligence that will enable manufacturers to achieve a new era of speed, flexibility, efficiency and connectivity in the 21st century. Machines have the ability to assemble things faster than any human ever could, but humans possess the analytics, domain expertise and valuable knowledge (29)______ to solve problems and optimize factory floor production.
Điền vào ô 26.
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.
“Hollywood's Eve” fills in many of the gaps in our knowledges of Babitz's life and work.
While I _____ at the bus stop, three buses went by in the opposite direction.
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 25 to 29.
It is true that digital manufacturing does cut out the middle-man. More and more routine, repetitive assembly tasks will be taken (25)______ by machines. But as certain jobs disappear, new ones open up in other parts of the factory. Germany in many ways exemplifies this trend. Today, German manufacturers (26)______ three times more robots than U.S. companies, but they also still employ more humans. Relative to the size of our economies, German's manufacturing workforce is twice the size of America's.
From its very beginning, the fourth Industrial revolution has never presented manufacturers with an
either-or choice - robots or humans. It has always been about combining the talents of (27)______ . (28) ______, it is the convergence of artificial and human intelligence that will enable manufacturers to achieve a new era of speed, flexibility, efficiency and connectivity in the 21st century. Machines have the ability to assemble things faster than any human ever could, but humans possess the analytics, domain expertise and valuable knowledge (29)______ to solve problems and optimize factory floor production.
Điền vào ô 29.
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42.
A mansion is a very large home. McDonald's is the name of a fast food hamburger chain. What do you get when you put the two together? You get McMansion, the recently created name for a type of large suburban, two storied home that originated in the United States. Many people love McMansions for their low price, abundant space and impressive styling, but the news is not all gooD. In fact, McMansions may now be a threatened species.
McMansion became very popular in the United States during the 1990s, and this popularity continued for almost 20 years. During those years the economy was relatively strong, and banks were willing to lend large sums of money to people who wanted to buy a home. The result was an increase in the average home size. In 1988, the average new American home was 170 square meters, but by 2008 this had risen to 244 square meters, a 44% increase.
To offset the greater costs of these large homes, land developers built many homes that all used a similar basic design and identical construction methods. Framing and interior fittings were constructed in
factories, instead of on site, and the materials used were often of a lower quality. Finally, the sections of land used for each house were much smaller than before.
The result was suburban developments full of huge homes, often over 280 square meters in floor area, that all looked similar to each other. Their standardization and lowest possible-cost construction reminded people of McDonald's hamburgers, hence the term McMansion. For many people a McMansion was their dream home, but that dream is now rapidly turning sour.
There are two main problems with McMansions. One problem is that their huge size means that they cost a lot to heat or cool. Energy is becoming more expensive, so owners are faced with huge bills if they try to heat or cool their home. The other problem is that McMansion owners are often in a lot of debt. They borrowed a lot of money to pay for their impressive home, but during the 2000s, with struggling economy and high unemployment, they couldn't afford to repay their loan.
McMansion are still popular in some area, but no one is sure how long it will last. Will energy become even more expensive and force owners to downsize? Will the economy grow and banks become more willing to end again? Will the drop-in house prices allow larger, less affluent families to afford a McMansion? These questions are weighing heavily on the future of one of the most popular housing styles of the late 20th century.
The word “it” in the last paragraph refers to _____.
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 25 to 29.
It is true that digital manufacturing does cut out the middle-man. More and more routine, repetitive assembly tasks will be taken (25)______ by machines. But as certain jobs disappear, new ones open up in other parts of the factory. Germany in many ways exemplifies this trend. Today, German manufacturers (26)______ three times more robots than U.S. companies, but they also still employ more humans. Relative to the size of our economies, German's manufacturing workforce is twice the size of America's.
From its very beginning, the fourth Industrial revolution has never presented manufacturers with an
either-or choice - robots or humans. It has always been about combining the talents of (27)______ . (28) ______, it is the convergence of artificial and human intelligence that will enable manufacturers to achieve a new era of speed, flexibility, efficiency and connectivity in the 21st century. Machines have the ability to assemble things faster than any human ever could, but humans possess the analytics, domain expertise and valuable knowledge (29)______ to solve problems and optimize factory floor production.
Điền vào ô 27.
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
Congo's presidential election is hoped to enable the country's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.
It was the first time I had visitors _____ I had moved to London.
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.
It was in 1896 in Athens, Greece where the first modern Olympics were held.
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
We are having a surprise party for Susan next Saturday, so don't give the secret away by saying anything to her.
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions.
Dad's car is very old. He can't afford to buy a new one.
Over the past 30 years, the average robot price _____ by half in real terms, and even further relative to labor costs.
