Question

【題目】 Born in the 1950s, shopping malls were once the symbol of the U.S. consumer culture, but many are now dying out.

Dying shopping malls can be found across the United States, often in middle-class suburbs. Economic decline in certain areas together with an upward trend towards online shopping and new forms of urban shopping centers have pushed the once seemingly unbeatable shopping malls into decline. It is estimated that 15 to 50 percent of shopping malls may close in the coming decades.

American shopping culture follows its housing culture. Numerous shopping malls were therefore born after the Second World War, as Americans with cars and fat wallets moved to the suburbs. U.S. shopping malls were built at a rapid pace as shoppers fled cities, peaking in the mid-1990s when they were being built at a rate of 140 a year. Thus, too many shopping malls are left though construction has gradually decreased since then.

Currently, there are around 1,500 shopping malls across the U.S. Most share a handful of similar feature. They usually contain two or three stories of stores separated by walkways. Food courts serve pizza and other fast food. Parking lots are big enough to easily misplace a car.

Shopping malls in Europe might contain grocery stores or childcare centers, while those in Japan are often built around mass transit (交通樞紐). But the suburban American shopping malls are hard to get to and mainly sell clothes and gifts.

As many shopping malls became redundant (過剩的), leaders in many U.S. towns who once fought for malls now struggle with how to transform them to new uses. Highland Mall in Texas is being transformed into a community college campus, and Lakeland Mall in Florida now houses a megachurch (大型教會). Others have been redeveloped to include housing, offices and even green space. However, it is hard to imagine every shopping mall meeting the demands for such transformations.

【1】What is this passage mainly about?

A.The introduction to American consumer culture.

B.The changes in Americans' shopping habits.

C.The growth of American shopping centers.

D.The decline of American shopping malls.

【2】When did the construction speed of IS shopping malls reach the highest point?

A.After the Second World WarB.In the mid-1990s.

C.After mass transit appeared.D.In the 2000s.

【3】What do many U.S. towns do to solve the redundant shopping malls?

A.They make them look different from each other.

B.They make them more accessible to the public.

C.They change them to serve other purposes.

D.They move them to the urban areas.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】B

【3】C

【解析】

這是一篇說明文。文章主要介紹了美國曾經(jīng)盛極一時的購物中心正在衰落。

【1】主旨大意題。根據(jù)第一段Born in the 1950s, shopping malls were once the symbol of the U.S. consumer culture, but many are now dying out. (購物中心誕生于20世紀(jì)50年代，曾是美國消費文化的象征，但現(xiàn)在許多購物中心正在衰落)結(jié)合文章說明了購物中心的衰落的原因和當(dāng)初修建的原因。以及隨著許多購物中心變得多余，許多美國城鎮(zhèn)通過將購物中心改造成其他用途來解決這一問題。由此可知，文章主要介紹了美國購物中心的衰落。故選D。

【2】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第三段中U.S. shopping malls were built at a rapid pace as shoppers fled cities, peaking in the mid-1990s when they were being built at a rate of 140 a year. (隨著購物者逃離城市，美國的購物中心建設(shè)速度很快，在上世紀(jì)90年代中期達到頂峰，當(dāng)時購物中心的建設(shè)速度為每年140座)可知，購物中心的建設(shè)速度在20世紀(jì)90年代中期達到最高點。故選B。

【3】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)最后一段第一句As many shopping malls became redundant, leaders in many U.S. towns who once fought for malls now struggle with how to transform them to new uses. (隨著許多購物中心變得多余，許多曾經(jīng)為購物中心而戰(zhàn)的美國城鎮(zhèn)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人現(xiàn)在正在努力把它們變成新的用途)可知，許多美國城鎮(zhèn)通過將購物中心改造成其他用途來解決多余的購物中心。故選C。

文章主題和中心思想的闡述往往需要大量細節(jié)信息的支持，這些細節(jié)對于理解全文內(nèi)容至關(guān)重要，同時也是歸納和概括文章中心思想的基礎(chǔ)。命題人往往會要求考生根據(jù)不同的要求閱讀文章，以獲得某些特定的信息，或準(zhǔn)確地尋求所需的細節(jié)，并對細節(jié)進行直接或間接辨認(rèn)和理解。文章細節(jié)的理解可以細化為：（1）一一對應(yīng)型。（2）語言轉(zhuǎn)述型。（3）語意理解型。（4）是非辨別型。（5）事實排序型。

如第二小題屬于一一對應(yīng)型，根據(jù)第三段中U.S. shopping malls were built at a rapid pace as shoppers fled cities, peaking in the mid-1990s when they were being built at a rate of 140 a year. (隨著購物者逃離城市，美國的購物中心建設(shè)速度很快，在上世紀(jì)90年代中期達到頂峰，當(dāng)時購物中心的建設(shè)速度為每年140座)可知，購物中心的建設(shè)速度在20世紀(jì)90年代中期達到最高點。故選B。