Question

Most young architects—particularly those in big cities—can only dream about working in a building of their own. And making that dream come true often means finding a building no one else seems to want, which is exactly what happened to David Yocum and his partner, Brain Bell. Their building is a former automobile electrical—parts firm in Atlanta. From the outside, it looks too old, even something horrible, but open the door and you are in a wide, open courtyard, lined on three sides with rusting (生锈的) walls.

In 2000, Yocum and Bell found this building in the city’s West End. Built in 1947, the structure had been abandoned (放弃) years earlier and the roof of the main building had fallen down. But the price was right, so Yocum bought it. He spent eight months of his off-hours on demolition (拆除), pulling rubbish out through the roof, because it was too dangerous to go inside the building, The demolition was hard work, but it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do, and “to treasure what was there—the walls, the rust, the light,” Yocum said. “Every season, more paint falls off the walls and more rust develops. It’s like an art installation (装置) in there—a slow-motion show.”

Since the back building had been constructed without windows, an all-glass front was added to the building to give it a view of the courtyard, and skylights were installed in the roof. The back of the building is a working area and a living room for Yocum and his wife. A sort of buffer (缓冲) zone between the front and the back contains a bathroom, a kitchen and a mechanical (机械的) room, and the walls that separate these zones have openings that allow views through to the front of the studio and the courtyard beyond.

Yocum and Bell, who have just completed an art gallery for the city, feel that the experience from the decoration of their building, focusing on the inside rather than the outside, has influenced their work. It has also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less.

1.According to the passage, it is        for most young architects in big cities to work in a building of their own.

A. easy        B. unnecessary

C. unrealistic  D. common

2.Working on the old building, Yocum and Bell       .

A. pulled rubbish out through the roof

B. removed the skylights from the bathroom

C. presented a slow–motion show in an art gallery

D. built a kitchen at the back part of the old building

3.It can be inferred from the passage that Yocum and Bell        .

A. benefited a lot from pulling down the roof

B. turned more old buildings into art galleries

C. got inspiration from decorating their old building

D. paid more attention to the outside of the gallery

4.The main idea of the passage is that        .

A. people can learn a lot from their failures

B. it is worthwhile to spend money on an old building

C. people should not judge things by their appearance

D. creative people can make the best of what they have

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：文章讲述了两位年轻建筑师在离城市中心较远的地方找到了一家工厂，并把它设计为自己的工作室，运用自己所学的知识，给工作室装修了一番并在此过程中学到了许多。

1.推理判断题。根据文章第一段第一句Most young architects—particularly those in big cities—can only dream about working in a building of their own.可知年轻的建筑师想要有自己的工作室只是梦想，所以是不现实的。故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段的“He spent eight months of his off-hours on demolition, pulling rubbish out through the roof”（把垃圾清出屋顶）可知A正确；而由第三段的第一句判断出B错；由第二段的倒数第一二句判断出C错；由第三段的倒数第一句判断出D错。故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据第四段第一句Yocum and Bell, who have just completed an art gallery for the city, feel that the experience from the decoration of their building, focusing on the inside rather than the outside, has influenced their work.可知他们装饰房子获得的经验影响了他们，故C选项从装饰房子中获得了灵感是正确的。故选C。

4.主旨大意。根据第四段的“It has also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less.”得知：本文的主旨在于建造自己的工作室给这些年轻建筑师一个机会去展示他们怎样把少变得多，即有创造性的人可以很好的利用和享受他们所拥有的，故选D。

考点：考查日常生活类短文阅读