Seventeenth-century houses in colonial North America were simple structures that were primarily functional, carrying over tradit

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问题     Seventeenth-century houses in colonial North America were simple structures that were primarily functional, carrying over traditional designs that went back to the Middle Ages. During the first half of the eighteenth century, however, houses began to show a new elegance. As wealth increased, more and more colonists built fine houses.
    Since architecture was not yet a specialized profession in the colonies, the design of buildings was left either to amateur designers or to carpenters who undertook to interpret architectural manuals imported from England. Inventories of colonial libraries show an astonishing number of these handbooks for builders, and the houses erected during the eighteenth century show their influence. Nevertheless, most domestic architecture of the first three-quarters of the eighteenth century displays a wide divergence of taste and freedom of application of the rules laid down in these books.
    Increasing wealth and growing sophistication throughout the colonies resulted in houses of improved design, whether the material was wood, stone, or brick. New England still favored wood, though brick houses became common in Boston and other towns, where the danger of fire gave an impetus (推动,促进) to the use of more durable material. A few houses in New England were built of stone, but only in Pennsylvania and adjacent areas was stone widely used in dwellings. An increased use of brick in houses and outbuildings is noticeable in Virginia and Maryland, but wood remained the most popular material even in houses built by wealthy landowners. In the Carolinas, even in closely packed Charleston, wooden houses were much more common than brick houses.
    Eighteenth-century houses showed great interior improvements over their predecessors. Windows were made larger and shutters removed. Large, clear panes replaced the small leaded glass of the seventeenth century. Doorways were larger and more decorative.     Fireplaces became decorative features of rooms. Walls were made of plaster or wood, sometimes elaborately (精心地,精巧地) paneled (镶嵌,分格). White paint began to take the place of blues, yellows, greens, and lead colors, which had been popular for walls in the earlier years. After about 1730, advertisements for wallpaper styles in scenic patterns began to appear in colonial newspapers.
What’s the passage mainly about?

选项 A、The improved design of eighteenth-century colonial houses.
B、A comparison of eighteenth-century houses and modern houses.
C、The decorations used in eighteenth-century houses.
D、The role of carpenters in building eighteenth-century houses.

答案A

解析 本题问文章的主题是什么。利用浏览式阅读法,我们发现文章第一段指出,17世纪北美洲殖民地的房屋还是结构简单,以实用为主,带有中世纪传统设计风格,而到18世纪上半叶,随着财富的增加,越来越多的殖民者建造了精致的房子。从而房屋开始呈现出典雅的风格。接着在第二段、第三段和第四段,作者分别讲述了18世纪房屋设计者的设计依据、房屋建筑材料的改进以及室内设计的发展。因此,本题的正确答案应是A“全文的主旨是18世纪殖民地的房屋设计的改进”。
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