📖 原文
(1) As the merchant class expanded in the eighteenth-century North American colonies, (2) the silversmith and the coppersmith businesses rose to serve it. Only a few silversmiths (3) were available in New York or Boston in the late seventeenth century, but in the (4) eighteenth century they could be found in all major colonial cities. No other colonial (5) artisans rivaled the silversmiths' prestige. They handled the most expensive materials (6) and possessed direct connections to prosperous colonial merchants. Their products, (7) primarily silver plates and bowls, reflected their exalted status and testified to their (8) customers' prominence. (9) Silver stood as one of the surest ways to store wealth at a time before neighborhood (10) banks existed. Unlike the silver coins from which they were made, silver articles were (11) readily identifiable. Often formed to individual specifications, they always carried the (12) silversmith's distinctive markings and consequently could be traced and retrieved. (13) Customers generally secured the silver for the silver objects they ordered. They saved coins, took them to smiths, and discussed the type of pieces they desired. Silversmiths (14) complied with these requests by melting the money in a small furnace, adding a bit of (15) copper to form a stronger alloy, and casting the alloy in rectangular blocks. They (16) hammered these ingots to the appropriate thickness by hand, shaped them, and pressed (17) designs into them for adornment. Engraving was also done by hand. In addition to plates (18) and bowls, some customers sought more intricate products, such as silver teapots. These (19) were made by shaping or casting parts separately and then soldering them together. (20) Colonial coppersmithing also came of age in the early eighteenth century and (21) prospered in northern cities. Copper's ability to conduct heat efficiently and to resist (22) corrosion contributed to its attractiveness. But because it was expensive in colonial (23) America, coppersmiths were never very numerous. Virtually all copper worked by smiths was imported as sheets or obtained by recycling old copper goods. Copper was (24) used for practical items, but it was not admired for its beauty. Coppersmiths employed it (25) to fashion pots and kettles for the home. They shaped it in much the same manner as silver or melted it in a foundry with lead or tin. They also mixed it with zinc to make (26) brass for maritime and scientific instruments.
❓ 试题解析
问题 23： According to the passage, which of the following eighteenth-century developments had a strong impact on silversmiths?
A. A decrease in the cost of silver
B. The invention of heat-efficient furnaces
C. The growing economic prosperity of colonial merchants
D. The development of new tools used to shape silver
✅ 正确答案： C）The growing economic prosperity of colonial merchants
📝 解析： 首句说“As the merchant class expanded, the silversmith ... businesses rose to serve it.”
💡 解题技巧： 因果细节题定位“as”引导的原因。
问题 24： The word “They” in line 5 refers to
A. silversmiths
B. major colonial cities
C. other colonial artisans
D. materials
✅ 正确答案： A）silversmiths
📝 解析： “No other colonial artisans rivaled the silversmiths' prestige. They handled the most expensive materials” — They 指 silversmiths。
💡 解题技巧： 代词题找前一个句子讨论的主语（silversmiths）。
问题 25： The word “exalted” in line 7 is closest in meaning to
A. unusual
B. uncertain
C. surprising
D. superior
✅ 正确答案： D）superior
📝 解析： “reflected their exalted status” — exalted = 崇高的/高贵的/superior。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：exalted = elevated = superior in rank or status。
问题 26： In colonial America, where did silversmiths usually obtain the material to make silver articles?
A. From their own mines
B. From importers
C. From other silversmiths
D. From customers
✅ 正确答案： D）From customers
📝 解析： “Customers generally secured the silver for the silver objects they ordered. They saved coins, took them to smiths” — 顾客自己提供银子。
💡 解题技巧： 细节题定位“secured the silver”。
问题 27： The word “ingots” in line 17 refers to
A. coins that people saved
B. blocks of silver mixed with copper
C. tools used to shape silver plates
D. casts in which to form parts of silver articles
✅ 正确答案： B）blocks of silver mixed with copper
📝 解析： 银匠将银币熔化，加入少量铜形成合金，铸成 rectangular blocks，这些就是 ingots。
💡 解题技巧： 指代题结合上下文描述（melted, added copper, cast in rectangular blocks）。
问题 28： The phrase “came of age” in line 21 is closest in meaning to
A. established itself
B. declined
C. became less expensive
D. was studied
✅ 正确答案： A）established itself
📝 解析： “came of age” 本义“成年”，这里比喻行业“成熟/确立”。
💡 解题技巧： 短语题：come of age = mature = become established。
问题 29： The passage mentions all of the following as uses for copper in colonial America EXCEPT
A. cooking pots
B. scientific instruments
C. musical instruments
D. maritime instruments
✅ 正确答案： C）musical instruments
📝 解析： 文中提到 pots and kettles（烹饪锅）、maritime and scientific instruments（航海和科学仪器），未提 musical instruments。
💡 解题技巧： “EXCEPT”题逐项核对第四段列举的用途。
问题 30： According to the passage, silversmiths and coppersmiths in colonial America were similar in which of the following ways?
A. The amount of social prestige they had
B. The way they shaped the metal they worked with
C. The cost of the goods they made
D. The practicality of the goods they made
✅ 正确答案： B）The way they shaped the metal they worked with
📝 解析： “They shaped it in much the same manner as silver” — 铜匠塑造金属的方式与银匠相似。
💡 解题技巧： 对比题定位相似性描述（much the same manner）。
问题 31： Based on the information in paragraph 4, which of the following was probably true about copper in the colonies?
A. The copper used by colonists was not effective in conducting heat.
B. The copper items created by colonial coppersmiths were not skillfully made.
C. There were no local copper mines from which copper could be obtained.
D. The price of copper suddenly decreased.
✅ 正确答案： C）There were no local copper mines from which copper could be obtained.
📝 解析： “Virtually all copper worked by smiths was imported as sheets or obtained by recycling” — 没有本地铜矿。
💡 解题技巧： 推理题定位“imported”和“recycling”。
🌐 中文翻译
随着18世纪北美殖民地商人阶级的扩张，银匠和铜匠行业兴起为其服务。17世纪末，纽约或波士顿只有少数几位银匠，但到了18世纪，在所有主要殖民地城市都能找到他们。没有其他殖民地工匠能与银匠的声望相媲美。他们处理最昂贵的材料，并与富裕的殖民地商人有直接联系。他们的产品——主要是银盘和银碗——反映了他们崇高的地位，也证明了他们顾客的显赫。 在社区银行出现之前，白银是储存财富最可靠的方式之一。与它们所来源的银币不同，银制品易于识别。它们通常按照个人规格制作，总是带有银匠独特的标记，因此可以被追踪和追回。 顾客通常自己提供制作银器所需的银子。他们积攒硬币，将其带给银匠，并讨论他们想要的器皿类型。银匠满足这些要求：将钱币在小熔炉中熔化，加入少量铜以形成更强的合金，然后将合金铸成矩形块。他们手工将这些铸锭锤打到适当的厚度，塑形，并压印图案作为装饰。雕刻也是手工完成的。除了盘子和碗，一些顾客还寻求更复杂的产品，如银茶壶。这些茶壶是分别塑形或铸造部件，然后将它们焊接在一起制成的。 殖民地铜匠业也在18世纪初成熟，并在北部城市繁荣。铜能够有效导热和抗腐蚀的能力增加了其吸引力。但由于在殖民地美国铜很昂贵，铜匠从来都不多。铜匠加工的几乎所有铜都是以薄板形式进口的，或者通过回收旧铜制品获得。铜被用于实用物品，但其美观并不受人推崇。铜匠用它来制作家用的锅和水壶。他们塑造铜的方式与塑造银的方式大致相同，或者在铸造厂中与铅或锡一起熔化。他们还将其与锌混合制成黄铜，用于航海和科学仪器。
🏷️ 标签：#托福阅读 #真题解析 #备考资料
