考研人數逐年增加，競爭之激烈使得我們不得不加急復習的日程。眾所周知，閱讀理解占據了考研英語二100分試卷的一半分值，而考研英語閱讀文章大多來自英美國家的主流報刊雜志，所以如果能在日常就多多閱讀這些文章，對以后讀懂文章做對題目來說會大有裨益。

學習步驟如下：

1.不看漢語譯文自己看一遍短文做理解

2.看漢語譯文比對自己理解的意思與之出入

3.強化記憶重點單詞（以記憶其漢語意思為主）

The trend toward “less” was not entirely foreign. In the 1930s Frank  Lloyd Wright started building more modest and efficient house—usually around 1,200 square feet—than the spreading two-storey ones he had designed in the 1890s and the early 20th century.

The “Case Study Houses” commissioned from talented modem architects by California Arts & Architecture magazine between 1945 and 1962 were yet another homegrown influence on the “less is more” trend. Aesthetic effect came from the landscape, new materials and forthright detailing. In his Case Study House, Ralph Rapson may have mispredicted just how the mechanical revolution would impact everyday life—few American families acquired helicopters, though most eventually got clothes dryers—but his belief that self-sufficiency was both desirable and inevitable was widely shared.

短文翻譯

這種“少”的趨勢不完全是舶來品。早在20世紀30年代,弗蘭克·勞埃德·賴特就開始建造面積約為1200平方英尺的房子,這比他在19世紀90年代、20世紀初設計的兩層建筑更樸素、更實用。

1945年至1962年間,《加州藝術與建筑》雜志委托一些杰出的現代建筑師設計了一系列“案例研究住宅”,這是美國本土對“少便是多”的建筑趨勢的又一大影響。其美學效果來自自然景觀、新材料的運用及直觀明了的細節設計。在拉爾夫·拉普森設計的“案例研究住宅”中,他可能錯誤地預測了機械革命對人們日常生活的影響。因為雖然大部分家庭擁有烘干機,但擁有直升機的家庭卻為數不多。但他認為自給自足是人們所向往的,也是大勢所趨,他的這一看法得到了廣泛的認可。

核心單詞一覽

真題練習

*一定要做題哦

35. What can we learn about the design of the" Case Study Houses"?

[A] Mechanical devices were widely used.

[B] Natural scenes were taken into consideration.

[C] Details were sacrificed for the overall effect.

[D] Eco-friendly materials were employed.

題目解析

35.【解析】根據題干關鍵詞“the design of the‘Case Study Houses’”定位到尾段。再將文中所提到的細節與四個選項進行比對，發現尾段第二句 “Aesthetic effect came from the landscape, new materials and forthright detailing”  提到“樣板房”的美學效果都是源自于自然景色、新型材料和明快的細節。由此可知，B 項正確。C 項與文章意思相反，細節并未被犧牲，而是美學效果要考慮的因素之一，D 項偷換了原文“new material”的概念，新型材料不一定就是環保材料。尾段第三句中提到“Ralph Rapson may have mispredicted just how the mechanical revolution would impact everyday life”，mispredict 一詞說明他是對未來的預測，表明機械革命的影響是在未來出現的，在當時并沒有，就更不用說機械裝置的廣泛應用了，故 A 項不正確。