Question

In a land often shaken by earthquake, how have Japan's wooden pagodas（佛塔）remained standing for centuries? Japanese scholars have been confident for ages about their resilience（抗震性）.

For centuries, many believed the resilience of pagodas is caused by its big central columns known as shinbashira actually does not carry any weight at all but is hanging down loosely from the top of the pagoda through the middle of the building. The weight of the building is supported entirely by twelve outer and four inner columns.

And what is the role of the shinbashira, the central column? Mr. Ishida, known as ‘Professor Pagoda’ has built a series of models and tested them on a ‘shake-table’ in his laboratory. In short, the shinbashira was acting like a big pendulum(钟摆). Under pressure, a pagoda’s loose floors could be made to move back and forth independently. Viewed from the side, the pagoda seemed to be doing a snake dance—with each floor moving in the opposite direction to its neighbors above and below. The shinbashira, running up through a hole in the centre of the building, made it unlikely that individual floors moved too far because, after moving a certain distance, they banged into it, transmitting energy away along the column.

Another strange feature of the Japanese pagoda is its shape, with each floor being smaller than the one below. In other words, a five-storey pagoda contains not column that travels right up through the building. More surprising is the fact that the individual storeys of a Japanese pagoda are not actually connected to each other. They are simply put on top of another like a small hill of hats.

The extra-wide eaves（屋檐）also play a part. Think of them as a balancing pole of tightrope-walkers. The bigger the mass at each end of the pole, the easier it is for tightrope walker to maintain his or her balance. The same holds true for a pagoda.

1.Shuzo Ishida performs experiments in order to ________.

A. put the pendulum into practice

B. gain insight into the “shake-table” model

C. learn about the function of the shinbashira

D. locate shinbashira’s excat position in a pagoda

2.The underlined word “loose” in paragraph 3 can be replaced by ________?

A. lost    B. relaxed

C. base    D. shakable

3.Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the article?

A. Some columns may extend from the bottom to the top of a pagoda.

B. The functions of extra eaves and balancing poles are similar.

C. The storeys of a Japanese pagoda aren’t built firmly.

D. Pagodas’s amazing resilience has long puzzled scholars.

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. How Shinbashira Plays Its Role

B. Why Pagodas Do Not Fall Down

C. Distinct Features of Japanese Architecture

D. Shuzo Ishida, a Famous Engineer

Answer

loose意思是“松散的”， D项shakable的意思是“可动摇的；可震动的；可摇动的”，与loose意义相近。☞D选项A. shakable.

【解析】试题分析：日本地震频发，但为什么木制宝塔却历经数年屹立不倒呢？本文分析了其在地震中没有倒塌的原因：其一是塔内中心位置的塔心柱；其二塔身逐渐向上变细，各层依次变小；另外超宽的飞檐也在抗震中起了作用。

1.推理判断题。根据第三段提到的“Mr. Ishida, known as ‘Professor Pagoda’ has built a series of models and tested them on a ‘shake-table’ in his laboratory. In short, the shinbashira was acting like a big pendulum（钟摆）.”可知，石田在实验室里建造一系列的模型在实验室检测其摇晃程度，简言之，塔心柱如同一个静止的巨大钟摆。因此推断他做实验是为了了解塔心柱的功能。故选C项正确。

2.词义猜测题。根据画线句下文“Viewed from the side, the pagoda seemed to be doing a snake dance—with each floor moving in the opposite direction to its neighbors above and below.”可知，从侧面来看，宝塔仿佛一条跳舞的蛇，每一层都与上下相邻的楼层运动方向相反，因此推断楼层在受到外界压力时，就会来回摇晃，且不会互相碰撞。也就是说楼层是松散的，故loose意思是“松散的”，与D项意义相近。故选D项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据第四段第二句“In other words, a five-storey pagoda contains not column that travels right up through the building.”可知，五重塔所有的立柱中，没有一根是贯穿全塔承载全部重量的，因此可知A项错误。故选A项正确。

4.标题判断题。通读全文可知，文章主要讲述在地震频发的日本，木制宝塔却始终屹立不倒的原因，因此推断B项“塔为什么不倒”为最佳标题。故选B项正确。

【名师点睛】

词义猜测题旨在考查学生根据上下文对生词做出理解判断的能力。近几年来，阅读理解中的词义猜测题呈上升趋势。在阅读过程中根据选材、背景、及上下文等线索推测出生词词义是真实语言活动中的重要技巧。这一能力可以说是体现阅读理解能力的一项重要指标。例如文章中的小题2：

【解题剖析】此题属于猜测词义题，可以依据逻辑推理猜测词义。答案需要推断画线句所在句子的意思。

【答案定位】根据画线句下文Viewed from the side, the pagoda seemed to be doing a snake dance—with each floor moving in the opposite direction to its neighbors above and below.可知，从侧面来看，宝塔仿佛一条跳舞的蛇，每一层都与上下相邻的楼层运动方向相反。因此推断楼层在受到外界压力时，就会来回摇晃，且不会互相碰撞。也就是说楼层是松散的。

【推理关系】The underlined word “loose”in paragraph 3 can be replaced by ?☞文章内容Under pressure, a pagoda’s loose floors could be made to move back and forth independently. 楼层在受到外界压力时，就会来回摇晃，且不会互相碰撞。也就是说楼层是松散的。因此推断loose意思是“松散的”。