Question

    Sometimes it’s hard to let go. For many British people, that can apply to institutions and objects that represent their country’s past-age-old castles, splendid homes… and red phone boxes.

Beaten first by the march of technology and lately by the terrible weather in junkyards (废品场), the phone boxes representative of an age are now making something of a comeback. Adapted in imaginative ways, many have reappeared on city streets and village greens housing tiny cafes, cellphone repair shops or even defibrillator machines (除颤器).

The original iron boxes with the round roofs first appeared in 1926. They were designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect of the Battersea Power Station in London. After becoming an important part of many British streets, the phone boxes began disappearing in the 1980s, with the rise of the mobile phone sending most of them away to the junkyards.

About that time, Tony Inglis’ engineering and transport company got the job to remove phone boxes from the streets and sell them out. But Inglis ended up buying hundreds of them himself, with the idea of repairing and selling them. He said that he had heard the calls to preserve the boxes and had seen how some of them were listed as historic buildings.

As Inglis and, later other businessmen, got to work, repurposed phone boxes began reappearing in cities and villages as people found new uses for them. Today, they are once again a familiar sight, playing roles that are often just as important for the community as their original purpose.

In rural areas, where ambulances can take a relatively long time to arrive, the phone boxes have taken on a lifesaving role. Local organizations can adopt them for l pound, and install defibrillators to help in emergencies.

Others also looked at the phone boxes and saw business opportunities. LoveFone, a company that advocates repairing cellphones rather than abandoning them, opened a mini workshop in a London phone box in 2016.

The tiny shops made economic sense, according to Robert Kerr, a founder of LoveFone. He said that one of the boxes generated around $13,500 in revenue a month and cost only about $400 to rent.

Inglis said phone boxes called to mind an age when things were built to last. I “like what they are to people, and I enjoy bringing things back,” he said.

1.The phone boxes are making a comeback ______.

A.to form a beautiful sight of the city

B.to improve telecommunications services

C.to remind people of a historical period

D.to meet the requirement of green economy

2.Why did the phone boxes begin to go out of service in the 1980s?

A.They were not well-designed. B.They provided bad services.

C.They had too short a history. D.They lost to new technologies.

3.The phone boxes are becoming popular mainly because of ______.

A.their new appearance and lower prices B.the push of the local organizations

C.their changed roles and functions D.the big funding of the businessmen

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章讲述了在英国，电话亭在20世纪80年代开始停止使用。后来，一些商人使电话亭的角色和功能发生了变化，电话亭又变得流行起来。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一段Sometimes it’s hard to let go. For many British people, that can apply to institutions and objects that represent their country’s past-age-old castles, splendid homes.. and red phone boxes.(有时候真的很难放手。对许多英国人来说，这可以适用于代表他们国家过去历史的机构和物品--古老的城堡、辉煌的住宅……还有红色的电话亭)和最后一段Inglis said phone boxes called to mind an age when things were built to last.(英格利斯说，电话亭让人想起了一个东西经久耐用的时代)可知，电话亭正在卷土重来，以提醒人们一个历史时期。故选C。

2.

细节理解题。根据第三段After becoming an important part of many British streets, the phone boxes began disappearing in the 1980s, with the rise of the mobile phone sending most of them away to the junkyards.(在成为英国许多街道的重要组成部分后，电话亭在20世纪80年代开始消失，随着移动电话的兴起，大部分电话亭被扔到了垃圾场)可知，电话亭在20世纪80年代开始停止使用是因为它们输给了新技术。故选D。

3.

推理判断题。根据第五段As Inglis and, later other businessmen, got to work, repurposed phone boxes began reappearing in cities and villages as people found new uses for them. Today, they are once again a familiar sight, playing roles that are often just as important for the community as their original purpose.(随着英格利斯和后来的其他商人开始工作，改装后的电话亭开始在城市和乡村重新出现，人们发现了它们的新用途。今天，它们再次成为人们熟悉的景象，扮演着与它们最初的目的同样重要的角色)和第六段In rural areas, where ambulances can take a relatively long time to arrive, the phone boxes have taken on a lifesaving role.(在农村地区，救护车要花相当长的时间才能到达，电话亭就起到了拯救生命的作用)以及第七段Others also looked at the phone boxes and saw business opportunities.(其他人也在电话亭寻找商机)可推断出，电话亭之所以变得流行，主要是因为它们的角色和功能发生了变化。故选C。