Question

    There are purple clothes, purple handbags, purple bicycles, purple furniture, and even purple computers! So purple is one of the most popular colors today. But in the past, purple was a very expensive and unusual color. Let's take a look at the rich_________of the color purple.

Some scientists believe that the first plants to appear on Earth over 500 million years ago_________looked purple, not green plants. Today are green because they use chlorophyll（叶绿素）to produce energy. _________these early plants probably used something called retinal, which is a dark purple color.

During the time of the Roman Empire(27 BC-476AD), it was very difficult to make purple dye (染料). The dye came from sea snails（海螺). But 10,000 dead sea snails _________you just one gram of purple dye... as well as a very bad smell! This_______purple dye was called Tyrian purple, and it was the preferred _________of emperors.

In 16th-century England, purple was_______for the king's family members. Queen Elizabeth I's clothes were purple, but ordinary people were not allowed to___________the clothes in this color.

In 1856, William Perkin, an 18-year-old science student noticed something strange while doing an experiment.

The chemicals（化学药品）he used to clean his instruments mixed with the chemicals he used in his experiment and produced a bright purple color. This_________led Perkin to start a company using this chemical mixture to make purple dye. The dye was much__________than sea-snail dye. Thanks to Perkin, now anyone can afford to wear purple clothes.

1.A.history B.style C.research   D.product

2.A.hardly B.especially C.exactly D.probably

3.A.And B.So C.But D.Until

4.A.got B.passed C.wasted    D.cost

5.A.basic B.harmful C.special D.perfect

6.A.color B.smell C.plant D.animal

7.A.even B.never C.seldom D.only

8.A.wear B.sell C.change D.make

9.A.survey B.discovery C.suggestion D.exam

10.A.healthier B.thicker C.cheaper D.darker

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.C

4.A

5.C

6.A

7.D

8.A

9.B

10.C

【解析】

文章大意：这篇说明文通过对比和举例，介绍了紫色的来历和发展，说明紫色曾经是是一种非常昂贵和不寻常的颜色，但在科学家Perkin的努力下，用两种化学混合物制造紫色染料，终于使紫色成为当今最流行的颜色之一。

1.

句意：让我们来看看紫色丰富的历史。

考查名词辨析题。history 历史；style类型；research研究；product产品。根据下文“Some scientists believe that the first plants to appear on Earth over 500 million years ago”可知，此空是“历史”的意思，应填history，故选A。

2.

句意：5亿多年前出现在地球上的第一批植物可能看起来是紫色的，而不是绿色的。

考查副词辨析题。hardly几乎不；especially尤其；exactly真地；probably可能。本句表对几亿年前的推测，需用probably；根据句意语境，故选D。

3.

句意：但是这些早期的植物可能使用了一种叫做视黄醛的东西，它是一种深紫色。

考查连词辨析题。 And 和；So 因此；But但是；Until直到。空格前后是现在的和早期的对比，属于转折关系，需用but连接；根据句意语境，故选C。

4.

句意：染料来自海螺。但是10000只死海螺只给了你一克紫色染料。

考查动词辨析题。got得到； passed通过；wasted浪费；cost花费。根据句意语境，可知后面三项意思都与句意不合，表示从海螺中得到紫色染料，故选A。

5.

句意：这种特殊的紫色染料被称为提尔紫，它是皇帝最喜欢的颜色。

考查形容词辨析题。basic基本的；harmful有害的；special特殊的；perfect完美的。根据前文The dye came from sea snails. 染料来自海螺，可知很特别，特殊的，故选C。

6.

句意：它是皇帝最喜欢的颜色。

考查名词辨析题。 color 颜色；smell 气味；plant植物；animal动物。根据上文was called Tyrian purple，可知是颜色，选项B、C和D均不合句意，可排除，故选A。

7.

句意：在第十六世纪的英国，紫色只属于皇室成员。

考查副词辨析题。even 甚至；never 从不；seldom 很少；only只为，仅仅。根据下文but ordinary people were not allowed to wear the color.普通人不允许穿这种颜色，可知是“只属于皇室”，故选D。

8.

句意：但是普通人是不允许穿这种颜色的。

考查动词辨析题。wear 穿，戴；sell 卖；change改变；make制造。根据题干中“Queen Elizabeth Ⅰ’s clothes were purple”可知此处是穿这种颜色的衣服，用wear符合题意。故选A。

9.

句意：这一发现使Perkin创办了一家用这种化学混合物生产紫色染料的公司。

考查名词辨析题。survey 调查；discovery 发现；suggestion 建议；exam考试。根据上文William Perkin, noticed something strange while doing an experiment. 可知Perkin是在做实验时注意到的，所以是他的发现，故选B。

10.

句意：这种染料比海螺染料便宜得多。

考查形容词比较级。healthier 更健康的；thicker更厚的； cheaper 更便宜的；darker更暗的。根据下文Thanks to Perkin, now anyone can afford to wear purple clothes. 任何人都买得起紫色衣服，可知更便宜，故选C。