Part A: Reading Comprehension

Directions: Read the following text. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)

Text 1

Nearly 2,000 years ago, as the Romans began to pull out of Scotland, they left behind a curious treasure: 10 tons of nails, nearly a million of the things. The nail hoard was discovered in 1960 in a four-metre-deep pit covered by two metres of gravel.

Why had the Romans buried a million nails? The likely explanation is that the withdrawal was rushed, and they didn’t want the local Caledonians getting their hands on 10 tons of weapon-grade iron. The Romans buried the nails so deep that they would not be discovered for almost two millennia.

Later civilisations would value the skilled blacksmith’s labour in a nail even more than the raw material. As Roma Agrawal explains in her new delightful book Nuts and Bolts, early 17th-century Virginians would sometimes burn down their homes if they were planning to relocate. This was an attempt to recover the valuable nails, which could be reused after sifting the ashes. The idea that one might burn down an entire house just to reclaim the nails underlines how scarce, costly and valuable the simple-seeming technology was.

The price of nails fell by 90% between the late 1700s and mid-1900s, as economist Daniel Sichel points out in a research paper. According to Sichel, although the falling price of nails was driven partly by cheaper iron and cheaper energy, most of the credit goes to nail manufacturers who simply found more efficient ways to turn steel into nails.

Nails themselves have changed over the years, but Sichel studied them because they haven’t changed much. Roman lamps and Roman chariots are very different from LED strips and sports cars, but Roman nails are still clearly nails. It would be absurd to try to track the changing price of sports cars since 1695, but to ask the same question of nails makes perfect sense.

I make no apology for being obsessed by a particular feature of these objects: their price. I am an economist, after all. After writing two books about the history of inventions, one thing I’ve learnt is that while it is the enchantingly sophisticated technologies that get all the hype, it’s the cheap technologies that change the world.

The Gutenberg printing press transformed civilisation not by changing the nature of writing but by changing its cost—and it would have achieved little without a parallel collapse in the price of surfaces to write on, thanks to an often-overlooked technology called paper. Solar panels had a few niche uses until they became cheap; now they are transforming the global energy system.

21. The Romans buried the nails probably for the sake of

[A]

saving them for future use. 

[B]

keeping them from rusting. 

[C]

letting them grow in value. 

[D]

hiding them from the locals. 

22. The example of early 17th-century Virginians is used to

[A]

highlight the thriftiness of early American colonists. 

[B]

illustrate the high status of blacksmiths in that period. 

[C]

contrast the attitudes of different civilisations towards nails. 

[D]

show the preciousness of nail-making technology at that time. 

23. What played the major role in lowering the price of nails after the late 1700s?

[A]

Increased productivity. 

[B]

Wider use of new energies. 

[C]

Fiercer market competition. 

[D]

Reduced cost of raw materials. 

24. It can be learned from Paragraph 5 that nails

[A]

have undergone many technological improvements. 

[B]

have remained basically the same since Roman times. 

[C]

are less studied than other everyday products. 

[D]

are one of the world’s most significant inventions. 

25. Which of the following best summarises the last two paragraphs?

[A]

Cheap technologies bring about revolutionary change. 

[B]

Technological innovation is integral to economic success. 

[C]

Technology defines people’s understanding of the world. 

[D]

Sophisticated technologies develop from small inventions. 

答案与解析 (Answers)

21. [D] hiding them from the locals.
解析：第二段针对罗马人为何埋葬100万颗钉子给出了解释：“they didn’t want the local Caledonians getting their hands on 10 tons of weapon-grade iron（他们不想让当地的喀里多尼亚人弄到这10吨武器级的铁）”。因此，他们深埋钉子是为了将它们藏起来，不让当地人发现，选 D“hiding them from the locals（向当地人隐瞒/把它们藏起来不让当地人找到）”。

22. [D] show the preciousness of nail-making technology at that time.
解析：第三段提到17世纪早期的弗吉尼亚人如果要搬家，有时会烧毁自己的房子，仅仅是为了从灰烬中把钉子找回来重新使用。该段最后一句总结了这个例子的作用：“The idea that one might burn down an entire house just to reclaim the nails underlines how scarce, costly and valuable the simple-seeming technology was（一个人可能仅仅为了回收钉子就烧毁整栋房子的想法凸显了这种看似简单的技术在当时是多么稀缺、昂贵和有价值）”。这完全对应选项 D“展示当时制造钉子技术的珍贵性”。

23. [A] Increased productivity.
解析：第四段讨论了1700年代后期之后钉子价格大幅下降的原因。文中指出，虽然部分原因是更便宜的铁和能源（排除D项和B项作为“主要”因素），但“most of the credit goes to nail manufacturers who simply found more efficient ways to turn steel into nails（大部分功劳归因于那些找到了更有效的方法将钢变成钉子的制造商）”。“更有效的方法”即生产效率的提高，对应选项 A“Increased productivity（提高的生产力）”。

24. [B] have remained basically the same since Roman times.
解析：第五段指出，虽然钉子自身随着时间推移发生了一些变化，但经济学家 Sichel 研究它们正是因为“they haven’t changed much（它们没有改变多少）”。文中进一步对比：“Roman lamps and Roman chariots are very different... but Roman nails are still clearly nails（罗马灯和罗马战车与现在的截然不同……但是罗马钉子仍然显然就是钉子）”。这说明钉子自罗马时代以来基本保持不变，选 B。

25. [A] Cheap technologies bring about revolutionary change.
解析：文章第六段最后一句给出了作者的核心论点：“while it is the enchantingly sophisticated technologies that get all the hype, it’s the cheap technologies that change the world（虽然那些迷人而复杂的技术得到了所有的大肆宣传，但真正改变世界的却是廉价的技术）”。第七段通过古腾堡印刷机（因为纸张这种便宜的技术才成功）和太阳能电池板（变得廉价后改变全球能源系统）两个例子来证明这一观点。因此，最后两段的最好总结是选项 A“廉价的技术带来了革命性的变化”。

核心长难句精解 (Highlighted Sentences)

1. 表语从句与动名词复合结构：
"The likely explanation is that the withdrawal was rushed, and they didn’t want the local Caledonians getting their hands on 10 tons of weapon-grade iron."
【解析】that 引导表语从句，解释 explanation。在表语从句中，包含一个 want sb doing sth 的结构，即“不想让某人做某事”。getting their hands on... 意为“弄到手”。
【翻译】最可能的解释是，当时的撤军非常匆忙，而他们不想让当地的喀里多尼亚人弄到这10吨武器级的铁。

2. 同位语从句与宾语从句的嵌套：
"The idea that one might burn down an entire house just to reclaim the nails underlines how scarce, costly and valuable the simple-seeming technology was."
【解析】第一个 that 引导同位语从句，解释 idea 的具体内容。主句谓语是 underlines（凸显/强调），后面的 how... was 是由 how 引导的宾语从句作 underlines 的宾语。
【翻译】一个人可能仅仅为了回收钉子就烧毁整栋房子的想法，凸显了这种看似简单的技术在当时是多么稀缺、昂贵和有价值。

3. 强调句型的对比使用：
"After writing two books about the history of inventions, one thing I’ve learnt is that while it is the enchantingly sophisticated technologies that get all the hype, it’s the cheap technologies that change the world."
【解析】while 引导让步状语从句。句中使用了两个强调句型 it is... that...。第一个强调被大肆宣传的对象（复杂技术），第二个强调真正改变世界的对象（廉价技术），形成强烈的对比，点明了文章的中心思想。
【翻译】在写了两本关于发明史的书之后，我学到的一件事是，虽然那些迷人且复杂的技术得到了所有的炒作与宣传，但真正改变世界的却是那些廉价的技术。