職稱英語綜合類考試考前每日一練
職稱英語綜合類考試考前每日一練
Building Renovation
In cities across the United States, old factories,warehouses,schools, railroad stations and other buildings are being renovated for new uses. City planners and private investors are finding that good buildings, no matter how old, can be remodeled for new purposes. If youd asked someone four or five years ago whether hed rent an apartment in an abandoned piano factory or clothing warehouse, he d have thought you were crazy, says a New York architect. Today, many people are eager to do it. The, renovating may include a former city hall or courthouse changed into offices;a bank or church changed into a restaurant; or, as in Plains, Georgia, a railroad station used as a center for a presidential campaign.
Only a few decades ago, renovation was unpopular and generally far more expensive than taking down abandoned buildings, and starting from the beginning.A change began in the 1960s with a number of well-advertised projects, They included Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco,where an old chocolate factory was restored and made into shops and restaurants; Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, where abandoned car warehouses became a shopping mall;the Soho District of New York City, where unused warehouses were made into artists studios and apartments.
What caused the change? One reason is nostalgia,a San Francisco builder suggests.Maybe old is better than new, many people are saying, Feelings about preserving attractive or historic buildings have changed a great deal. A second cause is economy. The cost of tearing down an old building and constructing a new one from nothing now has risen to the point where it is often less expensive to fix a solid older structure. Also builders realize that fixing up an existing building often requires no new permits, sewer lines, or water connections.
Even when the costs of restoration are the same as or a bit more than the costs of putting up a new building, fixing the old building may be better. A Boston architect says,The advantage comes when you can develop a final project that is more desirable than a new building one with the right location, more space, more floor area, a special character, materials of a particular quality. Gradually, architects and builders are developing knowledge about renovation and preservation, bringing imagination and creativity to the job.
31. In the United States, renovating old buildings
A. has had a long history
B. is becoming increasingly popular
C. is still unpopular
D. has just caught the fancy of architects and builders
32. Ghirardelli Square, Trolley Square, and the Soho District are projects that A. have been given much publicity
B. are little known to the public
C. have been widely discussed among builders and city planners
D. have changed the building business
33. Nostalgia in the 3rd paragraph most probably means
A. being conservative
B. being keen on saving money
C. being fond of things new
D. being fond of things of the remote past
34. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Every old building can be renovated for new uses.
B. Renovating old buildings is always less costly than putting up new ones. C. Renovation does not require imagination and creativity.
D. Fixing the old building may have advantages even when it costs a little more. 35. The main idea of the passage is
A. the increasing popularity of renovation
B. nostalgia
C. changes in the building business
D. preservation of attractive or historic buildings
參考譯文
房屋翻新
在全美國的各個城市，人們都在對舊T廠、倉庫、學校、火車站等許多建筑物進行翻修以作新用。城市規劃師和私人投資者發現，好的建筑無論多么陳舊，都能為實現新的用途而被重新改造。紐約的一位建筑師說，如果四、五年前你問別人他會不會在廢棄的鋼琴工廠或衣物倉庫里租間屋子，他一定會覺得你是個瘋子。但是現在，許多人都渴望這么做。這種舊屋翻新包括把以前的市政大廳或法院改造成辦公室，把銀行或教堂改造成飯館，或者就像在喬治亞州普蘭斯那樣，把火車站用作總統競選的中心場所。
就在幾十年以前，房屋翻新還不流行，而且總的來說翻修所花的錢比把廢棄的建筑推倒重建的花費還要多。然而，20世紀60年代幾個廣告效果極佳的項目的出現，使這種狀況發生了改變。這些項目包括：在舊金山的吉拉德里廣場，一個原先生產巧克力的工廠被改建為商店和餐廳;在鹽湖城的特羅利廣場，廢棄的汽車庫變成了購物廣場;在紐約市休南區，荒置的倉庫變成了藝術家們的工作室和寓所。
這種轉變的原因何在?其中之一就是懷舊情緒，舊金山的一位建筑商說，許多人會說，也許舊的就是比新的好。人們對保存美好建筑物或歷史場所的態度已經發生了很大改變。再者就是經濟方面的原因。現在，拆除舊建筑、從頭蓋新房所需要的費用大大增加，相比之下修葺一棟陳舊但結構還算堅實的房屋往往還要更便宜些。另外，建筑商也意識到，在現存建筑物的基礎上進行翻修通常不需要再去申請新的許可證，不需要在下水管道、供水系統方面再費工夫。
即便當翻新的費用與建造新房的費用相同甚至稍高時，也許還是翻新更為可取。波士頓一位建筑師說，如果你設計的最終方案比建造新房更好，那么翻新的優勢就顯而易見位置好、周圍空間更多、房屋面積更大、有個性、材料特別。久而久之，建筑師和建筑商們對建筑物的翻新和保存逐漸更加了解，也在工作中發揮了更多的想象力和創造性。
職稱英語綜合類考試考前每日一練
Building Renovation
In cities across the United States, old factories,warehouses,schools, railroad stations and other buildings are being renovated for new uses. City planners and private investors are finding that good buildings, no matter how old, can be remodeled for new purposes. If youd asked someone four or five years ago whether hed rent an apartment in an abandoned piano factory or clothing warehouse, he d have thought you were crazy, says a New York architect. Today, many people are eager to do it. The, renovating may include a former city hall or courthouse changed into offices;a bank or church changed into a restaurant; or, as in Plains, Georgia, a railroad station used as a center for a presidential campaign.
Only a few decades ago, renovation was unpopular and generally far more expensive than taking down abandoned buildings, and starting from the beginning.A change began in the 1960s with a number of well-advertised projects, They included Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco,where an old chocolate factory was restored and made into shops and restaurants; Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, where abandoned car warehouses became a shopping mall;the Soho District of New York City, where unused warehouses were made into artists studios and apartments.
What caused the change? One reason is nostalgia,a San Francisco builder suggests.Maybe old is better than new, many people are saying, Feelings about preserving attractive or historic buildings have changed a great deal. A second cause is economy. The cost of tearing down an old building and constructing a new one from nothing now has risen to the point where it is often less expensive to fix a solid older structure. Also builders realize that fixing up an existing building often requires no new permits, sewer lines, or water connections.
Even when the costs of restoration are the same as or a bit more than the costs of putting up a new building, fixing the old building may be better. A Boston architect says,The advantage comes when you can develop a final project that is more desirable than a new building one with the right location, more space, more floor area, a special character, materials of a particular quality. Gradually, architects and builders are developing knowledge about renovation and preservation, bringing imagination and creativity to the job.
31. In the United States, renovating old buildings
A. has had a long history
B. is becoming increasingly popular
C. is still unpopular
D. has just caught the fancy of architects and builders
32. Ghirardelli Square, Trolley Square, and the Soho District are projects that A. have been given much publicity
B. are little known to the public
C. have been widely discussed among builders and city planners
D. have changed the building business
33. Nostalgia in the 3rd paragraph most probably means
A. being conservative
B. being keen on saving money
C. being fond of things new
D. being fond of things of the remote past
34. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Every old building can be renovated for new uses.
B. Renovating old buildings is always less costly than putting up new ones. C. Renovation does not require imagination and creativity.
D. Fixing the old building may have advantages even when it costs a little more. 35. The main idea of the passage is
A. the increasing popularity of renovation
B. nostalgia
C. changes in the building business
D. preservation of attractive or historic buildings
參考譯文
房屋翻新
在全美國的各個城市，人們都在對舊T廠、倉庫、學校、火車站等許多建筑物進行翻修以作新用。城市規劃師和私人投資者發現，好的建筑無論多么陳舊，都能為實現新的用途而被重新改造。紐約的一位建筑師說，如果四、五年前你問別人他會不會在廢棄的鋼琴工廠或衣物倉庫里租間屋子，他一定會覺得你是個瘋子。但是現在，許多人都渴望這么做。這種舊屋翻新包括把以前的市政大廳或法院改造成辦公室，把銀行或教堂改造成飯館，或者就像在喬治亞州普蘭斯那樣，把火車站用作總統競選的中心場所。
就在幾十年以前，房屋翻新還不流行，而且總的來說翻修所花的錢比把廢棄的建筑推倒重建的花費還要多。然而，20世紀60年代幾個廣告效果極佳的項目的出現，使這種狀況發生了改變。這些項目包括：在舊金山的吉拉德里廣場，一個原先生產巧克力的工廠被改建為商店和餐廳;在鹽湖城的特羅利廣場，廢棄的汽車庫變成了購物廣場;在紐約市休南區，荒置的倉庫變成了藝術家們的工作室和寓所。
這種轉變的原因何在?其中之一就是懷舊情緒，舊金山的一位建筑商說，許多人會說，也許舊的就是比新的好。人們對保存美好建筑物或歷史場所的態度已經發生了很大改變。再者就是經濟方面的原因。現在，拆除舊建筑、從頭蓋新房所需要的費用大大增加，相比之下修葺一棟陳舊但結構還算堅實的房屋往往還要更便宜些。另外，建筑商也意識到，在現存建筑物的基礎上進行翻修通常不需要再去申請新的許可證，不需要在下水管道、供水系統方面再費工夫。
即便當翻新的費用與建造新房的費用相同甚至稍高時，也許還是翻新更為可取。波士頓一位建筑師說，如果你設計的最終方案比建造新房更好，那么翻新的優勢就顯而易見位置好、周圍空間更多、房屋面積更大、有個性、材料特別。久而久之，建筑師和建筑商們對建筑物的翻新和保存逐漸更加了解，也在工作中發揮了更多的想象力和創造性。
