Passage 1 Unit 7At one time a traveler could learn about a region by looking at the houses. For example, he could understand what building materials were available. In areas with many wood houses, the traveler would have guessed that there were forests nearby. Stone houses would have indicated that stones were easy to get. And a closer look at the houses would have told the traveler even more about the area.People used to build houses that fitted the climate of their areas. For example, in desert regions there is a big difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures. Therefore, many desert people built houses with very thick walls. These thick walls served a useful purpose in the houses. In the winter the thick walls absorbed the sun’s warmth during the day and radiated the heat at night. Desert people were relatively comfortable in their homes at all times because they built them to fit the desert climate.Later, the supply of fuel for electricity became both cheap and easy to get. The effect on housing was immediate. People began to build their homes according to fashion instead of utility. During that time, building materials were moved across continents, and people did not worry about how much fuel they used to heat and cool their homes. Houses no longer reflected the availability of building materials or climate.Houses with steep roofs could be found in the warm regions of the earth, even though these pointed roofs originated (起源于) in snowy regions of the world. Heavy snow falls off a steep roof. Another example is the use of glass. Houses made almost completely of glass could be found in very cold places. Yet ordinary glass does not insulate (绝缘) well because it neither keeps out cold air nor keeps in warm air. As long as fuel was cheap and easy to get, people could build any type of house any place.(1) (单选题)What can we learn from Paragraph 1?A.Stone houses were very popular in the past.B.uilding materials were available in forests.C.Houses could tell us something about a region.D.People used to travel to see different kinds of houses.(2) (单选题)Why do desert people build houses with thick walls?A.Because they feel safe in thick-walled houses.B.ecause temperatures are very high even at night.C.Because they feel at home in houses with thick walls.D.Because houses with thick walls fit the desert climate.(3) (单选题)What does “radiate” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?A.hold upB.spread outC.keep offD.give away(4) (单选题)What happened when electricity was cheap and available?A.People began to think about what kind of fashion their houses should be.B.People began to think about whether they could get cheap electricity or not.C.People began to think about how they could move materials to build their houses.D.People began to think about what the immediate effect of electricity would be.(5) (单选题)What is the purpose of the last paragraph?A.Illustrate that nowadays houses could be built anywhere in any style.B.Prove why glass houses can be found in both very cold and very warm places.C.Inform that people now build houses in places where fuel is cheap and easy to get.D.Explain why houses with pointed roofs originated from cold areas rather than warm areas.A. workB. showC. playD. help