英语专四阅读提分的技巧来源于多做练习，不仅是为了高质快速选择答案正确，更重要的是希望同学们能从阅读理解练习中分析文章的布局安排，作者的意图，换位思考自己在专四写作中会如何运用。希望能对考生们有所帮助。

As many as one thousand years ago in theSouthwest, the Hopi and Zuni Indians of NorthAmerica were building with adobe-sun baked brickplastered with mud. Their homes looked remarkablylike modern apartment houses. Some were fourstories high and contained quarters for perhaps athousand people, along with store rooms for grainand other goods. These buildings were usually putup against cliffs, both to make construction easierand for defense against enemies. They were reallyvillages in themselves, as later Spanish explorersmust have realized since they called them "pueblos", which is Spanish for town.

The people of the pueblos raised what are called"the three sisters" - corn, beans, and squash.They made excellent pottery and wove marvelous baskets, some so fine that they could holdwater. The Southwest has always been a dry country, where water is scarce. The Hopi and Zunibrought water from streams to their fields and gardens through irrigation ditches. Water wasso important that it played a major role in their religion. They developed elaborate ceremoniesand religious rituals to bring rain.

The way of life of less settled groups was simpler and more strongly influenced by nature. Smalltribes such as the Shoshone and Ute wandered the dry and mountainous lands between theRocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. They gathered seeds and hunted small animals such assmall rabbits and snakes. In the Far North the ancestors of today’s Inuit hunted seals,walruses, and the great whales. They lived right on the frozen seas in shelters called igloos builtof blocks of packed snow. When summer came, they fished for salmon and hunted the lordlycaribou.

The Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains Indians, lived on the grasslandsbetween the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. They hunted bison, commonly calledthe buffalo. Its meat was the chief food of these tribes, and its hide was used to make theirclothing and covering of their tents and tipis.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. The architecture of early American Indian buildings.

B. The movement of American Indians across North America.

C. Ceremonies and rituals of American Indians.

D. The way of life of American Indian tribes in early North America.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that the dwellings of the Hopi and Zuni were______.

A. very small?B. highly advanced?C. difficult to defend?D. quickly constructed

■答案■

1. D) 根据阅读短文可知，作者主要描述了北美地区不同印第安部落的不同的生活方式 。故选项D为正确答案。

2. B) 此题为推断题。根据文章第一段可知，早在一千年前Hopi和Zuni两支北美印第安部落就用一种砖坯“adobe”来建造房屋，高可达四层楼高，有居住室还有储藏室，颇像现代的公寓，故选项B(高度发达)为正确答案。