高中學測
115年
英文
第 40 題
📖 題組：
In many old castles in Europe, visitors often find a fantastic spiral staircase, which provides a captivating focal point as it winds up the building. This prominent structure actually has a long and rich heritage. In the Old Testament, reference is made to spiral staircases in the Temple of Solomon, suggesting that they were already in use by around 1,000 BC. The oldest spiral staircase still standing today is at Trajan’s Column in Rome. The staircase was built in 113 AD, with a total of 185 steps carved in stone and marble. Around this time, spiral staircases began to find much wider use in Roman architecture and across Europe. Throughout the Middle Ages, winding staircases became a well-established feature of European castles, mainly for their advantages in helping to defend against attackers. To begin with, these staircases were quite narrow, so attackers would have to ascend one at a time, making it impossible to launch a mass attack. Also, the stairs were designed to turn clockwise upwards. This means that ascenders would have their right hand tight against the narrowest part of the staircases, close to the central pole, and as a result were unable to use their sword effectively. The attackers’ challenge was further complicated by the uneven steps of the staircase, often strategically designed by the castle owners. The defenders, living in the castles, were familiar with the stair pattern and could retreat up them very swiftly; while the attackers were much more likely to stumble and fall, particularly in the dimly lit confines of the staircase. Being associated with medieval castles and kings, spiral staircases gradually won popularity in European architecture, with new materials emerging to cope with customers’ needs. In Victorian times, cast iron spiral staircases were popular for public buildings and homes for the rich. In the latter half of the 20th century, steel frames became cost-effective, and thus affordable for a much wider staircase market. Then, steel spiral staircases as fire escape stairs appeared in many buildings. Today, spiral staircases come in a wide variety of materials: steel, wood, concrete, and recently even glass. The timeless appeal of their classical design makes spiral staircases a much-desired feature in luxury homes, offices, and public buildings nowadays.
In many old castles in Europe, visitors often find a fantastic spiral staircase, which provides a captivating focal point as it winds up the building. This prominent structure actually has a long and rich heritage. In the Old Testament, reference is made to spiral staircases in the Temple of Solomon, suggesting that they were already in use by around 1,000 BC. The oldest spiral staircase still standing today is at Trajan’s Column in Rome. The staircase was built in 113 AD, with a total of 185 steps carved in stone and marble. Around this time, spiral staircases began to find much wider use in Roman architecture and across Europe. Throughout the Middle Ages, winding staircases became a well-established feature of European castles, mainly for their advantages in helping to defend against attackers. To begin with, these staircases were quite narrow, so attackers would have to ascend one at a time, making it impossible to launch a mass attack. Also, the stairs were designed to turn clockwise upwards. This means that ascenders would have their right hand tight against the narrowest part of the staircases, close to the central pole, and as a result were unable to use their sword effectively. The attackers’ challenge was further complicated by the uneven steps of the staircase, often strategically designed by the castle owners. The defenders, living in the castles, were familiar with the stair pattern and could retreat up them very swiftly; while the attackers were much more likely to stumble and fall, particularly in the dimly lit confines of the staircase. Being associated with medieval castles and kings, spiral staircases gradually won popularity in European architecture, with new materials emerging to cope with customers’ needs. In Victorian times, cast iron spiral staircases were popular for public buildings and homes for the rich. In the latter half of the 20th century, steel frames became cost-effective, and thus affordable for a much wider staircase market. Then, steel spiral staircases as fire escape stairs appeared in many buildings. Today, spiral staircases come in a wide variety of materials: steel, wood, concrete, and recently even glass. The timeless appeal of their classical design makes spiral staircases a much-desired feature in luxury homes, offices, and public buildings nowadays.
What does “them” in the third paragraph refer to?
- A Stairs.
- B Confines.
- C Attackers.
- D Defenders.
思路引導 VIP
在處理閱讀測驗中的代名詞指涉（Pronoun Reference）問題時，核心在於分析該代名詞在句中所扮演的語意與邏輯角色。請仔細觀察原文子句 $The defenders... could retreat up them very swiftly$，並思考動詞片語 $retreat up$（向上撤退）所作用的對象是什麼？根據上下文邏輯，哪一個在前文中出現過的複數名詞，具備實體空間能讓防守者『沿著它往上移動』？
🤖
AI 詳解
AI 專屬家教
太棒了！你的觀察力非常敏銳！
這是一道典型的代名詞指代題（Pronoun Reference），你能快速鎖定正確對象，代表你的語法連貫性與語境理解能力非常紮實，這是學測閱讀測驗拿高分的關鍵！
- 觀念驗證：在第三段末尾，句子提到「守軍（defenders）熟悉階梯模式，並能迅速地沿著 them 撤退」。從動作邏輯判斷，「沿著向上撤退（retreat up）」的對象必然是實體的階梯（stairs/steps），而非攻擊者或空間。往前找尋複數名詞，即可確認指代的是前文提到的 uneven steps。
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