51. What does the author say about the kitchen of today?
- A. It is where housewives display their cooking skills.
- B. It is where the family entertains important guests.
- C. It has become something odd in a modern house.
- D. It is regarded as the center of a modern home.
答案：D
答案句：Which makes it odd that the kitchen has become the heart of the modern house: what the great hall was to the medieval castle, the kitchen is to the 21st-century home.
参考译文：这使得厨房成为现代住宅的中心显得很奇怪：就像大会堂之于中世纪城堡，厨房之于21世纪的家也是如此。
定位线索：题干“kitchen of today”→答案句“the kitchen is to the 21st-century home”；文中“the heart of the modern house”对应选项“the center of a modern home”。
解析：题干问作者对当今厨房的看法，答案句明确指出厨房已成为现代住宅的中心（the heart of the modern house），与选项D“被视为现代住宅的中心”直接对应。选项A、B无中生有，文中未提及展示厨艺或招待重要客人；选项C偷换概念，文中说“odd”是指厨房地位上升这一现象奇怪，而非厨房本身奇怪。
52. Why does the Georgian-style kitchen sell at a very high price?
- A. It is believed to have tremendous artistic value.
- B. No duplicate is to be found in any other place.
- C. It is manufactured by a famous British company.
- D. No other manufacturer can produce anything like it.
答案：B
答案句：Its big selling point is that nobody else will have it: “You won't see this kitchen anywhere else in the world.”
参考译文：它最大的卖点是别人不会拥有它：“你在世界上任何其他地方都看不到这个厨房。”
定位线索：题干“Georgian-style kitchen”→答案句“this kitchen”；文中“nobody else will have it”对应选项“No duplicate is to be found in any other place”。
解析：题干问乔治亚风格厨房为何高价，答案句直接说明其卖点是独一无二，别人无法拥有，与选项B“在任何其他地方都找不到复制品”对应。选项A无中生有，未提及艺术价值；选项C、D范围扩大，文中只提到Robinson & Cornish制造，未说其他制造商无法生产类似产品。
53. What does the change in the status of the kitchen reflect?
- A. Improved living conditions.
- B. Women's elevated status.
- C. Technological progress.
- D. Social change.
答案：D
答案句：The elevation of the room that once belonged only to the servants to that of design showcase for the modern family tells the story of a century of social change.
参考译文：这个曾经只属于仆人的房间提升为现代家庭的设计展示，讲述了一个世纪的社会变迁故事。
定位线索：题干“change in the status of the kitchen”→答案句“The elevation of the room”；文中“tells the story of a century of social change”对应选项“Social change”。
解析：题干问厨房地位变化反映了什么，答案句明确指出这种提升讲述了社会变迁的故事，与选项D“社会变迁”直接对应。选项A、B、C均无中生有，文中未提及生活条件改善、女性地位提升或技术进步。
55. What do we learn about today's kitchen?
- A. It represents the rapid technological advance in people's daily life.
- B. Many of its central features are no different from those of the 1920s.
- C. It has been transformed beyond recognition.
- D. Many of its functions have changed greatly.
答案：B
答案句：Frederick's central idea, that “stove, sink and kitchen table must be placed in such a relation that useless steps are avoided entirely”, inspired the first fully fitted kitchen, designed in the 1920s by Margarete Schütte-Lihotsky. It was a modernist triumph, and many elements remain central features of today's kitchen.
参考译文：弗雷德里克的核心观点，即“炉子、水槽和厨房餐桌必须放置在这样的关系中，完全避免无用的步骤”，启发了第一个整体厨房，由玛格丽特·舒特-利霍茨基于1920年代设计。这是现代主义的胜利，许多元素至今仍是当今厨房的核心特征。
定位线索：题干“today's kitchen”→答案句“today's kitchen”；文中“many elements remain central features”对应选项“Many of its central features are no different from those of the 1920s”。
解析：题干问关于当今厨房我们了解到什么，答案句说明1920年代设计的许多元素仍是当今厨房的核心特征，与选项B“许多核心特征与1920年代无异”对应。选项A无中生有，未提及技术快速进步；选项C、D程度过重，文中未说厨房变得无法辨认或功能大改。