2024 英语一 Text 1｜钉子的价格：改变世界的是廉价技术
主旨
罗马人撤离时埋藏百万枚钉子 → 17 世纪弗吉尼亚人烧房取钉 → 钉价两百年降九成，主因是制钉效率提升 → 作者观点：得到热捧的是精巧技术，真正改变世界的却是廉价技术（印刷术要配上便宜的纸，太阳能板便宜后才普及）。
原文：2024 Text 1 · 话题：经济史 / 技术 · 频次：★★★ 历年 ≥6 年｜★★ 3–5 年｜★ 1–2 年
一、核心词
| 词 | 本文义 | 原文搭配 | 频 |
|---|---|---|---|
| hoard n. | 窖藏；贮藏物 | The nail hoard was discovered | ★ |
| gravel n. | 砾石 | covered by two metres of gravel | ★ |
| withdrawal n. | 撤离，撤退 | the withdrawal was rushed | ★★ |
| millennium n.（复 -ia） | 千年 | for almost two millennia | ★★★ |
| blacksmith n. | 铁匠 | the skilled blacksmith’s labour | ★ |
| relocate v. | 搬迁 | if they were planning to relocate | ★ |
| sift v. | 筛；细查 | after sifting the ashes | ★ |
| reclaim v. | 收回，回收 | just to reclaim the nails | ★ |
| scarce adj. | 稀缺的 | how scarce, costly and valuable | ★★★ |
| absurd adj. | 荒谬的 | It would be absurd to | ★ |
| obsessed adj. | 着迷的 | being obsessed by | ★★★ |
| enchantingly adv. | 迷人地 | enchantingly sophisticated technologies | ★ |
| sophisticated adj. | 精密复杂的；老练的 | sophisticated technologies | ★★ |
| hype n. | 炒作，热捧 | get all the hype | ★ |
| overlooked adj. | 被忽视的 | an often-overlooked technology | ★★ |
| niche adj. | 小众的，利基的 | a few niche uses | ★ |
二、搭配与短语
| 搭配 | 义 | 原文 |
|---|---|---|
| pull out of | 撤出 | as the Romans began to pull out of Scotland |
| leave behind | 留下，遗留 | they left behind a curious treasure |
| get one’s hands on | 弄到手 | getting their hands on 10 tons of weapon-grade iron |
| weapon-grade | 武器级的 | weapon-grade iron |
| burn down | 烧毁 | burn down their homes |
| an attempt to do | 试图做…… | This was an attempt to recover the valuable nails |
| be driven partly by | 部分由……推动 | driven partly by cheaper iron and cheaper energy |
| the credit goes to | 功劳归于 | most of the credit goes to nail manufacturers |
| turn A into B | 把 A 变成 B | turn steel into nails |
| make perfect sense | 完全说得通 | makes perfect sense |
| make no apology for | 毫不讳言，理直气壮地 | I make no apology for being obsessed by |
| after all | 毕竟 | I am an economist, after all |
| not by A but by B | 不是靠 A，而是靠 B | not by changing the nature of writing but by changing its cost |
| a collapse in the price of | ……价格暴跌 | a parallel collapse in the price of surfaces to write on |
| thanks to | 多亏，由于 | thanks to an often-overlooked technology |
三、熟词僻义
- curious adj. 奇特的（≠好奇的）：a curious treasure
- credit n. 功劳（≠信用）：most of the credit goes to
- underline v. 凸显，表明（≠划线）：underlines how scarce, costly and valuable
- track v. 追踪（数据变化）：track the changing price of sports cars
- parallel adj. 同时发生的（≠平行的）：a parallel collapse
- collapse n. （价格）暴跌（≠倒塌）：a parallel collapse in the price of
四、题目与选项词
| 词 / 搭配 | 义 | 出处 |
|---|---|---|
| for the sake of | 为了 | Q21 题干 |
| thriftiness n. | 节俭 | Q22 [A] |
| preciousness n. | 珍贵 | Q22 [D] |
| productivity n. | 生产率 | Q23 [A] |
| fierce adj. | 激烈的 | Q23 [C] Fiercer market competition |
| undergo v. | 经历 | Q24 [A] |
| integral to | 对……不可或缺 | Q25 [B] |
| bring about | 带来，引起 | Q25 [A] |
五、同义替换：原文 → 正确项
本模块依赖答案；试卷库未收答案，正式批量生成前需另找答案源核对。
| 题 | 原文 | 正确项 |
|---|---|---|
| 21 D | didn’t want the local Caledonians getting their hands on | hiding them from the locals |
| 22 D | how scarce, costly and valuable the simple-seeming technology was | the preciousness of nail-making technology |
| 23 A | found more efficient ways to turn steel into nails | Increased productivity |
| 24 B | they haven’t changed much / Roman nails are still clearly nails | have remained basically the same |
| 25 A | it’s the cheap technologies that change the world | Cheap technologies bring about revolutionary change |
六、作文可借用
- 强调对比：while it is the enchantingly sophisticated technologies that get all the hype, it’s the cheap technologies that change the world. → 套用：While it is A that gets all the attention, it is B that really matters.
- 凸显程度：The idea that … underlines how scarce, costly and valuable … was. → 套用：This underlines how important/urgent … is.