Architecture the been characterized by W. R. Dalze11 as the “indispensabie art,” and
rightly so. Inevitably, the practical functions that shelters arc designed to fulfill play a strong
role in determining their appearance and thus, in part, their artistic character. So do the Line
methods of construction available and practicable at any given moment. The strikingly
new forms of architecture that appeared in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries were
built to meet the needs of industry and of commerce based on industry, in a society whose
essential character and internal relationships had been sharply transformed by the
Industrial Revolution.
About the middle of the nineteenth century, mechanized industrial production began
to demand large, well-lighted interiors in which manufacturing could be carried on. The
administration of giant industrial and commercial concerns required office buildings of
unprecedented size, containing suites of offices easily accessible to employees and
customers. The marketing of industrial products necessitated large-scale storage spaces,
and enormous shops selling under one roof a wide variety of items. Industrial and
commercial pressures drew increasing populations to urban centers, and traditional housing
was no longer adequate to contain them. Mechanized transportation of industrial products
and industrial and business personnel was essential. Leisure-time entertainment and
cultural activities for the vast new urban populations required still a different kind of
structure. Hence, the characteristic new architectural forms of the late nineteenth and
twentieth centuries have been the factory, the multistory office building, the warehouse,
the department store, the apartment house, the railway station, the large theater, and the
gigantic sports stadium. None of these could have been built on the desired scale by
traditional construction methods.
【題組】21. What is the main idea of the passage?
(A) Various types of traditional building materials strongly influenced modem architectural design.
(B) Changing architectural styles affected the character of cities.
(C) New architectural forms evolved in response to the changing needs of society.
(D) Technological advances affected conventional methods of building construction.
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