[A] Notre Dame Cathedral in the heart of Paris was within “15 to 30 minutes’ of complete destruction as firefighters battled to stop flames reaching its bell towers on Monday evening, French authorities have revealed. A GREater disaster was averted by members of the Paris fire brigade, who risked their lives to remain inside the burning monument to create a wall of water between the raging fire and the two towers on the west of the building.
[B] The revelation of how close France came to losing its most famous cathedral emerged as police investigators questioned workers involved in the restoration of the monument to try to establish the cause of the devastating blaze. Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz said that an initial fire alert was sounded at 6:20pm on Monday evening but no fire was found. The second alert was sounded at 6:43pm, and the blaze was discovered on the roof.
[C] More than €650 million was raised in a few hours on Tuesday as French business leaders and global corporations announced they would donate to a restoration campaign launched by the president, Emmanuel Macron. But as the emergency services picked through the burnt debris, a row was resurfacing over accusations that the beloved cathedral, immortalised in Victor Hugo's novel, was already crumbling before the fire.
[D] The cathedral is owned by the French state and has been at the centre of a years-long dispute over who should finance restoration work of the collapsing staircases, crumbling statues and cracked walls. Jean-Michel Leniaud, the president of the scientific council at the National Heritage Institute, said: “What happened was bound to happen. The lack of adequate maintenance and daily attention to such a majestic building is the cause of this catastrophe.” After the blaze was declared completely extinguished, 15 hours after it started, the junior interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said the structure had been saved but remained vulnerable. He praised the actions of the firefighters but admitted the fate of the cathedral had been uncertain. “They saved the main structure, but it all came down to 15-30 minutes,” Nunez said.
[E] In a surprise televised address on Tuesday evening, Macron said he wanted to see the cathedral rebuilt within five years. “The fire at Notre Dame reminds us that we will always have challenges to overcome,” Macron said. “Notre Dame is our history, our literature, the centre of our life. It is the standard by which we measure our distances. It's so many books, so many paintings. It’s the cathedral of every French person, even those who have never visited it. This history is ours and so we will rebuild Notre Dame. It is what the French people expect; it is what our history deserves. It is our deep destiny. We will rebuild Notre Dame so it is even more beautiful than before. I want it done in the next five years. We can do it. After the time of testing comes a time of reflection and then of action.”
45. News of Notre Dame Cathedral catastrophe instantly caught media attention throughout the world.
正确答案及解析
正确答案
I 36. The total amount of damage to Notre Dame Cathedral can be assessed only when its structure is considered safe.
C 37. Once again people began to argue whether Notre Dame Cathedral was going to collapse even without the fire.
K 38. The Notre Dame Cathedral catastrophe was said to have helped unite the French nation.
F 39. The roof of Notre Dame Cathedral was built with large numbers of densely laid-out wood beams.
B 40. Renovation workers of Notre Dame Cathedral were questioned to find out the cause of the accident.
H 41. Had the bell towers' wooden frames burned down, the heavy bells would have crashed down.
A 42. The timely action of the firefighters prevented the fire from reaching the Cathedral's bell towers.
J 43. Apart from the fire, the water used to extinguish it also caused a lot of damage to Notre Dame Cathedral.
D 44. There has been argument over the years as to who should pay for the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral.
G 45. News of Notre Dame Cathedral catastrophe instantly caught media attention throughout the world.
解析
36. I 解析：题干意思是巴黎圣母院的破坏总量只有在其结构被认为是安全的情况下才能评估。定位在I段最后一句：a complete inventory of the damage will not be possible until the cathedral structure has been deemed safe.(在大教堂结构被认为是安全的之前，不可能有完整的损失清单)。
37. C 解析：题干意思是人们再次开始争论，即使没有大火，巴黎圣母院是否还会倒塌。定位在C段最后一句the beloved cathedral, immortalised in Victor Hugo's novel, was already crumbling before the fire.( 这座在维克多·雨果的小说中不朽的大教堂，在大火前已经摇摇欲坠)
38. K 解析：题干意思是巴黎圣母院的灾难帮助法国民族团结起来。定位在K段第一句French political commentators noted the devastating fire had succeeded where Macron had failed in uniting the country.(法国政治评论员指出，毁灭性的大火成功了，而马克龙未能团结全国。)
39 F解析：题干意思是巴黎圣母院的屋顶是用大量密密麻麻的木梁建造的。定位在原文F段第一句话，The fire, which had started at the base of the 93-metre spire(尖塔)at about 6:40pm on Monday, spread through the cathedral's roof, made up of hundreds of oak beams, some dating back to the 13th century.(火从93米的尖塔的基座，从周一6:40pm开始,传遍大教堂的屋顶,这个屋顶是由数以百计的橡木横梁构成,有些可以追溯到13世纪。)
40. B 解析：题干意思是巴黎圣母院的修缮工人被询问事故原因。定位到B段第一句The revelation of how close France came to losing its most famous cathedral emerged as police investigators questioned workers involved in the restoration of the monument to try to establish the cause of the devastating blaze. (当警方调查人员询问参与大教堂修复工作的工人，试图确定这场毁灭性大火的原因时，他透露了法国最著名的大教堂差点就彻底消失了)。
41. H 解析：题干意思是如果钟楼的木框架被烧毁，沉重的钟就会倒塌。定位到H段第二句If the wooden frame of the towers had caught fire, it could have sent the bells - the largest of which, the Emmanuel Bell, weighs 13 tons - crashing down, potentially causing the collapse of both towers. (如果双子塔的木框架着火，可能会导致两座钟倒塌，其中最大的伊曼纽尔钟重达13吨)。
42. A 解析：题干意思是消防队员的及时行动阻止了大火蔓延到大教堂的钟楼。定位到A 段最后一句，A greater disaster was averted by members of the Paris fire brigade, who risked their lives to remain inside the burning monument to create a wall of water between the raging fire and the two towers on the west of the building.(巴黎消防队员冒着生命危险留在燃烧着的纪念碑内，在熊熊大火和大楼西侧的两座塔楼之间筑起一堵水墙，从而避免了更大的灾难。)
43. J 解析：题干意思是除了大火，用来扑灭大火的水也给巴黎圣母院造成了很多损害。定位到J段倒数第二句As well as damage from the heat, which firefighters said reached more than 800℃, experts also need to assess damage from the vast quantities of water firefighters poured into the cathedral.(除了高温造成的损害外，专家还需要评估消防员涌入大教堂的大量积水造成的损害。)
44. D 解析：题干意思是关于谁应该为巴黎圣母院的修复买单，多年来一直存在争议。定位在D段第一句，The cathedral is owned by the French state and has been at the centre of a years-long dispute over who should finance restoration work of the collapsing staircases, crumbling statues and cracked walls.(这座大教堂为法国政府所有，多年来一直处于争论的中心，争论的焦点是谁应该为倒塌的楼梯、摇摇欲坠的雕像和破裂的墙壁的修复工作提供资金。)
45. G 解析：题干意思是巴黎圣母院灾难的消息立即引起了全世界媒体的关注。定位G段第一句，A collection of dramatic videos and photos quickly spread across social media, showing the horrifying destruction, and attracting emotional responses from people all over the world.(一组戏剧性的视频和照片迅速在社交媒体上传播，展示了可怕的破坏，吸引了世界各地人们的情感反应。)
你可能感兴趣的试题
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter to a foreign friend who wants to study in China. Please recommend a university to him. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.
- 查看答案
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter to a foreign friend who wants to teach English. Please recommend a city to him. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.
- 查看答案
中国，地球上最吸引人的国家之一，有5000多年的历史，是目前全球第二大经济体(the second largest economy)。随着广泛的经济改革，中国正经历着显著、快速的变化。1949年以前的中国极端贫困、收入不平衡(incomeinequalities)、国家不安全。由于经济改革，从1980年开始，人民的生活水平开始提升至基本水平之上。全国人口有了足够的食物、衣服和住房，普通家庭可以吃得起各种各样的食物，穿得上时尚的衣服。
- 查看答案
The fifth largest city in US passed a significant soda tax proposal that will levy (征税)1.5 cents per liquid ounce on distributors.
Philadelphil's new measure was approved by a 13 to 4 city council vote. It sets a new bar for similar initiatives across the country. It is proof that taxes on sugary drinks can win substantial support outside super-liberal areas. Until now, the only city to successfully pass and implement a soda tax was Berkeley, California, in 2014.
The tax will apply to regular and diet sodas, as well as other drinks with adder sugar, such as Gatorade and iced teas. It's expected to raise $410 million over the next five years, most of which will go toward funding a universal pre-kindergarten program for the city.
While the city council vote was met with applause inside the council room, opponents to the measure, including soda lobbyists, made sharp criticisms and a promise to challenge the tax in court.
"The tax passed today unfairly singles out beverages — including low —and no-calorie choices," said Lauren Kane, spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association. "But most importantly, it is against the law. So we will side with the majority of the people of Philadelphia who oppose this tax and take legal action to stop it."
An industry-backed anti-tax campaign has spent at least $4 million on advertisements. The ads criticized the measure, characterizing it as a "grocery tax".
Public health groups applauded the approved tax as step toward fixing certain lasting health issues that plague Americans. "The move to recapture a small part of the profits from an industry that pushed a product that contributes to diabetes, obesity and heart disease in poorer communities in order to reinvest in those communities will sure be inspirational to many other places," said Jim Krieger, executive director of Healthy Food America. "indeed, we are already hearing from some of them. It's not 'just Berkeley' anymore."
Similar measures in California's Albany, Oakland, San Francisco and Colorado's Boulder are becoming hot-button issues. Health advocacy groups have hinted that even more might be coming.
46. What does the passage say about the newly-approved soda tax in Philadelphia?
A) It will change the lifestyle of many consumers.
B) It may encourage other US cities to fllow suit.
C) It will cut soda consumption among low-income communities.
D) It may influence the marketing strategies of the soda business.
47. What will the opponents probably do to respond to the soda tax proposal?
A) Bargain with the city council.
B) Refuse to pay additional tax.
C) Take legal action against it.
D) Try to win public support.
48. What did the industry-backed anti-tax campaign do about the soda tax proposal?
A) It tried to arouse hostile felings among consumers.
B) It tried to win grocers' support against the measure.
C) It kept sending ltters of protest to the media.
D) It criticized the measure through advertising.
49. What did public health groups think the soda tax would do?
A) Alert people to the risk of sugar-induced diseases.
B) Help people to fix certain long-time health issues.
C) Add to the fund for their rescarch on discases.
D) Benefit low-income people across the country.
50. What do we lear about similar measures concening the soda tax in some other citics?
A) They are becoming rather sensitive issues.
B) They are spreading panic in the soda industry.
C) They are reducing the incidence of sugar-induced diseases.
D) They are taking away a lot of proft from the soda industry.
- 查看答案
鱼是春节前夕餐桌上不可或缺的一道菜，因为汉语中“鱼”字的发音与“余”字的发音相同。正由于这个象征性的意义，春节期间鱼也作为礼物送给亲戚朋友。鱼的象征意义据说源于中国传统文化。中国人有节省的传统，他们认为节省得愈多，就感到愈为安全。今天，尽管人们愈来愈富裕了，但他们仍然认为节省是一种值得弘扬的美德。
- 查看答案