Question

On the night of September 2, 1600, a fire broke out in a baker's shop near Fish Street Hill in London. Before the flames were finally put out, nearly the entire city had been reduced to ashes. Over thirteen thousand homes, fifty churches, and numerous public buildings and hospitals were lost in the blaze. For all practical purposes, London was destroyed.

The Great Fire was not seen as a total tragedy, however. The miserable conditions of the city had been attacked by physicians  (医师) and humanitarians (人道主义者) for years before the fire; thus, with the opportunity clearly presented to create  a shining new city, artists and craftsmen from all over England hurried to submit their designs for the rebuilding of London.

Among those who submitted plans was Sir Christopher Wren, one of England's leading architects and the Surveyor General of London. The task of rebuilding the city was given to him. Wren realized that the Great Fire would not have been so damaging if the city had been better laid out: broader streets were needed to replace the crooked, narrow lanes overhung with old wooden houses and shops. He also felt that redesigning the main streets of London would result in increased and more effective transportation within the city.

Shortly after Wren began working on his first drafts for the rebuilding, King Charles I made an announcement prohibiting the construction of any house or shop within the city limits until after the plans were completed. When the plans were revealed to the citizens of London, however, they were overwhelmingly (不可抵抗的) rejected. The most active leaders of the opposition were the landlords, who feared that such a complete widening of the streets would reduce the amount of land available for development.

Winter was approaching; consequently, it was necessary for the rebuilding to proceed at once. Permission was, therefore, granted for the town people and landlords to commence (着手) reconstruction of their houses and shops at the sites where they had been before the fire. Had the need for immediate action not been so pressing, some kind of compromise (折衷) could likely have been reached. This was not to be, however, and the ideas that could have made London one of the world's most beautiful cities never came to pass.

　　  1. Who was the head of the British government at the time of the Great Fire of London?

　　　　   A. Elizabeth the First.　　  B. General Surveyor.

　　  C. Sir Christopher Wren.　　 D. Charles the First.

　　  2. What became of the plans for the rebuilding of London?

　　　　   A. Nothing—they were never finished.

　　　　   B. They were adopted in modified form.

　　　　   C. They were followed and London was rebuilt at once.

　　　　   D. Nothing—London was rebuilt as it had been before the fire.

　　  3. Which of the following describes the author's probable attitude toward Sir Christopher Wren's plans?

　　　　   A. He feels it would have been a mistake to rebuild London according to Wren’s designs.

　　　　   B. He feels it was a mistake for London not to have been rebuilt according to Wren's designs.

　　　　   C. He feels that someone other than Wren should have been chosen to plan the rebuilding.

　　　　   D. He feels that Wren's ideas had much more influence than is commonly acknowledged.

　　  4. Which of the following would be an appropriate title for the passage?

　　　　   A. The Life and Times of Sir Christopher Wren.

　　    B. The Rebuilding of London.

　　　　   C. The Destruction of Fish Street Hill.

　　　　   D. The London That Might Have Been.

 

Answer 1

答案：1D2D3B4D
解析：

1．D。本题虽为细节题，但仍应分析归纳，辨明四个人名的真实情况。第四段第一句告诉我们Wren在为重建伦敦的草图工作时，当时是King Charles I掌权。Wren的身份是architect，同时也拥有Surveyor General的职位，故选项B、C均错。选项A与本文无关。     2．D。推断题。文章最后两段讲道：重建伦敦计划受到了人们的普遍反对，而且冬天临近，英国政府不得不准予人们在原址重建住房和商店，结果伦敦失去了成为世界最美丽城市之一的机会，故可推断出选项D正确。选项A讲重建计划没被执行是因为计划本身就没起草完成，故错误。选项B是讲计划以修正过的形式被采用，与文章内容不符。选项C是讲计划被执行，伦敦立刻被重建，完全错误。     3．B。推断题，同时也是语气态度题。文章末尾讲：如果不是冬天来临而使得重建工作如此紧迫的话，就有可能达成某种妥协，就有可能使伦敦成为世界上最美丽的城市之一，但事实上这一梦想并未实现。这地方有一个虚拟语气的倒装句，值得认真理解。原句为：Had the need for immediate action not been．so pressing，some kind of compromise could likely have been reached．正常句式为：If the need, for immediate action had not been so pressing…．据以上判断，选项B是作者可能出现的态度。选项A、C、D在文章中无任何线索可查，均错误。     4．D。主旨题。本文描述了伦敦大火造成的结果，以及对重建未来伦敦的期望，不料最终未能完成预期的计划。选项D，是一个虚拟语气，言外含有条件从句的内容。其真正含义是：如果伦敦重建工作没有被冬天扰乱或达成某种妥协的话，伦敦就是一座美丽的城市了。这就是文章的主旨。