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The Pentagon

五角大楼

    美国号称世界头号军事大国,其武力干涉几乎渗透到全球,有人开玩笑说:只要五角大楼打个喷嚏,整个地球都会震动。五角大楼是什么? 让我们揭开它神秘的面纱,好好地认识一下这座建筑的运作职能吧。

    The Pentagonor the headquarters of the US Department of Defenseis one of the largest office buildings in the worldtaking up a total land of 583 acresThe five-sided structure itself occupies an area of 29 acresEach of its five outside wails is 921 feet longIt has three times the floor space as the Empire State Building or half again as much space as either of the New York's World Trade Center towers

    Working inside this huge building are over 25 000 employeesone half of them being civilians and the other half members of the US armed forcesDuring the last year of the Second World War there were 37 000 peopleboth military and civilianworking inside the PentagonIn the Korean and Vietnam War periods31 000The employees are scattered among hundreds of offices that occupy a floor space of 3705793 square feet

While inside the building they tell time by 4 200 clocksdrink from 685 water fountainsutilize 280 rest roomsconsume 30 000 cups of coffee6 000 tins of milk and 5 000 bottles of soft drinks of various kinds every daywith a total staff of 600 persons preparing and serving food and drinks to the Pentagon employeesdaily

    Notes

    Pentagon n.五边形;五角大楼    civilian n.平民

    military n.军人          scatter v.分散

    utilize v.利用;应用       consume v.消耗

    Comprehension question

The building is called “the Pentagon ”because________

Ait is the largest building in the world

Bit lies in the USA

Cit has five sides

  Dit is a secret place

 

In Europe people hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right throughout the meal, a system that is generally agreed to be more efficient than the American zigzag(曲折的)method. Americans hold both the fork and the knife in their right hands throughout the meal, so they continually change their forks to the left hand when they have to cut their meat. It seems to be funny for the Europeans to see Americans busy changing their dinner sets, making a lot of noises. A few explanations for this American style are as follows:

(1)Americans are practical and efficient. Since most of us are right-handed, it is reasonable to keep our working tools at all times in the right hand that can use them most efficiently.?

(2)Americans, the master of the New World are rebels(叛逆者).They use the zigzag method to break the rules in the Old World and in this way they are thumbing their nose at Mother England. Americans are a restless kind. They do not like to sit in one spot for very long when dining.

(3)Forced to do so, they respond by “playing” with the silver.?

Whatever the reason for the practice, it is now certainly as American as apple pie. Europeans recognize this and are quick to attack it as evidence of American innocence(无知)of form. Arguments against the zigzag method rest not only on grounds of efficiency but also on those of tradition. In Old World dining, the knife is held in the right hand continually because it can serve as an instant defense against the uninvited intruders(入侵者).However, such alertness(警觉) is out of place in the New World, as every American believes that this is the home of the brave. Americans juggle their silverware, perhaps, to show that they are not afraid and that one of them holding a fork is worth any number of them holding blades(刀).?

Americans use _______ to hold their fork to pick up the salad.?

A. the right hand       B. the left hand?

C. both hands       D. either of the two hands?

As the masters of the New World, Americans use a different cutting method from that in the Old World to _______.?

A. show their independence of Mother England?

B. show their disrespect to Mother England?

C. add a new tradition to those in Mother England?

D. show off their creativeness to Mother England?

In the sentence, the word “juggle” probably means _______.?

A. hold B. play with   C. pick up  D. lay down??

Which of the following statements is NOT true? ?

A. European people hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right hand.

B. The zigzag eating method is related to American characteristics.?

C. The zigzag eating method has become an American feature.?

D. European people will use the American method because of its efficiency.

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