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　　The Three Gorges Dam, the largest dam, is also the largest engineering project on the face of the earth. It aims to make the mother of all floods, the Yangtze River, into a tame river, and to generate power of 181,200 megawatts for Eastern and Central China. It will form a huge, deep water lake, and make it possible for 10,000 ton ocean going ships to sail 1,500 miles inland from the Pacific to the city of Chongqing, making it one of the world’s largest inland ports.

　　Construction has already started. The dam will be about 6,860 metres wide and 611 feet high, at a spot called Sandouping near Yichang.

　　It is obvious that such a grand project will do much good. It is the most important to control floods. By building hydropower plants, China will offer much in environmental protection.

　　However, some scientists don’t agree to the project. They say that Chongqing and dozens of other cities along the river will pollute the reservoir, which will destroy the ecological balance and also the sand from upstream will form sand-bed.

　　The Three Gorges Dam could be considered when it is finished, in 2,009, the 8th wonder of the world.

1．Which is not the purpose to build such a huge dam? ________.

[　　]

A．To prevent floods

B．To produce electricity

C．To improve the sailing conditions

D．To make it a wonder

2．Compared with the High Dam at Aswan, the Three Gorges Dam is ________ metres wider at the base.

[　　]

3．Where does the dam lie? ________.

[　　]

4．Some scientists fear that ________ when the dam is built.

[　　]

A．the ecological balance will be destroyed

B．large ships will destroy the dam

C．the Yangtze River may be too crowded

D．the amount of electricity will not be as much as expected

5．Which of the following is not true according to the passage? ________.

[　　]

A．China will be able to depend on the Yangtze River, the third largest river in the world, for electricity

B．Chongqing will become one of largest inland ports in the world

C．The dam will cause serious pollution

D．The dam will tame the Yangtze River

America’s greatest technological achievement, the Hoover Dam, now has a companion piece, a bridge held up by the longest arch in the Western Hemisphere（半球）. The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which opened this month and connects the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, crosses the vast chasm（峡谷）890 feet above the Colorado River that is controlled by the dam.

The striking 1,900-foot-long structure will improve traffic in the region and help protect the dam from being destroyed. It is the seventh highest bridge in the world, behind four in China, one in Papua New Guinea and one in the US state of Colorado.

“The Hoover Dam is the greatest civil engineering achievement in America’s history,” said the bridge project manager Dave Zanatell. “Our goal was not to outdo or outshine it. Our goal was to, in a respectful way, do something that would be great for our generation and that would stand besides Hoover Dam in a respectful and quality way that would become a part of Hoover’s legacy（遗产）.”

Just as the Hoover Dam was built in the heart of the Great Depression（大萧条）and was seen as an example of the nation’s can-do spirit, some hope this project can also provide some uplift.

The bridge is surprising: at 1,050 feet, its support arch holds up a roadway that lies on 300-foot-long concrete pillars（柱子）, some of the tallest in the world. It contains 16 million pounds of steel.

　　The idea of the bridge came into being in the 1960s because the top of the Hoover Dam has been a narrow two-lane road that is the fastest route from Arizona to Las Vegas and then the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

  　Access to the dam from each direction is a dangerously winding route, but massive trucks and passenger vehicles shared it for decades. During the day, when thousands of tourists travel to the dam from Las Vegas three times as many accidents as on a normal road will happen.

  　The bridge has a sidewalk on the side facing the dam. The wall on both sides is 54 inches high, so walkers can take photos there.

Which of the following is true of the Hoover Dam?

   A. It was completed recently.

   B. It was built during the hard times.

   C. It has the longest arch.

   D. It’s the seventh highest dam in the world.

What is one of the purposes of building the bridge?

   A. To protect the dam.                                 B. To save the cultures.

   C. To outdo the dam.                                       D. To develop the tourism.

The underlined word “uplift” in Paragraph 4 means _____.

   A. lift of the heavy object                            B. support in money

   C. spiritual encouragement                           D. instruction in technology

Which of the followings shows the right position of the bridge and dam?

The text is mainly about ______.

   A. the Hoover Dam                                    

   B. American western development

   C. a tour along the Colorado River               

   D. a recently built bridge

Can a person make it rain? Many people believed that Charles Hatfiled could. In the early 1900s, Mr. Hatfield traveled through the United States, Canada, and Mexico bringing rain to farms and cities that suffered from drought. For 30 years, people considered him the greatest rainmaker in North America. In order to make it rain, he used a secret mixture of chemicals that can おbe placed high on wooden towers in special trays. As the chemicals evaporated, they attracted rain clouds to the area. Over his career, Mr. Hatfield even offered to help clear the fog from London and to water the Sahara Desert.

　　 One of Mr. Hatfiled's most amazing rainmaking accomplishments happened in southern California in 1916. Because he knew that the city of San Diego did not have enough water, Mr. Hatfield offered to give the city a hand with its water problem. He planned to create enough rain to fill the lake behind Morena Dam near the city. Since the time the dam was built, the lake had never been more than half full, but the lake could hold 57 billion liters (15 billion gallons) of water if it were full. Filling the lake would help the city of San Diego with its constant water problems. Mr. Hatfield suggested that if he succeeded in filling the lake with rain water, the city would pay him $10,000. If no rain fell, the city would pay nothing. The city agreed because they had nothing to lose from the business deal, and only paying $10,000 for that much water seemed to be a steal.

On January 1, 1916, Mr. Hatfield began his rainmaking procedure. It began to rain four days later. The rain continued for the next five days. On January 10, it began to rain more heavily, and the rain continued for the next 10 days! The city of San Diego was flooded. Fifty people died. More than 200 bridges were washed away, and many miles of train tracks were destroyed. However, Mr. Hatfield did succeed in filling the lake. The water was within 12 centimeters of the top of the dam. Mr. Hatfield thought that he had completed his job, so he went to collect his money from the city. However, the city of San Diego backed out of the deal. They said that the rain was an "act of God" and not the work of the rainmaker. Mr. Hatfield tried to sue the city, but he never collected any money for his work.

Please answer the questions below.

America’s greatest technological achievement, the Hoover Dam, now has a companion piece, a bridge held up by the longest arch in the Western Hemisphere（半球）. The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which opened this month and connects the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, crosses the vast chasm（峡谷）890 feet above the Colorado River that is controlled by the dam.
The striking 1,900-foot-long structure will improve traffic in the region and help protect the dam from being destroyed. It is the seventh highest bridge in the world, behind four in China, one in Papua New Guinea and one in the US state of Colorado.
“The Hoover Dam is the greatest civil engineering achievement in America’s history,” said the bridge project manager Dave Zanatell. “Our goal was not to outdo or outshine it. Our goal was to, in a respectful way, do something that would be great for our generation and that would stand besides Hoover Dam in a respectful and quality way that would become a part of Hoover’s legacy（遗产）.”
Just as the Hoover Dam was built in the heart of the Great Depression（大萧条）and was seen as an example of the nation’s can-do spirit, some hope this project can also provide some uplift.
The bridge is surprising: at 1,050 feet, its support arch holds up a roadway that lies on 300-foot-long concrete pillars（柱子）, some of the tallest in the world. It contains 16 million pounds of steel.
　　The idea of the bridge came into being in the 1960s because the top of the Hoover Dam has been a narrow two-lane road that is the fastest route from Arizona to Las Vegas and then the Pacific Northwest and Canada.
　Access to the dam from each direction is a dangerously winding route, but massive trucks and passenger vehicles shared it for decades. During the day, when thousands of tourists travel to the dam from Las Vegas three times as many accidents as on a normal road will happen.
　The bridge has a sidewalk on the side facing the dam. The wall on both sides is 54 inches high, so walkers can take photos there.
【小题1】Which of the following is true of the Hoover Dam?

阅读下面短文，根据短文内容回答问题。

　　Can a person make it rain? Many people believed that Charles Hatfiled could． In the early 1900s, Mr． Hatfield traveled through the United States, Canada, and Mexico bringing rain to farms and cities that suffered from drought． For 30 years, people considered him the greatest rainmaker in North America． In order to make it rain, he used a secret mixture of chemicals that be placed high on wooden towers in special trays． As the chemicals evaporated, they attracted rain clouds to the area． Over his career, Mr． Hatfield even offered to help clear the fog from London and to water the Sahara Desert．

　　One of Mr． Hatfiled's most amazing rainmaking accomplishments happened in southern California in 1916． Because he knew that the city of San Diego did not have enough water, Mr． Hatfield offered to give the city a hand with its water problem． He planned to create enough rain to fill the lake behind Morena Dam near the city． Since the time the dam was built, the lake had never been more than half full, but the lake could hold 57 billion liters (15 billion gallons) of water if it were full． Filling the lake would help the city of San Diego with its constant water problems． Mr． Hatfield suggested that if he succeeded in filling the lake with rain water, the city would pay him $10, 000．If no rain fell, the city would pay nothing． The city agreed because they had nothing to lose from the business deal, and only paying $ 10, 000 for that much water seemed to be a steal．

　　On January 1, 1916, Mr． Hatfield began his rainmaking procedure． It began to rain four days later． The rain continued for the next five days． On January 10, it began to rain more heavily, and the rain continued for the next 10 days The city of San Diego was flooded． Fifty people died． More than 200 bridges were washed away,． and many miles of train tracks were destroyed． However, Mr． Hatfield did succeed in filling the lake． The water was within 12 centimeters of the top of the dam． Mr． Hatfield thought that he had completed his job, so he went to collect his money from the city． However, the city of San Diego backed out of the deal． They said that the rain was an “act of God” and not the work of the rainmaker． Mr． Hatfield tried to sue the city, but he never collected any money for his work．