The Spanish exploration was the beginning of the history of San Francisco Harbor. That long history is celebrated at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The park’s main visitor center is only a few hundred meters from the waters of the great harbor. It is a memorial to the great ships and those who sailed them.

The visitor center holds many objects linked to the past of the great harbor. There are small ships, ship equipment, and hundreds of beautiful old photographs. Many visitors stop to look at a large painting of a huge sailing ship named the Balclutha.

Visitors who look at the painting can go out through the front door of the visitor center and see the real Balclutha. People walking near Fisherman’s Wharf often do not believe their eyes when they first see the Balclutha. Almost everyone stops and looks at the huge ship. The ship looks almost new. Several years ago, more than one million dollars was spent in repairing and painting it. Now, more than two hundred thousand people a year visit the ship.

The Balclutha is perhaps the most popular ship with visitors at the Maritime Park. However, there are also several other ships which are very important to the history of the great harbor. But not all of these ships are open to the public. One that is open is a small steam-powered workboat, called the Hercules. The Hercules was a tugboat. Until 1924 it pulled ships around the harbor.

Another boat popular with visitors is the Eureka. It was built in 1890. It is the largest wooden ship still floating today. The Eureka was a ferryboat. It carried people and cars across the bay. It did this until the Golden Gate Bridge and the Oakland Bay Bridge were built.

The park also has a very unusual looking museum. It is a large building that almost looks like a ship. The museum is filled with interesting equipment. One of the most interesting objects in the museum is a small sailboat called the Mermaid, which is only large enough for one person to sit in.

The underlined word “It” in Paragraph 1 refers to _________.

A. the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

B. the Spanish exploration

C. the main visitor center

D. San Francisco Harbor

What can we know about the Balclutha according to the passage?

A. It is the largest wooden ship.

B. It is worth about one million dollars now.

C. It is a steam-powered workboat used to pull ships.

D. The huge ship attracts lots of visitors every year.

The ships are described in the passage in order to _______.

A. show the history of the great harbor

B. tell us each ship has its own features

C. tell us which one is the most popular

D. tell us these ships’ functions

We know from the passage that ________.

A. the Eureka is still used for carrying people and cars

B. the Hercules has not been used for pulling ships since 1924

C. the Mermaid is a small tugboat that can only hold one person

D. most of the ships in the park are open to the public