The Dear Old Lady-that is what the people of Pisa call the tower-needs help.
Three million people visit Pisa
each year. That’s a lot of people. Why do they come to this town
36 ? To see a tower. A look at the picture will 37 you why. The crazy tower leans! It
is known to us all as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The tower looks as if it might __38_at any
time. In fact, some visitors stop at the tower just long enough to take a
picture. Then they hurry away. 39 visitors climb the 294 steps to the top
and come down, 40 heroes.
Engineers say that the visitors are 41 -at least for a while. But the tower does
lean. It leans aside 14 feet 10 inches at the present time. The tower has
leaned for 800 years. And every year it leans a big more. If this 42 on, the tower will fall.
You may wonder what makes the tower lean. If you
look at the picture, you will see that one side of the tower is deeper in the
earth than 43 . The foundation on 44 the tower rests has sunk into the
soil on the leaning side. Why does this happen?
Pisa’s tower 45 14,500 tons. The soil of the town is
a mixture of a clay and sand and water. A heavy tower 46
on soil like this must have a very strong foundation. The leaning
Tower’s foundation is just not deep or wide enough for the tower 47 on it. Can nothing be done about the
tower? No,the Italian 48 have several plans. They don’t want
to make the tower straight-just keep it from leaning any further. So all the
plans call for a new foundation that won’t sink.
But a new foundation can’t be built 49 the tower is resting on the old one.
The tower must be 50 with jacks(千斤顶). They would be
like jacks we use to raise cars when changing a tyre. Only these jacks would be
giant ones. One plan calls for 15 of them to be placed __51___ the tower. Each
of the giant jacks would be on its own foundation. And each of them could lift
1,000 tons. The 15 jacks would raise the 14,500 ton tower and hold it up while
the new foundation 52 .
The Italian engineers are 53 the best plan to save the tower. They
know that any plan takes a lot of money. They are trying to 54 the money from the Italian
government. But many Italians refuse to believe that the old tower is 55 .“It leans and leans and
leans,” they say, “But it will never fall down.”
( )36.A .in Greece B. in India C. in Belgium D. in Italy
( )37.A. say
B. speak C. tell
D. judge
( )38.A. sink
B. fall
C. drop D. break
( )39.A.Much B. The most C.
Others
D. Other
( )40.A. hoping B. feeling
like C. becoming D. wishing
( )41.A. good B.
well
C. safe D. healthy
( )42.A. keeps B.
continues C. does
D. go
( )43.A. one
B. the other C. another D. side
( )44.A. where B.
which
C. that
D. it
( )45.A. weighs B. puts C. makes D.
takes
( )46.A. came B.placed C. built D. got
( )47.A.to bear B. to be sat
C.to be seat D.
to stand
( )48.A.scientists B.engineers C. workers D. builders
( )49.A. during B. while C.
and
D. for
( )50.A. hanged B. lift
C. raised D.
rose
( )51.A. under B. below C.
around
D. about
( )52.A. is building B. is built C. being
built D. is being built
( )53.A. looking B.
researching C. searching
for D. finding
( )54.A. get B.
receive
C. accept D. win
( )55.A. in need B. in trouble C. in danger D. in fact