Question

Close your eyes and picture the city of Paris．Now imagine the city without its most famous landmark：the Eiffel Tower．

The unthinkable almost happened．

When French engineer Gustave Eiffel built this tower for the Paris World’s Fair of 1889，it was controversial．The iron structure contrasted(对比)sharply with the historic stone buildings of Paris．Eiffel’s four-legged iron archway was supposed to last only 20 years．That’s when Eiffel’s permit to operate the building would expire(过期)and the city could choose to tear it down．

Yet from the beginning．Eiffel had a strategy to save his building．If the Tower was linked to important research，he reasoned，no one would dare to take it down．So he would make it a grand laboratory for science．

Scientific research began just one day after the Tower opened to the public on May 6，1889．Eiffel installed a weather station on the Tower’s third(and highest)floor．He connected instruments by wire to the French weather bureau in Paris．With these，he measured wind speed and air pressure．

In 1903，still worried that his building might be torn down，Eiffel got a clever idea．He asked the French military to conduct its own research on radio communications at the Tower．He even paid the army’s costs．

French army captain Gustave Ferrié worked from a little wooden house at the base of the Tower's southern pillar．From there，he made radio contact with forts around Paris．Convinced of the importance of radio communications，the army set up a permanent radio station at the Tower．In 1910，the city of Paris renewed the structure’s permit for another 70 years．

This year marks the iconic structure’s 125th birthday．Over the years，research conducted there has brought dramatic and unexpected payoffs．During World War I，for instance，the French army used the Tower as a giant ear to receive radio messages．It even led to the arrest of one of the war's most famous spies．

1.What does the author mean by“The unthinkable almost happened”?

A．The Eiffel Tower was almost torn down．

B．Gustave Eiffel was more than an engineer．

C．It took great efforts to build the Eiffel Tower．

D．The Eiffel Tower has served important purposes．

2.The Eiffel Tower was controversial because_____________．

A．it was giant and ugly

B．it would expire too soon

C．some historic buildings had to be removed

D．it didn’t match the historic buildings of Paris

3.How did Gustave Eiffel save the Eiffel Tower?

A．By asking the army to defend it．

B．By showing its importance for tourism．

C．By making it a base for scientific research．

D．By asking the government to renew its permit．

4.The arrest of a famous spy is mentioned to show．

A．the Eiffel Tower has lost its initial value

B．the Eiffel Tower has existed long enough

C．research done in the Eiffel Tower had unexpected payoffs

D．the Eiffel Tower was successfully preserved during the war

Answer 1

1.A

2.D

3.C

4.C

【解析】

试题分析: 本文是一篇说明文，介绍了法国埃菲尔铁塔的一些历史。埃菲尔铁塔在建造之初因为与巴黎的历史建筑不匹配而受到人们的争议并面临被拆除的危险，工程师Gustave Eiffel通过使它成为科学实验基地而使它被保存下来。125年来，埃菲尔铁塔发挥了巨大的作用。

1.句意猜测题。通读整篇文章可知“The unthinkable almost happened”是指埃菲尔铁塔差点被拆除，故选A。

2.第三段The iron structure contrasted(对比)sharply with the historic stone buildings of Paris．描述可知埃菲尔铁塔是有争议的是因为它与巴黎的历史建筑不匹配。故选D。

3.C细节理解题。根据第四段第一行Eiffel had a strategy to save his building．If the Tower was linked to important research，he reasoned，no one would dare to take it down．描述可知Gustave Eiffel通过使埃菲尔铁塔成为科学研究基地来拯救了它。故选C。

4.C推理判断题。根据最后一段Over the years，research conducted there has brought dramatic and unexpected payoffs．和It even led to the arrest of one of the war's most famous spies．描述可以推断文章提到一名著名间谍被捕是想表明在埃菲尔铁塔研究有意想不到的回报。故选C。

考点：考查历史类短文阅读