A
Most buildings are built to stand up straight, but these look as if they might fall over!
The church tower of Suurhusen
Built in 1450, the 27-metre-high church tower lies in Suurhusen, Germany. It was built in wet land on foundations of oak tree trunks (树干). When the land was drained (排水) later, the wood broke down, causing one side of the tower to be a little lower than the other. In 1975, the tower became a real hazard and people were not allowed to enter until the foundations were made strong again. The lean of the tower is now about five degrees.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The work of building the tower began in 1173, and was finally completed in 1372. In fact, it began to lean after just a couple of floors were built. And this condition continued in the centuries after its completion. The tower was finally closed to the public in 1990 after people failed to stabilize (使稳固) its foundations. In 2001, it was reopened after engineers removed soil from underneath its raised side. Now it leans just an angle of 3.97 degrees.
Capital Gate of Abu Dhabi
Completed in 2011, the Capital Gate tower in Abu Dhabi was designed to lean eighteen degrees. The building stands next to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and contains, among other things, a fine hotel with wonderful views of the harbour. Also known as the leaning tower of Abu Dhabi, the tower is one of the tallest buildings in the city.
Big Ben of London
The building leans 0.26 degrees to the northwest. This was mainly caused by the engineering projects that have been carried out in the ground below it since the late 1800s. The tower, which has been continuously open since it was completed in 1858, has nowhere near the lean of the Tower of Pisa and is still completely safe to enter.
1. The underlined word “hazard” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_____”.
A. danger B. church
C. castle D. treasure
2. What can we learn about the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
A. It didn't lean until ten years after its completion.
B. It took almost two hundred years to complete.
C. It was built on foundations of oak tree trunks.
D. It has been open since it was completed.
3. Which of the following towers leans the most according to the text?
A. The church tower of Suurhusen.
B. The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
C. Capital Gate of Abu Dhabi.
D. Big Ben of London.
4. What would be the best title for the text?
A. The history of towers
B. The art of building a tower
C. The leaning towers of the world
D. Top four tallest towers in Europe
【答案】1. A 2. B 3. C 4. C
【解析】
这是一片说明文，文章介绍了四座世界上有名的斜塔，清晰的介绍了各自的建造历史以及其倾斜程度。
【1题详解】
推理判断题。根据下文“people were not allowed to enter”和“ made strong again”可知，此处代表的是教堂不够安全，还不允许人们进入，B选项意为教堂但没有表达出教堂为什么不能让人门进入的性质，能推测到“hazard”的意思是危险，符合题意。A危险;B教堂;C城堡;D宝藏;故选A.
【2题详解】
细节理解题。首先定位到第三段有关比萨斜塔的描述，由文中“The work of building the tower began in 1173, and was finally completed in 1372”可知比萨斜塔在1173年开始建造，于1372年建造成功，因此他用了将近200年建造成功正确，故选B.
【3题详解】
细节理解题。此题需要对比文中提到的四座建筑，The church tower of Suurhusen由文中“The lean of the tower is now about five degrees”可知现在倾斜5度；The Leaning Tower of Pisa由第三段“Now it leans just an angle of 3.97 degrees.” 可知现在倾斜3.97度；Capital Gate of Abu Dhabi由第四段“designed to lean eighteen degrees”可知设计倾斜18度；Big Ben of London 由第五段“The building leans 0.26 degrees to the northwest”可知其倾斜0.26度；综上对比Capital Gate of Abu Dhabi倾斜最厉害，故选C.
【4题详解】
主旨大意题。根据全文以及小标题可知此文主要介绍了四座世界文明的斜塔，关键在于都是倾斜的，因此选标题应该注重“倾斜”C符合题意故选C.
【名师点睛】
一、速读全文，了解大意知主题。
阅读能力一般指阅读速度和理解能力两个方面。阅读速度是阅读最基本的能力。考生必须在十分有限的时间内运用略读、扫读、跳读等技巧快速阅读，搜寻关键词、主题句，捕捉时空、顺序、情节、人物、观点，并且理清文章脉络，把握语篇实质。
抓主题句是快速掌握文章大意 主要方法。主题句一般出现在文章的开头和结尾。主题句往往对全文起提示、启迪、概括、归纳之作用，主旨大意题，归纳概括题，中心思想题往往直接可从主题句中找到答案。
二、看题干，带着问题读文章。
首先要掌握问题的类型，客观信息题可以从文章中直接找到答案；而主观判断题考查的是对文章的感情基调等，这类题必须经过对作者的态度、意图以及对整篇文章进行深一层的推理等。其次，了解试题题干以及各个选项所包含的信息，然后有针对性地对文章进行扫读，对有关信息进行快速定位。此法加强了阅读的针对性，提高了做题的准确率。
三、 逻辑推理，做好深层理解题。
在实际阅读中，有时作者并未把意图说出来，阅读者要根据字面意思，通过语篇逻辑关系，研究细节的暗示，推敲作者的态度，理解文章的寓义。要求读者对文字的表面信息进行分析、挖掘和逻辑推理，不能就事论事，以偏概全。推理题在提问中常用的词有：infer, imply, suggest, indicate等。
四、 猜词悟义，扫除阅读拦路虎。
猜词是应用英语的重要能力。它不但需要准确无误地理解上下文，而且要有较大的泛读量，掌握或认识较多的课外词汇。我们要学会“顺藤摸瓜”，通过构词，语法，定义，同位，对比，因果，常识，上下文等线索确定词义。
如：第1篇的第2题 推理判断题。由第二段中的Pen and I planned to stay where we were, try and look big, and frighten it away 和下文他们的表现可推断到答案。
第3篇的第2题 词义猜测题。根据句中的But 以及下文介绍晚饭吃得太晚的弊端可猜测答案。
