The ancient city is in Pingyao county, Shanxi Province. The city wall was first built during the Zhou Dynasty. Since 1997, it has been listed as a World Heritage Site. Now Pingyao city is the only one in China completely protected as it was hundreds of years ago.
The perimeter (周长) of this square city is 6.4 km long and the city wall is the earliest and largest city wall in China. It is 12m high with width of 5m. The wall was built with earth and covered with bricks. Outside the city wall there is a river, 4m wide and 4m deep.
There are several gates of the city, two each on the east and west and one each on the south and north side. All the gates have two doors each. This has given the city the name “Turtle City” with the two gates on the south and north standing for the head and tail of the turtle and four gates on the east and west as the four legs. The doors on the south and north stand opposite each other, like the head of the turtle extending out and two wells just beyond southern gate are like a turtle's two eyes.
Located on the trade route between Beijing and Xi'an, Pingyao developed into a merchant center where the local people set up the nation's earliest banks. These banks were the first in China to use checks. Several old courtyards have been turned into museums, most of which are homes and offices of Pingyao's old banks. One of the most unusual aspects of a visit here is realizing that this place was very important to China's financial (金融的) history.
1．From the first paragraph, we know that now the ancient city is ________.
A．big B．complete
C．dirty D．broken
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句话可知B项正确。
2．What does the passage mainly talk about?
A．The ancient city — Pingyao.
B．China's ancient financial center — Pingyao.
C．The city wall of Pingyao.
D．The museums in Pingyao.
解析：选A 主旨大意题。本文着重介绍了中国的古城——平遥的历史、城市规模以及历史地位，故选A。
3．How many gates are there in Pingyao city?
A．Four. B．Five.
C．Six. D．Seven.
解析：选C 细节理解题。根据第三段第一句中的“... two each on the east and west and one each on the south and north side.”可知，平遥古城共有6个门。
4．Which gate in Pingyao city stands for the head of the turtle?
A．The gate on the north. B．The gate on the south.
C．The gate on the east. D．The gate on the west.
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第三段第三句中的“... the two gates on the south and north standing for the head and tail of the turtle ...”可知，南门代表着乌龟的头部。
