Question

You may know the Eiffel Tower as one of the most famous man-made monuments in the world, and you’d be absolutely right! Read on to learn about the history of the great Eiffel Tower.

Travelers from around the world flock(蜂拥)to Paris, France, to visit the Eiffel Tower, making it the most visited paid monument in the entire world! In fact, in 2010, the Eiffel Tower welcomed its 250 millionth visitor!

The history of the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the famous monument. Construction began in January of 1887 and was completed in only two years. Their plan was to finish the tower in time to be the entrance arch for the World’s Fair in 1889. This fair celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the French Revolution, which took place from 1789 to 1799.

The height competition

Located on the Champs de Mars, the tower is the tallest structure in Paris. It was the tallest man-made structure in the world for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York surpassed(超过) it. Then the spire(塔尖) on the top of the tower was added, raising its height to 17 feet taller than the Chrysler Building. It is now 1,063 feet tall! There are two replicas(复制品) of the Eiffel Tower in the world: a half scale model at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas and a full-sized monument of a similar (but not exact) design in Tokyo, Japan.

Three shades of wonder

Some pictures make the Eiffel Tower look like a dark iron color. But it is, in fact, bronze. Not only that, but the tower is actually painted three different shades to make it appear even taller: darkest on the bottom and lightest on the top.

1.The Eiffel Tower was constructed to ________.

A. show great respect for Gustave Eiffel

B. make Paris the most visited city in the world

C. show the French people’s construction skill

D. celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the French Revolution

2.Which of the following does the author mention in the passage?

A. The political meaning of the Eiffel Tower.

B. The disadvantages of the Eiffel Tower.

C. The location of the Eiffel Tower. 

D. The cost of the Eiffel Tower.

3.Where can you find a structure similar to the Eiffel Tower according to the passage?

A. In New York.

B. In Las Vegas.

C. In Los Angeles.

D. In Florida.

4.The main purpose of the passage is to ________.

A. tell visitors where to find the replicas of the Eiffel Tower

B. raise people’s awareness of protecting the Eiffel Tower

C. offer people some information about the Eiffel Tower

D. call on people to visit the Eiffel Tower

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：文章主要讲述埃菲尔铁塔的历史以及相关信息。

1.’s Fair in 1889. This fair celebrated the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution可知，埃菲尔铁塔是因为庆祝法国革命胜利100周年而修建的。故选D。

2.

3.There are two replicas(复制品) of the Eiffel Tower in the world: a half scale model at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas可知，埃菲尔铁塔有两处复制品，其中一处位于Las Vegas，故选B。

4.

考点：人物故事类阅读理解

【名师点睛】

主旨大意题

这种题型要求考生能够把握文章的总体，并真正理解主题和中心；要求能较好地运用概括、判断、归纳、推理等逻辑思维方法解题，难度较大，属于高层次题。

一般主旨大意题可以分为两类：

1．确定文章的标题和主题(title or topic)

标题位于文章之首，用来高度概括文章内容，点明文章主题。它可以是单词，短语，也可以是句子。要确定文章标题，首先，要在阅读原文的基础上，考虑标题是否与主题密切相关；其次，看标题是否能概括全文内容。不能只概括短文中的某些事实或细节；然后，要注意标题范围不应太大或太小；最后，标题应简练并能吸引读者。即:1、独特新颖 2、概括性强 3、短小精炼。

常见的标题型题干：

1) The best title/ headline for this passage might be________.

2) The text (passage) could be entitled ______.

3) What is the best title for the passage?

4) What’s the topic of the article?

2.主题句（topic sentence）及主旨大意(main idea)的概括

一篇文章一般表达一个中心内容或主题。这个中心内容或主题通常用一个句子来概括。此句叫做主题句。一般来说，说明文和议论文都有主题句，而且多位于文章的开头，有时也位于文章的中间或末尾。但有时不能在文中直接找到主题句，要求读者把握每段的主题句，弄清段于段之间逻辑关系的基础上自己归纳总结。主题句必须能简洁明了地概括全文的主要内容，具有高度的综合性和概括性。文章或段落的其他句子都是对主题句的进一步解释,说明,论证或扩展

常见的主题句和主旨型题干：

What is the topic sentence of the passage?

This article/text/passage mainly tells that _____________.

Which of the following gives a general idea of the passage?

Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?

如：28.C考查主旨大意题。根据文章第一段以及后面各个小标题可知，文章主要讲述埃菲尔铁塔的历史以及相关信息，因此选C。

考点：自然科学类阅读理解