Question

    I.M. Pei, whose modern designs and high-profile projects made him one of the best-known and most prolific architects of the 20th century, has died. He was 102. A spokesman for Pei’s New York architecture firm confirmed his death to the Associated Press. Pei, whose designs included a controversial renovation of Paris’ Louvre Museum and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, died overnight, his son Chien Chung Pei told the New York Times.

Ieoh Ming Pei, the son of an outstanding banker in China, left his homeland in 1935, moving to the US and studying architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. After teaching and working for the US government, he went to work for a New York developer in 1948 and started his own firm in 1955.

The museums, municipal buildings, hotels, schools and other structures that Pei built around the world showed precision geometry（几何结构）and an abstract quality with much respect for light. They were composed of stone, steel and glass and, as with the Louvre, Pei often worked glass pyramids into his projects.

The Louvre, parts of which date to the 12th century, proved to be Pei ’s most controversial work, starting with the fact that he was not French. After being chosen for the job by the then president, François Mitterrand, surrounded by much secrecy, Pei began by making a four-month study of the museum and French history. He created a futuristic(极其现代的) 70ft-tall steel-framed, glass-walled pyramid as a grand entrance for the museum with three smaller pyramids nearby. It was a striking contrast to the existing Louvre structures in classic French style and was violently criticized by many French.

Pei said the Louvre was undoubtedly the most difficult job of his career. He said he had wanted to create a modern space that did not detract（减损）from the traditional part of the museum. “Contemporary architects tend to impose modernity on something,” he said in a New York Times interview in 2008. “There is a certain concern for history but it’s not very deep. I understand that time has changed, we have evolved. But I don’t want to forget the beginning. A lasting architecture has to have roots.”

When Pei won the international Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1983, he used the $100,000 award to start a program for aspiring Chinese architects to study in the US. Even though he formally retired from his firm in 1990, Pei was still taking on projects in his late 80s, such as museums in Luxembourg, Qatar and his ancestral home of Suzhou.

1.What can we learn from the first three paragraphs?

A.Pei is famous for traditional designs in architecture.

B.Pei built the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

C.Pei set up his own firm with the help of a New York developer.

D.Pei put the elements light and glass pyramids into the Louvre.

2.What is the French attitude towards Pei’s job of the Louvre?

A.Positive. B.Neutral.

C.Critical. D.Objective.

3.What is the purpose of Paragraph 5?

A.To explain Pei’s idea about the Louvre innovation job.

B.To list the modernity of the Louvre innovation.

C.To show Pei’s love for traditional culture.

D.To present Pei’s contributions to architecture in history.

4.Which of the following words can best describe Pei?

A.Productive and stubborn. B.Generous and persistent.

C.Hard-working and humorous. D.Tolerant and considerate.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇新闻报道，摘编自《纽约时报》，文章报道了享誉盛名的建筑大师贝聿铭逝世的最新消息，并为读者简要梳理了贝聿铭先生的生平经历，其中重点介绍了他获得举世瞩目但也备受争议的卢浮宫玻璃金字塔项目。

1.细节理解题。结合原文第三段“…with much respect for light”（贝聿铭参与设计的建筑，都十分注重采光）及该段末尾处“as with the Louvre, Pei often worked glass pyramids into his projects”（正如卢浮宫的设计一样，贝聿铭经常将玻璃金字塔带进他的项目中），可知贝聿铭把光线和玻璃金字塔元素带进卢浮宫（也就是指在修缮项目中贝聿铭设计了卢浮宫入口处的玻璃金字塔，且注重采光），故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据原文第四段中“The Louvre, parts of which date to the 12th century, proved to be Pei’s most controversial work, starting with the fact that he was not French.”及该段末尾处“…and was violently criticized by many French.”并结合全段内容，可知起因于贝聿铭不是法国人，后又因设计风格的问题，卢浮宫修缮设计项目成为他最饱受争议的作品，设计风格受到很多法国人的激烈批评。本题中，法国人对他参与这项工作的态度是批评的、批判的（critical），故选C。

3.推理判断题。本题要求分析第五段的写作目的。上一段的内容讲述了卢浮宫修缮是贝聿铭最饱受争议的工作，且提到因古典风格与现代风格的协调平衡问题，其受到许多法国人的激烈批评。结合上一段的主题，本段中作者（记者）采访了贝聿铭这一关键问题，并引用了他的原话“There is a certain concern for history but it’s not very deep. I understand that time has changed, we have evolved. But I don’t want to forget the beginning. A lasting architecture has to have roots.”来阐述他的核心观点，可知本段的写作目的是解释贝聿铭做这项工作时的思考和想法，故选A。

4.推理判断题。本题要求分析贝聿铭的形象特点。文中最后一段介绍了贝聿铭将所获奖金全部用于资助中国建筑师赴美进修，可见他的慷慨大方、宽宏大量（generous）；贝聿铭有着自己独特且一以贯之的建筑风格，在卢浮宫项目中饱受争议，仍坚定完成设计，晚年虽然从公司退休，但仍坚守建筑设计，继续承担项目，以上种种均可见他的执着坚定、坚持不懈（persistent），因此B项准确描述了贝聿铭。其它选项中或有明显错误，如顽固不化（stubborn），或在文中无明确事实支撑，属无中生有，如幽默风趣（humorous）。综上所述，故选B。