Question

The Taj Mahal (泰姬陵) is a love story, a sad and beautiful one. If it didn’t exist, we would easily imagine that the story of its construction was simply a fairy tale. Three hundred years ago, there lived an Indian emperor called Shah Jahan. His wife was a beautiful and bright woman whom he loved greatly. Her title was Mumtazl Mahan: its shortened form Taj Mahan means “pride of the palace”. In the year 1630 this beloved wife of the emperor died. He was so brokenhearted that he thought of giving up his throne. He decided out of his love for his wife, to build her the most beautiful tomb that had ever been seen.

He summoned the best artists and architects from India, Turkey, Persia and Arabia and finally, the design was complete. It took more than twenty thousand men working over a period of 18 years to build the Taj Mahan, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.

The building itself stands on a marble platform 29 meters square and 67 meters high. Towers rise from each of the four corners. The Taj itself soars another 61 meters into the air. It is an eight-sided building made of white marble.

The emperor planned to build an identical tomb of black marble for himself on the other side of the river connected by a silver bridge. However his son put him into a prison in the palace before he could finish, and for the rest of his life, he could only gaze across river at the tomb of his beloved wife.

1.The whole passage tells us about ______.

A. a beautiful fairy tale

B. the story of the Taj Mahal

C. white and black marble tombs made for two emperors

D. the love story of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true about the Taj Mahal?

A. It was completed quickly owing to the efforts of the best artists and workers.

B. A lot of people took part in the building work

C. It is a magnificent building.

D. It is a tomb for the emperor’s beloved wife.

3.The emperor’s own tomb was designed to be ____________.

A. 61 meters high B. eight-sided

C. black-coloured D. white-colored

4.The emperor _____________.

A. died soon after Taj Mahan died

B. was killed by his son

C. was beloved by his people

D. died after 1648

Answer 1

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要介绍了泰姬陵，这座世界上最宏伟建筑的历史由来。泰姬陵的修建是为祭奠一位王妃蒙泰姬玛哈尔的陵墓，是王妃之夫，莫卧尔王朝的沙贾汗皇帝为纪念爱妻而修建的。

1.

2.It took more than twenty thousand men working over a period of 18 years to build the Taj Mahan”超过两万名工人花了超过18年之久的时间来建造泰姬陵，这一描述与A选项中“It was completed quickly owing to the efforts of the best artists and workers.”泰姬陵在最好的艺术家和工匠的努力下很快就竣工了，是不相符的。

3.The emperor planned to build an identical tomb of black marble for himself on the other side of the river connected by a silver bridge.”皇帝计划在与银桥相连的河的另一边为自己修建一座由黑色大理石筑成的陵墓，故选C。

4.In the year 1630 this beloved wife of the emperor died.”和“It took more than twenty thousand men working over a period of 18 years to build the Taj Mahan.”王妃是1630年逝世，建造泰姬陵花了超过18年，根据这可以推算皇帝是在1648年之后逝世的，故选D。

考点：考查记叙文阅读。