Where there is a river, there is a city.  Perhaps this is not always true, but it is true that many of the
world's greatest cities have been built on the banks of a river. The Neva River flows through the center
of St Petersburg in Russia. Three hundred years ago, the Russian Czar Peter the Great
came here and built a new capital-St Petersburg.  Peter the Great, like his country, was strong and proud.  Many great palaces were built during his lifetime. The palaces were large and beautiful,  and they often
looked like something out of a fairy tale, St Petersburg has also been the center of many important events
in history. In 1941, the Germans tried to destroy the city.  It was under attack for 900 days, but the
people of the city never gave in. The Germans burned many of the palaces as they left.  St Petersburg
was almost in ruins: fires burned everywhere. Buildings were destroyed, and paintings and stadium lay in
pieces on the ground. Rebuilding the city and its cultural relics seemed impossible, but the people of the
great city would not give up, "We will not let our history and city be destroyed, and we will do everything we can to save our city ! "
     When the Nazi had gone, the people of St Petersburg began rebuilding the city. Pieces of the palaces
that had been hidden before the Nazis came could now be used to rebuild the city and its culture.  It was
not easy.  Painters and workers had to be very careful when they were trying to bring the city back to
life. It was difficult to save the palaces and building without detracting their old beauty.
     With the help of old paintings and photographs, the people of St Petersburg were able to bring back
the beauty of their culture and history.  Now, after years of hard work, parts of statues have been put
back together and missing pieces have been replaced. Old paintings, including a portrait of Peter the
Great which was found in the snow outside St Petersburg, have been carefully copied, and the old
palaces have been made as wonderful as in the past.
     Today Peter the Great on his bronze horse can once again look out over the city he built.  Like their
hero Peter, the people of St Petersburg have shown that dreams can come true. Strong, proud and
united, the people of St Petersburg are modern heroes of Russia.

1. The underlined word "portrait" in the third paragraph is perhaps closest to____in meaning.

A. room
B. picture
C. knife
D. dress

2. Which of the following sentences is not true of St Peterburg according to the passage?

A. It was the capital of Russia,  and it was built about three hundred years ago.
B. It people never gave in to the Germans during World War Ⅱ.
C. The Germans tried to destroy the city because they hated Peter the Great.
D. It took years of hard work of the painters and workers to rebuild it.

3. The third paragraph of the passage is mainly about____.

A. how bravely the people of the city fought against the Germans.
B. how beautiful the city looked now.
C. how hard the people of the city worked to rebuild the city.
D. how proud the people of the city were.

4. The best title of the passage should be___

A. A City of Heroes
B. St Petersburg
C. Peter the Great
D. Rivers and Cities