跟踪导练（三）（3）

閱读理解

A

That the Leaning Tower of Pisa no longer leans quite so much after a ￡20 million project to save it has proved to be a great success. The tower， which was on the edge of collapse， has been straightened by 18 inches， returning it to its 1838 position.

“It has straightened a little bit more than we expected， but very little helps，” said Prof. John Burland， the only British member of the rescue committee. “The tower is still very slightly moving towards being upright.”

The tower， which has been leaning almost since building work first began in 1173， was closed to the public in 1990 because of safety fears. The 183-foot tower was nearly 15 feet off vertical and its structure was found to have been weakened by centuries of strain（拉力）.

Prof. Burland said it could have collapsed “at any moment”. However， it took nine years of quarrelling before any work was done. The last attempt at straightening the tower was carried out. Concrete was poured into the foundations， but the result was that the tower sank further into the soil.

The straightening work involved digging out around 70 tonnes of earth from the northern side of the tower， causing it to sink on that side. Before the digging started， the tower was fixed with steel ropes and 600 tonnes of lead weights.

However， halfway through the project， concerns at the ugliness of the weights led to their removal and the tower leaned greatly. The weights were hurriedly reattached. One night， the tower moved more than it had averaged in an entire year. The towers stonework has also been restored.

The Italian government stepped in after a tower collapsed in Pavia in 1989， killing four people. Experts suddenly realized that the tower at Pisa， which was similarly built and on the same sort of earth， could do the same.

1. According to the passage， the Leaning Tower of Pisa ___ .

A. closed for the straightening work in 1990

B. has a history of more than 1， 000 years

C. began to lean more than 800 years ago

D. has become dangerous

2. What played the most important part in straightening the tower？

A. The restoring stonework.

B. The lead weights fixed to the tower.

C. The concrete poured into the foundations.

D. The earth-digging from the southern side of the tower.

3. What drove the Italian government to save the Leaning Tower？

A. The expectation of the rescue committee.

B. The development of new technology.

C. The advice of Prof. John Burland.

D. The collapse of a tower in Pavia.

4. What would be the best title for the passage？

A. Saving the Leaning Tower of Pisa

B. The History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

C. The Collapse of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

D. The Building of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

B

In Canada and the United States， there is a new group of children called “satellite kids”， who live in one place but whose parents live in another place.

Asians are immigrating to Canada and the United States in larger numbers than ever before. Most Asians immigrate because they believe that they can give their children a better education in the West. In Asia， especially in China， Japan， and Korea， it is difficult to go to university. Students must first pass the strict national examination. However， in Canada and the United States， it is easy to go to university， and anyone who wants to go can go. As a result， Asian parents decide to leave their countries so that their children can go to university.

The problem is that when Asians arrive， they discover that finding a job and making money are more difficult in the West than in the East. Also， they find that they are very lonely， and that they miss their homes. Because of these two reasons， most Asian parents decide to go back to work in Asia while their children study in the West. Therefore， these children become “satellite kids”， and most of their parents do not know how sad it is to be a “satellite kid”.

Only until now are Canadians and Americans discovering the “satellite kids” problem. Because these children do not speak English and their parents are not there to take care of them， they are often absent from school. To be a “satellite kid” means to grow up in a country where you know you are different and where you cannot make friends because you do not speak English well. Also， it means to grow up alone， because your parents are elsewhere. What these “satellite kids” will probably say to their parents is that its better to have parents around than to have a university education.

5. The underlined words “satellite kids” in Paragraph 1 refer to Asian kids ___ .

A. without parents B. living abroad alone

C. with no job D. cant speak English

6. Some Asian parents send their kids abroad because the kids ___ .

A. can easily find a job there

B. want to improve their English

C. will have no national exams abroad

D. may be accepted by universities abroad

7. Some Asian immigrant children become “satellite kids” because their parents ___ .

A. need to go back home to work

B. find its hard to find a job abroad

C. want their children to be independent

D. want their children to go to university

8. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that satellite kids ___ .

A. will attend school every day

B. grow well in a foreign country

C. may be lonely in a foreign country

D. speak fluent English and have friends abroad