单选题 The White House is the home of the President of the United States and his family. It wasn't called the White House until Teddy Roosevelt named it in 1901.
James Hoban designed the White House in 1792. He was awarded the job because he had won a contest sponsored by the government. His design had been selected as the best.
President John Adams was the first to live in the White House. When he and his wife, Abigail moved in, it was a huge mansion in the middle of a swamp. Many of the rooms were unfinished. Abigail used the famous East Room as a drying room for laundry. More rooms were decorated every year. Rare shrubs and trees were planted on the grounds.
Yet, all this work was for nothing. In the war of 1812, the British burned the mansion to the ground. The White House was rebuilt in 1817. The beauty of its decorations and furnishings has been growing ever since.

单选题 Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. President John Adams and the White House
B. White House Today
C. A House Full of History
D. White House Before 1812

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 本题是推断题。本题问“本文的最佳标题是以下哪个选项?”本篇主要讲述白宫历年来的兴衰变迁，因此选项C正确。其余各项于文中虽有提及，但不能概括全篇。

单选题 The White House was sponsored by the government. This means that the government______.
A. received the prize B. held the contest
C. did the designing D. was against having a contest

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 本题是事实细节题。本题问“The White．House was sponsored by the govern-ment．”的意思。见第二段“he had won a contest sponsored by the government”部分。 sponsor意为“发起，主办”，可见建造白宫是政府的主意，政府举办了比赛来征集设计方案。故答案为B。

单选题 James Hoban won the job of building the White House because______.
A. his plan of the house seemed better than the others'
B. he was the best-known architect of his time
C. he organized the contest
D. he applied for the job to the government

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 本题是事实细节题。本题问“为什么James Hoban获得了建造白宫这份工作?” 见第二段末句：“His design had been selected as the best．”其余各项无根据。故答案为A。

单选题 Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The present building of the White House has been standing for almost two centuries.
B. It was James Hoban who first got the idea of building the White House.
C. The number of the rooms in the White House has been growing ever since it was built.
D. The White House got its name at the turn of the century.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 本题是判断题，要求学生在通读全文的基础上做出正确判断。见第一段末句：“It wasn't called the White House until Teddy Roosevelt named it in 1901．”指出“白宫” 是在20世纪之交才得名的。不能选A，按原文白宫于1812年毁于战火，1817年才重建。故答案为D。

单选题 We can infer from the passage that the White House was first built______.
A. on a low and damp site B. among trees and flowers
C. on a small island D. on a small hill

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 本题是推断题。见第三段“it,was a：huge mansion in the middle of a swamp”部分。swamp意为“沼泽”，即低湿之地。不能选B，花木是以后才栽种的。故答案为A。