听力题 The Forbidden City (Imperial Palace) in the heart of Beijing is the largest and most intact imperial palace and (36) 1building complex in China, and the world at large. Its (37) 2 began in 1406 and was completed 14 years later, having a history so far of some 580 years. 24 (38) 3from the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties lived and ruled China from there. Most of the buildings in the Forbidden City were (39) 4many times, although they maintained the original architectural style. The Forbidden City, (40) 5753 meters from east to west, and 961 meters from north to south, makes a rectangular (41) 6and covers a total area of 720,000 square meters. It consists of several dozen compounds of (42) 7sizes and some 9,900 bays of rooms, with a total floor area of 150,000 square meters. Most of the buildings were built with wood, (43) 8 with yellow glazed tiles and built on blue-and-white stone foundations, looking solemn and brilliant. City walls were 10 meters high, and a 52-meter-wide moat (护城河) surrounds the Forbidden City. (44) 9. The building arrangement within the Forbidden City is symmetrical. The Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, (45) 10 and the Hall of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union and the Hall of Earthly Tranquility, comprising the inner palace, stand in a line from south to north on the central axis. (46) 11. The Forbidden City was made part of the world cultural heritage list in 1987.