阅读理解 France’s beloved cathedral only minutes away from complete destruction A) Notre Dame Cathedral in the heart of Paris was within "15 to 30 minutes" of complete destruction as firefighters battled to stop flames reaching its bell towers on Monday evening, French authorities have revealed. A greater disaster was averted by members of the Paris fire brigade, who risked their lives to remain inside the burning monument to create a wall of water between the raging fire and the two towers on the west of the building. B) The revelation of how close France came to losing its most famous cathedral emerged as police investigators questioned workers involved in the restoration of the monument to try to establish the cause of the devastating blaze. Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz said that an initial fire alert was sounded at 6:20 pm on Monday evening but no fire was found. The second alert was sounded at 6:43 pm, and the blaze was discovered on the roof. C) More than € 650 million was raised in a few hours on Tuesday as French business leaders and global corporations announced they would donate to a restoration campaign launched by the president, Emmanuel Macron. But as the emergency services picked through the burnt debris, a row was resurfacing over accusations that the beloved cathedral, immortalised in Victor Hugo’s novel, was already crumbling before the fire. D) The cathedral is owned by the French state and has been at the centre of a years-long dispute over who should finance restoration work of the collapsing staircases, crumbling statues and cracked walls. Jean-Michel Leniaud, the president of the scientific council at the National Heritage Institute, said: "What happened was bound to happen. The lack of adequate maintenance and daily attention to such a majestic building is the cause of this catastrophe." After the blaze was declared completely extinguished, 15 hours after it started, the junior interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said the structure had been saved but remained vulnerable. He praised the actions of the firefighters but admitted the fate of the cathedral had been uncertain. "They saved the main structure, but it all came down to 15 -30 minutes," Nunez said. E) In a surprise televised address on Tuesday evening, Macron said he wanted to see the cathedral rebuilt within five years. "The fire at Notre Dame reminds us that we will always have challenges to overcome," Macron said, "Notre Dame is our history, our literature, the centre of our life. It is the standard by which we measure our distances. It’s so many books, so many paintings. It’s the cathedral of every French person, even those who have never visited it. This history is ours and so we will rebuild Notre Dame. It is what the French people expect; it is what our history deserves. It is our deep destiny. We will rebuild Notre Dame so it is even more beautiful than before. I want it done in the next five years. We can do it. After the time of testing comes a time of reflection and then of action." F) The fire, which had started at the base of the 93-metre spire (尖塔) at about 6:40 pm on Monday, spread through the cathedral’s roof, made up of hundreds of oak beams, some dating back to the 13th century. These beams, known as la forêt (the forest) because of their density, formed the cross-shaped roof that ran the length of the central part of the cathedral. As hundreds of tourists and Parisians stood and watched the flames leaping from the roof, there was shock and tears as the cathedral spire caught fire, burned and then collapsed into itself. G) A collection of dramatic videos and photos quickly spread across social media, showing the horrifying destruction, and attracting emotional responses from people all over the world. Indeed, within minutes the fire occupied headlines of every major global newspaper and television network. This is not surprising given Notre Dame Cathedral, meaning "Our Lady", is one of the most recognised symbols of the city of Paris attracting millions of tourists every year. H) While the world looked on, the 500 firefighters at the scene then battled to prevent the flames from reaching the two main towers, where the cathedral bells hang. If the wooden frame of the towers had caught fire, it could have sent the bells—the largest of which, the Emmanuel Bell, weighs 13 tons— crashing down, potentially causing the collapse of both towers. Police and fire services will spend the next 48 hours assessing the "security and safety" of the 850-year-old structure. Nunez said: "We have identified vulnerabilities throughout the structure, all of which still need securing." As a result, residents of five buildings around the northern side of the cathedral were being temporarily evacuated, he added. Architects have identified three main holes in the structure, in the locations of the spire, the main hall and the upper rooms to the north of the central aisle. Most of the wooden roof beams have been burned, and parts of the concrete holding up the roof have collapsed. I) The interior minister, Christophe Castaner, visited the cathedral on Tuesday afternoon to see the extent of the devastation. Ash covered the marble diamond-patterned floor and floated in large pools of grey water from the fire hoses. Behind a heap of blackened oak beams that lay piled up where they had fallen, daylight from vast holes in the cathedral roof lit a golden cross over a statue by Nicolas Coustou, which appeared to have escaped damage. Preliminary inspections also suggested the three ornate (装饰华丽的) stained glass "rose" windows appeared to have survived the fire, officials said. However, fire officers have said a complete inventory of the damage will not be possible until the cathedral structure has been deemed safe. J) The culture minister, Franck Riester, said religious relics saved from the cathedral were being securely held at the Hotel de Ville, and works of art that sustained smoke damage were being taken to the Louvre, the world’s largest art museum, where they would be dried out, repaired and stored. Sixteen copper statues that decorated the spire had been removed for restoration only a few days before the fire. Relics at the top of the spire are believed lost as the spire was destroyed. As well as damage from the heat, which firefighters said reached more than 800 ℃, experts also need to assess damage from the vast quantities of water firefighters poured into the cathedral. One casualty of this was The Great Organ constructed in the 1730s, which was said to have escaped the flames but been significantly damaged by water. K) French political commentators noted the devastating fire had succeeded where Macron had failed in uniting the country. But criticism over the original state of the building is likely to intensify over coming days. Leniaud told La Croix newspaper: "This is not about looking for people to blame. The responsibility is collective because this is the most loved monument in the country." Alexandre Gady, an art historian, agreed. "We’ve been saying for years that the budget for maintaining historic monuments is too low," Gady said. The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an inquiry into "involuntary destruction by fire", indicating they believe the cause of the blaze was accidental rather than criminal.

问答题 The total amount of damage to Notre Dame Cathedral can be assessed only when its structure is considered safe.

【正确答案】I

【答案解析】由题干中的damage和only when its structure is considered safe定位到文章I)段最后一句。同义转述题。I)段定位句提到，在确认大教堂结构安全之前，无法完整清点出火灾造成的损失。题干中的the total amount of damage对应原文中的a complete inventory of the damage，题干中的when its structure is considered safe是原文中until the cathedral structure has been deemed safe的同义转述，题干中的can be assessed only when是对原文中will not be possible until的同义转述，故答案为I)。

问答题 Once again people began to argue whether Notre Dame Cathedral was going to collapse even without the fire.

【正确答案】C

【答案解析】由题干中的once again和was going to collapse even without the fire定位到C)段第二句。同义转述题。C)段定位句提到，当应急服务机构人员在烧毁的废墟中进行搜寻时，争论又起，人们认为这座大教堂在火灾发生前就已经摇摇欲坠了。题干中的once again people began to argue对应原文中的a row was resurfacing over accusations，题干中的was going to collapse even without the fire是对原文中was already crumbling before the fire的同义转述，故答案为C)。

问答题 The Notre Dame Cathedral catastrophe was said to have helped unite the French nation.

【正确答案】K

【答案解析】由题干中的unite the French nation定位到文章K)段第一句。细节推断题。K)段定位句提到，马克龙总统未能促进国家团结，但这场毁灭性的火灾做到了，可以推断出，火灾的发生是一个契机，促使全国人民团结在一起。题干中的have helped unite the French nation是对该句的理解和推断，故答案为K)。

问答题 The roof of Notre Dame Cathedral was built with large numbers of densely laid-out wood beams.

【正确答案】F

【答案解析】由题干中的roof、densely和beams定位到F)段第一、二句。同义转述题。F)段定位句提到，大教堂的屋顶由数百根橡木横梁组成，这些横梁因其排列紧密，被人们称为“森林”。题干中的densely对应原文中的density，large numbers of对应原文中的hundreds of，题干中的was built with是原文中made up of的同义转述，故答案为F)。

问答题 Renovation workers of Notre Dame Cathedral were questioned to find out the cause of the accident.

【正确答案】B

【答案解析】由题干中的were questioned和the cause of the accident定位到文章B)段第一句。同义转述题。B)段定位句提到，警方调查人员询问了参与修复建筑的工人，试图确定引起火灾的原因。题干中的renovation workers对应原文中的workers involved in the restoration of the monument，题干中的were questioned是原文中questioned的被动语态形式，题干中的the cause of the accident是原文中the cause of the devastating blaze的同义转述，故答案为B)。

问答题 Had the bell towers’ wooden frames burned down, the heavy bells would have crashed down.

【正确答案】H

【答案解析】由题干中的wooden frames、bells和crashed down定位到H)段第二句。同义转述题。H)段定位句提到，如果钟楼的木质框架着火，上面的那些钟有可能会掉下来，两座钟楼可能会因此倒塌。题干中的wooden frames对应原文中的the wooden frame，burned down对应原文中的caught fire，crashed down和原文中的crashing down一致，题干中的“Had…，the heavy bells would have crashed.”是原文中 “If…had caught fire, it could have sent…crashing down.”的同义转述，且都表示一种虚拟语气，故答案为H)。

问答题 The timely action of the firefighters prevented the fire from reaching the Cathedral’s bell towers.

【正确答案】A

【答案解析】由题干中的firefighters和reaching the Cathedral’s bell towers定位到文章A)段。同义转述题。A)段指出，巴黎消防员为了防止大火烧到钟楼，在时间紧迫的情况下，冒着生命危险在熊熊大火和建筑西边的两座钟楼之间筑起一道水墙，从而避免了一场更大的灾难。题干中的prevented是原文中averted的同义词，reaching the Cathedral’s bell towers对应原文中的reaching its bell towers, timely action也对应原文中within “15 to 30 minutes”体现出的紧急状态，故答案为A)。

问答题 Apart from the fire, the water used to extinguish it also caused a lot of damage to Notre Dame Cathedral.

【正确答案】J

【答案解析】由题干中的the water used to extinguish it定位到文章J)段最后两句。同义转述题。J)段定位句指出，除了高温造成的损害外，专家们还需要评估由于消防员向教堂大量泼水而造成的损失。建于18世纪30年代的大风琴就是其中一个牺牲品，据说它躲过了火焰，却因水遭到严重损坏。题干中的apart from the fire对应原文中的as well as damage from the heat，题干中的the water used to extinguish it also caused a lot of damage to是对原文中damage from the vast quantities of water firefighters poured into the cathedral的同义转述，故答案为J)。

问答题 There has been argument over the years as to who should pay for the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral.

【正确答案】D

【答案解析】由题干中的argument和who should pay for the restoration of定位到文章D)段第一句。同义转述题。D)段定位句提到，多年来人们一直在争论，到底谁应该出资修复坍塌的楼梯、摇摇欲坠的雕像和破裂的墙壁。题干中的argument是原文中dispute的同义词，题干中over the years是原文中years-long的同义转述，题干中的pay for the restoration of是对原文中finance restoration work of的同义转述，故答案为D)。

问答题 News of the Notre Dame Cathedral catastrophe instantly caught media attention throughout the world.

【正确答案】G

【答案解析】由题干中的media和throughout the world定位到文章G)段第一句。同义转述题。G)段定位句提到，一组视频和照片记录了圣母院大教堂遭受火灾的过程，它们迅速在社交媒体上传播，得到了世界各地人们的关注和情感共鸣。题干中的instantly caught media attention是对原文中quickly spread across social media的同义转述，题干中的throughout the world是原文中all over the world的同义词组，故答案为G)。