阅读理解
Jan. 6 issue--The weather outside was icy, but inside, 250 journalists were gathered in a Manhattan office complex to see the latest schemes for rebuilding the World Trade Center site. Last week was the first hope that something good for the city could emerge from September 11.
A year ago New York Governor George Pataki established the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to be responsible for the rebuilding. The agency has bungled the effort more than once. Last summer the public gave its first set of plans a Bronx cheer (嘘声), urging the LMDC to hold an international competition for new designs. From more than 400 applicants, it chose six teams of designers (a seventh firm, LMDC consultants Peterson/Littenberg, was added later).
The most futuristic aspects of the schemes are in the skyline--several call for the tallest buildings in the world. British architect Norman Foster says his firm''s two towers "kiss and touch and become one"; Team United offers a cluster of towers that lean into each other; the team of Richard Meier, Peter Eisenman, Charles Gwathmey and Steven Holl proposes five high rises, joined by horizontal connectors. All these links were inspired by the need to give multiple exit options.
But more critical--and more likely to become reality than any of these specific towers--is how the various schemes treat the street level and underground. Most, by putting rentable office space up high, were generous with parks and cultural facilities. The teams were told to create sites for a memorial--and several couldn''t resist designing one. Libeskind was struck by the "great slurry (泥浆) wails" 70 feet down that survived the attack, a dike (堤防) against landfill and an engineering miracle of its time--and he leaves them as a memorial, adding a waterfall and a museum. Foster suggests two memorials in the areas of the Twin Towers'' foot prints, one for families of victims, the other for the public.
单选题
The term "bungled" in Line 2 of Paragraph 2 can be best replaced by ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】语义题。根据下一句Last summer the public gave its first set of plans a Bronx cheer可知公众对其最初计划并不认可，可见bungled含有对其工作的否定意义，故本题答案为D。
单选题
Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】细节题。分别对四个选项进行定位：A中的international competition出现在第2段第3句，从后面所述可看出有400多家提供了设计方案，所以其肯定是得到了设计者的很大关注， A的表述无误；B中的teams of designers出现在第二段最后一句，本来有6家入选，后来又有一家加入，因此一共7家入选，其表述正确；D的表述与第一段最后一句吻合；而C与第2段第3句Last summer the public gave its first set of plans a Bronx cheer不符，为本题答案。
单选题
The passage is mainly about ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】主旨题。the schemes for rebuilding the World Trade Center site这个核心短语在文章的第一段就扒出，后文频频出现schemes这个字眼，所以本文重点是在介绍这些参加竞选的计划，故答案为B。
单选题
It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】推断题。分别对四个选项进行定位。文章并未提及the public对于high-rises的态度，故A错；根据倒数第2段最后一句All these links were inspired by the need to give multiple exit options可判断正确答案为B；C、D在文中都没有讲述。
单选题
According to the passage, the most decisive factor in the competition lies in ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】细节题。段落首尾句非常重要，其小含有转折词、特殊标点符号、比较句型的句子更应引起重视，而文章中的最后一段第1句包含了所有这些特征：But more critical．．．is how the various schemes treat the street level and underground，正是这句话告诉我们，本题答案为A。