↓请看题↓
Called “the father of the skyscraper,” the Home Insurance Building, 2._______(constructed, renovated, devised, invented) in Chicago in 1885 (and demolished in 1931), was 138 feet tall and 10 stories. It was the first building to effectively employ a supporting 3._______ (skeleton, scaffolding, ceiling, concrete) of steel beams and columns, allowing it to have many more windows than traditional masonry structures. But this new construction method made people worry that the building would fall down, leading the city to halt construction until they could 4._______ (exonerate, investigate, ameliorate, consecrate) the structure’s safety.
In 1929, auto tycoon Walter Chrysler took part in an intense race with the Bank of Manhattan Trust Company to build the world’s tallest skyscraper. Just when it looked like the bank had captured the 5. _______ (meaningless, coveted, royal, informal) title, workers at the Chrysler Building jacked a thin spire hidden inside the building through the top of the roof to win the contest (subsequently losing the title four months later to the Empire State Building). Chrysler also decorated his building to mirror his cars, with hubcaps, mudguards, and hood ornaments.
↓答案解析↓
Q3. skeleton: skeleton, 骨架,构架;scaffolding, 脚手架;ceiling, 天花板;concrete, 混凝土. 从上下文能看出在这里我们要说的是这个建筑是第一个引入钢铁架构的,所以应该是skeleton
Q4. investigate: exonerate, 免除责任,使免罪; investigate, 调查;ameliorate, 改善;consecrate, 奉献,献身于。在这里文章内容是说由于人们担心高楼的安全性,所以市政府暂停了建筑工作直到他们能够“调查”清楚安全性。所以应该是investigate.
Q5. coveted: meaningless, 无意义的;coveted, 梦寐以求的; royal, 皇家的;informal,非正式的。从上下文能看出,这是两栋摩天大厦对于世界第一高楼名号的争抢,所以这个title应该是他们都“梦寐以求的”,其他选项在此都不符合文章的含义。