Significantly, the use of exposed iron occurred mainly in the new building types produced by the Industrial Revolution: in factories, warehouses, commercial offices, exhibition halls, and railroad stations, where its practical advantages far outweighed its lack of status. Designers of the railroad stations of the new age explored the potential of iron, covering huge areas with spans that surpassed the great vaults of medieval churches and cathedrals. Paxton's Crystal Palace, designed to house the Great Exhibition of 1851,covered an area of 1848 feet by 408 feet in assembled units of glass set in iron frames. The Paris Exhibition of 1889 included both the widest span and the greatest height achieved so far with the Halle des Machines, spanning 362 feet, and the Eiffel Tower 1,000 feet high. However, these achievements were mocked by the artists of Paris as expensive and ugly foolishness. Iron, despite its structural advantages, had little aesthetic (审美的) status. The use of an exposed iron structure in the more traditional styles of architecture was slower to develop.
52. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A) Advances in iron processing in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
B) The effects of the Industrial Revolution on traditional architectural styles.
C) Advantages of stone and timber over steel as building materials.
D) The evolution of the use of iron in architecture.
53. Iron replaced stone and timber in the building of bridges because iron was considered_________.
A) more beautiful
B) new and modern
C) much stronger
D) easier to transport
54. According to Paragraph 3,the architectural significance of the Halle des Machines was its ________.
A) wide span
B) great height
C) unequaled beauty
D) assembled units of glass
55. How did the artists react to the buildings at the Paris Exhibition?
A) They tried to copy them.
B) They laughed at them.
C) They praised them.
D) They refused to pay to see them.
56. It can be inferred that the delayed use of exposed iron structures in traditional styles of architecture is best explained by________.
A) the impracticality of using iron for small, noncommercial buildings
B) the association of iron architecture with the problems of the Industrial Revolution
C) the general belief that iron offered less resistance to fire and harsh weather than traditional materials
D) the general perception that iron structures were not beautiful in appearance
Passage Two
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
Four months before Crown Prince Felipe says "si" ( "yes" in Spanish) to television journalist Letizia Ortiz,royal wedding fever is gripping Spain.
Shops are offering the biggest variety of wedding souvenirs (纪念品),from plates and bottle-openers to copies of the couple's engagement ring.
The couple have made only a few carefully staged public appearances to reduce the scrutiny (仔细检查).
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