Buildings Full of Light Roman buildings were popular only as long as builders we

Buildings Full of Light

Romanbuildings were popular only as long as builders were limited in how tall theycould make a building. They had not learned how to support the walls of a tallbuilding.

About1140, a new kind of building appeared in Europe. These new buildings werechurches, or cathedrals, and they were seen first in France. Today, thesecathedrals are called Gothic(哥特式的) buildings. Their pointedarches(拱门) rise toward the sky. Theylook very different from the Roman buildings that have low arches and thickwalls. Unlike the dark Pantheon(万神殿) all these buildings are fullof light.

Buildersof the Gothic cathedrals found a new way to build strong walls and tall arches.They built supports outside the building. These supports, called “flyingbuttress(扶壁) ”, helped hold the walls.Buttress made it possible to build high buildings.

Oneend of a narrow beam(栋梁), or the flying buttress, wasplanted away from the wall. The other end was placed high up on the wall. Theflying buttress acted like a crutch(支柱).

Sincethese buildings had many windows, artists made pictures in them by using smallpieces of colored glass held together with lead(铅).Sunlight shines through the glass and made soft splashes of color inside thechurches. Stained(染色的) glass windows and flyingbuttresses were part of every Gothic cathedral.

1.The Roman did not build tall buildings because__________.

A.they didn’t want to use flying buttress

B.they didn’t know how to support tall walls

C.they didn’t need tall buildings

D.people liked low, round buildings better

2.The windows of Gothic cathedrals__________.

A.were made of colored glass

B.were very thick

C.were narrow and long

D.were like those in Roman buildings

3.We can infer from the passage that__________.

A.glass windows could support Gothic buildings

B.flying buttresses were only used to make the building more beautiful

C.tall buildings needed extra support for their walls

D.building Gothic cathedrals was an easy job

4.Which of the following is TRUE?

A.Roman buildings had no outside supports.

B.Roman buildings had large colored glass windows.

C.The walls of Roman buildings were not very thick.

D.Roman buildings looked much like Gothic buildings.

试题答案

答案：B;A;C;A