Question

Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, this story is about the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive (令人赞叹的) as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (纪念物) to celebrate their love.
The heartbroken Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out, and more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains under the center of the building.
Later, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days, eight years, imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange and sad story, people who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired its construction.
【小题1】The first two paragraphs were written mainly to show that ______.

A．the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building

B．India has some of the most famous buildings in the world

C．ancient Indian emperors were cruel

D．construction workers led a hard life in ancient India

【小题2】The Taj Mahal was first built as ______.

A．a memorial building	B．a tourist attraction
C．a prison	D．a gift to Mumtaz

【小题3】From the passage we can learn that Mumtaz probably died in ______.

A．1626

B．1653

C．1632

D．1634

【小题4】The underlined word “happiness” in the last paragraph refers to “______”.

A．the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal

B．the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal

C．the married happiness of the emperor and his wife

D．the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power

Answer 1

【小题1】A
【小题2】A
【小题3】C
【小题4】C

解析试题分析：本文介绍了泰姬陵背后美丽的爱情故事。印度国王沙．贾汗和王后泰姬·马哈尔幸福地生活了20年，但是在他们第十四个孩子即将出世的时候，王后不幸去世了。随后遵照王后的遗愿，国王用了22年的时间建成了著名的泰姬陵，成就了这个世界上的七大建筑奇迹之一。
【小题1】A推理判断题。前两段提出两个假设情况，在引起读者兴趣的同时说明了泰姬陵的不同寻常之处。所以A选项正确。
【小题2】A细节理解题。由文章第三段And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (纪念物) to celebrate their love.可知泰姬陵是用来纪念爱情的，故A正确。
【小题3】C细节理解题。从文章第四段more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains under the center of the building.可以推算出泰姬大约死于1632年，所以C选项正确。
【小题4】C词义猜测题。从文章内容可知泰姬陵的建造是为了纪念国王和王后的爱情，所以后人们见到泰姬陵时想到的应该是他们的爱情和幸福。所以C为正确选项。
考点：考查故事类短文阅读。