If we say the four great inventions (Gunpowder,Compass,Paper and Art of Printing) reflected ancient China’s scientific achievements,then Zhaozhou Stone Bridge perfectly represented one of the greatest contributions to ancient China’s bridge building.Nobody was unfamiliar with the stone bridge full of legends and vivid folk stories.

The ancient Zhaozhou stone bridge started to be built in 590 during the Sui Dynasty (581～618) and established in 608.The pioneer for building the bridge was Li Chun who overcame unimaginable difficulties,undergoing all hardships.The location of the bridge is in Zhao County south,Hebei Province.It lay across the Xiaoshui River,far away from the mountains that provided rocky materials.In ancient times,it was such a busy,deep and wide river that could be used as an important carriage to transport heavy rocks and other materials.As we know,no train,no lifting machine could be used to move granite(花岗岩)blocks to the construction site.As an intelligent stonemason and engineer,Li Chun worked out his plan and design all from his own direct observation and investigation.It took his whole life-time in completing the great historical project inChina.Nowadays it is not only a historical remarkable model of architecture,but also a brilliant Chinese cultural crystallization(结晶) of wisdom.

The entire length of the bridge is 50.82 meters with 10 meters width.The whole stone bridge looks like a big bow,the span of which is 37.02 meters,and its height from the top to the surface of water at a regular position is 7.23 meters.The bridge arch seems to be moving smoothly and flatly.The whole arch consists of 28 big granite blocks connected each other tightly together.On both end sides of the general arch there are 4 smaller arches,2 of which on one side,the other 2 on the other side.The smaller arches could be used to decrease the weight of the bridge and save stone materials,and help flood get through easily,which seems to be much prettier.Such a hard-thinking and careful consideration of the engineering article is really a model of design and layout.The span was much wider than the other stone bridge in ancient times all over China.

Today Zhaozhou Stone Bridge is one of international cultural relics and perfectly protected and preserved by the concerned administration of China.

1.The best title of this passage is _________.

A.Great engineer in ancient China　　　　　 B.Zhaozhou stone bridge

C.Four great inventions　　　　　　　　　 D.How to build a bridge

2.The third paragraph mainly tells us _________.

A.the materials of Zhaozhou bridge　　　 B.the structure of Zhaozhou bridge

C.the arches of Zhaozhou bridge　　　　　 D.the importance of Zhaozhou bridge

3.The underlined word “carriage” probably refers to _________.

A.cart　　　　　 B.transport　　　　 C.channel　　　　 D.resourse

 

If Mickey Mouse is a westerner who has captured the world，Hello Kitty is the world’s sweetheart from Asia. With its two innocent black eyes and the cute ribbon on its ear，this white-faced kitten has captivated(迷住）the hearts of women of all ages since 1974.

　 Hello Kitty is found on more than 50 thousand items，including toys，school supplies，make-up and even neckties.

　 To celebrate the character’s 38' birthday，an exhibition called“Inside Kitty" is underway at the Seongnam Arts Center in Yatab-dong.

　 “Kitty was not popular at all at first，even in Japan. Only since 1985，11 years after it was born，have people started to pay attention to it，”Yuko Yamaguchi，one of the designers of the character，told the press.

　 “Hello Kitty was only for kids then. But in 1987，I got a letter from a high school student who said that her friends teased her because she had a Hello Kitty product. She asked the company to make something that did not look strange for her to carry around. Since then we’ve tried to come up with things that all ages can enjoy，”Yamaguchi said.

　 Hello Kitty became popular after being displayed in Anna Sui boutiques(精品店）in the United States. Young women from all over the world have been in love with the character ever since. The boutique of MAC，a make-up brand，packed，on the day the brand was released，its first products made in collaboration with Hello Kitty.

“The character has to communicate with people. It should change over time，and always stay fashionable，＂Yamaguchi said.

　 “Inside Kitty" starts by viewing the past of the character. Kitty fans will be delighted to see Hello Kitty items from throughout the past 38 years on display.