France's beloved cathedral only minutes away from complete destruction
A)Notre Dame Cathedral in the heart of Pairs was within "15 to 30 minutes" of complete destruction as firefighters battled to stop flames reaching its bell towers on Monday evening,French authorities have revealed .A greater disaster was averted by members of the Paris fire brigade ,who risked their lives to remain inside the burning monument to create a wall of water between the raging fire and the two towers on the west of the building.
B) The revelation of how close France came to losing its most famous cathedral emerged as police investigators questioned workers involved in the restoration of the monument to try to establish the cause of the devastating blaze . Paris Prosecutor Remy Heitz said that an initial fire alert was sounded at 6:20pm on Monday evening but no fire was found.The second alert was sounded at 6:43pm,and the blaze was discovered on the roof.
C)More than $650 million was raised in a few hours on Tuesday as French business leaders and global corporations announced they would donate to a restoration campaign launched by the president,Emmanuel Macron.But as the emergency services picked through the burnt debris,a row was resurfacing over accusations that the beloved cathedral,immortalised in Victor Hugo's novel,was already crumbling before the fire.
D)The cathedral is owned by the French state and has been at the centre of a years-long dispute over who should finance restoration work of the collapsing staircases,crumbling statues and cracked walls.Jean-Michel Leniaud,the president of the scientific council at the National Heritage Institute,said:"What happened was bound to happen.The lack of adequate maintenance and daily attention to such a majestic building is the cause of this catastrophe".After the blaze was declared completely extinguished,15 hours after it started,the junior interior ,Laurent Nunez,said the structure had been saved but remained vulnerable.He praised the actions of the firefighters but admitted the face of the cathedral had been uncertain."They saved the main structure,but it all came down to 15-30 minutes,"Nunez said.
E)In a surprise televised address on Tuesday evening,Macron said he wanted to see the cathedral rebuilt within five years."The fire at Notre Dame reminds us that we will always have challenges to overcome,"Macron said ."Notre Dame is our history ,our literature ,the centre of our life,It is the standard by which we measure our distances,It's so many books,so many paintings.It's the cathedral of every French person ,even,those "who have never visited it,This history is ours and so we will rebuild Notre Dame.It is what the French people expect;it is what our history deserves.It is our deep destiny.We will rebuild Notre Dame so it is even more beautiful than before.I want it done in the next five years.We can do it.After the time of testing comes a time of reflection and than of action"
F)The fire,which had started at the base of the 93-metre spire(尖塔) at about 6:40pm on Monday,spread through the cathedral's roof,made up of hundreds of oak beams,some dating back to the 13th century.These beams,known as la foret(the forest)because of their density,formed the cross-shaped roof that ran the length of the central part of the cathedral. As hundreds of tourists and Parisians stood and watched the flames leaping from the roof,there was shock and tears as the cathedral spire caught fire,burned and the collapsed into itself.
G)A collection of dramatic videos and photos quickly spread across social media,showing the horrifying destruction,and attracting emotional responses from people all over the word. Indeed,within minutes the fire occupied headlines of every major global newspaper and television network.This is not surprising given Notre Dame Cathedral,meaning"Our Lady",is one of the most recognised symbols of the city of Paris attracting millions of tourists every year.
H)While the word looked on,the 500 firefighters at the scene then battled to prevent the flame of the towers had caught fire,it could have sent the bells-the largest of which,the Emmanuel Bell,weighs 13 tons - crashing down,potentially causing the collapse of both towers.Police and fire services will spend the next 48 hours assessing the "security and safety" of the 850-year-old structure.Nunez said:"We have identified vulnerabilities throughout the structure,all of which still need securing." As a result,residents of five buildings around the northern side of the cathedral were being temporarily evacuated, he added. Architects have identified three main holes in the structure,in the locations of the spire,the main hall and the upper rooms to the north the central aisle. Most of the wooden roof beams have been burned,and parts of the concrete holding up the roof have collapsed.
I)The interior minister,Christophe Castaner, visited the cathedral on Tuesday afternoon to see the extent of the devastation.Ash covered the marble diamond-patterned floor and floated in large pools of grey water from the fire hoses.Behind a heap of blackened oak beams that lay piled up where they had fallen,daylight from vast holes in the cathedral roof lit a golden cross over a statue by Nicolas Coustou,which appeared to have escaped damage.Preliminary inspections also suggested the three ornate(装饰华丽的) stained glass"rose"windows appeared to have survived the fire,officials said.However,fire officers have said a complete inventory of the damage will not be possible until the cathedral structure has been deemed safe.
J) The culture minister, frank Riester said religious relics saved from the cathedral were being
securely held at the hotel de ville，and works of art that sustained smoke damage were being taken to the louvre，the world"s largest art decorated the spire had been removed lost as the spire was destroyed. AS well as damage from the heat， which firefighters said reached more than 800℃，experts also need to assess damage from the vast quantities of water firefighters poured into the cathedral. one casualty of this was the great organ constructed in the 1730s， which was said to have escaped the flames but been significantly damaged by water.
K)French political commentators noted the devastating fire had succeeded where Macron had failed in uniting the country. But criticism over the original state of the building is likely to intensify over coming days. Leniaud told La Croix newspaper： This is not about looking for people to blame. The responsibility is collective because this is the most loved monument in the country, Alexandre Gady, an art historian, agreed. we’ve been saying " for years that the budget for maintaining historic monuments is too low;' Gady said. The Paris prosecutors office has opened an inquiry into "involuntary destruction by fire'; indicating they believe the cause of the blaze was accidental rather than criminal.
36. The total amount of damage to Notre Dame Cathedral structure is considered safe.
37. Once again people began to argue whether Notre Dame Cathedral was going to collapse even without the fire.
38. The Notre Dame Cathedral catastrophe was said to have helped unite the French nation.
39. The roof of Notre Dame Cathedral was built with large numbers of densely laid-out wood beams.
40. Renovation workers of Notre Dame Cathedral were questioned to find out the cause of the accident.
41. Had the bell towers5 wooden frames burned down, the heavy bells would have crashed down.
42.The timely action of the firefighters prevented the fire from reaching the Cathedral's bell towers.
43.Apart from the fire,the water used to extinguish it also caused a lot of damage to Notre Dame Cathedral.
44. There has been argument over the years as to who should pay for the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral.
45. News of the Notre Dame Cathedral catastrophe instantly caught media attention throughout the world.
答案解析：
36. I由题干中的关键词"total amount of damage"和"structure is considered safe"定位到I段，提到"However, fire officers have said a complete inventory of the damage will not be possible until the cathedral structure has been deemed safe."，即目前无法完全统计损失，直到大教堂结构被认为安全。但反向思考，题干表达的是“损失总额在结构被确认为安全后才能得知”，与I段内容相符的逻辑是结构安全是评估损失的前提，虽非直接提及，但从上下文推断，结构安全是后续工作的基础，所以选I(此处理解为题干意图为结构安全后才能全面评估损失，而I段提到了结构安全是评估损失的前提)。
37. C由题干中的关键词"argue"和"collapse even without the fire"定位到C段，C段提到"a row was resurfacing over accusations that the beloved cathedral... was already crumbling before the fire."，即有人指责大教堂在火灾前就已经摇摇欲坠，所以选C。
38. K由题干中的关键词"helped unite the French nation"定位到K段，K段提到"French political commentators noted the devastating fire had succeeded where Macron had failed in uniting the country."，即这场灾难在团结国家方面取得了马克龙未能取得的成功，所以选K。
39. F由题干中的关键词"roof"和"densely laid-out wood beams"定位到F段，F段明确提到"The cathedral's roof, made up of hundreds of oak beams, some dating back to the 13th century. These beams, known as la foret (the forest) because of their density..."，即屋顶由数百根橡木梁构成，因其密集而被称为“森林”，所以选F。
40. B 由题干中的关键词"Renovation workers"和"questioned"定位到B段，B段提到"police investigators questioned workers involved in the restoration of the monument to try to establish the cause of the devastating blaze."，即警察调查员询问了参与修复工作的工人，以确定火灾原因，所以选B。
41. H 由题干中的关键词"bell towers' wooden frames burned down"和"heavy bells would have crashed down"定位到H段，H段提到"if the towers had caught fire, it could have sent the bells... crashing down..."，即如果塔楼着火，可能会导致钟楼倒塌，所以选H。
42. A由题干中的关键词"timely action of the firefighters"和"prevented the fire from reaching the bell towers"定位到A段，A段提到"A greater disaster was averted by members of the Paris fire brigade, who risked their lives to remain inside the burning monument to create a wall of water between the raging fire and the two towers..."，即消防员冒着生命危险在大火和塔楼之间建立水墙，防止了大灾难的发生，所以选A。
43. J 由题干中的关键词"Apart from the fire"和"water also caused a lot of damage"定位到J段，J段提到"experts also need to assess damage from the vast quantities of water firefighters poured into the cathedral."，即除了火灾本身，消防员用来灭火的大量水也造成了损害，所以选J。
44. D由题干中的关键词"argument over the years"和"who should pay for the restoration"定位到D段，D段提到"The cathedral is owned by the French state and has been at the centre of a years-long dispute over who should finance restoration work..."，即大教堂归法国政府所有，多年来一直存在关于谁应该资助修复工作的争议，所以选D。
45. G 由题干中的关键词"News of the catastrophe"和"caught media attention throughout the world"定位到G段，G段提到"A collection of dramatic videos and photos quickly spread across social media... and attracting emotional responses from people all over the world. Indeed, within minutes the fire occupied headlines of every major global newspaper and television network."，即灾难的消息迅速在社交媒体上传播，并吸引了全球的关注，几分钟内就登上了各大报纸和电视网络头条，所以选G。
