阅读理解。
How would you like to come home after a long day, open the door, and walk into an elephant? That's what
you would do if you lived in Elephant House in Margate, New Jersey. The elephant-shaped house was built in
1881 by James Lafferty. In 1962, Herbert Green built a chicken-shaped house.
Sarah Winchester tried to build a ghost-proof house in San Jose California. Workers built fake chimneys,
doors that open onto blank walls and stairs that lead nowhere. Many rooms were torn down and then rebuilt in
a new way to confuse the ghosts. It took 38 years to complete the house!
Some houses are built of strange materials. A house in Pigeon Cove, Massachusetts, is built of more than
100,000 newspapers. In Canada, George Pat built a house entirely out of bottles.
Some homes stand for great wealth and power. The Palace of Alhambra in Spain is one of the most beautiful
homes in the world. The man who built it loved water. A stream runs through all 9 acres of the palace. In each
room there is a small pool of sparkling water.
Wealthy Americans design dream houses, too. In 1895, Cornelius Vanderbilt built and moved into a house
named the breakers. He called it his summer cottage. It cost $ 10 million to build and had walls decorated with
gold. This "summer cottage" could hold 60 guests comfortably.
Dream houses don't have to be expensive. A man named Baldasera built a house with 90 rooms for about
only $ 200 by digging under the earth. Baldasera worked alone. He spent about 40 years completing his
underground house.
1. The passage mainly talks about _____.
A. old houses
B. building materials
C. building history
D. unusual houses
2. The builder of the Palace of Alhambra is probably proud of _____.
A. the shining pools in the rooms
B. his special personality
C. his mother country Spain
D. the large area of his house
3. The Breakers was built _____.
A. in 1881 by Sarah Winchester
B. in 1881 by James Lafferty
C. in 1895 by Cornelius Vanderbilt
D. in 1962 by Herbert Green
4. Baldasera built his house _____.
A. without any tools
B. without spending much money
C. with his family
D. with much help from others
