D
The Palace Museum, known as the Forbidden City(紫禁城）, was the imperial(帝王的) palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the early 15th century, large-size construction caused 100,000 common people to lead a hard life. The construction took 14 years and was finished in 1420. In the following year, the capital of Ming Dynasty was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. Twenty-four emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties ruled from the Forbidden City. The last dynasty fell in 1911, but Emperor Puyi still lived in the inner court. It was not until 1925 that the complex buildings were changed into a museum. Since then, the Palace has been opened to the public.
The Palace Museum is rectangular(长方形的) in shape, about 960 meters long from north to south and 750 meters wide from west to east. There is a 10-meter-high wall, encircled by a 52-meter-wide moat(护城河). In the Ming Dynasty, the wood needed for the building was brought mostly from Sichuan and Hunan Province, while in the Qing Dynasty, it was cut from the northeast of China. Most of the stones were mined from the suburban(郊外的) district of Fangshan and other districts. Construction of the Forbidden City brought huge hardship to the laboring people.
The palace is the largest piece of ancient Chinese architecture(建筑) still standing. Some of the buildings were damaged by lightning and rebuilt in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The palace has been expanded several times, but the original design was preserved. After liberation, some costly renovations(翻新) were done and the Palace Museum is listed as one of the important historical sites under special preservation by the Chinese government.
33. What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?
A. The origin of the name "the Forbidden City".
B. The Forbidden City and emperors.
C. The open to the public of the Forbidden City.
D. The period of the construction of the Forbidden City
34. The Forbidden City is also called .
A. the History Museum B. the People's Site
C. the Palace Museum D. the Summer Palace
35. The Forbidden City began to be constructed in .2·1·c·n·j·y
A. 1911 B. 1421 C. 1406 D. 1420
