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  3. What does a city do with an 800-year-old church with no congregation? Well, it could make like the Dutch and convert it into a t

What does a city do with an 800-year-old church with no congregation? Well, it could make like the Dutch and convert it into a t

admin2012-05-04  69
问题     What does a city do with an 800-year-old church with no congregation? Well, it could make like the Dutch and convert it into a temple of books. The old Dominican church in Maastricht was being used for bicycle storage not long ago, but thanks to a radical refurbishment by Dutch architects, it has been turned into what could possibly be the most beautiful bookshop of all time.
    Selexyz Dominicanen stands tall in the center of the city. As a 13th century gothic church, it offers its visitors a breathtaking high ceiling, a magnificent nave, grand ornamentation, and an opportunity to worship; not at the great altar of God, but at the many altars of literature.
    Named as one of the "World’s 10 Best Bookshops" by the UK’s highly-regarded Guardian newspaper, the Selexyz Dominicanen has quickly become one of Maastricht’s tourist attractions. " After the Guardian article, this place has been a madhouse," remarks William Remmers, General Department Head of the store.
    The bookstore fits almost snugly between Maastricht’s two dominant squares, the Markt and the Vrijthof. The renovation project was led by Selexyz, a large Dutch bookstore chain, in collaboration with the city council of Maastricht.
    Still, Selexyz Dominicanen represents the first project in the Netherlands to turn a church into a bookstore. And, in fact, this conversion has been beneficial to the cultural heritage of the site. The project team has conducted considerable restoration on the ceiling paintings. One indication of the great care with which the renovation was undertaken is perhaps the time the project took. Selexyz made its proposal in 2002, and worked with the city council of Maastricht and Entre Deux for the next four years before its opening in 2006.
    The bookstore has generated much buzz in the online world. Crossroads’ photo feature on the opening of the store from the autumn of 2006 remains its most-viewed page. In addition, an Internet search reveals that there is also a good deal of interest from Japan.
    Asked about the Dutch reading habits, Remmers explains, " I think that the Dutch people like to read very much; they’re very versatile in their reading. The crime novels are very popular. " He adds, " Our English section sells very well. I think it has to do with a lot of people coming from Maastricht University who tend to read a little more in English.
    The Dutch, the students, and the expatriates certainly constitute a unique and vibrant reading culture in Maastricht. Appropriately, they all now have an equally splendid place to congregate.
The word "refurbishment" in Paragraph One probably means
选项 A、renovation.
B、reduction.
C、reform.
D、solution.
答案A
解析 语义题。首段第三句前半句提及多米尼加教堂过去的用途，后半句提及现在的用途，“aradical refurbishment by Dutch architects”是原因。根据常识，一个古老的教堂要改变其用途是需要加以修整，进行装饰的，renovation含有此意，符合此处语境，故A为答案。
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