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  3. In 1791, George Washington picked the site of the nation’s capital—Washing

In 1791, George Washington picked the site of the nation’s capital—Washing

游客2024-08-19  41
问题       In 1791, George Washington picked the site of the nation’s capital—Washington,D.C.He also chose the spot where the President’s house would be built.The "Father of the Country" never saw the completed building, though.When he died in 1799, the walls and roof were just about finished.President John Adams and his wife, Abigail, were the first to live there.

      The Adamses arrived in Washington,D.C., in November of 1800.Stunned by what they saw, they tried to remain calm.Mud and nibble covered the grounds of their new home.A bridge of planks led from the roadway to the front door.All around the mansion stood the workers’ shacks.Washington was a village of some 40 houses, not the big city we know today.
      At least the President’s house was finished on the outside.Inside, everything was incomplete.Many of the walls had not been plastered.The central staircase was unfinished.The floors were rough boards.There was no indoor bathroom.The furniture was inadequate, too.There wasn’t nearly enough, and in the huge rooms the furniture looked like dollhouse furniture.
      Congress thought it had spent enough on the mansion.Abigail felt that much had been left undone.She complained that there were no lamps or mirrors.Compared with her cozy home in Boston, Massachusetts, this was cold and damp, and the firewood supply was insufficient to keep her 13 fireplaces burning and her rooms warm.To dry laundry, the first lady had to string up a clothesline in the huge East Room.
      In private, Abigail Adams complained about the living arrangements.In public, however, she praised the location of the house.After all, the huge building was the center of a new city springing up in the wilderness.With a sparkling new coat of white paint, "the white house" shone like a gem even against the drabbest surroundings.Built on a rise, it had sweeping views of hills, forests, and the Potomac River.Indeed, it seemed to hover above the earth rather than being sunk, as it actually was, into the side of a hill.
      Abigail Adams was a smart woman.She realized the White House—as it is now called—would have a great future.She knew that her present living conditions would soon change for the better."This house," she wrote to a relative, "is built for ages to come." [br] How did the Adamses feel when they saw their new home?
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答案 They were/ felt stunned.
解析 文章第二段第二句提到，亚当斯一家被眼前的景象惊呆了。由此可知本题答案。
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