Casablanca

Casablanca is a city of northwest Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean south-southwest of Tangier. Founded by its Portuguese in the 16^th century, it became a center of French influence in Africa after 1907. It is now Morocco’s largest city. Casablanca is a modern city --- and beautiful in its own respect. It gets the name from Spanish, means “white house”, and the Hollywood film Casablanca made this white city more famous all over the world. Among the most visible aspects of Casablanca are the wide boulevards flanked by white, tall buildings. The streets run out as the leaves of a fan from the Place des Nations Unies. This place is the focal point of downtown Casablanca. The old city of Casablanca is conveniently located --- just off the main town square from where avenues radiate, and near the sea.

Questions:

1. The people from where founded the city of Casablanca?

A. France

B. Britain

C. Spain

D. Portugal

2. The most appealing part of Casablanca is ________.

A. the white building

B. the wide boulevard

C. the Place des Unies

D. tall building

Keys:

1. D

2. B

【难词详解】

boulevard :  n. a wide road in a town or city, often with trees along the sides   林荫大道

flank :  v. to be on both sides of someone or something  两侧有……，位于……两侧

e.g.   mountains flanking the road    公路两旁的群山

focal point : n. the person or thing that you pay most attention to （注意力的）焦点，重点

radiate ：v. if things radiate from a central point, they spread out in different directions from that point   [ + from / out ]   从中心散开

【背景知识】

卡萨布兰卡(Casablanca)得名于西班牙语，意即为“白色的房子”。卡萨布兰卡是摩洛哥第一大城市。美国电影《卡萨布兰卡》更是让这座白色之城闻名世界。由于“卡萨布兰卡”实在响亮，知道城市原名“达尔贝达”(DarelBeida)的人反倒不多了。卡萨布兰卡是摩洛哥最大港口城市，濒临大西洋。原称卡萨布兰卡，摩洛哥独立后改称达尔贝达（阿拉伯语：الدار البيضاء）达尔贝达是摩洛哥的最大城市和主要港口，也是摩洛哥的商业金融中心地。