C
The Classical Gardens of Suzhou, which are also called Suzhou Gardens, are a group of beautiful gardens in the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province of China. The first classical garden was created during the Spring and Autumn Period in the 6th century BC. More gardens were built in the following centuries and most of them were private gardens of scholars (学者) and officials of that time. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the construction (建设) of the gardens came to its prime time because of the prosperity (繁荣) of Suzhou in that period. It is said that there were more than 200 gardens all over the city and Suzhou was famous as the “paradise on earth” and the “City of Gardens”.
Nowadays, 19 of the 69 well-protected gardens are open to the public as tourist attractions. Among them, some famous gardens are regarded as typical examples of Suzhou Gardens, such as Humble Administrator’s Garden, Lingering Garden, Master of the Nets Garden and so on.
Suzhou Gardens in many ways explain the ideas behind classic Chinese garden design (设计). Their owners were not just interested in having a pleasing arrangement (安排) of plants and flowers: they used history, philosophy, art and architecture(建筑学) in their designs. Each element (要素) of a classical Chinese garden—each hill, pond, plant and rock—is filled with meaning. Although every element was carefully designed, the end goal was always to have a garden which looked like it was created by nature, without the help of human hands.
Suzhou Gardens represent the development and maturity (成熟) of Chinese garden design of more than two thousand years. They are national 5A tourist attractions in China and two groups of them were added to UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List (世界文化遗产名录) in 1997 and 2000.
43. When was the first classical Suzhou garden built?
A. During the Ming Dynasty.
B. During the Qing Dynasty.
C. In the 5th century BC.
D. During the Spring and Autumn Period.
44. What does the third paragraph mainly tell us?
A. The history of Suzhou Gardens.
B. The ideas behind the design of Suzhou Gardens.
C. The typical examples of Suzhou Gardens.
D. The great achievements of Suzhou Gardens.
45. What does the underlined word “represent” mean in the last paragraph?
A. 代表
B. 报道
C. 预言
D. 讲述
46. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Half of the well-protected gardens are open to the public.
B. Each element of a classical Chinese garden has its meaning.
C. Suzhou Gardens were built without the help of human hands.
D. All the gardens were built for scholars and officials in the past.
答案解析：
43. 答案：D。
• 解析：文章明确提到“The first classical garden was created during the Spring and Autumn Period in the 6th century BC.”，即第一座古典园林建于公元前6世纪春秋时期，答案选D。
44. 答案：B。
• 解析：第三段第一句“Suzhou Gardens in many ways explain the ideas behind classic Chinese garden design.”就点明了这段主要是讲述苏州园林设计背后的理念，后面内容围绕这些理念展开，如园林主人运用多种元素，每个要素都有意义等，答案选B。
45. 答案：A。
• 解析：结合上下文，“Suzhou Gardens represent the development and maturity of Chinese garden design of more than two thousand years.”这里“represent”表示“代表”更符合语境，即苏州园林代表了园林设计的发展和成熟，答案选A。
46. 答案：B。
• 解析：A选项，文中提到69座保护良好的园林中19座对公众开放，不是一半，A错误；B选项，文中提到“Each element of a classical Chinese garden—each hill, pond, plant and rock—is filled with meaning.”，B正确；C选项，文中说最终目标是看起来像自然天成，但实际上是精心设计的，是有人类参与的，C错误；D选项，文中只是说大部分是学者和官员的私家园林，不是所有，D错误。
