Упражнения уровня IELTS по английскому языку. № 13.

The most beautiful building I have ever seen is the Duomo (Cathedral) of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy. Built over a period of 170 years, it was completed in 1466. It is most famous for its giant cupola (dome), which was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and is regarded as an engineering masterpiece of the Renaissance. The Duomo is still the tallest building in the city and can be seen from almost every position.

I think many people would agree that it is beautiful, but there are many famous buildings throughout the world that others would choose before the Duomo: the Taj Mahal in India or the Colosseum in Rome, for example. But I have chosen it because of the feelings I had when I first saw it close up.

Let me explain. I was on holiday with some friends in northern Italy and one day we decided to make a trip to Florence. We arrived there at lunchtime and walked around most of the sites - the Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery. We could see the Duomo in the distance everywhere we went, and it certainly looked impressive. We then had something to eat, looked around the stores for an hour and decided to go back to the car. We had a map of the city but I'm not too good at reading maps and, well, we weren't lost but we didn't know exactly where we were.

Then suddenly we turned a corner and there it was: the Duomo, with its enormous cupola right in front of me. I was so close I could almost touch it. Usually when you visit the Duomo you approach it from the front and can see it getting bigger and bigger. But we had been in a narrow side street and had come across it by accident and I was so overcome with its size and beauty that I couldn't speak. I think I stood there for a full ten minutes just looking at it.

That is what I remember when I think about the Duomo, and that's why it is, for me, the most beautiful building in the world.

(1) Brunelleschi …
a) built the Duomo. /
b) was responsible for part of the Duomo. /
c) began the Duomo. /

(2) Most people…
a) don't know about the Duomo. /
b) prefer other buildings. /
c) don't like the Duomo. /

(3) The writer was…
a) staying in Florence. /
b) visiting his friends. /
c) on holiday. /

(4) After going shopping, the writer …
a) decided to leave the city. /
b) decided to visit the Duomo. /
c) went in the wrong direction. /

(5) The Duomo affected the writer so much because…
a) he didn't expect to see it. /
b) he had looked forward to seeing it. /
c) he hadn't seen it before. /