Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party but was never finished.

　　See remains of old "Paris"

　　"Paris of the East" was Bucharest's nickname in the decades before World War Ⅱ. Decades of communist misrule and a tragic earthquake in 1977 brought much of the old city down, but there are places here and there where that former elegance can still be glimpsed. The Cismigiu Gardens in the center of the city is a pearl of park built around a romantic lake and featuring old­growth trees and gracious, wrought­iron signposts and benches.

　　Learn about Romania's roots

　　Walking through Bucharest's busy streets, it's easy to forget that outside the capital and a handful of large cities, Romania is a largely agricultural country, with a long and rich peasant tradition. The amazing Museum of the Romanian Peasant shows off the elaborate woodworking, pottery­making, egg­painting, and weaving skills of the peasantry in a way that's both educational and amusing. Small tongue­in­cheek signs at the entrance to each room poke fun at modern life, bring a chuckle, and draw you in. Downstairs there's a side exhibition on the Communists' efforts to nationalize the peasantry in the 1970s and 1980s.

　　Appreciate 21st­century art

　　Romania has exploded onto the contemporary art scene in recent years. The excitement was generated initially by a group of young painters and visual artists from the northern city of Cluj­Napoca, but at least some of the action has shifted to the capital as new galleries and design centers open up. It's hard to pinpoint precisely what constitutes Romanian contemporary art, though critics point to shared elements of wit and dark humor, a somber mood, and bits of surrealism in defining a common style.

　　(　　)56. Tourists to Bucharest can do the following things EXCEPT ________．

　　 A. admiring beautiful scenery of a park

　　B. appreciating its unique contemporary art

　　C. learning about the agricultural development in Romania

　　D. seeing the old city of Bucharest that has been well­preserved

　　(　　)57. It can be inferred from the passage that ________．

　　A. Ceausescu and Elena were two famous architects

　　B. Romanians might have suffered a lot during the 1970s and 1980s

　　C. Palace of Parliament in Bucharest is the largest building in the world

　　D. Romanian's 21st­century art originated from the capital city Bucharest

　　 B

　　In 2016, designer Liz Ciokajlo received a task from the Museum of Modern Art(Moma) in New York: revisit the Moon Boot, a fluffy­looking snowshoe inspired by the footwear used by the Apollo astronauts.

　　Launched in 1972 at the height of the lunar missions, the Moon Boot is an icon of the 20th Century's "plastic age" and the museum administrators wanted a new take on it.

　　Ciokajlo set out to reimagine it. She knew only a biomaterial would work in a "post­plastic age"， but the designer also wanted a new destination to inspire it. Our generation's space travel obsession is not the Moon, she thought, but the red planet-Mars. And Mars allows you to really think outside of the box.

The task led her to an amazing biomaterial that had already attracted the attention of engineers innovating in building materials and of top space agencies like NASA and ESA. Her