Imagine a city built as a line across the desert. It can run on 100% clean energy and 100% renewable water. That sounds impossible, but it’s becoming a reality.

Saudi Arabia is building such a city called The Line. It starts from the mountains of Northwest Saudi Arabia and pushes its way to the Red Sea. With an area of just 34 square kilometres, it can be home to 9 million people. The Line is 500 metres tall, 200 metres wide and 170 kilometres long, with two huge mirror walls standing on its both sides.

To put living experiences and natural environment first, The Line is designed to have three layers (层) . The top layer has no roads or cars, keeping over 95% of the nature around. Carefully designed environment makes the best balance of sunshine, trees and other natural sights. The middle layer is for services. All of them are operated by AI. Robots and a huge man-made moon make the city a technology paradise (天堂). From shopping malls to sports areas, wherever you go, you will be amazed at how convenient life can be. The lowest layer is the most important pat which shows how fast the city runs. The Line’s high-speed railway powered by electricity makes it possible to travel end to end in 20 minutes.

The plan started in early 2021 and is expected to finish its first stage in 2030. However, not everyone shows enough confidence in the plan. Environmentalists argue that mirror walls of The Line will bring danger to animals. For example, birds may hit onto the glass or even die when they migrate every spring and autumn. Besides, some commentators (评论员) also question whether the city will be built successfully. But Tarek Qaddumi, the director of the plan, seems sure, “We hope to get faster, better and greener results, with less environmental influence. It will set a new standard for future city life.”

【小题1】What’s The Line according to the passage?

A．A city that will lie under the Red Sea.

B．A city that will be built in the shape of a line.

C．A city that will have a population of 11 million.

D．A city that will have stone walls on the two sides.

【小题2】Which picture shows the three layers of The Line?

A．

B．

C．

D．

【小题3】Which best explains the underlined word “migrate” in Paragraph 4?

A．①To travel to a new place or country, usually to find work and live there.

B．②To move from one place to another according to the seasons.

C．③To move information on one computer to another.

D．④To begin using a new computer system.

【小题4】Why does the writer write the passage?

A．To tell who will build The Line.

B．To advise people to visit The Line.

C．To introduce a future city called The Line.

D．To show the difficulties of building The Line.