The Sagrada Família Takes Its Final Shape The Sagrada Família is an immense, unfinished church in Barcelona. Its construction beganin 1882 on what was once outlying farmland and is now the city’s center. When I last visited thebuilding, in July, it was nine inches away from being the tallest in the city. Less than two weekslater, when a ring beam to support the base of a cross was added to its biggest tower, dedicatedto Jesus, the church surpassed the city’s two highest skyscrapers, both of which stand at fivehundred and five feet tall. The sandstone basilica will reach its full height once thefifty-five-foot-tall cross is installed atop the tower, later this month. It will be the tallest churchin the world. But Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan architect who spent forty-three years working on the SagradaFamília, did not think that his work should compete with God’s, so the basilica will remain a fewfeet lower than the iconic peak of Montjuïc. Gaudí’s structure is a head-spinning mixture ofmorphing geometrical forms, many inspired by nature. Its conical Art Nouveau pinnacles havethe lumpy beauty of sandcastles. Building such an unusual church has been a famously slowproject, even in a country where, to American eyes, many things move without haste. Gaudí wasconfident that his vision would one day be fulfilled. “Providence will provide”, he assured astudent. The Sagrada Família was founded as an expiatory church, meaning that it would be financedby prayerful donations from people atoning for their sins. Pretty quickly, this pay-to-prayarrangement gave way to a less ecclesiastical approach. In 1915, the Sagrada Família startedcharging a visitor’s fee—currently twenty-six euros. It is now the largest tourist attraction on theIberian Peninsula. Last year, nearly five million visitors came to see the basilica’s dizzyinglydecorated interior; another nineteen million milled around outside, probably because they couldnot get tickets, and gazed at its equally ornate façade, with its Byzantine-looking tiling, windowsshaped like honeycomb cells, and clumps of multicolored ceramic grapes. Gaudí’s original plan called for a church with eighteen towers. In addition __ the Jesustower, another would be dedicated to Mary, with bluish granite ornaments meant __ evoke hericonic cloak; there would also be spires for each __ the four Evangelists and the twelve apostles.By 1977, just eight of the apostles’ towers had been built, along with parts of the main structure,but the church still had no roof or columns. For a time, construction seemed to slow down further.In 1984, National Geographic noted that there were “few workers remaining on a job that couldtake another century”. Recently, under Jordi Faulí, the site’s ninth and current chief architect,who was appointed __ 2012, things have moved much faster. Today, the church has fourteentowers, including the four dedicated to the Evangelists and the nearly finished structurecelebrating Jesus. In the nineties, the Sagrada Família team began using software originally created foraerospace design to model Gaudí’s complex shapes. They then routed the plans to machines atvarious quarries, which used diamond-tipped blades to cut rocks with precision. This innovationpreceded Faulí’s stewardship—it was the brainchild of an architect from New Zealand whobecame an enthusiast of the project in the seventies—but nearly everything that the staff doesnow involves digital tools. The designs for the towers’ mosaic tiles, which Gaudí constructed byhand from ceramic shards, are workshopped and finalized using 3-D design software calledRhinoceros. This method leaves behind a clear twenty-first-century trace, but it has allowed theteam to build sections at ten times the previous pace. The project has become a model oftechno-ecclesiasticism. Gaudí famously declared, “My client is not in a hurry”, but Faulí and thosearound him seem to be.(Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/22/is-the-sagrada-familia-a-masterpiece-or-kitsch – text specially adapted for this test). The Sagrada Família Takes Its Final Shape The Sagrada Família is an immense, unfinished church in Barcelona. Its construction beganin 1882 on what was once outlying farmland and is now the city’s center. When I last visited thebuilding, in July, it was nine inches away from being the tallest in the city. Less than two weekslater, when a ring beam to support the base of a cross was added to its biggest tower, dedicatedto Jesus, the church surpassed the city’s two highest skyscrapers, both of which stand at fivehundred and five feet tall. The sandstone basilica will reach its full height once thefifty-five-foot-tall cross is installed atop the tower, later this month. It will be the tallest churchin the world. But Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan architect who spent forty-three years working on the SagradaFamília, did not think that his work should compete with God’s, so the basilica will remain a fewfeet lower than the iconic peak of Montjuïc. Gaudí’s structure is a head-spinning mixture ofmorphing geometrical forms, many inspired by nature. Its conical Art Nouveau pinnacles havethe lumpy beauty of sandcastles. Building such an unusual church has been a famously slowproject, even in a country where, to American eyes, many things move without haste. Gaudí wasconfident that his vision would one day be fulfilled. “Providence will provide”, he assured astudent. The Sagrada Família was founded as an expiatory church, meaning that it would be financedby prayerful donations from people atoning for their sins. Pretty quickly, this pay-to-prayarrangement gave way to a less ecclesiastical approach. In 1915, the Sagrada Família startedcharging a visitor’s fee—currently twenty-six euros. It is now the largest tourist attraction on theIberian Peninsula. Last year, nearly five million visitors came to see the basilica’s dizzyinglydecorated interior; another nineteen million milled around outside, probably because they couldnot get tickets, and gazed at its equally ornate façade, with its Byzantine-looking tiling, windowsshaped like honeycomb cells, and clumps of multicolored ceramic grapes. Gaudí’s original plan called for a church with eighteen towers. In addition __ the Jesustower, another would be dedicated to Mary, with bluish granite ornaments meant __ evoke hericonic cloak; there would also be spires for each __ the four Evangelists and the twelve apostles.By 1977, just eight of the apostles’ towers had been built, along with parts of the main structure,but the church still had no roof or columns. For a time, construction seemed to slow down further.In 1984, National Geographic noted that there were “few workers remaining on a job that couldtake another century”. Recently, under Jordi Faulí, the site’s ninth and current chief architect,who was appointed __ 2012, things have moved much faster. Today, the church has fourteentowers, including the four dedicated to the Evangelists and the nearly finished structurecelebrating Jesus. In the nineties, the Sagrada Família team began using software originally created foraerospace design to model Gaudí’s complex shapes. They then routed the plans to machines atvarious quarries, which used diamond-tipped blades to cut rocks with precision. This innovationpreceded Faulí’s stewardship—it was the brainchild of an architect from New Zealand whobecame an enthusiast of the project in the seventies—but nearly everything that the staff doesnow involves digital tools. The designs for the towers’ mosaic tiles, which Gaudí constructed byhand from ceramic shards, are workshopped and finalized using 3-D design software calledRhinoceros. This method leaves behind a clear twenty-first-century trace, but it has allowed theteam to build sections at ten times the previous pace. The project has become a model oftechno-ecclesiasticism. Gaudí famously declared, “My client is not in a hurry”, but Faulí and thosearound him seem to be.(Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/22/is-the-sagrada-familia-a-masterpiece-or-kitsch – text specially adapted for this test). Which word is closest in meaning to “haste” in the sentence “many things move without haste” (l. 14)?

Which word is closest in meaning to “haste” in the sentence...

Q4129340

Ano: 2025

Banca: Fundação Universidade Empresa de Tecnologia e Ciências - FUNDATEC

Prova: FUNDATEC - Prefeitura Municipal de Xangri-lá - Professor - Área: Língua Inglesa - 2025

The Sagrada Família Takes Its Final Shape

The Sagrada Família is an immense, unfinished church in Barcelona. Its construction began
in 1882 on what was once outlying farmland and is now the city’s center. When I last visited the
building, in July, it was nine inches away from being the tallest in the city. Less than two weeks
later, when a ring beam to support the base of a cross was added to its biggest tower, dedicated
to Jesus, the church surpassed the city’s two highest skyscrapers, both of which stand at five
hundred and five feet tall. The sandstone basilica will reach its full height once the
fifty-five-foot-tall cross is installed atop the tower, later this month. It will be the tallest church
in the world.
But Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan architect who spent forty-three years working on the Sagrada
Família, did not think that his work should compete with God’s, so the basilica will remain a few
feet lower than the iconic peak of Montjuïc. Gaudí’s structure is a head-spinning mixture of
morphing geometrical forms, many inspired by nature. Its conical Art Nouveau pinnacles have
the lumpy beauty of sandcastles. Building such an unusual church has been a famously slow
project, even in a country where, to American eyes, many things move without haste. Gaudí was
confident that his vision would one day be fulfilled. “Providence will provide”, he assured a
student.
The Sagrada Família was founded as an expiatory church, meaning that it would be financed
by prayerful donations from people atoning for their sins. Pretty quickly, this pay-to-pray
arrangement gave way to a less ecclesiastical approach. In 1915, the Sagrada Família started
charging a visitor’s fee—currently twenty-six euros. It is now the largest tourist attraction on the
Iberian Peninsula. Last year, nearly five million visitors came to see the basilica’s dizzyingly
decorated interior; another nineteen million milled around outside, probably because they could
not get tickets, and gazed at its equally ornate façade, with its Byzantine-looking tiling, windows
shaped like honeycomb cells, and clumps of multicolored ceramic grapes.
Gaudí’s original plan called for a church with eighteen towers. In addition __ the Jesus
tower, another would be dedicated to Mary, with bluish granite ornaments meant __ evoke her
iconic cloak; there would also be spires for each __ the four Evangelists and the twelve apostles.
By 1977, just eight of the apostles’ towers had been built, along with parts of the main structure,
but the church still had no roof or columns. For a time, construction seemed to slow down further.
In 1984, National Geographic noted that there were “few workers remaining on a job that could
take another century”. Recently, under Jordi Faulí, the site’s ninth and current chief architect,
who was appointed __ 2012, things have moved much faster. Today, the church has fourteen
towers, including the four dedicated to the Evangelists and the nearly finished structure
celebrating Jesus.
In the nineties, the Sagrada Família team began using software originally created for
aerospace design to model Gaudí’s complex shapes. They then routed the plans to machines at
various quarries, which used diamond-tipped blades to cut rocks with precision. This innovation
preceded Faulí’s stewardship—it was the brainchild of an architect from New Zealand who
became an enthusiast of the project in the seventies—but nearly everything that the staff does
now involves digital tools. The designs for the towers’ mosaic tiles, which Gaudí constructed by
hand from ceramic shards, are workshopped and finalized using 3-D design software called
Rhinoceros. This method leaves behind a clear twenty-first-century trace, but it has allowed the
team to build sections at ten times the previous pace. The project has become a model of
techno-ecclesiasticism. Gaudí famously declared, “My client is not in a hurry”, but Faulí and those
around him seem to be.

(Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/22/is-the-sagrada-familia-a-masterpiece-or-kitsch – text specially adapted for this test).

Which word is closest in meaning to “haste” in the sentence “many things move without haste” (l. 14)?

Delay.

Leisure.

Lingering.

Rush.

Rest.

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