If " two heads are better than one"，then four heads must be better still．Take for example the heads of the four past presidents of the United States carved into Mount Rushmore．This is not only one of the largest sculptures ever carved，but one of the most famous．
    Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located in the Black Hill of southwestern South Dakota．The memorial to four of the builders of the United States is carved in the granite along the northeast side of Mount Rushmore．a(chǎn) six-thousand-foot mountain．Each of the faces is an incredible 60 feet high．
    The four heads are of George Washington，a statesman and the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797，Thomas Jefferson an architect．a(chǎn) statesman and the third president from 180 to 809 Abraham Lincoln，slave emancipator and sixteenth president from 1861 to 1865；and finally Theodore Roosevelt，Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1906 and twenty-sixth president of the United States from 1901 to 1909．
    The idea for the memorial started with Jonah Leroy Robinson，a lawyer，historian and rancher in Wisconsin．He conceived the idea for the sculpture while he was working （or the South Dakota Historical Society．After being dedicated in 1925，the work on the memorial began on August 10，1927 after a speech by the thirtieth president of the United States，from 1923 to 1929，Calvin Coolidge．He said， "The union of these four presidents on the face of the everlasting hills of South Dakota will constitute a distinctly national monument．It will be decidedly American in its conception，in its magnitude，in its meaning and altogether worthy of our country．"
    Moments later a sculptor named Gutzon Borglum began drilling into the mountain．Borglum was born in 1867 in St Charles，Idaho and is also known for the 6-ton marble head of Abraham Lincoln he sculpted，which is kept in the rotunda of the Capitol Building in Washing on，D.C．With his work crew Borglum used dynamite drills and other sculpting tools．Unfortunately，Borglum died before the huge task was completed．His son，Lincoln Borglum，finished the job his father had started．In 1941，after 14 years of drilling，blasting and carving．the huge sculptures were ready to be unveiled．The sculptures，mostly paid for by the federal government，cost approximately ＄l million to produce．
    Throughout the years leading to the completion of the memorial，many objections were raised as to whether the government should be going ahead with such a project．Some people opposed the idea of defacing the mountainside，and others more skeptical saw the artwork only as a scheme to lure tourists to the area．
    Looking at the immense monuments 500 feet up on the side of Mount Rushmore，it is difficult to ignore their patriotic meanings．Each of the four heads is a tribute to a United States leader who in some way molded this great nation．George Washington is memorialized for his contribution in founding the nation．Thomas Jefferson helped formulate the American philosophy of life．Abraham Lincoln unified the country and Theodore Roosevelt is known for the expansion and conversation of the nation．Mount Rushmore is literally a place where four former presidents are still being "looked up to" and admired．

（1）Where is Mount Rushmore located？How high is it？

It's located in the Black Hill of southwestern South Dakota．It is six thousand feet high.

It's located in the Black Hill of southwestern South Dakota．It is six thousand feet high.

（2）Why is Mount Rushmore a good site for the sculpture？

Because it is in a place where many people will see it every day.

Because it is in a place where many people will see it every day.

（3）When did work on Mount Rushmore begin？

It began on August 10，1927 after a speech by the thirtieth president of the United States.

It began on August 10，1927 after a speech by the thirtieth president of the United States.

（4）Why did President Coolidge think that Mount Rushmore would be "a distinctly national monument"？

Because it will be decidedly American in its conception，in its magnitude，in its meaning and altogether worthy of our country.

Because it will be decidedly American in its conception，in its magnitude，in its meaning and altogether worthy of our country.

（5）How much did the work on Mount Rushmore cost？Who paid？

It cost approximately ＄l million to produce.It was mostly paid for by the federal government．

It cost approximately ＄l million to produce.It was mostly paid for by the federal government．

（6）If a new Mount Rushmore were to be carved today，with any four figures from anywhere in the world，who should be chosen？Why？

President Xi.He is the great builder of China and brings us a huge development.

President Xi.He is the great builder of China and brings us a huge development.