[originaltext] (16) At first, most Americans didn’t think there was anything

(16) At first, most Americans didn’t think there was anything particularly special about the White House. Few had ever seen it or had any idea what it looked like, and even the families who lived there found it completely inadequate. When it was built, the White House was the largest house in the country and it remained so until after the Civil War. But it served so many different purposes that little of it was available for First Family to actually live in. The first floor, or "State Floor," was made up entirely of public rooms; and the president’s offices, which where staffed by as many as 30 employees, took half of the second floor. The First Family had to get by with the eight or fewer second-floor rooms that were left. (17) By Lincoln’s time, the situation was intolerable. The White House was open to visitors; office seekers, cranks, and the merely curious had no difficulty making their way upstairs to the official rooms from the first floor. Lincoln was so uncomfortable with the situation that he had a private corridor constructed. He also received a $20,000 appropriation to improve the furnishings of the White House. (18) The new furnishings did not last for more than a few years. When Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, the White House fell into disarray. No one really supervised the White House during the first five weeks. Mrs. Lincoln laid mourning in her room, and vandals helped themselves.
16. How did Americans feel towards the White House in the beginning?
17.Why was the situation intolerable during Lincoln’s time?
18.What happened after the White House was refurbished according to the speaker?