[originaltext] In 1790, President Washington signed an act of Congress. It s

In 1790, President Washington signed an act of Congress. It said the federal government would occupy an area in the District of Columbia near the Potomac River. President Washington and city planner Pierre L’Enfant chose the land for the new presidential home.
    A competition was held to find a designer to build the president’s house. Architect James Hoban won a gold medal for his design. Mr. Hoban decided to plan a building similar to a palace he had designed in Ireland. The building material was to be grayish white sandstone. The color gave the house its name.
    Work started in 1792 when[33]President Washington supervised the building. But the house was not ready for him to move in before the end of his term. America’s second president, John Adams, and his wife Abigail Adams moved into the White House on November 1st, 1800. By then the building had six completed rooms. They lived there for only four months before President Adams’ term ended.
    Many of the rooms in the White House were still empty when John Adams left office. The next president Thomas Jefferson tried hard to finish the White House. So did James Madison, the next president.
    But in 1814, British forces invaded Washington and burned the White House. President Madison’s wife, Dolley Madison, tried to save valuable objects from the fire.
    She saved a painting of George Washington. She took it with her as she fled for safety.[35]This famous painting by Gilbert Stuart still hangs in the White House.
    The White House was rebuilt after the fire. Over the years the White House has been enlarged, repaired and almost totally rebuilt. In 1961, Congress provided that furniture of historic and artistic value would always be White House property. In effect, Congress made the White House a museum.
32.How was the designer of the new presidential home chosen?
33.Who was the first U. S. president that moved into the White House?
34. What happened to the White House in 1814?
35.What do we know about the painting of George Washington by Gilburt Stuart?