●●●USDefenceSecretaryDonaldRum-优题课

ROME: The legend of Leonardo da Vinci is covered in mystery: How did he die? Are the remains buried in a French castle really those of the master? Was the "Mona Lisa" a self-portrait in disguise (伪装)?
A group of Italian scientists believe the key to solving those puzzles lies with the remains, and they say they are seeking permission to dig up the body to conduct carbon and DNA testing.
If the skull is undamaged, the scientists can go to the heart of a question that has fascinated scholars and the public for centuries: the identity of the "Mona Lisa." Recreating a virtual and then physical reconstruction of Leonardo's face, they can compare it with the smiling face in the painting.
"We don't know what we'll find if the tomb is opened. We could even just find grains and dust," says Giorgio Gruppioni, an anthropologist who is participating in the project. "But if the remains are well kept, they are a biological record of events in a person's life, and sometimes in their death." Silvano Vinceti, the leader of the group, said that he plans to press his case with the French officials in charge of the said burial site at Amboise Castle early next week.
Leonardo moved to France at the invitation of King Francis I, who named him "first painter to the king." He spent the last three years of his life there, and died in 1519 at age 67. The artist's original burial place, the palace church of Saint Florentine, was destroyed during the French Revolution and remains that are believed to be his were eventually reburied in the Saint-Hubert Chapel near the castle.
"The Amboise tomb is a symbolic tomb; it's a big question mark," said Alessandro Vezzosi, the director of a museum dedicated to Leonardo in his hometown of Vinci. Vezzosi said that investigating the tomb could help identify the artist's bones with certainty and solve other questions, such as the cause of his death. He said he asked to open the tomb in 2004 to study the remains, but the Amboise Castle turned him down.
The group of 100 experts involved in the project, called the National Committee for Historical and Artistic Heritage, was created in 2003 with the aim of "solving the great mysteries of the past," said Vinceti, who has written books on art and literature.
Arguably the world's most famous painting, the "Mona Lisa" hangs in the Louvre in Paris, where it drew some 8.5 million visitors last year. Mystery has surrounded the identity of the painting's subject for centuries, with opinions ranging from the wife of a Florentine merchant to Leonardo's own mother.
That Leonardo intended the "Mona Lisa" as a self-portrait in disguise is a possibility that has interested and divided scholars. Theories have existed: Some think that Leonardo's taste for tricks and riddles might have led him to hide his own identity behind that puzzling smile; others have guessed that the painting hid an androgynous lover.
If granted access to the grave site, the Italian experts plan to use a tiny camera and radar to confirm the presence of bones. The scientists would then exhume (挖掘) the remains and attempt to date the bones with carbon testing.
At the heart of the proposed study is the effort to discover whether the remains are actually Leonardo's, including with DNA testing.
Vezzosi questions the DNA comparison, saying he is unaware of any direct descendants (后代) of Leonardo or of tombs that could be attributed with certainty to the artist's close relatives.
Gruppioni said that DNA from the bones could also eventually be compared to DNA found elsewhere. For example, Leonardo is thought to have rubbed colors on the canvas with his thumb, possibly using saliva (唾液), meaning DNA might be found on his paintings.
Even in the absence of DNA testing, other tests could provide useful information, including whether the bones belonged to a man or a woman, and whether the person died young or old.
Even within the committee, experts are divided over the identity of the "Mona Lisa."
Vinceti believes that a tradition of considering the self-portrait to be not just a faithful imitation of one's features but a representation of one's spiritual identity may have resonated (共鸣) with Leonardo.
Vezzosi, the museum director, dismissed as "baseless and senseless" the idea that the "Mona Lisa" could be a self-portrait of Leonardo. He said most researchers believe the woman may have been either a wife of the artist's sponsor, the Florentine nobleman Giuliano de Medici, or Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a rich silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. The traditional view is that the name "Mona Lisa" comes from the silk merchant's wife, as well as its Italian name: "La Gioconda."
Why does the author ask a couple of questions in the beginning?

A．To arouse the interest of readers	B．To puzzle Italian scientists
C．To answer the questions himself	D．To make fun of French officials

The best title of this story might be “_____”

A．What Is the Purpose of an Investigation?

B．How Did Leonardo da Vinci Die in France?

C．Are the Remains Really Those of the Master?

D．Did Leonardo Paint Himself as 'Mona Lisa'?

The sentence “he plans to press his case with the French officials” (underlined in Paragraph 4) suggests that Vinceti intends to _____

A．press the French officials to participate in their project

B．urge the French officials to open the tomb early next week

C．persuade the French officials to allow opening the tomb

D．record events in a person’s life with the French officials

Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．Scholars have the same opinion on DNA testing

B．Scientists doubt if the remains are those of da Vinci

C．The identity of “Mona Lisa” has already been proved

D．Alessandro Vezzosi got permission to open the tomb

We can infer from the last two paragraphs that _____?

A．“Mona Lisa” is the name of the wife of a silk merchant

B．the “Mona Lisa” is a self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci

C．experts divided the committee into several groups

D．opinions differ of the identity of the “Mona Lisa”

I live in the land of Disney, Hollywood and year-round sun. You may think people in such a splendid, fun-filled place are happier than others. If so, you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.
Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is a deeper, more lasting emotion.
Going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.
I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. These rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to glamorous parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells“happiness”. But in memoir（回忆录）after memoir, they reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism ,drug addiction, broken marriages, troubled children and profound loneliness.
Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage, if he’s honest, and he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment, for commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure and excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Similarly, couples that choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful happiness. They can dine out whenever they want and sleep as late as they can. Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating（解放性的）realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those rich and glamorous people we were so sure are happy because they are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.
We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．fun creates long-lasting satisfaction

B．fun provides enjoyment while pain leads to happiness

C．happiness is lasting whereas fun is short-lived

D．fun that is long-standing may lead to happiness

To the author, the role Hollywood stars play is to ________.

A．write memoir after memoir about their happiness

B．tell the public that happiness has nothing to do with fun

C．teach people how to enjoy their lives

D．bring happiness to the public instead of going to parties

In the author’s opinion, marriage ________ .

A．affords greater fun	B．leads to raising children
C．indicates duty and devotion	D．usually ends up in pain

Which of the following is the best example of“painful happiness”?

A．Winning lottery by accident

B．A bachelor resisting marriage

C．Raising children

D．Buying some fancy clothes

If one gets the true sense of happiness, he will ________.

A．stop playing games and joking with others	B．keep himself with his family
C．give a free hand to money	D．use his time to increase happiness

When a tornado touched down in a small town nearby, many families were left completely destroyed. Afterward all the local newspapers carried many human-interest stories featuring some of the families who suffered the hardest.
One Sunday, a particular picture especially touched me. A young woman stood in front of an entirely shattered mobile home, a depressed expression twisting her features. A young boy, seven or eight years old, stood at her side, eyes downcast. Clutching (紧握) at her skirt was a tiny girl who stared into the camera, eyes wide with confusion and fear.
The article that went with the picture gave the clothing sizes of each family member. With growing interest, I noticed that their sizes closely matched ours. This would be a good opportunity to teach my children to help those less fortunate than themselves. I taped the picture of the young family to our refrigerator, explaining their difficulty to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and to three- year-old Meghan.
“ We have so much. And these poor people now have nothing,” I said.“We’ll share what we have with them.”
I brought three large boxes down from the room upstairs and placed them on the living room floor. Meghan watched seriously, as the boys and I filled one of the boxes with canned goods and foods.
While I sorted through our clothes, I encouraged the boys to go through their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys piled up discarded toys and games.
“I’ll help you find something for the little girl when I’m done with this,” I said.
The boys placed the toys they had chosen to donate into one of the boxes while I filled the third box with clothes. Meghan walked up with Lucy, her worn, faded, much-loved rag doll hugged tightly to her chest. She paused in front of the box that held the toys, pressed her round little face into Lucy’s flat, painted-on-face, gave her a final kiss, then laid her gently on top of the other toys.
“Oh, Honey,” I said.“You don’t have to give Lucy. You love her so much.”
Meghan nodded seriously, eyes glistening with held-back tears. ‘”Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she’ll make that other little girl happy, too．”
Swallowing hard, I stared at Meghan for a long moment, wondering how I could teach the boys the lesson she had just taught me. For I suddenly realized that anyone can give their cast-offs away. True generosity is giving that which you value most.
Honest benevolence (善行) is a three-year-old offering a valuable, though shabby, doll to a little girl she doesn’t know with the hope that it will bring this child as much pleasure as it brought her. I, who had wanted to teach, had been taught.
The boys had watched, open-mouthed, as their baby sister placed her favorite doll in the box. Without a word, Brad rose and went to his room. He came back carrying one of his favorite action figures. He hesitated briefly, clutching the toy, then looked over at Meghan and placed it in the box next to Lucy.
A slow smile spread across Brett’s face. Then he jumped up, eyes twinkling as he ran to fetch some of his prized Matchbox cars.
Astonished, I realized that the boys had also recognized what little Meghan’s gesture meant. Swallowing back tears, I pulled all three of them into my arms.
Taking the cue from my little one, I removed my old jacket from the box of clothes. I replaced it with the new hunter green jacket that I had found on sale last week. I hoped the young woman in the picture would love it as much as I did.
It’s easy to give that which we don’t want any more, but harder to let go of things we cherish, isn’t it? However, the true spirit of giving is to give with your heart..
Why does the author give a detailed description of a particular picture in the Sunday newspaper?

A．To create an atmosphere of fear and depression brought by the tornado.

B．To appeal to unconcerned people to donate for the poor families.

C．To show the helplessness and hopelessness of the family mentioned in the paper.

D．To stress what touched her and made her decide to help the hopeless family.

Why did Brad and Brett also donate their favorite things finally?

A．They were encouraged to donate some valuable things by the mother.

B．Meghan’s decision inspired them to donate their favorite things.

C．They also wanted to show generosity by giving away their valuable things.

D．Meghan’s gesture reminded them to replace their favorite things with new ones.

By “ swallowing hard”, the writer means that _ _ .

A．she was deeply puzzled by what the little girl did

B．she had trouble persuading Meghan not to give away Lucy

C．she was greatly moved by Meghan’s unexpected decision

D．she was uncertain what consequences Meghan’s action would bring about

It is suggested in the sentence “the true spirit of giving is to give with your heart” that ______.

A．sincere donation means offering help to others whole-heartedly

B．true giving means giving others what you treasure most

C．true generosity means helping others at the cost of your own benefit

D．honest benevolence means devoting yourself to the career of donation

What’s the best title for this passage?

A．The Greatest Love	B．A Beautiful Heart
C．True Generosity	D．A Precious Gift

People say teenagers are no good. They make too much noise in shopping malls; they drive recklessly up and down America’s main streets; they carry chips on their shoulders as big as the Sears Tower. And at least some of the time those things are true. But we shouldn’t forget that there are hard moments in the life of a teenager too.
I watched such a moment not long ago at a woman’s funeral. I didn’t expect the event to affect me. Through much of the ceremony, in fact, I remained unmoved.
The teenage grandson stepped forward. With his very first deep breath, every heart in that church was achingly reminded of something we had all forgotten. Softly he began: “I want to share a few values that Nana taught me. She never failed to see light in any situation. When our family dog would truly attack her, what would Nana say? ‘oh, what beautiful barking that dog has!’ That was Nana. ”
“She was a strong woman who often lived in the shadow of my grandpa, who was a successful businessman in this city. But she was the one behind the scenes who provided the strength and support for my grandpa’s career,” he said, with a voice now trembling, “That was Nana’s way.”
Through a low sob, he continued, “Whenever she did anything worth recognition, you’d have to hear about it from a different source, because she was never one to show off.”
Finally, in a voice breaking free of sorrow, he looked up and said, “Nana taught me courage. She put up an incredible fight to the end, when she died peacefully, which is how she lived her life. That was Nana’s way, and I hope I can carry on in the same manner.”
There are no hearts as sensitive as those of teenagers, because everything is happening to them for the first time. The trouble with teenagers is that they haven’t learned to be controlled.
When that boy rose to speak about the woman who surely had been his truest and closest friend, his honest voice dragged each of us out into the open where we could no longer hide in the calm ceremony. He exposed us to the truth about this very real woman who believed in a boy who probably tried the patience of many adults. He reminded us that his grandmother was more than another dot on the chart of life and death.
All over again we felt those powerful losses crossing our own hearts, and we knew that when you say good-bye to something happy, something young in yourself. And that something never really returns, and the pain never really goes away.
In the first paragraph, the writer gave some examples to________ .

A．support his idea that young people are no good

B．introduce his point of view about young people

C．tell people every coin has its two sides

D．show young people often make mistakes

From the boy’s speech, we know _______ .

A．his grandmother had great influence on him

B．they had a dog which often attacked people

C．people had forgotten her until the boy appeared

D．his grandmother was so weak that she is always living in the shadow of his grandpa

Which of the following statements is true?

A．The boy ’s speech moved no one present at the funeral except the writer

B．The boy’s being good at expressing himself enabled him to draw everyone’s attention

C．The boy was too grieved to accept the fact that his grandmother had passed away

D．The writer didn’t expect the event would affect him

What words can best describe grandmother’s quality?

A．Weak, mild and modest

B．Easygoing, cautious and considerate

C．Sensitive and hard on others

D．Patient, optimistic, strong and helpful.

The passage tells the readers_______ .

A．facing certain bitter facts help young people to grow

B．young people have to control themselves

C．the adults should learn from the young

D．the adults should teach the young how to be brave

British paychologists have found evidence of a link between excessive(过度的) Internet use and depression, a research has shown.
Leeds University researchers, writing in the Psychopathology journal, said a small part of Internet users were classed as Internet addicts and that people in this group were more likely to be depressed than non-addicted users.
The article on the relationship between excessive Internet use and depression is from a questionnaire-based study of 1,319 young people and adults.
The respondents answered questions about how much time they spent on the Internet and what they used it for; they also complete the Beck Depression Inventory---a series of questions designed to measure the seriousness of depression.
The six—page report, by the university’s Institute of Psychological Science, said 18 of the people who complete the questionnaire were Internet addict.“Our research indicates that excessive Internet use is associated with depression, but what we don’t know is which comes first—are depressed people drawn to the Internet or does the Internet cause depression?” the article’s lead author Dr Catriona Morrison said.”What is clear is that, for a small part of people, excessive use of the Internet could be warning signal for depressive tendencies.”
The age range of all respondents was between 16 and 51 years, with an average age of 21.24. The average age of the 18 Internet addicts was 18.3 years. By comparing the levels of depression within this group to that within a group of 18 non—addicted Internet users, researchers found the Internet addicts had a higher chance of developing depression than non-addicts. They also discovered that addicts spent more time visiting sexually pleasing website, online gaming sites and online communities.
“The public speculation（推测）was further proved by this study. That’s to say, over-engaging in websites which serve to replace normal social function might be linked to psychological disorders like depression and addiction,” Morrison said.”We now need to consider the wider social influence of this relationship and clearly prove the effects of excessive Internet use on mental health.”
Internet addicts are people who ______ according to the passage.

A．use the Internet more than enough

B．feel depressed when using the Internet

C．seldom connect to the Internet

D．feel depressed without the Internet

What is confirmed by the study according to the passage?

A．Depression leads to excessive use of Internet

B．Depression results from excessive use of Internet

C．Excessive use of internet usually accompanies depression

D．Excessive use of internet is usually earlier to depression

It is thought by the public that online communities______.

A．can never replace normal social function

B．are intended to replace normal social function

C．are associated with psychological disorders

D．shouldn’t take the blame for psychological disorders

According to Dr Catriona Morrison, the public speculation________.

A．lacks scientific evidence	B．helps clarify their study
C．finds a theoretical basis	D．has little scientific value

A．a. US Defence Secretary Visit Likely	B．a. US Defence Secretary Visit Likely b. France Confirms 'Mad Goat" Caseb. France Confirms ' Mad Goat" Case c. Nokia Stays on Topc. Mobile Phone Sales d. Male Penguins and Female Penguinsd. Birds of a Feather
C．a. Defence Policy Dialogue	D．a. Sino - US Talks