Throughout the history of the arts,the nature of creativity has remained constant to artists.No matter what objects they select,artists are to bring forth new forces and forms that cause change—to find poetry where no one has ever seen or experienced it before.
Landscape(风景) is another unchanging element of art.It can be found from ancient times through the 17th-century Dutch painters to the 19th-century romanticists and impressionists.In the 1970s Alfred Leslie,one of the new American realists,continued this practice.Leslie sought out the same place where Toomas Cole,a romanticist,had produced paintings of the same scene a century and a half before.Unlike Cole who insists on a feeling of loneliness and the idea of finding peace in nature,Lealie paints what he actually sees.In his paintings,there is no particular change in emotion,and he includes ordinary things like the highway in the background.He also takes advantage of the latest developments of color photography(摄影术) to help both the eye and the memory when he improves his painting back in his workroom.
Besides,all art begs the age-old question:What is real?Each generation of artists has shown their understanding of reality in one form or another.The impressionists saw reality in brief emotional effects,the realists in everyday subjects and in forest scenes,and the Cro-Magnon cave people in their naturalistic drawings of the animals in the ancient Forests.To sum up,understanding reality is a necessary struggle for artists of all periods.
Over thousands of years the function of the arts has remained relatively constant.Past or present,Eastern or Western,the arts are a basic part of our immediate experience.Many and different are the faces of art,and together they express the basic need and hope of human beings.The underlined word “poetry” most probably means______.
| A．an object for artistic creation |
| B．a collection of poems |
| C．an unusual quality |
| D．a natural scene |
Leslie’s paintings are extraordinary because______.
| A．they are close in style to works in ancient times |
| B．they look like works by 19th-century painters |
| C．they draw attention to common things in life |
| D．they depend heavily on color photography |
What is the author’s opinion of artistic reality?
| A．It will not be found in future works of art. |
| B．It does not have a long-lasting standard. |
| C．It is expressed in a fixed artistic form. |
| D．It is lacking in modern words of art. |
What does the author suggest about the arts in the last paragraph?
| A．They express people’s curiosity about the past. |
| B．They make people interested in everyday experience. |
| C．They are considered important for variety in form. |
| D．They are regarded as a mirror of the human situation. |
Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?
| A．History of the arts. |
| B．Basic questions of the arts. |
| C．New developments in the arts. |
| D．Use of modern technology in the arts.四、写作(共两节，满分35分) |
A new study suggests that the roundtheclock availability that cell phones have brought to people's lives may take a toll on family life. The study，which followed more than 1,300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone throughout the study period were more likely to report negative “spillover” between work and home life—and，in turn，less satisfaction with their family life.
Spillover essentially(本质上)means that the line between work and home begins to become unclear. Work life may invade home life when a parent is taking jobrelated calls at home，for instance—or family issues may start to take up work time. For example，a child may call mum at work，telling her “microwave exploded”，explained Noelle Chesley，an assistant professor of sociology at the University of WisconsinMilwaukee and the author of the study. The problem with cell phones seems to be that they are allowing for even more spillover between work and home.
This may be especially true for working women，the study found. Among men，consistent use of mobile phones seemed to allow more work issues to creep (潜入)into family time. But for women，the spillover tended to go in both directions. Being “connected” meant that work cut into home time，and family issues came into work life.
Cell phones seem to be opening more lines for stressful exchanges among family members. But there may be ways to control the spillover，according to Chesley. Employers, she said，could look at their policies on contacting employees after hours to make sure their expectations are “reasonable”．For their part，employees could decide that cell phones go off during family time, Chesley said.What does the underlined phrase “take a toll on” probably mean in Paragraph 1?
| A．Explaining. | B．Founding. | C．Extending | D．Damaging. |
According to Chesley，what is the best solution to the problem caused by cell phones?
| A．Separate work hours from family time. |
| B．Refuse to use cell phones. |
| C．Ignore coming calls during family time. |
| D．Encourage women to stay at home. |
We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．cell phones affect men as much as women |
| B．cell phones seem to be convenient to families |
| C．cell phones make the line between work and home unclear |
| D．we can do nothing to solve the problem |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．How to control the negative spillover caused by cell phones. |
| B．How work life invades home life. |
| C．Consistent use of cell phones makes people feel less satisfied with their work. |
| D．Cell phones cause negative “spillover” between work life and home life. |
Inside the pleasingly fragrant cafe, So All May Eat(SAME) in downtown Denver ,the spirit ofgenerosityis instantly noticeable :donation box stands in place of a cash register. Customers here pay only what they can afford, no questions asked.A risky business plan, perhaps, but SAME Café has done one unchangeable thing in the Mile High City for six years: Open only at midday, the restaurant allows poor local customers who cannot pay to work as volunteers instead. They can act as waiters and waitresses, and dishwashers, or look after the buildings and equipment for the cafe.
It’s based on trust, and it’s working all right”, says co-owner Brad Birky, who started the café in 2006. Previously volunteering at soup kitchens, the Birkys were dissatisfied with the often unhealthy meals they served there. “We wanted to offer quality food in a restaurant where everyone felt comfortable, regardless of their circumstances,” Birky says. SAME’s special lunch menu changes
daily and most food materials are natural and grown by local farmers. The café now averages 65 to 70 customers (and eight volunteers) a day. And the spirit of generosity behind the project appears to be spreading. In early 2007,one volunteer who had cleared snow for his meals during t he long
winter said goodbye to the Birkys, He said he was going to New Orleans to help with the hurricane clearing up,” says Birky. What can we learn about the soup kitchens the Birkys previously worked for?
| A．They refused to have volunteers. |
| B．They offered low quality food. |
| C．They provided customers with a good environment. |
| D．They closed down because of poor management. |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The customers who cannot pay can work as volunteers instead. |
| B．More volunteers will go to new Orleans for the hurricane cleanup. |
| C．Many new cafes will be opened to offer free lunches in the town. |
| D．The lunch menu has remained the same since the café was started. |
The author’s attitude towards running such a café is_______
| A．unfavorable | B．doubtful | C．cautious | D．approving |
What’s delicious to eat and comes in a variety of colors? Eggplant! And no, it has nothing to do with chickens! This strangely named vegetable is, however, as versatile as an egg．It can be steamed, fried, and baked．It can be eaten by itself or combined with meats and other vegetables．
Eggplant was first grown in India in the 5th century BC．Its popularity soon spread to China and then throughout Asia．Finally, during the Middle Ages the vegetable made its way to Europe．At that time, eggplant was not the shiny purple vegetable most people know today．Instead, it’s like a white egg．Due to this egg - like appearance, eggplant got its name．In its early days, the vegetable was so bitter that people often called it a “mad apple.” This nickname started because people believed its bitterness was bad for one' s health．People actually thought eggplant could cause madness and cancer．
Fortunately today people know that eggplant doesn't cause insanity or cancer．In fact eggplant is so healthy that it may prevent cancer．In addition, the brain and the heart benefit from this super vegetable．Since it's high in fibre, eggplant can improve digestion．
Italy, Turkey, Egypt, China and Japan are the leading growers of eggplant in the world today．Depending on its location, eggplant may be purple, green, orange or yellow - white．And it can be as small as a tomato or as large as a cucumber．Dish varieties range from simple to complex, with all of them being delicious．
Today, thousands of people gather in Loomis, Calif, for the annual Loomis Eggplant Festival．The main activity at the festival is eating delicious eggplant dishes．There is plenty more to do and see, though．Recipe contests, arts and crafts, performers, races and children's activities all “egg – cite” festival - goers．Most people at the festival would agree—eggplant is an “egg—cellent” vegetable．Eggplant got its name because of its _____．
| A．appearance | B．taste | C．color | D．value |
Which of the following does NOT belong to the qualities of eggplant?
| A．It can be cooked in various ways． |
| B．It is easy to digest． |
| C．It can prevent cancer． |
| D．It is valuable and priceless． |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Eggplant can be eaten to cure cancer |
| B．Eggplant used to taste bitter． |
| C．India produce the most eggplant in the world today． |
| D．Eggplant has a history of nearly 1,000 years． |
Most people come to the Loomis Eggplant Festival to_____．
| A．see arts and crafts |
| B．enjoy food with eggplants |
| C．take part in recipe contests |
| D．promote eggplant |
When Frida Kahlo's paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “ a ribbon （丝带）around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City , Kahlo suffered from polio（小儿麻痹症）at the age of seven. Her spine （脊柱）become bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953.For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last. What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in paragraph 1 most nearly mean?
| A．a far better artist |
| B．a far more gifted artist |
| C．a much stronger person |
| D．a much more famous person |
The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by .
| A．polio |
| B．back injuries |
| C．the operations she had |
| D．her bent spine |
Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the .
| A．1950s | B． 1930s | C．1940s | D．1970s |
What is author’s attitude toward Kahlo?
| A．Devotion | B．Sympathy | C．Worry | D．Encouragement |
People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviors are formed．It is not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative （合作的）and another is competitive．
Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of questions．They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behaviors．There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought （学派）on the matter have developed．As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from one another, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory．The controversy（argument) is often referred to as“nature and nurture（教育）”．
Those who support the “nature” side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors．That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behavior is central to this theory．Taken to an extreme(走极端）, this theory maintains that our behavior is predetermined to such a degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts（本能）．
Proponents of the “nurture” theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claimed that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act．A behaviorist, B．F．Skinner, sees humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings．The behaviorists’ view of the human being is quite mechanistic（机械论的）; they maintain that, like machines, humans’ respond to environmental stimuli（刺激） as the basis of their behavior．
Socially and politically, the consequences of these two theories are far-reaching．In the US, for example, blacks often score below whites on standardized intelligence tests．This leads some proponents to conclude that blacks are genetically lower in status than whites．Behaviorists, on the contrary, say that the differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often robbed of many of the educational and other environmental advantages that whites enjoy, and that, as a result, they do not develop the same responses that whites do．
Either of these theories cannot yet fully explain human behavior．In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain．This passage is mainly concerned with．
| A．relation between personality and behavior |
| B．relation between behavior and environment |
| C．different accounts of patterns of human behavior |
| D．different theories of the formation of human behavior |
The underlined word " proponents'' in paragraph 2 means．
| A．creators | B．advisors |
| C．supporters | D．judges |
In paragraph 5 , the author mainly writes about．
| A．the considerable（值得考虑的） influence of the two theories |
| B．differences between the blacks and whites |
| C．racial discrimination in the United States |
| D．different responds to intelligence tests |
What's the author's purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To call our attention to the changes of human behavior． |
| B．To urge scientists to do more research in social science． |
| C．To give us a detailed explanation of human behavior． |
| D．To present an argument in the field of social science． |