C
She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last forever. But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa.
The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre museum(卢浮宫博物馆)where it is housed.
“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said. Visitors have noticed the changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state.
Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. “It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be
smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University. “It’s because direct vision(视觉)is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.”
However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519.
In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back to France two years later.
During World War II, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.
Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell.
63. The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means the Mona Lisa ________.
A. is losing its value B. is being damaged after so many years
C. is getting more valuable with years passing D. will rot away
64. Experts haven’t any repairs on the Mona Lisa because______.
A.it is now in a poor chemical state
B. they don’t know how to replace the wooden panel
C .they don’t have the materials Da Vinci used
D. they are afraid it will be done further damage.
65. The smile of the Mona Lisa can only be seen_______.
A. by indirect vision B. at a distance C. by direct vision D. in shadows
66. From the last paragraph, we can infer that______.
A. many interesting stories have been written about the Mona Lisa
B. people are interested in the stories about the Mona Lisa.
C. some mysteries still remain to be solved about the Mona Lisa.
D. Many more stories will be told about the Mona Lisa.
Joey is loyal, encouraging and self-sacrificing, always putting others’ interests ahead of his own. He is a hard worker, who also loves to run and play. In short, he’s an ideal friend and a heroic character.
Here is the thing: Joey is a horse, who appears as the main character in Steven Spielberg’s new film War Horse.
It is based on Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel, which also caused the same-titled Tony Awards winning play.
The film follows the saga of Joey, a racehorse that’s trained for farm work under the loving care of Albert (Jeremy Irvine )after Albert’s drunk father Ted(Peter Mullan ) overpays for the animal at auction(拍卖会).
Then the World War I tears Albert and Joey apart. Joey is sold into the war effort for the British and starts his episodic adventures in Europe.
Splendidly staged, the battle plots in the film are visually astounding and impressive.
And with Spielberg’s unique, top-notch direction and storytelling skills, War Horse cannot escape its episodic nature, calling to mind another Spielberg film about the horrors of war and its effects upon soldiers and civilians—Saving Private Ryan.
While that film shocked with horrific scenes of bleeding, it relied on a company of easily-described characters and a focused storyline to present heroic themes.
Like Saving Private Ryan, War Horse clings to a series of characters, not only Albert, but also British officers, French civilians and German soldiers, who display courage in the face of danger. Everyone who comes in contact with Joey is either already in touch with their inner angel or is quickly moved to become more humane.
Although none of this covers the fact that we’ve seen this stuff elsewhere before, the lovely sentiment will steal your heart.
And the emotional signature of Spielberg can be felt as he establishes the relationship between the boy and the horse and the mood of the piece – there will be tears.
Therefore, calling this beautiful, dramatically incomplete film “ Saving Private Joey”, is entirely justifiable. In common with “ Saving Private Ryan”, the filmWar Horse _________ .
| A．is full of terrifying scenes of bleeding and killing |
| B．received the title of Tony Awards Winning Play |
| C．covers a lot of characters |
| D．tells the story happening in the Second World War |
Which statement is true according to the passage?
| A．War Horse is based on the same-titled novel by Steven Spielberg. |
| B．Joey is a heroic character because he saved many people’s lives. |
| C．Albert sold Joey into the war effort for Europe. |
| D．Joey came to Albert’s care after Ted paid a lot of money for it. |
According to the passage, what does the underlined word astounding mean?
| A．astonishing | B．confusing | C．satisfying | D．disappointing |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Joey ─ a heroic race horse | B．Albert and Joey |
| C．Saving Private Joey | D．Spielberg’s Joey |
A disheveled (头发凌乱的) man appeared in court Thursday on charges of murdering a Chinese woman whose fight with her attacker was seen on webcam(摄像头) by her boyfriend in China. Police refused to release any details about the crime or its possible motive.
The body of York University student Liu Qian, 23, of Beijing, was found Friday in her apartment in Toronto a few hours after her boyfriend witnessed the attack, police said.
She was found undressed from the waist down but there were no obvious signs of sexual attack or trauma (创伤) severe enough to kill her. Police say it may be weeks before the results of an autopsy (尸体解剖) are known.
Brian Dickson, 29, stood before the court in a wrinkled white shirt and blue jeans as a charge of first- degree murder was read out. He did not enter a plea. His case was held over until April 26.
Dickson was arrested Wednesday. Police only announced his name and his age and asked the media not to publish any photos of Dickson, saying it could compromise the investigation. Toronto police spokesman Tony Vella declined to respond to the request further.
Liu’s father, Liu Jianhui, who arrived from China after being informed of his daughter’s death, thanked authorities for their quick action.
“I sincerely thank the people concerned with my daughter’s case,” he told reporters after the arrest. “Our daughter was studying very hard.”
Police released no motive or details about Dickson, but one friend described the Toronto man as an aspiring actor.
Patricia Tomasi, a friend of Dickson’s, told The Associated Press that she acted in a play at a local theater in Toronto with Dickson in 2007.
“He doesn’t seem like the type but that’s what they always say,” Tomasi said. “He’s tall with boyish good looks. I don’t know much about him except that he wanted to be an actor.”
Dickson attended York University where he studied global politics, but did not earn a degree from there.
He later worked for the Atlantic Council of Canada (ACC), where he served as an assistant to the president Juilie Lindhout. According to his biography on a newsletter from the Atlantic Council of Canada, Dickson has also been a running instructor and has been involved with Developments in Literacy, a Pakistani aid organization that raises money for children in Pakistan.
A statement from the Atlantic Council of Canada on Thursday said it was not council policy to comment on staff, but it confirmed that Dickson had been an intern(实习生) with the council from September 29, 2008, until March 27, 2009.
Liu was chatting with her boyfriend, Meng Xianchao, by webcam at about 1 am. Friday when a man knocked on the door, police said.
Meng reported seeing a struggle break out between the two before Liu’s webcam was shut off. Meng contacted other friends in Toronto who in turn called police.
The victim’s father, Liu Jianhui, said his daughter studied at Beijing City University before moving to Canada, where she met Meng.
Liu Qian’s laptop computer, webcam and mobile phone were taken from the apartment the night of the attack, police said. Police said the online chat was on a live streaming camera and was not recorded, though investigators were trying to figure out if there was any way they could recover it.
York University, whose campus is located near one of Toronto’s rougher neighborhoods, is one of Canada’s largest universities with more than 53,000 undergraduate and graduate students. About 3,200 of York’s students come from more than 150 foreign countries, the university’s website says.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．York University students come from over 150 foreign countries. |
| B．Dickson was a graduate of York University where he studied global politics. |
| C．The passage does not mention the reason why Dickson murdered Liu Qian. |
| D．ACC wouldn’t make any comments on staff even if they committed a crime. |
The underlined word in paragraph 8 probably means ______.
| A．a successful actor | B．a gifted actor |
| C．a common actor | D．an ambitious actor |
Why did police ask the media not to publish any photos of Dickson?
| A．Worrying about bad influences on the investigation. |
| B．Not intending to give out any information about Dickson. |
| C．Not confirming whether Dickson had killed Liu Qian. |
| D．Wanting to protect their citizen for fear of losing face. |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Developments in Literacy raises money for all children |
| B．Seeing the struggle, Meng contacted Toronto police. |
| C．Dickson had no bad records before the murder. |
| D．Investigators could recover the chat record online. |
Traditional fairytales(童话) are being given up by parents because they are too scary for their young children, a study found．
Research uncovered that one in five parents has got rid of old literature such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Rapunzel in favor of more modern books．
One third of parents said their children have been left in tears after hearing the gruesome details of Little Red Riding Hood．
And nearly half of mothers and fathers refuse to read Rumplesliltshin to their kids as the themes of the story are kidnapping and killing．
Similarly, Goldilocks and the Three Bears was also a tale likely to be left on the book shelf as parents felt it forgives stealing．
The survey of 2,000 adults was completed to mark the launch of the hit US drama GRIMM （ 格林童话剧） , which starts tonight at 9pm on Watch, and sees six drama series based on traditional fairytales．
The survey found a quarter of parents questioned wouldn’t consider reading fairytales to their kids．
And 52 percent of the parents said Cinderella didn’t send a good message to their children as it describes a young woman doing housework all day．
Steve Hornsey, General Manager of Watch, said: "Bedtime stories are supposed to calm children down and send them off to sleep soundly．But as we see in GMMM, fairytales can be dark and dramatic so it’s understandable that parents worry about reading them to young children．As adults we can see the innocence in fairytales, but a five - year - old child could take them too literally．Despite the dark nature of classic fairytales as we see in GRIMM, good will defeat evil and there is always a moral to the story．"
The study also found two thirds of mums and dads try to avoid stories which might give their children nightmares．The most popular book read at bedtime is now 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle.
However half of parents said traditional tales are "more likely to have a strong moral message than a lot of modern kids' books, such as The Gruffato, The Hungary Caterpillar and the Mr. Men books．Classical works for children are being avoided by parents they think .
| A．they contain unmoral themes |
| B．they are terrifying |
| C．they encourage stealing, kidnapping and killing |
| D．they are tired of answering questions |
What does the underlined word "gruesome" mean?
| A．Very horrible | B．Very amusing |
| C．Very disappointing | D．Very amazing |
Which stories are the popular bedtime stories that parents like to tell their children now?
| A．Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella |
| B．The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Little Red Riding Hood. |
| C．The Very Hungry Caterpillar andMr. Men |
| D．Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Cinderella |
According to Steve Hornsey , adults can see innocence in a fairy tale but a 5-year-old child might ______．
| A．think it is different from the reality |
| B．dislike it because it is scary |
| C．believe exactly what the tale says |
| D．feel there is a moral to the story |
The following are introductions to some programs that BBC I London will show on TV.
| 12:25am Tuesday |
The Real Swiss Robinson Family Laura worried that her children have had their life too easy due to her husband’s career in big business, so she decides to take her teenagers to the Cook Islands to experience the simple life. They face storms and a lack of food, but Laura is happy as their local guide shows them the island’s wealth of rare fruits and foods. |
| 11:00a.m Wednesday |
A team have come across an armed man who is holding two baby apes who were captures .One of them, David, is sent to a medical emergency in the forest. Later a center director, Nielsen, finds a suitable place to set free more rescued animals. |
| 7:50p.m Thursday |
Lost Building of Britain Simon Thurley visits the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey(修道院), which ,before its destruction by Henry VIII, was famous for some of the most amazing stained glasses of its age. It also had a great deal of financial power, acting as the center of an influential business empire. Eventually, it was the king’s envy of the abbey’s wealth that changed the abbey’s fate. |
| 10:35 p.m. Thursday |
Nigella Express Nigella presents ideas for impromtu（即兴的） cooking, from new recipes and suggestions for taking advantage of the food you have to make quick , simple and impressive meals. |
Why is Laura worried?_______
| A．Life on the Cook Islands is too simple. |
| B．Her husband faces difficulties in his business |
| C．Storms are approaching her hometown |
| D．Her children may not know how to cherish life |
Jim enjoys TV programmes of people or organizations that take care of animals. He should probably watch TV at_______.
| A．10:35 p.m on Thursday. |
| B．7:50 p.m on Thursday |
| C．11:00 a.m on Wednesday |
| D．12:25 a.m on Tuesday |
We can learn from the text that_____
| A．David is a farmer |
| B．Henry VIII set up a business empire in the Abbey |
| C．Nielsen is an animal-lover |
| D．Glastonbury Abbey is famous today for its stained-glass |
There has been an outpouring of love for, a 23-year-old disabled woman whose dog was killed in front of her while a groomer(美容师) tried to trim(修剪) its claws.
Calls and e-mails came from as far away as the Upper Peninsula and Arizona as well as Oakland and Macomb counties, offering Laurie Crouch, who uses a wheelchair because of multiple sclerosis(硬化症), everything from dogs to money, such as that from Jason Daly of Roseville who said, “ I would like to buy her a new dog.”
A story about the death of Crouch’s pet, Gooch, was printed on the front page of Macomb Daily. Crouch said a man sat on the dog to trim its nails. Gooch died after one claw was trimmed.
Crouch yelled at the groomer to stop when she saw Gooch was struggling to breathe, but she said she was ignored. “If I could have walked, I would have put my hands on her and pulled her off my dog and physically stopped her, but I can’t do that.” Gooch was not a trained service animal, but naturally helped Crouch by picking up things for her.
“This case is absolute animal abuse(虐待),” Larry Obrecht, division manager of the Oakland County Animal Shelter in Auburn Hills, said.
People who read the story contacted Oakland Press to offer help. A message, from Rebecca Amett of Giggles N Wiggles Puppy Rescue, in Roseville, said, “We have puppies to donate … and want to help the young woman who lost her service dog.”
“When Gooch was with me, I was happy,” Crouch said, “I think I can be happy again but no animal can replace Gooch. There’s never going to be another Gooch out there but I think I will find a dog that can bring me joy again.”What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．A disabled woman’s service dog. |
| B．A cruel groomer killed a disabled woman’s dog. |
| C．People’s love for a disabled woman who lost her dog. |
| D．Disabled woman loves to have the dog as company. |
People called and emailed to .
| A．offer help and care to Laurie Crouch. |
| B．give their angry voice to the groomer. |
| C．offer a cure for Crouch’s disease. |
| D．tell Crouch how to punish the groomer. |
Gooch died mainly because .
| A．the groomer was careless. |
| B．the groomer sat on the dog with another man. |
| C．the dog was wearing a collar. |
| D．the groomer didn’t know how to trim the dog’s nails |
We can infer from the passage that .
| A．Crouch refused to take another dog. |
| B．Crouch must be sad after losing her dog. |
| C．Crouch has accepted another dog from a stranger. |
| D．Crouch can live well without a dog’s company. |