Three armed robbers stole two Pablo Picasso prints from an art museum in downtown Sao
Paulo on Thursday, which was the city’s second high-profile art theft in less than a year. The bandits also took two oil paintings by well-know Brazilian artists Emiliano Di Cavalcanti and Lasar Segall, said Carla Regina, a spokeswoman for the Pinacoteca do Estado museum.
The Picasso prints stolen were "The Painter and the Model" from 1963 and "Minotaur, Drinker and Women" from 1933, according to a statement from the Sao Paulo Secretary of State for Culture, which oversees the museum. The prints and paintings have a combined value of $612,000, the statement and a museum official said.
About noon, three armed men paid the $2.45 entrance fee and immediately went to the second-floor gallery where the works were being exhibited, bypassing more valuable pieces, authorities said. "This indicates to us that they probably received an order" to take those specific works, Youssef Abou Chain, head of Sao Paulo's organized crime unit, told reporters at a news conference. The assailants overpowered three unarmed museum guards and grabbed the works, officials said. The robbery took about 10 minutes and the museum was nearly empty at the time. The assailants took the pieces — frames and all — out of the museum in two bags. The institution has no metal detectors.
In December, Picasso's "Portrait of Suzanne Bloch" and "O Lavrador de Cafe" by Candido Portinari, an influential Brazilian artist, were stolen from the Sao Paulo Museum of Art by three men who used a crowbar（铁撬棍）and car jack to force open one of the museum's steel doors. The framed paintings were found Jan. 8, covered in plastic and leaning against a wall in a house on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, South America's largest city. One of the suspects in that robbery — a former TV chef — turned himself over to police in January, who already had two suspects in custody（监禁）. What did the armed men steal on Thursday?
| A．Two prints by Pablo Picasso |
| B．Two oil painting by Brazilian artists |
| C．Two prints by Pablo Picasso and two oil paintings by two Brazilian artists. |
| D．Two prints by two Brazilian artists and two oil paintings by Picasso Pablo. |
Why didn't the thieves take other more valuable works?
| A．Because they didn't know that the other pieces were worth more. |
| B．Probably because they had received an order for the prints that they took. |
| C．Because they didn't have enough time. |
| D．Because they were in such a hurry that they couldn’t get them all. |
How many people were in the museum during the robbery?
| A．A lot. The museum was crowded. |
| B．Not too many. It was almost empty. |
| C．There were a lot of people outside the museum. |
| D．Only three of them. |
According to the passage, which of the followings is TRUE?
| A．In December, "Portrait of Suzanne Bloch" and "O Lavrador de Cafe" painted by Candido Portinari were stolen. |
| B．There are steel doors and no detectors in Sao Paulo Museum of Art. |
| C．Three robbers defeated three armed museum guards and took away the works on Thursday. |
| D．Three suspects in the first high-profile art theft in less than a year were arrested. |
B
The fiddler crab (蟹) is a living clock. It indicates the time of day by the colour of its skin, which is dark by day and pale by night. The crab’s changing colour follows a regular twenty-four hour plan that exactly matches the daily rhythm of the sun.
Does the crab actually keep time, or does its skin simply answer to the sun’s rays, changing colour according to the amount of light which strikes it? To find out, biologists kept crabs in a dark room for two months. Even without daylight, the crab’s skin colour continued to change exactly on time.
This characteristic probably developed gradually in answer to the daily rising and setting of the sun, to help protect the crab from sunlight and enemies. After millions of years it has become completely controlled inside the living body of the crab.
The biologists noticed that once each day the colour of the fiddler crab is especially dark, and that each day this happens fifty minutes later than on the day before. From this they discovered that each crab follows not only the rhythm of the sun but also that of the tides (潮水). The crab’s period of greatest darkening is exactly the time of low tide on the beach where it was caught!
40. The crab’s changing colour _______.
A. tells the crab what time it is
B. protects the crab from the sunlight and enemies
C. keeps the crab warm
D. is of no real use
41. When the fiddler crabs were kept in the dark, they _______.
A. did not change colour B. changed colour more quickly
C. changed colour more slowly D. changed colour on the same timetable
42. The crab’s colour—changing ability was probably developed _______.
A. in the process of evolution (进化) B. over millions of years
C. by the work of biologists D. both A and B
43. The best title for this selection would be _______.
A. The Sun and the Tides B. Discoveries in Biology
C. A scientific Study D. A Living Clock
第二部分阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分
A
Sam and Joe were astronauts. There was once a very dangerous trip and the more experienced astronauts knew there was only a small chance of coming back alive. Sam and Joe, however, thought it would be exciting though a little dangerous. “We’re the best men for the job,” they said to the boss. “There may be problems, but we can find the answers.” “They’re the last people I’d trust,” thought the boss. “But all the other astronauts have refused to go.”
Once they were in space, Joe had to go outside to make some repairs. When the repairs were done, he tried to get back inside the spaceship. But the door was locked. He knocked but there was no answer. He knocked again, louder this time, and again no answer came. Then he hit the door as hard as he could and finally a voice said, “Who’s there?” “It’s me! Who else could it be?” shouted Joe. Sam let him in all right but you can imagine that Joe never asked to go on a trip with Sam again!
36. Most of the astronauts were unwilling to go on a trip because _______.
A.there was little chance of being selected B.they weren’t experienced enough
C. they thought they might get killedD. it wasn’t exciting enough
37. Why were Sam and Joe chosen?
A. The boss wanted them to get more experience.
B. The boss trusted them more than anyone else.
C. They were the last people who wanted to go.
D. They were the only men who offered to go.
38 Joe didn’t want to work with Sam again probably because he thought Sam _______.
A. was very slow and possibly deaf B.didn’t know how to operate the door
C. was less experienced than he wasD. didn’t know how to do repairs
39. The writer tells this story to _______.
A. show the dangerous side of the astronauts’ life B. make people laugh
C. show the funny side of the astronauts’ life D. make people think
E
In the old days, children were familiar with birth and death as part of life. Now this is perhaps the first generation of American youngsters who have never been close by during of the birth a baby and have never experienced the death of a family member.
Nowadays when people grow old, we often send them to nursing homes. When they get sick, we send them to a hospital, where children are forbidden to visit patients— even when those patients are their parents. This deprives（剥夺）the dying patient of family members during the last few days of his life and it deprives the children of an experience of death, which is an important learning experience.
Some of my colleagues and I once interviewed and followed about 500 in order to find out what they could teach us and how we could be of more benefit, not just to them but to the members of their families as well. We were most impressed by the fact that even those patients who were not told of their serious illness were quite aware of its potential outcome.
It is important for family members, and doctors and nurses to understand these patients’ communication in order to truly understand their needs, fears and fantasies. Most of our patients welcomed another human being with whom they could talk openly, honestly, and frankly about their trouble. Many of them shared with us their reat need to be informed, to be kept up-to-date on their medical condition and to be told when the end was near. We found out that patients who had been dealt with openly and frankly were better able to deal with the coming of death and finally to reach a true stage of acceptance before death.
82.The elders of today's Americans________ .
A. are often absent when a family member is born or dying
B. usually see the birth or death of a family member
C. are unfamiliar with birth and death
D. have often experienced the fear of death as part of life
83.Children in America are deprived of the chance to________.
A. visit a patient at hospital B. visit their family members
C. look after the patients D. learn how to face death
84.The need of a dying patient for people to accompany him shows________.
A. his wish for communication with other people
B. his fear of death
C. his unwillingness to die
D. he feels very upset about his condition
85.It may be concluded from the passage that________.
A. dying patients should be truthfully informed of their condition
B. dying patients are afraid of being told of the coming of death
C. most patients are unable to accept death until it can’t be avoided
D. dying patients are not likely to be informed about their condition
D
Sydney—Mobile phone has become a problem for middle schools. Some middle schools in Australia have banned students from carrying mobile phones during school hours.
Mobile phone use among children has become a problem for the school this year. Several children have got mobile phones as Christmas gifts, and more students want them.
Mary Bluett, an official, said mobile phone use is a distraction (分心的事) to students during school hours and it also gives teachers so much trouble in their classrooms. Teachers were also saying that sometimes students might use phone messages to cheat during exams.
She said some schools had tried to ban mobile phones. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t get in touch with their children.
Many teachers said students should not have mobile phones at school, but if there was a good reason, they could leave their phones at school offices. They also said there were many reasons why the students should not have mobile phones at school: they were easy to lose and were a distraction from studies.
Many people say that they understand why parents would want their children to have phones, but they think schools should let the students know when they can use their mobile phones.
78. We know from the passage that some children get mobile phones from .
A. the makers and sellers B. their parents and friends
C. some other strangers D. some mobile phone users
79. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t_________during school hours.
A. use their mobile phones B. leave their mobile phones
C. help the teachers with their work D. get in touch with their children
80. The underlined word “they” in the fifth paragraph refers to_______.
A. mobile phones B. some messages
C. many teachers D. some students
81. The topic mainly talked about in the text is___________.
A. when the students of some Australian schools can use their mobile phones
B. why the students should not use mobile phones in some Australian schools
C. whether the Australian students can have mobile phones at school
D. how some parents feel when their children should not carry mobile phones
C
Sport not only is physically challenging, but it can also be mentally challenging. Criticism (批评) from coaches, parents, and other teammates, as well as pressure to win can create an excessive (过度的）amount of anxiety or stress for young athletes. Stress can be physical, emotional, or psychological, and research has indicated that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable.
The early years of development are critical years for learning about oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can, for example, learn how to work together with others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware, at all times, that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parent's and coaches’ criticisms to heart and find a flaw（缺陷）in themselves.
Coaches and parents, should also be careful that youth sport participation doesn't become the work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In today’s youth sport setting(环境), young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game, many parents and coaches direct their attention on the outcome（=result）and find fault with young people’s performances. Research indicates that positive reinforcement motivates (积极强化激励) and has a greater effect on learning than criticism. Again criticism can create high levels of stress, which can lead to burnout.
74. An effective way to prevent the burnout of young athletes is________.
A. to reduce their mental stress B. to increase their sense of stress
C. to make sports less competitive D. to make sports more challenging
75. According to the passage, sport is positive for young people in that________.
A. it can create high levels of stress
B. it enables them to find flaws in themselves
C. it can provide them with valuable experiences
D. it teaches them how to set realistic goals for themselves
76. According to the passage parents and coaches should________.
A. pay more attention to letting children enjoy sports
B. help children to win every game
C. train children to deaf with stress
D. enable children to understand the positive aspect of sports
77.The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to________.
A. teach young athletes how to avoid burnout
B. persuade young children not to worry about criticism
C. stress the importance of positive reinforcement to children
D. discuss the skill of mixing criticism with encouragement