She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last for ever. 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 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(化学状态).
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 panned 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.What does the writer mean by “time is catching up with the Mona Lisa”?
| A．The painting woman is not so beautiful any more. |
| B．Ageing is something that affects us all. |
| C．The painting needs repairing. |
| D．At such an old age, she is no longer popular. |
What makes the repair work difficult?
| A．The wooden panel is thin and old. |
| B．No one knows exactly what materials were used to create the painting and how it might respond to treatment. |
| C．The health of the painting is suffering. |
| D．Experts can’t agree on how to carry out repairs. |
What makes her so mysterious according to Professor Livingston?
| A．The materials the Italian artist used. |
| B．The way she smiles. |
| C．The way Da Vinci painted the smile. |
| D．It plays a trick upon the human eyes |
| RESUME(履历) DOUGLAS V. FERNETTI Address: 636 Rugar StreetJoliet, Illinois60451 Date of Birth: June 5, 1960 Height: 6' Weight: 195 lbs. Health: Excellent Phone: 309 876 –0012 Married: Helen Son: Jim (2) EXPERIENCE 1978 to 1983:Joliet Bridge Company, Joliet, Illinois. Began as an learner and became accomplished journey-man pattern maker. 1983 to Present:Joliet Bridge Company, Joliet, Illinois. Promoted to Forman, Pattern Division. Responsibilities include the supervision of fourteen personnel, maintaining work schedules and making assignments, maintaining stock inventories, and supervising two learners. PERSONAL ACTIVITIES From 1979 to 1983 attended evening school in order to complete high school education. Received H.S. Diploma from the State University of Illinois in 1983. Since 1983 have attended evening classes at Joliet Community College. Have completed eighteen semester hours credit with nine hours in personnel management. Other activities include regular church attendance, member of ELKS, and help with Little League. PERSONAL STATEMENT Although I have been very happy at Joliet Bridge and have had excellent opportunity, it is necessary that I move my family due to my son's allergies (过敏症). In this respect, desire a position in the Southwest United States. Am willing to consider a position as a pattern maker, tool and die maker, or as a supervisor. My major attributes are my reliability and loyalty to my company and my ability to work with others. REFERENCES References are available upon request. |
What does Douglas do at present in Joliet Bridge Company?
| A．Pattern maker. | B．Leader of Pattern Division. |
| C．Member of ELKS. | D．Learner. |
What was Douglas doing in 1982?
A. Working in Joliet Bridge Company. B. Studying at Joliet Community College.
C. Helping with Little League. D. A, B and C.Why does Douglas want to leave Joliet Bridge Company?
| A．Because he is not satisfied with his present job. |
| B．Because he has not been successful in the company. |
| C．Because he does not get along well with his colleagues. |
| D．Because his son is not used to the weather in Illinois. |
If you want to know the age of Douglas' son, what can you do?
| A．Write to 636 Rugar Street. | B．Telephone 309 876-0012. |
| C．Ask his wife Helen. | D．Find it in the resume. |
Two thirds of the singles looking for love in Britain turned to the Internet last year, according to figures made in public yesterday. Special sites offer introductions to smokers, to Roman Catholics, tall people, beautiful people, frequent flyers and vegans (素食者). Technology has brought about a great change in the dating game.
A survey by Parship, a British branch of Europe’s largest dating service with more than 1.5 million members, says that 65 percent of the 5.4 million Britons looking for a relationship used online dating services last year.
A spokeswoman for Relate, the relationship advisor, confirmed that a figure of two third feel it all right. “Doing it online allows people quite a lot of privacy, because they can do a bit of quiet research and look around from the comfort of their own home. You don’t have to meet a middleman or go to an actual dating agency office, which takes a lot of courage,” she said.
There are more than 100 independent online dating agencies in Britain. Parship says that 50 percent of single people believe they will meet a suitable partner through the Internet, up from 35 percent six months ago.
Mary Balfour, the founder, says that the Internet has changed the dating industry completely. “It’s like a return to old-fashioned love letters,” she said. “You don’t base your initial judgment on how someone looks or what his or her figure is like. You e-mail or talk before you actually see each other. Everybody you know who is single these days has at least had a good look at a dating website, introduction agency or personal ad. They have to, because all the old matchmaking institutions have gone. People work harder, settle down later and live more isolated lives. They’re much more likely to end the day with a DVD and a can of beer than by going to a village dance.”Singles in Britain can look for love online mainly because of ________.
| A．Parship | B．the help of go-betweens |
| C．technology | D．the revolution of dating game |
About ________ Britons tried to find love online last year according to this passage.
| A．1.5 million | B．3.5 million | C．5.4 million | D．65 million |
For those who want to look for love online, they _________.
| A．don’t need to do any research at all |
| B．have to meet first before they can e-mail each other |
| C．don’t have to find a go-between. |
| D．must go to an actual dating agency office first |
From this passage we can infer that ________.
| A．not all single people believe the Internet can help them find their partners |
| B．looking for love online needs a lot of courage |
| C．old-fashioned love letters become popular again |
| D．single people don’t like to look for their partners online. |
Welcome to your future life!
You get up in the morning and look into the mirror. Your face is firm and young-looking. In 2035, medical technology is better than ever. Many people of your age could live to be 150, so at 40, you’re not old at all. And your parents just had an anti-aging (抗衰老的) treatment. Now, all three of you look the same age!
You say to your shirt, “Turn red.” It changes from blue to red. In 2035, “smart clothes” contain particles (粒子) much smaller than the cells in your body. The particles can be programmed to change clothes’ color or pattern.
You walk into the kitchen. You pick up the milk, but a voice says, “You shouldn’t drink that!” Your fridge has read the chip (芯片) that contains information about the milk, and it knows the milk is old. In 2035, every article of food in the grocery store has such a chip.
It’s time to go to work. In 2035, cars drive themselves. Just tell your “smart car” where to go. On the way, you can call a friend using your jacket sleeve. Such “smart technology” is all around you.
So will all these things come true? “For new technology to succeed,” says scientist Andrew Zolli, “it has to be so much better that it replaces what we have already.” The Internet is one example. What will be the next?We can learn from the text that in the future ________.
| A．people will never get old |
| B．everyone will look the same |
| C．red will be the most popular color |
| D．clothes will be able to change their pattern |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Milk will be harmful to health. |
| B．More drinks will be available for sale. |
| C．Food in the grocery store will carry electronic information. |
| D．Milk in the grocery store will stay fresh much longer. |
Which of the following is mentioned in the text?
| A．Nothing can replace the Internet. |
| B．Fridges will know what people need. |
| C．Jacked sleeves can be used as a guide. |
| D．Cars will be able to drive automatically. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Food and clothing in 2035. |
| B．Future technology in everyday life. |
| C．Medical treatments of the future. |
| D．The reason for the success of new technology. |
Register your account
Please, pay attention to difference of free registration and paid premium(额外费用)account. With free registration at Oxyshare you get access to easy uploading with your favorite FTP client. Your files will remain online for 30 days if there was no request to download. You may upload files at unlimited speed, also you may deliver your data to one email-address. Unlimited disk space and endless amount of file downloads are at your service, too.
In contrast to free registration, premium account increases your rights greatly. Your files remain online three times more — 90 days if there was no request to download. Speed of downloading increases in a few times. E-mail option allows you to deliver files to 100 e-mail addresses.
Prices for premium account vary from $1.99 up to $189.99 according to how long you want the files to be remained. You will be able to choose wishful time-plan during the registration process. Now you are one step away from completing your registration process. Please, choose the type of account and push the appropriate button below the table.
| Features |
Standard account |
Premium account |
| Upload speed |
Up to 200 Kb/s |
Unlimited |
| File size |
Up to 700 Mb |
Up to 700 Mb |
| FTP support |
Yes |
Yes |
| E-mail delivery |
1 address |
100 addresses |
| Download speed |
Up to 70 kb/s |
unlimited |
| File life time |
30 days* |
90 days* |
| Number of connections |
one |
Unlimited |
| Download waiting |
5-30 sec |
0 sec |
| Please Select: |
FREE |
PREMIUM |
What extra advantage you will get if you pay a small fee for the service?
| A．You can upload a file no matter how big it is. |
| B．Your file will remain at least 90 days. |
| C．Your file will remain one month. |
| D．Your friends will see your files for free. |
For a premium account user, the more money you will pay ________ .
| A．the longer your files will remain online |
| B．the bigger file you can upload |
| C．the more money you can earn |
| D．the longer you can use the file-hosting service |
The same feature offered by both the standard account and premium account is ________.
| A．upload speed | B．file size |
| C．file life time | D．number of connections |
It was Monday. Mrs. Smith’s dog was hungry, but there was not any meat in the house.
Considering that there was no better way, Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it: “Give my dog half a pound of meat.” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently: “Take this to the butcher. And he’s going to give you your lunch today.”
Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher’s. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady’s handwriting and soon did it as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once.
At noon, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more.
The next day, the dog came again exactly at noon. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers.
But the dog came again at four o’clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher’s surprise, it came for a third time at six o’clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled. He said to himself, “This is a small dog. Why does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?”
Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it!Mrs. Smith treated her little dog quite_________.
| A．cruelly | B．fairly | C．kindly | D．rudely |
It seemed that the dog knew well that the paper Mrs. Smith gave it_______.
| A．might do it much harm | B．could do it much good |
| C．would help the butcher | D．was worth many pounds |
From its experience, the dog found that ________.
| A．only the paper with Mrs. Smith’s words in it could bring it meat |
| B．the butcher would give the meat to it whenever he saw it |
| C．Mrs. Smith would pay for the meat it got from the butcher |
| D．a piece of paper could bring it half a pound of meat |
At the end of the story, you’ll find that _______.
| A．the dog was clever enough to write on the paper |
| B．the dog dared not go to the butcher’s any more |
| C．the butcher was told not to give any meat to the dog |
| D．the butcher found himself cheated by the clever animal |