The National Gallery
Description：
The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar Square in London.It houses a diverse collection of more than 2,300 examples of European art ranging from 13thcentury religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh.The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entrance
Layout：
The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13thto 15thcentury paintings，and artists include Duccio，Uccello，Van Eyck，Lippi，Mantegna，Botticelli and Memling.
The main West Wing houses 16thcentury paintings，and artists include Leonardo da Vinci，Cranach，Michelangelo，Raphael，Bruegel，Bronzino，Titian and Veronese.
The North Wing houses 17thcentury paintings，and artists include Caravaggio，Rubens，Poussin，Van Dyck，Veláazquez，Claude and Vermeer.
The East Wing houses 18thto early 20thcentury paintings，and artists include Canaletto，Goya，Turner，Constable，Renoir and Van Gogh.
Opening Hours：
The Gallery is open every day from 10am to 6pm (Fridays 10am to 9pm) and is free，but charges apply to some special exhibitions.
Getting There：
Nearest underground stations：Charing Cross (2minute walk)，Leicester Square (3minute walk)，Embankment (7minute walk)，and Piccadilly Circus (8minute walk)．In which century’s collection can you see religious paintings?
| A．The 13th. | B．The 17th. |
| C．The 18th. | D．The 20th. |
Where are Leonardo da Vinci’s works shown?
| A．In the East Wing. |
| B．In the main West Wing. |
| C．In the Sainsbury Wing. |
| D．In the North Wing. |
Which underground station is closest to the National Gallery?
| A．Embankment. | B．Leicester Square. |
| C．Piccadilly Circus. | D．Charing Cross. |
Should ecigarettes (electronic cigarettes) be a new choice for the smokers trying to get rid of the habit? Reactions from Americans are mixed. More than half of the people questioned in a survey think ecigarettes should be controlled by the US Food and Drug Administration，but 47 percent believe the ecigarettes should be available to the smokers who want to quit.
“In the hunt for a safer cigarette，ecigarettes are becoming a popular choice among those either trying to quit or looking to replace standard tobacco smoke with an alternative that manufacturers claim to be safer，” Zogby International，which conducted the survey，said in a statement.
About half of the 4,611 adults who took part in the survey had heard about ecigarettes，which are batterypowered，or rechargeable cigarettes that vaporize a liquid nicotine solution. They do not produce smoke but a water vapor without smell. Sold mostly on the Internet，ecigarettes were first made in China.
Last year the World Health Organization (WHO) warned against using ecigarettes，saying there was no evidence to prove they were safe or helped smokers break the habit. The WHO said people who smoke ecigarettes breathe in a fine fog of nicotine into the lungs.
Nearly a third of people questioned in the survey think that ecigarettes should be allowed in places where smoking is forbidden，because they don’t produce smoke，but 46 percent disagree. Men who were aware of the availability of ecigarettes were more likely than women to say they should be a choice available to smokers who want to quit. Young people，aged 18－29，and singles were the groups most open to trying ecigarettes. Smoking is the single largest cause of preventable death worldwide，according to the WHO.What can we learn from Paragraph 1?
| A．American smokers ought to try ecigarettes. |
| B．Americans have different opinions about ecigarettes. |
| C．Every kind of cigarettes should be forbidden in America. |
| D．Most of the Americans don’t like ecigarettes. |
According to Zogby International，ecigarettes ________.
| A．are much safer than common cigarettes |
| B．are popular among people who want to quit smoking |
| C．will take the place of traditional cigarettes |
| D．are produced in a safer way by manufacturers |
What do we know about ecigarettes from the passage?
| A．Most Americans are familiar with them. |
| B．They are a good choice as there is no nicotine. |
| C．They produce a water vapor that can’t be seen. |
| D．Most people buy them on the Internet. |
What’s the attitude of the WHO towards ecigarettes?
| A．Negative. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
What can we conclude from the last paragraph?
| A．People can smoke ecigarettes in places where smoking is forbidden. |
| B．Most women agree that ecigarettes should be available to smokers. |
| C．Young adults and singles are the main groups who agree to try ecigarettes. |
| D．The problem of smoking is becoming worse around the world. |
When it comes to social behaviour，mammals are in a league of their own. Some birds may form pairs，or even cooperate to hunt，but the complexity (复杂性) of their relationships can hardly compare to those within a school of dolphins，a herd of elephants or a group of humans. What makes mammalian social groups different from a flock of starlings or a shoal of fish，is that in many cases the individuals could recognize each other. Although we may think that all elephants look pretty much the same，we can easily tell individuals of our own species apart and it has become clear through studies that the same is true of other species. Dolphins have their own signature whistles that act like “names”，and elephants can recognize and greet other individuals they have known but not seen for many years. This is something that only a few species of birds appear to be able to do.
Mammals in complex social groups not only recognize each other as individuals，but also they remember a lot of information about that individual. Social groups often rely on this memory—such as knowing who is dominant to whom，who is related to whom，and who has done what to whom in the past. It’s like remembering who you have lent money to or done a favour for，and who hasn’t repaid that money or has talked about you behind your back. You have to learn who to trust，who your friends are，and who to watch out for.
All this remembering goes on in a particular part of the brain called the neocortex (大脑皮层)．If you compare the size of a mammal’s social group with the size of this part of the brain，you will find they are remarkably closely related. This area seems to take a long time to develop fully and animals in which it is very large take a very long time to grow up to adulthood. During this time，the youngster has to learn all the rules of social behaviour in their group and to piece together all the relationships between the group members：Knowledge that will be needed to avoid getting into trouble.What is special about a mammalian social group according to the passage?
| A．All the individuals cooperate to hunt. |
| B．The individuals can communicate with each other. |
| C．The individuals can recognize each other. |
| D．The individuals form closer relationship. |
The passage suggests that elephants________.
| A．are cleverer than dolphins |
| B．can recognize other species |
| C．may mistake a member for another |
| D．have good memories |
Animals whose area of the neocortex is large________.
| A．will have a long period of time before they become adults |
| B．will spend a shorter time learning the necessary knowledge |
| C．will learn the necessary knowledge much more easily |
| D．will have more difficulty in growing up as adults |
If the neocortex is larger，the animals________.
| A．can live a longer life |
| B．have a smaller social group |
| C．have a larger social group |
| D．have a greater body size |
In order to make his/her point clear，the author use the means of________.
| A．analyzing cause and effect |
| B．making comparisons |
| C．giving wonderful examples |
| D．providing different figures |
Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything—tutors (家庭教师), cards, special learning centers—in short, everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to a catholic (天主教的) school.
After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn’t kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread (铺开) out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called him down to dinner and as soon as he finished eating, he went back to his room, without a word. In no time he was back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening.
Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and went up to his room and hit the books. His mom looked at it and to her surprise, little Tommy got an A in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity. She went to his room and asked, “Son, what was it? Was it the nuns (修女)?”
Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head, “No. ”
“Well then,” she asked again. “WHAT was it?”
Little Tommy looked at her and said, “Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed (钉) to the plus sign (加号), I knew they weren’t joking. ”Why did Tommy’s parents send him to a catholic school?
| A．Because he could eat well there. |
| B．Because he could learn more about nuns. |
| C．Because his parents wanted him to do better in his math. |
| D．Because his parents didn’t want him to learn math any more. |
Tommy’s mother felt surprised that his son _______.
| A．was still the same as usual |
| B．ate so much at dinner |
| C．kissed her hello after school |
| D．worked hard but said little |
“Hitting the books” means “_______” in Chinese.
| A．用功 | B．捶书 | C．发泄 | D．振作 |
The last sentence in the passage shows that _______.
| A．Tommy felt sorry for the man |
| B．Tommy was afraid of being nailed |
| C．Tommy didn’t like the plus sign |
| D．Tommy liked playing jokes on others |
From the passage, we can infer (推断) that _______.
| A．teachers should be strict with their students |
| B．mistaking (误解) might do good sometimes |
| C．a catholic school is much better than other ones |
| D．nuns are good at helping children with their math |
Linda Evans was my best friend—like the sister I never had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding.
When I was 13, my family moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special time—like my wedding (婚礼) and Linda’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address (地址) Unknown. ” I had no idea how to find Linda.
Over the years, I missed Linda very much. I wanted to share happiness of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.
One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagman — Linda’s married name. “There must be thousands of Wagmans,” I thought, but J still wrote to her.
She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagman is my mother. ”
Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives. Now the empty place in my heart is filled. And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans _______.
| A．at the age of 13 |
| B．before she got married |
| C．after they moved to new homes |
| D．before the writer’s family moved away |
They didn’t often write to each other because they _______.
| A．got married |
| B．had little time to do so |
| C．didn’t like writing letters |
| D．could see each other on special time |
There was an empty place in the writer’s heart because she _______.
| A．was in trouble |
| B．didn’t know Linda’s address |
| C．received the card that she sent |
| D．didn’t have a friend like Linda to share her happiness or sadness |
The writer was happy when she _______.
| A．read the newspaper |
| B．heard Linda’s voice on the phone |
| C．met a young woman who looked a lot like Linda |
| D．wrote to the woman whose last name was Wagman |
They haven’t kept in touch _______.
| A．for about 40 years |
| B．for about 27 years |
| C．since they got married |
| D．since the writer’s family moved away |
Have you seen Jurassic Park? In this film, scientists use DNA kept for tens of millions of years to clone dinosaurs. They find trouble, however, when they realize that the cloned creatures are smarter and more dangerous than expected. That’s nothing more than a fiction.
But could we really clone endangered animals?
To date, the most successful attempt to do so was the cloning of a gaur, a rare ox-like animal from southeast Asia. Scientists used a cow to bring the cloned baby gaur, named Noah. Two days after birth, however, Noah died from a common bacterial infection. Other endangered species that may be cloned include the African bongo antelope (邦戈羚羊), the Sumatran tiger, the cheetah (猎豹), and the giant panda. Next, could we really clone extinct animals?
In theory? Yes. To do this, you need a well-kept source of DNA from the extinct animals such as wool mammoth (毛象), Tasmanian tiger, or even dinosaur, and a closely related species, still living, which could serve as a surrogate mother.
In reality? Probably not. On the one hand, it’s not likely that extinct animals’ DNA could survive undamaged for such a long time. Cloning extinct animals as wool mammoth, Tasmanian tiger, or dinosaur is much more difficult due to the lack of properly well-preserved DNA. On the other hand, for example, a gaur can have a cow as a surrogate mother, definitely not a monkey. But what about an extinct animal as unique as the panda? What species could possibly serve as a surrogate mother?
Cloning presents many exciting possibilities. However, even if extinct animals are brought back, they could not survive in today’s world. Not only do most extinct animals have no habitat to live in, but the other plants and animals they depended on for food may also be gone as well. It can be learned from the passage that ________.
| A．scientists have cloned the African bongo antelope |
| B．both the cheetah and the giant panda live in Asia |
| C．the gaur lives in Asia and is endangered |
| D．the gaur is an extinct species |
The underlined words “a surrogate mother” probably refer to a female who __________.
| A．contributes its eggs to another female |
| B．gives birth to a baby for another female |
| C．gives birth to a baby of its own |
| D．cannot give birth to a baby |
The difficulty in cloning an extinct species is the lack of ______.
| A．both the well-preserved DNA and plants to live on |
| B．both the habitat to live in and the well-preserved DNA |
| C．both habitat to live in and plants to live on |
| D．both the well-preserved DNA and a surrogate mother |
In the author’s opinion, it is possible that ______.
| A．some extinct species may be cloned, but not survive |
| B．extinct species may be cloned and easily survive |
| C．a gaur can have a monkey as a surrogate mother |
| D．all the extinct species may be cloned |
Which of the following statements is true according the passage?
| A．Jurassic Park is a cloned animal. |
| B．The cloned creatures are the same as the real one. |
| C．We could clone extinct animals in reality. |
| D．We could clone extinct animals in theory. |