Art robbery and art forgery (仿造) are both major themes in crime movies and literature.In the 2012 comedy movie Gambit, British actor Colin Firth plays an art curator who cheats his abusive boss into buying a fake Monet. In reality, art crimes are no less interesting and exciting.
According to The New York Times, over the past 15 years, Glafira Rosales fooled two local commercial art galleries into buying 63 false works of art for more than $30 million.She passed off fake paintings as works by 20th century modernist masters such as American artists Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock.But in fact, these so called “newly discovered works” were all produced by a single man, a Chinese immigrant named Qian Peishen.
The art world was shocked by Rosales' deception.But to the public, it was amusing and most satisfying to see wealthy people get tricked.
So what decides the value of a piece of art? Is it beauty? Is it the artist's talent and craftsmanship? Or is it just because the artist is famous?
We should take beauty out. If the buyers were buying paintings only for their beauty, they'll be content displaying good fakes on their walls. They wouldn't be so upset when a forgery is exposed.
The art market claims that great artists are inimitable, and that this inimitability justifies the absurd price of their works. We can't deny that most famous artists are good at what they do, but forgers like Qian show that their works are imitable.Otherwise, the difference between the original and the copycats would be obvious and Rosales would not be able to fool anyone.
According to an article in the Economist, expensive paintings are what economists call positional goods. They are valuable because other people can't have them. With other goods, a higher price reduces demand.But art turns down the laws of economics. “When the goods that is really being purchased is evidence that the buyer has paid a lot, price increases cause demand to boom，” explained the article.
That's why scarcity and authenticity are so important in the art market. Artists sometimes forget this.Demien Hirst, the British pop artist, is famous for his spot paintings. But they dropped in value when it became clear that they had been produced in quantities so vast that nobody knew how many were out there.The art market lost faith in these paintings because no one could be sure which of them were authentic and which were fake.The first paragraph is meant to tell the readers that ________.
| A．movies and literature will be popular with art involved in them |
| B．art crimes are as interesting and exciting in reality as in movies |
| C．Gambit is a good movie with art forgery as the major theme |
| D．real art crime in reality can be adapted into popular films |
Who is amused and satisfied to see the rich buy forged works of art?
| A．The public. |
| B．Glafira Rosales. |
| C．Qian Peishen. |
| D．Mark Rothlo and Jackson Pollock. |
What kind of art buyers should not be unhappy with its high prices when a forgery is exposed according to the author?
| A．Those who buy only for its beauty. |
| B．Those who buy for its inimitability. |
| C．Those who 'buy for its authenticity. |
| D．Those who buy for its scarcity. |
What is the law of economics theory behind art goods according to the economists?
| A．They are valuable goods. |
| B．High prices reduce the demand of art goods. |
| C．High prices increase the demand of art goods. |
| D．They are produced in quantities to satisfy people. |
B
Once a New Zealand teacher asked where I live. “In the white building,” I answered.
“At our university both girls and boys live in the same dormitory.” I added.
Beyond my expectation（出乎意料）, however, my attempt（努力）to show I am speaking American English（AE） turned out to be something else. The New Zealander seemed very puzzled（迷惑）at my answer.
With a half smile, she asked, “Really？Do they live in the same room?”
“Oh, no. They live in different rooms but in the same building.” I reacted（反应）quickly.
Later I got to know the word “dormitory”. In AE it means one building, whereas（而，却）it means one room in British English（BE）.
The New Zealander misunderstood me because she spoke New Zealander English（NE）, which, as we know, is much related to BE.
Nowadays, not a few English learners, who try to catch up with the fashion（时髦）, choose to speak AE.
Yet, the problem is that they cannot speak pure AE, but half AE and half BE instead.
I think it necessary to keep one style in order to avoid（避免）misunderstanding.
61、Which of the following is right？
A、AE and BE are two different languages.
B、There are some differences between AE and BE.
C、New Zealanders speak BE.
D、New Zealanders cannot understand Americans.
62、What I said to the New Zealander is .
A、really pure AE B、really pure BE
C、half AE and half BE D、not English at all
63、According to the passage , .
A、few people speak AE B、more people speak BE
C、BE is becoming fashionable D、AE is becoming fashionable
64、The writer wrote the passage in order to .
A、tell us a funny story
B、warn us not to make mistakes
C、tell us the differences between AE and BE
D、encourage us to speak one style of English
第三部分：阅读理解（共 20 小题；每小题 2 分，满分 40 分）
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
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（* person whose job is selling meat）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（*people who buy sth. from a shop）.
But, the dog came again at four o'clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher's more surprise, it came for the 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！
56、Mrs. Smith treated her little dog quite .
A、cruelly B、fairly C、kindly D、friendly
57、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
58、The butcher did not give any meat to the dog .
A、before he felt sure that the words were really written by Mrs. Smith
B、when he found that the words on the paper were not clear
C、because he had sold out all the meat in his shop
D、until he was paid enough by Mrs. Smith
59、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
60、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
D
HOLIDAY HOMES IN MALLORCA
Holiday houses in Mallorca sailing and fishing port - quiet even in summer season．Beautifully situated houses with sights of sea and mountains, yet near to shops and restaurants．Cars and bicycles for hire．Sailing and sports clubs nearby．
ITALY IN COMFORT
Luxury coach trips of Italy, out of normal holiday season．21 days to visit five Italian cities starting from London 1st May, 1st September．The trips are guided by Professor Martin Davis, Head of Italian Studies, London University．See the arts and culture of historic Italy．
KIBBUTZ HOLIDAYS IN ISRAEL
Working holidays on a kibbutz （co-operative farm） in Israel．All nationalities welcome for one to three months, if prepared to work morning with kibbutz members．Accommodation, food and trips to historic sights all provided free - you pay only for the special low-cost return flight．
TWO WEEKS ON A CARIBBEAN ISLAND
Two-week holidays in the Hotel Splendid, on a lovely beach with golden sands and deep-blue sea．Tennis, golf, sailing and all water sports, trips around the island arranged．Near to town of Castries with lively evening entertainment - dancing．
1st November - 31st March =￡720 per person
1st April - 30th October =￡850 per person
Jack and his wife Mary, who have recently retired, want to see places of cultural and historic interest abroad, but Mary hates flying．
Peter and Maria, university students, want to travel as far as possible on little money, and would like to get to know a country by working there for three months with other young people．
Michael, a young computer programmer, has been working hard and needs a holiday to relax in winter．He would like to go somewhere warmer and sunny, where he can swim in the sea, and he enjoys sports and dancing．
Henry and Kate, both teachers, and their two sons, have to take their holiday during the school summer holidays．There must be plenty for the boys to do, although Harry and Kate just want to have beautiful scenery, good food and wine- and peace．
57．Michael would most probably go to _______ for his holiday．
A．Italy B．Israel C．Mallorca D．a Caribbean island
58．The best holiday for Jack and Mary would be _______．
A．the 21 - day coach trip of Italy
B．the 2 -week stay in the Hotel Splendid
C．the 14 -day trip around a Caribbean island
D．the working holidays for 1 -3 months on a kibbutz in Israel
59．Henry and Kate and their sons would like _______．
A．a holiday working on a kibbutz in Israel
B．a holiday visiting cities by coach in Italy
C．a holiday house in the fishing port in Mallorca
D．a holiday hotel on a lovely beach on a Carribean Island
60．You can find this passage most probably in _______．
A．a school library B．a tourist agency C．the post office D．the museum
C
In the 1920s demand for American farm products fell, as European countries began to recover from World War I and started austerity （紧缩） programs to reduce their imports．The result was a sharp drop in farm prices．This period was more disastrous for farmers than earlier times had been, because farmers were no longer self-sufficient．They were paying for machinery, seed, and fertilizer, and they were also buying consumer goods．The prices of the items farmers bought remained constant, while prices they received for their products fell．These developments were made worse by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and extended throughout the 1939s．
In 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, the Federal Farm Board was organized．It established the principle of direct interference （干预） with supply and demand, and it represented the first national commitment to provide greater economic stability for farmers．
President Hoover's successor attached even more importance to this problem．One of the first measures proposed by President FranklinD．Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 was the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which was later passed by Congress．This law gave the Secretary of Agriculture the power to reduce production through voluntary agreements with farmers who were paid to take their land out of use．A deliberate shortage of farm products was planned in an effort to raise prices．This law was declared unconstitutional （违背宪法的） by the Supreme Court on the grounds that general taxes were being collected to pay one special group of people．However, new laws were passed immediately that achieved the same result of resting soil and providing flood-control measures, but which were based on the principle of soil conservation．The Roosevelt Administration believed that rebuilding the nation’s soil was in the national interest and was not simply a plan to help farmers at the expense of other citizens．Later the government guaranteed loans to farmers so that they could buy farm machinery, hybrid （杂交） grain, and fertilizers．
53．What caused the problem in the demand for American farm products?
A．The effect of the Great Depression．
B．The shrinking of overseas markets．
C．The destruction caused by the First World War．
D．The increased exports of European countries．
54．The word “successor” refers to ______．
A．President Hoover B．US Secretary of State
C．President Franklin D．US Secretary of Agriculture
55．The Agricultural Adjustment Act encouraged American farmers to ______．
A．reduce their scale of production B．make full use of their land
C．adjust the prices of their farm products D．be self-sufficient in agricultural production
56．The Supreme Court rejected the Agricultural Adjustment Act because it believed that the Act ______．
A．might cause greater shortage of farm products
B．didn't give the Secretary of Agriculture enough power
C．would benefit neither the government nor the farmers
D．benefited one group of citizens at the expense of others
B
The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie．
The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200-million-dollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths backed by the Mayan calendar．It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X---or Nibiru---heads toward or collides with the Earth．
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet’s existence, but the US space agency condemned such stories as an “Internet hoax”．“There is no factual basis for these claims,” NASA said in a question-and-anwser posting on this website．“If such a collision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye．Obviously, it does not exist．Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012,” it insisted．“After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years,” added NASA．
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space．But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA．
Earlier theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar．
NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward．
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible（unimportant）”, NASA said．
“And while comets and asteroids （小行星） have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare,” NASA noted．The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting in the end of dinosaurs．
“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs,” the space agency said．
49．______ played a key role in the spread of the rumors．
A．A new book B．The Internet and a new Hollywood movie
C．NASAD．An Indian calendar
50．We can infer that ______．
A．people didn’t take the rumor seriously
B．Planet X --- or Nibiru does exist
C．astronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years
D．the rumor caused a panic among some people
51．NASA thinks that Eris ______．
A．might have a threat to the Earth B．doesn’t have any threat to the Earth
C．is too far away to be visible D．is similar to our planet, where life might exist
52．Which of the following is the best title?
A．New Hollywood movie 2012
B．December 21, 2012, Not the end of the world
C．End of the ancient Mayan calendar
D．How rumors came into being