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Any list of the world's top ten most famous paintings will surely include da Vinci's Mona Lisa.Part of the painting's attraction is its mystery(神秘).
Those lucky enough to have a view of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre often stare in awe(敬畏), surprised by the smile that seems to flicker(忽隐忽现).Staring at a reproduction of the work produces the same effect.Now she's smiling, then she's not.
What's the deal with Mona Lisa's smile?
Harvard scientist Margaret Livingstone is pretty sure she's solved the puzzle.After careful studies on human brains, Livingstone reasoned that the famous painting's flickering smile is caused by the way human beings see.
Our eyes use two separate regions(部位) to see.One is central vision(视力;视觉), used to see colors and pick out details such as fine print.The other is the vision around, used to observe lights, shadows, black and white contrasts.
When we look at a person's face, according to Livingstone, we usually focus centrally on the eyes.Staring at Mona Lisa's eyes, our less accurate vision notices the mouth, picking up shadows from the cheekbones.The shadows play tricks, looking like a smile.But when we look directly at the mouth, our central vision doesn't see the shadows, and so the smile suddenly disappears.As our eyes observe different parts of the painting, Mona's smile seems to show up or disappear.
Did da Vinci intend to create this flickering smile effect? Perhaps.In any case, he was talented enough to paint shadows so good as to puzzle viewers for centuries.Meanwhile, Mona Lisa will keep smiling.And not.
Staring at Mona Lisa, people are amazed because _____.

A.it is one of the world's top ten most famous paintings
B.Mona Lisa's smile seems to disappear sometimes
C.they are lucky enough to have a view at the Louvre
D.the reproduction of the work produces the same effect

The central vision is used to see ______.

A.colors and pick out details B.black and white contrasts
C.lights and shadows D.fine paintings

While looking at a person's face, the first we focus on is ____.

A.eyes B.brains C.mouth D.cheekbone

What can you infer from the passage?

A.Da Vinci created the flickering smile effect by design.
B.The flickering smile effect is caused by the shadows.
C.Our eyes use many separate regions to see paintings.
D.Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world.
科目 英语   题型 阅读理解   难度 中等
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五.阅读理解(共20小题,每小题2分,满分40分)
A
People in the United States honor their parents with two special days: Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible(有责任感的) citizens. They give love and care. These two days make us think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery(墓地). On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.
46. Which of the following is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?
A. Parents bring up children.
B. Parents give love and care to children.
C. Parents educate children to be good persons.
D. Parents pass away before children grow up.
47. What do you think “florists” do?
A. They sell flowers.
B. They make and sell bread.
C. They offer enough room for having family parties.
D. They sell special gifts for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
48. What do you know from the passage?
A. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May.
B. Fewer women worked outside the home in the past.
C. Not all the children respect their parents.
D. Fathers are not as important as mothers at home.
49. On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, .
A. people usually have family parties B. everyone goes to visit the cemetery
C. children always go to parents’ home D. hand-made cards are the most valuable gifts


E
In New York, there is now a school with no daily lessons, no class teachers, not even a school building. The “school” is a project. It is called “City-as-School” and the name means just that, the city itself is the place where 350 students, between the age of 15 and 18, learn their lessons.
Students choose areas of work which interest them and then they help to do that work. For instance, one girl spends her week in the offices of a Congresswoman — an elected official — helping the public with problems such as pensions(养老金),housing, etc. Then she goes to help in a theatre for a day and she spends one day a week taking first-year courses at college.
City-as-School is 30 years old. The education system in New York accepts it now, as an alternative to final years at school. But can it replace ordinary lessons? Well, students have to pass maths and science exams before they enter the “school”. These subjects are not easy to provide for in “ City-as-School”. Teachers monitor the progress of the students. 80 to 85% of the students go to college (or university, as it is called in Britain) after their time at “City-as-School”. The success rate is high. And the students are enthusiastic about their “school”. They like the responsibility of their work, and the sense of purpose it gives them.
When the students leave “City-as-School”, they don’t have a normal academic education; but they do know a lot about different kinds of work in the city!
53. “City-as-School” is special because it is ________.
A. in New York, one of the most famous cities in the world
B. not a common school we usually see and know
C. a school having special students
D. free of charge for the citizens
54. What do the teachers at “City-as-School” do?
A. To monitor the progress of the students.
B. To give lessons to the students.
C. To evaluate the students’ performance.
D. To protect the students.
55. What is the author’s attitude to “City-as-School”?
A. Agreeable. B. Doubtful. C. Neutral (中立的). D. Disagreeable.


D
If you are in town in a western country, you will often see people walking with their dogs. It is still true that a dog is the most useful animal in the world, but the reason why one keeps a dog has changed. Once upon a time, a man met a dog and wanted it to help him in the fight against other animals,and he found that the dog listened to him and did what he told it to. Later people used dogs for the hunting of other animals, and the dogs didn't eat what they got until their masters agreed, so dogs were used for driving sheep and guarding chickens. But now the people in the towns and cities do not need dogs to hunt other animals. Of course they keep them to frighten thieves, but the most important reason is that people feel lonely in the city. For a child, a dog is his best friend when he has no friends to play with. For a young wife, a dog is her child when she doesn't have her own. For old people, a dog is also a child when their real children have grown up and left. Now people do not have to use a dog but they keep it as a friend, just like a member of the family.
49. In town in a western country, dogs are often seen to ________.
A. walk with hunters B. walk with their masters
C. fight against other animals D. play with other animals
50. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. People used to keep dogs to protect their house birds.
B. Dogs were used to hunt other animals.
C. Dogs will eat what they've got.
D. Dogs can perhaps drive thieves away.
51. The main reason why people in towns and cities raise dogs now is that ________.
A. they want dogs to frighten thieves for them
B. they use dogs for the hunting of other animals
C. they train dogs to drive sheep
D. they want to keep the dogs as friendly members of their families
52. The sentence "Now people do not have to use a dog" means ________.
A. a dog is not as useful as it was before
B. that it isn't necessary for people to use dogs to serve them
C. it isn't necessary for people to keep dogs any longer
D. people don't feel lonely now


C
Foods from Around the World
Foods that are well known to you may not be familiar to people from other countries. Here are four people’s experiences with foreign food.
Shao Wong is a student in France. He comes from China. “I’d never tasted cheese or even milk before I came here. Cattle are rare in my part of China, so there are no dairy products. I tried milk when I first arrived in France. I hated it! I sampled cheese too, but couldn’t manage more than one bite. I love ice cream, though, and that’s made from milk.”
Birgit is from Sweden. She traveled to Australia on vacation. “I was in a restaurant that specialized in fish, and I heard some other customers order flake. So I ordered some too and it was delicious. Later, I found out that flake is an Australian term for shark. After that pleasant experience, whenever I see a new food I try it out on purpose. You know why? I remember how much I enjoyed flake.”
Chandra is a dentist in Texas. She originates from India. “I’m frightened of eating new foods because they might be made from beef. I’m a Hindu, and my religion forbids me to eat meat from the cow. It’s a sacred animal to Hindus, so that’s the reason I can’t eat hamburgers or spaghetti with meatballs.”
Nathan is American. He taught for a year in China. “My friends gave me some 100-year-old eggs to eat. I didn’t like the look of them at all. The insides were green, but my friends said the color was normal. The Chinese put chemicals on fresh eggs. Then they bury them in the earth for three months. So the eggs weren’t really very old. Even so, I absolutely refused to touch them.”
Life in a new country can be scary, but it also can be fun. Would you sample a 100-year-old egg? Would you order shark in a restaurant?
44. Which of the following sentences is true about Shao Wong?
A. He is a French – Chinese.
B. Cattle are seldom raised in his hometown.
C. He doesn’t like any dairy products.
D. He didn’t taste cheese because he hated it.
45. What kind of girl is Birgit?
A. Religious. B. Brave. C. Confident. D. Open- minded.
46. Chandra is frightened of eating food made from beef, because _________.
A. It’s against Hindus’ religion.
B. She is a doctor and she thinks beef is not easy to chew and digest.
C. She is an Indian.
D. Hindus think beef is not tasty.
47. The underlined word “Sacred” in paragraph 4 means _________.
A. frightening B. large C. man – eating D. greatly respected
48. What can you infer from this passage?
A. Foods that are well known to you may not be familiar to people from other countries.
B. Despite (虽然) cultural differences in food, have a try and maybe you’ll get used to it.
C. A vacation is a good way to learn about new foods. Be sure to go on vacation more often.
D. People dislike eating new foods only because their religion forbids it.


When we see well, we do not think about our eyes very often. It is only when we cannot see perfectly that we realize how important our eyes are.
People who are near-sighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes, Everything else seems blurry(="unclear)." Many people who do a lot of work, such as writing, reading and sewing become near—sighted. Then people who are far-sighted suffer from just the opposite problem. They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty in reading a book unless they hold it at arm’s length. If they want to do much reading, they must get glasses, too.
Other people do not see clearly because their eyes are not exactly the right shape. They have what is called astigmatism (散光). This, too, can be corrected by glasses. Some people’s eyes become cloudy because of cataracts (白内障). Long ago these people often became blind. Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them.
Having two good eyes is important for judging distances. Each eye sees things from a slightly different angle (角度). To prove this to yourself, look at an object out of one eye; then look at the same object out of your other eye. You will find the object’s relation to the background and other things around it has changed. The difference between these two different eye views helps us to judge how far away an object is. People who have only one eye cannot judge distance as people with two eyes.
39. We should take good care of our eyes ________.
A. only when we can see well
B. only when we cannot see perfectly
C. even if we can see well
D. only when we realize how important our eyes are
40. When things far away seem indistinct(模糊不清) , one is probably _________.
A. near-sighted B. far-sighted
C. astigmatic D. suffering from cataracts
41. The underlined word suffer from in the second paragraph probably means _____.
A. experience B. imagine C. feel pain D. are affected with
42. People who suffer from astigmatism have __________.
A. one eye bigger than the other
B. eyes that are not exactly the right shape
C. a difficulty that can be corrected by an operation
D. an eye difficulty that cannot be corrected by glasses
43. Having two eyes instead of one is particularly useful for _________.
A. seeing at night B. seeing objects far away
C. looking over a wide areaD. judging distances

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