Birthdays often involve surprises. But this year's surprise on the birthday of the great British playwright William Shakespeare is surely one of the most dramatic.
On April 22, one day before his 441st birthday anniversary, experts discovered that one of the most recognizable portraits of William Shakespeare is a fake. This means that we no longer have a good idea of what Shakespeare looked like. “It's very possible that many pictures of Shakespeare might be unreliable because many of them are copies of this one,” said an expert from Britain's National Portrait Gallery.
The discovery comes after four months of testing using X-rays, ultraviolet light, microphotography and paint samples. The experts from the gallery say the image —commonly known as the “Flower portrait”— was actually painted in the 1800s, about two centuries after Shakespeare's death. The art experts who work at the gallery say they also used modern chemistry technology to check the paint on the picture. These checks found traces of paint dating from about 1814. Shakespeare died in 1616, and the date that appears on the portrait is 1609.
“We now think the portrait dates back to around 1818 to 1840. This was when there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare's plays,” Tarnya Cooper, the gallery's curator (馆长), told the Associated President.
The fake picture has often been used as a cover for collections of his plays. It is called the Flower portrait because one of its owners, Desmond Flower, gave it to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
“There have always been questions about the painting,” said David Howells, curator for the Royal Shakespeare Company. “Now we know the truth, we can put the image in its proper place in the history of Shakespearean portraiture.”
Two other images of Shakespeare, are also being studied as part of the investigation and the results will come out later this month.________.What makes the birthday of Shakespeare dramatic this year?
| A．It was found that he painted a portrait in 1814 instead of in 1609. |
| B．The Flower portrait has been found to be a fake. |
| C．Three portraits of Shakespeare are being tested to identify a real one. |
| D．It was found that there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare's plays around 1818 to 1840. |
Which statement is True according to the passage?
| A．Portraits of Shakespeare are all unreliable. |
| B．“Flower portrait” was a portrait of Shakespeare given to Desmond Flower. |
| C．1814 might be when the portrait was drawn. |
| D．The Flower portrait is not often used as a cover for Shakespeare's play. |
How many methods were used to test the portrait?
| A．Not mentioned. | B．Two |
| C．Three | D．At least four. |
The best title for this passage is ________.
| A．Birthdays often involve surprises |
| B．The surprise on the 441st birthday of Shakespeare |
| C．One portrait of Shakespeare is a fake |
| D．How can we know Shakespeare's appearance? |
Which is the best sentence to fill in the blank in the last paragraph?
| A．Soon we'll know which portrait is reliable. |
| B．Maybe we cannot find a real portrait of Shakespeare. |
| C．If the two portraits are found to be false, they will test more. |
| D．For now what Shakespeare really looked like will remain a mystery. |
London: What could possibly he wrong with planting trees? The benefits are obvious: they firm the soil, absorb extra water and take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
However, it now turns out that planting trees could add to global warming. Tree roots do a great job of keeping soil firmly on the ground and out of the wind's power. The problem is that some of those dust clouds play an important part in taking in carbon dioxide.
Huge dust storms blow out over the oceans from dry parts of North Africa and central Asia. Tons of dust are lifted and left as a thin film over the ocean surface.
Dust from China is carried east and left in the Pacific Ocean. If a tree-planting program there is successful and the dust supply reduced, the final result may be that less carbon dioxide gets locked away in the ocean.
Andy Ridgwell, an environmental scientist from the University of East Anglia, has spent the past few years studying dust and says his work shows clearly the complexity of the system and the importance of not working uselessly with it without understanding the results. For this reason the need is to focus on cutting carbon dioxide giving off rather than dealing with the land surface aimlessly.
An American scientist, Robert Jackson, has shown that when native grassland areas are occupied by trees, carbon is lost from the soil. "We are studying why the soil carbon disappears, but one theory is that trees do a lot more of their growing above ground compared to grasses, so less carbon goes directly into the soil from trees. " said Jackson.
In wet areas of the world, the gain from trees absorbing carbon dioxide above ground seems to be outweighed by the loss of carbon from the soil below ground.
Countries that plan to combat global warming by planting trees may have to think again. Solutions to environmental problems are often more complex than they first appear, and understanding the Earth's climate is a very great challenge.
64. People usually hold the opinion that _______.
A. huge dust storms can destroy carbon dioxide
B. huge dust storms can destroy the oceans on the earth
C. planting trees could reduce global warming
D. planting trees is the only way to control huge dust storms
65. Andy Ridgwell, the environmental scientist, believes that _______.
A. environmental problems are more complex than expected
B. trees shouldn't have been planted in dry places
C. dust plays a more important part than trees
D. carbon dioxide is harmful to everything
66. Robert Jackson's experiment proves that _______.
A. carbon can turn grass into dust
B. trees hold more carbon than grass
C. less carbon can make trees grow faster
D. grassland areas should be covered by forests
67. The underlined word "combat" in the last paragraph means _______.
A. learn about B. give up C. live with D. fight against
Channel Islands
The two main islands, Jersey and Quernsey, are remarkable in that they present a combination of enjoyment, peace and quiet. Neither island is very big (only ten miles long) and so all parts of these coasts are easily reached from the main centers -- St. Helier and St. Peter Port. In both these towns and particularly in Jersey's St. Helier are the amusements of really big resorts (度假胜地). The nearness of France gives a continental atmosphere; the weather here is far better than that of any other part of England. The other three islands, Jethou, Hern and Sark are small and quiet.
Isles of Scilly
The islands are really small and quiet; the weather is warm but windy. The islands are excellent for those who enjoy exploring small inlets (水湾), creeks (小溪) and bays on foot, or better, in a boat.
Isle of Wight
he island is 24 miles across and therefore quite large. The scenery is good and varied. The resorts are neither overlarge nor showy. The island has the best sunshine record in Britain.
Isle of Man
An island with a unique atmosphere -- it is different from England, Scotland or Wales. Thirty miles long, with good roads and good public transport, the mountains, hills and deep valleys are easily reached. Douglas is a major British resort and other holiday places are lively.
60. If you want to drive to the mountains and hills, you would choose
A. the Isle of Man B. the Isle of Wight C. Jersey D. the Isles of Stilly
61. If you want to be fairly sure you would have a lot of sunshine on holiday, you would choose ____.
A. the Channel Islands B. the Isle of Man
C. the Isle of Wight D. the Isles of Scilly
62. It can be concluded from Paragraph One that _______.
A. the Channel Islands consist of two islands
B. the Channel Islands are really ideal resorts
C. Jersey and Quernsey are excellent for those who enjoy exploring nature
D. there are many resorts in Jethou, Hem and Sark
63. In which way are the Channel Islands different from all the other places in England?
A. The coasts are easily reached from the main centers.
B. There are more islands there.
C. The weather is far better.
D. The crowds there can enjoy more entertaining but quieter holidays.
第三部分：阅读理解 (共20小题；每小题2分, 满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The host poured the tea into the cup and placed it on the small table in front of his guests, who were a father and daughter, and put the cover on the cup. Apparently thinking of something, he hurried into the inner room, leaving the thermos (热水瓶) on the table. His two guests heard a cupboard opening.
They remained sitting in the sitting room, the ten-year-old daughter looking at the flowers outside the window, the father just about to take his cup, when the crash came, right there in the sitting room. Something was hopelessly broken.
It was the thermos, which had fallen to the floor. The girl looked over her shoulder, shocked, staring. It was mysterious. Neither of them had touched it, not even a bit. True, it hadn't stood steadily when their host placed it on the table, but it hadn't fallen then.
The explosion caused the host to rush back. Gawking at the steaming floor, the host said "It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter!"
The father started to say something. Then he said softly, "Sorry, I touched it and it fell."
"It doesn't matter," the host said.
When they left the house, the daughter said, "Daddy, did you touch it?"
"No. But it stood so close to me. "
"But you didn't touch it. I saw your reflection in the window glass. "
The father laughed. "What then would you give as the cause of its fall?"
"The thermos fell by itself. The floor is not smooth. Daddy, why did you say that you …"
"That won't do, girl. It sounds more acceptable when I say I knocked it down. There are things which people accept less the more you defend them. The truer the story you tell, the less true it sounds. "
The daughter was lost in silence for a while. Then she said, "Can you explain it only in this way?"
"Only in this way," her father said.
56. Which statement is a possible theme of this story?
A. People rarely tell the truth.
B. You can't always make people believe the truth.
C. If you defend yourself, people will believe you.
D. People should take the blame for what they didn't do.
57. It can be inferred from the story that the father _______.
A. didn't know the host well B. felt satisfied that he didn't tell the truth
C. was sorry that he told the truth D. didn't think the host would believe the truth
58. From the story we know that the daughter ________.
A. thought her father should tell the truth B. didn't know why the thermos fell
C. knocked over the thermos D. strongly objected to her father's explanation
59. The underlined "gawking at" probably means _______.
A. staring at with anger B. looking at curiously
C. glancing at hopelessly D. looking at in a dull way
Research shows that humans switch from selfish to unselfish behaviour when they are watched. Do you?
A picture of a set of eyes on a computer screen can cause a change in the way people act. Even images of eyes on a charity donation, collection box encourage people to be unselfish, because people put more money in a collection box that has a picture of eyes on it than they do when a flower symbol is on the box.
Manfred Milinski from the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Germany and Bettina Rockenbach of the University of Berlin, the authors of a new study, found that people act better when they are being watched because they feel they will be rewarded for good behaviour. Their report also referred to other research showing that this response of behaving well when watched is somehow coded into humans and people respond this way unconsciously, or without realizing it.
It is not just humans that act unselfishly when they are being watched. A fish called the grooming fish cleans other fish. When other fish are around, it is gentler. When no other fish are around, however, the grooming fish bites chunks from the fish it is supposed to be cleaning.
The researchers suggest that the best way to get people to behave in the correct way is to make them feel watched. This could be the reason for the success of a famous American army poster. On it was a picture of an elderly man staring fiercely and pointing, it appeared, to the person who was looking at the poster. Under the picture was the caption 'I Want You' It encouraged hundreds of thousands of young American men to join the army during the Second World War to fight the Germans and Japanese.
68. According to the report, why does a person behave better when he feels he is being watched?
A. He does not want to be shamed by others.
B. He needs to show he is a good person.
C. He desires others to like him more.
D. He feels he will receive some social reward
.
69. What is the text mainly about?
A. It describes changed behaviour when observed.
B. It details ways to control people's behaviour.
C. It tells how to make people work harder.
D. It discusses different advertising methods.
70．Where would the study described in the text most likely be found?
A. In a newspaper.
B. In a scientific journal.
C. In an advertising magazine.
D. In a science textbook.
The booking notes of the play “the Age of Innocence”:
Price: ＄10
BOOKING
There are four easy ways to book seats for performance:
------ in person
The Box Office is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a. m. —8 p. m.
------ by telephone
Ring 01324976 to reserve your tickets or to pay by credit card（Visa, MasterCard and 
Amex accepted）
------ by post
Simply complete the booking form and return it to Global Theatre Box Office.
------ on line
Complete the on-line booking form at www. Satanfiedtheatre. com
DICOUNTS:
Saver: ＄2 off any seat booked any time in advance for performances from Monday to Thursday. Savers are available for children up to 16 years old, over 60s and full-time students.
Supersaver: half-price seats are available for people with disabilities and one companion. It is advisable to book in advance. There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces available and one wheelchair space will be held until an hour before the show.
Standby: best available seats are on sale for ＄6 from one hour before the performance for people eligible（suitable）for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other customers.
Group Bookings: there is a ten percent discount for parties of twelve or more.
School: school parties of ten or more can book ＄6 standby tickets in advance and will get every tenth ticket free.
Please note: we are unable to exchange tickets or refund money unless a performance is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
65. If you want to book a ticket, you CANNOT _______.
A. go to the Box Office on Sundays
B. ring the booking number and pay for the tickets by credit card
C. use the Internet
D. complete a booking form and post it to the Box Office
66. If you make a group booking for a group of 14 adults, how much should you pay?
A. ＄126 B. ＄120 C. ＄140 D. ＄150
67. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. There are only 8 wheelchair spaces in the theatre.
B. A school party of 15 students should pay＄90 for the standby tickets.
C. A group of 12 persons can get 10 per cent discount.
D. The audience can’t refund money if the performance is on show.