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. |
Young people and older people do not always agree with each other. They sometimes have different ideas about living, working and playing. But in one special program in New York State, adults and teenagers live together in a friendly way.
Each summer 200 teenagers and 50 adults live together for eight weeks as members of a special work group. Everyone works several hours each day. They do so not just to keep busy but to find meaning and enjoyment in work. Some teenagers work in the woods or on the farms near the village. Some learn to make things like tables and chairs and to build houses. The adults teach them these skills.
There are several free ho urs each day. Weekends are free, too. During the free hours some of the teenagers learn photo-taking or painting. Others sit around and talk or sing. Each teenager chooses his own way to spend his free time.
When people live together, rules are necessary. In this program, the teenagers and the adults make the rules together. If someone breaks a rule, the problem goes before the whole group. They talk about it and ask, “Why did it happen? What should we do about it?”
One of the teenagers has this to say about the experience, “You stop thinking only about yourself. You learn how to think about the group.”In one special program in New York, young and older people.
| A．are friendly to each other |
| B．teach each other new ways of building houses |
| C．live together but do not work together |
| D．spend eight weeks together, working as farmers |
Living together,.
| A．the teenagers have to obey the rules the adults make |
| B．the members don’t have to obey the rules |
| C．the members are not allowed to break the rules they make together |
| D．the members have no free time except on weekends |
The last paragraph shows that the tee nager thinks his experience in the program is.
| A．disappointing | B．helpful | C．tiring | D．unpleasant |
The best title for the passage is.
| A．Rules of Living Together | B．Different Ideas about Living |
| C．Teenagers and Adults Together | D．Life in New York State |
When I was a kid, I always used to wonder how in the world my father work outside in the winter without a coat. It could be minus 20 degrees centigrade and there’d be Dad, removing snow, or perhaps chopping some wood --- his coat thrown aside--- wearing a shirt , a cap, and a pair of gloves.
“Aren’t you cold, Dad?” I’d ask. “No,” Dad would reply. “I’m not cold--- working too hard to be cold.”
Many times I wondered whether my father was an extremely tough man, or whether he was foolish.
One time when I was quite young, perhaps five or so, I went ice fishing with Dad. It was a bright, clear day—and bitterly cold.
After we’d been out on the ice for a little while, my feet started getting cold.
“Daddy, my feet are cold.” I said.
“Yeah, it’s cold out here today,” he replied.
“Tell you what,” he said. “Walk around. Make some circles in the snow. See how many different patterns you can make. That will get your feet warm.”
Now, I was just a little girl at the time but I remember thinking, “How in the world will walking around in the snow make my feet warm? Dad must be out of mind.
But he was my father, after all. I made circles in the snow. I made squares. Pretty soon I was having so much fun making patterns in the snow. I forgot about my feet being cold.
Now, all these years later, I know, too, from personal experience how my father was able to take his coat off and work outside in the winter wearing just a shirt, a cap and gloves. Because I do it, too. “Aren’t you cold?” my husband asked one winter day. “No,” I replied. “I’m not cold—working too hard to be cold.”
I hope my husband has decided I’m both tough and smart. But I guess quite a bit of the time he thinks I’m foolish.
Wherever Dad is in that great big farm in the sky—I’m sure he can’t help but smile whenever I take my coat off while I’m working outside in the winter.When the author’s feet felt cold, her father advised her to.
| A．go home alone first | B．keep walking in the snow |
| C．draw pictures in the snow | D．light a fire on the ice |
Hearing her father’s advice, the author thought her father.
| A．forgettable | B．warm-hearted | C．crazy | D．cruel |
What might the author’s husband think of her?
| A．Tough | B．Smart | C．Brave | D．Foolish |
The author’s purpose of writing this passage is to.
| A．remember her tough and smart father |
| B．show how her father cared about her |
| C．describe memories of her childhood |
| D．explain why her father loved her so much |
Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. You should not be upset if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you! Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m., And end at about 11. Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as gift. Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks. Do you want to be extra polite? Say how much you like the room, or the pictures on the wall. But remember---- it's not polite to ask how much things cost. In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.
You'll probably start meal with soup or something small, and then you have meat of fish with vegetables, and then desert, followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and have more if you want it. Did you enjoy the evening? Call your host and hostess the next day, or write them a short "thank you" letter. British and American people like to say "thank you, thank you, thank you" all the time!You're not invited to the evening by a friend, which.
| A．means you are not welcome f or some bad manners |
| B．means he or she doesn't like you for some unknown reasons |
| C．means you should pay more visits to them and bring more gifts |
| D．doesn't mean he or she doesn't like you |
You should never.
| A．say you like the host's house very much |
| B．ask the host the price of the things in the house |
| C．have drinks and some snacks before the evening |
| D．sit beside the host or hostess when having dinner |
As a guest, you should finish everything to show.
| A．you are healthy | B．you rea lly like the food |
| C．you like cooking | D．you have a good appetite.（胃口） |
We don’t plan to cry, but it just happens. In fact when we feel sad or angry, a good cry is almost impossible to resist. But if you didn’t know what crying was, you’d have to wonder why some strong feelings started water streaming from people’s eyes and why they seemed to feel better afterwards.
Now a US researcher had found there may be more in crying than we think. William H. Frey II, author of “Crying: The Mystery of Tears,” believes it may really be one of the body’s clever self-repair mechanisms. Crying may be a way of getting rid of the by-products of stress, he says.
He has found that tears contain some chemicals which can cause stress. One of these is the hormone prolactin (激素), which is set free when one is feeling stressed. Since women have more of this than men, that might explain why they usually cry more, he suggests.
Unsurprisingly, Dr Frey’s study seemed to prove that most people feel better after a good cry. And sex has nothing to do with it ––– the result was true for women and men. So, next time you feel like bursting into tears, go ahead. If Dr Frey is right, you’ll be doing yourself a favour.The best title of this passage would be ________.
| A．Why Do We Cry | B．Crying and Tears. |
| C．Dr Frey and Crying. | D．Tears and Chemicals |
According to the author, we feel like crying because________.
| A．crying is one of our habits |
| B．we can’t control it |
| C．crying is one of the body’s self-repair mechanisms |
| D．we can get the by-products of stress by crying |
According to the passage, men seem less likely to cry than women because_______.
| A．their bodies contain less hormone prolactin |
| B．their tears contain more chemicals |
| C．they are not so full of feelings as women |
| D．the chemicals in their tears can’t cause stress |
The author advised us________.
| A．to plan to cry very often |
| B．not to cry any more |
| C．to go outdoors without hesitation |
| D．to cry as we want to |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Good cries can make most people feel better |
| B．Only women can feel better after crying. |
| C．It is easy to understand that people feel better after a good cry. |
| D．Crying is sometimes impossible to resist. |
Scientists are making new studies of color and its effects on our health. They have known for a long time that the color of a room or the color of the light in it can affect our feelings and emotions. Many prisons and hospitals have at least one room that is painted pink. Officials have found that light and color can produce physical changes in our bodies.
Professor Falfan worked with a group of 9 disabled children at school in Albert. Two of the children were blind. The other seven had normal sight. The scientists changed the color of the school room, then looked for changes in blood pressure, heart beat and breathing rate. The effects of color changes were the same for the blind children as for those with normal sight. Their blood pressure dropped from about 120 to 100. Similar changes were reported in heart-beat and the breathing. The children also were calmer and less excited. Then the colors of the room were returned to orange and white. Blood pressure, heart-beat and breathing rate went up and the children became excited again.
Professor Falfan said different colors produce different levels of light energy. He said the differences seem to affect chemicals in the brain that carry messages from nerve to nerve and from nerve to muscle.Light and color can affect________.
| A．only one’s feelings and emotions |
| B．one’s energy |
| C．one’s mental changes |
| D．one’s heart-beat, brain activities, blood pressure, feelings and emotions |
The color of pink had a calming effect, that is to say, the color affects __________.
| A．the chemicals in the brain | B．the eyes |
| C．the skin | D．the muscle |
According to the text, orange and white are colors which can make people ________.
| A．calm | B．active | C．sick | D．blind |
The colors in the school room mentioned in the passage were changed from _________.
| A．orange to white | B．orange and white to dark blue |
| C．orange and white to pink or some other colors | D．gray to more colors |
After reading the passage we can conclude that ________.
| A．blind people can be affected by colors, too |
| B．one’s heart will beat fast in a colorful room than in a white room |
| C．the chemicals in the brain change with feelings and emotions |
| D．if one’s blood pressure drops, his breathing will get slower and slower |