TheNationalAirandSpaceMuseumin-优题课

When Frida Kahlo's paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “ a ribbon （丝带）around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City , Kahlo suffered from polio（小儿麻痹症）at the age of seven. Her spine （脊柱）became bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but noting was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953. For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.
What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in paragraph 1 most nearly mean?

A．a far better artist	B．a much more famous person
C．a much stronger person	D．a far more gifted artist

The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by.

A．back injuries	B．her bent spine
C．polio	D．the operations she had

Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the.

A．1930s

B．1970s

C．1950s

D．1940s

What is author’s attitude toward Kahlo?

A．Devotion	B．Encouragement
C．Worry	D．Sympathy

Are we getting more stupid? According to Gerald Crabtree, a scientist at Stanford University in the US, we are. You may not want to hear this, but Crabtree believes that human intelligence reached its peak more than 2,000 years ago and ever since then has been going downhill. “If an average Greek from 1,000 BC were transported to modern times, he or she would be one of the brightest among us,” Crabtree told The Guardian.
At the heart of Crabtree’s thinking is a simple idea. In the past, intelligence was critical for survival when our ancestors had to avoid dangerous animals and hunt for food. The difference of being smart or stupid is often life or death. However, after the spread of agriculture, when our ancestors began to live in dense farming communities, the need to keep their intelligence in peak condition gradually reduced.
This is not hard to understand. Most of the time, pressure is what keeps us going – you need the pressure from your teachers to finish your homework; the pressure of looking pretty prompts(促使) you to lose weight when summer comes. And the same is also true of our intelligence – if we think less, we become less smart.
These mutations(变异) are harmful to our intelligence and they were all developed in the past 3,000 years. The other evidence that Crabtree holds is in our genes. He found that among the 2,000 to 5,000 genes that we have that determine human intelligence , there are two or more mutations in each of us.
However, Crabtree’s theory has been criticized by some who say that early humans may have better hunting and surviving abilities, but people today have developed a more diverse intelligence. For example, spearing a tiger doesn’t necessarily require more brainpower than playing chess or writing a poem. Moreover, the power of modern education means a lot more people have the opportunity to learn nowadays.
“You wouldn’t get Stephen Hawking 2,000 years ago. He just wouldn’t exist,” Thomas Hills of the University of Warwick, UK, told Live Science. “But now we have people of his intellectual capacity doing things and making insights(洞察力) that we would never have achieved in our environment of evolutionary adaptation.”
What is Crabtree’s recent finding according to the article?

A．The Greeks from 1,000 BC could have been the smartest in human history.

B．Our ancient ancestors had no better surviving abilities than we do nowadays.

C．Humans have been getting steadily more intelligent since the invention of farming.

D．Mutations in genes that decide human intelligence have affected the development of intelligence.

According to Crabtree, ancient humans _______.

A．had much more genes that determine human intelligence

B．were forced to be smart due to natural selection pressures

C．relied more on group intelligence than individual intelligence

D．developed a diverse intelligence to adapt to the hard realities

Some argue that Crabtree’s theory is false because they think _______.

A．people today are under much more pressure than early humans

B．it’s ridiculous to compare a hunter’s and a poet’s intelligence

C．modern education is far more advanced than ancient education

D．human intelligence nowadays is different from that of the distant past

What is Thomas Hills’ attitude toward Crabtree’s theory?

A．Supportive	B．Unfavorable
C．Worried	D．Confused

Fifty people died, over 11,000 were injured, and 100,000 houses were heavily damaged or destroyed in an earthquake that struck North China's Hebei Province.
The quake, measuring 6. 2 on the Richter scale (里氏6 .2级) , hit the area 220km northwest of Beijing at 11: 50 a. m. on January 10, 1998.
Scientists made a report of the recent quake. They said that the area of northwestern Beijing, the joint of Shanxi and Hebei Provinces and the Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) were most easily attacked by earthquakes measuring 6 to a bit over 7 on the Richter scale.
However, scientists did not see the recent earthquake earlier. Clouds covered a large area in the northern part of North China before the earthquake and experts say that this prevented satellites from correctly watching the temperature at the correct altitude (纬度).
Experts say that in the last ten years, about 305 earthquakes have taken place in China with 9 measuring over 7 on the Richter scale, 60 measuring over 6, and 236 measuring over 5.
Tens of thousands of people died or were injured. Loss valued over 10 billion yuan.
When the earthquake attacked the area, most people there were unlikely to ____.

A．sleep in bed	B．work in the fields
C．walk in the streets	D．stay at home

The report shows that about nine earthquakes in the past ten years are measured over ____ on the Richter scale.

A．7

B．5

C．9

D．6

It can be inferred from the report that the damage caused by the earthquakes could be much less heavy if ____.

A．all the people stayed outside

B．the earthquake happened at midnight

C．the people had been warned earlier

D．the earthquake scale was lower than 6. 2 only

Which of the following can be reasonable except ____.

A．We can not stop earthquakes

B．Scientists are working hard at the researches on earthquakes

C．We can do our best to have fewer damages than ever

D．Nothing can be done on earthquakes

The people who built Stonehenge in southern England thousands of years ago had wild parties, eating barbecued pigs and breaking pottery. This is according to recent work by archaeologists—history experts who investigate (调查) how human beings lived in the past.
Archaeologists digging near Stonehenge last year discovered the remains of a large prehistoric village where they think the builders of the mysterious stone circle used to live.
The village is about 4600 years old, the same age as Stonehenge and as old as the pyramids in Egypt. It is less than two miles from the famous ancient landmark and lies inside a massive manmade circular dirt wall, or “henge”， known as the Durrington Walls.
Remains found at the site included jewellery, stone arrowheads, tools made of deer antlers, wooden spears and huge amounts of animal bones and broken pottery. “These finds suggest Stone Age people went to the village at special times of the year to feast and party”， says Mike Parker Pearson from Sheffield University in England.
He said many of the pig bones they found had been thrown away halfeaten. He also said the partygoers appeared to have shot some of the farm pigs with arrows, possibly as a kind of sport before barbecuing them.
An ancient road which led from the village to the River Avon was also found. Here, the experts think, people came after their parties to throw dead relatives in the water so the bodies would be washed downstream to Stonehenge.
Parker Pearson believes Stonehenge was like a cemetery where ancient Britons buried the dead and remembered their ancestors. “The theory is that Stonehenge is a kind of spirit home to the ancestors.”
The recent discovery of the village within the Durrington Walls shows that Stonehenge didn't stand alone but was part of a much bigger religious site, according to Parker Pearson.
People still come to worship and celebrate at Stonehenge today. They meet there when the sun sets on the shortest day of winter and when it rises on the longest day of summer. But the days of barbecuing whole pigs there and throwing family members into the river are a thing of the past.
What was Stonehenge according to the text?

A．A village where hundred of people once lived.

B．A place that regularly hosted large parties.

C．A church where local villagers would get married.

D．A site where dead people were placed or remembered.

From the text we can infer that the people who came to the village ________.

A．liked to drink wine	B．knew how to hunt
C．were from Egypt	D．lived by the River Avon

What do experts think people did after the village parties?

A．Returned to live at Stonehenge.

B．Prayed for good luck in the new year.

C．Hunted farm pigs as a sport.

D．Put their dead relatives in the river.

When do people most often go to Stonehenge today?

A．When a new discovery is made.

B．At the beginning of summer and winter.

C．On the longest and shortest days of the year.

D．When they want to have a barbecue.

It is love that makes the world go round. And it is also love that has such power to overcome all difficulties. So we say: “Love will find a way.” As smile is a facial expression showing pleasure, affection, and friendliness, it is the commonest way to show our good will perfectly without saying anything. A Chinese saying runs: “never hit a person who is smiling at you.” It is a time-proven fact that the smile is a language all its own— a universal language—understood by the people of every nation in the world. We may not speak the same tongue as our foreign neighbors, but we smile in the same tongue. We need no interpreter for thus expressing love, happiness, or good will.
One day while shopping in a small town in southern California, it was my misfortune to be approached by a clerk whose personality contradicted mine. He seemed most unfriendly and not at all concerned about my intended purchase. I bought nothing, and marched angrily out of the store. My anger toward that grew with each step. Outside, standing at the corner, was a dark-complexion young man in his early twenties. His expressive brown eyes met and held mine, and in the next instant a beautiful, dazzling smile covered his face. I gave in immediately. The magnetic power of that shining smile drove away all bitterness within me, and I found the muscles in my own face happily responding. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?” I remarked, in passing. Then, suddenly something inside me sent me turning back. “I really owe you a debt of gratitude,” I said softly. His smile deepened, but he made no attempt to answer. A Mexican woman and two men were standing nearby. The woman stepped forward and eyed me inquiringly. “Carlos, he no speak English,” she volunteered. “You want I should tell him something?” In that moment I felt transformed. Carlos’ smile had made a big person of me. My friendliness and good will toward all mankind stood ten feet tall. “Yes,” my reply was enthusiastic and sincere, “tell him I said ‘Thank you!’” “Thank you?” The woman seemed slightly puzzled. I gave her arm a friendly pat as I turned to leave. “Just tell him that,” I insisted. “He’ll understand. I am sure!” Oh, what a smile can do! Although I have never seen that young man again, I shall never forget the lesson he taught me that morning.
From that day on, I became smile – conscious, and I practice that diligently, anywhere and everywhere, with everybody. When I got excited in traffic, taking the right–of–way (公路用地) from the other car with my stupid mistake, I’d smile and shrug my shoulders apologetically. This action on my part would always draw a good–natured smile in return. If the other fellow was at fault – and if I could remember my resolution in time! – he’d get a broad smile of understanding. This took a bit of doing at first. I’ll admit it wasn’t always easy, but it was fun. The results were sometimes amazing. Many times, a broad, friendly smile would completely turn aside ill–feeling and tension. I’m wondering now how many tragic accidents could be avoided on our overcrowded highways, if every driver remembered to smile!
The author got angry while shopping one day because .

A．of the clerk’s unfriendliness and lack of concern

B．of her misfortune

C．she failed to purchase what she intended

D．a dark–complexion young man laughed at her

From the conversation between the author and the Mexican woman, we can infer that the woman .

A．was well–educated but unwilling to help others

B．was able to speak English

C．knew some English and was ready to help others

D．was familiar with the young man

In the author’s opinion, if all people remembered to smile when driving, .

A．many traffic accidents could be avoided

B．they would receive a good natural smile in return

C．they could get a broad smile of understanding

D．they wouldn’t feel any tension

The best title for this passage could be .

A．The Art of Smiling

B．The Universal Language

C．The Power of Love

D．The Magic Power of Friendship

A．December 24, 2014 (Wednesday)	B．March 1, 2015 (Sunday)
C．July 6, 2015 (Monday)	D．September 15, 2015 (Tuesday)