【2011·浙江宁波第二次模拟】

ROME: The legend of Leonardo da Vinci is covered in mystery: How did he dietl Are the remains buried in a French castle really those of the master? Was the “Mona Lisat’ a self-portrait in disguise（伪装）?

A group of ltalian scientists believe the key to solving those puzzles lies with the remains, and they say they are seeking permission to dig up the body to conduct carbon and DNA testing.

If the skullis undamaged, the scientists can go to the heart of a question that has fascinated scholars and the public for centuries: the identity of the “Mona Lisa.’ Recreating a virtual and then physical reconstruction of Leonardots face, they can compare it with the smiling face in the Painting.

“We don’t know what we’ll find if the tomb is opened. We could even just find grains and dust,ll says Giorgio Gruppioni, an anthropologist who is participating m the project. “But if the remains are well kept, they are a biological record of events in a persons life, and sometimes in their death.” Silvano Vinceti, the leader of the group, said that he plans to press his case with the French officials in charge of the said burial site at Amboise Castle early next week.

Leonardo moved to France at the invitation of King Francis I, who named him “first painter to the.king.” He spent the last three years of his life there, and died in 1519 at age 67. The artist’s original burial place, the palace church of Saint Florentine, was destroyed dirring’ the French Revo/ution and remains that are believed to be his were eventually reburied in the Saint-Hubert Chapel near the castle.

“The Amboise tomb is a symbolic tomb; it’s a big question mark,” said Alessandro Vezzosi, the director of a museum dedicated to Leonardo in his hometown of Vinci. Vezzosi said that investigating the tomb could help identify the artist’s bones with certainty and solve other questions, such as the cause of his death. He said he asked to open the tomb in 2004 to study the remains, but the Amboise Castle turned him down.

The group of 100 experts involved in the project, called the National Committee for Historical and Artistic Heritage, was created in 2003 with the aim of “solving the great mysteries of the past,” said Vinceti, who has written books on art and literature.

Arguably the world’s most famous painting, the “Mona Lisal’ hangs in the Louvre in Paris, where it drew some 8.5 million visitors last year, Mystery has surrounded the identity of the tricks and riddles might have led him to hide his own identity behind that puzzling smile; others have guessed that the pamting hid an androgynous lover.

If granted access to the grave site, the ltalian experts plan to use a tmy camera and radar to confirm the presence of bones. The scientists would then exhume(挖掘) the remains and attempt to date the bones with carbon testing.

At the heart of the proposed study is the effort to discover whether the remains are actually Leonardo’s, including with DNA testing.

Vezzosi questions the DNA comparison, saying he js unaware of any direct descendants（后代） of Leonardo or of tombs that could be attributed with certainty to the artist’s close relatives.

Gruppioni said that DNA from the bones could also eventually be compared to DNA found elsewhere. For example, Leonardo is thought to have rubbed colors on the canvas with his thumb,  possibly using saliva (唾液), meaning DNA might be found on his paintings.

Even in the absence of DNA testing, other tests could provide useful information, including whether the bones belonged to a man or a WOCOLan, and whether the person died young or old.

Even within the committee, experts are divided over the identity of the “Mona Lisa．”

Vinceti believes that a tradition of considering the self-portrait to be not just a faithful imitation of one’s features but a representation of one’s spiritual identity may have resonated(共鸣)with Leonardo.

Vezzosi, the museum director, dismissed,as “baseless and senselessl’ the idea that the “Mona Lisa” could be a self-portrait of Leonardo. He said most researchers believe the woman may have been either a wife of the artist’s sponsor, the Florentine nobleman Giuliano de Medici, or Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a rich silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. The traditional view is that the name “Mona Lisa” comes from the silk merchant’s wife, as well as its Italian name: “La Gioconda.”

55. Where is this passage most probably taken from?

A. Amagazine.       B. A newspaper.      C. A textbook          D. Aresearch report.

56. Why does the author ask a couple of questions in the begjnnjng?

A. To arouse the interest of readers.       B. To puzzle Italian scientists.

C. To answer the questions himself.        D. To make fun of French officials.

57.The best title of this story might be“    ”．

A. What Is the Purpose of an Investigation?

B. How Did Leonardo da Vinci Die in France?

C. Are the Remains Really Those of the Master?

D. Did Leonardo Paint Himself as ‘Mona Lisa’?

58.The sentence “he plans to press his case with the French officials” (underlined in Paragraph 4) suggests that Vinceti intends to       .

A. press the French officials to participate in their project

B. urge the French officials to open the tomb early next week

C. persuade the French officials to allow opening the tomb

D. record events in a person’s life with the French officials

59. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. Scholars have the same opinion on DNA testing.

B. Scientists doubt if the remains are those of da Vinci.

C. The identity of “Mona Lisa” l” has already been proved.

D. Alessandro Vezzosi got permission to open the tomo.

60. We can infer from the last two paragraphs that     ？

A.“Mona Lisa” is the name of the wife of a silk merchant

B. the“Mona Lisa” is a self-portrait of Leonardo daVinci

C. experts divided the committee into several groups

D. opinions differ of the identity of the “Mona Lisa”

America’s No.1 health problem? A report published by the American Institute of Stress claims the biggest threat to health today is neither cancer nor AIDS. The report says: “It has been estimated that 75—90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems.”   

It is no exaggeration to say that people today are being attacked by stress. According to the National Consumers League, “Work is the top source of stress for adults who have problems and stress in their lives (39%), followed by family (30%). Other sources include health (10%), concern about the economy (9%) and concern about international conflict and terrorism (4%).”

However, stress is hardly unique to the United States. A British survey in 2005 estimated that “over half a million individuals in Britain believed in 2004 that they were experiencing work-related stress at a level that was making them ill.” As a result of “work-related stress, depression or anxiety,” there are “an estimated thirteen and a half million reported lost working days per year in Britain.”  

The picture is no less bleak (荒凉的) in mainland Europe. According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, “work-related stress has been shown to affect millions of European workers across all types of employment sectors.” One survey revealed that there are “about 41 million workers affected by work-related stress each year.”  

What about Asia? A report issued by a conference held in Tokyo concluded: “Job stress is a common concern among many countries in the world, both developing and industrialized countries.” The report observed that “several countries in East Asia, including China and Korea, have rapidly industrialized and economically grown. These countries now have a lot of concerns on job stress and its harmful effects on workers’ health.”

1．The author quoted “America’s No.1 Health Problem.” (Para. 1) in order to ______. 

       A．talk about health problems in America 

       B．introduce the topic of stress               

       C．emphasize the stress in America         

       D．tell readers something about American Institute of Stress

2．Which of the followings is NOT true? 

       A．The threat of stress is bigger than cancer and AIDS. 

       B．Stress is always from working and living pressure. 

       C．Some of Americans care about international conflict and terrorism. 

       D．A lot of English people become ill as a result of stress. 

3．We can infer from the last paragraph that ______. 

       A．Asian people are more willing to develop their countries

      B．the rapid economic development is the main reason for stress   

       C．some people in Asian countries have health problems from employment stress 

       D．Asian countries have a better situation of stress than Europe

4．What’s the best title for this passage? 

       A．America’s No.1 Health Problem             B．Working Stress around the World 

       C．How to Deal with Stress                       D．Attacked by Stress

One night recently, I was driving down a two-lane highway at about 60 miles an hour. A car approached from the opposite direction at about the same speed. As we passed each other, I caught the other driver’s eye for only a second. I wondered whether he might be thinking, as I was, how dependent we were on each other at that moment. I was relying on him not to fall asleep, not to be distracted (分心) by a phone conversation, not to cross over into my lane and bring my life to a sudden end. Though we had never spoken a word to each other, he relied on me in just the same way.

Multiplied a million times over, I believe that is the way the world works. At some level, we all depend upon one another. Sometimes that dependence requires us simply not to do something like crossing over the double yellow line. And sometimes it requires us to act cooperatively, with friends or even with strangers.

As technology makes our world smaller and smaller, the need increases for cooperative action among nations. In 2003, doctors in five nations were quickly organized to identify the SARS virus, which saved thousands of lives. The threat of international terrorism has shown itself to be a similar problem, one requiring team action by police and intelligence forces across the world. We must recognize that our fates are not ours alone to control.

In my own life, I used to put great stock in personal responsibility. But, as time has passed, I’ve also come to believe that there are moments when one must rely upon the good faith and judgment of others. So, while each of us faces the case of driving alone down a dark road, what we must learn with experience is that the approaching light may not be a threat, but a shared moment of trust.

1.The author considers it very important ______.

A．to drive with a companion	B．to have personal independence
C．to gain certain responsibility	D．to share trust and cooperation

2.The author said that they depended on each other in the same way because ______.

A．the approaching car was very dangerous

B．they both drove their car at a terrific speed

C．he might be killed out of the other’s careless driving

D．it was dark and the road was not wide enough

3. From the second paragraph, we know the author drew the important lesson from ______.

A．only one experience	B．many similar experiences
C．a driver on a dark road	D．many friends and strangers

4.The need for cooperation increases because ______.

A．people’s fates can’t be controlled by themselves

B．certain viruses can spread in a quick way

C．terrorism can happen everywhere and every day

D．the world has become much more dangerous

5.We can infer from the last paragraph that the author has ______.

A．believed in one’s own personal responsibility

B．counted upon himself alone in everything

C．had no trust in others’ good faith and judgment

D．had a change on his viewpoint of life

 

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项。

　　One night recently, I was driving down a two-lane highway at about 60 miles an hour. A car approached from the opposite direction at about the same speed. As we passed each other, I caught the other driver's eye for only a second I wondered whether he might be thinking, as I was, how dependent we were on each other at that moment. I was relying on him not to fall asleep, not to be put off by a phone conversation, not to cross over into my lane and bring my life to a sudden end. Though we had never spoken a word to each other, he relied on me in just the same way.

　　Multiplied a million times over, I believe that is the way the world works. At some level, we all depend upon one another. Sometimes that dependence requires us simply not to do something like crossing over the double yellow line. And sometimes it requires us to act cooperatively, with friends or even with strangers.

　　As technology shrinks our world, the need increases for cooperative action among nations. In 2003, doctors in five nations were quickly organized to identify the SARS virus, which saved thousands of lives. The threat of international terrorism has shown itself to be a similar problem, one requiring coordinated action by police and intelligence forces across the world We must recognize that our fates (命运) are not ours alone to control.

　　In my own life, I've put great stock in personal responsibility. But, as the years have passed, I've also come to believe that there are moments when one must rely upon the good faith and judgment of others. So, while each of us faces the case of driving alone down a dark road, what we must learn is that the approaching light may not be a threat, but a shared moment of trust.

(1) The author considers ________ very important.

[　　]

A．driving alone on a dark road

B．independence of people

C．cooperation to identify SARS virus

D．shared trust and cooperation

(2) The author said that they depended on each other in the same way because ________.

[　　]

A．the approaching car was very dangerous

B．they both drove their car at a terrific speed

C．he might be killed out of the other's careless driving

D．it was dark and the road was not wide enough

(3) From the second paragraph, we know the author drew the important lesson form ________.

[　　]

A．only one experience

B．many similar experiences

C．a driver on a dark road

D．many friends and strangers

(4) The need for cooperation increases because ________.

[　　]

A．peoples' fates can't be controlled by themselves

B．the SARS virus spread quickly

C．terrorism can happen everywhere

D．the world has become smaller

(5) We can infer from the last paragraph that the author has ________.

[　　]

A．believed in one's own personal responsibility

B．counted upon himself alone in everything

C．had no trust in others' good faith and judgment

D．had a change on his viewpoint of life

America’s No.1 health problem? A report published by the American Institute of Stress claims the biggest threat to health today is neither cancer nor AIDS. The report says: “It has been estimated that 75—90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems.”　

It is no exaggeration to say that people today are being attacked by stress. According to the National Consumers League, “Work is the top source of stress for adults who have problems and stress in their lives （39%）, followed by family （30%）. Other sources include health （10%）, concern about the economy （9%） and concern about international conflict and terrorism （4%）.”

However, stress is hardly unique to the United States. A British survey in 2005 estimated that “over half a million individuals in Britain believed in 2004 that they were experiencing work-related stress at a level that was making them ill.” As a result of “work-related stress, depression or anxiety,” there are “an estimated thirteen and a half million reported lost working days per year in Britain.”　

The picture is no less bleak （荒凉的） in mainland Europe. According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, “work-related stress has been shown to affect millions of European workers across all types of employment sectors.” One survey revealed that there are “about 41 million workers affected by work-related stress each year.”　

What about Asia? A report issued by a conference held in Tokyo concluded: “Job stress is a common concern among many countries in the world, both developing and industrialized countries.” The report observed that “several countries in East Asia, including China and Korea, have rapidly industrialized and economically grown. These countries now have a lot of concerns on job stress and its harmful effects on workers’ health.”

1．The author quoted “America’s No.1 Health Problem.” （Para. 1） in order to ______.

　 A．talk about health problems in America

　 B．introduce the topic of stress 　　　　　　

　 C．emphasize the stress in America 　　　　　　

　 D．tell readers something about American Institute of Stress

2．Which of the followings is NOT true?

　 A．The threat of stress is bigger than cancer and AIDS.

　 B．Stress is always from working and living pressure.

　 C．Some of Americans care about international conflict and terrorism.

　 D．A lot of English people become ill as a result of stress. 

3．We can infer from the last paragraph that ______.

　 A．Asian people are more willing to develop their countries

B．the rapid economic development is the main reason for stress 　

　 C．some people in Asian countries have health problems from employment stress

　 D．Asian countries have a better situation of stress than Europe

4．What’s the best title for this passage?

　 A．America’s No.1 Health Problem　　　　　　　

　 B．Working Stress around the World

　 C．How to Deal with Stress　　

　 D．Attacked by Stress