B

She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last for ever. But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa.

The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louver Museum(卢浮宫) where it is housed.

“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said. Visitors have noticed changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state.

Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. “It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University. “It’s because direct vision(视觉) is excellent at picking up details, but less suited to looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.”

However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519.

In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louver by a former employee, who took it out of the museum, hidden under his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back to France two years later. During World War Ⅱ, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.

5.We can infer from the text that_______

A. the Mona Lisa is proved to be able to last another 500 years

B. Mona Lisa’s beauty is fading gradually with 500 years passing by

C. the Mona Lisa has been catching people’s wide attention in the past 500 years

D. Mona Lisa does not look out of date though painted 500 years ago

6.Which of the following is true about the Mona Lisa?

A. It was once taken away and hidden up by German forces.

B. Its painter himself loved it greatly and always kept it in a shade.

C. Mona Lisa stops smiling when you look at her wanting to see her smiles.

D. King Francis I bought it and then returned it to Italy.

7.Choose the right order about the happenings onto Mona Lisa.

a. It was stolen from the Louver.

b. Its painter sold it to King Francis I

c. Its state of health was checked.

d. It was returned to France and housed in the Louver Museum.

e. It was hidden and protected against Germans.

A. b-a-d-e-c       B. d-e-c-b-a        C. d-a-e-c-b       D. b-c-a-d-e

8.It may add to the difficulty in repairing the painting that_____.

A. experts haven’t noticed changes in its shape as visitors do

B. it is likely to be stolen again when it’s under repair

C. it is uncertain which country, Italy of France, should take charge

D. experts aren’t sure about the materials and the chemical state of its oil paint

A woman whose sports car was stolen with her dog in it put up notices all over the area that made it clear getting back her pet was more important than her car．

“Whoever did this can keep my car．Please let Benjerman come home,” the notice said．

It is not known whether the thief showed any pity, but almost 30 hours after the 1 pm theft Friday, Kimberly Atkins of Dover and Benjerman，a 12-year-old black retriever（猎犬），were reunited after police located them in Barrington．

“He’s hungry, he’s dirty, but he’s very happy to be home，”Atkins said．

The car was found at about 5 pm Saturday off Route 125 in a swampy area frequented by off-the-road cars and dirt bikes．However, the police couldn’t control Benjerman，and they had to call Atkins to come and get him．

Atkins said the thief cared for Benjerman a little by providing him with some dry cat food．She believed Benjerman ended up drinking some muddy water in the area．

She said they have been together for nearly 11 years after she took him back from a society shelter in Dallas, Texas．

 Before Benjerman was found，Atkins and several friends put up notices all over the city and in Somersworth．They also contacted animal shelters，throughout southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

The notice stated there was a reward，and also that the dog needed medication．Any caller could remain anonymous（匿名的）．

Atkins had parked the car outside a hardware store with the keys inside and gone in to rent a carpet cleaner.

¨It was l0 minutes and I came out and my car was gone along with Benjerman in broad daylight，” Atkins said．The car thief threw Atkins’ wallet and other personal items out of the car before escaping from the scene．

What would be the best title for the passage?

A．A car with a dog was stolen

B．Lucky dog was returned to his owner

C．Stealing cars：a most important social problem

D．Woman wants dog back more than stolen car

Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened?

a．Notices were put up saying there was a reward．

b．Atkins saw Benjerman again．

c．Police found Atkins’car．

d．Atkins took Benjerman back from a society shelter． 

e．Atkins hired a carpet cleaner in a hardware store．

A．d,e,a, b,c             B．d,e,a,c,b              C．e,a,d,b,c                 D．e,a,c,d,b

We can infer from the passage          ．

A．the dog was treated extremely badly by the thief

B．car stolen accidents happen frequently nowadays

C．the dog was found because of the reward

D．the thief stole the car easily

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Benjerman was sent back immediately after Atkins put up the notices．

B．Atkins and her friends made a great effort to look for Benierman．

C．The thief gave the dog back but kept the sports car．  

D．The dog was back at 1 pm on a Friday．

A couple of years ago, I received a $ 600 insurance dividend (保险股息).Sitting at the kitchen table, my wife and I discussed what we might do with the money. I realized now that the refrigerator overheard our talk. The very next day it went wrong. The repairman told us we needed a new unit. Cost:$600. Not long after that, we got a refund（赔偿金）from the shop, enough to pay for a trip to Mexico. “I’ve something to tell you,” I said to my wife in a low voice. “How about the living-room?” she suggested. I remembered the color TV set was there. “No, not there. Let’s go out.” I showed her the check as we stood on the driveway. We held each other excitedly and hardly noticed the rain. My car was parked within5 meters. I didn’t think anything about it at the time. As I started for the airport the next day, the car began making strange sounds. Changing the engine cost about $ 1, 000.

Then I looked through our financial records. I discovered that during the last ten years we spent all our “found money” repairing a hot water heater, a television and a stove.

I never mention money in front of our mechanical equipment. But if this article is published and I am paid for, the word processor（文字信息处理机）is going to go for sure. It’ll know.

What went wrong first as the writer’s?

   A. The refrigerator          B. The stove

   C. The TV set              D. The engine of the car

What has been repaired and still remains all right?

   A. The car                 B. The color TV set

   C. The stove               D. The hot water heater

Which statement is wrong according to the passage?

There are many pieces of modern equipment in the writer’s home

The writer often discusses with his wife on how to spend their money.

The writer has gone into a lot of trouble to repair his things

The writer’s refrigerator can overhear him

A 33-year-old financial analyst in California recently quit his job to devote himself to an unpaid job teaching math on the Internet, and his lessons are reaching almost 100,000 people a month. Salman Khan’s voice is heard every day on the net --- by tens of thousands of students around the world who are hungry for help learning math. He has posted 1,200 lessons on YouTube ... lessons that appear on an electronic blackboard, which range from basic addition to advanced mathematics for science and finance. And they are free.

Khan lives in Silicon Valley, with his wife, a doctor, and their new baby. He got the idea for his “Khan Academy” four years ago, when he taught a young cousin how to convert kilograms to grams. With Khan’s help, the cousin got good at math, and Khan began a new career.

Now, Khan records his lessons himself, but he never goes on camera. “It feels like my voice in their head. You’re looking at it and it feels like someone’s over your shoulder talking in your ear, as opposed to someone at the blackboard, which is distant from you,” he said.

When Springfield High School in Palo Alto, California invited Khan to speak in person --- he immediately connected to the students there.

The idea of short lessons that can be played over and over again attracted high school senior Bridget Meaney. She says she had trouble with math in the seventh grade. “I think the teachers are good, but they can’t teach at a speed that’s perfect for everyone,” she said. “I like the idea of learning something in class but then going back and pressing pause or rewind and actually getting a deeper understanding of it.”

Originally, Khan kept his lessons short because of YouTube restrictions. Now, he thinks short is better. “Education researchers now tell me that 10 minutes is how long someone can have a high level of concentration. And anything beyond that and your brain switches off,” he said.

For Khan, teaching math, science, and finance is just the beginning. He says he’s ready to expand his YouTube site to include other subjects as well.

What gave Khan the idea of teaching math online?

A. His success in helping his cousin learn math.

B. His discovery that many students found learning math difficult.

C. A suggestion made to him at a local high school.

D. His interest in Internet teaching.

Why does Khan never go on camera?

A. He’s too shy to show his face on camera.

B. It’s restricted by YouTube for education videos.

C. He wants to keep distance from the viewers.

D. He wants to create a more relaxed learning atmosphere.

From the passage, we know that ________.

A. Khan travels to many schools to promote his lessons

B. Khan plans to include more subjects in the future

C. Khan gives live math lessons every day for free

D. Khan set up the Khan Academy with his wife

Why does Bridget Meaney like Khan’s lessons?

   A. Khan teaches seventh grade math better than her teacher.

   B. The lessons can be watched repeatedly until fully understood.

   C. She can perfectly follow the pace of Khan’s teaching.

   D. She cannot concentrate when learning in class.

What does Khan mean by “short is better” in the 6^th paragraph?

   A. Keeping the lessons short can ensure better concentration.

   B. YouTube recommends short lessons for its site.

   C. Short lessons encourage students to return to the website.

   D. Students enjoy short mathematics lessons more.

A traveler was staying in an Egyptian village. One day, she held up her camera to take pictures of the children. Suddenly the young ones began to shout at her. The traveler's face turned red and she apologized to the head for what she was doing, and told him she had forgotten that people in some places believed a person would lose his soul(灵魂) if his picture was taken. She explained to him the operation of a camera for a long time. Several times the head tried to say something, but he couldn't. When she believed that the head didn't fear any longer, the traveler then let him speak. With a smile, he said, "The children were trying to tell you that you forgot to take off the lens(镜头) cap!"

The children shouted when the traveler was taking pictures of them because _______.

A. they didn't want to stop playing                  

B. the traveler forgot to take off the cap on her head

C. they didn't want to have their pictures taken 

D. the traveler was not doing well with her camera

The traveler explained how to use a camera to the head because _______.

A. the head was very interested in her camera  

B. the head wanted to learn to take pictures

C. she was afraid of the head   

D. she wanted the head not to worry about what she was doing

Which of the following is NOT right?

A. The traveler knew something about people in some countries.

B. The children wouldn't mind if the traveler took pictures of them.

C. The head was afraid that the traveler's camera would hurt the children.

D. The traveler didn't understand why the children shouted.