ROME: The legend of Leonardo da Vinci is covered in mystery: How did he die?Are the remains buried in a French castle really those of the master? Was the "Mona Lisa" a self-portrait in disguise (伪装)?
A group of Italian 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 skull is 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 Leonardo's 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," says Giorgio Gruppioni, an anthropologist who is participating in the project. "But if the remains are well kept, they are a biological record of events in a person's 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 during the French Revolution 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 Lisa" hangs in the Louvre in Paris, where it drew some 8.5 million visitors last year. Mystery has surrounded the identity of the painting's subject for centuries, with opinions ranging from the wife of a Florentine merchant to Leonardo's own mother.
That Leonardo intended the "Mona Lisa" as a self-portrait in disguise is a possibility that has interested and divided scholars. Theories have existed: Some think that Leonardo's taste for tricks and riddles might have led him to hide his own identity behind that puzzling smile; others have guessed that the painting hid an androgynous lover.
If granted access to the grave site, the Italian experts plan to use a tiny 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 is 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 woman, 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 senseless" 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."
1. Where is this passage most probably taken from?
|
A．A magazine. |
B．A newspaper. |
C．A textbook. |
D．A research report. |
2. Why does the author ask a couple of questions in the beginning?
|
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. |
3. 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'? |
4.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 |
5. 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” has already been proved. |
|
D．Alessandro Vezzosi got permission to open the tomb. |
6. 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 da Vinci |
|
C．experts divided the committee into several groups |
|
D．opinions differ of the identity of the “Mona Lisa” |
“Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. “If you carry on, one day something good will happen. And you’ll realize that it wouldn’t have happened if not for that previous disappointment.”
Mother was right, as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932, I had decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to a sports announcer. I hitchhiked to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station—and got turned down every time. In one studio, a kind lady told me that big stations couldn’t risk hiring an inexperienced person. “Go out in the sticks and find a small station that’ll give you a chance,” she said. I thumbed home to Dixon, Illinois.
While there were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to manage its sports department. Since Dixon was where I had played high school football, I applied. The job sounded just right for me. But I wasn’t hired. My disappointment must have shown. “Everything happens for the best.” Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to hunt a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, my frustration (挫折) boiled over. I asked aloud, “How can a fellow get to be a sports announcer if he can’t get a job in a radio station?” I was waiting for the elevator when I heard MacArthur calling, “What was you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game. The preceding (在前的) autumn, my team had won a game in the last 20 seconds with a 65-yard run. I did a 15-minute build-up to that play, and Peter told me I would be broadcasting Saturday’s game! On my way home, as I have many times since, I thought of my mother’s words: “If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn’t have happened if not for that previous disappointment.”
I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if I’d gotten the job at Montgomery Ward.
1.The writer shows his _____ by saying “… if I’d not gotten the job at Montgomery Ward”.
|
A．regret |
B．happiness |
C．gratefulness |
D．disappointment |
2. The underlined phrase “out in the sticks” probably means _____?
|
A．in radio stations |
B．in the country |
|
C．in big cities |
D．in Dixon, Illinois |
3. Why did the writer mention his mother’s words over and again? Because _____.
|
A．it was his mother’s words that encouraged him |
|
B．his mother was a person who talked a lot |
|
C．nothing good has happened to him up to now |
|
D．he got turned down every time he tried |
4. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
|
A．There was a small radio station in Dixon, Illinois. |
|
B．Peter MacArthur was a program director in Scotland. |
|
C．WOC Radio in Davenport broadcast imaginary games. |
|
D．Montgomery Ward had a store with a sports department. |
5.When did the writer decide to take a radio-announcing job?
|
A．When he hitchhiked to Chicago. |
B．After he graduated from college. |
|
C．Before he graduated from college. |
D．As soon as he was turned down. |
An Australian man who has been donating his extremely rare kind of blood for 56 years has saved the lives of more than two million babies.
James Harrison has an antibody in his plasma that stops babies dying from Rhesus disease, a form of severe anaemia. He has enabled countless mothers to give birth to healthy babies, including his own daughter, Tracey, who had a healthy son thanks to her father's blood.
Mr. Harrison has been giving blood every few weeks since he was 18 years old and has now racked up a total of 984 donations. When he started donating, his blood was deemed so special that his life was insured for one million Australian dollars.
He was also nicknamed the “man with the golden arm” or the “man in two million”. He said: “I've never thought about stopping. Never.” He made a pledge to be a donor aged 14 after undergoing major chest surgery in which he needed 13 litres of blood. “I was in hospital for three months,” he said. “The blood I received saved my life so I made a pledge to give blood when I was 18.”
Just after he started donating he was found to have the rare and life-saving antibody in his blood. At the time, thousands of babies in Australia were dying each year of Rhesus disease. Other newborns suffered permanent brain damage because of the condition. The disease creates an incompatibility between the mother's blood and her unborn baby's blood. It stems from one having Rh-positive blood and the other Rh-negative.
His blood has since led to the development of a vaccine called Anti-D. After his blood type was discovered, Mr. Harrison volunteered to undergo a series of tests to help develop the Anti-D vaccine. “They insured me for a million dollars so I knew my wife Barbara would be taken care of,” he said. “I wasn't scared. I was glad to help. I had to sign every form going and basically sign my life away.”
Mr. Harrison is Rh-negative and was given injections of Rh-positive blood. It was found his plasma could treat the condition and since then it has been given to hundreds of thousands of women. It has also been given to babies after they are born to stop them developing the disease.
It is estimated he has helped save 2.2 million babies so far. Mr. Harrison is still donating every few weeks now.
1.How old is James Harrison？
|
A．56 |
B．70 |
C．74 |
D．78 |
2.What does the underlined phrase “two million” refer to?
|
A．babies |
B．mothers |
C．dollars |
D．all of the above |
3. Why did James decide to donate his blood? Because _____.
|
A．his daughter asked him to help her son |
|
B．he has a golden arm worth a million dollars |
|
C．a vaccine called Anti-D is to be developed |
|
D．someone else’s blood saved his life |
4.The sentence “The disease creates an incompatibility between the mother's blood and her unborn baby's blood” (underlined in Paragraph 5) suggests that _____.
|
A．babies suffer permanent brain damage before born |
|
B．the mother and the baby have different types of blood |
|
C．Rhesus disease contributes to permanent brain damage |
|
D．all the patients have a rare antibody in their blood |
5. What can we infer from the sixth paragraph?
|
A．Some of the tests to develop the vaccine are dangerous. |
|
B．His wife Barbara needed to be taken care of badly then. |
|
C．Mr. Harrison was glad to help develop a new vaccine. |
|
D．His blood type was accidentally discovered after tests. |
Seven Health Facts about Coffee
When you’re considering your morning coffee, here are some health facts to keep in mind:
1. Coffee Reduces Your Risk of Diabetes (糖尿病)
In a 2005 review of nine studies, researchers found that for those that drank four to six cups of coffee per day, versus only two or fewer, their risk for Type 2 diabetes decreased by almost 30 percent. The number decreased by 35 percent when people drank more than six cups per day. And if you’re picturing yourself running around the office with your eyes bugging out of your head, no worries because caffeinated and decaffeinated coffees provided much the same results.
2. Coffee Fights Free Radicals (自由基)
We often forget that coffee is actually a plant and like all plant foods, the coffee bean contains more than 1,000 naturally occurring substances called phytochemicals, which may help prevent disease. Many of these phytochemicals are antioxidants which protect the cells from damage from free radicals.
3. Coffee Improves Memory and Cognition
Researchers reported that volunteers who drank caffeinated coffee in the morning performed better than nondrinkers on tests that involved learning new information. Coffee can also improve cognitive function as we age. One study found that combining coffee with a sweet treat had an even bigger impact.
4. Coffee Can Increase Osteoporosis (骨质疏松)
It’s true that coffee can cause the body to excrete calcium in urine. We don’t want the body to rid itself of calcium because this can lead to osteoporosis. According to The Diet Channel, about five milligrams of calcium is lost per every six ounces of coffee consumed. But these calcium losses can be counter balanced with two tablespoons of milk or yogurt per cup of coffee.
5. Coffee Causes Wrinkles
Even though coffee has antioxidants, if you drink too much of it, it can cause wrinkling of the skin. This is a result of dehydration (脱水) which is the worst thing for your skin. So when you’re drinking that morning cup or two, make sure that you’re pairing it with water. Even better, add one tablespoon of chia seeds to your water and let them sit for 30 minutes. The chia seeds keep you even more hydrated than regular water.
6. Coffee Can Actually Cause Weight Gain
The blood sugar changes that a caffeine high produces can contribute enormously to a strong desire for it, according to iVillage. Coffee is also socially connected to food. For example, we pair coffee with dessert or that morning powdered doughnut. Additionally, when we crash from our caffeine high that’s when we reach for all sorts of fatty snacks to keep us going.
7. Conventional Coffee Is Laden with Pesticides (杀虫剂)
The coffee plant is one of the most heavily sprayed crops. It’s coated with chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides, nothing you’d want to be swallowing. If you do drink coffee, make sure that it’s the organic variety, free from assorted chemicals that leech into our ground water and can make us sick down the road.
If you switch to decaffeinated coffee, make sure the caffeine (咖啡因) is removed in a natural way without the use of chemicals to do it. Often times, conventional decaffeinated coffee has more chemicals than regular.
1. If you want to decrease the risk of diabetes by 35%, you need to take at least _____ cups of coffee every day.
|
A．seven |
B．six |
C．five |
D．four |
2.If you are a heavy drinker of coffee, a far better way to avoid wrinkling of your skin is to drink water _____.
|
A．less than usual |
B．regularly |
C．with sugar |
D．with chia seeds |
3. Which of the following statements is wrong?
|
A．Adding two spoons of milk to a cup of coffee can prevent calcium losses. |
|
B．Decaffeinated coffee has different effects from caffeinated coffee as to diabetes. |
|
C．Many phytochemicals protect the cells from damage from free radicals. |
|
D．The organic variety of coffee plant is free from assorted chemicals. |
4. The author has a/an _____ attitude towards drinking of coffee.
|
A．positive |
B．negative |
C．objective |
D．imaginative |
完形填空（共20 小题；每小题1分；满分20分）
阅读下面短文, 掌握其大意, 然后从 21～40 各题所给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D) 中, 选出最佳选项, 并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
Once upon a time, there was a herd offorest deer. In this herd was a wise and respected 21 , tricky in the ways of deer. He taught the tricks and strategies of 22 to the young fawns.
One day, his younger sister brought her son to him, to be taught 23 is so important for deer. She said, "Oh brother teacher, this is my son. Please 24 him the tricks and strategies of deer." The teacher said to the fawn, " 25 , you can come at this time tomorrow for your first lesson."
26 , the young deer came to the lessons as he was 27 to. But soon, he became more interested in playing with the other young bucks 28 does（雌鹿）. He didn't 29 how dangerous it 30 be for a deer who learned nothing but deer games. So he started cutting classes. Soon he was playing hooky all the time.
31 , one day the fawn who played hooky 32 in a snare and was trapped. Since he was missing, his mother 33 . She went to her brother the teacher, and asked him, "My brother, how is my son? Have you taught your 34 the tricks and strategies of deer?"
The teacher replied, "My sister, your son was 35 and unteachable. Out of respect for you, I tried my best to teach him. But he did not want to learn the tricks and strategies of deer. He played hooky! How could I 36 teach him? You are obedientand faithful, but he is not. It is useless to try to teach him."
Later they heard the 37 news. The naughty fawn who played hooky had been 38 and killed by a 39 . He skinned him and took the meat home to his family.
The moral is: 40 can be learned from a teacher by one who misses the class.
|
1. |
|
2.
|
A．survival |
B．approval |
C．arrival |
D．travel |
3.
|
A．that |
B．what |
C．how |
D．it |
4.
|
A．learn |
B．study |
C．teach |
D．bring |
5.
|
A．How simple |
B．Very well |
C．Quite easy |
D．What a pity |
6.
|
A．At first |
B．For the first |
C．The first time |
D．Firstly |
7.
|
A．preserved |
B．thought |
C．supposed |
D．suspected |
8..
|
A．nor |
B．or |
C．but |
D．and |
9.
|
A．realize |
B．orgnize |
C．admit |
D．clarify |
10.
|
A．should |
B．could |
C．would |
D．must |
11.
|
A．Generally |
B．Luckily |
C．However |
D．Unfortunately |
12.
|
A．banned |
B．caught |
C．stepped |
D．broke |
13.
|
A．fainted |
B．delighted |
C．shocked |
D．worried |
14.
|
A．uncle |
B．aunt |
C．nephew |
D．niece |
15.
|
A．dishonest |
B．disobedient |
C．inconvenient |
D．unbelievable |
|
16. |
|
17.
|
A．rare |
B．good |
C．sad |
D．popular |
18.
|
A．bought |
B．kidnapped |
C．transported |
D．trapped |
19.
|
A．hunter |
B．researcher |
C．advocator |
D．settler |
20.
|
A．Anything |
B．Nothing |
C．Something |
D．Everything |
One is expected to behave _________ on some special occasions.
|
A．accurately |
B．precisely |
C．appropriately |
D．rightly |
