It's not every week that England's greatest playwright William Shakespeare hits the headlines, but the Bard of Avon （艾芬河的吟游诗人） has been the subject of two news stories in recent days as new information has come to light about the writer and his working environment．
In the first development, a portrait of Shakespeare, which is believed to be the only picture painted of him during his lifetime, was unveiled in London．
The artwork has been dated back to 1610, meaning it was painted six years before the writer's death．
The painting had been owned by a family descended from Shakespeare's literary patron （文学赞助人） tor hundreds of years without them ever knowing who the man in the picture was．
Alec Cobbe, who inherited the portrait, realized that the painting was a likeness of Shakespeare after visiting an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery where he saw a portrait that had, until 70 years ago, been accepted as a life portrait of Shakespeare．
Mr Cobhe immediately realized he was looking at a copy of the painting that had been in his family for centuries．
The painting will now go on display in Shakespeare's hometown Stratford-upon-Avon．
In a separate story, archaeologists in London believe they have unearthed the remains of Shakespeare's first theatre．
The site was excavated（发掘） by a team from the Museum of London last summer, and is believed to have been built in 1576．
Experts think that Shakespeare himself acted at the theatre, which may have been where the play Romeo and Juliet was premiered （首次公演）．
It is believed that 25 years after construction, the building was pulled down and moved timber by timber to the South Bank of the Thames, where a reconstruction of the theatre now stands．
1.．What is the story mainly about?
A．The remains of the first theatre． B．Shakespeare's portrait．
C．Early life of Shakespeare． D．Great works of Shakespeare．
2.．What does the underlined word "unveiled" mean in the passage?
A．made public B．found out C．on sale D．sold out
3.．Before visiting the exhibition, Alec Cobbe ___ _．
A．knew his painting was a copy of the portrait of Shakespeare
B．thought his painting was a little like Shakespeare
C．realized his painting was very valuable
D．was unknown who the man in the painting was
4.．Which of the following is true?
A．The site was the first theater Shakespeare built．
B．Romeo and Juliet was first put on in 1576．
C．The theatre was pulled down to make place for a new one．
D．The theatre rebuilt stands on the South Bank of the Thames．
The world is not coming to an end on December 21st, 2012, the US space agency announced to dispel （消除） widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie．
The latest big screen 2012 was based on stories according to the Mayan calendar．It showed that by the end of 2012, a Planet X will collide （碰撞） with the earth．
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet's existence, but the US space agency considered such stories as tricks．"There is no basis in fact for these claims," NASA said in its website．"If such a collision were real, scientists would have been tracking it for at least the last decade, and we would see it with our eyes now．Obviously, it doesn't exist and there will be no threat to the earth in 2012," it insisted．"After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years," added NASA．
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space．But the small planet will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the earth, according to NASA．
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our plant would be very little．"And while comets and asteroids （小行星） have always hit the earth, big hits are very rare," NASA noted．The last major collision was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting the end of dinosaurs （恐龙）．
"We are sure that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs," the space agency said．
1.．What played a key role in the spread of the rumors?
A．The Internet and the film 2012．
B．The Mayan calendar．
C．The US space agency．
D．The television screen．
2.．The underlined word "it" in Paragraph Three probably refers to _ ___．
A．the collision B．the Planet X
C．the threat D．the NASA website
3.．We can conclude from the passage that __ __．
A．the film 2012 is well accepted in the science field
B．scientists have been tracking Planet X for over ten years
C．the earth will exist for more than four billion years
D．the rumors caused a panic among some people
4.．What do we know about Eris according to the passage?
A．It doesn't exist in the universe．
B．It won't threaten the earth．
C．It is too far to be seen．
D．It is similar to the earth.
Hana al—Shaibani was born on August 27, 1942．She was the only girl in her family, having two older and two younger brothers．Her father, a politician and journalist, loved her and played a large role in shaping the woman she grew up to be．
In 1956, Iraq's Baath party started to grow in popularity．Its slogans declaring liberty, Arab socialism and unity attracted the younger generation, including Hana．Although she was only 14 years old, she turned member of the party-receiving her education with her political activities．During her university years, she worked for the Baath party during the day and attended classes in the evening．
In 1958, following the overthrow of Iraq's monarchy （君主政治） , Hana rose through the ranks and was chosen to lead the party's female members．She was just 16．Two years later, she was selected as one of three representatives of the Iraqi Baath party to attend the Arab National Baath Party Conference, held that year in Beirut．Still just a teenager, she had already achieved more than most women from her region could ever imagine．
As was known to everyone, she was determined and fearless．One of the most memorable family stories tells of the time in 1959 when she left the house to join an organization against the rule of the then prime minister, Abdel Karim Qassim．The atmosphere was tense and a number of the organisers would later be killed．But Hana was determined to attend．
Sensing trouble, she hid the gun and carried beneath her skirt as she walked down the stairs．Her father begged with her not to go．He explained that as a patriot he understood her sense of duty, but added that his love for her went beyond all else．Hana replied; "Papa, you were once a patriotic man and when you were called upon to fight, you did．Please understand, so that I may go with your blessing rather than without．" Her father could not stop her．
1.．The passage mainly talks about __ __．
A．the life of Hana al-Shaibani
B．the achievement of Hana al-Shaibani
D．the sufferings Hana al-Shaibani has received
D．Hana al-Shaibani and her father
2.．When Hana al-Shaibani joined the Baath party, __ __．
A．she had to abandon her studies
B．she became popular with the people
C．she attracted the younger generation
D．she was then only a student
3.．From the third paragraph we can know that _ ___．
A．Hana stood up tor Iraq's monarchy totally
B．Hana was strongly against the old government
C．Hana defeated more women older than her
D．Hana was made Chairwoman of the party
4.．The passage is developed in the order of ___ _．
A．place B．progress C．time D．space
Do you want to visit Warwick Castle in Britain? Warwick is a friendly and a memorable experience with something for all ages．Easily accessible by car, bus, train, cycling or on foot it is surrounded by historic buildings and numerous attractions．
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Online bookings must be made 24 hours before you visit．Please note that admission to The Castle Dungeon is NOT included with standard online or on the day tickets．There are limited Dungeons tickets available, and only from Warwick-Castle, corn．Please book in advance to guarantee your Castle Dungeon experience．
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Booking online is the best way to get your tickets for Britain's Ultimate Castle．Save 20% and skip the ticket queue when you arrive - it couldn't be easier!
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Important notes on ticketing
Please note that if you wish to visit the Castle using an on-the-day promotional voucher （票券）,your Dungeon experience can be prebooked by calling 0870 442 2375．
A ￡1．50 fee applies to all bookings made online and via telephone - one fee per booking．Children must be accompanied by an adult．Group rates are available for groups of more than 10 people．Groups can book by calling 0870 442 2371 or online．
1.．If you hope to visit Castle Dungeon, you should __ __．
A．buy the ticket in person
B．dial 0870 442 2371
C．book the ticket from Warwick-Castle, corn
D．book the ticket two days in advance
2.．What is the advantage of booking tickets on line?
A．You don't have to wait in queue．
B．You can save ￠20 in total．
C．The ticket includes the Castle Dungeon．
D．The ticket is available at any time．
3.．In order to buy group tickets, __ __．
A．you should dial 0870 442 2375
B．bookings can be made by emails
C．there should be at least 20 people
D．you should dial 0870 442 2371
4.．The text is probably taken from ____．
A．a newspaper
B．a magazine
C．a geography book
D．a website
完型填空（共20小题；每小题1．5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上涂黑。
Back in the 15th century, in a tiny village in Germany, lived a family with eighteen children．Eighteen! In order 36 to keep food on the table, the father, a goldsmith by 37 , worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade．Despite their seemingly 38 condition, two of the eldest children had a dream．They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, 39 they knew well that their father would never be able to 40 either of them to study at the Academy．
After many long discussions at night in their 41 bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact．They would toss （掷） a coin．The 42 would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, 43 his winning brother for the academy．Then, in four years, he would support the Other one．Then Albrecht Durer won the toss and 44 to Nuremberg．Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, 45 his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation．By the time he graduated, he was beginning to 46 considerable fees for himself．
When the young artist 47 home and said to his brother, "And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your 48 . Now you can go to the Academy to pursue your dream, and I will 49 you．"
Albert rose and wiped the 50 from his cheeks．"No, brother．I cannot go to Nuremberg．It is too 51 for me．Look…look what four years in the mines have done to my 52 ! I cannot even hold a glass, much less make delicate lines on canvas 53 a pen or a brush．"
More than 450 years have 54 ．By now, among Albrecht Durer's hundreds of masterful portraits, "The Praying Hands" is one 55 creation that can catch the world's hearts．
1.A．merely B．fully C．completely D．entirely
2.．A．heart B．method C．profession D．words
3..A．demanding B．promising C．hopeless D．careless
4..A．so B．and C．however D．but
5.．A．study B．send C．give D．offer
6..A．separated B．crowded C．new D．unusual
7..A．winner B．loser C．old D．younger
8..A．support B．advertise C．expect D．require
9..A．flew away B．went off C．set aside D．left behind
10..A．deserved B．desired C．financed D．envied
11..A．spend B．save C．draw D．earn
12..A．arrived B．regained C．returned D．got
13.．A．turn B．time C．top D．fate
14..A．take charge of B．make up for C．make use of D．take care of
15..A．smiles B．sweats C．tears D．hints
16..A．late B．nervous C．tiring D．tense
17..A．eyes B．hands C．pictures D．mines
18..A．in B．of C．upon D．with
19..A．passed B．kept C．remembered D．changed
20.A．strange B．touching C.wonderful D．mysterious
—Why don't you join me in the computer games?
— .
A．Sure, go ahead B．It's a pleasure
C．That's all right D．Ok, coming
