Question

When another old cave is discovered in the south of France, it is not usually news. Rather, it is an ordinary event. Such discoveries are so frequent these days that hardly anybody pays heed to them. However, when the Lascaux cave complex was discovered in 1940, the world was amazed. Painted directly on its walls were hundreds of scenes showing how people lived thousands of years ago. The scenes show people hunting animals, such as bison or wild cats. Other images depict birds and, most noticeably, horses, which appear in more than 300 wall images, by far outnumbering all other animals.

Early artists drawing these animals achieved a monumental and difficult task. They did not limit themselves to the easily accessible walls but carried their painting materials to spaces that required climbing steep walls or going on hands and knees into narrow passages in the Lascaux complex.

Unfortunately, the paintings have been exposed to the destructive action of water and temperature changes, which easily wear the images away. Because the Lascaux caves have many entrances, air movement has also damaged the images inside.

Although they are not out in the open air, where natural light would have destroyed them long ago, many of the images have deteriorated and are hardly recognizable. To prevent further damage, the site was closed to tourists in 1963, 23 years after it was discovered.

1.Which title best summarizes the main idea of the passage?

A. Wild Animals in Art

B. Hidden Prehistoric Paintings

C. Exploring Caves Respectfully

D. Determining the Age of French Caves

2.What does the underlined phrase “pays heed to” in paragraph 2 probably means?

A. discovers    B. watches

C. notices    D. buys

3.Why was painting inside the Lascaux complex a difficult task?

A. It was completely dark inside.

B. The caves were full of wild animals.

C. Painting materials were hard to find.

D. Many painting spaces were difficult to reach.

4.According to the passage, all of the following have caused damage to the paintings EXCEPT _______.

A. temperature changes    B. air movement

C. water    D. light

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.D

【解析】本文主要介绍了在法国的一个古老的洞穴里发现了一些隐藏多年的古代的壁画，已经受到了破坏，亟需得到保护。

1.B

标题判断题。本文主要介绍了在法国的一个古老的洞穴里发现了一些隐藏多年的古代的壁画，已经受到了破坏，需要我们的保护。可知，本文主要介绍了隐藏的壁画。故选B.

2.C

猜测词意题。根据第一段When another old cave is discovered in the south of France, it is not usually news. Rather, it is an ordinary event. Such discoveries are so frequent these days that hardly anybody pays heed to them.可知，当在法国南部发现另一个古老的洞穴时，通常那不是什么新闻。相反，这是一个普通的事件。这些发现如此频繁，几乎没有人注意到它们。根据上文提到的是很普通的，所以没有引起人们的注意，所以可以猜出pays heed to 意思是C. notices（注意到），故选C.

3.D

细节理解题。根据第二段They did not limit themselves to the easily accessible walls but carried their painting materials to spaces that required climbing steep walls or going on hands and knees into narrow passages in the Lascaux complex.可知，在这里画画是一件很艰巨的任务，因为那里很难到达。故选D.

4.D

细节理解题。根据第三段Unfortunately, the paintings have been exposed to the destructive action of water and temperature changes, which easily wear the images away. Because the Lascaux caves have many entrances, air movement has also damaged the images inside.可知，油画受到了温度的变化，水和空气的流动的破坏，只是没有提到D. light（光）。故选D.