Question

    The Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, a treasure house of art of China, has been spanning over 1,000 years. The art inside here covers more than ten major genres, such as architecture, stucco sculpture, wall paintings, silk paintings, calligraphy woodblock printing, embroidery, literature, music and dance, and popular entertainment. But all these only existed because of one man’s  vision.

In 366 A.D., a monk named Le Zun looked across the river at dawn and saw a thousand Buddhas appear on the golden cliff face of Mingsha mountain along the old Silk Road. The caves were then built by monks and mostly sponsored by people such as wealthy merchants, foreign dignitaries, as well as Chinese emperors.

But when trade in the Silk Road stopped, Dunhuang was soon forgotten and eventually, the Mogao caves were abandoned. The site however was still used as a place of worship by the local people of the 20th century when there was renewed awareness in its presence once more.

Most of the discoveries came from a Chinese Taoist monk named Wang Yuanlu who appointed himself as the guardian. The caves at that time were badly ignored, but Monk Wang recognized their value and instituted a program of restoration, funded by whatever donations he could gather.

He then made one of the great discoveries in Chinese archaeology: an amazing cache, of over 50,000 documents and paintings, which had been hidden in Mogao Cave #17. The cave #17 came to be known as the Library Cave, which was walled up sometime early in the 11th century. A number of theories have been proposed as the reason for sealing the cave. One theory was that the cave had become a waste storeroom for precious, damaged and used documents and holy equipment and then sealed perhaps when the place came under threat. Another suggestion is that the cave was simply used as a book storehouse for documents which accumulated over a century and a half, then sealed up when it became full. Others suggested that the monks hurriedly hid the documents in advance of an attack by invaders.

1.What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A.The legend of Mogao Caves. B.The end of the old Silk Road.

C.The discovery of Mogao Caves. D.The development of the Silk Road.

2.What did Wang Yuanlu do to restore the caves?

A.He evaluated their value. B.He raised donations in different ways.

C.He sent guards to protect them. D.He persuaded government to do repairs.

3.What does “walled up” in the last paragraph mean?

A.Sealed. B.Built.

C.Hidden. D.Discovered.

4.Why is Mogao Cave #17 considered a great discovery?

A.It used to be a library for monks. B.It stored valuable historical materials.

C.It had a history of over 1000 years. D.It was deserted for mysterious reasons.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.A

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。主要说明了敦煌莫高窟是中国的艺术宝库，已有一千多年的历史。这里的艺术门类主要有建筑、灰泥雕塑、壁画、绢画、书法木刻、刺绣、文学、音乐舞蹈、大众娱乐等十余种。文章说明了莫高窟的建造过程，以及莫高窟17号这项伟大的发现。

1.主旨大意题。根据第一段最后一句But all these only existed because of one man’s vision.可知但这一切都是因一人的幻觉才有的。以及第二段第一句In 366 A.D., a monk named Le Zun looked across the river at dawn and saw a thousand Buddhas appear on the golden cliff face of Mingsha mountain along the old Silk Road.可知公元366年，一个叫Le Zun的和尚拂晓过河，看见千佛像出现在旧丝绸之路明沙山的金崖面上。后文描述了这些洞穴的情况，由此可知，第二段主要讲了莫高窟的传说。故选A。

2.细节理解题。根据第四段中The caves at that time were badly ignored, but Monk Wang recognized their value and instituted a program of restoration, funded by whatever donations he could gather.可知当时的洞穴被严重忽视，但是王和尚认识到了它们的价值，并制定了一个修复计划，由他可以筹集到的任何捐款资助。由此可知，王元禄以不同的方式筹集捐款，从而来修复这些洞穴。故选B。

3.词义猜测题。根据后文A number of theories have been proposed as the reason for sealing the cave.可知17号洞穴后来被称为图书馆洞穴，它在11世纪早期的某个时候被密封起来。人们提出了许多理论来解释封洞的原因。故“walled up”意思为“堵塞，密封”。故选A。

4.细节理解题。根据最后一段中One theory was that the cave had become a waste storeroom for precious, damaged and used documents and holy equipment and then sealed perhaps when the place came under threat.可知有一种说法是，这个洞穴变成了一个废弃的储藏室，存放着珍贵的、损坏的、用过的文件和神圣的设备，当这个地方受到威胁时，可能就会被封起来。由此可知，莫高窟17号被认为是一个伟大的发现是因为它储存了珍贵的历史资料。故选B。