During the last fifteen years of my mother's life she suffered from Alzheimer's disease (老年痴呆症) .Until then she had been a bright,cheerful woman deeply interested and involved in the world around her. I would go home to visit her in Virginia and she would look at me in a puzzled way and ask, "Who are you?" I would answer, "I'm your son. ”"Where do you live?" She would ask. "In California," I would tell her. "Isn't that interesting?" she would say, "I have a son in California."

  She seemed simply forgetful and confused at the beginning of the disease,but later on she would go through periods of intense anxiety. She would pace through the house she had lived in most of her life crying uneasily that she wanted to go home. Or she would leave home and wander away if she were un?attended for a short time.

  Hoping to please her and put her mind at ease I would take her for a drive,visiting sites where she had lived as a child. In the yard of the house on the hillside in Shipman I sat in the car and admired the view of the old oaks and the long green lawn. I pictured my mother there was a little girl playing with the pet lamb she had been so fond of. I looked to her for some response. She shook her head and said, "I want to go home."

  Over the years I have decided that what my mother was calling home was not a place,but a time. I suspect it was a time when she was much younger,when her children were still around,when her husband was still vigorous and attentive.

  Watching my mother's suffering set me wondering where I would have gone in mind if someday I couldn't find home and wanted to go there. In this family we tend to be longlived and we grow fuzzy (糊涂的) -minded as the years go by. At eighty I have already noticed some alarming symptoms. My doctor says the forgetfulness is only natural and that it comes with age. Still the fear of Alzheimer's is haunting there. Someday if and when I become even more cloudyminded than I am now,unable to drive and unable to tell you where "home" is,my dear son,I expect I will ask you to take me home. I know you will do your best to find the place I need to be. I leave these notes for your guidance.

5. What's the main idea of the first two paragraphs?

   A. The author's mother suffered from serious Alzheimer's disease.

   B. The author's mother forgot who's his son.

   C. The author didn't know how to cure his mother.

   D. The author's mother couldn't find her home.

6. What's the meaning of the underlined word "pictured" in Paragraph 3? 

   A. Photographed. B. Appeared.

   C. Described. D. Painted.

7. What can you infer from the third paragraph?

   A. The author care much about his mother.

   B. The author's mother was fond of pet lambs.

   C. The author saw a little girl playing with a pet lamb.

   D. The author's mother didn't like her usual home.

8. What's the best title of the passage?

   A. Take Mother home

   B. Everyone from suffer with Alzheimer's disease

   C. A story about a son and a mother

   D. Where is home?

  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 selfportrait 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 Mona Lisa. Recreating a virtual (虚拟的) and then physical reconstruction of Leonardo's face,they can compare it with the smiling face in the painting.

  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 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 Am?boise Castle turned him down.

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. If the           of Leonardo da Vinci's body was undamaged,the scientists can identify Mona Lisa.

   A. skull   B. feet

   C. arms   D. legs

4. According to Alessandro Vezzosi,investigating the tomb could also help solve         .

   A. the reason why Leonardo da Vinci's original burial place was destroyed

   B. why King Francis I invited Leonardo da Vinci to France

   C. the cause of Leonardo da Vinci's death

   D. why Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa

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