The small unframed painting called “Fisherman” was signed by a little-known Italian artist, Maveleone (1669-1740). When it was sold recently in New York for $ 27000, the seller, Mr. Oliver Pitt, was asked to explain how the picture had come into his possession.

Pitt said, “I didn’t know it was so valuable. I’m not an art expert. Photography is my hobby. I bought ‘Fisherman’ in Italy in 1970 for $140.the picture was dirty, and I couldn’t see the artist’s signature. But anyway it wasn’t the picture that I like. I bought it because of the frame.”

“It’s most unusual frame, made of tiny, silvery sea-shells. They are set in such a way that they reflect perfect light onto the surface of a picture. I now have a photograph of my wife in that frame, and I’ll never part with it.”

“When I returned to New York I showed the painting in its frame to a customs officer. I told him that I had paid $140 for it but admitted I didn’t know its actual worth. The customs man valued it at $ 140, and I was asked to pay duty on that value. I did so, there and then.”

“Later, I took off the frame, and that uncovered Maveleone’s signature. My wife suggested in fun that the painting might be a valuable one, so I cleaned it and put it up for sale.”

As a result of his explanation, Oliver Pitt had to appear in court. He was accused of (指控) knowingly making a false statement of the value of a picture so as to cheat the Customs Department.

Pitt was not happy. “I told the truth as I knew it then,” he said, “What else could I say?”

And then the judge agreed with him. “The Customs Department is to be responsible (blame),” he said, “for making a true valuation of goods bought into the country, so that the correct amount of duty may be charged. Mr Pitt did not cause or try to cause the mistake that was made. He paid the duty that was demanded. If now, the Customs Department finds that its valuation was not correct, it cannot be allowed to have another try. Pitt is not guilty.

Pitt met the customs officer __________, where the officer was employed to ________.

       A.at the railway station or airport; examine people’s baggage

       B.at the airport or port; examine people’s baggage

       C.at the bus-stop; help people enter the USA

       D.at the airport or port; help people enter the USA

From the passage we can infer that if Maveleone had been a well-know artist _________.

       A.the painting would have cost much more than $ 140

       B.he wouldn’t have sold his painting at such a low price

       C.the customs officer wouldn’t have valued the painting at $ 140

       D.Pitt wouldn’t have had the intention to buy any of his paintings

Pitt took off the frame in order to ____________.

       A.clean the painting to put it up for sale

       B.look for the artist’s signature

       C.use if for his wife’s photograph

       D.find the painting’s true value

Which is true according to the passage?

       A.Pitt knew the true value of the picture.

       B.Pitt’s wife knew the true value of the picture.

       C.When Pitt’s wife suggested keeping the picture, she was kind of joking.

       D.Pitt didn’t pay any duty at all.

Which of the following statements is true to the story? In the end __________.

       A.Pitt was asked to pay the correct amount of duty.

       B.Pitt sold the frame of the painting at an even higher price.

       C.The Customs Department had no right to revalue the painting.

       D.Pitt’s wife was regarded as an expert because of her wise suggestion.

BRITAIN is a popular tourist place. But tours of the country have advantages and disadvantages .
ADVANTAGES
Free museums. No charge for good collections of art works
Pop music. Britain is the only country to rival(与…匹敌)the US on this point.
Cabs. London taxi drivers well know where they are going.
Choice of food. Visitors can find food from every corner of the world .
Fashion. Not only do fashion junkies love deeply and respect highly brand names such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen; street styles are justly loved, too.
  DISADVANTAGES
  Poor service. People can dine out on the rudeness they have experienced,” says Professor Tony Seaton, of Luton University’s International Tourism Research Center.
  Poor public transport. Trains and buses are promised to defeat tourists who have the most patience, so the over- crowded London tube is inexplicably(难以理解的) popular.
  Rain. Still in the number one complaint. 
  Overpriced hotels. The only European country with a higher rate of tax on hotel rooms is Denmark.
Drinking hours. Alcohol(酒) is in short supply after 11 pm even in “24-hour cities”.
【小题1】What do tourists complain most?

A.Poor service. B.Poor public transport.
C.Rain.   D.Overpriced hotels.
【小题2】 When is alcohol not able to get?
A.At 9: 00 pmB.At 10: 00 pmC.At 11: 00 pmD.At 12: 00 pm
【小题3】Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.You have to pay to visit the museums.
B.Only clothing with brand names are sold in London .
C.You cannot find Chinese food there.
D.The public transport is poor there.

The small unframed painting called “Fisherman” was signed by a little-known Italian artist, Maveleone (1669-1740). When it was sold recently in New York for $ 27000, the seller, Mr. Oliver Pitt, was asked to explain how the picture had come into his possession.
Pitt said, “I didn’t know it was so valuable. I’m not an art expert. Photography is my hobby. I bought ‘Fisherman’ in Italy in 1970 for $140.the picture was dirty, and I couldn’t see the artist’s signature. But anyway it wasn’t the picture that I like. I bought it because of the frame.”
“It’s most unusual frame, made of tiny, silvery sea-shells. They are set in such a way that they reflect perfect light onto the surface of a picture. I now have a photograph of my wife in that frame, and I’ll never part with it.”
“When I returned to New York I showed the painting in its frame to a customs officer. I told him that I had paid $140 for it but admitted I didn’t know its actual worth. The customs man valued it at $ 140, and I was asked to pay duty on that value. I did so, there and then.”
“Later, I took off the frame, and that uncovered Maveleone’s signature. My wife suggested in fun that the painting might be a valuable one, so I cleaned it and put it up for sale.”
As a result of his explanation, Oliver Pitt had to appear in court. He was accused of (指控) knowingly making a false statement of the value of a picture so as to cheat the Customs Department.
Pitt was not happy. “I told the truth as I knew it then,” he said, “What else could I say?”
And then the judge agreed with him. “The Customs Department is to be responsible (blame),” he said, “for making a true valuation of goods bought into the country, so that the correct amount of duty may be charged. Mr Pitt did not cause or try to cause the mistake that was made. He paid the duty that was demanded. If now, the Customs Department finds that its valuation was not correct, it cannot be allowed to have another try. Pitt is not guilty.
【小题1】Pitt met the customs officer __________, where the officer was employed to ________.

A.at the railway station or airport; examine people’s baggage
B.at the airport or port; examine people’s baggage
C.at the bus-stop; help people enter the USA
D.at the airport or port; help people enter the USA
【小题2】From the passage we can infer that if Maveleone had been a well-know artist _________.
A.the painting would have cost much more than $ 140
B.he wouldn’t have sold his painting at such a low price
C.the customs officer wouldn’t have valued the painting at $ 140
D.Pitt wouldn’t have had the intention to buy any of his paintings
【小题3】Pitt took off the frame in order to ____________.
A.clean the painting to put it up for sale
B.look for the artist’s signature
C.use if for his wife’s photograph
D.find the painting’s true value
【小题4】Which is true according to the passage?
A.Pitt knew the true value of the picture.
B.Pitt’s wife knew the true value of the picture.
C.When Pitt’s wife suggested keeping the picture, she was kind of joking.
D.Pitt didn’t pay any duty at all.
【小题5】Which of the following statements is true to the story? In the end __________.
A.Pitt was asked to pay the correct amount of duty.
B.Pitt sold the frame of the painting at an even higher price.
C.The Customs Department had no right to revalue the painting.
D.Pitt’s wife was regarded as an expert because of her wise suggestion.

Three armed robbers stole two Pablo Picasso prints from an art museum in downtown Sao
Paulo on Thursday, which was the city’s second high-profile art theft in less than a year. The bandits also took two oil paintings by well-know Brazilian artists Emiliano Di Cavalcanti and Lasar Segall, said Carla Regina, a spokeswoman for the Pinacoteca do Estado museum.
The Picasso prints stolen were "The Painter and the Model" from 1963 and "Minotaur, Drinker and Women" from 1933, according to a statement from the Sao Paulo Secretary of State for Culture, which oversees the museum. The prints and paintings have a combined value of $612,000, the statement and a museum official said.
About noon, three armed men paid the $2.45 entrance fee and immediately went to the second-floor gallery where the works were being exhibited, bypassing more valuable pieces, authorities said. "This indicates to us that they probably received an order" to take those specific works, Youssef Abou Chain, head of Sao Paulo's organized crime unit, told reporters at a news conference. The assailants overpowered three unarmed museum guards and grabbed the works, officials said. The robbery took about 10 minutes and the museum was nearly empty at the time. The assailants took the pieces — frames and all — out of the museum in two bags. The institution has no metal detectors.
In December, Picasso's "Portrait of Suzanne Bloch" and "O Lavrador de Cafe" by Candido Portinari, an influential Brazilian artist, were stolen from the Sao Paulo Museum of Art by three men who used a crowbar(铁撬棍)and car jack to force open one of the museum's steel doors. The framed paintings were found Jan. 8, covered in plastic and leaning against a wall in a house on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, South America's largest city. One of the suspects in that robbery — a former TV chef — turned himself over to police in January, who already had two suspects in custody(监禁).
【小题1】What did the armed men steal on Thursday?

A.Two prints by Pablo Picasso
B.Two oil painting by Brazilian artists
C.Two prints by Pablo Picasso and two oil paintings by two Brazilian artists.
D.Two prints by two Brazilian artists and two oil paintings by Picasso Pablo.
【小题2】Why didn't the thieves take other more valuable works?
A.Because they didn't know that the other pieces were worth more.
B.Probably because they had received an order for the prints that they took.
C.Because they didn't have enough time.
D.Because they were in such a hurry that they couldn’t get them all.
【小题3】How many people were in the museum during the robbery?
A.A lot. The museum was crowded.
B.Not too many. It was almost empty.
C.There were a lot of people outside the museum.
D.Only three of them.
【小题4】According to the passage, which of the followings is TRUE?
A.In December, "Portrait of Suzanne Bloch" and "O Lavrador de Cafe" painted by Candido
Portinari were stolen.
B.There are steel doors and no detectors in Sao Paulo Museum of Art.
C.Three robbers defeated three armed museum guards and took away the works on Thursday.
D.Three suspects in the first high-profile art theft in less than a year were arrested.

BRITAIN is a popular tourist place. But tours of the country have advantages and disadvantages .

ADVANTAGES

Free museums. No charge for good collections of art works

Pop music. Britain is the only country to rival(与…匹敌)the US on this point.

Cabs. London taxi drivers well know where they are going.

Choice of food. Visitors can find food from every corner of the world .

Fashion. Not only do fashion junkies love deeply and respect highly brand names such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen; street styles are justly loved, too.

  DISADVANTAGES

  Poor service. People can dine out on the rudeness they have experienced,” says Professor Tony Seaton, of Luton University’s International Tourism Research Center.

  Poor public transport. Trains and buses are promised to defeat tourists who have the most patience, so the over- crowded London tube is inexplicably(难以理解的) popular.

  Rain. Still in the number one complaint. 

  Overpriced hotels. The only European country with a higher rate of tax on hotel rooms is Denmark.

Drinking hours. Alcohol(酒) is in short supply after 11 pm even in “24-hour cities”.

1.What do tourists complain most?

  A. Poor service.               B. Poor public transport.

C. Rain.                         D. Overpriced hotels.

2. When is alcohol not able to get?

  A. At 9: 00 pm      B. At 10: 00 pm     C. At 11: 00 pm      D. At 12: 00 pm

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

  A. You have to pay to visit the museums.

  B. Only clothing with brand names are sold in London .

  C. You cannot find Chinese food there.

D. The public transport is poor there.

 

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