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-known 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)．
(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．
(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．
(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．
(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．
Many Americans are turning to Japan, they think, a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers．However, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find．In most Japanese preschools, surprisingly little emphasis is put on academic instruction．In one survey, 300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education．Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents(答问卷者)listed“to give children a good start academically”as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools．In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices．To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese schools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as determination, concentration, and the ability to work as a member of a group．The huge majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents．
Like in America, there is diversity(多样性)in Japanese early childhood education．Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential development．In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary schools．Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children's chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated schools and universities．Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing in some Japanese kindergartens．
(1)
We learn from the first paragraph that many Americans believe ________．
[ ]
A．
Japanese parents are more involved in preschool education than American parents
B．
Japan's economic success is a result of its scientific achievements
C．
Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic instruction
D．
Japan's higher education is superior to theirs
(2)
In Japan's preschool education, the focus is on ________．
[ ]
A．
preparing children academically
B．
developing children's artistic interests
C．
developing children's potential
D．
shaping children's character
(3)
Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?
[ ]
A．
They can have better chances of getting a first-rate education．
B．
They can make more group experience grow there．
C．
They can be individually oriented when they grow up．
D．
They can do better in their future studies．
(4)
Free play has been introduced in some Japanese kindergartens in order to ________．
[ ]
A．
broaden children's knowledge
B．
lighten children's study load
C．
train children's creativity
D．
enrich children's experience
(5)
Which of the following statements is true?
[ ]
A．
Most of the Japanese preschools pay much attention to academic instructions．
B．
Very few Japanese respondents don't agree to give children a start academically．
C．
In Japan it is common for parents to teach their children at home．
D．
American respondents don't agree to give children a start academically．
阅读理解。
One of the largest countries in Texas is named for Captain Erastus“Deaf”Smith－a deaf man．Captain Smith was the leader of General Sam Houston's scouts during the Texas Revolution, the war in which Texas won its freedom from Mexico．The county named in his honor is called Deaf Smith County．
A scout in the days of the Texas Revolution was much like what a spy is today．Captain“Deaf”Smith would find out where enemy troops were camped and how many men the enemy had, and he would report to Sam Houston．Even when other people could not see or hear any sign of people or animals, Captain Smith would know where they were．Sometimes he would guide Texas troops through enemy territory without the enemy even knowing they were there．
Erastus Smith was born in New York on April 19,1787; but went to live：in Mississippi when he was 11 years old．He went to Texas for a short time in 1817, and four years later returned to Texas to stay; He wandered over Texas as a surveyor(测量员)before he volunteered for army service after the start of the Texas Revolution．
Smith married a Mexican woman, and they had four children－three girls and one boy．He spent a lot of time learning the customs, manners, and language of the Mexican settlers．When the Texas Revolution began in 1835, Smith at first refused to take part in it out of respect for his family's heritage(传统)．However, after Mexican troops tried to stop him from going to San Antonio to visit his family, he volunteered for service with the Texans．He was made a captain．
(1)
At first, Smith refused to take part in the Texas Revolution because ________．
[ ]
A．
he was a peace-loving person and hated fighting
B．
Mexican soldiers stopped him from going to San Antonio
C．
the Texans were not very good to him and his family
D．
his wife was Mexican and he didn't want to fight against her people
(2)
How old was Smith when he settled in Texas?
[ ]
A．
Thirty－four．
B．
Eleven．
C．
Thirty．
D．
Twenty-seven．
(3)
Which of the following is the correct order of the events?
a．A county in Texas was named after Smith．
b．Smith got married to a Mexican woman．
c．Smith volunteered for service with the Texans．
d．Mexican troops tried to stop him from seeing his family．
e．Smith went to live in Mississippi．
f．The Texas Revolution started．
[ ]
A．
a－b－c－d－e－f
B．
e－b－d－c－a－f
C．
b－e－f－d－c－a
D．
e－b－f－d－c－a
(4)
Which of the following was a great help in Smith's work as a scout?
[ ]
A．
His family's heritage．
B．
His experience as a surveyor．
C．
His deafness．
D．
His good eyesight．
(5)
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
[ ]
A．
Deaf Smith County
B．
The Texas Revolution
C．
The Mexicans and the Texans
D．
Captain“Deaf”Smith
阅读理解
In 1752, three years after two Scotsmen, Alexander Wilson and Thomas Melville, fastened thermometers to kites to record the temperature of clouds, Benjamin Franklin made his famous experiment with a kite, a string, and a key．Franklin hoped to show that nature’s tremendous displays of electricity in lightning were the same thing as the feeble electric sparks scientists of the day were producing in their laboratories．He built a square kite to which he attached an iron wire．He flew the kite with a hemp string(麻线), and near the base of the string he tied a large brass key．The kite rose into a dark thundercloud, where the iron wire picked up electrical charges．Franklin noticed that the strands of the string(绳串)were beginning to stand up with electricity．As rain wet the string, it conducted more electricity．Standing in the shelter of a shed, Franklin cautiously reached out his finger to touch the brass key．A series of sparks jumped from the key to his finger．He thus proved that lightning and electricity are the same．We now know that this experiment was a dangerous one, for Franklin might have been killed by a bolt of lighting．
(1)
The best title for this passage is ________．
[ ]
A．
The Discover of Electricity
B．
The kite and Science
C．
Franklin’s Experiment with Lightning
D．
Franklin, a Great Scientist
(2)
According to the passage, Benjamin Franklin ________．
[ ]
A．
recorded the temperature of clouds
B．
was killed by a bolt of lightning
C．
proved that lightning can be controlled by man
D．
proved that lightning and electricity have the same essential nature
(3)
Two Scotsmen experimented with kites in ________．
[ ]
A．
1752
B．
1746
C．
1755
D．
1749
(4)
The fact that Franklin was not injured was apparently due to ________．
[ ]
A．
luck
B．
wisdom
C．
the materials
D．
the shed’s protection
阅读理解：
By LOS ANGELES TIMES
Publishedon 2002－02－10
Postedon 2002－01－18 10∶59∶14
Nervousuncertainty surrounds the fate(命运)of US journalist Daniel Pearl, with no clear communication from his kidnappers(绑匪)and no sign of his whereabouts after three separate police searches for his body in the troublesome port city Karachi, Pakistan．
Pearl, a 38-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter, disappeared two weeks ago on his way to an interview in Karachi．An e-mail allegedly from his kidnappers contained four photos of him and a variety of demands, including one for there lease of Pakistani prisoners being held at the US naval base in Cuba．
The searches were started last Friday night by an email claiming that Pearl had been killed and his body thrown“in the graveyards of Karachi．
Pearl has worked for The Wall Street Journal for 12 years and is now their South Asiabureau chief．He was born in Princeton, New Jersey and graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in communications．
He joined The Wall Street Journal in November 1990, first as a reporter in the Atlanta bureau．In 1993 he moved to the Washington office to cover transportation before beginning a series of overseas postings．
The members of a radical(激进的)Islamic group in Pakistan who admit having kidnapped him say Pearl is a member of the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad．But Pearls employers have angrily denied(否认)that he is the agent(代理)of any government．
Pearl’s French wife, Marianne, is six months pregnant with their first child．
For the past few weeks the couple have been living in Karachi while Pearl tried to arrange an interview with Mubarak Ali Shah Gilani, head of the small militant Islamic group Tanzeemul-Fuqra．
(1)
We can see from the text that ________．
[ ]
A．
Pearl has been murdered
B．
Pearl has escaped from his kidnappers
C．
Pearl is in danger
D．
Pearl’s fate still remains in question
(2)
Accordingto the text, Pearl most probably disappeared ________．
[ ]
A．
on January 24, 2002
B．
on January 26, 2002
C．
on January 4, 2002
D．
on January 11, 2002
(3)
Pearl’s disappearance has something to do with ________．
[ ]
A．
Tanzeemul-Fuqra
B．
a radical Islamic group in Pakistan
C．
the US naval base in Cuba
D．
the Israeli intelligence service
阅读理解
I
The opening ceremony of this famous yearly competition will begin at 11：30 a.m. There will be music groups, rappers and children’s chorus. 12：25 p.m. sees the introduction of the eaters who come from all over the world. At 12：40 p.m. the historic 12-minute all-you-can-eat competition will begin. The world record stands at over 50 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. Will anyone beat the record this year?
Viewing is available on a first-come-first- served basis. Television crews are invited to use a two-tiered stage three meters from the main stage. The area in front of the main stage is kept for photographers and television cameras without tripods (三脚架).
II
Few periods in history are as exciting as the time when the Vikings (北欧海盗) were known --- and sometimes feared --- throughout Scandinavia, the British Isles. Russia,all the Mediterranean, Africa and even America.
Frojel is a family-based society, which aims to relive and describe the Vikings from a harbor---Frojel , on the Swedish island of Gotland. Frojel was one of the richest trading centers in the Viking world.
The members of the society aim to recreate the clothing, weapons, tools, jewellery, games, food and furniture of the long-gone period. They want to enjoy an escape to a simpler , more relaxed time, with like-minded people. They will also use the items they have made to relive that age at various public entertainments.
(1)
According to Advertisement 1, the famous yearly competition is ________.
[ ]
A．
a music competition
B．
an eating competition
C．
a cooking competition
D．
a pleasure-taking competition
(2)
People who come to watch the competition earliest may ________.
[ ]
A．
get the best watching position
B．
get the best food.
C．
watch whatever they want to
D．
take good pictures
(3)
The best title for Advertisement 2 would be ________.
[ ]
A．
The Vikings
B．
Reliving of the Vikings
C Frojel
C．
a European island
D．
A Viking Reliving Society
(4)
From the advertisement we know that Frojel used to be ________.
