Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503. He was working on an important painting for a church at the time, but the church painting was not going well. An Italian businessman asked da Vinci to paint a picture of the businessman’s second wife. This is the woman who can be seen in the Mona Lisa.
All in all, the Mona Lisa is a very good example of da Vinci’s work. Da Vinci uses darkness and light in a clever way in the painting.
Da Vinci loved science and math. Right away a person can see that there is a lot of geometry (几何) in the Mona Lisa. The face of Mona Lisa is made of many circles and round shapes like balls. Even her smile can be seen as a small part of a large circle.
The woman in the painting is sitting on a balcony, and mountains can be seen behind her. Da Vinci loved to study rocks and mountains, so these can be seen over and over again in his other paintings.
The woman is sitting with her knees to the side. Her head is turned to look out of the painting. Her hands are held together in front of her. This way of sitting is now used by many artists when they are painting a picture of a man or woman today.
【小题1】Who painted the Mona Lisa?

The teacher told us ____the window in class

Have you ever thought of taking a train and having an adventure (奇遇)？Riding the train can be a real adventure.That is how I feel every time I take Amtrak.I often take a four?hour trip to visit my children.Every time I take this trip I never know what will happen.

Last week when I was on the train and over an hour into the train ride，there was a man sitting by himself in the back of the train carrying on a mobile phone conversation— in another language.It was loud and disturbed most of the people on the train.I think it was annoying.

Fortunately I sat next to a wonderful old lady who was taking a two?day trip by train.She said her two daughters were distraught at the thought of her driving for three days to reach her home，although she had no trouble driving.The train ride was the only choice for her.She loved to look out of the window and watch the world go by on the train.

She was fun to talk to and asked me when my children started being parents.That is a very good question.Both of us are old and have children.She asked that same question from time to time.

There are always many people on the train from all walks of life，different countries，and many languages.Riding the train is a great way to increase your knowledge and take in all kinds of cultures.If you get hungry，you can buy food in the food car at any time.If you need to use the restroom there is always one available.

It sure beats driving the car，which has to stop for food and restrooms.And it is better than taking the bus.

1．According to the passage，the purpose of the author’s train ride was________.

A．to do business　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．to see her children

C．to visit places of interest 　　　　　　　　　 D．to see her old friends

2．Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word “distraught” in Paragraph 3?

A．Disappointed. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．Satisfied.

C．Worried. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．Pleased.

3．Which of the following is TRUE about the old lady sitting next to the author?

A．She is too old to drive now.

B．She does not like to take trains.

C．Although she is old，she has a good memory.

D．Her daughters live far away from her home.

4．In the author’s opinion，on the train Amtrak________.

A．the services are quite good

B．the food is terribly expensive

C．all the passengers are polite

D．all the passengers are American

5．What is the best title for this passage?

A．Train ride—a cultural experience

B．A painful experience on the train

C．The history of Amtrak

D．A wonderful lady

The teacher told us ____the window in class

Many people love going on a trip by plane, because planes are fast. But an airport(机场) is usually far away from the city, and it usually takes hours to get out of the airport and into the city. You have to get there and wait for the plane to take off for hours. You can not open the window, and you can not have delicious food.
I like travelling by train. I think trains are the safest(最安全的). Train stations are usually in cities. When you are late for a train, you can catch another one. You can walk around in the train and look out of the window. You can see many interesting things on your way. I know it takes some time.
I also like cars. You can start your trip when you want to, and you don’t need to get to a station. You can carry many things with you, too. But sometimes there are many cars on the road.
【小题1】Many people like travelling by plane because_____________.