Art theft is an ancient and complicated crime. When you look at some of the most famous cases of art thefts in history, you see thoroughly planned operations that involve art dealers, art fakers, mobsters, ransoms, and millions of dollars. Here you can read about some of the most famous cases of art theft in the history.

The First Theft:  

The first documented case of art theft was in 1473, when two panels of altarpiece of the Last Judgment by the Dutch painter Hans Memling were stolen. While the triptych was being transported by ship from the Netherlands to Florence, the ship was attacked by pirates who took it to the Gdansk cathedral in Poland. Nowadays, the piece is shown at the National Museum in Gdansk where it was recently moved from the Basilica of the Assumption.

The Most Famous Theft:

The most famous story of art theft involves one of the most famous paintings in the world and one of the most famous artists in history as a suspect. In the night of August 21, 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen out of the Louver. Soon after, Pablo Picasso was arrested and questioned by the police, but was released quickly.

It took about two years until the mystery was solved by the Parisian police. It turned out that the 30×21 inch painting was taken by one of the museum employees by the name of Vincenzo Peruggia, who simply carried it hidden under his coat. Nevertheless, Peruggia did not work alone. The crime was carefully conducted by a notorious con man, Eduardo de Valfierno, who was sent by an art faker who intended to make copies and sell them as if they were the original painting.

While Yves Chaudron, the art faker, was busy creating copies for the famous masterpiece, Mona Lisa was still hidden at Peruggias’ apartment. After two years in which Peruggia did not hear from Chaudron, he tried to make the best out of his stolen good. Eventually, Peruggia was caught by the police while trying to sell the painting to an art dealer from Florence, Italy. The Mona Lisa was returned to the Louver in 1913.

The Biggest Theft in the USA:

The biggest art theft in United States took place at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. On the night of March 18, 1990, a group of thieves wearing police uniforms broke into the museum and took thirteen paintings whose collective value was estimated at around 300 million dollars. The thieves took two paintings and one print by Rembrandt, and works of Vermeer, Manet, Degas, Govaert Flinck, as well as a French and a Chinese artifact.

As of yet, none of the paintings have been found and the case is still unsolved. According to recent rumors, the FBI are investigating the possibility that the Boston Mob along with French art dealers are connected to the crime.

1. How long did it take to put back the stolen Mona Lisa in Louver ?___

A．Thirty six months                        B．Thirty months

C．Half a year                             D．Around two years

2.What does the underlined sentence, “he tried to make the best out of his stolen good” mean?

A．Chaudron wanted to sell the stolen painting.

B．Peruggia thought he didn’t need to work for Chaudon any more and wanted to market the painting.

C．Valfierno was tired of waiting.

D．Peruggia wanted to study the painting carefully.

3. Which case among those mentioned in the passage is still a mystery?

A．Mona Lisa case

B．Last Judgment case

C．Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum thirteen paintings case

D．none

4.People from the country of _____ is not involved in the passage.

A．China            B．France            C．Dutch            D．Vantican

5. Which statement is WRONG according to this article?

A．Picasso was ever considered a art theft suspect.

B．Art thieves normally not work alone.

C．The first documented case of art theft was conducted by pirates.

D．The mastermind of Mona Lisa was an art faker who wanted to sell copies.

6. The passage is not finished, which subtitle could be the next?

A．The Economic Value of Art Theft            B．The Loss to Art Lovers

C．The Most Sought After Painting             D．Boston Mob and French Art Dealers

                "Reduce, reuse and recycle, this familiar environmentalist slogan tells us how to reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfills and waterways.

The concept is being used to deal with one possibly dangerous form of waste – electronic junk (电子垃圾), such as old computers, cell-phones, and televisions. But this process for managing e-waste may be used in an unscrupulous way more often than not used, a recent report suggests.  

“A lot of these materials are being sent to developing nations under the excuse of reuse – to bridge the digital divide,” said Richard Gutierrez, a policy researcher.

One of the problems is that no one proves whether these old machines work before they hit the seaways. Because of this, the report says, e-waste is a growing problem in Lagos, Nigeria, and elsewhere in the developing world. Much of the waste ends up being thrown away along rivers and roads. Often it’s picked apart by poor people, who may face dangerous exposure to poisonous chemicals in the equipment.

Businessmen also pay workers a little money to get back materials such as gold and copper. This low-tech recovery process could expose workers and the local environment to many dangerous materials used to build electronics. According to Gutierrez, this shadow economy exists because the excuse of recycling and reusing electronics gives businessmen “a green passport” to ship waste around the globe. “Developing nations must take upon some of the responsibility themselves,” Gutierrez said. But, he added, “A greater portion of this responsibility should fall on the exporting state.”

China, for example, has become a dumping place for large amounts of e-waste. The nation is beginning to take action to stop the flow of dangerous materials across its borders. The Chinese government, after many years of denial, is finally beginning to take the lead.

57．The underlined word “unscrupulous” in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.

         A. unsafe                    B. tricky                      C. wrong                              D. immoral

58．What does the fourth paragraph mainly discuss?

         A. Old computers and TVs still work before they are sent abroad.

         B. Poor people break up e-waste to collect some valuable materials.

         C. A lot of e-waste is dumped in developing countries.

         D. The problem of e-waste is growing in developing countries.

59．From what Gutierrez said we can learn that ________.

         A. exporting countries should mainly be responsible for this problem.

         B. neither rich nor poor countries should be blamed for this problem

         C. developing countries should be responsible for this problem

         D. poor countries should blamed for this problem

60．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _______.

         A. China has hidden a large amount of e-waste in many secret places

         B. China has greatly changed hre idea about the problem of e-waste

         C. China has prevented poisonous materials from entering China for a long time

         D. China is falling behind other countries in dealing with e-waste

Chinese media and Internet users on Monday condemned a lack of morals in society after a toddler was struck twice by two different vans and left bleeding on the road as more than a dozen bystanders did nothing to help the seriously injured girl.

The incident, captured by a surveillance camera and aired by Southern Television Guangdong (TVS), showed the two-year-old girl was knocked down and run over by a white van on a narrow market street on the afternoon of Oct. 13, in Foshan City of Guangdong Province.

The driver fled the scene of the accident, leaving the girl to bleed on the sidewalk. Over the next six minutes, more than a dozen people walked by the girl, yet not one individual did anything to help her. The girl was then hit a second time by another van before an elderly trash collector came to her aid and brought the attention of the girl’s mother, according to the video and eyewitnesses.

Doctors said that the girl, who was put on life support after being hospitalized, remains in a deep coma. The girl's parents, who are migrants living in the city, are now with her.

Police said the drivers of both vehicles have been arrested. However, the apathy of the bystanders shown in the video has shocked the public, as Internet forums have seethed with anger, and people are questioning the morality of society.

High moral standards were once triumphed as national pride in China where individuals known for selflessly helping others were adored by the public.

But in recent years, the perception of a decline of morals has become a hot topic as profit and materialism are perceived to be affecting society’s values.

On Sept. 2. an 88-year-old man in central China collapsed, his face striking the pavement. Yet, no one came to his aid, and he ended up choking to death on the blood from his nose.

Some have linked the absence of good models to a previous case in which a man trying to help an elderly woman who fell was accused of harming her.

A strong chorus of opinion on the Internet says laws should exempt（免除）models from responsibility, yet laws themselves cannot solve society’s morality dilemma.

Cao Lin, a China Youth Daily commentator, said in a signed article published on Monday that the worry of responsibility should not be an excuse for not helping, and this case exposes the decline of humanity in Chinese society.

1.From the passage, what would happen if someone helped others selflessly in the past?

2.Which of the following is TRUE about this passage?

3.In recent years, society’s values is believed to be affected by           .

4.According to Cao Lin, what is the fundamental reason for not helping the girl?

5.Where is the article probably taken from?

A new report says the number of foreign students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by three percent last year. This has been the first obvious increase since 2001.

American schools last fall had 583,000 foreign students. The record is 586,000. That was set in 2002 after many years of gains. But after that the numbers fell. The terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 led to more visa (??) requirements. Now stronger efforts are being made to get more foreign students to study in the United States.

China remained in second place in front of South Korea but behind India, which sent almost 84,000 students last fall. The number of Japanese fell sharply by nine percent, although it remained in fourth place.

There were three percent drops from Indonesia and Kenya, the only African country in the top twenty last year. But there were obvious increases from Saudi Arabia, Nepal and Vietnam. The number of Saudi students more than doubled, rising to nearly eight thousand.

For a sixth year, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles had the most foreign students. Columbia University in New York was second. Other schools in the top five were New York University, the University of Illinois and Purdue University.

Unlike American students in other countries, who often choose history and language study, the leading area of study in the USA was business and management. Second was engineering.

The new report also says more than 220,000 Americans studied in other countries. That was during the 2005-2006 school year. It was a record number, and an increase of eight and a half percent from the year before. But only five percent of them stayed for a full year.

1 After 2002, the number of foreign students in the USA fell mainly because ____ .

A. Americans were worried that foreign students might attack them

B. few American universities welcomed students from abroad

C. their own countries could offer them a better education

D. it was harder for foreign students to get permission to study in the USA

2 Which of the following Asian countries has the largest number of students studying in the USA?

A. China.           B. Japan.           C. South Korea.  D. India.

3 Which subject is the most attractive to foreign students in the USA?

A. Business and management.       B. History.

C. Engineering.                        D. Language.

4We can learn from the passage that ____ .

A. Kenya is the only African country that has students in the USA

B. now foreign students are encouraged to study in the USA

C. the number of students studying in America always increases

D. the number of foreign students in the USA will keep increasing in the future

5 In which section of a newspaper could you most probably read this passage?

A. Culture.         B. Science.         C. Education.     D. Business.

We all need a healthy environment. ____, we produce waste every day and it ____ harm to our environment. Though we are young, we can still do ____ to help. In fact, even the simplest everyday activities can make a real ____ to the environment. Here are some ideas for you to live a ____ life.

Remember these three _____: reduce, reuse and recycle.

Reduce means “use less”. Don't ____ things. This saves money and reduces pollution and waste going into the environment. Before we buy something new, think if it is really ____ or maybe the ____ one will be just as good! When we do buy things, choose local products if possible, and try not to buy too many things from a ____ country.

Reuse means “use again”. Use things for ____ possible. When we buy things, make sure that they ____ a long time. We should take care of them ____ they will last, and we should ____ them if we can instead of throwing them away and buying new ones. Don't use a paper cup or a paper bag. It’s better to use a china cup and a lunch box because you can use them ____.

Recycle means “change things into something else”. Although it ____ energy to change something into something else, it’s better than ____ things or burning them. Find out ____ can be recycled in your neighbourhood and take part in recycling programmes. We should also buy ____ made from recycled materials, such as recycled paper, to help save ____.

1.A. Therefore      B. However      C. Otherwise     D. Besides

2.A. gives          B. takes         C. causes        D. does

3.A. something      B. everything    C. nothing        D. everything

4.A. difference      B. mistake       C. effect         D. help

5.A. busy          B. hard          C. green         D. happy

6.A. letters         B. words         C. sentences     D. lessons

7.A. buy           B. produce       C. save         D. waste

8.A. necessary      B. important      C. helpful       D. useful

9.A. cheap         B. expensive      C. new         D. old

10.A. rich           B. developed      C. foreign      D. poor

11.A. as soon as      B. as long as      C. as much as    D. as well as

12.A. use           B. last            C. keep        D. live

13.A. so that        B. if              C. because      D. though

14.A. sell           B. lend           C. throw        D. repair

15.A. less           B. more          C. again        D. better

16.A. costs          B. spends         C. takes        D. pays

17.A. throwing away  B. putting away    C. taking away   D. giving away

18.A. that           B. which         C. what         D. how

19.A. cups           B. bags          C. boxes        D. products

20.A. money         B. trees          C. paper        D. time