It is believed that good looks can last forever,but at nearly 600 years of age.  the time is catching up with the Mona Lisa.    

 The famous painting that was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1505 is getting worse by the year. It is kept in the Louver Museum (卢浮宫) inFrance.

"The thin,wooden board where the Mona Lisa is painted has changed its shape." the museum said. Visitors have noticed the changes,but repairing the world's most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials (材料) the Italian artist used.

Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year. Many of them are interested in the mystery of her smile. "It is very interesting that when you're not looking at her,she seems to be smiling,and when you look at her and she stops smiling. ” said Mr Livingstone,who is working in Harvard University. "It's because direct vision (视觉) is good at picking up detail (细节) ,but not good at looking at shadows (暗影) .Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows."

However,the history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him,until it was sold toFrance's King Francis I in 1519.

In 1911,the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a worker who used to work there. He took it out of the museum and hid it under his coat. He said he planned to return it toItaly. The painting was sent back toFrancetwo years later. During World War II,French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces (军队) .

(   ) 41. What does the writer mean by "the time is catching up with the Mona Lisa"?

   A. The painting is not so beautiful any more.

   B. Mona Lisa runs very slowly.

   C. The long time has affected the famous painting.

   D. The painting is no longer popular.

(   ) 42. It's difficult to repair the painting because         .

   A. the wooden board is thin and old

   B. experts aren't sure about the materials

   C. the painting has a long history

   D. It was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci

(   ) 43. What makes her smile so mysterious according to Mr Livingston?

   A. The materials the Italian artist used.

   B. Mona Lisa's good look.

   C. The way Da Vinci painted the smile.

   D. The history of the painting.

(   ) 44. Which of the following is true about the painting?

   A. It was once taken away and hidden up by German forces.

   B. Its painter himself loved it so much that he kept it in shadows.

   C. Mona Lisa stops smiling when you look at her wanting to see her smiles.

 

   D. King Francis I bought it and then returned it toItaly.

(   ) 45. During the World War II,the famous painting was in         .

   A. Italy   B. France   C. Britain   D. Germany


  


A Barbara invited her sister Laura to see the movie Why Don Jt You Love Me As Much As I Love You? It starred (由...... 主演) Tad Biff and Jenny Lopez.

Both of them were big fans of Tad,even though both of them were over 40.  They picked the 6 o'clock show on Tuesday evening,thinking that the crowds would be thin. For Barbara,thin crowds meant fewer annoying people.

The hall was almost empty. There was only one man at the food counter (柜台)buying popcorn for his son. As they walked by,Barbara said, "What a cute little boy!What's your name?"

"I'm Benton and I'm almost 5 years old," the boy said proudly.

Barbara and Laura walked inside. They picked their favorite seats,right in the middle of the whole theater. There was no one near them.

The movie started. A few minutes later,some people sat just behind Barbara and Laura. Barbara couldn't believe it. The theater was 90 percent empty,but these people had to sit right behind her. She hoped that they weren't loud.

A minute later,Barbara felt a knock on the back of her seat. Then,another. Then,another. Someone was kicking the back of her seat. Barbara tried to pay no attention to the kicking,but it wouldn't stop. She turned around and shouted angrily, "Stop kicking my seat!"

It was Bentoa He had spilled (洒出) his popcorn. He started crying. His father shouted at Barbara for shouting at Benton,and Barbara shouted back at the father for not looking after his son well. At last,the father took his son out to the hall to cheer him up,and Barbara started watching her movie again. "You didn't miss a thing," said Laura 

(   ) 36. Barbara and Laura went to the movie on Tuesday evening because         .

   A. the new movie was shown only at this time

   B. their favorite actor Tad Biff was there

   C. they think there were fewer people at the cinema

   D. they were over 40 years old

(   ) 37. What did Barbara think of Bentonfirst?

   A. Cute. B. Handsome. C. Silly. D. Annoying.

(   ) 38. Who kicked the back of Barbara's seat?

   A. Benton. B. Laura.

   C. Benton's father. D. No one.

(   ) 39. Why did Benton's father take Benton out to the hall?

   A. Because Benton didn't like watching the movie.

   B. Because Benton was afraid of Barbara.

   C. Because he wanted to cheer Benton up.

   D. Because Benton kicked Barbara's seat.

(   ) 40. Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?

   A. There were fewer people watching the movie.

   B. There were no people sitting near Barbara and Laura first.

   C. Benton's father also shouted at Barbara.

   D. Barbara left the cinema before the movie finished.

What will future cities be like? Will they have the 21       problems as our present cities? Or will they be wonderful places to live in? It depends on 22       we plan cities today. City planners look for ways to 23       city problems. They look ahead to the 24       They look for ways to help cities to grow. Sometimes,they even plan whole new cities.  City planners are 25       about the problems of CBDs (Central Business District) . How can these busy areas meet the needs of both people and businesses? The city of Fresno has 26        up good answers to this question. Not long ago,the CBD there was crowded and ugly. It was hard to walk there 27        there were so many cars and trucks. However,Fresno's city planners decided to change the city's CB   D. First,they made it look much 28       ,They planted trees,built fountains (喷泉) , 29       the older buildings in the CBD and even built new ones.

Then the city planners said that 30        cars could drive into the CB   D. People could park their cars in nearby parking places,but they had to either walk into the CBD 31       take little electric cars. Today,Fresno's CBD is a good place to visit.

Many cities today do not have enough space for new buildings. One way to find space is to look in a new direction (方向) 一up. All cities have a lot of unused air space. A few 32        ago,a company wanted to build a new building in the center of Manhattan Island. But Manhattan is the most crowded part of New York City. Unused land on Manhattan would be very 33        to find. The company solved the problem 34        using air space. They built their building over 35        building. At last,the company's new building was built over a train station.

(   ) 21. A. different   B. same   C. difficult   D. many

(   ) 22. A. what   B. which   C. how   D. that

(   ) 23. A. solve   B. answer   C. cause   D. make

(   ) 24. A. future   B. past   C. present   D. public

(   ) 25. A. disappointed   B. worried   C. excited   D. amazed

(   ) 26. A. caught   B. come   C. thought   D. used

(   ) 27. A. because   B. although   C. until   D. if

(   ) 28. A. worse   B. uglier   C. nicer   D. larger

(   ) 29. A. built   B. pushed   C. watched   D. repaired

(   ) 30. A. many   B. only   C. more   D. no

(   ) 31. A. or   B. and   C. but   D. so

(   ) 32. A. days   B. years   C. weeks   D. hours

(   ) 33. A. easy   B. large   C. small   D. hard

(   ) 34. A. by   B. with   C. of   D. about

(   ) 35. A. the other   B. another   C. other   D. others

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