閱讀理解

Fading beauty

　　She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last for ever．But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa．

　　The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre Museum(盧浮宮博物館)where it is housed．

　　“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago, ” the museum said．Visitors have noticed changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy．Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state(化學(xué)狀態(tài))．

　　Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile．“It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops, ” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University．“It’s because direct vision(視覺)is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows．Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows．”

　　However, the actual 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 eventually sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519．

　　In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat．He said he planned to return it to Italy．The painting was sent back to France two years later．

　　During World War II, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces．

　　Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell．

(1)

What does the writer mean by “time is catching up with the Mona Lisa”?

[　　]

A．

The painting woman is not so beautiful any more．

B．

Ageing is something that affects us all．

C．

The painting needs repairing．

D．

At such an old age, she is no longer popular．

(2)

What makes the repair work difficult?

[　　]

A．

The wooden panel is thin and old．

B．

No one knows exactly what materials were used to create the painting and how it might respond to treatment．

C．

The health of the painting is suffering．

D．

Experts can’t agree on how to carry out repairs．

(3)

What makes her so mysterious according to Professor Livingston?

[　　]

A．

The materials the Italian artist used．

B．

The way she smiles．

C．

The way Da Vinci painted the smile．

D．

It plays a trick upon the human eyes

答案：1．C;2．B;3．C;
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科目：高中英語 來源：湖南省衡陽八中2010屆高三第四次月考、英語試卷 題型：050

閱讀理解

　　In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide acts rather like a one-way mirror or the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun's rays to enter but prevents the heat from escaping．

　　According to a weather expert' s prediction, the atmosphere will be 3℃warmer in the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to burn fuels at the present rate．If this warming up took place, the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt, thus raising sea level several metres and severely flooding coastal cities．Also, the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere(北半球), possibly resulting in an alteration of the earth's chief food growing zones．

　　In the past, concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet．But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic, which may be affected by only a few degrees of warming, in other words, by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from the burning of fuels．

　　Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing．The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place．This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth．

　　However, most of the fuel is burnt in the northern hemisphere, where temperatures seem to be falling．Scientists conclude , therefore, that up to now natural influences on the weather have gone beyond those caused by man．The question is：Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?

　　One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun．Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and "cold" spots(that is, the relatively less hot spots)on the sun．As the sun rotates(使旋轉(zhuǎn)), every 27.5 days, it presents hotter or "colder" faces to the earth, and different aspects to different parts of the earth．This seems to have a considerable effect on the distribution of the earth's atmospheric pressure, and consequently on wind circulation．The sun is also changeable over a long term：its heat output goes up and down in cycles, the latest trend being downward．

　　Scientists are now finding shared relations between models of solar weather interactions and the actual climate over many thousands of years, including the last Ice Age．The problem is that the models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not．One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia(慣性)of the earth's climate．If this is right, the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful opposed balance to the sun's fading heat．

(1)

It can be concluded that a concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would ________．

[　　]

A．

mean a warming-up in the Antarctic

B．

raise the temperature of the earth' s surface

C．

prevent the sun's rays from reaching the earth's surface

D．

explain the cause of great changes in the climate in the northern hemisphere

(2)

The article was written to explain ________．

[　　]

A．

the greenhouse effect

B．

the solar effects on the earth

C．

the causes affecting weather

D．

the models of solar-weather interactions

(3)

Although the fuel consumption is greater in the northern hemisphere, temperatures there seem to be falling．This is ________．

[　　]

A．

mainly because the levels of carbon dioxide are rising

B．

partly due to changes in the output of solar energy

C．

possibly because the ice caps in the poles are melting

D．

only due to the effect of the inertia of the earth' s climate

(4)

On the basis of their models, scientists believe the opinion that ________．

[　　]

A．

the climate of the world should be becoming cooler

B．

the new Ice Age will be delayed by the greenhouse effect

C．

the man-made warming effect helps to increase the solar effects

D．

it will take thousands of years for the inertia of the earth's climate to take effect

(5)

If the assumption about the delay of a new Ice age is correct, ________．

[　　]

A．

ice would soon cover the northern hemisphere

B．

the greenhouse effect could work in favor of the earth

C．

the best way to overcome the cooling effect would be to burn more fuels

D．

the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could warm up the earth even more quickly

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科目：高中英語 來源：2009年全國各省市高考命題動態(tài)信息卷（遼寧專用） 英語（五） 題型：閱讀理解


第三部分閱讀理解（共兩節(jié)，滿分40分）
第一節(jié)（共15小題；每小題2分，滿分30分）
　　閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。
A
　　Soon it may be harder to stop and smell the roses.
　　Growing levels of air pollution from power plants and automobiles have reduced flower fragrances (芬芳) by up to 90 percent in the US.That is compared with pre-industrial levels,a new study has found.
　　The trend is unpleasant for human noses,but may be life - threatening for bees and butterflies.
　　"Many insects find flowers by folowing the scent(香味) produced by those flowers," said the studies lead author Jose D.Fuentes,an environmental scientist at the University of Virginia.
　　"The increasing pollution makes it difficult for them to locate the flowers and feed on their nectar(花蜜)."
　　Scientists have alrady known that flowers produce scent molecules(分子) that bond with pollutants.The process breaks down the plants' sweet smell.
　　With more pollution in the air,the scent molecules don't remain effective as long and travel shorter distances on the wind.
　　The new study suggests that in the mid - 19th century,when pollution levels were first recorded,scent molecules would have been able to travel some 1,000 to 1,200 meters.
　　Today,in the polluted air found downwind of large cities,scentst may only make it some 200 to 300 meters.
　　The report was recently published in the journal,Atmospheric Environment.
　　Bee farmers have reported that bee populations are dropping dramatically in many parts of the world in recent years. Could these missing scents be a factor?
　　Scientists trying to hind the cause of bee population declines have blamed bacteria,pesticides,and even cellphone radiation.
　　Jay Evans,an entomologist(昆蟲學(xué)者) at the US Department of Agriculture's bee research laboratory,was interested in the new study.But he says he hasn't seen bee behavior that suggests trouble with scents.
　　"Over the last couple of summers I don't think the bees in this area were bringing in much less food,"he said.
　　"It might be that they had to work harder,but it seems like as long as there were bees to collect food they were finding flowers somewhere."
　　But Fuentes fears that the fading smell of flowers may stress insects that are already faced with other threats.
　　"The effects shown in these studies will simply exacerbate whatever the bees are going through right now,"he said.
　　"It's something that is really worthwhile paying attention to."
　　56.What's the passage mainly about?
　　　A.How greatly air plooution affects our lives.
　　　B.Effects of air pollution on bee populations.
　　　C.Measures to fight air pollution.
　　　D.The rapid decline of bee populations in the world.
　　57.According to the passage,Jay Evans probably agrees that ______ .
　　　A.bees are the insect that suffers most from air pollution
　　　B.bees are at risk of dying out owing to air pollution
　　　C.the fading smell of flowers doesn't affect bees so greatly as was thought
　　　D.as is often the case,bees fail to locate the flowers because of the missing scents
　　58.The word"exacerbate" in the last paragraph but one probably means ______.
　　　A.worsen B.improve C.get rid of D.decrease
　　59.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
　　　A.The more air pollution there is in a region,the greater the destruction of the flower scents.
　　　B.Bacteria,pesticides,and cellphone radiation are blamed for causing the decline of bees.
　　　C.The scent molecules produced by flowers in a less polluted environment oculd travel longer and farther.
　　　D.Air pollution does more harm to insects such as bees and butterflies than human beings.

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科目：高中英語 來源：2009年全國各省市高考命題動態(tài)信息卷（遼寧專用）英語（五） 題型：閱讀理解

第三部分閱讀理解（共兩節(jié)，滿分40分）

第一節(jié)（共15小題；每小題2分，滿分30分）

　　閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。

A

　　Soon it may be harder to stop and smell the roses.

　　Growing levels of air pollution from power plants and automobiles have reduced flower fragrances (芬芳) by up to 90 percent in the US.That is compared with pre-industrial levels,a new study has found.

　　The trend is unpleasant for human noses,but may be life - threatening for bees and butterflies.

　　"Many insects find flowers by folowing the scent(香味) produced by those flowers," said the studies lead author Jose D.Fuentes,an environmental scientist at the University of Virginia.

　　"The increasing pollution makes it difficult for them to locate the flowers and feed on their nectar(花蜜)."

　　Scientists have alrady known that flowers produce scent molecules(分子) that bond with pollutants.The process breaks down the plants' sweet smell.

　　With more pollution in the air,the scent molecules don't remain effective as long and travel shorter distances on the wind.

　　The new study suggests that in the mid - 19th century,when pollution levels were first recorded,scent molecules would have been able to travel some 1,000 to 1,200 meters.

　　Today,in the polluted air found downwind of large cities,scentst may only make it some 200 to 300 meters.

　　The report was recently published in the journal,Atmospheric Environment.

　　Bee farmers have reported that bee populations are dropping dramatically in many parts of the world in recent years. Could these missing scents be a factor?

　　Scientists trying to hind the cause of bee population declines have blamed bacteria,pesticides,and even cellphone radiation.

　　Jay Evans,an entomologist(昆蟲學(xué)者) at the US Department of Agriculture's bee research laboratory,was interested in the new study.But he says he hasn't seen bee behavior that suggests trouble with scents.

　　"Over the last couple of summers I don't think the bees in this area were bringing in much less food,"he said.

　　"It might be that they had to work harder,but it seems like as long as there were bees to collect food they were finding flowers somewhere."

　　But Fuentes fears that the fading smell of flowers may stress insects that are already faced with other threats.

　　"The effects shown in these studies will simply exacerbate whatever the bees are going through right now,"he said.

　　"It's something that is really worthwhile paying attention to."

　　56.What's the passage mainly about?

　　　A.How greatly air plooution affects our lives.

　　　B.Effects of air pollution on bee populations.

　　　C.Measures to fight air pollution.

　　　D.The rapid decline of bee populations in the world.

　　57.According to the passage,Jay Evans probably agrees that ______ .

　　　A.bees are the insect that suffers most from air pollution

　　　B.bees are at risk of dying out owing to air pollution

　　　C.the fading smell of flowers doesn't affect bees so greatly as was thought

　　　D.as is often the case,bees fail to locate the flowers because of the missing scents

　　58.The word"exacerbate" in the last paragraph but one probably means ______.

　　　A.worsen B.improve C.get rid of D.decrease

　　59.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

　　　A.The more air pollution there is in a region,the greater the destruction of the flower scents.

　　　B.Bacteria,pesticides,and cellphone radiation are blamed for causing the decline of bees.

　　　C.The scent molecules produced by flowers in a less polluted environment oculd travel longer and farther.

　　　D.Air pollution does more harm to insects such as bees and butterflies than human beings.

 

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

三、閱讀理解（共20小題；每小題2分，滿分40分）

第一節(jié) 閱讀下面短文，從短文后各題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C、D）中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。

  A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer's hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery (火紅的) ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.     

The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. "It's getting late," she thought, "I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am."

She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.

It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She wished she had her favorite sweater on: it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn't understand what was going on.    

She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said: "Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking." Ellen was her mother but－where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents' room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn't slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different－she wasn't in her mother's room and she wasn't wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas.     

It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, "Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very scared."

41. Three days later Jennifer came back home      .

       A. at sunrise         B. at sunset     C. at night       D. at midday

42. What does the underlined phrase "This thought" most probably mean?

       A. The idea of going back home.           

       B. Her anxiety about her parents.     

       C. The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater.     

       D. The feeling of getting back home safely.

43. Her father didn't take care of the garden because      .

       A. he was busy looking for her   

       B. he had to look after his wife

       C. he was not strict with his job        

       D. he no longer enjoyed working in the garden

44. What can we infer from this passage?

       A. In fact Jennifer's mother had been sick for days.     

       B. As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared.     

       C. When she found the garden deserted, she realized she was wrong.     

       D. Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home was safest for her.

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