1 . A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics, and war. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions, and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors — or of people very different from our own — can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than can be found in most history books.
In history books, objective information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective; it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his well known painting The Third of May, 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its misuse of power over people. Over a hundred years later, symbolic images were used in Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to express the horror of war. Meanwhile, on another continent, the powerful paintings of Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros — as well as the works of Alfredo Ramos Martines — depicted these Mexican artists’ deep anger and sadness about social problems.
In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that depicted people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand biblical stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast, one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was and still is its absence of human and animal images. This reflects the Islamic belief that statues are unholy.
1. From Paragraph one, we know that _____.| A．art history reveals a people’s religious and emotional life as well as its political views and psychology |
| B．general history provides us with information about everyday life of ancient people |
| C．general history gives us an insight into the basic situations of a time and a place |
| D．art history regards politics as an unworthy topic |
| A．records what people felt and thought at a particular time |
| B．expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place |
| C．often gives us a better understanding of our history |
| D．often presents the subjective message about the political life of a country |
| A．Islamic artists painted images on church walls as a way of teaching |
| B．war was not one of the topics art history address |
| C．Europeans respected images of biblical figures |
| D．for some time in Europe, art was the only way to understand religion |
| A．His criticism to the religious beliefs of his country. |
| B．His explanation about the political values of his country. |
| C．His dissatisfaction to the war, his government or the social problems. |
| D．His concern about the daily life of the poor in his country. |
| A．the difference between general history and art history |
| B．the value of art history in understanding history |
| C．the importance of artists in art history |
| D．the importance of art in religion |
2 . During the annual political meetings, environmental protection was definitely among the biggest concerns. Actually, it was also an issue that ancient Chinese paid great attention to. In fact, the world’s earliest environmental protection concept, ministry and laws were all born in China. So, what did the ancient Chinese do to protect the environment?
In early ancient China, environmental protection was promoted to the political level. Xunzi, a famous thinker in Warring States Period, brought up the concept of managing state affairs through environmental protection. He stated in his book that vegetation (植被) should not be damaged at will. Guan Zhong, an official 400 years ahead of Xunzi, was also an environmental protection expert. During his term of office, he claimed that “a King who cannot protect his vegetation is not qualified to be a king”.
According to a record in Qing dynasty, the environmental protection ministry in early ancient China was called “Yu”, standing both for the institution and the official title. Although most functions were similar to such ministries today, the administration range of it was much larger, including the mountains, forests, rivers, lakes and so on.
The nine ministries established by Shun, an ancient Chinese king, already included “Yu”, the environmental protection ministry. The first “Yu” official was a man called Boyi, who was indeed an environmental protection expert. He was a capable assistant to Dayu, an ancient Chinese water-control expert. He invented wells, protecting people’s drinking water from pollution. He knew a lot about animals and also called for animal protection.
Environmental protection laws dated back to the ruling period of Dayu, which was more than 4,000 years ago. During his rule, he issued a ban, forbidding people to cut down wood in March or catch fish in June, the time when they were supposed to boom.
In Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period almost 3,000 years ago, “environmental protection laws” appeared in its true sense in Qin, which was recorded in Law of Fields and regarded as China’s earliest environmental protection laws.
1. Which statement would Xunzi probably agree with?| A．Vegetation shouldn’t be damaged at all. |
| B．Much attention should be paid to people’s drinking water. |
| C．The king who failed to protect the environment should be removed. |
| D．Running a country and environmental protection should be combined. |
| A．The Qing dynasty. | B．The ministry of Yu. |
| C．The official title. | D．The modern ministry. |
| A．Fish didn’t taste delicious in June. |
| B．It was too hot to catch fish in June. |
| C．Fish had a period of rapid growth in June. |
| D．Fish-catching time had already passed in June. |
| A．Shun. | B．Boyi. | C．Xunzi. | D．Guan Zhong. |
| A．How the Ancient Chinese Protect the Environment |
| B．Famous Environmental Protection Experts in Ancient China |
| C．Dayu — a Great Environmental Protector |
| D．Measures of the World’s Earliest Environmental Protection |
3 . One of the greatest contributors to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations showing how it was used.
This was a huge task, so Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as "Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire," 50 miles from Oxford.
Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next 17 years, he became one of the staff's most valued contributors.
But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum(精神病院)for the Criminally Insane.
Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.
In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.
Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.
1. According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary________.| A．was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary | B．included the English words invented by Murray |
| C．was edited by an American volunteer | D．came out before Minor died |
| A．He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray. | B．He provided a great number of words and quotations. |
| C．He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers. | D．He went to England to work with Murray. |
| A．He was busy writing a book | B．He was shut in an asylum. |
| C．He lived far from Oxford. | D．He disliked traveling. |
| A．Murray went to America regularly to visit Minor | B．Minor recovered with the help of Murray |
| C．they had a common interest in words | D．they both served in the Civil War |
| A．Considerate and optimistic. | B．Friendly and determined. |
| C．Unusual and scholarly. | D．Cautious and friendly. |
| A．Broadmoor Asylum and its patients. | B．The history of the English language. |
| C．The friendship between Murray and Minor. | D．Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary. |
4 . I'm Victor Bobra from Belarus. When I was three years old, a nuclear explosion (核爆炸) blew up in Chernobyl, Ukraine. At the time, I was living on the border with Ukraine.When the explosion happened, my dad, was looking after the trucks at the station. When he heard about the disaster, he took us to Brest on the truck. After that, my family moved to Minsk.
Many years have passed since the explosion. Different places were affected differently. If you live in an area like Minsk, it's not as polluted as other areas. Kids there were born normally. Maybe they were underweight or something, but this was because of the problems of the economic situation. If kids were born around the Brest area, they were, born almost perfectly, because it's the cleanest area in Belarus. But if kids were born around the area to the east of Belarus,most of the kids were born deformed (畸形的).
I don't know much about how it has affected my health. But what happened was that everybody had a medical check-up after the disaster. The doctors found that I had got some protein inside me: So they thought there was something wrong with me, and suggested I should be treated.
My mum set up 'a charity, Chernobyl Children Lifeline, which raised some money for me. I've stayed here for treatment since then. The reason I can't go to Belarus is because of the radiation (辐射). If I go back, I might get radiation and get ill. Certainly there isn't any medical care, because the country is very poor. At the moment I can't even see my parents for a holiday. My parents probably miss me. I think the fault (过失) that Chernobyl blew up is the government's.
1. What can we learn from the second paragraph?| A．People in Minsk were rich before the disaster. |
| B．Victor Bobra lived in the cleanest area in Belarus. |
| C．The east of Belarus was seriously affected by the disaster. |
| D．Kids born in Minsk were underweight because of the disaster. |
| A．provide home for the homeless |
| B．collect money for his treatment |
| C．raise money for deformed kids |
| D．help those suffering from radiation |
| A．The author's father didn't survive the disaster. |
| B．The author lived in Minsk when the disaster happened. |
| C．The author was given good treatment with the help of the government. |
| D．The author thought the government should take responsibility for the disaster. |
| A．everybody had a medical examination after the nuclear explosion |
| B．the doctors did not think it necessary to have the author treated |
| C．the author's country can afford to provide medical care |
| D．the author is living with his parents now |
| A．To prove the great force of the nuclear explosion. |
| B．To tell readers the nuclear explosion in Chernobyl. |
| C．To show the bad effects of the nuclear explosion. |
| D．To find out the truth of the nuclear explosion. |
Windsor Castle is surrounded by a lot of green gardens in the English countryside. It looks out onto the River Thames and sits next
Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest castle
Kings were born and
Today, Windsor Castle is the private home of Queen Elizabeth II. When she doesn’t meet guests at Buckingham Palace, she goes to Windsor Castle.
6 . A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics, and wars. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions, and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors ― or of people very different from our own ― can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than what can be found in most history books.
In history books, objective information about the political life of a country is presented: that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective: it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Franciso Goya was perhaps the first truly political artist. In his well-known painting The Third of May, 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its misuse of power over people. Over a hundred years later, symbolic images were used in Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to express the horror of war. Meanwhile, on another continent, the powerful paintings of Diego Rivera, Jose Clements Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros ― as well as the works of Alfredo Ramos Martinez ― showed these Mexican artists’ deep anger and sadness about social problems.
In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. Four hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that depicted people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand biblical stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast, one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was (and still is) its absence of human and animal images. This reflects the Islamic（伊斯兰教的）belief that statues are unholy（不神圣的；亵渎的）.
1. Which of the following sentences is WRONG according to the passage?| A．Art history concentrates on religious beliefs, emotions and psychology only. |
| B．Art can provide information about the everyday activities of ancient people. |
| C．Information and facts about politics are given objectively in history. |
| D．Franciso Goya was perhaps the first truly political artist. |
| A．personal and emotional opinions are expressed through it |
| B．it will make the viewers angry and sad about history |
| C．it can help us understand historical facts better |
| D．opinions about facts are not expressed |
| A．art is subjective |
| B．artists are very similar even over a hundred years |
| C．art can reflect political life of a country |
| D．history books present objective information |
| A．Europe | B．America |
| C．Mexico | D．Middle East |
| A．the difference between general history and art history |
| B．the development of art history |
| C．the influence of artists on art history |
| D．what we can learn from art |
| A．Islamic artists focus on creating architectural decorations with pictures of flowers or geometric (几何) forms |
| B．history teachers are more objective than artists |
| C．it is more difficult to study art history than general history |
| D．people and stories from the Bible were painted on churches and other buildings in order to popularize the Bible |
