Some wonderfully creative uses of X-rays have been in the world of art．But the most impressive one is to uncover what has been covered up．Details unfolded by an X-ray of a painting can ' t be seen any other way．For example, in the past, paintings were often repaired if small pieces of paint fell off the canvas （帆布）． These repairs cannot be seen just by looking at the painting．It takes an X-ray to discover where the repairs have been made．
An X-ray of a painting is one of the best ways to tell if it was created by a famous painter or if it is a forgery（赝品）．If there is a question as to whether an old master has painted a certain painting or not, X-rays are made and compared to those of paintings that are known to be original．If the brushstrokes （笔迹） , for example, are shown to be totally different than in other work done by a certain artist, then the painting is proved to be a fake copy．
Since modern paints are usually made from different materials than paints of hundreds of years ago, the image they leave on an X-ray film looks different．This is another way X-rays can be used to spot a forgery．A modem artist will try to make a forgery look hundreds of years old by painting dirty varnish on it or by using artificial means to get the varnish to look cracked．To the naked eye the forgery may look old, but when a careful study of the X-ray image is made, the deception is obvious．
It was common many years ago for an artist to finish a painting, decide it wasn't any good, and paint a completely different picture on top of it．Or artists would paint over others' work —it was their version of recycling．Taking an X-ray is the only way to find out if there is a picture underneath the picture you see with your eyes．Sometimes museums will be more interested in the painting beneath than the one on top, and will restore the older one by having the top layer painstakingly removed．What is the main purpose of the article?
| A．To provide information to police who are looking for stolen art． |
| B．To persuade art dealers to check for fake copies before selling art． |
| C．To explain how modern technology can be applied in unique ways． |
| D．To help artists restore damaged artwork to its original appearance． |
According to the passage，X-rays are used to ______．
| A．make repairs on paintings in the past |
| B．identify the authenticity of an artwork |
| C．change the materials of a forgery |
| D．remove the recyclable paints |
In Paragraph 3, the word "deception" probably means ______．
| A．comparison | B．drawback | C．trickery | D．judgement |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．X-ray Detectives |
| B．Creative Uses of Technology |
| C．Forgery Studies |
| D．X-ray Painting Techniques |
Among rich countries, people in the United States work the longest hours. They work much longer than in Europe. This difference is quite surprising because productivity per hour worked is the same in the United States as it is in France, Spain and Germany, and it is growing at a similar speed.
In most countries and at most times in history, as people have become richer they have chosen to work less. In other words they have decided to “spend” a part of their extra income on a fuller personal life. Over the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. But not in the United States. We do not fully know why this is. One reason may be more satisfying work, or less satisfying personal lives.
Longer hours do of course increase the GDP (国内生产总值). So the United States has produced more per worker than, say, France. The United States also has more of its people at work, while in France many more mothers and older workers have decided to stay at home. The overall result is that American GDP per head is 40% higher than in France, even though productivity per hour worked is the same.
It is not clear which of the two situations is better. As we have seen, work has to be compared with other values like family life, which often get lost in interest. It is too early to explain the different trends（趋势）in happiness over time in different countries. But it is a disappointing idea that in the United States happiness has made no progress since 1975, while it has risen in Europe. Could this have anything to do with trends in the work-life balance (平衡)?From the text we know that the author_______.
| A．believes that longer working hours is better |
| B．prefers shorter working hours to longer ones |
| C．says nothing certain about which pattern is better |
| D．thinks neither of the patterns is good |
Which of the following countries has more of its people at work?
| A．Spain. | B．France. | C．Germany. | D．America. |
What message can we get from the text?
| A．The GDP of Europe is higher than that of America. |
| B．Two possible reasons are given for working longer hours in the US. |
| C．People all over the world choose to work less when they are richer. |
| D．Americans are happier than Europeans. |
We already have iris(虹膜) and fingerprint scanning but noses could be an even better method of identification, says a study from the University of Bath, UK.
The researchers scanned noses in 3D and characterized them. They found 6 main nose types: Roman, Greek, Nubian, hawk, snub and turn-up. Since they are hard to hide, the study says, noses would work well for identification.
The researchers say noses have been overlooked in the growing field of biometrics, studies into ways of identifying distinguishing characters of people. "Noses are out standing facial features and yet their use as a biometric has been largely unexplored," said the University of Bath's Dr Adrian Evans. "Ears have been looked at in detail, eyes have been looked at in terms of iris recognition but the nose has been ignored."
The researchers used a system called PhotoFace, developed by researchers at the University of the West of England in Bristol, for the 3D scans.
Several measurements by which noses can be recognised were identified and the team developed recognition software based on these parameters(范围)
" This initial work is nowhere as good as iris identification but the nose has pros and cons," said Dr Evans.
There's no magic biometric that solves all your problems. Irises are a powerful biometric but can be difficult to get accurately and can be easily covered by eyelids or glasses. People can easily cover up their ears, with their hair for example.
"Of course you can have a broken nose or wear a false nose or have plastic surgery but to have nose surgery to change your identity is fairly obvious. Irises are very good for recognition but you can put in dilation drops which change the iris completely. Not all techniques are reliable," he said.
The research is based on a study of 40 noses and the data base has now been expanded to 160 for further tests to see if the software can pick out people from a larger group and distinguish between relatives.
Dr Evans hopes the method can be proven to be effective on this larger sample. "The technique certainly shows potential, perhaps to be used in combination with other identification methods," he said.
57. Where can you probably read this article?
A. In a newspaper about education.
B. In a newspaper about science
C. In a newspaper about software
D. In a newspaper about dress-up
58. Which is true according to the passage?
A. Dr Adrian Evans works at the University of the West of England in Bristol,
B. The researchers used a system called Photoshop for the 3D scans.
C. The research is based on a study of 160 noses.
D. The research team developed their own recognition software.
59. The word overlooked in the third paragraph possibly means:
A. well-studied B. carefully-scanned
C. wholly-recognized D. carelessly-studied
60. We can infer from the last three paragraphs that_________.
A. The consequence of the method remains to be seen
B. Dr Evans is sure that the method can be used to pick out uncles and nephews.
C. More new soft wares will be developed to do the research.
D. This method can still be used if your nose is broken,
MOSCOW — The Olympic flame in Vancouver had only been put out before President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia, angered over his country’s disappointing performance at the Winter Games, began calling for athletic officials’ heads.
“Those who are responsible for training for the Olympics must take responsibility,” Mr. Medvedev, who canceled his scheduled trip to the closing ceremony, said in Moscow on Monday. “They must have the courage to hand in their resignation(辞职报告). And if they do not have this determination, we will help them.”
Such language from the typically measured Mr. Medvedev strengthens the disappointment here with the nation’s athletics just four years before Russia hosts the next Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Russia is pumping billions of dollars into preparations for the 2014 Winter Games, which officials have considered as a symbol of Russia’s return to the top of the world stage.
Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin said last week that Russia’s performance at the Olympics should be given “serious critical analysis.” “This critical analysis should be directed at improving the situation and creating the necessary conditions for the preparation and successful performance of our team in the Sochi Olympics in 2014,” he said. Russian athletes took home just three gold medals from Vancouver, compared with eight in the last Winter Games, in Turin, Italy.
Russia came in sixth place in the overall medal count with 15, just ahead of South Korea and trailing far behind its former cold war athletic rival, the United States, which led with 37.
For Russians used to seeing their athletes top international competitions, the last two weeks have been awful. Russian figure skaters fell, bobsledders turned over and, in a final embarrassment, the country’s much proud hockey team was smacked by Canada 7-3 and did not even make the medal round.
53. The underlined word smack in the last paragraph means:
A. guided B. trained C. beaten D. controlled
54. Which sentence is true according to the passage?
A. Russian athletes got 8 medals in the last Winter Games.
B. South Korea ranked 5 in the overall medal count in this Winter Games.
C. The next Winter Games will be held in Russia four years later.
D. The Russian hockey team got the third place in this Winter Games.
55. What do we know about President Dmitri A. Medvedev ?
A. He attended the closing ceremony of the Winter Games in Vancouver.
B. He ordered a serious analysis about the Russia’s performance at the Olympics.
C. He will resign due to Russia’s performance at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
D. He had planned to go to Vancouver but didn’t make it.
56. What is the main idea of this passage ?
A. Russian figure skaters fell in this Winter Olympics
B. Russian will host the next Winter Olympics
C. Russians are angry about their athletes’ performance.
D. Russians are making preparations for the next Winter Olympics.
Spider-Man cannot escape the harsh realities of the current economic times and will lose his job in a latest issue of the Amazing Spider-Man hitting stories ( first published in 1963) this week.
Peter Parker, official photographer of the mayor by day and New York City crime fighter by night, is going to face new challenges, including unemployment.
"He's going to struggle with unemployment and trying to save the city while he can barely afford to keep a roof over his head," said Steve Wacker, Marvel Comics senior editor.
Parker has always been a grounded character with real-world problems, Wacker said. His aunt is frequently sick, he has girlfriend troubles, and he sometimes struggles to find work. In addition, Spider-Man story lines are often set against a backdrop of current events.
In the near future, Parker will have to juggle paying bills and buying "web-fluid" and other materials to fix his superhero costume in addition to keeping his dual identities under wraps.
Parker's work history includes photographer, assistant high school coach, science teacher and scientific researcher, according to his biography on the Marvel Web site. His education includes a college degree in biophysics and some postgraduate work in biochemistry.
It was at a science exhibit he attended as a teenager that he was bitten by a radioactive spider and got the creature's strength, agility and weaving ability, says Marvel Comics.
And although Parker has skills few others can claim, he probably won't list these on his resume: superhuman strength, ability to cling to most surfaces, fast traveling ability aided by web-slinging and spider-sense danger avoidance system.
49. According to the story, Parker is likely to________.
A. look for another job.
B. have a girlfriend.
C. live in a large house.
D. buy a new superhero costume.
50. Parker didn’t work as________.
A. a photographer. B. an assistant coach C. a science teacher. D. a spider-man
51. The underlined part in the third paragraph means:
A. he has a roof over his head
B. he has a room to live in
C. there is a roof in his head
D. he has a picture of a roof in his head.
52. This passage mainly tell us _______.
A. Parker is a spider-man.
B. how Parker became a spider-man.
C. life is hard for everyone in current economic times.
D. the amazing spider-man comic is popular until now.
Need more evidence that London is a serious coffee town? Mr. Davies is actually England’s third consecutive world barista champion. The first was James Hoffmann, who started Square Mile Coffee Roasters squaremilecoffee.com) in 2008 .It’s a small operation, recently relocated to an arched vault under some train tracks in East London.
Today, Square Mile’s black bags of beans have become shorthand for quality. They supply beans to Moon Bar (3 Bateman Street; 44-20-7287-4796), just opened by the same team behind Flat White (17 Berwick Street; 44-20-7734-0370; flat-white.co.uk).
Though it’s recently been co-opted(增加的) by chain stores, the “flat white” is also a symbol of serious coffee: it’s basically a cappuccino-size style— flat and white — a style imported from Australia (some say New Zealand) when a wave of baristas emigrated from those countries. (Australians and New Zealanders are to espresso what Russians are to chess: they’re just better at it.)
Still, independent stores continue to appear in all corners of the city. Last year, the Espresso Room (31 Great Ormond Street; 44-20-7932-137-380; theespressoroom.com) opened in a truly tiny storefront. Yet the owner Ben Townsend manages to fit a Marzocco espresso machine, some benches and a case with pastries.
And farther north in Islington, a bar called Tina, We Salute You (47 King Henry’s Walk; 44-20-3119-0047; tinawesaluteyou.com) opened last February. (According to the owners, the name comes from a daily greeting they give to a cheesecake portrait of a curvy subject named Tina.)
45. How many bars are mentioned in the text?
A. 4 B. 5. C. 6 D. 7
46. We can read in the passage that Square Mile Coffee Roasters is well-known for its________.
A. milk B. chess C. beans D. fruit
47. According to the text, we know that________.
A.UK is home to the flat-white.
B. the flat-white is exported from Australia.
C. chess is popular in Russia.
D. you can find the flat-white only in the chain stores.
48. The writer wrote this passage in order to tell us________.
A. the meaning of “flat white”. B. London is famous for its history.
C. the number of coffee bars in London D. London is famous for its coffee bar.
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