Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15^th,1452.He was not only a talented artist,but also contributed to the fields of engineering,biology,mathematics and architecture.His inventions and discoveries were way ahead of his times.BBC culture,and influential magazine,asked some readers to share their favorite works by Da Vinci and explained why they love them.

St John the Baptist,submitted by Saloni Tiwari from India:“St John the Baptist is Da Vinci’s last painting and it was still in his possession when he died.Even though St John was usually pictured by other artists,Da Vinci showed him in a feminine way with a mysterious smile similar to that of Mona Lisa.”

Lady with an Ermine,submitted by Alexandra Degtereva from Moscow,Russia:“Lady with an Ermine is one of Da Vinci’s most famous paintings,but there are some questions about whether it was made by him.The reconstruction of the painting’s layers shows that there were three different versions of it and that they didn’t all include the ceremonial animal.”

The virgin of the Rocks,submitted by Karen Howard-Goldsmith from the UK:“I love this painting .What a master talent Da Vinci was!”

The Virgin of the Rocks is actually two paintings of the same subject.One version is hung in the Louvre,while the other one is hung in the National Gallery in London.While the Louvre version is believed to be the one Leonardo made first,the other is still a matter of debate.The studies of botany in the National Gallery picture suggest that the plants were painted inaccurately,which wasn’t something Da Vinci would do,considering his precision and faithfulness to nature.

21. What can be inferred from Paragraph 1？

A.Da Vinci was born to be a designer on architecture.

B.Da Vinci made achievements in may fields.

C.Most of Da vinci’s works are difficult to understand.

D.A magazine conducted a survey to celebrate Da Vinci’s birth.

22.According to Alexandra,Lady with an Ermine           .

A.was probably not created by Da Vinci.

B.is the most famous painting of Da Vinci.

C.is now on display in the National Gallery in London.

D.has never been reconstructed by other artists.

23.Which painting impressed Karen Howard most?

A.Mona,Lisa             B.Lady with an Ermine

C.St John the Baptist       D.The Virgin of the Rocks

24.Which of the following statements is true?

A.Both of the two versions of the Virgin of the Rocks are not believed to be made by Da Vinci.

B.The Virgin of the Rocks is in fact two paintings of diverse subjects.

C.The inaccuracy of the studies leads to debates about Da Vinci’s works.

D.Da Vinci didn’t have a good knowledge of nature but he was faithful to nature.

I was back at the radiation(放射治疗)lab.It was time for my yearly check-up.

Sitting there in the office,I remembered the cancer treatments,and the first time I had walked into the lab.My legs felt like tissue paper.I had looked down the long hallway and imagined the sufferings waiting for me,trembling.All I knew was that I had been operated on for cancer and now was to go through five weeks of radiation.My mood showed in my appearance.No make-up.No interest in the clothes I had put on that morning.No smile on my face.

A woman walked into the building as I waited for my treatment.Stockings,suit,hat,make-up;perfect.

“I am here for my check-up,”she said,smiling.

She had cancer and had undergone radiation.She was walking,smiling and joking with the receptionist.I was grateful to see her smile and to hear her cheerful voice.It made my legs stronger when it was my turn to go inside .“I am going to do for someone else what she has done for me,”I swore to myself.

Now it was one year later.I was back for a check-up.

I had dressed in my special clothes;I had washed my hair and carefully applied my make-up.I had been determined to look my best.

“You look great.” the receptionist said to me.

A man was sitting to my right.His face was pale and lifeless.He owned the tissue-paper legs.I could tell it was his first time.He looked at me for a long time and I knew what he was thinking.I sent a smile his way.His face brightened and he returned it.

I had done my part.

25. From paragraph 2,we can know           .

A.I was waiting to be operated on.

B.I made good preparations for the radiation.

C.my good mood was showed in my appearance.

D.I felt nothing but fear at that time.

26.I was thankful to the woman because           .

A.she was joking with the receptionist.

B.she was dressed perfectly but was in high spirits.

C.her “after-cancer” attitude inspired me to be strong.

D.she helped me with my walk to my treatment.

27.What does the writer mean by saying “I had done my part”?

A.I had done my check-up successfully.

B.I had managed to defeat my cancer.

C.I had changed my attitude to wards my treatment.

D.I had influenced a man in the way I was encouraged.

28.What could be the best title for the text?

A.A Cancer Survivor         B.My First Time Check-up

C.A Woman I Was Grateful to D.The Smile Shining the toughest day.

Domestic online shopping platforms have turned Nov 11 into a shopping carnival in China.In 2015 alone,the sales volume on Alibaba,a domestic online shopping platform,reached 91.2 billion yuan ($13.5 billion) within 24 hours on Nov 11.

But there is a drawback to the shopping carnival.Most,if not all,of the products sold on the day have to be packaged well and sent through couriers.And the proper disposal(处置)of the materials used to package them has become a problem.

According to the State Post Bureau,the number of express deliveries(快递)reached almost 100 million on Nov 11 last year,which means about 100 million boxes were needed to pack the parcels.

How many of those boxes were recycled?There is no national data on that,but several media reports last year said the percentage was quite low.In one interview after another interviews,most respondents said they felt sorry for throwing the boxes away and they would not have done that had they been told how to deal with them properly.Beijing News even quoted a woman as saying that she had more than 20 boxes at home last November and didn’t know what to do with them,yet she did not throw them away because she didn’t want to do “waste” them.

Considering the lack of a garbage sorting system in China,throwing away packaging materials more often than not means disposing of them with kitchen waste.That is not only a waste of recyclable materials but also harmful to the environment.

In this aspect,courier companies could do something.Such companies always need packaging materials,and by offering rewards to consumers who return them,they will reduce not only waste but also their packaging costs.

This model has a successful example:when a consumer places an order for fresh milk in cities like Beijing,he or she pays a certain amount of money above the price of the milk to the supplier,who pays it back after the consumer returns the glass bottle.The recycling or reuse of glass bottles has become standard practice,which courier companies can learn from.

With Nov 11 just a few days away,this recycling or reuse model could help reduce waste in the country.Since China faces an environmental challenge,we cannot afford to waste hundreds of millions of paper boxes any more.

29.The underlined word “drawback” probably means “          ”

A.benefit       B.shortcoming       C.decline       D.shrink

30.The feeling for most interviewees after they threw boxes can be described as           

A.indifferent   B.considerate       C.regretful D.disappointed

31.The successful example is mentioned in order to           

A.call on consumers to return glass bottles.

B.show the reuse of glass bottle is very popular.

C.recommend a standard model to courier companies to follow.

D.ask all companies to handle waste with this method.

32.This passage mainly talks about           

A.how to deal with package boxes.

B.how to package the goods

C.the cause of package waste

D.the lack of garbage sorting systems in China.

We think of bees preferring to live in rural fields.But new research suggests Britain’s bees are happier near towns and cities and that is pretty out of our expectations.

A study of wildlife sites has found that most farmland is home to fewer species of bee today than it was in the past.For instance,heaths and meadows（荒地牧场）near Milton Keynes now have more species of bee than sites in more rural areas.Researchers believe intensive agriculture is to blame.

Another question --- is climate change confusing bees?Climate change could be causing disorder in the relationship between bees and plants.That’s according to a study that said warmer springs can change the life cycles of bees,which can throw them out of sync（同步）with the plants they pollinate（授粉）.While the gardens,parks and churchyards of town and cities provide bees with a variety of plants to feed on and an extended flowering season,popular crops such as oilseed rape only flower for a few weeks.

A researcher said, “While concreting over the countryside may appear to be bad news for nature,we’ve found that progressive urbanization may be much less damaging than intensive agriculture. ”

Urban ares may benefit bees more than farmland by providing a wide variety of flowering plants,providing a rich menu for insects from spring to autumn.

Over the past century rural landscapes in Britain have become increasingly dominated by large expanses of monoculture --- the growing of a single type of plant,which has helped improve crop production.But without a mixture of habitat and food sources,rural areas can sometimes become green deserts for bees.

Scientists around the country are trying to work out why populations of bees and other insects are dropping sharply.Pesticides,climate change and diseases may,like intensive farming,be some of the reasons.

33.How does climate change probably affect bees’ life?

A.Warmer springs produce too many plants.

B.There are fewer plants for bees to pollinate.

C.Bees prefer to live in cooler environment.

D.Bees’ connection with plants is disturbed.

34.Which of the following is one of the reasons for bees preferring cities?

A.A better variety of foods.            B.More flowers in winter.

C.Increased crop production.            D.The modern lifestyle.

35.Why does the writer call rural landscapes “green deserts”?

A.Because they don’t seem attractive to bees

B.Because they are covered with sands

C.Because they lack diverse plants to provide for bees.

D.Because they are only for plants bearing no flowers.

Who cares what anyone else thinks,right?   36   Most people do care,at least some of the time.You worry about how you look,how you sound,how you walk and what you say.I have found this a waste of time,and I want to share some of the tips that I have adopted to be able to stop worrying about what people think of me.

Realize that nobody is perfect.If you’re trying to make sure that everyone approves of you,you have to ask yourself what kind of standard you are supposed to be living up to.Is it absolute perfection?  37   Nobody is perfect.So keep it in mind that the very people that appear to be perfect have imperfections themselves.

  38   Remember that everyone has negative thoughts on other people and themselves from time to time.So when you are worried about someone in particular,remember that they too worry about what someone else thinks of them.They,too,have been negatively thought of by someone in their life.

Hold other people’s freedom of thoughts as highly as you hold their freedom of speech.Understand that others have every right just like you,and their reasons are none of your business.   39   So the sooner you recognize that other people’s thoughts are foo-limits to you,the sooner you will lose your anxiety about them.

Finally,understand that much of your concern about what others think of you is really rooted in the way you think about yourself.  40   So if there is an area of your life where you lack a good sense of self-worth,you will automatically assume that others look down upon you.

A.It’s easier said than done.

B.Know that everybody is doing it.

C.Find the people who love what you love.

D.Many times we are our own worst enemies.

E.Nobody owes you explanation for their thoughts..

F.If so,you and everyone else on the planet are already in trouble.

G.They may have the same shortcomings or problems as you have.