Welcome to The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met, which is short for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. Millions of people take part in The Met experience online or offline.

Since it was founded in 1870, The Met has always tried to be more than a storeroom of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing（显示）both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.

Notes:

I. How can I obtain permission to film or photograph at The Metropolitan Museum of Art?

Please e-mail a detailed request to communications@metmuseum.org.

II. How can I obtain suitable images to reproduce in a magazine, newspaper, or website?

To view and request press images for the Museum’s current and upcoming exhibitions and news stories about the Met, please sign in or register for a press account in the Press Images section of the online Press Room.

III. All other image requests should be directed to Art Resource through its website (http://www.artres.com), by telephone at 212-505-8700,or e-mail at requests@artres.com. You may also submit your request using the Image Request Form available on the Met’s website.

IV. If you have any other questions, please contact the Museum’s Digital Department:

Digital Department

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1000 Fifth Avenue

New York, New York 10028-0198

Telephone: 212-650-2550

E-mail: privacypolicy@metmuseum.orp

21. What type of writing is this text?

A. A business guide.                    

B. An advertisement.             

C. A research report.                   

D. An art survey.

22. What can we learn about the Met from the text?

A. The Met has a history of 5,000 years.

B. The Met stops collecting arts right now.

C. People started to visit the Met online to buy objects.

D. People cannot take a photo without the permission of the Met.

23. What should you do if you want to have images used for a magazine?

A. Telephone at 212-505-8700.                                     

B. Contact the Museum’s Digital Department.

C. Write an application at the online Press Room.             

D. E-mail to communications@metmuseum.org.

Volunteering Is Fun

One afternoon I was sitting at home feeling so bored. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I wanted to meet people and have new experiences so I decided to start volunteering. I searched on my computer and found a website where I could volunteer on a farm in France.

My time working on a farm was a new experience for me. It was basically a free holiday as food and accommodation were provided. However, it was not your typical holiday as I had to look after fifteen horses and sleep at the top of a tower in a castle! I was an awful farmer but it did not matter because I made some great friends.

However, you do not need to go abroad to volunteer. I have had plenty of adventures at home as volunteering can become a hobby. For example, I love singing so I had a good laugh waving my arms in an attempt to conduct my local choir. I did slowly improve and it felt great to conduct the choir in a concert. At university, I organized a concert for charity with my friends. It was really fun finding bands and raising money for a cause we believe in.

It is true that you feel good volunteering but there are also other advantages. I once volunteered as a server at a charity sports event where the organizers gave me cupcakes to thank me for my services. I also volunteered in a charity shop so I found loads of nice cheap clothes to update my wardrobe（衣柜）.

While this is all fun, my favorite aspect of volunteering is creating and sharing stories. My terrible attempts at farming have given me hilarious stories to tell! Talking to volunteers from different countries and backgrounds has also helped me learn more about the world. I feel thankful to have had so much fun with many nice people thanks to volunteering.

24. Why did the author want to volunteer?

A. He wanted to go abroad.                

B. He felt ashamed of himself.

C. He wanted to be a farmer.              

D. He wanted to taste new life and make friends.

25. The underlined word “hilarious” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “       ”.

A. funny                      B. negative                      C. awful                    D. sad

26. What volunteering work did the author do?

A. Helping in a charity shop                      

B. Conducting a choir in a sports event

C. Helping in an Italian farm                      

D. Taking care of sheep

27. How does the author feel according to the last paragraph?

A. Curious.                 B. Anxious.                C. Grateful.                D. Cautious.

The world’s first “Sky Pool” has been uncoated（曝光）--and it’ll give anyone a touch of dizziness(眩晕), unless he or she is not bothered by heights.

Situated in the capital’s new riverside district beside Battersea Power Station, the glass pool, hanging 10 storeys, or 110 feet up as a bridge between two apartment buildings, is 25m long, 5m wide and 3m deep with a water depth of 1.2m. Swimmers will be able to look down 35 meters to the street below as they take a dip, with only 20cm of glass between them and the outside world. It’s even got a bar, folding chairs and an orange garden.

The pool will be part of Embassy Gardens at Nine Elms, a huge￡15 billion building project beside the new American Embassy in south-west London. The project is creating thousands of apartments, the smallest of which are expected to cost nearly $1 million, and the pool will only be open to the apartments’ owners.

Embassy Gardens takes design inspiration from the Meatpacking District of New York with floor to ceiling windows and brick frontages. The designer, Sean Mulryan, desired to push the boundaries in the capability of construction and engineering and do something that had never been done before. The Sky Pool’s transparent structure is the result of significant advancements in technologies over the last decade.

The experience of the pool will be truly unique and it will feel like floating through the air in central London.

Those people lucky enough to swim there will have a perfect view of the Palace of Westminster and the London Eye. It will be a selling point for developers when the second stage of the development is released to market.

28. Who can swim in the Sky Pool?

A. Anyone at Nine Elms.                             

B. Visitors to London.

C. People living in Embassy Gardens.            

D. Those who are not terrified of heights.

29. People lucky enough to swim in the Sky Pool can do the following except       .

A. drinking with friends                                            

B. experiencing diving and surfing

C. appreciating the London Eye                                   

D. sitting in the orange garden

30. What do we know from the text?

A. The pool lies in the centre of London.

B. The pool is 25 metres above the ground.

C. The pool was similar to New York’s modern constructions.

D. The pool is helpful for selling apartments in Embassy Gardens.

31. We can infer from the text that       .

A. the apartments in Embassy Gardens are fairly expensive          

B. the new American Embassy has been moved away

C. Nine Elms is a street in Embassy Gardens                                  

D. building the pool is not a complex job

Being able to count at least ten people as friends makes us happy, but those with five or fewer are likely to be miserable, researchers say.      

Their study of hundreds of men and women also found that people who feel satisfied with their lives always have lots of close friends and regularly make new ones. While it is not clear whether our friends make us happy or we make friends because we are happy, the researchers say it is clear that we should maintain our friendships. Psychologist Richard Tunney said, “Whatever the reason is, actively working on friendships in the same way as to maintain a marriage is a prerequisite(必备条件) to happiness. ”Dr. Tunney, of Nottingham University, quizzed（询问） more than 1,700 people about their satisfaction with their lives and the state of their friendships. Those with five friends or fewer had just a 40 percent chance of being happy. In other words, they were more likely to be unhappy than happy. Ten was the first number at which people were more likely to be happy than unhappy. The happiest people were those with dozens of friends, according to the study, which was carried out for the National Lottery(彩票).

　　 For women, this meant having 33 friends; for men, the number was 49. Dr. Tunney said, “People who were extremely satisfied with their lives had twice the number of friends of people who were extremely dissatisfied.” Women tended to have fewer friends than men but formed tighter relationships. Interestingly, the study found that childhood friends are no more likely to make us happy than people we become close to later in life. Lottery winners, however, have a different opinion on life. They are always happier than others despite spending their time with a small circle of old friends. This could be because they trust people they’ve known for a long time.

32. What’s the best title for this passage?

A. The Secret to Happiness Is to Make New Friends

B. Having at Least 10 Good Friends Makes People Happy

C. Why Most People Like to Make Friends Regularly

D. Men’s and Women’s Friends Are Different

33. Which of the following opinions may Richard Tunney NOT agree with?

A. People with few friends are sure to be unhappy.

B. Our friends can make us happy.

C. Happiness may come from a good marriage life.

D. We may become happier if we have more friends. 

34. According to the passage, lottery winners ________.

A. enjoy making new friends                 

B. make new friends easily

C. like staying with old friends                

D. have no time to make friends

35. We can conclude from the passage that ________.

A. it’s enough for one person to have ten friends

B. unhappy people must have few friends

C. childhood friends make people happier than adulthood ones

D. friendships play a major role in people’s life

Going to college is a new experience full of excitement of the unknown. Socialization is a big thing for college students and it is common to feel a little uncomfortable going into a situation where everyone is a stranger. You may probably miss your friends from high school.      36   College is a great opportunity to make new lifelong friends. The question is: how?

▲ Get to know your roommate.

You may find you have lots of things in common with your roommate, but even if you are completely different from each other, with a little effort and understanding the two of you may become best friends.

▲　  37       　

If you leave your door open, this shows that you welcome visitors. As a result people will naturally stop in and say hello. Closed doors are not likely to bring many visitors and those who stay locked up in their rooms may give others the impression of being cold. Other students will be less likely to stop in and build a new friendship.

▲ Join clubs or organizations.

　Getting involved in organized societies is a great way to meet new people.　38　By staying active in college groups such as clubs and organizations, you can meet lots of people with whom you share common interests.

▲ Talk to classmates.

    39  　Starting conversations in class is a great opportunity to meet people who are interested in the same kind of studies as you are. Short friendly discussions can build lifelong friendships.

▲ Try out for a sport.

If you’ re athletic, trying out for a sport will do for you the same thing that joining a club will do.　__ __40___  

A. Close the door to keep away from theft.

B. Hang a welcome sign on your dorm room.

C. It also helps you get more familiar with the campus.

D. Your roommate is the first person you will have close contact with.

E. You will instantly meet a large group of people who share your interests in sports.

F. Get to know your classmates as you’ll be spending several months with them.

G. Trying actively to find new friends can help ease the feelings of being lonely.