Watercolor（水彩画） is the oldest paints known. I...

Watercolor（水彩画） is the oldest paints known. It dates back to the early cave men. They discovered that they could mix the natural colors found in the earth with water. In this way they could add lifelike qualities to drawings of animals and other figures on the wall of caves.

Fresco（壁画）, one of the greatest art forms, is done with watercolor, it is created by mixing paints and water and applying these to wet plaster（灰泥）. Of the thousands of people who stand under Michelangelos’ works in the Sistine Chapel, very few know they are looking at perhaps the greatest watercolor painting in the world.

The invention of oil painting by the Glemish masters in the fifteenth century made fresco painting go downhill, and for the next several centuries watercolor was used mainly for doing sketches（素描） or as tool for study. It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that English painters put back watercolor as a serious art form. The English have widely-known love for the outdoors and also for small, private pictures. The softness of watercolor had a strong attraction for them.

The popularity of watercolor continued to grow until the twentieth century. The United States took the place of England and became the center of watercolor. It produced such well-known watercolor artists as Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth.

1. The first watercolor users were___________

A. the early cave men

B. Italian fresco artists

C. Flemish masters

D. the English artists in the 18th century

2. In the 16th and 17th centuries the artists thought__________.

A .watercolor was more costly, but better

B. oil painting lasted less long, but clearer and brighter

C. watercolor was not suitable for serious works

D. oil painting was difficult to use

3. According to the passage, watercolor painting was put back in England because ______

A. it was easy to use outdoors

B. it was a strong tool

C. it was extremely bright in color

D. it was well suited to popular tastes

4. What is the passage mainly about?________

A. the gradual weakness of fresco painting.

B. Oils having more power of influence over watercolor.

C. The rediscovery of watercolor in England.

D. The start and development of watercolor.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Watercolor is the oldest paints known. It dates back to the early cave men who discovered they could add lifelike qualities to drawings of animals and other figures on the walls of caves by mixing the natural colors found in the earth with water.

Fresco(壁画), one of the greatest of all art forms, is done with watercolor. It is created by mixing paints and water and applying these to wet plaster(灰泥). Of the thousands of people who stand under Michelangelo's heroic ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, very few know that they are looking at perhaps the greatest watercolor painting in the world.

The invention of oil painting by the Flemish masters in the fifteenth century made fresco painting go down-hill, and for the next several centuries watercolor was used mainly for doing sketches(素描) or as a tool for study. It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that English painters put back watercolor as a serious art form. The English have a widely-known love for the outdoors and also small, private pictures. The softness of watercolor had a remarkably strong attraction for them.

The popularity of watercolor continued to grow until in the twentieth century. The United States passed England as the center for watercolor, producing such well-known watercolor artists as Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A. The gradual weakness of fresco painting.

B. Oils having more power or influence over watercolor.

C. The rediscovery of watercolor in England.

D. The start and development of watercolor.

2.The first watercolor artists were ______.

A. early cave men

B. Italian fresco artists

C. Flemish masters

D. English artists of the 18th century

3.According to the passage, watercolor painting was put back in England because ______.

A. it was easy to use outdoors

B. it was a strong medium

B. it was extremely bright in color

D. it was well suited to popular tastes

4.What would the next paragraph most probably deal with?

A. the works of famous American watercolor artists.

B. The weakness of oils as popular paints.

C. Techniques of producing watercolor.

D. Modern American oil painters.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Watercolour is the oldest paints known. It dates back to the early cave men who discovered they could add lifelike qualities to drawings of animals and other figures on the walls of caves by mixing the natural colours found in the earth with water.

Fresco (壁画), one of the greatest of all art forms, is done with watercolour. It is created by mixing paints and water and applying these to wet plaster (灰泥). Of the thousands of people who stand under Michelangelo’s heroic ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, very few know that they are looking at perhaps the greatest watercolour painting in the world.

The invention of oil painting by the Flemish masters in the fifteenth century made fresco painting go down-hill, and for the next several centuries watercolour was used mainly for doing sketches (草图) or as a tool for study. It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that English painters put back watercolour as a serious art form. The English have a widely-known love for outdoors and also small private pictures. The softness of watercolour had a remarkably strong attraction for them.

The popularity of watercolour continued to grow until the twentieth century. The United States passed England as the center for watercolour, producing such well-known watercolour artists as Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth.

1. The purpose of the passage is to introduce _____.

2. In the 16^th and 17^th centuries the artists thought _____.

3.According to the passage, watercolour painting was put back in England because ____

4.What would the next paragraph most probably deal with?

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

The search for beauty lasts centuries.Paintings of Egyptians1.(date) back to 4,000 years show both men and women painting their nails and wearing make-up.In the 18th century,wealthy French noblemen2.(wear) wigs（假发）of long and white hair to make3.(them) attractive.Today people continue to devote a lot of time and money 4.their appearance.

But what exactly is beauty?It's difficult to describe it clearly,and we know it when we find it.Our5.(aware) of it may start from an early age.In a study,six-month-old babies6.(show)a series of photographs.The faces in the pictures had been rated by attractiveness.Babies spent more time looking at the attractive faces than the unattractive ones.

For better or worse,beauty plays7.role in our life.But it is8.(extreme)difficult to describe exactly what makes a person attractive to another.Although there are certain physical traits9.(consider) universally appealing,it is also true that beauty does not always keep to a single standard.Beauty really is,10.the saying goes,in the eye of the beholder（旁观者）.

高二英语短文填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The old temple damaged in the earthquake ____ the Qing Dynasty.

A. is dated back to     B. dates from       C. dated back to      D. was dating from

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

The old temple damaged in the earthquake ____ the Qing Dynasty.

A. is dated back to     B. dates from    C. dated back to   D. was dating from

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Experts found a large quantity of wall paintings, some of them_____ the Han Dynasty.

A. dating back to                 B. dated from                      C. dated back to                  D. dates from

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

It’s common knowledge that the woman in Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting seems to look back at observers, following them with her eyes no matter where they stand in the room. But this common knowledge turns out wrong.

A new study finds that the woman in the painting is actually looking out at an angle that’s 15. 4 degrees off to the observer’s right-well outside of the range that people normally believe when they think someone is looking right at them. In other words, said the study author, Horstmann, “She’s not looking at you. “ This is somewhat ironic, because the entire phenomenon of a person’s gaze (凝视) in a photograph or painting seeming to follow the viewer is called the “Mona Lisa effect” . That effect is absolutely real, Horstmann said. If a person is illustrated or photographed looking straight ahead, even people viewing the portrait from an angle will feel they are being looked at. As long as the angle of the person’s gaze is no more than about 5 degrees off to either side, the Mona Lisa effect occurs.

This is important for human interaction with on-screen characters. If you want someone off to the right side of a room to feel that a person on-screen is looking at him or her, you don’t cut the gaze of the character to that side-surprisingly, doing so would make an observer feel like the character isn’t looking at anyone in the room at all. Instead, you keep the gaze straight ahead.

Horstmann and his co-author were studying this effect for its application in the creation of artificial-intelligence avatars(虚拟头像) when Horstmann took a long look at the “Mona Lisa” and realized she wasn’t looking at him.

To make sure it wasn’t just him, the researchers asked 24 people to view images of the “Mona Lisa” on a computer screen. They set a ruler between the viewer and the screen and asked the participants to note which number on the ruler intersected(和……相交) Mona Lisa’s gaze. To calculate the angle of Mona Lisa’s gaze as she looked at the viewer, they moved the ruler farther from or closer to the screen during the study. Consistently, the researchers found, participants judged that the woman in the “Mona Lisa” portrait was not looking straight at them, but slightly off to their right.

So why do people repeat the belief that her eyes seem to follow the viewer? Horstmann isn’t sure. It’s possible, he said, that people have the desire to be looked at, so they think the woman is looking straight at them. Or maybe the people who first coined the term “Mona Lisa effect” just thought it was a cool name.

1.It is generally believed that the woman in the painting “Mona Lisa”___________.

A.attracts the viewers to look back

B.seems mysterious because of her eyes

C.fixes her eyes on the back of the viewers

D.looks at the viewers wherever they stand

2.What gaze range in a painting will cause the Mona Lisa effect?

A. B. C. D.

3.The experiment involving 24 people was conducted to______.

A.confirm Horstmann’s belief

B.create artificial-intelligence avatars

C.calculate the angle of Mona Lisa’s gaze

D.explain how the Mona Lisa effect can be applied

4.What can we learn from the passage?

A.Horstmann thinks it’s cool to coin the term “Mona Lisa effect”.

B.The Mona Lisa effect contributes to the creation of artificial intelligence.

C.Feeling being gazed at by Mona Lisa may be caused by the desire for attention.

D.The position of the ruler in the experiment will influence the viewers’ judgement.

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

It is a custom _______ hundreds of years.

A.dating back B.dates from C.dated back D.dating from

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

If you go to the Flamingo Las Vegas, you will never forget it. It is one of the oldest Las Vegas hotels. There are lots of wonderful Las Vegas shows that will leave a good impression on you. Here are the Las Vegas shows being performed at the hotel.

Donny and Marie

Donny and Marie is a family-friendly variety show. It is performed by well-known Donny and Marie Osmond on all weekdays except on Sundays and Mondays. The show follows the winning formula of their 1970s TV program, incorporating dancing, humor and all of their hit songs. It starts at 7:30 pm and each ticket costs at least $91.25.

Olivia Newton-John

Grammy award-winning singer Olivia Newton-John is “hopelessly devoted” to perform for many of her fans, opening “Summer Nights” to perform many of her best-loved songs during her four decades long career. Alongside an eight-piece band, Newton-John will share stories about her career and sing many songs. Concert-goers can buy meet and greet tickets at $249. Regular price tickets start from $78.5. The show starts at 7:30 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Vinnie Favorito

Vinnie Favorito is a famous actor who is known to make people laugh. His jokes are very popular. Unlike other comedians who use pre-developed material, Vinnie Farorito gets his comedy from his interaction with people in the audience. The tickets start from $68.95. Performance days are six days per week except Sundays. Show time is 8:00 pm.

X Burlesque

X Burlesque is a wonderful show performed by six dancing ladies. The show is filled with popular music that suits everyone’s taste from rock to country and a variety of dancing styles that allow each dancer to showcase her unique talents. The tickets start from $50.26. It is a daily show at 10:00 pm.

1.What do these shows have in common?

A. They are free for children.

B. They are hosted by a woman.

C. They are performed every day.

D. They are performed in the Flamingo Las Vegas.

2.If a young couple wants to see Olivia Newton-John in the flesh, they have to　　　 pay　　　　　 .

A. 78.5 dollars

B. 157 dollars

C. 249 dollars

D. 498 dollars

3.From the passage we can learn that 　　　　　 .

A. Vinnie Favorito comes to perform every day

B. Vinnie Favorito’s jokes come from communicating with the audience

C. Children are not allowed to see Donny and Marie show

D. Olivia Newton-John often holds concerts in summer

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析