The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has welcomed...

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has welcomed home two paintings by the Dutch master, more than 14 years after they were ripped (抢) off the museum’s wall in a nighttime theft. Museum director Axel Rueger called their return “one of the most special days in the history of the museum.”

The paintings were discovered last year by Italian police while they were searching suspected Italian criminals’ farmhouse near Naples for evidence of drug dealing. The two paintings were wrapped in cotton sheets. They were stuffed in a box and hidden behind a wall in a toilet when they were found.

The paintings were considered among the artworks most searched for in the world. After years in darkness, they can now shine again. They are back on display at the museum before being taken to the conservation studio for repair. Fortunately, they suffered remarkably little damage as thieves who had climbed up a ladder and broken a window to get into the museum in 2004 rip them out of their frames.

“It is not only a surprise that the works have been recovered but it’s even more surprising they are in relatively unharmed condition,” Rueger said.

The museum director was on vacation when the call came last year from Italian authorities who believed they had recovered the paintings. He didn’t celebrate right away. He’d had calls li this before.

“I was hopeful but also a little hesitant. Over these years, we had so many occasions when people phoned us, contacted us, claiming that they knew something about the whereabouts (下落) of the works and each time it was false, the trace went cold,” he said. “So...the way has been till of disappointment.” But museum experts sent to Italy to check the authenticity(真实性) of the works quickly turned Rueger’s doubts into delight.

Rueger said the paintings are now back permanently at the museum, which is home to dozens of works by Van Gogh. “I’m very confident that everything is safe in the museum from now on,” he said.

1.How were the stolen paintings found?

A. The police found them by accident.

B. The arrested thieves gave information.

C. Some drug dealers offered clues.

D. The police knew the hidden place.

2.What surprised Rueger most about the lost paintings?

A. They were stolen at night.　　 B. They were found at last.

C. They suffered little damage.　　 D. The search took 14 years.

3.When Rueger got the call from Italian authorities, he　　　　 .

A. didn’t believe them　　 B. felt quite relieved

C. planned to celebrate　　 D. doubted the news

4.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A. Reuger gradually lost interest in the search.

B. The number of false calls was greatly reduced.

C. Rueger felt cold because of too many false calls.

D. The chance to find the paintings became slim.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

"I am my paintings," says Vincent van Gogh, played by Willem Dafoe in a career-best performance, in Julian Schnabelˈs At Eternityˈs Gate, which follows the artist through his last turmoil (动荡骚乱) and astonishingly prolific years in the late 1880s in the south of France. Watching this film, you can believe it.

Schnabel is, of course, a famous artist as well as a powerful, if powerfully uneven, filmmaker, and what he captures here is what it must have been like to be Van Gogh. Itˈs an artistˈs imagining of what another artist might have felt. He never does break away from the romantic, madness-of-genius cliché(陈词滥调) that has been with so many movies and comments about Van Gogh. Instead, he accepts it because he believes it proves the turmoil that goes into creating great art. Of course, turmoil can also create bad art, but such is Schnabelˈs enthusiasm that I bought into the reality even though I think Van Gogh was a great artist despite rather than because of his mental pain.

I have a bit less sympathy for the ways in which the filmmakers got guess and frank mythmaking into the narrative. But the film comes to a great and sorrowing finish when we hear Vincentˈs words, "I thought an artist has to teach a way to look at the rest of the world. Not anymore. Now I just think of my relationship with eternity. " One of the great achievements of this movie is that, in the end, Van Gogh's words enter into our soul with the same force as the paintings.

1.Who starred in At Eternity's Gate?

A.Vincent van Gogh. B.Julian Schnabel.

C.Willem Dafoe. D.Robert Gulaczyk.

2.What do we know about Julian Schnabel?

A.He tries to break away from the traditional style.

B.He is as good an artist as a film maker.

C.His film is better than the previous ones.

D.He thinks turmoil creates bad art.

3.What can we know from the last paragraph?

A.The film ends happily.

B.Van Gogh figured out his relationship with eternity.

C.What Van Gogh said has a major influence on us.

D.The film teaches us a way to look at the rest of the world.

4.From which is the text probably taken?

A.An art textbook. B.An art magazine.

C.A movie advertisement. D.A research paper.

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

A painting by Vincent Van Gogh was stolen on _______ would have been the Dutch master’s 167th birthday.

A.that B.when C.what D.which

高三英语单项填空困难题查看答案及解析

Many of van Gogh’s paintings were inspired by warm, yellow sunlight because he loved how it could light up the world in different ways. His painting Sunflowers, for example,1.(fill) with vivid yellows and browns. These colors give 2.painting a feeling of warmth and well-being. However, the sunflowers are actually dead and dying.

The result is a painting that combines the warmth of life that van Gogh loved 3.the feelings of sadness that were all around him. It is a painting that is warm, beautiful and sad, all at the same time.

Van Gogh’s most famous painting. The Starry Night, takes this 4.(mix) of joy and sadness one step further. It is a landscape full of deep blues and shadows 5.represent the sadness van Gogh was feeling as he 6.(paint), rather than what he was actually seeing.

This is why van Gogh’s 7.(image) in his painting look more imagined than real. The stars and moon in The Starry Night are 8.(unusual) bright, 9.(they) light swirling(旋动) above the darkening hills. A tree that looks like black fire cuts through the view of the night, 10.(interrupt) its beauty.

高三英语短文填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

阅读下面短文，在空白处填入 1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Many of Van Gogh's paintings were inspired by warm, yellow sunlight because he loved how it could light up the world in different 1.(way). His painting Sun-flowers, for example, 2.(fill) with vivid yellows and browns. These colors give 3.painting a feeling of warmth and well-being. However, the sunflowers are actually dead and dying. The result is a painting that 4.(combine) the warmth of life with the feelings of sadness.It is a painting that is warm, beautiful and sad at the same time.

Van Gogh's 5.(famous) painting, The Starry Night, takes this mixture of joy and sadness one step further.This is a picture known by the world. It is full 6. deep blues and shadows, 7.represents the sadness that Van Gogh felt as he painted. 8., the stars and moon in The Starry Night are 9.(unusual) bright and the light is swirling (旋动）above the darkening hills.It is a landscape that shows 10.(warm)in the painting.

高三英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Perhaps Van Gogh（1853-1890）isn’t the most famous artist in the world, but his personal story is probably the most well known. The paintings he created didn’t become famous until after he died. Last year marked the 125th anniversary of his death. An art exhibition was in Beijing till Dec. 6, in which more than 3,000 photos of the artist’s masterpieces were shown. However, the paintings that made him famous after his death did little for him when he was alive.

Van Gogh was born into a rich family in the Netherlands. He started his career working for an art dealer. But then he tried other things like teaching in England. He also tried to become a priest, but failed the exams.

Finally, he found something else to believe in while he was living in a small mining town in Belgium—art. He returned to his childhood love of painting and drawing.

He was an important and great artist in a generation that challenged the Impressionist style. Post-Impressionists, like Van Gogh, wanted to show the world as it felt to them, not always as it looked.

Van Gogh used different forms and colors to make his art more abstract. The way he used colors was especially impressive. In Wheatfield with Crows (1890), the colors are very intense. Corn is yellow, grass is green, and crows are black. But the colors are used in such a way that it looks better than a photograph.

Unfortunately, Van Gogh’s art wasn’t very popular while he was alive. He was poor and was thought to have mental problems, which led him to cut off his ear and eventually die by shooting himself. Arguably, it wasn’t the art that gave him mental problems. What made him so sad may have been the difficulty of working as an artist in a practical world.

1.What can we know about Van Gogh from the passage?

A. He was born into a rich family in the Netherlands 125 years ago.

B. He was a teacher, a priest and a miner before he became an artist.

C. He did not get much wealth or fame from his works before he died.

D. He decided to be an artist when he worked as an art dealer.

2.According to the passage, Van Gogh impressed people deeply by ________.

A. how he used colors in his paintings

B. how he became famous for his paintings

C. how he showed the world exactly as it looked

D. how he began to love art while living in Belgium

3.What might have caused Van Gogh’s mental problems?

A. The art of painting.　　 B. The loss of one of his ears.

C. Pressure from his family.　　 D. Not being accepted or recognized.

4.What can be the best title of this passage?

A. Wheatfield with Crows　　　　　　　 　　 B. An Artist’s Sad Story

C. Childhood of Van Gogh　　 D. An Art Exhibition of Van Gogh

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Are you more of a Botticelli or a Van Gogh?

A new feature in the Google Arts & Culture app reveals how a picture of your face may resemble a historical painting.

The app went viral this weekend after users discovered the entertaining feature that analyzes selfies and matches them to historical artwork. It pulls from Google's digital collection of artworks from museums around the world.

The feature rolled out to the app on iOS and Android last month. But users—even some big names such as Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, musician Pete Wentz, and actors Felicia Day and Kumail Nanjiani—shared their results on news feeds.

The app became the top downloaded iPhone app over the weekend, and landed in the top 10 on Android, according to analytics firm App Annie.

To find your fine art doppelganger(与某人外貌相同的人), open the Google Arts & Culture app and scroll until you see the "Is your portrait in a museum?" feature. Tap "get started"，and you'll be guided through the process.

It's currently only available in the U.S.

Google said the experimental feature uses computer vision technology to scan facial features and extract data to match with paintings. The company said it won't use data from photos for any other purpose but to match it with images in its catalog. It only stores selfies for the time it takes to find matches, Google said.

The selfie feature is similar to other apps that use matching technology to find lookalikes. Microsoft's What Dog app can identify and classify dogs based on photos uploaded to the app.

The Google Arts & Culture app is part of the Google Cultural Institute, which provides information about artists, scientists and historical figures from 1,000 institutions worldwide.

1.Why did the Google Arts & Culture app get so popular?

A.Because some famous people used it.

B.Because it can match selfies to some paintings.

C.Because it's more practical than entertaining.

D.Because it was the top download.

2.How can you find your fine art doppelganger?

A.By visiting Google's digital collection of artworks.

B.By analyzing your selfies.

C.By opening the app and following its guide.

D.By scrolling the screen of your smartphone.

3.What can you infer from the 8th paragraph?

A.The feature of the app has nothing to do with data.

B.Google stores selfies as commercial resources.

C.Selfies will be stored for a long time.

D.The users' selfies will not be abused.

4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A.The Google Cultural Institute

B.Google app matches your face to a famous painting

C.What Dog app vs Google Arts & Culture app

D.How to find valuable historical paintings

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Vincent Van Gogh was not always an artist. In fact, he wanted to be a church minister and was even sent to the Belgian mining community of Borinage in 1879. He discovered that the miners there endured terrible working conditions and poverty-level wages. Their families were skin-and-bone and struggled simply to survive. He felt concerned that the small pay he received from the church allowed him a reasonable lifestyle, which, in contrast, seemed to him unfair.

One cold February evening, while he watched the miners trudging home, he spotted an old man staggering toward him across the fields, wrapped in a burlap(粗麻布) bag for warmth. Van Gogh laid his own clothing out on the bed, set aside enough for one change, and decided to give the rest away. He gave the old man a suit of clothes and he gave his overcoat to a pregnant woman whose husband had been killed in a cave-in.

He lived on starvation food and spent his salary on food for the miners. When children in one family caught typhoid fever, though feverish himself, he packed up his bed and took it to them.

A wealthy family in the community offered him free room and board, Van Gogh declined the offer, stating that it was the final temptation (诱惑) he must reject if he was to faithfully serve his community of poor miners. He believed that if he wanted them to trust him, he must become one of them. And if they were to learn of the love of God through him, he must love them enough to share with them.

He was acutely aware of the big difference between words and actions. He knew that our lives always speak louder and clearer than our words. Maybe that is why Francis of Assisi often said to his monks, “Wherever you go, preach(讲道). Use words if necessary.”

Others are “listening” carefully to your actions. What are you saying to them?

1. We can infer form the passage ____________.

A. our lives always speak louder and clearer than our words

B. the miners there worked under excellent working conditions

C. the ministers lived a much better and easier life than the miners at the time

D. Van Gogh himself offered to work in the Belgian mining community of Borinage in 1879.

2. What does the underlined word “trudging” in the second paragraph mean?

A. Moving very quickly              B. Moving with quick light steps

C. Walking slowly for pleasure.         D. Walking with slow heavy steps.

3. According to the passage, which of the following words can best describe Van Gogh?

A. Ambitious and aggressive.          B. Considerate and sympathetic

C. Greedy and selfish.                D. Determined and grateful

4. What does the last paragraph want to tell us?

A. Use words if necessary             B. Actions speak louder than words

C. Rome was not built in a day.         D. Where there is a will there is a way.

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Vincent van Gogh was not always an artist. In fact, he wanted to be a(n) __21 and was even sent to the Belgian __22 community of Borinage. He discovered that the miners there __23 deplorable(悲惨的) working conditions and poverty-level wages. Their families  __24__ simply to survive. He felt concerned that the small amount of money he received from the church __25 him a moderate life-style, which, __26, seemed to him unfair.

One cold February evening, while he watched the miners trudging(步履艰难)home, he __27 an old man staggering(蹒跚)toward him across the fields, __28in a burlap sack for warmth. Van Gogh laid his own clothing out on the bed, __29enough for one change, and decided to give__30away. He gave the old man a suit of clothes and gave his overcoat to a pregnant woman whose __31had been killed in a cave-in.

He lived on starvation rations and spent his money on __32 for the miners. When children in one family had fever, though __33 himself, he packed up his bed and took it to them.

A (an) __34 family in the community offered him free room and board. Van Gogh __35__the offer, stating that it was the final temptation he must reject if he was to __36 serve his community of poor miners.

He believed that if he wanted them to __37 him, he must become one of them. And if they were to learn of love through him, he must love them enough to __38 with them.

He was aware of the wide chasm(鸿沟)between words and actions. He knew that our lives always __39 louder and clearer than words.

Others are “ __40” carefully to your actions. What are you saying to them?

高三英语完型填空困难题查看答案及解析

Jennifer van den Broeke tried riding her son and daughter around Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands, on her old bike with two child seats, but it was sometimes unsafe. That was when she decided to join the growing Dutch army of pedaling parents using so-called transport bikes.

Now Jennifer’s 8-month-old son Jasper and 3-year-old daughter Benthe can climb into the wooden box of her new transport bike so she can ride them around town. “With the kids and the shopping bags and everything, this is just easier,”said Jennifer. “It’s a very strong bike.”

The transport bike, called a bakfiets in Dutch, is making a comeback decades after butchers, bakers — maybe even candlestick makers, who first began using them to carry their wares (物品) around the narrow streets of this nation’s towns and cities. The bikes, with two or three wheels, have a wooden or plastic box on the front or between the front and back wheels.

Nowadays cars and vans crowd city streets. Regular bikes have remained popular, but for parents with a couple of kids, the car was often the only option.Not anymore.

Maarten van Andel, a 46-year-old native, started making cargo bikes last year when he was looking for a cheap way to transport his two children around Amsterdam. “It’s a timesaving device,” he said. “It’s a lot quicker to get around town with your kids in a bakfiets than in a car.”

Henry Cutler, who runs an Amsterdam cycle store, says there are 5,000-10,000 floating around Amsterdam. He sometimes sounds like he’s selling not just bikes, but a way of life. “We are trying to promote products that change people’s perspective about living. Bikes are not fast, but does life have to be fast?” he said.“Many families with small children want to try it because they believe it is a better and easier way to get around,” said Erik Oddershede, the manager of the Danish national bicycle shop organization, Danske Cykelhandlere.

1.What do we know about the transport bike?

A. It sometimes causes safety problems on the road.

B. It usually has a wooden or plastic box at its back.

C. It was once common decades ago in the Netherlands.

D. It is now widely used by Dutch butchers and bakers.

2.What does the author mean by saying “Not anymore”?

A. Parents with two or more kids have another choice.

B. Regular bikes have become more and more popular.

C. Maarten Van Andel was more interested in cargo bikes.

D. Nowadays there are fewer traffic problems in the city.

3.Who says that people should live at an unhurried pace?

A. Henry Cutler.　　 B. Erik Oddershede.

C. Maarten Van Andel.　　 D. Jennifer Van den Broeke.

4.What is the text mainly about?

A. The traffic problems in Amsterdam.

B. The lifestyle of people in Amsterdam.

C. The sales of transport bikes in Amsterdam.

D. The popularity of a bakfiets in Amsterdam.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析