The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has welcomed home two paintings by the Dutch master, more than 14 years after they were ripped (扯) 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 an Italian criminals’ farmhouse near Naples for evidence of drug dealing. They were 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 surprisingly little damage as thieves who had climbed up a ladder and broken a window to get into the museum in 2004 ripped 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 like 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 full of disappointment.” But museum experts sent to Italy to check the authenticity (真实性) of the works quickly turned Ruegers doubts into delight.

Rueger said the paintings are now back 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.

【小题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.

【小题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.

【小题3】When Rueger got the call, he ________.

A．didn’t believe it at all	B．felt quite satisfied
C．planned to celebrate	D．doubted the news

【小题4】What does the underlined part in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A．Rueger 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 small.

   Most artists have a favorite material they like to work with. For Kristen Alyce, it happens to be trash (废物). The eco-conscious designer uses her talent to transform garbage like empty drink bottles and Skittles wrappers into wonderful outfits (全套服装) that sell for thousands of dollars.

Kristen says the idea came to her after she saw how much waste she and her three college roommates produced on a daily basis. The Fine Arts student began to dream about transforming the bags and packages into beautiful clothes. Her first dress made of plastic bags and rolled magazines was unusual, funny and even fascinating. However, she only made it to test how she could create a beautiful dress with trash.

The young designer did not consider starting a commercial business until she spent a week working at Couture Fashion Week in New York City. There she observed the excitement caused by new looks and decided to see if her unusual idea would result in as much enthusiasm. She began by creating a line of 12 garbage-inspired dresses. They were a big success and Garbage Gone Glam was born!

Today the company produces a wide variety of outfits that range from cocktail dresses to ballgowns. Kristen, of course, doesn’t search for trash cans as her material any more. Since the designer can work with anything from brochures to yellow pages, from directory pages to candy wrappers, finding “trash” is never a problem.

However, if you think the garbage-inspired women dresses come cheap, think again. The price for ready made creations sold on the company’s site varies from $500 to $1,500. Those seeking custom (定制的) dresses have to pay as much as $2,000. Though those may appear expensive, the designer says that she has no shortage of customers. In fact thanks to so many requests she now even has trash-inspired outfits for men that include jackets, ties, trousers and even board shorts! While most of the outfits are hard enough to bear various wearing methods, whether they can be cleaned is a little unclear.

【小题1】What was the purpose of Kristen’s first dress made of trash?

A．To earn money.	B．To recycle trash.
C．To test her creativity.	D．To amuse others.

【小题2】We can learn from the passage that Garbage Gone Glam (Paragraph 3) is the name of ______.

A．a company	B．a model
C．a dress	D．a school

【小题3】What do we know about Garbage Gone Glam according to the passage?

A．Its creations sell well at cheap prices online.

B．It was founded by Kristen and her college roommates.

C．It has little difficulty in finding the material for its products.

D．It produces various clothes only for women at present.

【小题4】Which of the following words can best describe Kristen Alyce?

A．Generous and creative.

B．Enthusiastic and sensitive.

C．Considerate and eco-friendly.

D．Creative and eco-friendly.

   The arts, especially music, should be part of every school’s lessons at every grade level. Students will be much smarter if they have some musical experience. They could improve their classroom skills, like paying attention and following directions. People develop all these skills when they learn music. Making music also lets children use their imagination. It provides students with a chance to try out their own ideas.

Music not only makes children better students, but also gives them something positive to do. In a music program, children can be part of a band instead of joining a gang (一群可能肇事的年轻人). Parents can enjoy listening to their children’s music instead of seeing them glued to a computer or TV screen. In a school band, students get to be part of a team. They can get along well with old friends and make new friends through music.

Music builds self-confidence, too. It gives children a sense of achievement and success. Making music is something for them to be proud of, and it lets kids practice performing in front of an audience. Music gives children an opportunity for self-expression, and that helps develop their self-confidence.

In a word, music is important because it can make children better students, give them something positive to do, and build their character. That is why music should be offered in every single grade in every school.

【小题1】According to the passage, music could make students smarter by ___________.

A．improving their classroom skills and attention

B．improving their classroom skills and imagination

C．improving their attention and imagination

D．improving their skills of making achievements

【小题2】What does the underlined phrase “ glued to” in the second paragraph mean?

A．Unwilling to turn on.

B．Always depending on.

C．Unwilling to leave.

D．Always playing.

【小题3】What does the third paragraph mainly tell us about music?

A．Music can give children self-expression.

B．Music can bring children achievement and success.

C．Music can give children something to be proud of.

D．Music can develop children’s self-confidence.

【小题4】What’s the best title of this passage?

A．Music is a must as a course at school

B．Music builds children’s self-confidence

C．Music makes students much smarter

D．Learning music and making music are both important

语法填空

Paper cutting is a folk culture with so long a history. When Chinese Lunar New Year is coming, it is a custom 【小题1】 northern people to paste the paper cutting on the window. Gradually, it develops into an art form, one of the 【小题2】(popular) traditional decoration arts. It is recorded that there were decorations made by gold and silver foil, leather and silk products in 1600 B

A．We can say that paper cutting came from these art forms. In the early time,people made images of humans and subjects by hemp paper(麻纸)

【小题3】(bury) together with the body in the tomb or to burn on the funerals(葬礼). With the special symbolization meaning, paper cutting 【小题4】(use) as decorations on sacrificing ceremonies. In 105AD, Cai Lun improved the paper making technique and 【小题5】 large amount of paper was produced, 【小题6】 laid a foundation for the spread of paper cutting. Beautiful patterns were created and gradually, the patterns were 【小题7】(wide) used in other fields later.
There were more records of paper cutting after 960 AD(Song dynasty). Professional paper cutting artists appeared, 【小题8】(specialize) in different patterns. Some were good at cutting flowers 【小题9】 others were expert at characters' cutting. Thus the patterns were abundant(丰富的) and colorful. One of the most important 【小题10】(contribution) of paper cutting in the Song dynasty was that patterns were used on the china.

语法填空
At one time, making a film was an expensive activity only for a small group of people and film companies. Not only were the tools and machines expensive but the cost of a film was also far 【小题1】(high) than most people could afford. However,modern technology 【小题2】(change) all that.
New technology has really opened up the world of film-making for film fans. Now a camera does not cost much and the 【小题3】(major) of young people are certainly able to pay for it. So what you need is 【小题4】(get) one for yourself. With that, you may then start your own film-making.
However, film-making is 【小题5】(challenge) work. You probably need many other people to help you.
For example, the actors and actresses play a very important part in your film, 【小题6】 may be your schoolmates, friends or family members.
【小题7】(additional), you need to make up a story. Can you write one 【小题8】 yourself? If you have good imagination, you can create 【小题9】 attractive story character. Many world-famous film-makers and producers are also good screenwriters. If not, perhaps you need someone else to write it for you.
An excellent story is the key to 【小题10】(make) a successful film.