Question

【题目】She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last forever. But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa.

The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre Museum where it is housed.

“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said. Visitors have noticed the changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current (现在的) chemical state.

Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. “It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University. “It’s because direct vision (视觉) is excellent at picking up details, but less suited to looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.”

However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to the king of France, Francis I, in 1519.

In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back to France two years later. During World War II, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.

Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell.

【1】The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means the Mona Lisa .

A. is losing its value

B. is being damaged after so many years

C. is getting more valuable with years passing

D. will rot away

【2】Choose the right order about the happenings onto the Mona Lisa.

a. It was stolen from the Louvre.

b. Its painter sold it to King Francis I.

c. Its state of health was checked.

d. It was returned to France and housed in the Louvre Museum.

e. It was hidden and protected against German forces.

A. b-a-d-e-c B. d-e-c-b-a

C. d-a-e-c-b D. b-c-a-d-e

【3】What makes her smile so mysterious according to Professor Livingstone?

A. The materials the Italian artist used.

B. The way she smiles.

C. The way da Vinci painted the smile.

D. It plays a trick upon the human eye.

Answer 1

【答案】B选项is being damaged after so many years。

【解析】试题分析：本文主要讲述名画《蒙娜丽莎的微笑》随着岁月的流逝，出现了破损的现象，文章还介绍了这幅画的一些特别之处。

【1】词句猜测题。由转折词but判断，本句的意思应和上文“She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last forever.”“她被看作是美貌是永恒的的证据”意义相反。结合第三段的介绍说《蒙娜丽莎》的健康状况随着岁月的流逝在恶化，画板已变形，因此推断此处讲得是随着岁月的流逝，名画《蒙娜丽莎》已受到了损坏。故选B。

【2】细节理解题。根据第三段第一句“…the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago”倒数第三段最后一句“…it was eventually sold to the king of France, Francis I, in 1519.”和倒数第二段的内容可知，1529年这幅画被卖给法国国王，1911年被从卢浮宫偷走，两年以后被归还给法国，接下来第二次世界大战期间，被保护起来，两年前专家检查了这幅画的状况。综上所述，故选A。

【3】细节理解题。根据第四段倒数两句“It’s because direct vision (视觉) is excellent at picking up details, but less suited to looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.”可知，Livingstone教授认为达芬奇在阴影里画了她的微笑的方式使得微笑如此神秘。故选C。

【名师定睛】

高考中词义推断可以是一个单词的意义推断，也可以是一个短语或句子的意义推断，既可以是生词意义，也可以是熟词新意；还可以是对替代词所替代内容的判断。在阅读理解题中，所考查的词或短语的意义往往不停留在字面上，要根据短文提供的语境，通过阅读上下文，根据已知的信息或常识来推测尚不熟悉的词或词组的含义。例如小题1：

【解题剖析】此题属于依据逻辑关系猜测词义。解题关键词是but。

【答案定位】由转折词but判断，本句的意思应和上文“She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last forever.”“她被看作是美貌是永恒的的证据”意义相反。结合第三段的介绍说《蒙娜丽莎》的健康状况随着岁月的流逝在恶化，画板已变形，因此推断此处讲得是随着岁月的流逝，名画《蒙娜丽莎》已受到了损坏。

【推理关系】题干The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means the Mona Lisa .文章内容The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year和The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago。