Throughout the history of the arts, the nature of creativity has remained constant to artists. No matter what objects they select, artists are to bring forth new forces and forms that cause change—to find poetry where no one has ever seen or experienced it before.

Landscape(风景) is another unchanging element of art. It can be found from ancient times through the 17th-century Dutch painters to the 19th-century romanticists and impressionists. In the 1970s Alfred Leslie, one of the new American realists, continued this practice. Leslie sought out the same place where Thomas Cole, a romanticist, had produced paintings of the same scene a century and a half before. Unlike Cole who insists on a feeling of loneliness and the idea of finding peace in nature, Leslie paints what he actually sees. In his paintings, there is no particular change in emotion, and he includes ordinary things like the highway in the background. He also takes advantage of the latest developments of color photography(摄影术) to help both the eye and the memory when he improves his painting back in his workroom.

Besides, all art begs the age-old question: What is real? Each generation of artists has shown their understanding of reality in one form or another. The impressionists saw reality in brief emotional effects, the realists in everyday subjects and in forest scenes, and the Cro-Magnon cave people in their naturalistic drawings of the animals in the ancient forests. To sum up, understanding reality is a necessary struggle for artists of all periods.

Over thousands of years the function of the arts has remained relatively constant. Past or present, Eastern or Western, the arts are a basic part of our immediate experience. Many and different are the faces of art, and together they express the basic need and hope of human beings.

Leslie's paintings are extraordinary because_______ .

A. they are close in style to works in ancient times

B. they look like works by 19th-century painters

C. they draw attention to common things in life

D. they depend heavily on color photography

What is the author's opinion of artistic reality?

A. It will not be found in future works of art.

B. It does not have a long-lasting standard.

C. It is expressed in a fixed artistic form.

D. It is lacking in modern works of art.

What does the author suggest about the arts in the last paragraph?

A. They express people's curiosity about the past.

B. They make people interested in everyday experience.

C. They are considered important for variety in form.

D. They are regarded as a mirror of the human situation.

B
Increasing Noise Annoys
People want action on noise, a recent public meeting in Brisbane showed. Some want technical improvements such as quieter air conditioners or better sound barriers around major roads. Others want tougher laws to restrict noise from building sites or to require owners to take responsibility for barking dogs. But the highest priority (优先) was a noise complaints system that works.
Brisbane City Council receives more complaints about noise than all other problems put together. So it conducted survey and found that about half its citizens are upset by noise in one form or another—traffic, mowers, pool pumps, air conditioners or loud parties. This inspired the Council to bring together more than 100 citizens one evening to talk through solutions to the problem.
The meeting found the present noise complaints system bizarre. Depending on the problem, responsibility for noise can lie with the Council, the Environment Protection Authority, one of three government departments or even the police. So complaints often feel they are getting the run-round. When the people at the meeting were asked to vote for changes, the strongest response was for a 24-hour noise hotline to be the first port of call for all complaints.
The meeting also favored regulatory measures, such as tougher minimum standards for noise in appliances like air conditioners. This even makes economic sense, as noise is a waste of energy—and money. Other measures the meeting supported were wider buffer zones around noisy activities and controls to keep heavy traffic away from residential areas（居民区）.
59. According to the passage, what do people want most?
A. Tougher laws.                       B. Technical improvements.
C. An effective noise complaints system    D. Tougher minimum standards for noise
60. What does the underlined word bizarre in the second paragraph mean?
A. reasonable      B. wonderful     C. strange       D. responsible
61. How many regulatory measures against noise are mentioned in the last paragraph?
A. 3.             B. 4.            C. 2.           D. 5.
62. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Tougher minimum standards for noise in appliances are necessary.
B. Traffic, mowers, pool pumps, and air conditioners are all the sources of noise.
C. 90% of the residents are annoyed by noise.
D. Heavy traffic should be kept away from residential areas according to the meeting.
63. Brisbane City Council brought together citizens to talk through solutions to the noise problem mainly due to      .
A. the result of the survey carried out by itself
B. a noise complaints system that works
C. people asking for tougher laws on noise
D. requirements of an effective noise complaints system

Throughout the history of the arts,the nature of creativity has remained constant to artists.No matter what objects they select,artists are to bring forth new forces and forms that cause change—to find poetry where no one has ever seen or experienced it before.
Landscape(风景) is another unchanging element of art.It can be found from ancient times through the 17th-century Dutch painters to the 19th-century romanticists and impressionists.In the 1970s Alfred Leslie,one of the new American realists,continued this practice.Leslie sought out the same place where Toomas Cole,a romanticist,had produced paintings of the same scene a century and a half before.Unlike Cole who insists on a feeling of loneliness and the idea of finding peace in nature,Lealie paints what he actually sees.In his paintings,there is no particular change in emotion,and he includes ordinary things like the highway in the background.He also takes advantage of the latest developments of color photography(摄影术) to help both the eye and the memory when he improves his painting back in his workroom.
Besides,all art begs the age-old question:What is real?Each generation of artists has shown their understanding of reality in one form or another.The impressionists saw reality in brief emotional effects,the realists in everyday subjects and in forest scenes,and the Cro-Magnon cave people in their naturalistic drawings of the animals in the ancient Forests.To sum up,understanding reality is a necessary struggle for artists of all periods.
Over thousands of years the function of the arts has remained relatively constant.Past or present,Eastern or Western,the arts are a basic part of our immediate experience.Many and different are the faces of art,and together they express the basic need and hope of human beings.
【小题1】The underlined word “poetry” most probably means______.

Two scientists in California now think they can find out a person’s real age.Jeffery Bada and Patricia Masters do chemical tests on teeth.When we are born the amino acids（氨基酸）in our teeth are in one form.Then，as we grow older these amino acids change into a second form.Every year，one thousandth of the amino acids changed.So，by testing just one tooth and counting the number of amino acids in each form，Bada and Masters can work out a person’s age.They tested a tooth from the body of an Eskimo（爱斯基摩人）woman who died 1 600 years ago.From the appearance of her body，she was between 50 and 60 years old when she died.The tooth test put her age at 53.Then the Russian Government sent them a tooth from an old man in Georgia.The tooth said she was 99.Her real age was 96.The Russians are now hoping to send more teeth，from the very old people without birth certificates（出生证明书）.But there are problems.Some of the centenarians（百岁老人）have lost all their teeth.The others want to keep their teeth until they drop out naturally.So the Russian Government and the American scientists have to wait and hope.

61.Jeffery Bada and Patricia Masters believe that they can tell a person’s age according to_______.

A.an experiment on his bone

B.the shape and condition of his teeth

C.a test on the amino acids within his body

D.the changing form of amino acids in his teeth

62.According to the passage，which of the following statements is true?

A.The amino acids in an adult’s teeth may differ from those in a baby’s.

B.The number of amino acids in a 20-year-old man is different from that when he was seven.

C.Amino acids in one teeth changes without affecting their forms.

D.Scientists now can tell how long a person will live by testing his teeth.

63.Why are the two scientists asked to find out some very old Russians’ age?

A.Because the Government wants to know how long these old people can live.

B.Because they have no birth certificates.

C.Because people who have tooth problems tend to live longer.

D.Because the Government wants to know their dates of birth and death.

64.In order to find out the exact age of some people over 100，both the Russian Government and American scientists_______.

A.should wait until all of them die

B.should pull out one of their teeth

C.have to wait for their teeth to drop out naturally

D.want to have their teeth pulled out

65.The central idea of the passage is_______.

A.the relationship between people’s teeth and ages

B.the relationship between amino acids and teeth

C.the contradiction（矛盾）between scientists and patients

D.the contradiction between the Government and the scientists

Throughout the history of the arts,the nature of creativity has remained constant to artists.No matter what objects they select,artists are to bring forth new forces and forms that cause change—to find poetry where no one has ever seen or experienced it before.

Landscape(风景) is another unchanging element of art.It can be found from ancient times through the 17th-century Dutch painters to the 19th-century romanticists and impressionists.In the 1970s Alfred Leslie,one of the new American realists,continued this practice.Leslie sought out the same place where Toomas Cole,a romanticist,had produced paintings of the same scene a century and a half before.Unlike Cole who insists on a feeling of loneliness and the idea of finding peace in nature,Lealie paints what he actually sees.In his paintings,there is no particular change in emotion,and he includes ordinary things like the highway in the background.He also takes advantage of the latest developments of color photography(摄影术) to help both the eye and the memory when he improves his painting back in his workroom.

Besides,all art begs the age-old question:What is real?Each generation of artists has shown their understanding of reality in one form or another.The impressionists saw reality in brief emotional effects,the realists in everyday subjects and in forest scenes,and the Cro-Magnon cave people in their naturalistic drawings of the animals in the ancient Forests.To sum up,understanding reality is a necessary struggle for artists of all periods.

Over thousands of years the function of the arts has remained relatively constant.Past or present,Eastern or Western,the arts are a basic part of our immediate experience.Many and different are the faces of art,and together they express the basic need and hope of human beings.

The underlined word “poetry” most probably means ______.

A.an object for artistic creation

B.a collection of poems

C.an unusual quality

D.a natural scene

Leslie’s paintings are extraordinary because ______.

A.they are close in style to works in ancient times

B.they look like works by 19th-century painters

C.they draw attention to common things in life

D.they depend heavily on color photography

What is the author’s opinion of artistic reality?

A.It will not be found in future works of art.

B.It does not have a long-lasting standard.

C.It is expressed in a fixed artistic form.

D.It is lacking in modern words of art.

What does the author suggest about the arts in the last paragraph?

A.They express people’s curiosity about the past.

B.They make people interested in everyday experience.

C.They are considered important for variety in form.

D.They are regarded as a mirror of the human situation.

Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?

A.History of the arts.

B.Basic questions of the arts.

C.New developments in the arts.

D.Use of modern technology in the arts.四、写作(共两节，满分35分)