You are walking along a lane and never know what you will find. It might be a shop selling oil paintings, or a place where you can buy Dutch cheese. One thing is for sure, you will end up by a canal.

Welcome to Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands.

The year 2013 will be a good time to explore Amsterdam as the city has a lot to celebrate: the famous canal ring will turn 400 years old. Amsterdam will also celebrate the 160th birthday of Dutch painter of the Van Gogh museum, home to the biggest collection of the artist’s colorful works.

The famous canal ring is a trademark of the city. With more than 100 kilometers of canals, it is no wonder that Amsterdam is called the ‘Venice of the north’. But unlike the Italian town, where boats were originally used for transport, the canals in Amsterdam were mainly used for defense in the 17th century. Today ferries on canals offer a different way to explore the city.

But to truly experience Amsterdam, you can’t miss the city’s historic museums and monuments, among which Van Gogh museum is the most famous one. It holds 200 paintings, 700 letters and 500 drawings by the artist. Another famous museum is Anne Frank’s house. Anne Frank became famous around the world because of a diary she left explaining her and her family’s experience as a Jewish girl during World War II, hiding out in a house hoping that she would not be captured by German Nazis.

Amsterdam is small enough to walk or cycle almost anywhere, but it is rarely dull. Best of all it combines its glittering past with a rebellious edginess.

1.Which of the following is TRUE of the canals in Amsterdam?

A．They had to be rebuilt after years of use.

B．They protected the city in ancient times.

C．They were built to provide transport for the city.

D．They are the main theme of Van Gogh’s paintings.

2.In the passage, Amsterdam is described as a city _____.

A．that can be explored by foot

B．that is completely built on water

C．that has two historic museums in all

D．that is famous for its modernization

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A．People get lost easily in Amsterdam.

B．Van Gogh spent his life time in Amsterdam.

C．Many Jews in Amsterdam were caught by Nazis.

D．Taking a ferry ride is the most popular activity in Amsterdam.

You are walking along a lane and never know what you will find. It might be a shop selling oil paintings, or a place where you can buy Dutch cheese. One thing is for sure, you will end up by a canal.
Welcome to Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands.
The year 2013 will be a good time to explore Amsterdam as the city has a lot to celebrate: the famous canal ring will turn 400 years old. Amsterdam will also celebrate the 160th birthday of Dutch painter of the Van Gogh museum, home to the biggest collection of the artist’s colorful works.
The famous canal ring is a trademark of the city. With more than 100 kilometers of canals, it is no wonder that Amsterdam is called the ‘Venice of the north’. But unlike the Italian town, where boats were originally used for transport, the canals in Amsterdam were mainly used for defense in the 17th century. Today ferries on canals offer a different way to explore the city.
But to truly experience Amsterdam, you can’t miss the city’s historic museums and monuments, among which Van Gogh museum is the most famous one. It holds 200 paintings, 700 letters and 500 drawings by the artist. Another famous museum is Anne Frank’s house. Anne Frank became famous around the world because of a diary she left explaining her and her family’s experience as a Jewish girl during World War II, hiding out in a house hoping that she would not be captured by German Nazis.
Amsterdam is small enough to walk or cycle almost anywhere, but it is rarely dull. Best of all it combines its glittering past with a rebellious edginess.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE of the canals in Amsterdam?

You are walking along a lane and never know what you will find. It might be a shop selling oil paintings, or a place where you can buy Dutch cheese. One thing is for sure, you will end up by a canal.
Welcome to Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands.
The year 2013 will be a good time to explore Amsterdam as the city has a lot to celebrate: the famous canal ring will turn 400 years old. Amsterdam will also celebrate the 160th birthday of Dutch painter of the Van Gogh museum, home to the biggest collection of the artist’s colorful works.
The famous canal ring is a trademark of the city. With more than 100 kilometers of canals, it is no wonder that Amsterdam is called the ‘Venice of the north’. But unlike the Italian town, where boats were originally used for transport, the canals in Amsterdam were mainly used for defense in the 17th century. Today ferries on canals offer a different way to explore the city.
But to truly experience Amsterdam, you can’t miss the city’s historic museums and monuments, among which Van Gogh museum is the most famous one. It holds 200 paintings, 700 letters and 500 drawings by the artist. Another famous museum is Anne Frank’s house. Anne Frank became famous around the world because of a diary she left explaining her and her family’s experience as a Jewish girl during World War II, hiding out in a house hoping that she would not be captured by German Nazis.
Amsterdam is small enough to walk or cycle almost anywhere, but it is rarely dull. Best of all it combines its glittering past with a rebellious edginess

1. 1.

   Which of the following is TRUE of the canals in Amsterdam?

   1. A.
      They had to be rebuilt after years of use
   2. B.
      They protected the city in ancient times
   3. C.
      They were built to provide transport for the city
   4. D.
      They are the main theme of Van Gogh’s paintings
2. 2.

   In the passage, Amsterdam is described as a city _______.

   1. A.
      that can be explored by foot
   2. B.
      that is completely built on water
   3. C.
      that has two historic museums in all
   4. D.
      that is famous for its modernization
3. 3.

   What can we infer from the passage?

   1. A.
      People get lost easily in Amsterdam
   2. B.
      Van Gogh spent his life time in Amsterdam
   3. C.
      Many Jews in Amsterdam were caught by Nazis
   4. D.
      Taking a ferry ride is the most popular activity in Amsterdam

Today, at 28, the young German Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is at the top. “She gives radiance to the music, ”wrote Geoffrey Norris in The Daily Telegraph, London.

Born in Rheinfelden on June 29, 1963, Anne-Sophie grew up in Wehr, a small town just five kilometers from the Swiss border. Her father, Karl Wilhelm Mutter, and her mother, Gerlinde, considered music lessons part of a good education. It came as no surprise when Anne-Sophie said she wanted a violin for her fifth birthday.

Her parents thought she was too young for the violin, and persuaded her to start on the piano. But Anne-Sophie has always had a mind of her own. “I longed to play the violin, ”she says, “It seemed to me a much more interesting instrument. ”After six months, her parents gave in.

The famous violin teacher Erna Honigberfer, who lived nearby, became Annie-Sophie’s tutor.  After only nine months of lessons, she entered the six-year-old in a nationwide competition for young musicians. With Christoph accompanying her on the piano, Anne-Sophie won first prize.

In 1974, Erna Honigberger died. Anne-Sophie’s new teacher was Aida Stucki. She taught Anne-Sophie to develop her own ideas on how a piece should be played, not just to imitate others. This is one of the violinist’s strongest, most distinctive characteristics today.

Though the Mutters were short of money at times, they limited their daughter’s performances to one or two a year. “We are glad we went the family road, ”says her father. “No outsider can ever have an effect on our daughter’s career or push her into playing more concerts than she wants to. ”Later she was allowed to give six to eight concerts a year and make some recordings.

60. Anne-Sophie’s concerts are _________.

A. limited to one or two a year     B. accompanied at the piano by Christoph

C. highly praised throughout the world  

D. appreciated by professors in London

61. Which sentence shows Anne-Sophie’s strong point as a violinist?

A.  She wanted a violin for her fifth birthday.

B. She has always had a mind of her own.

C. She had two famous violin teachers.

D. Violin seemed to her a much more interesting instrument.

62. The virtue the Mutters have is that they believe __________.

A.  children should learn music           B. money is not everything

C. Anne-Sophie was too young to give concerts

D. parents have a great effect upon their children

63. Which of the following is right?

A.  Mutter’s family had an effect on her.

B. Anne-Sophie got her first prize with the help of Aida Stucki.

C. Anne-Sophie liked to imitate others.

D. Anne-Sophie liked all the instruments.

A migraine（偏头痛）can cause disabling pain. People may not feel back to normal for hours or even days. Migraines are most common among young adults and middle-aged people. In the United States, about eighteen percent of women and six percent of men report having migraines.

People who suffer from migraines can find that different “triggers（诱因）”in different people may get a headache started. Stress can act as a trigger. So can chocolate in some people. Many migraine sufferers say hot weather and low barometric pressure（大气压）can act as triggers. But researchers say they do not have much scientific evidence of that — until now.

 In a new study, a team examined the medical records of seven thousand hospital patients. The patients had visited the emergency room at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, because of a headache. More than two thousand of them had been found to have a migraine.

 The team then compared those records to weather conditions in the twenty-four hours before the hospital visits. For every increase of five degrees centigrade in air temperature, the patients had a seven and one-half percent higher risk of migraine. Decreases in barometric pressure two to three days before the visit also appeared to trigger headaches.

 The researchers found no evidence that air pollution influenced headaches. But they could not rule out the possibility of a smaller effect.

 A separate study has found that age, gender and where a person has extra body fat may affect the risk of migraine. It found that overweight people between the ages of twenty and fifty-five may have a higher risk. On average, those who were larger around the middle were more likely to have migraines than those of the same age with smaller waistlines.

 The study involved twenty-two thousand people. It was led by Lee Peterlin. She says early results suggest that losing weight in the stomach area may help younger people who experience migraines, especially women.

41. From the first paragraph, we can infer a migraine can ________.

A. make people unable to walk

B. prevent people acting normally

C. cause people to leave home for days

D. get people to suffer from mental disorder

42. The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.

A. chocolate acting as a trigger

B. stress acting as a trigger

C. hot weather and low barometric pressure acting as triggers

D. high air pressure acting as a trigger

43. According to the passage, headaches are influenced least by ________.

A. body weight                  B. barometric pressure

C. air temperature                  D. air pollution

44. In the opinion of Lee Peterlin, a person who has a migraine should ________.

A. avoid gathering fat in the stomach area

B. eat more sweet food every day

C. stay warm in good weather

D. keep away from noisy places

45. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Overweight people may have a lower risk of migraines.

B. Weather is linked to migraines.

C. Migraines are a headache for many people.

D. Women suffer more migraines than men do.