He lived his whole life as a poor man He suffered from a mental illness that led him to cut off part of his left ear in 1888 and to shoot himself two years later. But after his death, he achieved the world fame.

　　* And the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, home to the biggest collection of his masterpieces, is marking the anniversary with exhibitions throughout the year.

　　“He is a big fame like Einstein and Beethoven. He is such a great figure. We are always amazed by how popular he is and his popularity seems to be growing.” said Andreas Bluehm, the museum's head of exhibitions.

　　Van Gogh was the son of a pastor. He left school when he was just 15. By the age of 27, he had already tried many jobs including an art gallery salesman and a French teacher. Finally in 1880, he decided to begin his studies in art.

　　“Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before my eyes. I use colour more freely, in order to express myself more forcibly,” he wrote in a letter to his brother, Theo, in 1888.

　　Van Gogh sold only one painting during his short life. But now his works are sold for millions of dollars. His “Portrait of Dr. Gachet” was sold for US 89.5 million in 1990. It is the highest price ever paid for a painting.

1．The second paragraph mainly tells us that ________.

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A．the Van Gogh Museum is located in Amsterdam

B．the Van Gogh Museum has the biggest collection of Van Gogh'smasterpieces

C．exhibitions will be held in honor of Van Gogh

D．the Van Gogh Museum will hold exhibitions the whole year through for Van Gogh

2．The underlined word “figure” in the third paragraph means “________”.

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3．The writer cited a part of a letter written by Van Gogh to show Van Gogh's ________.

[　　]

4．Choose the right order of the given events.

a．He worked as a French teacher.

b．He achieved the world fame.

c．He left school. d. He cut off his left ear.

e．He shot himself. f. He began studies in art.

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　He is a man of few words, and seldom speaks until _____ to.

　　A. spoken    B. speaking ?C. speak    D. be spoken

-What’s the old man standing there??

　-He is _____, a new comer.

　 A. Mr. White 　 B. an engineer  C. Joe 　 D. Joe’s brother

　He is a man of few words, and seldom speaks until _____ to.

　　A. spoken    B. speaking?C. speak    D. be spoken

-What’s the old man standing there??　

-He is _____, a new comer.

　 A. Mr. White 　 B. an engineer C. Joe 　 D. Joe’s brother