快速阅读理解专练

韩长平

（A）

（Words： 241; Time： 3'）

The mystery of Leonardo da Vinci's famous Mona Lisa painting has been cracked （破解） with the help of emotion-recognition software from scientists recently. According to findings which will be published in the New Scientist， a British journal， the exact breakdown of Mona Lisa's emotions， were 83 percent happy， 9 percent disgusted （厭烦的）， 6 percent fearful， and 2 percent angry.

The software rated features such as the curvature （曲度） of the lips and crinkles around the eyes. Dr. Nicu Sebe， a professor at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands，  used  emotion-recognition  software to come up with the exact breakdown of Mona Lisa's emotional state.

The program draws on a database of young female faces to get an average “neutral” expression. The software uses this average expression as the standard for comparisons. Other applications of emotion-recognition software might be to detect terror suspects on the basis of their emotions as well as their physical characteristics.

Possibly the most famous portrait of all time， Mona Lisa's mystifying expression has puzzled art lovers for five centuries. In 2003， a scientist from Harvard University said the way the human eye processes visual information meant the smile was only obvious when the viewer looked at other parts of the painting.

The painting， which is on public display in the Louvre in Paris， was painted between 1503—1506. It was thought to be named after the sitter， most likely the Florentine wife of Francesco del Giocondo.

1. Which of the following is probably the practical use of the emotion-recognition of software？

A. It can be used to decide whether a painting is valuable.

B. It can be applied to detect a criminal.

C. It can show the painter of an ancient  painting.

D. It makes Mona Lisa known to the  world.

2. The software judges people's emotion by ________.

A. the features on their face

B. the smile on their face

C. the way they talk

D. the painting which has been painted

3. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage？

A. The  painter  of  Mona  Lisa  had  a mixed emotion of happiness， disgust， fear and anger while painting.

B. Leonardo  da  Vinci  worked  out  an emotion-recognition software with the help of scientists.

C. The name of Francesco del Giocon-do's wife could be Mona Lisa.

D. The painting Mona Lisa was painted     in the fifteenth century.

4. What is the best title of the passage？

A. Mona Lisa “Happy”， Computer Finds

B. Mona Lisa “Smile”， Mystifying Smile

C. Leonardo da Vinci， Painter of Mona Lisa

D. Computer Copies Mona Lisa Painting

（B）

（Words： 291; Time： 3.5'）

If you woke up this Monday feeling depressed and found that， from then on， things got worse， there may be an explanation. According to one psychologist's calculations， January 23 was the most depressing day of the year for the British.

Cliff Arnall， a psychologist at Cardiff University who worked out the formula （公式）， blamed a combination of debts， failed New Year's plans， the cold， grey weather and the length of time since Christmas. “For most people， there's a realization by the third week of January that spending on sales items needs to be stopped so that Christmas can be paid for，” he said.

Those employees who are paid at the end of the month have had a long wait to refill their pockets， he said. “Nearing pay day may seem like a positive， but it may also result in increased stress as the person realizes they won't be able to pay off their Christmas bills.”

“The last week in January and first week in February are traditionally the coldest times of the year.” The average amount of sunshine for January was only 43 hours—less than an hour and a half a day.

The Citizens Advice Bureau （公民咨詢局） and Samaritans （慈善机构撒马利坦会） both agreed that this was their busiest time of the year. Don Levene， a CAB spokesman， said： “People are getting their credit card bills and may have spent more than they can afford. Most people were paid a week early before Christmas which makes January particularly long money-wise.” Mike Cobb， of the Samaritans， said： “We get more calls from people feeling depressed or suicidal （自杀的） at this time of year. There is seasonal affective disorder because of the lack of sunlight， and people are returning to the worries that they put behind them at Christmas.”

5. Why do employees feel depressed when the pay day in January is coming？

A. Because January usually doesn't have  the pay day as a rule.

B. Because they'll have little left after paying off the Christmas debts.

C. Because the boss will always keep back the pay.

D. Because they'll have to wait another month to get paid.

6. Which of the following is not the cause for their being depressed？

A. Having to pay off the Christmas bills.

B. Failure in their plans.

C. A long period of time from next  Christmas.

D. Cold， grey weather.

7. What does the underlined word “money-wise” in the last paragraph mean？

A. In terms of money.

B. Spending money wisely.

C. Living without money.

D. In terms of wisdom.

8. The last paragraph mainly tells us ____ __.

A. the possible causes of people's feeling depressed

B. the bad effects of Christmas day on people's life

C. the unwise plans of the British

D. the reasons for bad weather in Britain