Many famous painters worked in Antwerp during the city’s period of greatest power but Peter Paul Rubens is undoubtedly the most famous one of them. Known as Rubens House, the palace-like residence(大宅) and studio where Rubens worked and lived from 1616 until his death in 1640 is now one of Antwerp’s most visited museums.
Almost all of the works Rubens and his students created in the Rubens House have been dispersed (分散) over major museums across the whole world, but there is still an impressive collection well worth the visit. Besides paintings form the master himself you will find other works of art and furniture of the 17th century as well as paintings from his students, including works by Jacob Jordaens and Anthony Van Dyck.
The Rubens House was not only a studio but also a meeting place for the rich and famous. His clients(委托人) included wealthy merchants, diplomats, and there were also many noblemen who often visited his studio to see how work progressed. The Rubens House even had a special viewing area which allowed visitors to see the artists at work.
Ruben bought the house at the beginning of the 17th century after his eight-year-long stay in Italy. Influenced by Italian architecture, he rebuilt the building into an Italian-styled palace with a beautiful garden and moved in the house in1616.
After his death the building was sold. New owners modified the building greatly and by 1937, when the building was purchased by the city of Antwerp, it hardly resembled the original structure.
The impressive entrance hall, which connected the studio and the residence, is one of the few parts that survived. Other parts have been carefully restored and reconstructed after original plans and paintings of the house.
【小題1】As a museum, the Rubens House is popular because _______.

第二節(jié)完形填空(共20小題，每題1分，共20分)
閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從41-60各題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。
In the doorway of my home, I looked closely at my 23-year-old son, Daniel. In a few hours he would be flying to France to     41    a different life. It was a transitional（過(guò)渡的）time in Daniel's life. I wanted to     42    him some words of significance. But nothing came from my lips, and this was not the     43     time I had let such moments pass.
When Daniel was five, I took him to the bus stop on his first day of kindergarten. He asked, “What is it going to be like, Dad? Can I do it?” Then he walked     44     the steps of the bus and disappeared inside. The bus drove away and I said nothing. A decade later, a similar     45      played itself out. I drove him to college. As I started to leave, I tried to think of something to say to give him     46     and confidence as he started this new stage of life. Again, words     47     me.
Now, as I stood before him, I thought of those     48    opportunities. How many times have I let such moments     49    ? I don't find a quiet moment to tell him what they have     50     to me. Or what he might     51     to face in the years ahead. Maybe I thought it was not necessary to say anything.
What does it matter in the course of a lifetime if a father never tells a son what he really thinks of him?     52     as I stood before Daniel, I knew that it did matter. My father and I loved each other. Yet, I always     53    never hearing him put his    54     into words. Now I could feel my palms sweat and my throat tighten. Why is it so    55   to tell a son something from the heart?
My mouth turned dry, and I knew I would be able to get out only a few words clearly. “Daniel,” I said, “If I could have picked, I would have picked you.” That's all I could say. He hugged me. For a moment, the world    56    , and there were just Daniel and me. He was saying something, but tears misted my eyes, and I couldn't understand what he was saying. All I was    57     of was the stubble（短須）on his chin as his face pressed    58   mine. What I had said to Daniel was    59   . It was nothing. And yet, it was   60    .
41. A. experience             B. spend              C. enjoy              D. shape
42. A. show               B. give               C. leave              D. instruct
43. A. last                 B. first               C. very              D. next
44. A. upward             B. into               C. down             D. up
45. A. sign                        B. scene              C. scenery             D. sight
46. A. interest                 B. instruction          C. courage           D. direction
47. A. failed               B. discouraged         C. struck             D. troubled
48. A. future               B. embarrassing        C. obvious           D. lost
49. A. last                 B. pass               C. fly               D. remain
50. A. counted             B. meant              C. valued            D. eared
51. A. think               B. want               C. expect             D. wish
52. A. But                B. And                C. Instead            D. So
53. A. wondered            B. regretted                  C. minded           D. tried
54. A. views              B. actions             C. feelings            D. attitudes
55. A. important            B. essential            C. hard               D. complex
56. A. disappeared          B. changed            C. progressed          D. advanced
57. A. sensitive             B. convinced          C. aware             D. tired
58. A. by                 B. against             C. on                D. with
59. A. clumsy             B. gentle             C. absurd             D. moving
60. A. none               B. all                C. anything           D. Everything

完形填空

The Brick

　　About ten years ago, a young and very successful manager named Josh was travelling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit fast in his 1 car.

　　He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars. 2 his car passed, no child rushed out, but a brick did and WHUMP! It 3 his shiny black side door! Josh 4 out of his car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up 5 a parked car. He shouted at the kid,“ 6 was that all about and who are you? Just what are you doing?”He went on with 7 “That's my new Jaguar, that brick you threw is going to cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?”

　　“Please, mister, please…I'm 8 ! I didn't know what else to do!” 9 the youngster.“I threw the brick 10 no one else would stop!”Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he 11 around the parked car.“It's my brother, mister,”he said.“He rolled 12 the sidewalk and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't 13 him up.”Sobbing, the boy asked the manager,“Would you please help me get him 14 into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me.”

15　　 beyond words, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief 16 wiped the cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then 17 the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.

　　It was a long and slow walk back to his expensive car. Josh 18 did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the damage to 19 him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Pay 20 to the bricks of life coming at to you.

Nicola’s Love for Her Violin

     Can love between partners with a 237-year age gap (差距) lead to the perfect match (絕配)? Nicola Benedetti thinks so. The 18-year-old   36   and her “partner, a 255-year-old Italian violin,   37   to China for the first time last weekend. She   38   in Beijing on September 15 and also performed in Hangzhou and Shanghai.

     Nicola is from Scotland and   39   playing the violin when she was four years old.   40  , it was not something her parents   41   her do. She went with her sister to violin lessons and   42   it and improved very quickly.

     “There are so many different things I am fond of about the   43  ,” she said. “I can’t really   44   it but I love giving live performances, I like the feeling of playing and communicating with the   45  . I love the feeling of the violin under my chin (下巴).”

     However, playing violin six hours a day is not a/an   46   job. “I usually   47   in an upstairs bedroom when I’m at home.” she said. “But sometimes, when it’s   48   outside, it can be upset. The house is right on the   49   and I can see others having fun   50   I’m on my own.”[來(lái)源:學(xué)_科_網(wǎng)]

     Although practising is sometimes lonely, Nicola   51   felt she was lucky. “You can’t have    52  . I am really lucky to do what I love doing,” she said. Her   53   paid off (終有回報(bào)). Nicola won BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2004 at 16.

       54   her performing and recording activities, Nicola is a/an   55  of UNICEF (聯(lián)合國(guó)兒童基金會(huì)). She said that she would travel to Lesotho in southern Africa at the end of this year to help poor kids there.

1.A. singer                  B. writer                   C. pianist                D. violinist

2.A. came                 B. turned                     C. ran                              D. moved

3.A. checked                        B. played                           C. visited                   D. remained

4.A. stopped                                B. requested                      C. started                          D. ignored

5.A. So                                      B. And                                C. But                                   D. However

6.A. made                             B. persuaded                    C. wanted                          D. got

7.A. noticed                     B. concerned                     C. minded                    D. loved

8.A. lessons                 B. violin                   C. performances              D. show

9.A. explain              B. imagine               C. determine                 D. refuse

10.A. foreigners                        B. friends                       C. audience                       D. teenagers

11.A. boring                             B. easy                     C. wonderful                 D. tiring

12.A. work           B. rest              C. stay                               D. practise

13.A. cool                        B. sunny                   C. windy                 D. cloudy

14.A. river                      B. hill                              C. farm                                 D. beach

15.A. while                           B. as                     C. so                               D. for

16.A. even                         B. still                C. ever                       D. almost

17.A. anything                      B. something              C. everything                    D. nothing

18.A. time                    B. music                C. efforts                            D. action

19.A. Because of              B. Besides                C. Instead of                 D. Thanks to

20.A. adviser                         B. manager                 C. organizer                      D. supporter