Rembrandt was an extraordinary Dutch painter. He was most well-known for his brushwork and the way in which he connected with the human soul. His life, however, was not happy.

　 He was born on July 15, 1606 in Leiden, the Netherlands. His father wanted him to have a real, learned profession but Rembrandt left the University of Leiden after becoming bored. He began studying art under a local teacher but soon left and studied in Amsterdam where he mastered all his lessons in six months!

At the age of 22, he moved back to Leiden and began to get his own students. One of his students was the famous artist Gerrit Dou. In 1631 he returned to Amsterdam where he became the most popular portrait painter in Holland. Rembrandt met Saskia and married her in 1634. She was a cousin of a very successful art dealer and she helped him to meet wealthy people who commissioned (委任制作) many paintings from him. He used her as a model in many of his paintings.

　 Rembrandt’s private life, however, was very unfortunate. He had four children with Saskia but only one, Titus, survived. Saskia died in 1642 at the age of only 30. In 1649, his housekeeper became his second wife and was also a model for many of his paintings. Even though Rembrandt was very successful as an artist, art dealer and teacher, he lived in a careless way and had to declare bankruptcy (破產(chǎn)) in 1656. He even had to sell his whole art collection and his house to pay off his debts.

His unfortunate life, however, didn’t affect his art. He painted many great paintings during that time. His new love, Hendrickje, died in 1663 and his 27-year-old son, Titus, died in 1668. Eleven months later, on October 4, 1669, Rembrandt died in Amsterdam. He produced more than 600 paintings and over 2,000 drawings!

56. Which of the following is the reason that made his business fail?

A. As an extraordinary Dutch painter, he knew nothing about business.

B. He spent most of his time on art, leaving no time to care his business.

C. All his children but Titus died, which made him very sad.

D. Like other famous artists, he was thoughtless.

57. From the passage we learn that Rembrandt 　　　　.

A. graduated from the University of Leiden.　 B. began his teaching career in 1628.

C. married Saskia when he was 22 years old.　 D. was good at drawing animals and flowers.

58. How many members of Rembrandt’s family died before him, not including his parents?

A. Four 　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Five 　　　　　　　 C. Six 　　　　　　　 D. Seven

59. What’s the best title for this passage?

A. A brief biography of Rembrandt 　　　　　　 B. A great Dutch painter

C. The greatest painter in the world 　　　　　　 D. Rembrandt’s unhappy family

閱讀理解

　　Bright comets(彗星) are a rare(罕見的)and beautiful sight. Though we think of them as members of the sun’s family, many comets go far beyond the orbits of the planets. As a rule they return once in a while to travel around the sun

　　A comet seems to be composed of gas, dust and ice. There is a great deal of solid, frozen material. As the mass gets near the sun, the outer frozen parts begin to melt(融化), and more gases form. The pressure of the sun’s radiation(放射) drives the dust and gases outwards in a long, streaming“tail”, perhaps several tails. For this reason the tail always points away from the sun. And when the comet moves farther from the radiation, the tail gets smaller and at last disappears.

　　We owe (把……歸于)our knowledge chiefly to Sir Edmond Harley(1656－1742). He saw a very beautiful one in 1682, and it led him to study comets and their orbits.

　　Then he said,“The comet of 1682 was the same one that appeared in 1531 and again in 1607. It will return in 1758 or 1759.”

　　Harley died in 1742, but people waited and watched…And sure enough, Harley’s Comet arrived, big and bright, early in 1759. The comet was named:“Comet Harley”and it comes about every 75 years.

　　Last time it returned in 1986 and was watched by hundreds of millions of people. If you were one of them, I hope you will be lucky enough to watch it again next time it appears.

1．In what way are comets different from planets?

[　　]

A．They don’t travel round the sun.

B．They are not members of the sun’s family.

C．They are nearer to the sun than planets.

D．They go far beyond the sun than planets.

2．What is the long tail of the comet composed of (由……組成)?

[　　]

A．Gas, dust and ice.

B．Radiation of the sun.

C．Solid, frozen material.

D．Dust and gases.

3．

The reason why the tail of a comet always points away from the sun is that ________.

[　　]

A．it is getting nearer to the sun

B．the dust and gases are driven outward by the pressure

C．its outer frozen parts begin to melt

D．it is moving round the sun

4．Which of the following is right?

[　　]

A．Sure enough, Harley saw the comet arrive early in 1759.

B．Harley’s Comet returned in 1758 as Harley had expected.

C．Seventeen years after Harley’ death the comet returned.

D．We’ll see Comet Harley again in 75 years.

5．When will Comet Harley return next time?

[　　]