题文
阅读理解。 ROME: The legend of Leonardo da Vinci is covered in mystery: How did he die? Are the remainsburied in a French castle really those of the master? Was the "Mona Lisa" a self-portrait in disguise (伪装)?
A group of Italian scientists believe the key to solving those puzzles lies with the remains, and they say
they are seeking permission to dig up the body to conduct carbon and DNA testing.
If the skull is undamaged, the scientists can go to the heart of a question that has fascinated scholars
and the public for centuries: the identity of the "Mona Lisa." Recreating a virtual and then physical
reconstruction of Leonardo's face, they can compare it with the smiling face in the painting.
"We don't know what we'll find if the tomb is opened. We could even just find grains and dust," says
Giorgio Gruppioni, an anthropologist who is participating in the project. "But if the remains are well kept,
they are a biological record of events in a person's life, and sometimes in their death." Silvano Vinceti, the
leader of the group, said that he plans to press his case with the French officials in charge of the said
burial site at Amboise Castle early next week.
Leonardo moved to France at the invitation of King Francis I, who named him "first painter to the
king." He spent the last three years of his life there, and died in 1519 at age 67. The artist's original burial
place, the palace church of Saint Florentine, was destroyed during the French Revolution and remains
that are believed to be his were eventually reburied in the Saint-Hubert Chapel near the castle.
"The Amboise tomb is a symbolic tomb; it's a big question mark," said Alessandro Vezzosi, the
director of a museum dedicated to Leonardo in his hometown of Vinci. Vezzosi said that investigating the
tomb could help identify the artist's bones with certainty and solve other questions, such as the cause of
his death. He said he asked to open the tomb in 2004 to study the remains, but the Amboise Castle
turned him down.
The group of 100 experts involved in the project, called the National Committee for Historical and
Artistic Heritage, was created in 2003 with the aim of "solving the great mysteries of the past," said
Vinceti, who has written books on art and literature.
Arguably the world's most famous painting, the "Mona Lisa" hangs in the Louvre in Paris, where it
drew some 8.5 million visitors last year. Mystery has surrounded the identity of the painting's subject for
centuries, with opinions ranging from the wife of a Florentine merchant to Leonardo's own mother.
That Leonardo intended the "Mona Lisa" as a self-portrait in disguise is a possibility that has interested and divided scholars. Theories have existed: Some think that Leonardo's taste for tricks and riddles might
have led him to hide his own identity behind that puzzling smile; others have guessed that the painting hid
an androgynous lover.
If granted access to the grave site, the Italian experts plan to use a tiny camera and radar to confirm
the presence of bones. The scientists would then exhume (挖掘) the remains and attempt to date the
bones with carbon testing.
At the heart of the proposed study is the effort to discover whether the remains are actually
Leonardo's, including with DNA testing.
Vezzosi questions the DNA comparison, saying he is unaware of any direct descendants (后代) of
Leonardo or of tombs that could be attributed with certainty to the artist's close relatives.
Gruppioni said that DNA from the bones could also eventually be compared to DNA found elsewhere. For example, Leonardo is thought to have rubbed colors on the canvas with his thumb, possibly using
saliva (唾液), meaning DNA might be found on his paintings.
Even in the absence of DNA testing, other tests could provide useful information, including whether
the bones belonged to a man or a woman, and whether the person died young or old.
Even within the committee, experts are divided over the identity of the "Mona Lisa."
Vinceti believes that a tradition of considering the self-portrait to be not just a faithful imitation of one's
features but a representation of one's spiritual identity may have resonated (共鸣) with Leonardo.
Vezzosi, the museum director, dismissed as "baseless and senseless" the idea that the "Mona Lisa"
could be a self-portrait of Leonardo. He said most researchers believe the woman may have been either
a wife of the artist's sponsor, the Florentine nobleman Giuliano de Medici, or Lisa Gherardini, the wife of
a rich silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. The traditional view is that the name "Mona Lisa" comes
from the silk merchant's wife, as well as its Italian name: "La Gioconda." 1. Why does the author ask a couple of questions in the beginning?A. To arouse the interest of readers
B. To puzzle Italian scientists
C. To answer the questions himself
D. To make fun of French officials2. The best title of this story might be "_____"A. What Is the Purpose of an Investigation?
B. How Did Leonardo da Vinci Die in France?
C. Are the Remains Really Those of the Master?
D. Did Leonardo Paint Himself as 'Mona Lisa'?3. The sentence "he plans to press his case with the French officials" (underlined in Paragraph 4)
suggests that Vinceti intends to _____A. press the French officials to participate in their project
B. urge the French officials to open the tomb early next week
C. persuade the French officials to allow opening the tomb
D. record events in a person's life with the French officials4. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?A. Scholars have the same opinion on DNA testing
B. Scientists doubt if the remains are those of da Vinci
C. The identity of "Mona Lisa" has already been proved
D. Alessandro Vezzosi got permission to open the tomb5. We can infer from the last two paragraphs that _____?A. "Mona Lisa" is the name of the wife of a silk merchant
B. the "Mona Lisa" is a self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci
C. experts divided the committee into several groups
D. opinions differ of the identity of the "Mona Lisa" 题型：未知难度：其他题型
答案
1-5: ADCBD解析
该题暂无解析
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“阅读理解。 ROME.....”主要考查你对 [历史文化类阅读 ]考点的理解。历史文化类阅读
什么是历史文化类阅读：
本类题型常用的方式是夹叙夹议。叙述的目的是为了议，所以要把握其议才是主要方面。阅读这类文章，先弄清其引入的话题，再弄清里面人物对其不同的看法，然后理解作者本身对话题的观点看法或思考。
历史文化类阅读技巧：
【题型说明】历史文化类阅读理解文章属高考常选材料之一。这类文章常涉及历史、文化、法制、宗教等方面的文学艺术、发明创造、文化遗产保护、宗教与文化、风俗与习惯、道德与法制、中外文学名著节选、等等。这类材料的命题点往往落在主旨大意题、事实细节题上。
【答题方法】在做这类阅读理解题时，我们应注意以下几个方面：
1、采用先题后文：先读题目，再带着问题读文章。这类阅读理解文章相对来说事实细节题稍多一点，如果带着问题读文章，有利于我们抓细节。
2、先做细节题。因为做完了局部性的事实细节题后，自然会加深我们对文章的理解，这样更有利于做主旨大意题。
3、重点敲定主旨题。主旨大意题提问的形式主要有两大类：一类是Main idea型；一类是Topic或Title型。
在解答这类试题时应注意以下几点：
a．读首句抓大意。
文化教育类阅读理解文章多采用说明文、议论文体裁，而这类文章大都采用文章段落的中心，即主题句在文章开头。因此，要寻找这类文章的主旨大意就需要研究文章的首句。
b．读尾句抓大意。
有时这类文章的主题句安排在文章的结尾，作为对全篇的总结。
c．读首段抓大意。
有些文章或段落的开头和结尾部分都有主题句。这种结构是为了突出主题思想而使用两次点题的写作方法。这两个主题句在句子结构和用词上有所不同，而且在内容上前句和后句也不重复。
d．从段落中抓大意。
有些文章或段落的主题句在文章中，这种文章或段落往往以一句话或几句话引出要表达的主题，在主题句出现后，再举例子陈述细节或继续论证。
e．归纳要点抓大意。
有些文章或段落无明显的主题句，只是暗示性地体现主题。这就要求同学们在阅读过程中根据文中所叙述的事实或线索来概括总结主旨大意。
