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C
Perhaps Van Gogh（1853-1890）isn’t the most famous artist in the world, but his personal story is probably the most well known. The paintings he created didn’t become famous until after he died. Last year marked the 125th anniversary of his death. An art exhibition was in Beijing till Dec. 6, in which more than 3,000 photos of the artist’s masterpieces were shown. However, the paintings that made him famous after his death did little for him when he was alive.
Van Gogh was born into a rich family in the Netherlands. He started his career working for an art dealer. But then he tried other things like teaching in England. He also tried to become a priest（牧师）, but failed the exams.
Finally, he found something else to believe in while he was living in a small mining town in Belgium—art. He returned to his childhood love of painting and drawing.
    He was an important and great artist in a generation that challenged the Impressionist style. Post-Impressionists, like Van Gogh, wanted to show the world as it felt to them, not always as it looked.
    Van Gogh used different forms and colors to make his art more abstract. The way he used colors was especially impressive. In Wheatfield with Crows（1890）, the colors are very intense（强烈的）. Corn is yellow, grass is green, and crows are black. But the colors are used in such a way that it looks better than a photograph.
Unfortunately, Van Gogh’s art wasn’t very popular while he was alive. He was poor and was thought to have mental problems, which led him to cut off his ear and eventually die by shooting himself. Arguably, it wasn’t the art that gave him mental problems. What made him so sad may have been the difficulty of working as an artist in a practical world.
28. What can we know about Van Gogh from the passage?
A. He was born into a rich family in the Netherlands 125 years ago.
    B. He was a teacher, a priest and a miner before he became an artist.
    C. He did not get much wealth or fame from his works before he died.
    D. He decided to be an artist when he discovered his love for painting.
29. According to the passage, Van Gogh impressed people deeply by ________.
    A. how he used colors in his paintings
    B. how he became famous for his paintings
    C. how he showed the world exactly as it looked
    D. how he began to love art while living in Belgium
30. What might have caused Van Gogh’s mental problems?
    A. The art of painting.                  B. The loss of one of his ears.
    C. Pressure from his family.             D. Not being accepted or recognized.
31. What can be the best title of this passage?
    A. Wheatfield with Crows              B. An Artist’s Sad Story
    C. Childhood of Van Gogh              D. An Art Exhibition of Van Gogh
D
    A dog might be man’s best friend, but my dogs are more like my kids! I think everyone should experience the unconditional love of a dog, but owning one is not for the nervousness. It’s work—especially when it comes to the job of cleaning up their waste. When you clean up after your dogs, your neighbors will love you for keeping those smelly landmines （地雷）out of their yards. But there are even bigger benefits. You’ll not only be doing your part to keep bacteria out of your yard and neighborhood, you’re also keeping harmful microorganisms （微生物）away from
the drinking water supply.
There are more than 77 million pet dogs in the United States and their waste is found in backyards, neighborhood parks, and the green areas that frequently line small waterways. When you don’t clean up after your dog, heavy rain can carry bacteria from the waste into drains（下水道）. Dog waste left in parks and other such places can be swept directly into nearby streams. This affects the quality of the water in our streams. These small channels often empty directly into our local drinking water supply or the water where we boat or fish.
    Dog waste contains harmful microorganisms like roundworms that can be passed onto humans. This is why dog waste should not be used as fertilizer （肥料）around your home. And it won’t fertilize your yard either if you leave it behind like other types of fertilizer. Dogs don’t eat the same kinds of natural material that cattle, horses or even elephants eat. The waste from those animals is actually beneficial for your yard and garden.
    You should always pick up after your dog and throw the waste into the trash can. Some smaller cities might prefer the waste to be washed down the toilet, but in cities where there are many dogs, it’s best to send the waste to the landfill（垃圾填埋场）.
    When you properly deal with your dog’s waste, you’ll be doing your part to keep harmful bacteria out of your yards, your neighborhoods and your drinking water.
32. What is the first paragraph mainly about?
A. The author’s dog is as lovely as a child.
    B. Dog waste can pollute the environment.
    C. Owning a dog is a troublesome experience.
    D. Dog waste is more harmful than landmines.
33. Which shows the right organization of the passage?
 
（P1 ＝ Paragraph 1; P2 ＝ Paragraph 2; P3 ＝ Paragraph 3; P4 ＝ Paragraph 4; P5 ＝ Paragraph 5）
34. Which of the following statements about dog waste is true?
    A. It makes a kind of natural fertilizer of high quality.
    B. The microorganisms in dog waste are helpful to water.
    C. It is better to wash dog waste down a toilet or bury it in a landfill.
    D. Dog waste is more beneficial to soil than other kinds of animal waste.
35. What is the main purpose of this passage?
A. To scold those who ignore their dog’s waste.
    B. To introduce ways of cleaning up dog waste. 高考英语模拟试题库  http://www.17xuexiba.com/yy/