Birthdays often involve surprises. But this year's surprise on the birthday of the great British playwright William Shakespeare is surely one of the most dramatic.
On April 22, one day before his 441st birthday anniversary, experts discovered that one of the most recognizable portraits of William Shakespeare is a fake. This means that we no longer have a good idea of what Shakespeare looked like. It's very possible that many pictures of Shakespeare might be unreliable because many of them are copies of this one, said an expert from Britain's National Portrait Gallery.
The discovery es after four months of testing using X-rays, ultraviolet light, microphotography and paint samples. The experts from the gallery say the image —monly known as the Flower portrait— was actually painted in the 1800s, about two centuries after Shakespeare's death. The art experts who work at the gallery say they also used modern chemistry technology to check the paint on the picture. These checks found traces of paint dating from about 1814. Shakespeare died in 1616, and the date that appears on the portrait is 1609.
We now think the portrait dates back to around 1818 to 1840. This was when there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare's plays, Tarnya Cooper, the gallery's curator (馆长), told the Associated President.
The fake picture has often been used as a cover for collections of his plays. It is called the Flower portrait because one of its owners, Desmond Flower, gave it to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
There have always been questions about the painting, said David Howells, curator for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Now we know the truth, we can put the image in its proper place in the history of Shakespearean portraiture.
Two other images of Shakespeare, are also being studied as part of the investigation (调查) and the results will e out later this month.
【小题1】What makes the birthday of Shakespeare dramatic this year?A．It was found that he painted a portrait in 1814 instead of in 1609.B．The Flower portrait has been found to be a fake.C．Three portraits of Shakespeare are being tested to identify a real one.D．It was found that there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare's plays around 1818 to 1840.【小题2】Which statement is True according to the passage?A．Portraits of Shakespeare are all unreliable.B．Flower portrait was a portrait of Shakespeare given to Desmond Flower.C．1814 might be when the portrait was drawn.D．The Flower portrait is not often used as a cover for Shakespeare's play.【小题3】How many methods were used to test the portrait?A．Not mentioned.B．TwoC．ThreeD．At least four.【小题4】The best title for this passage is .A．Birthdays often involve surprises B．The surprise on the 441st birthday of ShakespeareC．One portrait of Shakespeare is a fakeD．How can we know Shakespeare's appearance?【小题5】Which is the best sentence to fill in the blank in the last paragraph?A．Soon we'll know which portrait is reliable.B．Maybe we cannot find a real portrait of Shakespeare.C．If the two portraits are found to be false, they will test more.D．For now what Shakespeare really looked like will remain a mystery.B
网友回答
(答案→)B
解析：文章讲述了在莎士比亚的第441个周年纪念日中，专家们发现最具认可度的莎士比亚画像原来是假的，并讲述了理由及至少四种测量的方法。现如今，莎士比亚到底什么样子仍然是一个谜。
【小题1】细节题。从第以自然最后一句及第二自然段中experts discovered that one of the most recognizable portraits of William Shakespeare is a fake.可知使莎士比亚的周年纪念日戏剧性的是他的画像是假的。故选B
【小题2】细节判断题。由第二段最后一句，莎士比亚的许多画像都是仿照这一副画的，所以有可能都是假的，而并非一定是假的，排除A。第五段第二句，因为他的所有者Desmond Flower 把它送给了皇家莎士比亚公司，所以被称为the Flower Portrait .排除B。由第三段倒数第二句，可知C正确。从第五自然段第一句可知，正好与D相反，这幅画常常作为莎士比亚话剧集的封面。
【小题3】细节题。从第三段The discovery es after four months of testing using X-rays, ultraviolet light, microphotography and paint samples.可知至少有四种方法来检测这个画像。故选D
【小题4】主旨题。文章主要是提到了在莎士比亚第441个周年纪念日时，公布他的画像是假的，以此让很多都感到很惊讶，故选B
【小题5】推断题。最后一段另外的两幅他的画像也正在进行检查，结果要到这个月底才能揭晓，所以可知，到现在为止莎士比亚到底是什么样子仍然是个谜，故选D最符合。