任何东西都可能破坏艺术品。烟雾会腐蚀宝石和金属，昆虫能够蚕食木头，湿气导致木头和画布膨胀、萎缩以致最后腐烂。对画展而言，艺术品从英格兰空运到罗马。在航运过程中，画布萎缩得很严重以至于颜料松散并开始剥落。到罗马把箱子打开后，只剩半幅作品，以及一堆细小的油彩碎片。
阿巴尼博士回忆说，“这幅作品很快被送到我们这里，看上去没有任何希望了，但我们每次都不放弃。经过几个月耐心、细致的工作后，作品中的每一片都被重新放回，粘在一个新画布上。修复做得如此之好，甚至看不出曾被破坏过。”
当作品被送到艺术品医院，它就会进入一个具有科学流程的实验室，在那里对其拍摄红外线和紫外线照片。这些照片可以使人们透过上面一层薄薄的油彩来判断这幅作品以前是否被修复或是被重绘过。新的油彩相对于旧油彩而言是一些比较明显的暗点。如果看上去表面下似乎还有一个不同的画面，这幅作品最终会用X射线修复。
画在木板上的作品接下来会被送到一个很大的房间。屋门关的严严实实。大约24个小时，一种致命的气体渗入木板中的所有裂隙来杀死蛀虫及虫卵。画布损坏的作品被送到一个可以装裱新画布的房间。最后修复人员都会让这些作品获得崭新的生命。
三
［A］Some volcanoes have stopped throwing out hot rock； but they still smoke a little now and then。 They are “sleeping”volcanoes。 Sometime they may “wake up”。 A volcano named Vesuvius slept for a thousand years。 But it woke up and threw out so much hot melted rock that it buried the buildings of two cities。
［B］There are different kinds of volcanoes。 Some explode so violently that the rock goes high into the air and falls miles away。 A volcano may shoot out ashes so high that they float all the way around the world。 They have made the sunsets green and the snow purple。
［C］A new volcano was being born。 The volcano in the cornfield grew until it was bigger than the cornfield！ Black smoke puffed out。 Hot ashes fell like black snowflakes。 Hot rock and fire and lava shot out。People called the volcano the Little Monster because it grew so fast。 Scientists came from all over the world to study it and watch it grow。 It is not often that people get a chance to watch a volcano from the very beginning。 Most of the volcanoes have been here for a very long time。 Some have been here so long that now they are cold。 They are called dead volcanoes。 They have stopped throwing out fire and melted rock and smoke。 It is safe to walk on them。 Farms are plowed on the quiet slopes； and people have built houses there。
［D］People used to think dragons under the earth caused volcanoes。 They said the smoke that puffed above the ground was the dragon’s breath。 They said the earthquakes were caused by the dragon’s moving around down in the earth。 Now we know that this is not true。
［F］Another thing we know about volcanoes is that they don’t happen just anywhere。 There are certain places under the earth where the rock is broken in a way that lets the steam and hot rock escape to the outside more easily。 Scientists know where these places are； and maps have been made to let everybody know。
［G］Today volcanoes are not so dangerous for people as they were a long time ago。 Now we know more about why volcanoes do what they do； and we can usually tell when they are going to do it 。 Before a sleeping volcano wakes up； it usually makes a noise like faraway thunder； and the ground shakes in small earthquakes。 People are warned and have time to get away safely。
［E］Other volcanoes are more gentle。 The hot lava rises in their cones and overflows； rolling slowly down the mountainside； where it bees cool and hard。
One very tall volcano stays fiery red at the top all the time。 It is lucky that the volcano is near the ocean。 Sailors can use it for a lighthouse。
答案及解析
1。 A。 此处应结合前文来分析。上一段讲述火山类型，并介绍了其中之一的“dead volcanoes”（死火山），下一段很自然就会联想到应再介绍另一种类型的火山即“sleeping volcanoes”同时此段“Some volcano have……”与上一段“Some have been here so long”相呼应，也是选择此段的依据之一。
2。 G。选择此段时也应结合前几段来理解，文章开头介绍火山萌发了，并说人们把火山称为“Little Monster”，以显示人们，对其有恐惧心理紧接着此段话锋一转，讲述火山不再让人类感到那么恐惧，因为已经可以预知它的发生了，本段中“as they were a long time ago”也与前文中“for a very long time”形成对应。
3。 D。前段从声音、地面振动等情况描述了火山苏醒时的情景，提到人们“know more about why…they do”，本段则承接上段讲述了古时候人们对火山爆发的看法。
4。 F。 对应上段“Now we know”，本段中的“Another thing we know”是很好的选择提示。
5。 B。 根据最后一段中“It is lucky that…”可看出火山爆发的危险性还是让人害怕，因此可联想到具体描述火山爆发时的情景的画面，因此此段为最佳选择。
中心思想
本文从火山喷发的过程。火山的种类、以及目前人类对火山的了解等诸多方面，较为详尽地向我们展示了火山这一奇妙的自然景观。
译文
新的火山正在形成。麦田下的火山会慢慢长到比麦田还大！黑烟从火山口喷出，炙热的火山灰如同黑色雪花一样从空中徐徐飘落，火红的岩石、熊熊烈焰、炽热的岩浆也从火山中喷射而出。火山成长得很快，因此人们称其为小怪兽。来自世界各地的科学家齐聚一堂来研究它并观察它的成长。观察火山成长过程的机会千载难逢。该地的大部分火山已存在了很长时间。一些已慢慢冷却，此类火山即为死火山。死火山已不再喷出烈火、岩浆、黑烟，行走其上也没有危险。人们在宁静的山坡上开垦了农场，构筑了房屋。
有些火山虽然已不喷射岩浆，但仍会时不时地冒点烟。此类火山称之为休眠火山，休眠火山有时会突然“醒来”。维苏威火山在沉睡千年之后突然爆发，它喷出的岩浆埋葬了两座城市。
今日之火山已不如很久以前那么危险。如今，人类已知晓火山的机理，并且可以预测火山何时会爆发。因为，活火山在爆发之前，通常会发出类似来自远方的雷鸣声，同时还伴有轻微的地震。有此警示，火山周遭的居民就可安全疏散。
过去人们曾认为火山起源于深藏地底的恶龙，并且认为火山喷出的烟气是由恶龙呼出的，人们还认为地震是因为恶龙在地底行走造成的。现在，我们知道这些说法不过是无稽之谈。
另一已知之事是，火山不会随地都可爆发。某些地方的深层地底处的岩层已被破坏；因此，地底深处的岩浆就可轻易地从此处喷出地表。科学家知道这些地方在哪，并且已经将其绘制成图以便让所有人都能知道。
火山的种类繁多。有些火山喷出的岩浆可落在距火山数英里远的地方。有的火山可喷出弥漫全球的烟尘，这将使得落日变成绿色，天空也会飘起紫色的雪。
另一些火山则会温和许多。它们喷出的岩浆只能到达火山口，然后顺延山坡缓缓流下，最终慢慢变冷变硬。
一座海拔很高的火山，其顶部通常都呈现出极为亮丽的红色。若在沿海地区有座此类火山，那它不就是海员的灯塔吗？这岂不妙哉！
四
If the 20th century has been the American century； then there are plenty of people saying watch this space： the twentyfirst century will be different。 The distinguishing characteristic of the postcoldwar world is that there is only one superpower。 And there’s only one candidate on the horizon to challenge the US — China。
［A］Africa； I fear； is going to remain a disaster area ；simply because it does not figure on people’s mental maps。 Currently there is war raging in six countries around the Congo； yet there’s very little sense the international munity will do anything about it。 There is； though； some good news。 If you look back a year ago to Algeria； it was drowning in its own flood。 Now it seems to be back on the right track。
［B］Europe is already the largest trading block in the world； but while the euro could help it bee an economic giant； and even challenge the dollar； it looks likely to remain a political and military pygmy。 It’s worth remembering that while Europe spends 60 percent of what the USA does in defence； it has only 10 per cent of the Americans’ firepower。
［C］I do think arms control will be a big item on the agenda in future。 For many years the nonproliferation regime actually worked surprisingly well； but India and Pakistan going nuclear has been a great blow to the status quo。 And now there are new biological and chemical weapons—undreamedof horrors—not to mention the whole legacy of the cold war which hasn’t been cleaned up； such as Russian nuclear waste in the Arctic。
［D］The military muscleflexing we have seen from China over the last few years could be an indication of how things are likely to go； although it has to be said that to many people’s surprise the Chinese have been quite constructive over East Timor。 But I think we must assume that the main struggle in the 21st century will be with China； already the world’s largest nation。 Happily； the Chinese seem to have no global pretensions。 One can’t see them interfering in some fardistant conflict； and in both military and economic terms they are still light years behind America。
［E］The fundamental problem is that there are countries that are simply being left behind by the onward march of globalisation。 Global issues such as the environment and drugs—and perhaps even human rights — are going to e much more to the fore。 As the world shrinks； so we shall have an increasing sense of the need for an international humanitarian order。 Globalisation may be a good thing； but it has a dark underbelly。
［F］We must also assume the continued decline of Russia。 It shows how far things have gone （and how quickly） when what was once the second most powerful country in the world is being battered by Islamic rebels from the Caucasus。 Now we have a Russian state which simply cannot cope。
［G］In the Middle East； in a relatively short space of time； bubbling conflicts have moved closer to resolution。 The ArabIsraeli dispute has been reduced to its core essentials； while agreement between Syria and Israel remains the strategic prize for peace。 Iran is undergoing a slow transformation but the outstanding political issue here is Iraq and Saddam Hussein’s extraordinary survival。 The international munity remains bitterly divided about what to do。
答案及解析
1。 F。 通过粗略阅读全文内容，我们可以基本判断是在评价冷战后，除美国之外影响世界的各种不同的力量，从上一段对中国的介绍来看，“in both military and economic terms they are still light years behind America。”按照逻辑顺序来说接下来的自然应是另一个对世界影响很大的力量，可能的有俄罗斯和欧洲，而从对欧洲的叙述来看，它缺乏军事方面的优势并且是后起的力量，同时，俄罗斯虽然经济发展落后了，但它毕竟是冷战后对世界影响巨大的力量，从基本叙述思路来看，应选俄罗斯。
2。 B。在确立了第三段为对