单选题
It is a treasure hunt with a difference: conducted not with metal detectors, but by negotiation. Italy is at last reaping the benefits of a two-year campaign to regain smuggled antiquities. Five American museums have been talked into returning works that they claim to have acquired in good faith. Almost 70 of the finest are now on display in Rome—and they have just been joined by the only known intact work by Euphronios, an Athenian vase-painter.
New ground is also being broken with the return of nine items from the private collection of a New York philanthropist, Shelby White. This is the first pact negotiated with an individual. Francesco Rutelli, the culture minister, met Ms White twice in America before the deal was done. She has always maintained that she and her late husband had no idea that the pieces were suspect. A tenth item from their collection, also by Euphronios, is being sent back to Italy in 2010. Under Italian law, any classical artefacts found on Italian soil belong to the state, even if (like Euphronios" vases) they originated in Greece. A former head of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and an American art dealer have been on trial for almost three years in Rome, charged with trafficking in illegally excavated objects. Both deny wrongdoing. Their charge was followed by a deal that officials say is crucial for efforts to curb the traffic in smuggled antiquities. Switzerland has undertaken to require importers of classical artifacts to produce proofs of origin and of legal export.
The deals with the museums have all involved give-and-take. In exchange for works claimed by Italy, the museums have been given others on long-term loan. "Italian lovers of art and archaeology will get back what has been stolen, while others abroad will profit from the exhibition of sometimes even more beautiful works," says Mr Rutelli.
The deal with the Getty museum was the hardest to do but also the most productive. 40 of the works on show in Rome come from there. But they do not include the "Getty bronze", which the Italians had hoped to retrieve. This third-century BC statue, attributed to Lysippos, Greek sculptor, was caught by Italian fishermen in 1964. The Getty insists that it was found in international waters. The Italians say it was still illegally exported.
单选题
Paragraph 1 mainly focus on Italy"s ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查概括归纳能力。根据第一段第二句话“Italy is at last reaping the benefits of a two-year campaign to regain smuggled antiquities.”可知A选项符合题意。
单选题
What can be learned about Euphronios?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查推理能力。根据文中第一段最后一句话“Almost 70 of the finest are now on display in Rome—and they have just been joined by the only known intact work by Euphronios,an Athenian vase-painter.”可知,C项符合题意。
单选题
Ms. White insisted that she got the Italian items ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是细节题。根据文中第二段第四句话“She has always maintained that she and her late husband had no idea that the pieces were suspect.”可知,她一直声称她及她已故丈夫不知道物品是有违法嫌疑的。由此可知,D项符合题意。
单选题
The trial of the two Americans in Italy helped to push some countries to ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查推断能力。根据第二段最后一句话“Switzerland has undertaken to require importers of classical artifacts to produce proofs of origin and of legal export.”可知,瑞士已经开始要求古典人工制品的进口商提供产地证书和合法出口证明。由此可知,A项符合题意。
单选题
To reclaim its treasures from foreign museums, Italy has chosen to ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是推理题。根据文中第三段前两句话可知,B选项符合题意。
单选题
What is true about "Getty bronze" according to the passage?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是细节题。根据文中最后一段倒数第三句话“This third-century BC statue,attributed to Lysippos,Greek sculptor was caught by Italian fishermen in 1964.”可知,这尊公元前三世纪的雕塑出自希腊雕刻家Lysippos之手,在1964年被意大利渔民发现了。由此可知,B选项符合题意。
单选题
The best title for this passage might be ______.