阅读理解
Shortly after World War Ⅱ， a Dutch art dealer was arrested(逮捕) for secretly selling paintings by Vermeer (1632－1675) to the Nazis who invaded Holland during the war. Because Vermeer is considered to be one of Holland’s best painters, the dealer was charged with selling national treasures to the enemy. To avoid the punishment for this serious crime, he admitted that the paintings were forgeries(伪造品), or fakes—he had painted them himself and fooled the art world and the Nazis. Today, experts agree that the forgeries do not look like Vermeer’s other works. Why, then, did the art world accept the fakes as real?
One reason why they were accepted was that the forgeries actually looked different than Vermeer’s other works. The dealer had claimed(声称) that the forgeries were from an unknown period early in Vermeer’s art career. Because painters’ styles often change throughout their careers, art historians at the time did not expect the “new discoveries” to look exactly like the known works of Vermeer. In fact, because they did not look similar to the known works, experts did not bother to look at them carefully. This is because experts expect a forger to copy famous paintings as closely as possible. Once the art dealer’s first forgeries were accepted as real, he was free to make more. The others closely matched the first paintings in style, so they were also accepted as real Vermeer paintings from the same early period.
Another reason experts were fooled is what some historians call The Emperor’s New Clothes effect. In Hans Christian Andersen’s story, The Emperor’s New Clothes, two criminals convince an emperor that he is wearing beautiful clothes, when he is actually naked(赤裸的). No one in the empire wants to admit that they cannot see the clothes because they believe the clothes are magic and that only good people can see them. Similarly, the art world was influenced by a famous art historian, Wilhelm von Bode, who said the forgeries were some of Vermeer’s best works. Because von Bode was highly respected, other experts began praising the “new discoveries”．At the time, this made it difficult to criticize(批评) the paintings or suggest that they were fakes.
【解题导语】 本文是一篇记叙文。二战期间，荷兰画家Vermeer的“画作”被卖给纳粹党人，而被捕的画商却称这些画作是赝品，那么这些赝品是如何骗过了众多专家呢？
1．Why did the art dealer admit that he had forged paintings?
A．He wanted to anger the Nazis.
B．He felt bad about what he had done.
C．He wanted to escape heavy punishment.
D．He wanted to prove he was a good painter.
C 解析：细节理解题。由第一段中的To avoid the punishment for this serious crime, he admitted that the paintings were forgeries(伪造品)可知，那位画商承认那些画作是赝品，目的是为了逃避重罪的惩罚。
2．Why didn’t experts expect the forgeries to look like Vermeer’s known works?
A．Painters’ styles vary during their careers.
B．Painters often create forgeries to fool experts.
C．The experts didn’t carefully examine the paintings.
D．The paintings looked similar to Vermeer’s early works.
A 解析：细节理解题。由第二段中的Because painters’ styles often change throughout their careers, art historians at the time did not expect the “new discoveries” to look exactly like the known works of Vermeer.可知，因为画家的风格在其整个职业生涯中经常改变，所以艺术史学家那时并没有期望这些伪造的画作像Vermeer的知名画作。
3．Why was it hard to criticize the Vermeer forgeries after World WarⅡ？
A．Art experts praised them.
B．They were lost during the war.
C．Wilhelm von Bode painted them.
D．People believed they were magic.
A 解析：推理判断题。由最后一段中的Wilhelm von Bode, who said the forgeries were some of Vermeer’s best works. Because von Bode was highly respected, other experts began praising the “new discoveries”．可知，Wilhelm von Bode是一位受大家尊敬的艺术家，他曾评论这些赝品是Vermeer最好的作品，这使得其他专家也对这些伪造画作大加赞美。
4．What is the best title for the text?
A．The Nazi Invasion of Holland in World WarⅡ
B．The Paintings of Vermeer’s Early Period
C．How Wilhelm von Bode Influenced the Art World
D．How Some Forgeries Fooled the Art World
D 解析：标题归纳题。在二战期间，一位画商把Vermeer画作的赝品卖给纳粹党人，最后被逮捕并承认了这些画作是伪造画作，本文主要讲述了当时这些伪造画作是如何骗过了众多专家和艺术界的。
