A　[细节理解题。根据第一段可知，13世纪后半期，美术发生了很大的变化，从中世纪美术向文艺复兴美术转变。由此可判断出在13世纪前半期，中世纪美术为主流。故选A。]

　　2．What does the author mean by saying "Giotto is the first name in European painting since antiquity" in Paragraph 2?

　　A．Giotto is the artist's first name.

　　B．Giotto is the man who started European painting.

　　C．Giotto is the most important painter in Europe since antiquity.

　　D．Giotto is the name of a most famous European painting.

　　C　[句意理解题。从第二段看出，本段讲述这位艺术家的巨大成就，题目中的这句话正好支持这段的主题。所以这句话就是为了表明他在绘画界的地位。故选C。]

　　3．From the third paragraph we can learn ．

　　A．Giotto thought painting was a "mechanical" art

　　B．Giotto didn't get great respect in Florence

　　C．Giotto owned European banking houses

　　D．Giotto's art affected the whole Italy

　　D　[细节理解题。根据本段最后一句话"...the effect of his art was felt throughout the peninsula (半岛)"可知，他的艺术作品影响了整个意大利半岛。]

　　4．The main theme of the passage probably is ．

　　A．the Renaissance in Italy

　　B．Giotto，a great artist

　　C．Florence school

　　D．fine arts of Middle Ages

　　B　[主旨大意题。纵览全文可以看出本文是一篇人物介绍的文章，故主题应是B项"乔托--一位伟大的艺术家"。]