Since my retirement(退休) from teaching music in 2001, I have spent a good deal of time painting as an artist. I actually began drawing again in the summer of 1995 when my father died, so perhaps I was trying to recover from the loss of my father, or maybe it was just that it brought back memories of him. In any case, I drew pen and ink animals and landscapes(风景画) much influenced(影响) by Krenkel and St. John for five years.

For some strange reason, I had been waiting until my retirement to start doing watercolors again, but as soon as I walked out of the school door for the last time I picked up my brushes and rediscovered Andrew Wyeth, who quickly became my favorite artist. I had looked through all the art books I had on my shelves and found his watercolors to be the closest to how I thought good watercolors should look. So I painted landscapes around Minnesota for three years and tried out many other types of painting. However, watercolors remained my first choice, and I think I did my best work there, showing my paintings at a number of art exhibitions.

Art is now together with my piano playing and reading. There is a time for everything in my world, and it is wonderful to have some time doing what I want to do. As Confucious once said, “At seventy I can follow my heart’s desire.”

What is the text mainly about?

A. Learning to paint in later life.                     B. How to paint watercolors

C. An artist-turned teacher                          D. Life after retirement

The author started drawing again in 1995 because_________.

A. he hoped to draw a picture of his father

B. he couldn’t stop missing his father

C. he had more time after retirement  

D. he liked animals and landscapes

We can infer from the text that the author__________.

A. had been taught by Krenkel and St. John

B. painted landscapes in Minnesota for 5 years

C. believed Wyeth to be the best in watercolors

D. started his retirement life at the age of severty

How does the author probably feel about his life as an artist?

A. Very enjoyable.   B. A bit regretful     C. Rather busy.        D. Fairly dull.

      I was the middle child of three, but there was a gap of five years on either side, and I hardly saw my father before I was eight. For this and other reasons I was somewhat lonely. I had the only child’s habit of making up stories and holding conversations with imaginary persons, and I think from the very start my literary ambitions(文学志向) were mixed up with the feeling of being isolated(孤独) and undervalued. I knew that I had a natural ability with words and a power of facing unpleasant facts, and I felt that this created a sort of private world in which I could get my own back for my failure in everyday life.
    However, the quantity of serious writing which I produced all through my childhood would not add up to half a dozen pages. I wrote my first poem at the age of four or five, my mother taking it down to dictation. I cannot remember anything about it except that it was about a tiger and the tiger had “chair-like teeth” - a good enough expression. At eleven, when the war of 1914-18 broke out, I wrote a poem which was printed in the local(地方的) newspaper, as was another, two years later, on the death of Kitchener. From time to time, when I was a bit older, I wrote bad and usually unfinished “nature poems”. I also, about twice, attempted a short story which was a failure. That was the total of the would-be serious work that I actually set down on paper during all those years.

56.The underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 refers to        .

A. the quantity of serious writing

B. the writer’s first poem

C. the writer’s childhood

D. the tiger in the poem

57. From the text, we learn that as a little boy the writer         .

A. had no playmates

B. showed his gift for writing

C. put out lots of poems and stories

D. got his first poem published in 1916

58. What can be inferred about the writer?

A. He was least favored in his family.

B. He had much difficulty in talking with others.

C. He had an unhappy childhood for lack of care.

D. His loneliness resulted in his interest in writing.

 

 

The day was warm and the sun shone down like a new beginning on my life. I was waving goodbye to my son, the last one of my fledglings (刚会飞的鸟)to leave home and go to new woods, "University actually" . I felt so lighthearted after spending many years looking after my four children-cooking, washing, ironing, teaching them how to look after themselves and manage their finances-that I actually thought “At long last, freedom".
But, as I watched my last one leave, although it was a joyous occasion, I realized I had not really prepared for this day, I was too tied up with bringing up these adults of the future to realize that they would all leave the nest and lives independently.
At first I didn't know what "I" wanted to do. I tried a part time job, which ended in me running out in tears. I started a business making soft furnishings, but that didn't work either.  I grew my own veggies and fruit, which lasted 3 years, until I was advised by my doctor that my feet couldn't take any more "tools” driven through them. 
I began wondering if I had a future of my own. I cried for the life I was used to, and hadn't known or wanted anything different.
Then one day I saw an ad. For foster parents, I discussed it with my husband who was always behind everything I tried and with great disturbance, I rang up the number.
I now laugh and sing with my 14-year-old foster daughter, even when my cooker is a mess and my bathroom is a disaster area. I now know, 8 years later, what “I” was meant to be doing with all the spare hours, days, and weeks I had on my hands when my last fledgling flew the nest. The sun shines once again in my home.
【小题1】How did the mother first feel when her last child went off to university?

A.Lonely.B.Anxious.C.Relieved.D.Annoyed.
【小题2】The underlined phrase “was tied up with” in the second paragraph means “        ”.
A.was occupied inB.was associated with
C.was tired ofD.was addicted to
【小题3】In the third paragraph, the poor mother did all the things just to         .
A.live a greener and healthier life
B.earn more money for her kids’ education
C.shift her attention and ease her anxiety
D.start her own decorating business
【小题4】What did the empty-nested mother think of her husband?
A.SkilledB.SupportiveC.StubbornD.Open-minded
【小题5】Thanks to the foster daughter, the author         .
A.got rid of her busy workB.forgot her other children
C.found a suitable jobD.knew what she really wanted

America’s Beauty Is in Its Diversity

    America is built on the idea of freedom, and there is no exception for Muslim women. I     the freedom of religion and speech. But mostly, I believe it’s OK to be      , and to stand up for who and what you are. So I believe in wearing the hijab.

The hijab is a religious head covering, like a scarf. I am Muslim, and keeping my head covered is a       of maturity(成熟)and respect toward my       and to Allah’s will.      , I also like to wear it to be different. I don’t usually like to do what everyone else is doing. I want to be a(n)      , not just part of the crowd. But when I first wore it, I was also afraid of the       that I’d get at school.

I      on my own that sixth grade was the       I should start wearing the hijab. I was      about what the kids would say or even do to me. I thought they might make fun of me, or       be scared of me and       my headscarf. Kids at that age usually like to be all the same, and there’s little or no       of differences.

On the first day of school, I put all those       thoughts behind my back and walked in with my head held high. I was holding my breath a little, but       I was also proud to be a Muslim, proud to be wearing the hijab, proud to be different.

I was       about everything I thought the kids would say or even do to me. I actually met a lot of people because of wearing my head covering. Most of the kids would come and ask me questions —     — about the hijab and why I wore it.

I did hear some kid was making fun of me,       there was one girl—she wasn’t even in my class, and we never really talked much–and she spoke       me, and I wasn’t even there! I made a lot of new friends that year, friends that I still have until this very day, five years later.

Yes, I’m different, but everyone is different here, in one way or another. This is the      of America.

1.A. believe in  B. stick to  C. carry out       D. push for

2.A. independent      B. free     C. sensitive        D. different

3.A. signal B. sign       C. reminder       D. cause

4.A. religion      B. country          C. parents D. status

5.A. In a word   B. In general        C. To be exact  D. To be honest

6.A. princess     B. heroine         C. individual      D. adult

7.A. praise         B. punishment  C. reaction         D. reflection

8.A. hoped      B. expected       C. realized         D. decided

9.A. time   B. chance C. case           D. occasion

10.A. disappointed    B. scared  C. enthusiasticD. angry

11.A. still  B. already C. even         D. ever

12.A. show off              B. pull off  C. pick up D. put up

13.A. rejection B. ignorance      C. awareness     D. acceptance

14.A. negative  B. optimistic      C. serious     D. strange

15.A. often        B. inside    C. only               D. outside

16.A. concerned       B. particular                 C. wrong        D. convinced

17.A. respectfully      B. cautiously      C. suspiciously  D. critically

18.A. and  B. so C. but                D. or

19.A. in terms of        B. in front of      C. in charge of  D. in favor of

20.A. significance      B. beauty  C. value            D. power

 

Most Chinese people these days know what it is like to have an “English teacher”, since almost all pupils study English from their third year. Usually that first English teacher will be a young and lovely lady in primary school. But my first English teacher is no other than my father. Looking back, I can see that, when I was only a little girl, he created an English environment by providing me with flashcards,fun English- language toys and even dolls which can sing English songs! My interest in English had certainly been awakened (唤起) when I began to learn English at school. Just imagine, he went a step further and asked me to learn New Concept English by myself! I was puzzled and even angry. I could not understand why a father could be so strict with his little girl. All the same, he never gave up and he gently insisted that I follow through with his idea. At first, I read stories with tears and I actually hated them because they were too difficult for me. In the end, I came to love the funny stories and, to be honest, my father was always there with a helping hand. I am sure that my English would never have got so far without his support. And that’s why my father is not only my first English teacher but also my lifelong teacher. He is one who awoke my interest, and who gave me much confidence .

1.Most pupils in China begin to learn English________.

A.in primary school   B.from parents       C.at three years old   D.at home

2.The underline part ”no other than my father” in the passage probably means________.

A.like my father      B.not my father       C.my father himself   D.not only my father

3.From the whole passage we can see that________.

A.the girl preferred playing to learning English

B.the girl hates her father because he was strict

C.the girl is very thankful to her father

D.the father gave up after knowing his daughter could not understand

4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A.The girl’s father is her first English teacher.

B.The girl had been interested in English before going to school.

C.The girl’s father was always ready to help her with her English.

D.The girl could have learned English well by herself without her father.

5.What would be the best title for the passage?

A.How I learned English at school

B.My father---my first and lifelong English teacher

C.The relationship between my father and me

D.I’ve made progress in English learning

 

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