When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground．I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened．I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade．Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way．
It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie's basement．As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes．I ran downstairs, and spotted a red steel can．It was paint．I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green．
"Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day．Get some paintbrushes．We are fixing to paint．"She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work．We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard．There on the road in front of my house, we painted big stripes(条纹)of colors across the pavement(人行道)．Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow．It was fantastic!
The sun was starting to sink．I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car．It was my mother．I couldn't wait to show her my masterpiece．The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother's face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble．
My mother shut the ear door and walked towards me．Her eyes glaring, she shouted, "What in the world were you thinking?I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors' trees, but this!Come inside right now!" I stood there glaring back at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted(侮辱)my art．
"Now go clean it up!" Mother and I began cleaning the road．Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement．
Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone．I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away．I guess we all need some sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful．
(1)
What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?
[ ]
A．
To introduce Stephanie to her．
B．
To prevent her from seeing his painting．
C．
To put the materials back in the yard．
D．
To show his artwork to her．
(2)
In his mother's eyes, the writer ________．
[ ]
A．
was a born artist
B．
always caused trouble
C．
was a problem solver
D．
worked very hard
(3)
The underlined word "rainbow" in the last paragraph refers to ________．
[ ]
A．
the rainbow in the sky
B．
the stripes on the pavement
C．
something imaginative and fun
D．
important lessons learned in childhood
(4)
It can be learned from the passage that parents should ________．
She took up skating at age 85, made her first movie appearance at age 114, and held a concert in the neighborhood on her 121st birthday．
Whe n it comes to long life, Jeanne Calment is the world’s recordholder．She lived to the ripe old age of 122．So is 122 the upper limit to the human life span(寿命)?If scientists come up with some sort of pill or diet that would slow aging, could we possibly make it to 150－or beyond?
Researchers don’t entirely agree on the answers．“Calment lived to 122, so it wouldn’t surprise me if someone alive today reaches 130 or 135,”says Jerry Shay at the University of Texas．
Steve Austad at the University of Texas agrees．“People can live much longer than we think,”he says．“Experts used to say that humans couldn’t live past 110．When Calment blew past that age, they raised the number to 120．So why can’t we go higher?”
The trouble with guessing how old people can live to be is that it’s all just guessing．“Anyone can make up a number,”says Rich Miller at the University of Michigan．“Usually the scientist who picks the highest number gets his name in Time magazine．”
Won’t new anti-aging techniques keep us alive for centuries?Any cure, says Miller, for aging would probably keep most of us kicking until about 120．Researchers are working on treatments that lengthen the life span of mice by 50 percent at most．So, if the average human life span is about 80 years, says Miller,“adding another 50 percent would get you to 120．”
So what can we conclude from this little disagreement among the researchers?That life span is flexible(有弹性的)，but there is a limit, says George Martin of the University of Washington．“We can get flies to live 50 percent longer,”he says．“But a fly’s never going to live 150 years．”
“Of course, if you became a new species(物种)，one that ages at a slower speed, that would be a different story,”he adds．
Does Martin really believe that humans could evolve(进化)their way to longer life?“It’s pretty cool to think about it,”he says with a smile．
(1)
What does the story of Jeanne Calment prove to us?
[ ]
A．
People can live to 122．
B．
Old people are creative．
C．
Women are sporty at 85．
D．
Women live longer than men．
(2)
According to Steve Austad at the University of Texas, ________．
[ ]
A．
the average human life span could be 110
B．
scientists cannot find ways to slow aging
C．
few people can expect to live to over 150
D．
researchers are not sure how long people can live
(3)
Who would agree that a scientist will become famous if he makes the wildest guess at longevity?
[ ]
A．
Jerry Shay．
B．
Steve Austad
C．
Rich Miller
D．
George Martin
(4)
What can we infer from the last three paragraphs?
[ ]
A．
Most of us could be good at sports even at 120．
B．
The average human life span cannot be doubled．
C．
Scientists believe mice are aging at a slower speed than before．
D．
New techniques could be used to change flies into a new species．
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