The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles. It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?

     First we had to read about ancient Egyptians and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (鬈曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn't see what was so great about art.

     On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother' s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn't stop looking at this painting ! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.

The aim of the mother' s plan was to _________.

  A. take them to visit the museum              B. introduce them to the world of art

  C. ask them to read about artists               D. show them different painting styles

What was the writer' s experience in the museum before the last visit?

  A. She came to feel her mother' s love.   B. She liked many paintings.

  C. She hardly enjoyed herself.             D. She could understand the pictures of fat babies.

What made the writer go through a change that summer?

  A. One of Mary's paintings.           B. A strange way of painting.

  C. Artists in the Middle Ages.          D. Her mother' s instruction.

From the text, we can see _________.

  A. the importance of curiosity          B. the effect of art

  C. the value of learning                D. the power of family education

Who says constant texting is just a bad habit? The teenager with the fastest thumbs in the country was crowned on Wednesday at the LG US National Texting Championship in New York City, winning $50,000 after a series of fierce texting battles.
16-year-old Austin Wiershke comes from Rhinelander, Wisconsin of the United States. He took home the top prize at the fifth annual texting event, beating 11 other competitors in the final, including last year’s champion Brianna Hendrickson from Brooklyn, New York.
Wiershke, who was wearing a gray shirt and having Justin Bieber’s hairstyle, sailed through each level of the competition by typing passages of text on a QWERTY keyboard rapidly without any mistaken. One special round even included being blindfolded(蒙眼) on the state to make up phrases by memory.
“I’m extremely nervous,” Wiershke said while waiting for the results after the final round. “I’m getting ready to hear Brianna’s name. When I heard my name was announced, I really couldn’t believe my ears.” After the announcement was made, confetti(五彩纸屑) dropped from the ceiling and Wiershke was met on the stage by the singer who said that she liked texting very much. She was Ashley Tisdale, a famous and beautiful singer, who awarded him his check.
In August, a film on Music Television called “Thumbs” took a behind-the –scenes look at the teenager’s life. It shows how he practiced texting to be the fastest. The film followed a series of young texting competitors, including Brianna Hendrickson, in the weeks leading up to this year’s LG US National Texting Championship. Besides showing the always –connected lifestyle of these teenagers nationwide, the mover also shows the studies, sports , dreams and friendships among these competitors.
【小题1】What is the main idea of this passage?

A.A teenager receiver $50,000.
B.Teenagers in the US make money by texting.
C.A teenager was named the fastest texter in the US.
D.The LG US National Texting Championship was held in New York City.
【小题2】 During the special round, competitors were required to text_____________.
A.among confetti
B.without using their eyes
C.using a special keyboard
D.extremely difficult words
【小题3】We can infer that Austin Wiershke_________.
A.wasn’t used to using the QWERTY keyboard
B.didn’t think Brianna Hendrickson would win this time
C.didn’t expect he would beat Brianna Hendrickson
D.was very confident when he was waiting for the result of the contest
【小题4】Through the film called “Thumb”, people can know____________.
A.the development of the LG US National Texting Championship
B.various parts of the competitors’ life
C.what happened to the competitors after the contest
D.the details of the texting contest

“This one’s for you,” Sergeant (警官) Barstow shouted and left quickly through the back door. I was a little puzzled. I looked out a window of the Ashfordly Police Station and saw an elderly woman come into the building.

“Good morning, Madam,” I said.

“Good morning,” she said pleasantly. “You’re new, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Madam.”

“It’s about that man who’s been annoying me,” she said. “I’ve been here about him before.”

“Could I have your name and address, please?”  

“Miss Fraser. Josephine Fraser. I live at 43 Prince Terrace. Now, can you please do something about Jackson?”

“What’s he done, Miss Fraser?”

“Done? He’s thrown garbage all over my stairs again. He must be stopped.”

“Where does he live?”

“Next door, Number 41,” she said.  

“I’ll go and see later and warn him off, Miss Fraser.”

“I would be most grateful.” With that she left.

Half an hour later, I reached Prince Terrace. NO. 41 was in a bad state of repair. I knocked. No reply. I entered. The place was deserted. I wondered if the Jackson was a tramp (流浪者). Anyway, it seemed he had left, possibly because of Miss Fraser’s threatening police action. I decided to visit her.

I knocked on her door and it was opened almost immediately. “Ah!” she said gladly. “You’re just in time for coffee.” I followed her inside. Miss Fraser told me more about her battle with Jackson. But when I asked specific questions, it clearly showed that she had never seen Jackson. Finally, I managed to leave.

Sergeant Barstow smiled kindly as I returned. “Nick, did you kick(踢出) Jackson out of that house?”

“Jackson!” I cried. “Who is he?”

“There is no Jackson,” he said. “Miss Fraser is lonely and she likes company. We always let the new young men deal with Miss Fraser. It gives her deep satisfaction. That’s what we are here for, isn’t it — to satisfy the public?”

1.Why did Sergeant Barstow leave quickly when Miss Fraser came?

A.Because he wanted to let Nick deal with her alone.

B.Because he had to go and catch Jackson at once.

C.Because he was tired of the elderly woman.

D.Because he knew she would tell a lie.

2.Miss Fraser told Nick that _____.

A.her neighbor had often caused her trouble

B.it was her first visit to the police station

C.she was looking for Sergeant Barstow

D.someone had broken into her house

3.Miss Fraser made up the story of Jackson because _____.

A.she liked to play jokes on the policemen

B.she wanted to have someone to talk with

C.she loved to show others her nice coffee

D.she hated Jackson very much

 

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