Kieron Williamson, a seven-year-old British boy, is being recognized as an art genius after selling 16 paintings for 18, 000 pounds in just 14 minutes. This boy has artistic skills that would be the envy of any serious painter and drawn comparisons to Pablo Picasso, a child prodigy（神童）who became one of the most recognized artists of the 20th century.

 It all began on a family holiday to Cornwall on the southwest English coast when Kieron was five. Inspired by the view, he asked his parents for his first sketch-pad （速写纸）. From that moment on, he became deeply interested. While supportive, Kieron’s parents are careful not to push their son. He only paints when and what he wants.

 He has a waiting list of hundreds and requests for his works have been flooding in. His father said a sale of Kieron’s works held in November even drew a buyer from Japan. “We had people driving down that night, there were people on the door waiting to come in the morning who had been standing outside, the phones were going mad as soon as the door opened at nine o’clock and within 14 minutes all the 16 pictures had gone, ” he said.

All this talent, money and high praise could so easily go to a young boy’s head, but Kieron said his friends keep him grounded. “Some of them want to be as good as me and some of them think. . . Umn, ‘you are not too special’, ” he said.

    Kieron’s favourite painter is British artist Edward Seago and he has spent some of his earnings buying a work by his hero. The rest is being invested by his parents until he reaches 25. Kieron’s parents and his younger sister Billi-Jo don’t see him as anything other than a normal seven-year-old boy who likes to tear around the house and who’s mad about football. But for now, with so much still to learn, there’s only one thing he wants to be when he grows up. He said, “I think I’ll definitely be an artist. ”

26. According to Paragraph 1, we can know Kieron Williamson ________.

A. painted 16 paintings in only 14 minutes

B. draws as well as Picasso did

C. is one of the most recognized artists

D. has unusual ability in painting

27. What made Kieron Williamson begin to love painting?

A. His first sketch-pad.

B. His parents’ encouragement.

C. The view at the seaside.

D. His swimming near the coast.

28. In Kieron Williamson’s friends’ opinion, he ________.

A. is famous but a little proud

B. isn’t very special from other children

C. isn’t worth praising at all

D. is hard to get along with

29. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ________.

A. Edward Seago thinks highly of Kieron’s painting

B. Kieron likes doing sports and painting instead of studying

C. Kieron’s family is very poor

D. Kieron wants to be a great painter

30. The passage mainly tells us________.

A. a seven-year-old painting genius

B. how to be a great painter

C. Kieron Williamson may become the second Picasso

D. the painting changed Kieron Williamson’s life greatly

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出适合填入对应空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。、
When I was in primary school, I got into a major argument with a boy named Tom in my class. I can’t remember what it was about,  21  I have never forgotten the  22  I learned that day.
I was  23  that I was right and he was wrong--and he was sure that I was wrong and he was right. The  24  decided to teach us a very important lesson. My English teacher, Ms Green  25  both of us up to the 26  of the class and  27  him on one side of her desk and me on  28 . In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could  29 see that it was black. She asked the boy what  30  the object was. “White,” he answered.
I couldn’t believe he said the object was white,  31  it was obviously black! Another  32  started between my classmate and me, this time about the  33  of the object.
The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed  34  and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I  35  answer, “White.” It was an object with two  36  colored sides, and from his side it was white.  37  from my side was it black.
My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day: You must  38  in the other person’s shoes and look at the  39  through their eyes in order to  40  understand their view.

    Susan Sontag (1933 -- 2004) was one of the most noticeable figures in the world of  literature. For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything -- to read every book worth reading, to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s, publishing essays in such important magazines as Partisan Review, she appeared as the symbol of American cultural life, trying hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art. With great effort and serious judgment, Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.

Seriousness was one of Sontag's lifelong watchwords (格言), but at a time when the  barriers between the well-educated and the poor-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasures of pop culture. In "Notes on Camp", the 1964 essay that first made her name, she explained what was then a little-known set of difficult understandings, through which she could not have been more famous. "Notes on Camp", she wrote, represents "a victory of 'form' over 'content', 'beauty' over 'morals'".

     By conviction (信念) she was a sensualist (感觉论者), but by nature she was a moralist (伦理学者), and in the works she published in the 1970s and 1980s, it was the latter side of her that came forward. In Illness as Metaphor -- published in 1978, after she suffered cancer -- she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed personalities (被压抑的个性), a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact, re-examining old positions was her lifelong habit.

     In America, her story of a 19th century Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California, won the National Book Award in 2000. But it was as a tireless, all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame. "Sometimes," she once said, "I feel that, in the end, all I am really defending ... is the idea of seriousness, of tree seriousness." And in the end, she made us take it seriously too.

71. The underlined sentence in Paragraph I means Sontag _______.

    A. was a symbol of American cultural life   B. developed world literature, film and art

    C. published many essays about world culture

    D. kept pace with the newest development of world culture

72. She first won her name through_______.

    A. her story of a Polish actress            B. her book Illness as Metaphor

    C. publishing essays in magazines like Partisan Review

    D. her explanation of a set of difficult understandings

73. According to the passage, Susan Sontag____.

    A. was a sensualist as well as a moralist     B. looked down upon the pop culture

    C. thought content was more important than form

    D. blamed the victim of cancer for being repressed

74. As for Susan Sontag's lifelong habit, she______.

    A. misunderstood the idea of seriousness    B. re-examined old positions

    C. argued for an openness to pop culture    D. preferred morals to beauty

75. Susan Sontag's lasting fame was made upon _____ .

    A. a tireless, all-purpose cultural view      B. her lifelong watchword: seriousness

    C. publishing books on morals

    D. enjoying books worth reading and movies worth seeing

What I Want for You and Every Child in America

　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　 by President-Elect Barack Obama

Dear Malia and Sasha,

I know that you’ve both had a lot of 　1 these last two years during the campaign, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn’t have let you have. But I also know that it hasn’t always been easy for you and Mom, and that although you are both excited about that new puppy(幼犬), it doesn’t 2 for all the time we’ve been apart. I know 3 I’ve missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me--about how I’d 4 my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my 5 　with all your curiosity and mischief （捣乱） and those smiles that never 6 to fill my heart and light up my day. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. That’s why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools 7 of their potential---schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill （灌输） in them a sense of 8 about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college 9 their parents aren’t rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them have time to spend time with their own 10 .

I want us to 11 back the boundaries(界限) of discovery so that you’ll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach 12 the divides(分水岭) of race and region, gender and religion that 13 us from seeing the best in each other.

That was the 14 your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for 15 because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean 16 .

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better and that the 17 work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It’s a duty we pass on to our children.

These are the things I want for you--- to 18 in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach. And I want every child to have the same 19 to learn and dream and grow that you girls have. That’s why I’ve taken our family on this great adventure.

I am so proud of both of you. I love you 20 you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, confidence, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Love, Dad

1. A. play　　　　　　 B. fun　　　　　　 C. pain　　　　　　 D. gain

2. A. take up　　　　　 B. pick up　　　　 C. make up　　　　　 D. put up

3. A. how much　　　 B. how many　　　 C. how soon　　　　 D. how long

4. A. lose　　　　　　 B. make　　　　　 C. take　　　　　　　 D. walk

5. A. world 　　　　　 B. family　　　　 C. position　　　　　 D. place

6. A. succeed　　　　 B. come　　　　　 C. tend　　　　　　　 D. fail

7. A. worth　　　　　 B. worthless　　　　 C. worthwhile　　　　 D. worthy

8. A. humor　　　　　 B. hatred　　　　　 C. wonder　　　　　 D. sadness

9. A. even if　　　　 B. as if　　　　　　 C. as long as　　　　 D. if

10. A. friends　　　　 B. kids　　　　　　 C. boys　　　　　　 D. girls

11. A. rush　　　　　 B. catch　　　　　 C. push　　　　　　 D. pull

12. A. to　 　　　　 B. in　　　　　　 C. into　　　　　　　 D. beyond

13. A. keep　　　　　 B. let　　　　　　 C. make　　　　　　 D. warn

14. A. way　　　　　 B. method　　　　　 C. means　　　　　 D. lesson

15. A. quantity　　　 B. quality　　　　　 C. equality　　　　　 D. quarter

16. A. everything　　 B. something　　　 C. anything　　　　　 D. nothing

17. A. unfinished　　 B. finished　　　　 C. unfinishing　　　　 D. finishing

18. A. wake up　　　 B. grow up　　　　 C. come up　　　　　 D. get up

19. A. difficulty　　　 B. barriers　　　　 C. anxiety　　　　　 D. chances

20. A. rather than　　 B. other than　　　　 C. less than　　　　 D. more than

第二节　完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36-55各题所给的四个选项（A，B，C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
When I was 16 years old，I made my first visit to Disneyland in America．It wasn't the first time I had been _16_．Like most English children I learned French 17_school and I had often been to France，so I  18_  speaking a foreign language to people who didn't understand _19  ．But  __20_ I went to America，I was really looking forward to _2l_ a nice easy holiday without any _22_ problems．
_23  wrong I was! The misunderstanding began _24_ the airport。I was looking for a _25_ telephone to give my friend Danny a _26_ and tell her that I had arrived．A  _27  old man saw me looking lost and asked _28_ he could help me.
“Yes，”I said，“I want to give my friend a ring．”“Well，that's nice，”he said，“Are you getting _29 ？ But aren't you a bit young?”“_30_ is talking about marriage?”I replied．“I just want to give my friend a ring to tell her I've arrived．Can you tell me  31  there’s a phone box?”“Oh!”he said，“there's a phone downstairs．”
When at last we did meet up，Danny explained the misunderstanding to me．“Don't worry，”she said to me，“I had so many  _32  at first．There are lots of words which the Americans  _33_ differently in meaning from us British．You'll soon get used to  34  funny things they say．Most of the  _35_ , British and American people understand each other!”
16. A．out                   B．away              C．outside                 D．abroad
17. A．from              B．during            C．at                      D．after
18. A．get used to         B．was used to      C．used to                D．used
19. A．English        B．French          C．Russian               D．Latin
20. A．when             B．while               C．if                      D．for
21. A．buying             B．having         C．giving                  D．receiving
22. A．time              B．human         C．1anguage            D. money
23. A. Too                B. What a          C．What                  D．How
24. A．with              B. to                        C．over                         D．at
25. A．cheap             B．popular        C．public                  D．good
26. A. letter               B. ring                  C. news                     D. information
27．A. friendly            B. strange             C. stupid                      D. tough
28．A．how              B. if                     C. where                    D. what
29．A. to marry           B. to be married     C. marrying                 D. married
30．A．You              B．She             C．Who                   D．He
31．A．where          B．in which      C．over there            D．that
32. A．trouble           B．difficulties     C．things                  D．fun
33. A．write             B．speak           C．use                      D．read
34. A．every             B．these           C．some                    D．all the
35. A．chance                 B．situation          C．condition                      D．time