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 not that we could take drawing classes or painting classes but 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(古埃及人) 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 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.
【小题1】The aim of the mother’s plan was to _________.

MONTREAL--He may be the world’s richest man, but that didn’t prevent Bill Gates from falling for an April Fool’s day joke by two Quebec radio comics (喜剧演员) pretending to be Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
Montreal French-language station CKMF--FM said last Wednesday that staffers (工作人员) Marcantoine Audet and Sebastien Trudel had a 10-minute telephone chat with Microsoft Corp boss Gates on April 1.
The broadcast was aired on their nightly show last Tuesday and repeated last Wednesday.
“We were happy. We had been calling Microsoft persistently (坚持不懈地) for four weeks,” Trudel said.
Trudel said he and his colleague had already fooled Canadian pop singer Celine Dion and Formula One (一级方程赛车) driver Jacques Villeneuve on their show.
“This time, we wanted to give ourselves a challenge with somebody more difficult to reach,” Ttudel said.
He said he was surprised that Gates’s assistants did not check to see if it was really the prime minister’s office on the line.
Trudel said they imitated (模仿) Chretien’s heavily accented English, talking about the economy, asking about Microsoft’s Windows operating system and inviting the multibillionaire to visit a well-known Montreal strip joint (运动服合资企业).
The radio host said that Gates was not amused by the fake interview.
“He did not seem angry but he did not find it so funny,” the comic said.
【小题1】Bill Gates was fooled mainly because ______.

What is your favorite English letter? Many of you may say Q. Why? Because so many of you chat with your friends on QQ. What do you like about QQ? What do you talk about? The CCTV reporter, Miss Wang, interviews three kids. Let’s listen to what they say.

    When do you chat on QQ? What do you talk about?

    Lin yuhan, Xi’an: On weekends. We talk about homework and chat with each other.

    Tang Xuting, Shanghai: At weekends and when I don’t have much homework. We exchange test answers and chat.

    Yang yuhang, Dalian: Our class goes online together at 4:00----6:00pm on weekends. We complain about homework, chat and talk about computer games.

    What do you put on your QQ blog(博客)？

    Lin: I put good articles I have found online on my blog. I also write articles myself. They are about funny things that have happened in my class.

    Tang: I put picture on my blog. Not my own photos, but pictures from my favorite Japanese cartoons(动画片)like Tennis Prince Conan.

    Yang: I put DV films on my blog. I shoot(拍摄)them during sports meetings and school parties. The most popular one is about a dancing teacher,  he is so funny that everyone watches it.

    How do you like QQ?

    Lin: It’s a good space for us to make a record of our lives of both good times and sad times.

    Tang: My friends and I may not have time to chat at school. But we can do it on QQ. It’s very helpful to our friendships.

    Yang: If you chat with friends on the telephone, your parents sometimes listen to your conversation. There’s no such problem with QQ. You can relax and talk freely.

1.What does Yang yuhang talk about on QQ on weekends?

①homework      ②chat     ③test answers    ④computer games

A．①②             B. ②③             C. ①②④        D.②③④

2.What does Lin Yuhan put on her QQ blog?

A. Some pictures.   B. Good articles.   C.DV films       D.Japanese cartoons

3.Which one is TURE according to this article?

A. Lin says QQ is very helpful to their friendships.

B. Yang says he can chat freely with many friends and relax on QQ.

C. Tang says QQ is a good space for them to make a record of their lives.

D. Tang says he chats on QQ on weekends though he has lots of homework.

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 not that we could take drawing classes or painting classes but 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(古埃及人) 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 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.

1.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

2.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.

3.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.

4.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

5.The writer and her brother had thought that they could ___________ in their summer vacation.

   A. visit some art museums              

B. go to Egypt for a visit

   C. take drawing or painting classes      

D. play with their friends.

About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a
woman and a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy — who could not have been more than seven or eight years old — replied. “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed (确认) my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school.
Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?
Human development is depended not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation (揭示) machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation (诱惑) , many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.
71. According to the author, feeling depressed is ________.
A. a sure sign of a mental problem in a child
B. a mental state present in all humans, including children[来源:学.科.网]
C. something that cannot be avoided in children’s mental development
D. something hardly to be expected in a young child
72. Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world _________.
A. through connection with society
B. gradually and under guidance
C. naturally without being taught
D. through watching television
73. According to the author, that today’s children seem adultlike results from ________.
A. the widespread influence of television
B. the poor arrangement of teaching content
C. the fast pace of human scientific development
D. the rising standard of living
74. What does the author think of communication through print for children?
A. It enables children to gain more social information.
B. It develops children’s interest in reading and writing.
C. It helps children to read and write well.
D. It can control what children are to learn.
75. What does the author think of the change in today’s children?
A. He feels their adultlike behavior is so funny.
B. He thinks people should pay attention to the change.
C. He considers it a rapid development.
D. He seems to be upset about it.