People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years. The earliest pictures were painted by people who hunted animals. They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill. Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain. No one knows why they were painted there. Perhaps the painter thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals. Or perhaps human beings have always wanted to tell stories in pictures.

About 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as a kind of writing. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet(字母表).

The Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories by putting picture-writing and pictures together. When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was buried. Some of these pictures are like modern comic-strip (连环漫画) stories. It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic strip. But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple. The ordinary people could not understand it.

By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system. This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language. The Greeks developed this system and formed the letter of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.

These days, we can write down a story, or record information, without using pictures. But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawings, photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.

1.Ancient people in France and Spain painted pictures on walls of caves probably because ______.

A. they loved animals

B. they enjoyed seeing pictures

C. they preferred painting pictures to telling stories

D. they thought pictures helpful

2.The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons EXCEPT that ______.

A. the former was easy to write

B. there were fewer signs in the former

C. the former was easy to pronounce

D. each sign stood for only one sound

3.In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures ______.

A. should be made easy to understand

B. are of much use in our life

C. should be made interesting

D. are disappearing from our life

4.The possible title of this article may be ______.

A. Pictures and Writing

B. The Best Way of Writing

C. Home of the Comic-Strip Stories

D. The Earliest Language in the World

Woman Uses Daughter's Key to "Steal" Car

Charlie Vansant, a college student of Athens, Ohio, who reported that his car was stolen, got a surprise when he learned a woman had mistaken it for her daughter's car and taken it — using her key.

Kate Anderson became an accidental car thief when picking up her daughter's car near an Ohio University building last week. Anderson spotted the Toyota Camry(丰田凯美瑞)and used her daughter's key to unlock the car, start the engine and drive home — without realizing that the car wasn't her daughter's.

When Charlie Vansant left class a short time later, he found only an empty parking spot. He first assumed the car had been towed, but when the police couldn't find a record of it, they took a theft report.

The morning after Anderson took the car, her daughter discovered the Camry in the driveway wasn't hers. Anderson said she was able to find Vansant's name on paperwork in the glove compartment and look up his phone number on the website for the university.

When Anderson told Charlie the car was in her driveway, "It sounded really suspicious at first, as she wanted to hold the thing for ransom (赎金) , ” said Vansant. He eventually went to the house with a police officer, where he was reunited with his car. According to the police report, the case was closed "because of mistaken car identity", and Anderson wasn't charged.

Vansant seemed to blame the car company more than the "thief". "Her key fitted not only my lock, but my ignition(点火装置)as well — so high-five for Toyota, I guess." he said.

1. What does the underlined word "towed" mean in paragraph 3?

A. sold B. damaged.

C. stolen. D. removed

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

A. Mrs. Anderson's daughter discovered the car her mother drove was not hers.

B. Charlie had thought he had to give Anderson money to get his car back.

C. Mrs. Anderson stole Charlie's car at the request of her daughter.

D. Mrs. Anderson used her daughter's key to unlock Charlie's car and drive home.

3. What does Charlie mean by "high-five for Toyota"?

A. He should thank Toyota for returning his car.

B. He is blaming Toyota for the poor quality of car keys.

C. He wants to celebrate with Toyota for getting his car back.

D. He thinks highly of Toyota for producing large quantities of cars.

4.What is likely to happen next according to the passage?

A. Mrs. Anderson was charged with stealing a car.

B. Charlie blamed Mrs. Anderson for mistakenly taking his car.

C. Charlie would ask the Toyota Company to give him an explanation.

D. The Toyota Company would give Charlie a new car as compensation.

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