Mary Cassatt is one of the first great women American painters. At first her father did not want her to become an artist. But she followed her dreams and became an artist. She was born on May 22, 1844, and lived in Europe for several years as a child.
Her family returned to the United States and, at age 16, Mary attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Four years later she decided she couldn't learn anything fresh and practical in Philadelphia, so she returned to Europe. There she studied the skills of the masters in Rome, Seville, Antwerp, and Paris.
Mary received the chance of a lifetime at the age of 33 when the famous Frenchpainter, Edgar Degas, asked her to join a group of painters that included now-famous artists like Manet and Renoir. Their style of painting is called Impressionism. They used primary colors and short brush strokes in their work. They recognized Mary’s spirit and powerful talent and invited her to exhibit in the Impressionist art shows.
Mary painted what she saw: gardens and paintings of persons, especially of mothers and children involved in everyday living. One of her paintings, "Young Mother and Two Children," was given to the White House in 1954 where it hangs today.
Mary never married and, in 1877, her parents and sister moved to Europe to join her. Mary devoted much of her time to them for the next 18 years to their care. Mary painted until 1914 when her failing eyesight made it impossible to continue. She spent the later years of her life in Paris. She died in 1926 at the age of 82. Unfortunately, all her life, she refused to accept students. Which year was the most vital to her career and life?
| A．1877 | B．1864 | C．1860 | D．1914 |
Mary left Pennsylvania for Europe at age 20 mainly because_____.
A. she didn’t learn anything in Pennsylvania
B she wanted to give up painting
C. her desire for the learning wasn’t satisfied well
D. her father didn’t want her to learn painting again Mary Cassatt stopping painting because of_____.
| A．her poor eyesight | B．her old age |
| C．lack of interest | D．her family |
Which of the statements about Mary Cassatt is supported by the passage?
A. Her painting featured scenes of everyday living
B. Her father had a decisive(决定性的) effect on her painting
C. She used various colors and long lines in her works
D. She studied the paintings of the masters in U.S.A. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
| A．the paintings of Edgar Degas belong to realism |
| B．during the last ten year of life, she painted nothing. |
| C．her works were controversial though highly recognized |
| D．her students showed great respect for her |
（C）
Within fifteen years Britain and other nations should be well on with the building of huge industrial complexes for the recycling of waste．The word rubbish could lose its meaning because everything that goes into the dumps would be made into something useful．Even the most dangerous and unpleasant wastes would provide energy if nothing else．
The latest project is to take a city of around half a million inhabitants and discover exactly what raw materials go into it and what go out．The aim is to find out how much of these raw materials could be provided if a plant for recycling waste were built just outside the city．This plant would recycle not only metal such as steel, lead and copper, but also paper and rubber as well．
Another new project is being set up to discover the best ways of sorting and separating the rubbish．When this project is complete, the rubbish will be processed like this: first, it will pass through sharp metal bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually packed; then it will pass through a powerful fan to separate the lightest elements from the heavy solids; after that grounders and rollers break up everything that can be broken．Finally the rubbish will pass under magnets, which will remove the bits of iron and steel; the rubber and plastic will then be sorted out in the final stage．
The first full scale giant recycling plants are, perhaps, fifteen years away．Indeed, with the growing cost of transporting rubbish to more distant dumps, some big cities will be forced to build their own recycling plants before long．
64．The main purpose of the passage is ____．
A．to show us a future way of recycling wastes
B．to tell the importance of recycling wastes
C．to warn people the danger of some wastes
D．to introduce a new recycling plant
65．What is the main reason for big cities building their own recycling plants?
A．To deal with wastes in a better way．
B．It’s a good way to gain profits．
C．It’s more economical than to dump wastes in some distant places．
D．Energy can be got at a lower price．
66．The first full-scale huge recycling plants ____．
A．have been in existence for 15 years B．takes 15 years to build
C．can’t be built until 15 years later D．will remain functioning for 15 years
67．Which of the following statements is true?
A．The word “rubbish” will soon disappear from dictionaries．
B．Dangerous wastes can be recycled into nothing but energy．
C．To recycle paper and rubber will still be impossible even with the new recycling methods．
D．Big cities will soon have their own recycling plants．
（B）
The U．S．birthrate began to decline in the middle 1950’s, resulting in a smaller college age population starting in the middle 1970’s．Something else happened in the 1970’s: the price of oil increased greatly, driving up the price of almost everything and making Americans aware that their large automobiles used a lot of gasoline．At the same time, foreign car manufacturers had begun to produce small fuel efficient cars in large quantities for the export market．Suddenly, the large, gas guzzling American cars were no longer attractive to American buyers, who began buying foreign cars by the thousands．The American automobile industry went into a recession．Thousands of automotive workers were laid off, as were thousands of people in industries indirectly connected with the auto industry．
People who are laid off tend to keep what money they have for necessities, like food and housing．They do not have the extra money needed to send their children to college．Their children cannot pay their own college costs, because during a recession they cannot find jobs．High unemployment means that more state funds must be used for social service-----unemployment benefits, and to aid dependent children, for example-----than during more prosperous times．It also means, that the states have fewer funds than usual, because people are paying fewer taxes．Institutions of higher education depend on two major sources of income to keep them functioning: tuition from students and funds from the states．At the present time, there are fewer students than in the past and fewer state funds available for higher education．The colleges and universities are in trouble．
60．What is the main idea of this passage?
A．The rising of oil price drove up the price of everything．
B．There were many reasons why higher education was in trouble in the 1970’s．
C．Birthrate began to decline in the USA in 1950’s．
D．High unemployment caused a lot of social problems．
61．American cars were not popular in their domestic markets because they were____．
A．small B．gas consuming
C．fuel efficient D．not attractive
62．The colleges and universities were in trouble because of the following reasons except that ____．
A．they couldn’t get enough income to keep them running
B．young people couldn’t afford the tuition fees
C．keeping them running at the same level would cost much more
D．social services need more state funds because of the recession
63．All of the following statements are true EXCEPT ____．
A．young people couldn’t afford their own tuition in the 1970’s
B．it’s difficult for graduates from colleges to find a job in the 1970’s
C．fewer parents could afford to send their children to college because of the recession in 1970’s
D．Birthrate dropped in the 1970’s because of the recession
第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
（A）
According to the dictionary definition of “create”, ordinary people are creative every day．To create means “to bring into being, to cause to exist”— something each of us does daily．
We are creative whenever we look at or think about something in a new way．First this involves an awareness of our surroundings．It means using all of our senses to become aware of our world．This may be as simple as being aware of color and texture, as well as taste, when we plan a meal．Above all, it is the ability to notice things that others might miss．
A second part of creativity is an ability to see relationships among things．If we believe the expression, “There is nothing new under the sun,” the creativity is remaking or recombining the old in new ways．For example, we might do this by finding a more effective way to study or a better way to arrange our furniture, or we might make a new combination of camera lenses and filters to create an unusual photograph．
A third part of creativity is the courage and drive to make use of our new ideas, to apply them to achieve some new results．To think up a new concept is one thing; to put the idea to work is another．
These three parts of creativity are involved in all the great works of genius, but they are also involved in many of our day-to-day activities．
56．Which of the following activities is NOT a creative one according to the passage?
A．To prepare a meal． B．To arrange the furniture in a peculiar way．
C．To buy some books from a bookstore． D．To “write” a letter with the computer．
57．The author holds the opinion that ____．
A．creativity demands genius
B．creativity is connected with a deep insight （洞察力） to some extent
C．creativity is to create something new and concrete
D．to practise is the only way to cultivate one’s creativity
58．What does the author think about the relationship between a new thought and its being put into practice?
A．It’s more difficult to create a new thought than to apply it in practice．
B．To find a new thought will definitely lead to the production of a new thing．
C．One may come up with a new thought, but whether or not to put it into practice all depends．
D．A man with an excellent ability of practice can easily become an inventor．
59．The best title for this passage is ____．
A．How to Cultivate One’s Creativity B．What is Creativity?
C．The Importance of CreativityD．Creativity——a Faraway Thing
E
Is early childhood education really necessary? Early childhood education primarily focuses on learning through playing to develop the child’s physical, sensory, communicational and social development．Early childhood education has become a concern of the government, who pushes poor children to be formally trained before they are old enough for Kindergarten．
There are good reasons for the government to push early childhood education．Studies have shown that orphaned children who did not receive good care and education become developmentally delayed causing failure in school, and even in life．Further studies show that poor children who take part in Head Start programs are more prepared for school, less likely to end up in
Special Education classes, and are less likely to receive public help or go to jail．
There are also negative parts to putting a child in formal education programs too early．Time Magazine online explains that “the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work．” I have personally witnessed many children of my generation who went to Head Start programs become frustrated and bored with school before they finished high school．Yet parents have been sure that the earlier the child starts school, the better off he or she is, so they push to start children earlier．
Actually while early formal education of poor children does show great gains in the early elementary years, studies also show that this head start is really a “false start”, as the gains are lost in middle and high school years．It seems that environment is a bigger factor on life’s success than early education．Head Start programs have not achieved its original goal in closing the achievement gap in poor and middle school children．Perhaps it is time to find other ways to close that gap．
71．The purpose of the government valuing the early childhood education is ________．
A．to develop the children’s communication
A．to give orphaned children good care and education
C．to get the children prepared for the kindergarten
D．to train the children formally and regularly
72．According to the studies, which of the following is True?
A．Children with good early education may have a rich life．
B．The orphaned children are usually unhappy in their life．
C．Children without early education can do well at school．
D．Head Start programs are helpful to the poor children．
73．“the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work．” suggests that _________．
A．the early childhood education is helpless to the child’s grade
B．it is good for the young children to receive early education
C．the early education can help the children follow the grade
D．the younger the children are, the cleverer they will be
74 The author’s attitude toward the early childhood education is _________．
A．puzzling B．objective C．indifferent D．approving
75．The main idea of the last passage is that __________．
A．the early childhood education is very necessary
B．Head Start programs have helped the children a lot
C．environment is the most important to life’s success
D．better ways should be found to help the poor children
D
STAGE
| Keep it in the air: The Chaoyang Theater is one of the Beijing theaters to present acrobatics(杂技 ) all year round．Top acrobatic artists invited from all over the country perform for Chinese and foreign tourists．The program contains trick cycling, leaping through hoops and Chinese magic tricks．Some of the artists have won prizes in international competitions． Time: 7∶15 p．m．Daily Place: 36, Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District Tel: 65072421, 65071818 |
| Use your head: Green Hat is a new drama given by a group of young Chinese actors．It’s a rewrite of American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous novel The Scarlet Letter． It describes the heroine’s great courage in finding the true love against the public disagreement． Time: 7∶15 p．m．until March 5, except Mondays Place: China Children’s Theater Tel: 66037255, 66037265 |
| Mix and match: Story of Puppets tells of a fairy, Zixia, who looks for true love in the human world．After watching a puppet play Peony Pavilion, she thinks there must be true love in reality, so she uses magic to turn the puppet characters into humans, wanting to fall in love with the puppet hero．But things don’t go as she planned．．．Li Liuyi, the director of the play has made several successful attempts to present different traditional operas in one play．This time he combines Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, Pingju Opera along with a band, using the structure of modern drama． Time: 7∶ 30 p．m．until March 10, except Mondays Place: Small Playhouse of Beijing People’s Art Theater Tel: 65250123 |
| Peking Opera: The Beijing Peking Opera Troupe will give two performances at the Chang’an Grand Theater．Each performance includes two classical excerpts(选段)．One is Wenxi(a play focusing on singing and dancing); the other is Wuxi (a play full of acrobatic dancing)．The first night will be The Crossroad and Presenting a Pearl of the Rainbow Bridge．And the second night will see the performance of The Goddess of Heaven Scatters Flowers and Havoc in Heaven． Time: 7∶30 p．m．February 27, 28 Place:Chang’an Grand Theater Tel: 86531043 |
68．We can learn from the text that________．
A．story of puppets is a play held in China Children’s Theater
B．the artists who have won prizes will perform magic tricks
C．on March 5 there will be two plays for us to choose
D．the artists in the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe are from all over the country
69．If a tourist wants to see a performance on March 15, he can call________to book a ticket．
A．86531043 B．65250123 C．66037255 D．65071818
70．According to the text, which of the following statements is true?
A．The director of the Story of Puppets combines different operas in it．
B．Green Hat is based on a famous novel acted by some American artists．
C．Top Acrobatic artists will present their performances around our country．
D．The Beijing Peking Opera Troupe will give two performances with the same excerpts．