My grandmother Adele loved culture and was generous with its gifts. When I was a child, she took me to museums, restaurants, dances. She showered me with gifts from her travels around the world. But I can only remember her giving me one book—a book that, to this day, I have not read. She presented me with her own favorite childhood book: Hans Brinker. My grandmother was happy to share this book with me. She even decorated the title page with her proud writing.
I tried to read it. I adored reading, and would dive into a new pile of books from the library all at once. But something about Hans Brinker just wouldn’t let me in. The story was set in Holland, a long time ago. It felt dull and unfamiliar—even though I was a fan of classics of other times and places. I simply read the first pages over and over. I could not progress.
Standing on a bookshelf in our living room, the book was like something I avoided. It scolded me for not being interested, for not trying hard enough, for disappointing my grandmother.
The book started to fit in, almost forgotten, until Adele asked. Had I read it? Did I like it? Always determined, she wanted to know the answer. I would make some kind of excuse, feel bad, and open it again, hoping for a new reaction. The book weighed on me.
Years passed and finally Adele and I both accepted that I would never read Hans Brinker. Eventually I cleared the book from the shelf. The Hans Brinker experience led me to set a rule that I’ve lived by ever since: Do not ask about a book given as a gift. Don’t ask, despite your desire to discuss it to grow closer. The desire for such connection is what gives book-giving with special meaning—and increases the owner’s possibility to be a letdown.
Guilt is basically the same as for all gifts, though. If the giver doesn’t have the pleasure of seeing or hearing about the gift being enjoyed, and asks whether it is, then the owner—unless she can truthfully say “yes”—either has to admit to not liking the present, or else lie on the spot. Neither is pleasant. So, don’t ask. When the author was a kid, his grandmother ________.
| A．took him to travel around the world a lot |
| B．loved to take him to museums and stores |
| C．shared her childhood stories with him |
| D．gave him many gifts |
What does the author think about the book his grandmother gave him?
| A．Boring. | B．Interesting. | C．Puzzling. | D．Disappointing. |
The underlined sentence “The book weighed on me” in Paragraph 4 probably means _______.
| A．the book is too heavy for the author to carry |
| B．the author feels stressful facing the book |
| C．the book is full of powerful viewpoints |
| D．the author keeps reading the book |
. The author learns from the Hans Brinker’s experience that never________.
| A．give others books as gifts |
| B．lie to people who give you gifts |
| C．get close to others through gifts |
| D．talk about the books given as gifts |
Scientists have learned a lot about the kinds of food people need. They say that there are several kinds of food that people should eat every day. They are :(1) green and yellow vegetables of all kinds. ( 2 ) citrus(柑橘)fruits and tomatoes； ( 3 ) potatoes and other fruits and vegetables；( 4 ) meat of all kinds, fish and eggs； (5) milk and foods made from milk ； ( 6 ) bread or cereal (谷类), rice is also in this kind of food ； ( 7 ) butter, or something like butter.
People in different countries and different places of the world eat different kinds of things. Foods are cooked and eaten in many different kinds of ways. People in different countries eat at different times of the day. In some places people eat once or twice a day ； in other countries people eat three or four times a day. Scientists say that none of the differences is really important. It doesn't matter whether foods are eaten raw(生的)or cooked, canned or frozen. It doesn't matter if a person eats dinner at 4 o'clock in the afternoon or at eleven o'clock at night. The important thing is what you eat every day.
There are two problems，then, in feeding the large number of people on earth. The first is to find some ways to feed the world's population so that no one is hungry. The second is to make sure that people everywhere have the right kinds of food to make them grow to be strong and healthy. According to the scientists, which of the following groups of food is the healthiest for your lunch?
| A．Chicken, apples, cereal and cabbages. |
| B．Potatoes, carrots, rice and bread. |
| C．Oranges，bananas，fish and tomatoes. |
| D．Beef, pork, fish and milk. |
It is important for people to eat __________.
| A．three times a day |
| B．dinner at twelve o'clock |
| C．cooked food all the day |
| D．something from each of the seven kinds of food every day |
People in different countries and different places of the world __________.
| A．have the right kinds of food to eat |
| B．cook their food in the same way |
| C．have their meals at the same time |
| D．eat food in different ways |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．People in some places don't have enough to eat. |
| B．There are too many people in the world. |
| C．One of the problems is that no one is hungry. |
| D．The scientists are trying to make people grow to be strong and healthy. |
If there is a Paragraph 4, what do you think is going to be talked about?
| A．When people eat their lunch. |
| B．What to do with the two problems. |
| C．How to cook food in different ways. |
| D．Why people eat different kinds of food. |
Arthur Miller( 1915 - 2005) is universally recognized as one of the greatest dramatists of the 20th century. Miller's father had moved to the USA from Austria-Hungary, drawn like so many others by “the Great American Dream". However, he experienced severe financial hardship when his family business was ruined in the Great Depression of the early 1930s.
Miller's most famous play, Death of a Salesman, is a powerful attack on the American system，with its aggressive way of doing business and its insistence on money and social status as indicators of worth. In Willy Loman, the hero of the play, we see a man who has got into trouble with this system. Willy is “ burnt out ” and in the cruel world of business there is no room for sentiment ： if he can't do the work，then he is no good to his employer，the Wagner Company, and he must go. Willy is painfully aware of this，and at a loss as to what to do with his lack of success. He refuses to face the fact that he has failed and kills himself in the end.
When it was first staged in 1949，the play was greeted with enthusiastic reviews, and it won the Tony Award for Best Play，the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award，and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was the first play to win all three of these major awards.
Miller died of heart failure at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut , on the evening of February 10,2005 , the 56th anniversary of the first performance of Death of a Salesman on Broadway. Why did Arthur Miller's father move to the USA?
| A．He suffered from severe hunger in his home country. |
| B．He was attracted by"the Great American Dream". |
| C．He hoped to make his son a dramatist. |
| D．His family business failed. |
The play Death of a Salesman __________.
| A．exposes the cruelty of the American business world |
| B．discusses the ways to get promoted in a company |
| C．talks about the business career of Arthur Miller |
| D．focuses on the skills in doing business |
What can we learn about Willy Loman?
| A．He treats his employer badly. |
| B．He runs the Wagner Company. |
| C．He is a victim of the American system. |
| D．He is regarded as a hero by his colleagues. |
After it was first staged, Death of a Salesman __________.
| A．achieved huge success |
| B．won the first Tony Award |
| C．was warmly welcomed by salesmen |
| D．was severely attacked by dramatists |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Arthur Miller and his family. |
| B．The awards Arthur Miller won. |
| C．The hardship Arthur Miller experienced. |
| D．Arthur Miller and his best-known play. |
In the US, elementary and middle schools are advised to give students two and a half hours of physical activity a week. That is what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association recommend. They say high schools should provide about four hours of physical activity each week.
Yet many schools across the country have reduced their physical education programs. Criticism of the cuts has led in some places to efforts to give students more time for exercise, not less. The future health of Americans may depend on it. A study reports that life expectancy has fallen or is no longer increasing in some parts of the United States. The situation is worst among poor people in the southern states, and especially women. Public health researchers say it is largely the result of increases in obesity，smoking and high blood pressure. They also blame differences in health services around the country.
In 2006, a study found that only 4% of elementary schools provided daily physical education all year for all grades. This was true of 8% of middle schools and 2% of high schools. The study also found that 22% of all schools did not require students to take any P. E. One problem for P. E. teachers is that schools are under pressure to put more time into academic subjects.
Also, parents may agree that children need exercise in school. Yet many parents today still have bad memories of being chosen last for teams because teachers favored the good athletes in class.
But experts say P. E. classes have changed. They say the goal has moved away from competition to personal performance, as a way to build a lifetime of activity. These days, teachers often lead activities like weight training and yoga.
Some parents like the idea of avoiding competitive sports in P. E. class. Yet others surely dislike that idea. In the end，schools may find themselves in a no-win situation. The best title of the passage is __________.
| A．Physical education aims for active lives |
| B．The future health of Americans |
| C．22% of all schools in the US don't require students to take any P. E. |
| D．Avoid competitive sports in P. E. |
Which statement is TRUE?
| A．High schools in the US should provide fewer hours of physical activity than that in elementary and middle schools. |
| B．Not all schools in the US have reduced their physical education programs. |
| C．22% of all schools in the US require students to take any P. E. |
| D．8% of middle schools provide daily physical education all year for all grades now. |
The reason why the author gives Paragraph 3 is __________.
| A．to explain schools are under pressure to put more time into academic subjects |
| B．that students don't like P. E. classes at all |
| C．to support his opinion in Paragraph 2 |
| D．to explain why life expectancy has fallen in some parts of the US |
Paragraph 4 implies __________.
| A．parents may agree that children need exercise in school |
| B．P. E. teachers lay particular stress on competition |
| C．many parents didn't like P. E. class when they were young |
| D．many students spent more time on academic subjects |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means __________.
| A．schools will go on reducing their physical education programs |
| B．schools must listen to different opinions from different parents |
| C．schools will think much of life expectancy |
| D．schools will be trapped in failure or disappointment |
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 worthwhile 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 at 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 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 |
The writer and her brother had thought that they could __________ in their summer vacation.
| A．have visited some art museums |
| B．have been to Egypt for a visit |
| C．have taken drawing or painting classes |
| D．have played with their friends |
Pablo Picasso, born in Spain in 1881, was one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. Picasso began painting when he was a small child and took advanced art courses when he was only fifteen. Between 1904 and 1947 Picasso lived in Paris. In 1947 he moved to Riviera, in the south of France.
Many people thought Picasso's works were strange and unpleasant. Still，he had a great influence on artists in every country. Today, Picasso is regarded as a genius (天才), and his paintings are in the museums all over the world.
In 1912, Picasso actually invented a new type of art. He painted a picture，then he pasted bits of paper and something else on the picture. This picture of art is called collage(拼贴艺术).
Picasso was not only a painter, he was also a sculptor (雕塑家)and a designer of scenery for plays. There are even some photographs of “ light paintings ” that he created. These paintings were produced by moving a light pencil, or a small flashlight in the air. Although the images could be seen only briefly by anyone watching them happen, the camera was able to catch the images as they occurred.
By the time he died in France in April of 1973 , he had created a staggering 22,000 works of art.
When Picasso was asked how someone could become an artist, he would reply, If you want to draw, you must shut your eyes and sing. After reading the text, we can learn that Picasso was a __________.
| A．French artist |
| B．Spanish artist |
| C．English artist |
| D．Australian artist |
The meaning of the underlined word "pasted" in this text means __________
| A．stuck with |
| B．struck on |
| C．drew |
| D．mixed with |
Which of the following statements best explains the meaning of Picasso's advice about how to become an artist?
| A．Study hard and practise painting. |
| B．Only people who sing can become painters. |
| C．Painters should learn to paint with their eyes closed. |
| D．There is more to painting than just study and hard work. |
Which would be the best title for the text?
| A．How to Become a Great Artist |
| B．A Genius |
| C．Pablo Picasso ： More Than Just a Painter |
| D．Picasso's Life in France |
According to the text, which of the statements is right?
| A．Even Picasso was a great artist, he was not clever at all when he was young. |
| B．Picasso didn't leave Paris until he was 23 years old. |
| C．People didn't like Picasso's works at first. |
| D．Picasso was only good at collage. |