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 |
When I left my bag on a train, I lost my most precious possession, a small framed photograph of my great grandparents, Emily and Gordon Baker. The frame was made of silver, with an elegant flower design in one corner. The photograph was taken in March 1939 0n their wedding day. Emily looked very happy, and Gordon looked rather a larmed. A few months later, he was killed in action in North Africa. I received the photograph when my aunt Mabel died.
I'm a student at Edinburgh University and I live in an old Edwardian house. At the end of last term, I packed a large bag and a small bag and set off for London, where I was planning to catch the Eurostar train to Paris. Minutes after getting off the train at Kings Cross Station, I realized that I'd left the small bag in the overhead luggage rack. I ran back to the train, but it had already left the platform. www..com
This all happened several months ago, and I had become resigned to the loss of my most precious possession. then last week, something extraordinary happened. I logged onto the site ~ eBay and looked for a silver photo frame and I found it ! The photo of my great grandparents was on eBay !
I called the person who was advertising it. He was a little suspicious(怀疑 ) at first, and told me that he had bought it from a stall at an antique market. After we talked for a while, he asked if there was any way I could prove it was mine. All I could think of was that the photo was taken in March 1939. He opened the frame and made sure that this date was written by hand on the back of the photograph.
“It ' s definitely yours. " he said. "Come and get it ! "The author's most precious possession was .
| A．A wedding photo in a silver frame taken in North Africa |
| B．A pretty family portrait in a silver frame taken in 1939 |
| C．A special photo of his great grandparents in a silver frame |
| D．A common photograph of his grandparents taken by Mabel |
Which of the statement about the author is not wrong?
| A．He left the photo on a train and never got it back. |
| B．He put the photo in a small bag and left it on a train. |
| C．He left the photo on the Eurostar and ran back to get it. |
| D．He left the photo at his old Edwardian house in Edinburgh |
The man advertising the frame proved it was the author's .
| A．by calling the seller up immediately |
| B．according to the price of the silver frame |
| C．by the author's explanation about the photo |
| D．by the date written on the back of the photo |
It can be inferred that the author felt______when he found the silver photo on eBay.
| A．nervous | B．excited |
| C．disappointed | D．worried |
According to Beth Anaclerio, an Evaston mother of two, ages 4 and 18 months, a child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun, “Having a party at home usually requires a lot of running around on the part of the parents, and often the birthday boy or girl gets lost in wild excitement．But it really doesn’t have to be that way,” said Anaclerio．Last summer, Anaclerio and her friend Jill Carlisle, a Northbrook mother of a 2-year-old, founded a home party-planning business called “A Party in a Basket．” Their goal is to help parents and children share in the fun part of party planning, like choosing the subject or making a cake, while they take care of everything．
Drawing on their experiences as mothers, they have created 10 ready-to-use, home party packages．Everything a family needs to plan a party, except the cake and ice cream, is delivered to the home in a large basket．
“Our parties are aimed for children 2 to 10,” Anaclerio said, “and they’re very interactive（互动） and creative in that they build a sense of drama based on a subject．For example, at the Soda Shoppe party the guests become waiters and waitresses and build wonderful ice cream creations．”
The standard $200 package for eight children includes a basket filled with invitations, gifts, games and prizes, paper goods, a party planner and the like．For more information, call Anaclerio at 708-864-6584 or Carlisle at 708-205-9141．．The main purpose of writing this text is _____．
| A．to share information about party planning |
| B．to introduce the joys of a birthday party |
| C．to sell a service |
| D．to announce a business plan |
．The most important idea behind the kind of party planning described here is that _____．
| A．it brings parents and children closer together |
| B．guests play a part in the preparation of a party |
| C．parents are spared the trouble of sending invitations |
| D．it provides a subject of conversation |
．What does the underlined word “hassle” probably mean?
| A．a party designed by specialists． |
| B．a plan requiring careful thought． |
| C．a demand made by guests． |
| D．a situation causing difficulty or trouble． |
．Which of the following is most likely to be a party planner?
A． |
B． |
C． |
D． |
THEATRE
City Varieties
The Headrow, Leeds．Tel．430808．
Oct 10—11 only．A Night at the Varieties．All the fun of an old music hall with Barry Cryer, Duggle Brown, 6 dancers, Mystina, Jon Barker, Anne Dural and the Tony Harrison Trio; Laugh again at the old jokes and listen to your favorite songs．
Performances: 8 pm nightly．
Admission: ₤5; under 16 or over 60: ₤4．
York Theatre Royal
St Leonard’s Place, York．Tel．223568．
Sept 23—Oct 17 Groping for Words—a comedy by Sue Townsend．Best known for her Adrian Mole Diaries, Townsend now writes about an evening class, which two men and a woman attend．A gentle comedy．
Admission: First night, Mon: ₤2; Tues—Fri: ₤3．25—5．50; Sat: ₤3．50—5．75．
Halifax Playhouse
King’s Cross Street, Halifax．Tel．365998．
Oct 10—17 On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson．This is a magical comedy about real people．A beautifully produced, well-acted play for everyone．Don’t miss it．
Performances: 7:30 pm．
Admission: ₤2．Mon: 2 seats for the price of one．
Grand Theatre
Oxford Street, Leeds．Tel．502116．
Restaurant and Café．
Oct—17 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13．Sue Townsend’s musical play, based on her best-selling book．
Performances: Evenings 7:45．October 10—17, at 2:30 pm．No Monday performances．
Admission: Tues—Thurs: ₤2—5; Fri & Sat: ₤2—6．Which theatre offers the cheapest seat?
| A．City Varieties． | B．Halifax Playhouse． |
| C．Grand Theatre． | D．York Theatre Royal． |
If you want to see a play with old jokes and songs, which phone number will you ring to book a seat?
| A．502116． | B．223568． |
| C．430808． | D．365998． |
We may learn from the text that Sue Townsend is _____．
| A．a director | B．an actress |
| C．a musician | D．a writer |
LONDON（Reuters）—Organic fruit, delivered right to the doorstep．That is what Gabriel Gold prefers, and he is willing to pay for it．If this is not possible, the 26-year-old computer technician will spend the extra money at the supermarket to buy organic food．
“Organic produce is always better,” Gold said．“The food is free of pesticides（农药）, and you are generally supporting family farms instead of large farms．And more often than not it is locally grown and seasonal, so it is more tasty．” Gold is one of a growing number of shoppers buying into the organic trend, and supermarkets across Britain are counting on more like him as they grow their organic food business．But how many shoppers really know what they are getting, and why are they willing to pay a higher price for organic produce? Market research shows that Gold and others who buy organic food can generally give clear reasons for their preferences—but their knowledge of organic food is far from complete．For example, small amounts of pesticides can be used on organic products．And about three quarters of organic food in Britain is not local but imported to meet growing demand．“The demand for organic food is increasing by about one third every year, so it is a very fast-growing market,” said Sue Flock, a specialist in this line of business．More and more people in Britain are buying organic food because _____．
| A．they are getting richer |
| B．they can get the food anywhere |
| C．they like home-grown fruit |
| D．they consider the food free of pollution |
Which of the following statements is true to the facts about most organic produce sold in Britain?
| A．It grows indoors all year round． |
| B．It is grown on family farms |
| C．It is produced outside Britain． |
| D．It is produced on large farms． |
What is the meaning of “the organic trend” as the words are used in the text?
| A．better quality of organic food． |
| B．growing interest in organic food． |
| C．rising market for organic food． |
| D．higher prices of organic food． |
What is the best title for this news story?
| A．The making of organic food in Britain． |
| B．Organic food—to import or not? |
| C．Good qualities of organic food． |
| D．Organic food—healthy, or just for the wealthy? |
In 1901, H．G．Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon．When the explorers landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities．They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met．In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise．“Why,” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”
H．G．Wells could only imagine travel to the moon．In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon．People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon．However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one．A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it．
Underground systems are already in place．Many cities have underground car parks．In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas．The “Chunnel”, a tunnel（隧道） connecting England and France, is now complete．
But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities．” The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on．A solar dome（太阳能穹顶） would cover the whole city．
Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space．The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness．H．G．Wells’ “moon people” would agree．Would you?The explorers in H．G．Wells’ story were surprised to find that the “moon people” _____．
| A．lived in so many underground cities |
| B．knew so much about the earth |
| C．understood their language |
| D．were ahead of them in space technology |
What does the underlined word “it” refer to?
| A．Discovering the moon’s inner space． |
| B．Traveling to outer space． |
| C．Meeting the “moon people” again． |
| D．Using the earth’s inner space． |
What sort of underground systems are already here with us?
| A．Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas． |
| B．Offices, shopping areas, power stations． |
| C．Gardens, car parks, power stations． |
| D．Tunnels, gardens, offices． |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Alice Cities—cities of the future． |
| B．Space travel with H．G．Wells． |
| C．Building down, not up． |
| D．Enjoy living underground． |
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