A lot of teenagers are good at art at school, but how would you feel if people called you “the new Picasso (毕加索)” or if presidents and other famous people collected your paintings?

Alexandra Nechita was ten when her paintings became famous all over the world. She visited Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and her family’s native place (祖籍) Romania where 5,000 fans came to see her at the airport. Alexandra said, “When it all started, I was moved. It was very exciting and I loved the traveling, but I got very tired. And I missed home.”

Alexandra is a good student. Her studies always come first. She only starts painting after she’s done her homework. She works on two or three paintings at a time. The paintings sell for thousands and Alexandra’s parents have given up their jobs to work for their daughter. Life for the Nechita family is very different from what it was like a few years ago.

Alexandra’s father Niki left Romania for political reasons in 1985. At first he tried his best to learn English and had different kinds of low-paid jobs. In 1987, he brought his wife and Alexandra, who was then 18 months old, to America. The family was very poor. Alexandra began to draw at the age of three.

She was drawing for four or five hours a day. Soon people offered to buy her paintings and she had her first art show at the age of eight. Stories about this child appeared in the newspapers and television. They now live in a large house with a swimming pool. Her mother said, “We started without anything, but thanks to Alexandra, we have everything we ever dreamed of.”

46. Alexandra became well-known all over the world for her paintings at the age of _______.

A. 18months　　　　　 B. three　　　　　　　　 C. eight　　　　　　　　 D. ten　　　　　　

47. Which country does Alexandra live?

A. America. 　　　　 B. Britain. 　　　　　 C. Romania. 　　　 D. France.

48. Alexandra’s painting _________.

A. took her a lot of time at school　 　

B. made her drop out of school

C. didn’t influence her studies at school

D. made her fall behind others in studies at school　　　　　　　　

49. When her family arrived in America in 1987, _________.

A. their life was very hard

B. they lived by selling Alexandra’s paintings

C. Alexandra began to draw her painting

D. her parents left their jobs and worked for her

50. From the passage, we can learn ________.

A. Alexandra was not interested in travelling

B. Alexandra’s success changed her family’s life

C. Alexandra’s parents were good at English

D. Alexandra’s stories appeared often on the radio and TV

You speak, write a letter, make a telephone call. Your words can carry a message. People communicate with words. Do you think you can communicate without words? A smile on your face shows you are happy or friendly. Tears in your eyes tell others that you are sad. When you raise your hand in class, the teacher knows you want to say something or ask questions. You shake your head, and people know you me saying "No". You nod and people know you are saying "Yes". Other things can also carry messages. For example, a sign at the bus stop helps you to know which bus to take. A sign on the wall of your school helps you to find the library. Signs on doors tell you where to go in or out. Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of signs around you and that you receive messages from them all the time? People can communicate in many other ways. An artist can use his drawings to tell about beautiful mountains, about the blue sea and many other things. Books are written to tell you about all the wonderful things in the world and also about people mid their ideas. Books, magazines, TV, radios and films all help us to communicate with each other. They all help us to know what is going on in the world mad what other people are thinking about.

1．Can we communicate with each other without words?

A．Yes, sometimes we can.                       B．No, we can' t.

    C．No. It's impossible.                   D．Yes, we can do so all the time.

2．When we see somebody smile, then we know he must be feeling_______．

    A．angry              B．happy         C．surprised      D．sad

3．We can learn news from ________．

    A．newspapers         B．radios         C．TV             D．A, B and C

4．A sign at the bus stop tells you ________．

    A．how many buses there are

    B. what kind d bus it is

    C. where the bus comes from and goes to

    D．how much money you'll pay for the ticket

5．What do you think is the quickest way to communicate with your friend in another city?

    A．Writing a letter.                      B．Making a telephone call.

    C．Drawing a picture.                  D．Asking someone else to take a message.

Television has a huge influence on our lives. It is one of the most important ways of getting information. People spend part of their spare time watching television, and much of what they learn comes from it.

      What we see on TV—movies, news shows, sports shows, advertisements and so on have increased our knowledge and have changed the way we learn about the world today. However, not everything on TV is true.

     Most of the viewers are children. Television sometimes is like a baby-sitter. It spends more time with children than parents do. But it keeps them in the living room away from healthy outdoor activities. They spend less time playing soccer or walking in the park or playing games in the yard.

Of course, there are some programs on TV that are good for children. But there are also some shows which are bad. Children should not watch unhealthy shows. Maybe we can’t change what is on TV, but we can choose what we watch. Do you agree?

1.Why is television sometimes like a baby-sitter?

A. Because television can take care of children.

B. Because children spend more time watching TV than staying with their parents.

C. Because television spends time looking after children.

 D. Because television keeps children from going out.

2.Which is not one of the good influences television has on our lives?

   A. It stops children from attending healthy outdoor activities.

   B. It provides a lot of information.

   C. It changes people’s way of learning.

   D. It increases people’s knowledge.

3.We can learn from the passage that _________.

  A. parents shouldn’t let children watch TV

  B. We should believe everything on TV.

  C. we can choose TV programmes

  D. parents shouldn’t watch TV

4. What’s the writer’s attitude(态度) towards television?

  A．消极的    B. 积极的    C. 中立的     D. 愤怒的

5.The passage is mainly about ________.

  A. children spend too much time watching TV

  B. people spend their time on TV for information

  C. TV programmes attract children

  D. the great influence TV has on our lives

Television has a huge influence on our lives. It is one of the most important ways of getting information. People spend part of their spare time watching television, and much of what they learn comes from it.
What we see on TV—movies, news shows, sports shows, advertisements and so on have increased our knowledge and have changed the way we learn about the world today. However, not everything on TV is true.
Most of the viewers are children. Television sometimes is like a baby-sitter. It spends more time with children than parents do. But it keeps them in the living room away from healthy outdoor activities. They spend less time playing soccer or walking in the park or playing games in the yard.
Of course, there are some programs on TV that are good for children. But there are also some shows which are bad. Children should not watch unhealthy shows. Maybe we can’t change what is on TV, but we can choose what we watch. Do you agree?

1. 1.

   Why is television sometimes like a baby-sitter?

   1. A.
      Because television can take care of children.
   2. B.
      Because children spend more time watching TV than staying with their parents.
   3. C.
      Because television spends time looking after children.
   4. D.
      Because television keeps children from going out.
2. 2.

   Which is not one of the good influences television has on our lives?

   1. A.
      It stops children from attending healthy outdoor activities.
   2. B.
      It provides a lot of information.
   3. C.
      It changes people’s way of learning.
   4. D.
      It increases people’s knowledge.
3. 3.

   We can learn from the passage that _________.

   1. A.
      parents shouldn’t let children watch TV
   2. B.
      We should believe everything on TV.
   3. C.
      we can choose TV programmes
   4. D.
      parents shouldn’t watch TV
4. 4.

   What’s the writer’s attitude(态度) towards television?

   1. A.
      消极的
   2. B.
      积极的
   3. C.
      中立的
   4. D.
      愤怒的
5. 5.

   The passage is mainly about ________.

   1. A.
      children spend too much time watching TV
   2. B.
      people spend their time on TV for information
   3. C.
      TV programmes attract children
   4. D.
      the great influence TV has on our lives