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.”
小题1:Alexandra became well-known all over the world for her paintings at the age of _______.

A．18months

B．three

C．eight

D．ten

小题2:Which country does Alexandra live?

A．America.

B．Britain.

C．Romania.

D．France.

小题3: 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

小题4: 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

小题5: 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

After my husband died, my world crashed around me. My six children were 10, nine, eight, six, three and 18 months, and I was overwhelmed(压垮) with the responsibilities(责任) of earning a living, caring for the children and simply keeping my head above water.
I was lucky to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week, but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone, and frankly(坦诚地) I was uneasy. Every unusual noise or any late-night phone call filled me with fear. I felt really lonely.
One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big beautiful German shepherd(牧羊犬) on our doorstep. It was obvious he wanted to make the house his home. The children took an instant（紧迫的） liking to "German" and begged me to let him in. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement(地下室) until the next day. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks. The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results. Saturday night he was still with us.
On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case his owner came by, we drove off without him. When we stopped to get gas at a local station, we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. He stayed again Sunday night.
Monday morning I let him out for a run while the children got ready for school. He didn’t come back. We thought we’d never see him again. On Friday evening, German was back again. We took him in, and again he stayed until Monday morning, when our housekeeper arrived. It went like this for almost 10 months. We looked forward to his coming each Monday morning he left home.
Each week, between German's visits, I grew a little braver, but every weekend I enjoyed his company. Then one Monday morning we patted his head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. He never came back.
小题1:How long did the German shepherd stay with the family every week?

A．One day.	B．Two days.
C．Three days.	D．Four days.

小题2:What does the underlined part in the first paragraph mean?

A．trying to keep calm in public

B．trying to get attention from other men

C．showing her high spirit in the face of trouble

D．managing to continue to live

小题3:When the author’s husband died, ______.

A．she couldn’t raise the six children on her own

B．she couldn’t relax on the weekends

C．The housekeeper only came on weekends

D．she was too busy to feel lonely

小题4:Which of the following is Wrong according to the article?

A．German was fond of living with the family.

B．The writer felt safe and protected with German around.

C．The dog stayed until the writer was strong enough to go on alone.

D．The writer was too busy that weekend to go find the dog’s owner.

小题5:Which is the best title for the passage?

A．A homeless dog	B．A friend’s strength
C．How to keep a dog	D．Keep up when in trouble

When you cough(咳嗽) or sneeze, please turn your head away from others and cover your mouth with the full part of your hand. Afterwards, you should say," Excuse me." This is a rule I set for my students.
It is so simple, but many kids have never been told to do this. In fact, I notice adults cough and sneeze in public without putting a hand over the mouth. I hate traveling by underground in New York during cold and flu(流感) season, because it is certain that someone is going to stand right behind me and cough or sneeze on my neck.
One important thing I point out to the kids is that after they sneeze or cough on their hand, they should wash their hands as soon as possible. Otherwise, they will be passing those germs along to everything and everyone they touch.
In order to help the students remember this rule, I tell them about an old story. It says that when you sneeze, evil spirits jump into your body. If you don't cover your mouth, the spirits will enter, but if you cover your mouth, you will keep them out, We say "God bless you" when someone sneezes, and in Germany(德国) you should say "Gesundheit". That means "Good health to you." Both expressions are said that if you didn't cover your mouth in time and the spirits were able to enter your body. The kids love finding out the origins(起源) of these expressions and it encourage them to put the advice to use more often.
小题1:The writer of this article must be _______ .

A．a reporter

B．a teacher

C．a doctor

D．an officer

小题2: What does the underline word 'this" mean?

A．Don't cough or sneeze in front of people.

B．Don't stand beside someone who coughs or sneezes.

C．Many people cough or sneeze on the underground train.

D．Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing and say sorry.

小题3:After coughing or sneezing on their hand, students are advised to _______.

A．say "God bless you"

B．wash their hands as soon as possible

C．go to see a doctor as soon as possible

D．go home and have a good rest

小题4: According to the article, the writer would like the kids _______.

A．to be polite to adults	B．to be in better health
C．to have good manners	D．to do well in exams

小题5: What does the underlined word “germs” mean in Chinese?

A．咳嗽

B．喷嚏

C．鼻涕

D．病菌