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

A new study suggests that the more teenagers watch television, the more likely they are to develop depression (抑郁症) as young adults.
The researchers used a national long-term survey of healthy young teenagers of about 13—16 to find out the relationship between media(媒体) use and depression. They based their findings on more than 4000 young teenagers who were not depressed when the survey began in 1995.
As part of the survey, the young people were asked how many hours of television or videos they watched daily. They were also asked how often they played computer games and listened to the radio. Here was the result. The young people spent five and a half hours a day using media and more than 2 hours of that was spent watching TV.
Seven years later, in 2001, more than 7% of the young people had signs of depression. The average age at that time was 21. Brian Primack at the University of Pittsburgh medical school was the lead author of the new study. He says every extra hour of television meant an 8% increase in the chances of developing signs of depression.
The researchers say they did not find any such relationship with the use of other media such as movies, video games or radio. But the study did find that young men were more likely than young women to develop depression given the same amount of media use.
Doctor Primack says the study did not find out if watching TV causes depression directly. But one possibility, he says, is that it may take time away from activities that could help prevent depression, like sports and social activities. It might also prevent a person from sleeping well, he says, and that could have an influence.
The study was just published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
In December, the journal Social Indicators Research published a study of activities that help lead to happy lives. Researchers from the University of Maryland found that people who describe themselves as happy spend less time watching television than unhappy people. The study found that happy people are more likely to be socially active, to read, attend social services and to vote.

Process of the study	Details
The purpose of the research	To find out   【小题1】 between media use and depression
At the beginning of the research	【小题2】was made among over 4000 young people who were not depressed.
The result of the survey	These young people spent five and a half hours a day in using media and they spent over 2 hours or that  【小题3】
Seven years later	Researchers found 7% of the young people had a sign of depression. Every extra hour of watching TV meant an 8% increase in the chances of developing signs of depression.
Results of the study	1. Watching TV might have   【小题4】   and it may take time away from activities and sports. 2. Young men get more chance than young women to develop depression. 3. The reason some people get depression is that   【小题5】

A very old lady won a million dollars in a lottery(彩票). Her son and her husband heard the news on the radio.
“How are we going to tell your mother?” the man asked. “The news might kill her!”
“That’s true,” the son said. “Perhaps we’d better speak to her doctor about it. He’ll know how to bring her the news gently.”
They told the old lady’s doctor about this.
“I’m glad you told me, ” he said “A shock(震惊), even a happy one, could give her a heart attack, leave it to me. I’ll find a way of bringing the news to her.”
The doctor thought about the problem for several days, then decided what he would say.
He called on the old lady and sat by her. He took her hand in his.
“Let’s play a game, my dear,” he said. “‘Let’s pretend(假装)’ game.”
“Oh, yes, ” the old lady said. “I love ‘Let’s pretend’ game.”
“Good, I’ll ask you a question first, ” the doctor said, “Then you can ask me one.”
He pretended to think for a few minutes. Then he said, “Tell me, what would you do if you won a million dollars in the lottery?”
“Oh, that’s an easy one,” the old lady said, “I’d give most of it to you, doctor, because you have been so good to me all these years, doctor!” But the doctor was now lying on the floor. He had died of shock.
【小题1】Who won a million dollars in a lottery?

A．The man.

B．The son.

C．The old lady.

D．The doctor.

【小题2】What does “heart attack” mean in Chinese?

A．攻击心脏.

B．惊喜.

C．心情.

D．心脏病.

【小题3】Why did the doctor play ‘Let’s pretend’ game with the lady?

A．Because he wanted to get the money.

B．Because he wanted to bring her the news gently.

C．Because he didn’t want to tell her the news.

D．Because he wasn’t honest.

【小题4】Who had died of shock?

A．The man.

B．The son.

C．The old lady.

D．The doctor.

【小题5】What’s the best title for the passage?

A．A Sad Shock	B．A wonderful Shock
C．An Interesting Shock	D．A Lucky Shock

A very old lady won a million dollars in a lottery(彩票). Her son and her husband heard the news on the radio.
“How are we going to tell your mother?” the man asked. “The news might kill her!”
“That’s true,” the son said. “Perhaps we’d better speak to her doctor about it. He’ll know how to bring her the news gently.”
They told the old lady’s doctor about this.
“I’m glad you told me, ” he said “A shock(震惊), even a happy one, could give her a heart attack, leave it to me. I’ll find a way of bringing the news to her.”
The doctor thought about the problem for several days, then decided what he would say.
He called on the old lady and sat by her. He took her hand in his.
“Let’s play a game, my dear,” he said. “‘Let’s pretend(假装)’ game.”
“Oh, yes, ” the old lady said. “I love ‘Let’s pretend’ game.”
“Good, I’ll ask you a question first, ” the doctor said, “Then you can ask me one.”
He pretended to think for a few minutes. Then he said, “Tell me, what would you do if you won a million dollars in the lottery?”
“Oh, that’s an easy one,” the old lady said, “I’d give most of it to you, doctor, because you have been so good to me all these years, doctor!” But the doctor was now lying on the floor. He had died of shock.
【小题1】Who won a million dollars in a lottery?

A．The man.

B．The son.

C．The old lady.

D．The doctor.

【小题2】What does “heart attack” mean in Chinese?

A．攻击心脏.

B．惊喜.

C．心情.

D．心脏病.

【小题3】Why did the doctor play ‘Let’s pretend’ game with the lady?

A．Because he wanted to get the money.

B．Because he wanted to bring her the news gently.

C．Because he didn’t want to tell her the news.

D．Because he wasn’t honest.

【小题4】Who had died of shock?

A．The man.

B．The son.

C．The old lady.

D．The doctor.

【小题5】What’s the best title for the passage?

A．A Sad Shock	B．A wonderful Shock
C．An Interesting Shock	D．A Lucky Shock

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