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 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 turkey named Courage gave thanks to President Obama for saving his life on the day before Thanksgiving. Honouring a 62-year-old tradition, the President pardoned(赦免)the bird on Thanksgiving eve.
The tradition of a turkey pardon at Thanksgiving began with President Truman in 1947. Courage comes from Ellsworth, Iowa. The name Courage was chosen by voters (投票人)who took part in a survey posted on the White House website. The lucky turkey walked on the lawn of the Rose Garden and posed for the cameras at the presidential podium(讲台).
The dinner that has become known as the First Thanksgiving was actually a harvest festival celebrated in December of 1621. That’s when English settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts, gave thanks for the progress they had made after a hard winter in their new country. As America grew, Thanksgiving customs also spread and got bigger. George Washington declared that the first national Thanksgiving would be on November 26, 1789. In the decades to follow, however, people celebrated Thanksgiving locally, with no official date. President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November 1863 a national day of Thanksgiving. It stayed that way until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it one week earlier. He wanted to lengthen the shopping period before Christmas to encourage gift-buyers and to help businesses. So Congress（议会） ruled that, after 1941, Thanksgiving would be an official federal holiday falling on the fourth Thursday of November.
This year we celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday, November. Millions of Americans got together to give thanks with friends and family. The lucky turkey, Courage, was one of them. After his pardon, Courage would be sent to Disneyland Resort in California, where he would be the grand assemble of Disney’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
【小题1】That the turkey Courage was pardoned was decided by ________.

A．George Bush	B．Congress
C．President Truman	D．the public

【小题2】 The first Thanksgiving Day was held to ________.

A．celebrate the harvest of British settlers

B．celebrate the progress of Americans

C．encourage the struggle with British settlers

D．celebrate the joy of all Americans after a hard winter

【小题3】 We can infer(推断)from the passage that ________.

A．President Obama pardoned a turkey before Thanksgiving because of the economic crisis

B．the turkey named Courage was pardoned by President Roosevelt before Thanksgiving

C．the pardoned turkey walked on the lawn of the Rose Garden on Thanksgiving eve

D．the pardoned turkey will appear in a celebrating parade of Thanksgiving Day

Letter A

Dear Rose,

　　 I listen to your programme every day and I like it very much. I'm now writing to ask you something about American social customs (社交习惯). My American friends want me to join them in their dinner party. I am very happy and have decided to go but I'm a little worried about it, too. The social customs in my country are very different from here, and I know little about it.

　　 Should I bring a present, such as sweets or f1owers? Should I arrive on time or a little late? At the dinner table, how can I use the fork (叉子) and knife? How can let the family know that I'm thankful for their kindness?

Wang Lin

Letter B

Dear Wang Lin,

　　 It's a good idea to bring a smal1 present when you go to a dinner party. Flowers are always nice, or you may bring a bottle of wine (酒) if you know that your friends drink it.

　　 You should arrive on time or five to ten minutes late. Don't get there early. If you're going to be more than fifteen minutes 1ate, you should call and tell them. Try to be free at the dinner table. If you don't know how to use the fork and knife, just watch the other peop1e, and do like them. If you sti1l have no idea of what to do, ask the person next to you.

　　 If you like the food, say so. Of course, you'll thank them for the mea1 and for their kindness. It's a1so a good idea to send a thank-you card the day after.

Rose

6. Wang Lin wrote to Rose because she wanted to ___________ .

　　 A. make friends with Rose　　　 　 B. know American social customs

　　 C. give some advice to Rose　　 　 D. to tell her something about the party

7. Maybe Rose ___________ .

　　 A. is a good house wife　　　 　　　　 B. is going to the dinner party

　　 C. works at a TV station　　　 　　 D. knows Wang Lin very well

8. If you go to a dinner party but you don’t know the host(主人)very well, you’d better bring ________.

A. some flowers 　　 B. a bottle of wine 　　 C. some fruits 　 D. a knife and a fork

9. Which of the fo11owing is NOT RIGHT for joining a dinner party?

　　 A. Get there 15 minutes earlier.　　　　　 　 B. Make yourself at home.

　　 C. Follow others to use the fork and knife. 　 D. Thank your friends for the meal.

10. what does “a thank-you card “mean in Chinese?

A 回复卡　 B 答谢卡　 C 邀请卡　 D 赠送卡