Mary Cassatt is one of the first great women American painters. At first her father did not want her to become an artist. But she followed her dreams and became an artist.She was born on

May 22, 1844, and lived in Europe for several years as a child.

   Her family returned to the United States and, at age 16, Mary attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Four years later she decided she couldn't learn anything fresh and practical in Philadelphia, so she returned to Europe. There she studied the skills of the masters in Rome, Seville, Antwerp, and Paris.

   Mary received the chance of a lifetime at the age of 33 when the famous French painter, Edgar Degas, asked her to join a group of painters that included now-famous artists like Manet and Renoir. Their style of painting is called Impressionism. They used primary colors and short brush strokes(笔画) in their work. They recognized Mary 's spirit and powerful talent and invited her to exhibit in the Impressionist art shows.

   Mary painted what she saw: gardens, and paintings of persons , especially of mothers and children involved in everyday living. One of her paintings, "Young Mother and Two Children," was given to the White House in 1954 where it hangs today.

   Mary never married and, in 1877, her parents and sister moved to Europe to join her. Mary devoted much of her time to them for the next 18 years to their care. Mary painted until 1914 when her failing eyesight made it impossible to continue. She spent the later years of her life in Paris. She died in 1926 at the age of 82. Unfortunately,all her life, she refused to accept students.

Mary left Pennsylvania for Europe at age 20 mainly because_____.

   A. she wanted to learn another style of paintings

   B. she didn’t learn anything in Pennsylvania

   C. her desire for the learning wasn’t satisfied well

   D. her father didin’t want her to learn painting again

Which year was the most critical to her career and life?

   A. 1860   B. 1864   C. 1877    D. 1914

Which of the statements about Mary Cassatt is supported by the passage?

   A. Her father had a decisive effect on her painting

   B. Her painting featured scenes of everyday living

   C. She used various colors and long lines in her works

   D. She studied the paintings of the masters in U.S.A

Mary Cassatt stopping painting because of_____.

   A. her poor eyesight     B. her old age     C.lack of interest   D. her family

It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

   A. during the last ten year of life, she painted nothing.

   B. the paintings of Edgar Degas belong to realism

   C. her works were controversial though highly recognized

   D. her students showed great respect for her

B
Mary went out at night. She never forgot the night when she met a robber many years ago.
That evening, she was invited to a birthday party which lasted until two o’clock in the ?morning. Without company Mary walked along the quiet street.
Suddenly from the shadow of a dark building a tall man with a sharp knife in his right hand ran out at her. “Good evening, lady,” the man said in a low voice, “I don’t think you wish to die here.”
“What do you want?” Mary asked.
“Your earrings （耳环）.Take them off!” Slowly Mary’s eyes looked down. She tried to cover her necklace with the collar（领子）of her overcoat while she used the other hand to take off both of her earrings, and then she quickly threw them on the ground.
“Take them and let me go.” she said. The robber looked at her only feeling uncertain. He saw the girl didn’t care for the earrings at all, only trying to protect the necklace. He realized the necklace would cost more. So he said, “Give me your necklace.”
“Oh, sir. It’s not worth much. Please let me keep it.”
“Stop rubbish. Quick!”
With shaky hands, Mary took off her necklace. As soon as the robber disappeared, she picked up her earrings and ran as fast as she could to one of her friends.
The earrings cost 480 pounds and the necklace the robber had taken away cost only six pounds ten shillings.
44. Mary never forgot that night because ___________.
A. she was robbed of her necklace                      B. she was robbed, but she fooled the robber
C. she had a good time at the party              D. she lost her earrings
45. The party ___________.
A. didn’t end at two      B. ended before two     C. lasted two hours      D. was over at two
46. She tried to protect the necklace because ___________.
A. she didn’t want to lose it                        B. it was more important           
C. she liked it better than earrings                    D. she would rather have the necklace lost
47. The story tells us that she was a ___________girl.
A. clever and brave     B. clever and beautiful    C. brave and careful      D. clever and careful

The week after Jane's birthday, Barbara and Mary were away. Jane decided to have a late birthday party. She telephoned several friends. She asked some to bring records, some to bring food and others to bring something to drink. She rang another friend to see if she could borrow his record player. She herself bought some food and drink to get the party going. She took up all the carpets (地毯) so that they could dance. She did not know whether Barbara and Mary would have approved (赞成), but as long as she was careful, she was sure that they would not mind. She warned the two people in the flat above and invited them down. ?

         “Oh, ” said Jane, surprised. “What's all this about? ”

The first guests arrived soon after eight. The music was soon playing loudly and they started dancing. Some of Jane's friends brought other friends with them. As more and more people arrived,the noise increased. People started shouting at each other, so they turned the music up. This made it more difficult to hear each other above the music, so they shouted more loudly. At half past ten the bell rang. “Turn down the music!” someone shouted. “Someone probably called the police.” When Jane opened the door, there was a policeman standing there. She started to apologize, “I'm sorry about all the noise, officer. But you see, it was my birthday last week and I'm having a party.” “Never mind about that, miss. We're here because of something much more important.”

         “Well, there's been a report of burglary (盗窃行为). We think the thief may have come to your party, pretending to be a friend of someone here. ”

1.When did Jane have the party?

A. On her birthday.                                        B. After her birthday.

C. Before Barbara and Mary left.                D. As soon as she telephone her friends. 

2.Why did people shout at each other at the party?

A. They got rather angry with each other. 

B. They were very glad to make new friends.

C. They became too excited while dancing.

D. They couldn't hear each other because of the music.

3.What reason did Jane think the policeman came for?

A. They made too much noise.                    　　

B. A thief was among the guests.  

C. He had some important things to do.   

D. He was interested in birthday parties.

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

    Each of us fails from time to time. If we are wise, we accept these failures as a   36  part of

the learning process. But all too often as parents and teachers we disallow this  37  right to our

children.

    When I see a child  38  to this kind of pressure, I think of Donnie.

    Donnie was my youngest third grader. His   39  of failure kept him from classroom games

that other children enjoyed. He   40  answered questions—he might be wrong.

I tried my best to build his    41    .But nothing changed until midterm , when Mary Anne , a student teacher , was assigned（安排） to our classroom .

She was young and pretty , and she loved children . My pupils , Donnie included , all   42     her.

One morning , we were working on math problems at the chalkboard . Donnie had    43    the problems with pains-taking tidiness . Pleased with his progress , I     44   the children with Mary Anne and went for art materials . When I returned , Donnie was in    45    . He’d missed the third problem .

My student teacher looked at me in despair . Suddenly her face   46     . From the desk we shared , she got a container filled with pencils .

“Look , Donnie,” she said, kneeling beside him and gently   47     the tear-stained face from his arms . “I’ve got something to    48    you.” She removed the pencils , one at a time , and placed them on his desk .

“See these   49     , Donnie,” she continued . “They belong to Mrs . Lindstrom and me . See how the erasers are    50    ? That’s because we make mistakes too . But we erase the mistakes and try again . That’s what you    51    learn to do , too.”

She kissed him and stood up . “Here”, she said , I’ll leave one of these pencils on  52      desk so you’ll remember that everybody makes mistakes,   53    teachers.” Donnie looked up with love in his eyes and a smile .

The pencil became Donnie’s   54  possession . That, together with Mary Anne’s frequent encouragement, gradually    55    him that it’s all right to make mistakes—as long as you erase them and try again .

A．small     B．basic        C．necessary        D．large

A．correct B．same C．important  D．natural

A．suffering       B．object      C．fall    D．subject

A．fear      B．lesson      C．chance      D．sense

A．always B．often       C．never       D．seldom

A．self protection B．self improvement C．self confidence D．self learning

A．respected      B．disliked    C．avoided    D．minded

A．worked out B．copied  C．gone over        D．learned

A．left       B．offered    C．missed     D．parted

A．surprise      B．astonishment    C．anger       D．tears

A．darkened     B．brightened       C．pulled      D．loosened

A．lifting        B．picking    C．holding    D．pushing

A．help    B．show       C．reward     D．promise

A．pencils       B．mistakes   C．marks      D．containers

A．used    B．built        C．worn       D．damaged

A．may    B．must        C．will   D．can

A．my      B．someone’s       C．the teacher’s    D．your

A．still      B．also C．even        D．not

A．prized  B．own C．kept  D．expected

A．warned       B．informed C．persuaded        D．reminded

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

I was in the fifth grade in a small town in Utah. At the start of the school year, my friends and I saw a(n)      face. It was clear from the start that the newcomer, Ruth, would not be _____ in our social circle.

Her father lived in a neighborhood that was far from fashionable. Every day, she wore the _____ dress and too-big blue sneakers.

There were lots of ____ in our school on Christmas Eve every year. Most people in town ____ the school’s Christmas programmes. While other classes sang songs and performed skits, the ____ was reserved for fifth--graders. The starring roles were Mary and Joseph. One day before Christmas, my friends and I listened ____ as our teacher, Mr. Russon, read from his list. Finally, he said, “Joseph will be ____ by Timothy.”

I was ____ ,but at once tense again. Which of the popular girls would perform with me? “And the ____ of Mary goes to …Ruth.” Ruth? As far as we knew, she hadn’t ____ tried out. If Ruth was going to be Mary, we decided, we’d make this the ____ Christmas play ever.

_____, Ruth had always practiced her song while the rest of us were doing ____ . Her voice cracked as she tried to get a(n) ___ . We laughed harder than ever. Our music teacher     the pianist. We were the worst group of fifth-graders ever, the teacher told us. This year there would be      play!

Christmas Eve arrived. Students and people crowded the hall. Finally the time ____ for the fifth-grade performance. To our ____ , Mr. Russon said, “One of the fifth-graders will sing a solo.” The curtain opened, and there stood Ruth. She wore a white dress. Her face ___ as she began to sing. A beautiful voice rang through the hall.

1.A. unchanging         B. friendly                   C. serious           D. unfamiliar

2.A. protected           B. included                 C. surrounded      D. blamed

3.A. formal                  B. same                 C. modern                 D. beautiful

4.A. courses               B. songs                 C. programmes              D. speeches

5.A. attended             B. discussed         C. compared                  D. disliked

6.A. song                     B. dance                 C. story                         D. play

7.A. anxiously   B. curiously                 C. proudly                   D. patiently

8.A. replaced             B. rescued                  C. played                D. punished

9.A. surprised            B. disappointed          C. interested              D. delighted

10.A. part          B. name                       C. honor                 D. money

11.A. already              B. still                           C. never                      D. even

12.A. worst                 B. best                         C. longest           D. easiest

13.A. Besides             B. However                 C. Therefore               D. Still

14.A. everything        B. nothing          C. something         D. anything

15.A. break                 B. apology                   C. breath                D. chance

16.A. encouraged     B. showed                   C. lost                     D. stopped

17.A. no         B. more         C. another        D. such

18.A. passed               B. came                  C. saved                   D. wasted

19.A. surprise            B. enjoyment        C. regret                       D. disappointment    

20.A. woke up            B. lit up                   C. rose  up                  D. cheered up