There was once a great painter named Mechel in Germany about two hundred years ago. One day a young painter decided to pay him a visit for the secret of painting.

Mechel was painting when the young man arrived at his house. He smiled and waved his painting brush in the air. The young man understood his meaning and said, "Do you mean that I should keep on painting?""Yes!"Mechel said and pointed to the picture on the table. "You should not only paint more, but also look through others' works. They may serve as a silent teacher. But the young painter said, "I have painted a lot. I can paint many pictures within a day. And I have looked through a lot. I can look through quite a few copies within a day.""What are the results?" asked Mechel. The young painter scratched his hair and said, "Though I can paint many pictures, it takes me a year to sell them."

After hearing this, Mechel said seriously, "Why not do your job the other way? I am sure if you spend a year painting a picture, you can sell it within a day."

79. The underlined word "they" means ________ .

A. painters

B. others

C. famous teachers

D. other painters' works

80. -Why did the young man go to visit Mechel?

-He wanted to ________ .

A. paint more pictures

B. sell more pictures

C. sell pictures quickly

D. ask for some advice

81. The secret of painting according to the Mechel is ________ .

A. keeping on painting

B. looking through others' works

C. painting one picture in a year

D. working hard and learning from others' works

82. -What advice did Mechel give the young man?

- ________ .

A. Taking a year to paint a picture

B. Following the others' examples

C. Spending more time learning and painting

D. Spending less time selling his pictures

There was once a great painter named Mechel in Germany about two hundred years ago. One day a young painter decided to pay him a visit for the secret of painting.

Mechel was painting when the young man arrived at his house. He smiled and waved his painting brush in the air. The young man understood his meaning and said, "Do you mean that I should keep on painting?""Yes!"Mechel said and pointed to the picture on the table. "You should not only paint more, but also look through others' works. They may serve as a silent teacher. But the young painter said, "I have painted a lot. I can paint many pictures within a day. And I have looked through a lot. I can look through quite a few copies within a day.""What are the results?" asked Mechel. The young painter scratched his hair and said, "Though I can paint many pictures, it takes me a year to sell them."

After hearing this, Mechel said seriously, "Why not do your job the other way? I am sure if you spend a year painting a picture, you can sell it within a day."

79. The underlined word "they" means ________ .

A. painters

B. others

C. famous teachers

D. other painters' works

80. -Why did the young man go to visit Mechel?

-He wanted to ________ .

A. paint more pictures

B. sell more pictures

C. sell pictures quickly

D. ask for some advice

81. The secret of painting according to the Mechel is ________ .

A. keeping on painting

B. looking through others' works

C. painting one picture in a year

D. working hard and learning from others' works

82. -What advice did Mechel give the young man?

- ________ .

A. Taking a year to paint a picture

B. Following the others' examples

C. Spending more time learning and painting

D. Spending less time selling his pictures

When a tornado touched down in a small town nearby, many families were left completely destroyed. Afterward all the local newspapers carried many human-interest stories featuring some of the families who suffered the hardest.
One Sunday, a particular picture especially touched me. A young woman stood in front of an entirely shattered mobile home, a depressed expression twisting her features. A young boy, seven or eight years old, stood at her side, eyes downcast. Clutching  (紧握)  at her skirt was a tiny girl who stared into the camera, eyes wide with confusion and fear.
The article that went with the picture gave the clothing sizes of each family member. With growing interest, I noticed that their sizes closely matched ours. This would be a good opportunity to teach my children to help those less fortunate than themselves. I taped the picture of the young family to our refrigerator, explaining their difficulty to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and to three- year-old Meghan.
“ We have so much. And these poor people now have nothing,” I said.“We’ll share what we have with them.”
I brought three large boxes down from the room upstairs and placed them on the living room floor. Meghan watched seriously, as the boys and I filled one of the boxes with canned goods and foods.
While I sorted through our clothes, I encouraged the boys to go through their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys piled up discarded toys and games.
“I’ll help you find something for the little girl when I’m done with this,” I said.
The boys placed the toys they had chosen to donate into one of the boxes while I filled the third box with clothes. Meghan walked up with Lucy, her worn, faded, much-loved rag doll hugged tightly to her chest. She paused in front of the box that held the toys, pressed her round little face into Lucy’s flat, painted-on-face, gave her a final kiss, then laid her gently on top of the other toys.
“Oh, Honey,” I said.“You don’t have to give Lucy. You love her so much.”
Meghan nodded seriously, eyes glistening with held-back tears. ‘”Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she’ll make that other little girl happy, too．”
Swallowing hard, I stared at Meghan for a long moment, wondering how I could teach the boys the lesson she had just taught me. For I suddenly realized that anyone can give their cast-offs away. True generosity is giving that which you value most.
Honest benevolence  (善行)  is a three-year-old offering a valuable, though shabby, doll to a little girl she doesn’t know with the hope that it will bring this child as much pleasure as it brought her. I, who had wanted to teach, had been taught.
The boys had watched, open-mouthed, as their baby sister placed her favorite doll in the box. Without a word, Brad rose and went to his room. He came back carrying one of his favorite action figures. He hesitated briefly, clutching the toy, then looked over at Meghan and placed it in the box next to Lucy.
A slow smile spread across Brett’s face. Then he jumped up, eyes twinkling as he ran to fetch some of his prized Matchbox cars.
Astonished, I realized that the boys had also recognized what little Meghan’s gesture meant. Swallowing back tears, I pulled all three of them into my arms.
Taking the cue from my little one, I removed my old jacket from the box of clothes. I replaced it with the new hunter green jacket that I had found on sale last week. I hoped the young woman in the picture would love it as much as I did.
It’s easy to give that which we don’t want any more, but harder to let go of things we cherish, isn’t it? However, the true spirit of giving is to give with your heart..
【小题1】Why does the author give a detailed description of a particular picture in the Sunday newspaper?

Many years ago, my dad was diagnosed (诊断) with a serious heart condition. He was unable to work a steady job. He would be fine for a while, but would then fall suddenly ill and have to be admitted to the hospital.

He wanted to do something to keep himself busy, so he decided to volunteer at the local children’s hospital. My dad loved kids. It was the perfect job for him. He ended up working with the seriously ill children. He would talk, play, and do arts with them.

One of his kids was a girl with a rare disease that paralyzed (瘫痪) her from the neck down. She couldn’t do anything, and she was very depressed. My dad decided to try to help her. He started visiting her in her room, bringing paints, brushes and paper. He stood the paper up, put the paintbrush in his mouth and began to paint. He didn’t use his hands at all. All the while he would tell her, “See, you can do anything you set your mind to.”

At the end of the day, she began to paint using her mouth, and she and my dad became friends. Soon after, the little girl was sent home because the doctors felt there was nothing else they could do for her. My dad also left the children’s hospital for a little while because he became ill. Some time later after my dad had recovered and returned to work, in came the little girl who had been paralyzed, but this time she was walking. She ran straight over to my dad and hugged him really tight. She gave him a picture she had done using her hands. At the bottom it read: “Thank you for helping me walk.”

My dad would cry every time he told us this story and so would we. He would say sometimes love is more powerful than doctors, and my dad – who died just a few months after the little girl gave him the picture – loved every single child in that hospital.

48. The author’s father worked at the local hospital to ___________.

A. ease his heart condition                    B. keep himself occupied and happy

C. earn money to pay for treatment             D. realize his childhood dream

49. How did the author’s father help the paralyzed little girl?

A. He helped her practice walking.             B. He painted special pictures for her.

C. He showed her she could still do things.       D. He visited her and made a toy for her.

50. According to Paragraph 4, the paralyzed girl ___________.

A. gradually recovered and walked             B. eventually became a unique painter   

C. was sent home and never seen again          D. sent a picture painted with her mouth

51. The article mainly conveys the message that ___________.

A. it’s better to give than to receive             B. volunteering is a worthwhile thing to do

C. love can sometimes bring great results        D. a sick person should not focus on his disease