Taylor Bernard and her twin sister were born 12 weeks early. As a result, Taylor suffers from
cerebral palsy (CP). It is a condition that affects the brain. Kids who are born with CP have trouble
controlling the muscles in their body. Taylor is 8 years old now. She uses a powerwheelchair to get
around. Her twin sister Sydney participates in sports, but Taylor has a different interest: art.
     Taylor submitted(提交) a watercolor painting of a sunset in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, to an art
contest. Of the more than 5,500 students who took park in the contest, only 51 were selected. Taylor
was one of them. Her winning painting is now being displayed in Union Station, in Washington, D. C.
After leaving Union Station, the exhibit will tour the country.
     The contest was sponsored by VSA, the international organization on arts and disability. The
nonprofit group was started to give people with disabilities an opportunity to participate in the arts.
Submissions for the contest came from students with and without disabilities. The exhibition is part of
VSA's International Arts Festival and was also sponsored by CVS Caremark's All Kids Can program.
     Art Changed Her Life
     Amanda LaMunyon represented Oklahoma in the exhibition. She just finished her freshman year of
high school. When Amanda was in elementary school, she had problems focusing and following rules.
She has Asperger Syndrome, which is a form of autism.
     "People started looking at her differently," her mother, Sherry LaMunyon, said. "They stopped
looking at her as a girl who was struggling and started looking at her as an artist. It's changed her whole
life."
     The president of VSA, Soula Antoniou, said that the point of the exhibition is to focus on students'
abilities, rather than their disabilities. "What we're trying to do is make sure each student finds something
they're good at," she said.
     That's exactly what Taylor's done. While she has some difficulty with fine motor skills, she's found that
she's talented with wide brush strokes(笔画) in painting.
     Inspiring Others
    Before finding painting, Amanda said she had trouble fitting in. "I didn't have anything that I felt was my
talent," she said. Now she's more focused on school and is interested in studying fashion design and
theater.
    Amanda hopes that the exhibition will show others that even if they have disabilities, they have abilities
they don't even know yet. You can see more of Amanda's artwork at amandalamunyon.com.

1. How could Amanda's mother feel when they learned Amanda could paint?

A. Disappointed.  
B. Surprised.
C. Doubt.  
D. Pleased.

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Only the disabled students can enter the art contest sponsored by VSA.
B. Amanda, Taylor's sister, has trouble in focusing and following rules.
C. Amanda has improved a lot in study after finding painting.
D. Sydney prefers art to sport because of her disability in the brain.

3. What is the text mainly about?

A. Students with disabilities show their creativity at an international art festival in Washington, D. C.
B. Students with disabilities are more talented in art according to the result of an international art festival
     in Washington, D. C.
C. An international art festival in Washington, D. C. gives people with disabilities an opportunity to
     participate in the arts.
D. More than 5,500 students submitted their paintings at an international art festival in Washington, D. C.

4. We may infer from the passage that ________.

A. Amanda had Asperger syndrome before she went to the elementary school
B. Some children who are disabled even don't know their situation
C. Taylor has trouble controlling the muscles, but her sister is healthy
D. Amanda is good at painting with wide brush strokes

     Taylor Bernard and her twin sister were born 12 weeks early. As a result, Taylor suffers from
cerebral palsy (CP). It is a condition that affects the brain. Kids who are born with CP have trouble
controlling the muscles in their body. Taylor is 8 years old now. She uses a powerwheelchair to get
around. Her twin sister Sydney participates in sports, but Taylor has a different interest: art.
     Taylor submitted(提交) a watercolor painting of a sunset in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, to an art
contest. Of the more than 5,500 students who took park in the contest, only 51 were selected. Taylor
was one of them. Her winning painting is now being displayed in Union Station, in Washington, D. C.
After leaving Union Station, the exhibit will tour the country.
     The contest was sponsored by VSA, the international organization on arts and disability. The
nonprofit group was started to give people with disabilities an opportunity to participate in the arts.
Submissions for the contest came from students with and without disabilities. The exhibition is part of
VSA's International Arts Festival and was also sponsored by CVS Caremark's All Kids Can program.
     Art Changed Her Life
     Amanda LaMunyon represented Oklahoma in the exhibition. She just finished her freshman year of
high school. When Amanda was in elementary school, she had problems focusing and following rules.
She has Asperger Syndrome, which is a form of autism.
     "People started looking at her differently," her mother, Sherry LaMunyon, said. "They stopped
looking at her as a girl who was struggling and started looking at her as an artist. It's changed her whole
life."
     The president of VSA, Soula Antoniou, said that the point of the exhibition is to focus on students'
abilities, rather than their disabilities. "What we're trying to do is make sure each student finds something
they're good at," she said.
     That's exactly what Taylor's done. While she has some difficulty with fine motor skills, she's found that
she's talented with wide brush strokes(笔画) in painting.
     Inspiring Others
     Before finding painting, Amanda said she had trouble fitting in. "I didn't have anything that I felt was my talent," she said. Now she's more focused on school and is interested in studying fashion design and
theater.
     Amanda hopes that the exhibition will show others that even if they have disabilities, they have abilities
they don't even know yet. You can see more of Amanda's artwork at amandalamunyon.com.

1. How could Amanda's mother feel when they learned Amanda could paint?

A. Disappointed.  
B. Surprised.
C. Doubt.  
D. Pleased.

2. What is the text mainly about?

A. Students with disabilities show their creativity at an international art festival in Washington, D. C.
B. Students with disabilities are more talented in art according to the result of an international art festival
in Washington, D. C.
C. An international art festival in Washington, D. C. gives people with disabilities an opportunity to
participate in the arts.
D. More than 5,500 students submitted their paintings at an international art festival in Washington, D. C.

3. We may infer from the passage that ________.

A. Amanda had Asperger Syndrome before she went to the elementary school
B. Some children who are disabled even don't know their situation
C. Taylor has trouble controlling the muscles, but her sister is healthy
D. Amanda is good at painting with wide brush strokes

4. Where could this passage come from?

A. In a newspaper.  
B. In a magazine.
C. On the Internet.  
D. In a report.

     Some people believe that international sport brings about good will between the nations and that if
countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: that
international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is
probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support
the view that sport encourages international brotherhood. Not only was there the terrible incident (事件)
with the murder of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by those incidents caused mainly by minor
national contests.
     One country received its second-place medal with great anger after the hockey (曲棍球) final. There
had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the losers objecting to the final decisions. They
were certain that one of their goals should not have been dismissed and that the opposite side's victory
was unfair. Their manager was angry when he said:"This wasn't hockey. Hockey and the Intemational
Hockey Society are finished." The president of the society said later that such words could result in the
pause of the team for at least three years.
     The American basketball team announced that they would not give away first place to Russia, after
a fighting end to their contest. The game had ended in quarrel. It was thought at first that the United States
had won, by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play. A Russian
player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other, and another player beat it into the basket.
It was the first time the USA had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. The judges discussed the matter
for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then
decided not to receive the silver medals.
     Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played for honors or money rather than for the
love of the game. The suggestion that sportsmen should compete as individuals (个人), or in non-national
teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too
much that encourages dangerous nationalism.

1. According to the author, recent Olympic Games have ____.

A. brought about goodwill between the nations
B. made only false national pride
C. hardly showed any international friendship
D. led to more and more misunderstanding and hatred

2. What did the manager mean by saying "...Hockey and the International Hockey Society are finished"?

A. His team would no longer take part in international games.
B. Hockey and the society are both ruined by the unfair decisions.
C. There should be no more hockey matches organized by the society.
D. The society should be dismissed.

3. The author gives the two examples in Paragraphs 2 and 3 to show ____.

A. how false national pride leads to undesirable incidents in international games
B. that sport men have been more troublesome than they used to be
C. that competitiveness in the games discourages international friendship
D. that unfair decisions are common in Olympic Games

4. What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?

A. The organization of the Olympic Games must be improved.
B. Athletes should compete as individuals in the Olympic Games.
C. Sport should be played competitively rather than for the love of the game.
D. International contests lead to misunderstanding between nations.