1 . The meaning of the word “nice” changed a few times ________ it finally came to include the sense “pleasant.”

A．before	B．after
C．since	D．while

2 . The exact year _____ Angela and her family spent together in China was 2008．

A．When

B．where

C．why

D．which

3 . —Reading is the best way to pass time on the train.
— _______, I never go traveling without a book.

A．You are joking	B．That’s true
C．I don’t think so	D．It sounds like fun

4 . The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was not that we could take drawing classes or painting classes but that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles (风格). It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?

First we had to read about ancient Egyptians (古埃及人) and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (鬈曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn’t see what was so great about art.

On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother’s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn’t stop looking at this painting! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.

1. The aim of the mother’s plan was to _________.

A．take them to visit the museum	B．introduce them to the world of art
C．ask them to read about artists	D．show them different painting styles

2. What was the writer’s experience in the museum before the last visit?

A．She came to feel her mother’s love.	B．She liked many paintings.
C．She hardly enjoyed herself.	D．She could understand the pictures of fat babies.

3. What made the writer go through a change that summer?

A．One of Mary’s paintings.	B．A strange way of painting.
C．Artists in the Middle Ages.	D．Her mother' s instruction.

4. From the text, we can see _________.

A．the importance of curiosity	B．the effect of art
C．the value of learning	D．the power of family education

5 .         When Kate’s paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “a ribbon (丝带) around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kate had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
        Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City, Kate suffered from polio (小儿麻痹症) at the age of seven. Her spine (脊柱) became bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kate taught herself to paint.
        In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kate’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
        Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953. For more than a decade after her death in 1954. Kate’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.
1. What does the underlined phrase “a much bigger name” in paragraph 1 most probably mean?

A．A far better artist．

B．A far more gifted artist．

C．A much stronger person．

D．A much more famous person．

2. The terrible pain Kate suffered was caused by                    ．

A．polio

B．her bent spine

C．back injuries

D．the operations she had

3. Kate’s style had become increasingly independent since the                   ．

A．1930s

B．1940s

C．1950s

D．1970s

4. What is author’s attitude toward Kate?

A．Devotion．

B．Sympathy．

C．Worry．

D．Encouragement．

6 . Walmart, which is one of the largest American supermarket chains,        some of its stores open 24 hours on Mondays through Saturdays.

A．keeps	B．keep
C．have kept	D．had kept

7 . The athlete’s years of hard training       when she finally won the Olympic gold medal.

A．went on

B．got through

C．paid off

D．ended up

8 . Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ is often thought to be the richest woman in the world.          , her personal wealth seems rather small.

A．Besides	B．Otherwise
C．However	D．Altogether

9 . A lot of language learning, ________has been discovered, is happening in the first year of life, so parents should talk much to their children during that period.

A．what	B．that
C．where	D．as

10 . Tom asked the candy makers if they could make the chocolate easier      into small pieces.

A．break

B．breaking

C．broken

D．to break