1 . With 48 impressionism works exhibited in his solo show in Yangon recently, Bhone Myat San, a 13-year-old boy, has stepped into a professional career in Myanmar.
When his mother was transferred to Dawei in 2020, he accompanied her and later joined a portrait painting class taught by senior artists at the campus of Dawei University. Bhone Myat San says he has been studying painting through online courses while staying at home during the pandemic. He also joined a five-month online class about oil painting conducted by an artist in Myanmar last year.
“I envy impressionists like Monet,” says Bhone Myat San, a seventh grader, while putting finishing touches on an oil painting titled Bagan’s Tharabar Gate.
When his works were checked for exhibition, Khey Mar Shin, the owner of the Artist Gallery Cafe who’s an artist herself, noticed that he is talented. “He is the youngest artist to have hosted a solo show in my gallery. The event was successful,” the 42-year-old artist says, adding that she also saw that the 13-year-old boy’s passion for arts was higher than his peers and even stronger than some senior artists.
Ma Pale, 38, says she brought her two children to the art show so that her children can get inspiration from him.
Aung Hein Tun, 25, an art enthusiast who visited the event, says the young artist’s paintings are lively, and his painting skill as a 13-year-old is admirable. “I had no intention to collect paintings, but I bought one after enjoying his arts,” Aung Hein Tun says.
“Consistency is the key to success,” the young artist says. “I want to attend a foreign language university in Myanmar because I have a dream of studying arts abroad,” he adds.
1. How did Bhone Myat San learn to paint?| A．Through teaching himself. |
| B．By learning from artists. |
| C．With the help of his mom. |
| D．Under the guidance of Monet. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Critical. | C．Favorable. | D．Uncaring. |
| A．He is the youngest artist to have hosted a solo show in Myanmar. |
| B．He believes talent is the most important thing for achieving success. |
| C．His works of art were much admired and displayed by Aung Hein Tun. |
| D．His paintings may be a source of inspiration to Ma Pale’s two children. |
| A．A Young Inspiring Artist |
| B．A Road to Success |
| C．A Boy’s Passion for Art |
| D．A Successful Exhibition |
2 . Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family’s last vacation for example. It was my six-year-old son’s winter break from school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits(积分) to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had a meeting in New York, so I had to get back. But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.
The next day my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged---okay, ordered them to wait it out at the airport, to "earn" more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?
Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal(交易) is something few of us can afford to pass up.
I've made a living looking for the best deals and exposing the worst tricks. I have been the consumer(顾客) reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.
I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money’s worth. I’m also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn't hesitate (犹豫)to spend on a good haircut. It keeps longer, and it's the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.
1. Why does the author mention her family’s last vacation?| A．To celebrate her son’s winter break from school. |
| B．To show she was always ready to save money. |
| C．To prove the Delta’s service was reasonable. |
| D．To tell an unforgettable family experience. |
| A．She tries to make full use of every dollar . |
| B．She makes a living mainly by writing. |
| C．She is not a good mother or a wife. |
| D．She is crazy about cheap products. |
| A．generous with time. | B．mean with money. | C．being excited. | D．feeling ashamed. |
| A．How to be a good housewife. | B．How to book airline seats. |
| C．How to live a rewarding life. | D．How to make every dollar count. |
3 . Most of us have lost our wallet at some stage in our lives. But few would imagine having it returned after a nearly seven-decade gap. Edward Parker dropped his wallet in 1950 into an inaccessible spot behind a bookshelf, while working as an electrician, repairing World War Two bomb damage in the palace. The wallet stayed there until this year when a builder, doing some restoration work, finally found it.
The wallet is a time capsule. Its leather and webbing has long ago started to disintegrate. But it contains numerous pictures of family, invoices (发票), receipts, old union cards, results of a chest X-ray (sent to him in 1948, the same year as the NHS was founded), a national service card dated 9 December 1944 and a medical insurance card. His business cards-E Parker, Electrical Contractor-seem almost original. Reflecting the typical methods of contact of the time, they have an address but no telephone number.
A month ago I was speaking a press officer Lambeth Palace and he mentioned that the wallet had just been handed in. We thought it might be nice to try and work out whose it was and give it back to the family. Edward Parker is a pretty common name, but his medical card contained two places of residence-Poets Road and Springdale Road in north London. From this, Islington Council were able to find details of a marriage between Edward Parker and Constance Butler in 1947.
That information was enough to work out that he was still alive and in a care home in Essex, so I went to visit him. Now 89, Edward has dementia (痴呆), but he was clearly happy to get the wallet and in particular, the photographs back. He pointed out pictures of his mother and father, his brother, his cousins and his wife Constance, who was with him when I visited. He hadn't seen a picture of his father since he lost the wallet, Constance, 90, says.
1. We can possibly infer that Edward Parker .| A．once worked as electrical technician | B．always lost his wallet |
| C．once participated in World War II | D．once worked as a restoration builder |
| A．The material of the wallet. | B．The producer of the wallet. |
| C．The contents of the wallet. | D．The shape of the wallet. |
| A．Maintain. | B．Damage. |
| C．Disappear. | D．Destroy. |
| A．Business card. | B．National service card. |
| C．Old union card. | D．Medical card. |
4 . Like many young people, I dreamed of growing up and becoming a successful writer one day. My first part-time job came when I was 18 years old. I was working in a paint factory. Because of the terrible smell of pain, it because normal for me to temporarily pass out during my lunch time.
All of my spare time was spent writing and sending stories to any publisher that would read them, dreaming that one day losing consciousness while eating my ham sandwiches would no longer be a part of my daily routine.
I discovered content mills, where a writer could devote his time to writing soul-destroying online copy. It provided a little pay, but I wouldn’t faint. So I quit my day job. But it is difficult to work from home. At times, I would lose all passion for writing 500 words about a bed for a few pounds, but the terrible smell of paint reminded me to get back to writing.
Several months later, the money got better. I was given consistent work writing for one of the largest entertainment websites in the world. The job was simple: I complained about everything that was wrong with society and they paid me £50 for each article. A guy from the website asked if I would be interested in leaving my small town life to move to the big city of Manchester to become a professional writer for them. I accepted.
After a pretty successful year, I was offered a promotion. Just 18 months earlier, I was suffering from the smell of paint on a daily basis and now I was managing a team of nine writers. I had come a long way.
1. What happened to the writer when he was in a paint factory?| A．He passed out for a long time. |
| B．He lost his breath during lunch time. |
| C．He loved his part-time job. |
| D．He became unconscious due to the bad smell of paint. |
| A．The writer quit his job to get a higher salary. |
| B．The writer declined to become an in-house writer. |
| C．The writer was in charge of a team of 9 writers now. |
| D．The writer fainted daily due to the bad pay. |
| A．He was given a little pay for writing. |
| B．He lost consciousness while writing. |
| C．He was given consistent work. |
| D．The smell of paint was unpleasant. |
| A．A man can do no more than he can. |
| B．Follow dreams and never give up. |
| C．The last leg of a journey just marks the halfway point. |
| D．No pains, no gains. |
5 . Sumeja Tulic had moved from London to New York nine months ago to attend journalism school. Yet her time in New York met with a season of never-ending ugliness in politics and acts of terrorism(恐怖主义) around the world. “One day you laugh, and then you’re angry,” said Tulic. As she walked toward the subway station, she thought, “I want to see something nice. Enough of this craziness.”
At the City Hall station, she saw a man resting against a pillar(柱子), the way anyone might, waiting for the train. The stillness was interrupted(打断) by an announcement that the next train was two stations away. Then Tulic saw the man at the pillar falling forward onto the tracks.
The man who had fallen was not moving. In what seemed like an instant, three men jumped down to help.
"I don't know where these men got the intelligence and the quickness," Tulic said. "The man who fell was about six feet tall and quite heavy. He was kind of stuck in the tracks. It was terrifying to know that the train was coming. Will it stop? Will they succeed in pulling him out?"
On the tracks, the unconscious(失去知觉的) man was put into a sitting position by the three men, who then lifted him from below to others who lifted from above and rolled him onto the platform. Then the rescuers were themselves rescued, pulled back to safety by helping hands. As soon as they were all clear, the train pulled in. People getting off the train walked around this unconscious man.
Two of the men who had jumped onto the platform were holding his hands. “They were saying, ‘You’re going to be fine,’” Tulic said. “This was an additional layer of goodness.”
Doctors arrived, and the man was taken to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
“That is the greatest thing,” Tulic said. “The infrastructure(基础) in this city of millions is the people themselves providing, being there for others, without even knowing the person, who he is. It was beautiful to see.”
1. What was Tulic’s time in New York like?| A．Carefree | B．Spiritless |
| C．Unpeaceful | D．Comfortable |
| A．bitter and lonely | B．relieved and happy |
| C．special and different | D．anxious and concerned |
| A．By means of a ladder | B．Through a joint effort |
| C．With the help of professionals | D．Under doctor’s expert guidance |
| A．Time is running out | B．Stuck in train tracks |
| C．The good are well rewarded | D．Race to save a man on tracks |
