III. 阅读理解(共20分,每小题1分)

Passage 1

A lot of teenagers are good at art at school, but how would you feel if people called you “the

new Picasso(毕加索)” or if presidents and other famous people collected your paintings?

Alexandra Nechita was ten when her paintings became famous all over the world. She visited Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and her family’s native place (祖籍) Romania where 5,000 fans came to see her at the airport. Alexandra said, “When it all started, I was moved. It was very ex citing and I loved the traveling, but I got very tired. And I missed home.”

Alexandra is a good student. Her studies always come first. She only starts painting after she’s done her homework. She works on two or three paintings at a time. The paintings sell for thousands and Alexandra’s parents have given up their jobs to work for their daughter. Life for the Nechita family is very different from what it was like a few years ago.

Alexandra’s father Niki left Romania for political reasons in 1985. At first he  tried his best to learn English and had different kinds of low-paid jobs. In 1987, he brought his wife and Alexandra, who was then 18 months old, to America. The family was very poor. Alexandra began to draw at the age of three.

She was drawing for four or five hours a day. Soon people offered to buy her paintings and she had her first art show at the age of eight. Stories about this child appeared in the newspapers and television. They now live in a large house with a swimming pool. Her mother said, “We st arted without anything, but thanks to Alexandra, we have everything we ever dreamed of.”

36. Alexandra became well-known all over the world for her paintings at the age of _______.

A. 18months        B. three       C. eight             D. ten

37. Which country does Alexandra live?

A. America.     . Britain.      C. Romania.        D. France.

38. Alexandra’s painting _________.

A. took her a lot of time at school         B. made her drop out of school

C. didn’t influence her studies at school    D. made her fall behind others in studies at school

39. When her family arrived in America in 1987, _________.

A. their life was very hard                      B. they lived by selling Alexandra’s paintings

C. Alexandra began to draw her painting    D. her parents left their jobs and worked for her

40. From the passage, we can learn ________.

A. Alexandra was not interested in travelling

B. Alexandra’s success changed her family’s life

C. Alexandra’s parents were good at English

D. Alexandra’s stories appeared often on the radio and TV

Passage 2

An old man was going home late one night with his horse and cart after a day's hard work. When he was not far from his house, the light on the cart went out. He tried but could not mend (修理) it. He was near his home, and so he went along the road without a light. When a policeman saw this, he stopped the old carter.

"Where is your light?" asked the policeman. "No man may take a cart along the road at night without a light. You know that. You have broken the law (法律)." "I had a light, but it has just gone out," said the old man.

"I don't believe that story," said the policeman. He took out a book and got ready to write. What's your name and where do you live?" he asked.

"Please don't take my name," said the old ma n. "My home is just there. You can see it from here. I had a light nearly the whole way. I haven't come far without a light."

"You came all the way without a light. What's your name?"

The carter quickly took the policeman's hand and put it down on top of the light. The light was still hot and burnt the policeman's hand. The policeman jumped and he was very angry. "Now, what do you think?" said the carter. "Did I  come all the way without a light?"

41. In the passage the word "cart" is __________.

A. something like a car          B. something like a light

C. something pulled by a horse    D. something with a light

42. The old man drove home __________.

A. on the back of his horse        B. late one night

C. very late every night           D. with a policeman

43. Where did the policeman stop the old man?

A. Near the old man's home.      B. At the traffic lights.

C. Under a road light.           D. Far from the old man's home.

44. The cart was stopped by the policeman because __________.

A. the old man didn't have a light   B. the policeman didn't believe the old man's words

C. the old man didn't want to tell his name D. the light on the old man's cart was not on

45. What made the policeman believe the old man's words?

A. He made the policeman touch the light.    B. He jumped and shouted angrily.

C. He made the policeman angry.           D. The light burnt the policeman's hands.

Passage 3

A CCTV news program showed that in only an hour, more than 600 people jumped red lights when crossing a road at a crossing in Shijiazhuang, Hebei.“Chinese style road crossing” has become a hot expression recently. Chinese people “cross roads without thinking about traffic lights, so long as they are part of a crowd”, said a post on Sina Weibo.

Many people say that they jaywalk(乱穿马路)because the red light lasts too long. “People are likely to ignore(忽略) the light when the waiting time is longer than they can bear(忍受),” said Ni Ying, a member of the research team. However, a survey on Sina Weibo showed that nearly half of respondents(调查对象)believe that people jaywalk mainly because they don't respect rules.

Some Chinese cities have started taking some actions to punish jaywalkers. For example, the first three people in a jaywalking group will be fined(罚款)50 yuan in Shijiazhuang. But calling on people to respect rules is more important. To completely solve the problem, everyone should realize the importance of obeying the traffic rules.

46. In the first paragraph, the underlined word "hot" means _______________ .

A. "new, popular"                       B. "warm, boiling"

C. spicy, peppery(辣的)              D. "sharp, smart"

47. Which is a reason for many Chinese people jaywalking?_______________

A. The green light lasts too long.        B. They won't be punished in China.

C. They can't bear the waiting time.      D. They forget to follow the traffic rules.

48. In Shijiazhuang, who will be fined when a group of people jaywalk?_____________

A. The first person.    B. The first three people.   C. All of them.      D. No one.

49. If a man and his wife jaywalk in Shijiazhuang, how much in total will they be fined?_  _

A. 50 yuan   B. They won't be fined    C. 100yuan     D. We're not sure.

50. What's the writer's opinion?

A. It's easy to solve the jaywalking problem completely.

B. All jaywalkers must be punished in China in future.

C. Respecting rules is more important than punishment.

D. Most Chinese people don't respect the traffic rules at all.