Benjamin West, the father of American painting, showed his talent for art when he was only six years of age. But he hadn't known about brushes before a visitor told him he needed one. In those days, a brush was made of camels' hair. There were no camels nearby. Benjamin decided that cat hair would work instead. He cut some fur from the family cat to make a brush.

The brush did not last long. Soon Benjamin needed more fur. Before long, the cat began to look ragged(参差不齐的). His father said that the cat must be sick. Benjamin was forced to admit what he had been doing.

The cat's life was about to improve. That year, one of Benjamin's cousins came to visit. He was impressed with Benjamin's drawings. When he went home, he sent Benjamin a box of paints and some brushes. He also sent six engravings(版画) by an artist. These were the first pictures and first real paints and brushes Benjamin had ever seen.

When Benjamin was nine years old, his cousin returned for another visit. He was amazed at what Benjamin had done with his gift. He asked Benjamin's parents if he could take the boy back to Philadelphia for a visit.

In the city, this cousin gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings. The boy began a landscape painting. William Williams, a well-known painter, came to see him work. Williams was impressed with Benjamin and gave him two classic books on painting to take home. The books were long and dull. Benjamin could read only a little, having been a poor student. But he later said, “Those two books were my companions by day, and under my pillow at night.” While it is likely that he understood very little of the books, they were his introduction to classical paintings. The nine-year-old boy decided then that he would be an artist.

A.Benjamin's visit to Philadelphia

B.Williams' influence on Benjamin

C.The beginning of Benjamin's life as an artist

D.The friendship between Benjamin and his cousin

A.Because it was sick

B.Because its hair was cut

C.Because it helped Benjamin make a brush

D.Because its fur was made from camels' fur

A.The cat would be closely watched

B.The cat would get some medical care

C.Benjamin would leave his home shortly

D.Benjamin would have real brushes soon

A.He took him to see painting exhibitions

B.He provided him with painting materials

C.He sent him to a school in Philadelphia

D.He taught him how to make engravings

A.master the use of paints

B.appreciate landscape paintings

C.get to know other painters

D.make up his mind to be a painter

You can't see any objects unless light from the objects gets into your eyes. Some of the things you see give off light of their own. The sun, some stars and a lighted lamp are the examples that can be seen by their own light. But most of the things you see are not giving off light of their own. They just reflect(反射) light that falls on them from the sun or some other luminous bodies. The moon, for example, doesn't give off any light of its own. You can see it because sunlight falls on its surface and then some of the sunlight is reflected on the earth.

When you look at a book, it sends some of the light which falls on it to your eyes, and you see the book. If light could be kept out of where you're so that there would be no light for the book to reflect, then you couldn't see the book even with your eyes wide open. Light travels very fast and can reach us from the moon, which is about 380,000 kilometers away, in about 1.27 seconds.

A.The moon

B.The earth

C.The sun

D.The book

A.闪光的

B.看不见的

C.发光的

D.明亮的

A.your eyes are close to it

B.it can reflect some of the light

C.it has light of its own

D.it is big enough to be seen

A.All the things you can see give off light

B.Light from the book travels much faster than that from the moon

C.If there were no light to reflect, you wouldn't be able to see a book

D.Light travels so fast that there is no time for you to read

A.300，000

B.100，000

C.400，000

D.190，000

From a very early age,  some children show better self-control than others. Now,  a new study that surveyed about 1000 children in New Zealand has tracked how children's low self-control can predict poor health,  money troubles and even a criminal record in their adult years.

Researchers have been studying this group of children for decades. They observed the level of self-control the children displayed. Parents,  teachers, and even the children themselves,  scored the children on the measure like “acting before thinking” and “persistence in reaching goals”.

“The children， who had the lowest self-control when they were aged 3 to 10,  later on had the most health problems in their 30s,” said Moffitt， who led the study， “and they had the worst financial situation. They were more likely to have a criminal record and to raise a child as a single parent on a very low income.” Moffitt explained that self-control problems existed widely,  and weren't just a feature of a small group of misbehaving children.

Moffitt said it's still unclear why some children have better self-control than others,  though she said other researchers have found that it's mostly a learned behavior,  with relatively little genetic influence. But good self-control can run in the family because children with good self-control are more likely to grow up to be healthy and prosperous parents. The good news,  Moffitt said,  is that self-control can be taught by parents,  and through school curricula that have been shown to be effective.

A.the research has been carried out for ten years

B.self-control in kids tends to determine their future

C.self-control is assessed by children's intelligence

D.children's self-control is almost the same at an early age

A.become wealthy in later life

B.get good school performance

C.have better financial planning

D.adopt negative behaviors

A.only good genetic factors can shape children's lives in the future

B.it is still unclear why some children have better self-control

C.self-control in childhood has nothing to do with criminal activities

D.willpower is a learned behavior

A.Self-control cannot be taught in schools

B.The study is restricted to few participants

C.It's never too late to deal with self-control problems

D.Good parenting can contribute to self-control and success in life

A.Children's self-control predicts future health and success

B.Children are encouraged to take risks at an early age

C.Children's development cannot be changed by teachers

D.How to teach children a bit of self-control in schools

It is natural for young people to be critical of their parents at times and to blame them for most of the misunderstandings between them.They have always complained,more or less justly,that their parents are out of touch with modern ways;that they are possessive and dominant;that they do not trust their children to deal with crises;that they talk too much about certain problems—and that they have no sense of humor,at least in parent-child relationships.

I think it is true that parents often underestimate their teenage children and also forget how they themselves felt when young.

Young people often irritate their parents with their choices in clothes and hairstyles,in entertai ners and music.This is not their motive.They feel cut off from the adult world into which they have not yet been accepted.So they create a culture and society of their own.Then,if it turns out that their music or entertainers or vocabulary or clothes or hairstyles irritate their parents,this gives them additional enjoyment.They feel they are superior,at least in a small way,and that they are leaders in style and taste.

Sometimes you are resistant and proud because you do not want your parents to approve of what you do.If they do approve,it looks as if you are betraying your own age group.But in that case,you are assuming that you are the underdog（失败者）:you can't win but at least you can keep your honor.This is a passive way of looking at things.It is natural enough after long years of childhood,when you were completely under your parents'control.But it ignores the fact that you are now beginning to be responsible for yourself.

If you plan to control your life,co-operation can be part of that plan.You can charm others,especially your parents,into doing things the way you want.You can impress others with your sense of responsibility and initiative,so that they will give you the authority to do what you want to do.

A.parents of teenagers

B.newspaper readers

C.teenagers

D.those who give advice to teenagers

A.the teenagers' criticism of their parents

B.misunderstandings between teenagers and their parents

C.the dominance of the parents over their children

D.the teenagers' ability to deal with crises

A.want to irritate their parents

B.have a strong desire to be leaders in style and taste

C.have no other way to enjoy themselves better

D.want to show their existence by creating a culture of their own

A.have a desire to be independent

B.feel that they are superior in a small way to the adults

C.are not likely to win over the adults

D.have already been accepted into the adult world

To improve parent-child relationships, teenagers are advised to be（）.

A.obedient

B.responsible

C.independent

D.co-operative

You know how wonderful you are, and you know that others know how wonderful you are, but what do you do when admiration crosses over the line into jealousy? For most teens there will come a day when you realize that one of your friends is jealous and that this jealousy is hurting your friendship. When this happens, it（划线词） can seem like there is nothing that you can do, but the good news is that there is. Don't let jealousy spoil your relationships. Deal with it and you might be back to normal much sooner than you think.

It can be very hard to walk up to friends and ask them what the problem is, but if you want to save your friendship, you'll have to do just that. Don't approach them and ask why they are jealous of you. Just spend some time alone with them and let them know that you've been feeling like there's been something coming between you. If they refuse to respond, then use the opportunity to explain how you have been feeling. The chances are that something you say will hit a nerve and your friend will open up as well.

When you figure out what is annoying your friend, ask him or her what (s)he thinks would make the situation better. If, for example, (s)he says that (s)he feels like (s)he doesn't get to spend any time with you because of your being out with your new friends, then maybe you could invite him or her along next time or spare one day a week for just the two of you. Remember, though, that whatever solutions you decide on should be a compromise. Don't limit your own talents or opportunities simply because your friend is unhappy. Try to include him or her in your new life and see how that goes along.

Even the best friendships can be affected by jealousy. This destructive emotion is rarely productive and can turn best friends into worst enemies. Before taking extreme action, you should chat with your jealous friend to see if the two of you can work out a compromise. If you can't, be prepared to know exactly how far you will go to keep your friend and how far you won't.

A.Walking up to him/her and asking him/her why he/she is jealous of you

B.Walking up to him/her and asking him/her what the problem is

C.Spending some time with him/her and letting him/her know how you feel

D.Spending some time with him/her and letting him/her know you think there is something between you

A.friendship

B.relationship

C.admiration

D.jealousy

A.There's always a solution to the problem of jealousy

B.Jealousy can turn best friends into worst enemies

C.You may lose a friend to keep your own gifts, chances or self-development

D.You should go a long way with your friend to work out a solution

A.normal

B.productive

C.destructive

D.extreme

A.to explain what causes jealousy

B.to offer some advice on making friends

C.to introduce the way to cope with a jealous friend

D.to explain how destructive the jealous emotion is