some fur from the family cat to make a brush.
The brush did nott last long. Soon Benjamin needed more fur. Before long, the catbegan to look ragged （蓬乱）. His father said that the cat must be sick. Benjamin was forced to admit what he had been doing.
The cat’s lot was about to improve. That year, one of Benjamin’s cousins, Mr.Pennington, came to visit. He was impressed with Benjamin’s drawings. When he went home, he sent Benjamin a box of paint and some brushes. He also sent six engravings （版画）by an artist. These were the forst pictures and first real paint and brushes Benjamin had ever seen. In 1747，when Benjamin was nine years old，Mr.Pennington retured for another visit .He was amazed at what Benjamin had done with his gift.He asked Benjamin’s parents if he might take the boy to Philadelphia for a visit.
In the city, Mr.Pennington gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings.The boy began a landscape (风景) painting.Wiliams ,a well-known painter,came to see him work . Wiliams 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.
21. What is the text mainly about?
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 Pennington. 22. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 3 suggest?
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.
23. What did Pennington do to help Benjamin develop his talent?
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.
24. Williams’ two books helped Benjamin to ________.
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
B
Getting less sleep has become a bad habit for most American kids. According to a new survey(调查) by the National Sleep Foundation, 51% of kids aged 10 to 18 go to bed at 10 pm or later on school nights, even though they have to get up early. Last year the Foundation reported that nearly 60% of 7- to 12-year-olds said that they felt tired during the day, and 15% said they had fallen asleep at school.
How much sleep you need depends a lot on your age. Babies need a lot of rest: most of them sleep about 18 hours a day! Adults need about eight hours. For most school-age children, ten hours is ideal(理想的). But the new National Sleep Foundation survey found that 35% of 10- to 12-year-olds get only seven or eight hours. And guess what almost half of the surveyed kids said they do before bedtime? Watch TV.
“More children are going to bed with TVs on, and there are more opportunities(机会) to stay awake, with more homework, the Internet and the phone,” says Dr. Mary Carskadon, a sleep researcher at Brown University Medical School. She says these activities at bedtime can get kids all excited and make it hard for
them to calm down and sleep. Other experts say part of the problem is chemical. Changing levels of body chemicals called hormones not only make teenagers’ bodies develop adult characteristics, but also make it hard for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 pm.
Because sleepiness is such a problem for teenagers, some school districts have decided to start high school classes later than they used to. Three years ago, schools in Edina, Minnesota, changed the start time from 7:25 am to 8:30 am. Students, parents and teachers are pleased with the results.
25. What is the new National Sleep Foundation survey on?
A. American kids’ sleeping habits. B. Teenagers’ sleep-related diseases.
C. Activities to prevent sleeplessness. D. Learning problems and lack of sleep.
26. How many hours of sleep do 11-year-olds need every day?
A. 7 hours. B. 8 hours. C. 10 hours. D. 18 hours.
27. Why do teenagers go to sleep late according to Carskadon?
A. They are affected by certain body chemicals. B. They tend to do things that excite them. C. They follow their parents’ examples. D. They don’t need to go to school early.
相关推荐：
loading