The other day，my sister and I were sitting in a restaurant，trying to have a conversation，but her children，fouryearold Willow and sevenyearold Luca，would not stop fighting.The arguments — over a fork，or who had more water in a glass — never stopped.

Then my sister reached into her handbag，produced two shiny iPads(苹果平板电脑)，and handed one to each child.Suddenly，the two were quiet.They sat playing games and watching videos，and we continued with our conversation.

After our meal，as my sister stuffed the iPads back into her bag，she said，“I don't want to give them the iPads at the dinner table，but if they keep them occupied for an hour so we can eat in peace，I often just hand them over.I'm afraid it's bad for them.I do worry that it makes them think it's OK to use electronics at the dinner table in the future.”

Dr.Gary Small，director of the Longevity Center at the University of California，Los Angeles says that the brain is highly sensitive to stimuli(刺激物)，like iPads and smartphone screens，and if people spend too much time on one technology，and less time interacting(互动)with people like parents at the dinner table，that could prevent the development of certain communication skills.

“Conversations with each other are the way children learn to have conversations with themselves，and learn how to be alone，” said Sherry Turkle，a professor of science，technology and society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.She fears that children who do not learn real interactions，which often have imperfections，will come to know a world where perfect，shiny screens give them a false sense of intimacy(亲密)without risk.However，they need to be able to gather themselves and know who they are.So someday they can form a relationship with another person without a panic of being alone.“If you don't teach your children to be alone，they'll only know how to be lonely，” she said.

【语篇解读】　本文是一篇议论文。用iPad让孩子们安静下来似乎很有效，但是这样做对吗？

1．What did Willow and Luca fight about?

A．iPads.　　　　 B．Little things.

C．Delicious food.　 D．Interesting things.

B　[细节理解题。根据第一段中的“The arguments — over a fork，or who had more water in a glass — never stopped.”可以看出，Willow和Luca为一些小事争吵。]

2．How did the author's sister feel about offering children iPads?

A．She was critical of it.

B．She felt it was worth a try.

C．She was uncertain about it.

D．She felt surprised at its effect.

C　[推理判断题。根据第三段内容可知，虽然作者的姐姐会用iPad让孩子们安静下来，但是她又担心这样做不好，因此说她对这种做法心存疑虑。]

3．According to Dr.Gary Small，what should parents do?

A．Provide their children with various technologies.

B．Teach their children communication skills.

C．Talk to their children at the dinner table.

D．Limit their children's screen time.

D　[推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中的“if people spend too much time on one technology...prevent the development of certain communication skills”可知，长时间使用电子设备有碍于孩子们一些沟通技能的发展，因此家长应该限制孩子使用这些设备的时间。]

4．What is Sherry Turkle worried?

A．Children are afraid of taking risks.

B．Children try to escape from the real world.

C．Children can't live without electronic devices.

D．Children can't deal with companionless situations.

D　[推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“She fears that children...will come to know a world where perfect，shiny screens give them a false sense of intimacy(亲密) without risk.”可知，Sherry Turkle担心孩子们习惯了电子设备的陪伴，认为真正的人际交往也是如此，随时随地有人陪伴，因此他们会受不了孤单。]

More than 2，500 tiny glass jars — each containing brightly colored powders — line the walls of a museum at Harvard University in Cambridge，Massachusetts.The pigment(颜料)samples make up the Forbes Pigment Collection.Art experts rely on the collection for an important scientific purpose — the colors act as standards to help them conserve and authenticate artists' paintings.

About a century ago，Edward Forbes，an art historian and art museum director at Harvard，noticed that the paint on some 14thcentury paintings in his museum's collection was deteriorating．To figure out how to save the paintings，he realized he would have to learn more about the materials used to make their paint.

Today，people can buy paint in every color of the rainbow.But variety in paint colors — and the ability to purchase those paints at a store — wasn't always possible.For centuries，artists collected and crushed(碾碎) everything from shells to rare stones to create the pigments that colored their artworks.They also used metal oxides(氧化物)．

From 1910 to 1944，Forbes traveled the globe collecting powdered pigments.The samples helped art conservators understand how paint behaves on a chemical level.Paint might react to changes in light，temperature，or humidity，depending on its pigments' compositions.This can affect the colors of a painting over time or even cause paint to come off the painted surface.

Today，Narayan Khandekar，a senior conservation scientist at the Harvard Art Museums，is building on Forbes's work by adding newer，chemically made pigments to the collection.The collection also plays an important role in helping to stop counterfeiters(伪造者)．In 2007，experts compared pigments from the collection with those from a painting thought to belong to abstract artist Jackson Pollock.Chemical analysis showed that a red pigment in the painting was actually made 20 years after the artist's death，proving that the artwork was a fake.

【语篇解读】　本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了哈佛大学色素博物馆的来历及其作用。

5．Which of the following can replace the underlined word “deteriorating” in Paragraph 2?

A．Dropping off.　 B．Breaking down.

C．Cleared away.　 D．Gathered together.

B　[词义猜测题。根据画线词后的句子“To figure out how to save the paintings”可推知，一些14世纪的绘画被损坏了，故此处的deteriorating可以用breaking down(损坏)代替。]

6．What can be inferred about Edward Forbes?

A．He was good at chemistry.

B．He collected many pigments.

C．He created pigments by himself.

D．He repaired a lot of old paintings.

B　[推理判断题。根据第四段中的“Forbes traveled the globe collecting powdered pigments”以及博物馆藏品的命名“Forbes Pigment Collection”可推知Forbes从全球各地收集了许多颜料。]

7．What may be the best title for the text?

A．Colorful collection

B．Looking for pigments

C．Every pigment has its own story

D．Edward Forbes and his collection

A　[标题归纳题。文章介绍了哈佛大学色素博物馆的来历及其作用。“Colorful collection”形象准确地概括了全文的主要内容，故A项为文章最佳标题。]

Ⅱ.读后续写

阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I was 28 years old，the age when most young people have their eyes firmly fixed on the promise of success but I was a failure.Six years earlier，fresh from college，I had joined a dramatic producing company，and had been going into small towns and rural communities producing countrystyle musical comedies.But，in the summer of 1940，the country was in a depression，radio had changed people's tastes，and parttime shows weren't all that big any more.So，jobless and with nothing else in sight，I went back home.Later I got a job as a recreationroom director in my hometown.It paid $50 a month，for which I was grateful，but it sure was a dull job.

I felt so frustrated with my plan to be a dramatic star.Restless and dissatisfied though I was，it was nice，in a way，to be back home.I tried to teach some of my town's children music and drama.And when I got a chance，I'd try my luck as a performer myself.I'd dress up as a country girl and tell little stories and jokes that I'd picked up during my years living around country folk.I gave this country girl a name — Minnie Pearl.

One October afternoon I was in the recreation room，waiting for the children when a banker friend，Jim Walker，came in and said，“We're going to have a bankers' meeting here.I understand you've been teaching some children dramatics and dancing and singing.Would you let the children entertain the bankers？” I said，yes.Suddenly，he turned and added，“Oh，by the way，the speaker from Chicago is flying here.If he's late，would you mind doing that Minnie Pearl thing？” I told Jim I'd do it.

That night the children sang and danced to oldtime，popular songs when I was backstage.After we finished the performance, Jim came to me.“The speaker's not here yet.You'll have to help us.” “All right，” I told him，“just give me a minute to dress up.”

注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；

2．请按如下格式作答。

Paragraph 1：

Then I went out in front of the hundred or so men in the audience.

Paragraph 2：

Then I walked off the stage into the audience，and a banker greeted me.

【参考范文】

Paragraph 1：

Then I went out in front of the hundred or so men in the audience.I said，“I'd like to give you my performance of a country girl.” I started telling them about the wonderful stories and jokes.And the bankers were laughing and applauding.When I ran out of stories，I looked over at Jim Walker，and he shook his head.So I started singing old country songs.At the end of the second song，Jim came over to me and said，“The speaker's here.You can stop now.”

Paragraph 2：

Then I walked off the stage into the audience，and a banker greeted me.He told me that my performance was very interesting and recommended me to a manager of the great country music station.The manager had me come up for an interview and offered me a good job.That changed my whole life.It was the beginning of Minnie Pearl，and，to me，the end of my “failure” and the beginning of a new way to share fun with others and look at things.