A
The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what our mother meant. What she meant was not that we could take drawing classes or painting classes but that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles. It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?
First we had to read about ancient Egyptians and their strange ways of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12yearold brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (卷曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn't see what was so great about art.
On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother's expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn't stop looking at this painting! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.
语篇解读：本文讲述的是作者小时候被妈妈带到艺术博物馆去了解艺术的经历。虽然作者是被迫去参观的，但是最后他却对艺术产生了兴趣。
1．The aim of the mother's plan was to ________.
A．take them to visit the museum
B．introduce them to the world of art
C．ask them to read about artists
D．show them different painting styles
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第一段的第一句“The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art.”可知答案为B。
2．What was the writer's experience in the museum before the last visit?
A．She came to feel her mother's love.
B．She liked many paintings.
C．She hardly enjoyed herself.
D．She could understand the pictures of fat babies.
解析：选C 推理判断题。根据第一段的最后一句“Who wants to spend ... at the swimming pool？”和第二段的最后一句“I certainly couldn't see what was so great about art.”可知，作者并不想去博物馆。故选C。
3．What made the writer go through a change that summer?
A．One of Mary's paintings.
B．A strange way of painting.
C．Artists in the Middle Ages.
D．Her mother's instruction.
解析：选A 细节理解题。根据最后一段最后三句可知，Mary的一幅画改变了作者对艺术的看法。因此选A。
4．From the text, we can see ________.
A．the importance of curiosity
B．the effect of art
C．the value of learning
D．the power of family education
解析：选B 推理判断题。根据全文内容可知，作者因为一幅画改变了对艺术的看法，由此可见艺术的影响力很大。因此选B。
