The world moves so quickly nowadays. With so many daily responsibilities, some of us can hardly keep our heads above water. Should we make time for studying or appreciating the arts? Many people would say the arts are nice, but not necessary .In school, students should focus on languages ,math and science. Painting, drama and music are _ After graduation, listening to Mozart won't lead you to a better-paying job. In truth, spending time learning to appreciate the arts may be more worthwhile than you think. A recent British study examined the salaries and jobs of people who spent time enjoying the arts when growing up. The researchers found those who enjoyed the arts from an early age had better jobs and higher salaries than those who didn't. What's the link? How could visiting a museum, enjoying a symphony, or honing painting skills lead to career success? It turns out that the arts help us develop many useful skills. Other students have found students studying the arts exercise their reasoning ability. The skill helps with problem-solving. Creative and critical-thinking abilities are also developed through art study. Moreover, those who enjoy the arts have more motivation to achieve .Students who practice an art experience the rewards that come from persistence and goal-setting. These benefits also extend to those who make time to appreciate the arts beyond their school years. The best kind of art stirs our imagination and makes us think. Paintings aren't just pretty pictures. They tell stories about the lives of the subjects or about the experience of the painter. See Michelangelo's art and you'll taste the power of his faith in God. Look at the world from Picasso's point of view, and you see everyday life in new ways. Those who appreciate the arts also gain a broader perspective on the world. The arts reveal and explain the world beyond our own personal knowledge which can help us better communicate and cooperate with other people. If you want to better yourself, go and enjoy the arts. Check out an art... The benefits of enjoying arts are all of the following EXCEPT _ . A) communicating skills B) high positions C) problem-solving abilities D) creation and imagination
B
I wasn't surprised when I read that actress Helen Hunt recently stated that she would never allow her young daughter to become a child star. Ms Hunt is the daughter of a Hollywood technical director, and grew up in Hollywood. Now in her late 40s, she started acting and modeling when she was eight and has probably seen a lot over those years in show business. She has had a successful career. She earned four Golden Globes and four Emmys. She also attained the top honor of her profession when she won the Best Actress Academy Award for her role in the 1992 movie, As Good As It Gets. Given those _ , Ms Hunt is successful. There is no doubt that her early experiences as a child star prepared her for what has been an outstanding adult career. Given those achievements, why would this star declare she'll never allow her daughter, now at the age of six, to follow in her footsteps? Everyone familiar with the entertainment scene is aware of the reasons for her attitude. Recent tabloid news headlines featuring the troubles of former child stars, among them Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and the late Gary Coleman, may answer the question. Although Ms Hunt managed to become a successful grown-up star, she apparently believes she's an exception. What Ms Hunt may be suggesting is that many very young stars go through unnatural childhoods on movie and TV sets. While they're earning big incomes, they're so pampered by directors and praised by fans; they may get false impressions that their lives will always be that way. Then, within a few years, when faced with reality, they're hurt and confused. After all the overwhelming affection, they find they can't deal with the problems. That's often when drugs and alcohol take over their lives. Helen Hunt has some other reasons why she doesn't want her daughter to be in the entertainment business. Many child stars can never make a successful transition to meaningful adulthood. However, as with many Hollywood movies, I believe there are both good and bad scenes about how it can be... The author thinks Helen Hunt's success is mainly due to _ . A) her hard work B) the help of a technicaldirector C) her experiences as a child star D) her talent and good luck
C
What picture do you have of the future? Will life in the future be better, worse of the same as now? What do you hope about the future? Futurologists predict that life will probably be very different in 2050 in all the fields of activity, from entertainment to technology. First of all, it seems that TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will choose a programme from a menu and a computer will send the programme directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programmes, newspapers and books will come to us by computer. In what concerns the environment, water will have become one of our most serious problems. In many places, agriculture is changing and they are growing fruit and vegetables to export. This uses a lot of water. Demand for water will increase ten times between now and 2050 and there could be serious shortages. Some futurologists predict that water could be the cause of war if we don't act now. In transport, cars will run on new, clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed of the car and there won't be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell the drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. On the other hand, space planes will take people half way around the world in two hours. Nowadays, the United States Shuttle can go into space and land on Earth again. By 2050, space planes will fly all over the world and people will fly from Los Angels to Tokyo in just two hours. In the field of technology, robots will have replaced people in factories. Many factories already use robots. Big companies prefer robots -- they do not ask for pay rises or go on strike, and they work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere -- in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes. In particular, medicine technology will have... . The following statements are wrong EXCEPT _ according to the text. A) The future world will be controlled by robots. B) People won't be blind or deaf in the future. C) Fewer and fewer workers are needed in the future in factories. D) Scientists have the right to clone people of different kinds.
C