The best way to improve your reading ability is, of course, to read. The student must make a real effort to improve his speed, and if necessary his comprehension, with each exercise. Too many students read passages passively（被动的） and without judgment: they simply start at the first word and read through to the end. You should read a passage actively, selectively（选择地） and purposely. You must believe that you indeed have the ability to read faster and understand, and that you will.
Reading, like everything else in life, is best done when you’re relaxed. The key to improve it is concentration. You must be willing to break some old habits and form new ones. Extra body movement, such as turning the head from side to side, pointing at the line with a finger or pencil, or moving the lips, should be stopped immediately. Reading is mostly a mental process(大脑活动过程) and body movement helps neither speed nor comprehension. Then you should see words as part of a whole sentence or paragraph, not just in isolation(孤立), This is why a slow, word-by-word student often understands far less, or misses much of the joy and excitement of reading.
The student must learn to improve reading skills on their own, and not just when a teacher is looking over his shoulder. Reading improvement takes discipline（纪律） and effort. Don’t give up.
1. According to the author, how should we not read a passage?
A. actively B passively. C. purposely D. selectively
2. You may conclude that whether you can improve your reading depends on________.
A. your attitude B. your good habits of reading
C. discipline D. all of the above
3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. When reading, you’d better point at the line with a pencil.
B. When reading, you should turn your head from side to side.
C. When reading, you should pay attention to basic unit of meaning, that is a phrase or sentence that contains an idea.
D. Body movement will help you to improve reading.
4. The best title for this passage is___________.
A. Reading Faster B. Understanding Better
C. How to Improve Your Reading D. Don’t Give Up
Here are the comments on CRI (China Radio International) given by people from different countries on the Internet.
| People |
Comments |
| Yingtian Hu Guangzhou, China |
This is the first time that I participate in CRI. And I like it very much. I hope its website will become the most excellent one with the foreign languages. And I choose the important news which I think has a great influence on our society and our lives. In the end, I hope that more and more persons join in CRI and make it perfect! |
| SujanParajuli, Select city, Nepal |
I am both a regular listener of CRI and visitor of its wonderful Website. First of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to CRI for its great efforts to keep the listeners up-to-date during the year 2008. We, the listeners, are greatly grateful to CRI for its praise-worthy efforts to quench the thirst of its dear listeners. During the Year 2008, I found all of your programs quite interesting, informative and educational. Once again, thanks a lot for offering lots of information, news, entertainment and many items which have indeed broaden the horizons of our knowledge and understanding as well. |
| Ibrahim Rustamov, Tajikistan |
With CRI, I was impressed by China’s rapid development in all spheres. But I felt so sorry to get to know about the snowstorms in China and Wenchuan earthquake. CRI and CCTV play a great role in introducing China to the world! Kudos! My friends and I wish CRI all the best! |
| Mike Thatcher, London |
My family and I are all keen on Chinese Culture, especially the beautiful Chinese folk music. Various interesting programs by CRI just open a window for us foreigners, through which we can know more about China and have a better understanding of the Chinese culture. Best wishes to CRI! Best wishes to China! |
Which of the following benefits of CRI is NOT mentioned above?
| A．CRI helps to keep its listeners up-to-date. |
| B．CRI helps its listeners to better understand China. |
| C．CRI helps its listeners to practice and improve foreign languages. |
| D．CRI helps its listeners broaden their knowledge with its rich contents. |
The underlined phrase “quench the thirst” refers to _____.
| A．satisfy one’s need | B．supply drinks |
| C．take care of | D．keep in touch with |
What can be concluded from the four comments?
| A．CRI has a great influence on our society and lives. |
| B．Wonderful though CRI is, there are still many weaknesses. |
| C．CRI plays an important role in introducing the world to China. |
| D．CRI has made great efforts to make itself better and gained popularity. |
In most cases, there is only one correct answer to a question. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is “What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct.
Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?
People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.
Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.
The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near a brook(小溪)；someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.
Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter — a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter — a person who made pots and pans.
The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.
Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John who was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer.
Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added –s or –son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the McDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell.Which of the following aspects are NOT covered in the surnames of the passage?
| A．People’s characters. |
| B．People’s occupations. |
| C．Places where people lived. |
| D．Talents that people possessed. |
According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably _______.
| A．owned or drove a cart |
| B．made things with metals |
| C．built houses and furniture |
| D．made kitchen tools or containers |
Suppose an English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named _______.
| A．Beatrice Smith | B．Leonard Carter |
| C．Donald Greenwood | D．George Longstreet |
The underlined word “descendants” in the last paragraph means a person’s _____.
| A．ancestors | B．later generations |
| C．friends and relatives | D．colleagues and partners |
Shree Bose is one of the most impressive kids graduating from Fort Worth Country Day High School this year. Bose has a large circle of friends, and there’s one who you may have heard of: President Obama. He has twice publicly recognized her achievements in cancer research and spoken with her in the Oval Office.
If that isn’t enough, Bose recently gave a TED Talk about her work with the cancer drug Cisplatin, which also won her first prize at the Google Science Fair and recognition as one of Glamour magazine’s Young Amazing Women of the Year.
After watching her grandfather struggle with liver cancer, Bose was determined to help out in any way she could. As a high school student though, her scientific choices were limited. She reached out to various hospitals and research centers, but doctors turned down her requests because they felt she was too inexperienced medically.
Only the North Texas Science Health Center respected her determination and chose to guide her. The results were amazing.
Bose chose to study a protein (蛋白质) and its reaction with the cancer drug Cisplatin. She noticed that when she prevented this protein from growing, Cisplatin was allowed to begin destroying cancer cells once again.
“My project not only contributes to the understanding of the relationship between the protein and Cisplatin, but also suggests a newer, more effective treatment for patients who resist Cisplatin,” Bose said.
Bose’s achievements aren’t limited to the lab, though. She was also captain of her swim team and editor-in-chief of her school paper.
Bose is currently getting practical experience at the National Institute of Health and she’ll be attending Harvard in the fall. She plans to study molecular biology and go to medical school. Eventually, she would like to be a doctor.President Obama has spoken with Bose because she ______.
| A．gave a TED Talk recently |
| B．is captain of her swim team |
| C．has a large circle of friends |
| D．contributed to the cancer research |
According to Bose’s research, ______ helps make Cisplatin work better.
| A．stopping the protein from growing |
| B．destroying cancer cells timely |
| C．using the drug more frequently |
| D．making the protein react with the drug |
From the passage, we know that _____.
| A．Bose’s research was supported from the start |
| B．Bose plans to become a doctor in the future |
| C．Bose will study in the National Institute of Health |
| D．Bose’s grandfather asked her to do cancer research |
The passage is mainly about _____.
| A．a research on cancer drugs |
| B．a new effective cancer treatment |
| C．a doctor who has a promising future |
| D．a girl who did research on cancer treatment |
Are you a team person? Are you at your best as part of a small, tightly united group of dedicated workers? If so, the future may hold more for you than you think.
High technology, some predicted, would make teamwork a thing of the past. That’s happening in those areas of business and data processing where one person and a computer can replace a team of workers.
But, elsewhere, teamwork is very much alive. High technology has led to a new type of teamwork in a number of fields, including advertising, scientific research, engineering design, architecture and ocean exploration. Through computer networking, scientists, engineers and technicians at different locations--often thousands of miles apart--can work on the same project at once. They can exchange ideas, try out different designs and test their results.
Examples? An engineering team can now design and try out a robot system, a new manufacturing(制造) process, or an entire factory before it is built. An architectural team can do the same with a building or a bridge. A medical team can simulate (模拟) a dangerous operation before performing it on a patient.
Of course, computer-assisted team effort doesn’t end with investigation and simulation. It now usually continues into actual design, manufacturing and testing. “Computer–aided design (CAD) and computer–aided manufacture (CAM) are breaking down barriers between traditional design and manufacturing functions,” explains Dr. Prakash Rao, an engineering manager at General Electric. “Interdisciplinary(跨学科的) teams and engineers follow a product from concept to production. Everything is interconnected like a network.”
Sometimes a computer–aided effort can extend beyond production. A team that produces robots may use them to explore space and ocean depth. For high–technology team work, the future seems limitless.The underlined part “hold more” in paragraph 1 most probably means to .
| A．store more information | B．give more rights |
| C．make more regulations | D．have more chances |
According to the passage, the writer believes that .
| A．the concept of teamwork is still alive and no longer the same as the past |
| B．teamwork will be completely replaced by computers |
| C．teamwork requires more use of computers than that of human beings |
| D．high technology would make teamwork a thing of the past |
The examples given by the writer in Paragraph 4 serve .
| A．to explain his idea of new type of teamwork is reasonable |
| B．to prove high technology has a promising future |
| C．to show that it tends to be an end to teamwork soon |
| D．to indicate the computer--assisted team effort just means investigation . |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Many fields of science and technology are now using computers effectively. |
| B．No details are given in the passage about barriers between traditional design and manufacturing functions. |
| C．Experts from different fields have to cooperate to develop a product from concept to production. |
| D．CAD and CAM aren’t breaking down barriers between traditional design and manufacturing functions. |
Are you searching for some new and exciting places to take your kids to? Try some of these places:
Pay a visit to art museums. They offer a variety of activities to excite your kids' interest. Many offer
workshops for making hand-made pieces, traveling exhibits, book signings by children's favorite writers, and even musical performances and other arts.
Head to a natural history museum. This is where kids can discover the past from dinosaur models to rock collections and pictures of stars in the sky. Also, ask what kind of workshops and educational programs are prepared for kids and any special events that are coming up.
Go to a Youtheater. Look for one in your area offering plays for child and family visitors. Pre-show play shops are conducted by area artists and educators where kids can discover the secret about performing arts. Puppet (木偶) making and stage make-up are just a couple of the special offerings you might find.
Try hands-on science. Visit one of the many hands-on science museums around the country. These science play-lands are great fun for kids and grown-ups alike. They'll keep your child mentally and physically active the whole day through while pushing buttons, experimenting, and building. When everyone is tired, enjoy a fun family science show, commonly found in these museums.If a child is interested in the universe, he probably will visit_________.
| A．a natural history museum | B．an art museum |
| C．a Youtheater | D．a hands-on science museum |
What can kids do at a Youtheater?
| A．Look at rock collections. | B．See dinosaur models. |
| C．Watch puppet making. | D．Give book signings. |
What does the underlined part mean in the last paragraph?
| A．Science games designed by kids. |
| B．Reading science books. |
| C．A show of kids' science work. |
| D．Learning science by doing things. |
Where does this passage probably come from?
| A．A science textbook. | B．A tourist map. |
| C．A news report. | D．A museum guide. |