If you have questions about developing your study practices,the first place to look is in our Study Guides. However,if you don't find the answers you need here, or you feel the guidance would make more sense in the situation of your own work, then you may find it helpful to talk to an adviser individually.
We offer subject-focused sessions(辅导课) -with friendly professional advisers. These 30-nunute sessions (longer if necessary)are "tailor-made" to your individual needs and completely secret.
What to expect from an individual advice session
Our individual advice sessions are quite informal and tailored to your needs. Your adviser will usually want to talk a bit about how your studies are going generally, and what you would like to discuss. As sessions are quite short, it's useful if you can be prepared by tlunking about this before you arrive. It will be helpful for us if you can bring any marked work that you have, so that we can see what areas of your work markers have commented on.
We aimto help you developyour skills to study more effectively andachievesubject success. So we will not correct work for you, but will help you understand what youneed to know to correct it yourself in the future. Everyone works differently, so we may make a number of suggestions - it will be up to you to try them out and see what worksest for you.
If you'd like to discuss a coursework assignment which you are currently working on,it may be helpful if you can email your work to the adviser you are seeing oefore your meeting (contact details are here), with a note sessions are quite short, you might prefer that develop your work, rather than reading it!
Please note:
Saying what you would like to discuss. Aswe spent the time discussing how you can． We cannot pravide subject-specific advice. For this,it is best to consult your course tutor. If you would prefer to talk to someone else, try your personal tutor, or the Senior Tutor in your department. Your department or school office will be able to advise on who that is.
We do not proof-read work. See our guide to Effective Proof-reading to help you to develop develop your own proof-reading practices.
Study Advisers are not trained to teach English as a Foreign Language. For basic principles relating to common errors in academic English, please see our guide to Academic Writing. If you feel you need more detailed help, there are also links on the Academic Writing pages to more comprehensive websites, including some with interactive exercises.
If English is not your first language, the In-sessional English SLrpport Programme (IESP) provides training courses in academic writing skills, speaking skills, and pronunciation practice.There is a smll charge for students not paying full overseas fees.
Booking an advice session
Sessions may be booked in advance by calling 0118 378 4242 0r emailing studyadvice@reading.ac.uk. Please include a contact phone number in any messages you leave.The underlined word "tailor_made" in Paragraph 2 most probably means .
| A．valuable | B．suitable | C．available | D．acceptable |
As sessions are time-limited,it is helpful if you can .
| A．predict what suggestion works best for you |
| B．bring some non-marked work for comments |
| C．prepare what you'd like to discuss in advance |
| D．consult with your adviser on your work by phone |
If a Chinese student plans to take an English pronunciation training course, he/she can see the guide to .
| A．Study Guides | B．Effective Proof-reading |
| C．Academic Writing | D．In-sessional English Support Programme |
What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To give some professional subject advice. |
| B．To promote the individual advice sessions. |
| C．To stress the importance of a friendly adviser. |
| D．To provide four websites offering study guides. |
III. 阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Few laws are so effective that you can see results just days after they take effect. But in the nine days since the federal cigarette tax more than doubled----to $1.01 per pack---smokers have jammed telephone ‘quit lines’ across the country seeking to kick the habit.
This is not a surprise to public health advocates. They’ve studied the effect of state tax increases for years, finding that smokers, especially teens, are price sensitive. Nor is it a shock to the industry, which fiercely fights every tax increase.
The only wonder is that so many states insist on closing their ears to the message. Tobacco taxes improve public health, they raise money and most particularly, they deter people from taking up the habit as teens, which is when nearly all smokers are addicted. Yet the rate of taxation varies widely.
In Manhattan, for instance, which has the highest tax in the nation, a pack of Marlboro Light Kings cost $10.06 at one drugstore Wednesday. In Charleston, S.C., where the 7-cent-a-pack tax is the lowest in the nation, the price was $4.78.
The influence is obvious.
In New York, high school smoking hit a new low in the latest surveys----13.8%, far below the national average. By comparison, 26 % of high school students smoke in Kentucky, Other low-tax states have similarly depressing teen-smoking records.
Hal Rogers, Representative from Kentucky, like those who are against high tobacco taxes, argues that the burden of the tax falls on low-income Americans “who choose to smoke.”
That’s true. But there is more reason in keeping future generations of low-income workers from getting hooked in the first place. As for today’s adults, if the new tax drives them to quit, they will have more to spend on their families, cut their risk of cancer and heart disease and feel better.
1. The text is mainly about___________.
A the price of cigarettes
B the rate of teen smoking
C the effect of tobacco tax increase
D the differences in tobacco tax rate
2. What does the author think is a surprise?
A Teen smokers are price sensitive.
B Some states still keep the tobacco tax low.
C Tobacco taxes improve public health.
D Tobacco industry fiercely fights the tax rise.
3. The underlined word "deter" in Paragraph 3 most probably means .
A. discourage B. remove C. benefit D. free
4. Rogers’ attitude towards the low-income smokers might be that of .
A. tolerance B. unconcern C. doubt D. sympathy
5. What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. The new tax will be beneficial in the long run.
B. Low-income Americans are more likely to fall ill.
C. Future generations will be hooked on smoking.
D. Adults will depend more on their families.
第三部分阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项。
August has always been difficult for me. It is the time when I realize that the books my English teacher assigned to me are not going to read themselves and that I have a difficult month in front of me.
You might think that I don’t want to spend my summer reading, but that’s not the problem: I love reading. On the first day of my summer holidays this year, I went to the library and got “A Gathering of Old Men” by African-American writer Ernest Gaines. I enjoyed it very much. I read all the magazines that my parents subscribe to and spend about 30 minutes every day with the morning paper. So why do I hate summer reading for school? Because the books on summer reading lists are often slow-going and just uninviting. Teachers and librarians don’t understand that summer reading can be entertaining as well as educational. They choose books that a friend of my mother’s calls “spinach books”: good for you, but not much fun to take in. Every summer, I read them, hate them and get bitter about the experience.
This bitterness started three years ago when I was about to begin high school. As preparation, my English teacher told me to read “The Age of Innocence” by American author Edith Wharton. I’m sure there are many people who enjoyed “The Age of Innocence”—some might even say it’s their favorite book.
But I don’t think any of these people read it as a 14-year-old boy on his summer vacation.
“The Age of Innocence” is the story of a forbidden romance in New York 100 years ago. At 14, my only experience with romance was my love for baseball. I couldn’t imagine being in love, much less being in love in 1900. “The Age of Innocence” was totally different to my life.
Most of my required summer reading has been like that—books written in a style that plays up the adjectives and plays down the verbs. I guess teachers don’t think exciting plots make for “good literature”. To me, though, a good writer describes events and characters in a way that makes the reader want to know what happens next.
If I were making up a summer reading list, it would include “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” by George V. Higgins, “The Right Stuff” by Tom Wolfe, and “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer. These are all books that have literary value but, just as important, can also entertain kids on vacation. If the teachers could stand a little fun in the books they assign, my Augusts would be a lot more enjoyable.
46. The author thinks he will have a difficult August because _______.
A. he doesn’t like reading in summer vacation
B. he hates the English teacher assigning homework
C. he is to read the books boring and not right for kids
D. he hates August
47. What can make students interested in August reading ought to be ______.
A. romantic B. out of date C. pure D. entertaining and educational
48. The author listed such books as “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” because he thinks ______.
A. they can change his opinion B. he can learn a lot more from them
C. they are of literary value, and enjoyable D. he has to do as teachers tell him to
49. In the opinion of the author of this passage, a good writer should be one who _______.
A. uses a way of describing that makes the reader wish to know what to happen next
B. describes events and characters in different ways
C. is learned
D. is full of imagination
50. Which of the following could be the best title of this passage?
A. I Don’t Like Reading on the Vacation
B. Why Can’t Teachers Set Us Fun Books?
C. Teachers, Don’t Set Us Any Reading Assignments
D. Teachers, Set Us Free
Economics has long been known as an unpleasant science. But is any economist so dull as to criticize Christmas? At first glance, the holiday season in western economies seems a treat for those who are concerned with such things as GDP growth. After all, everyone is spending; in America, sellers make 25 % of their yearly sales and 60 % of their profits between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even so, economists find something to worry about in the nature of the purchases being made.
Much of the holiday spending is on gifts for others. At the simplest level, giving gifts involves the giver's thinking of something that the receiver would like — he tries to guess her preferences, as economists say — and then buying the gift and delivering it. Yet this guessing of preferences is often done badly. Every year, ties go unworn and books unread. And even if a gift is enjoyed, it may not be what the receiver would have bought if they had spent the money themselves.
Interested in this mismatch between wants and gifts, in 1993 Joel Waldfogel, then an economist at Yale University, attempted to estimate the disparity(差距) in dollar terms. He asked students two questions at the end of a holiday season: first, estimate the total amount paid (by the givers) for all the holiday gifts you received; second, apart from the emotional value of the items, if you did not have them, how much would you be willing to pay to get them? His results were unpleasant: on average, a gift was valued by the receiver well below the price paid by the giver.
The most conservative(保守的) estimate put the average receiver’s valuation at 90% of the buying price. The missing 10% is what economists call a deadweight loss; a waste of resources that could be avoided without making anyone poorer. In other words, if the giver gave the cash value of the purchase instead of the gift itself, the receiver could then buy what she really wants and be better off for no extra cost. It suggests that in America, where givers spend $40 billion on Christmas gifts, $ 4 billion is being lost annually in the process of gift giving. Add in birthdays, weddings and non Christian occasions, and the figure would balloon. So should economists call for an end to gift giving, or at least press for money to become the gift of choice?
56. Why do some people regard the holiday season in western economies a treat?
A. Because the economic situation in US has been depressing.
B. Because American sellers make a quarter of their yearly sales through holiday season.
C. Because holiday spending can speed up GDP growth.
D. Because sellers can make as much profit as 60 % over holiday season.
57. What's the main idea for the second paragraph?
A. In many cases the gifts cannot meet the receivers’ needs.
B. The purchases made over holiday season are actually a waste of money.
C. It's really not easy to guess the others’ preferences.
D. Much of the holiday spending is on gifts for others.
58. The purpose of Joel Waldfogel's study is to _____.
A. prove the mismatch between wants and gifts
B. estimate the disparity between wants and gifts in economic terms
C. spark new ideas of economic studies on holiday spending
D. discover the exact cost of holiday spending on gift giving
59. Economists think of the misusing 10% of holiday spending as a deadweight loss because
_______.
A. the cash value of the purchase is lower than the buying price
B. it is actually a waste of resources in economic terms
C. with the money the receivers can be better off for no extra cost
D. it makes many people even poorer for spending more on unwanted gifts
60. According to the passage altogether how much money is wasted every year on gift giving?
A. About $4 billion. B. About 10% of the total value.
C. About $40 billion. D. Much more than $4 billion.
Decisions, decisions! Our lives are full of them, from the small ones to the life-changing. The right to choose is central to everyone. Yet sometimes we make bad decisions that leave us unhappy or full of regret. Can science help?
Most of us know little about the mental processes that lie behind our decisions. Luckily, what psychologists are finding may help us all make better choices. Here are some of their amazing discoveries to help you make up your mind.
Consider your emotions. You might think that emotions are the enemy of decision-making, but in fact they are a part of it. Whenever you make up your mind, your brain’s emotional centre is active. University of Southern California scientist, Antonio Damasia, has studied people with damage to only the emotional parts of their brains, and found that they were unable to make basic choices about what to wear or eat. Damasia thinks this may be because our brains store emotional memories of past choice, which we use to help the present decision-making.
However, making choices under the influence of an emotion can greatly affect the result. Take anger for example. A study by Nitika Garg of the University of Mississippi and other scientists found the angry shoppers were more likely to choose the first thing they were offered rather than considering other choices. It seems that anger can lead us to make quick decisions without much thinking.
All emotions affect our thinking and motivation，so it may be best to avoid making important decisions under their influence. Yet strangely there is one emotion that seems to help us make good choices. The American researchers found that sad people took time to consider the various choices on offer, and ended up making the best choices. In fact many studies show that people who feel unhappy have the most reasonable view of the world.
1. What does the underlined word “central” mean?
A. in the middle B. easy to reach C. important D. having power
2. Damasia’s study suggests that ________.
A. emotions are the enemy of decision-making.
B. our brain has nothing to do with decision-making.
C. people with physical damage find it hard to make up their minds.
D. our emotional memories of past choices can affect present decisions.
3. According to the text, what may help us make better decisions?
A. To think about happy times.
B. To make many decisions at a time.
C. To stop feeling regretful about the past.
D. To learn about the process of decision-making.
4. Why are angry shoppers more likely to choose the first thing they are offered?
A. They often forget their past choices. B. They make decisions without much thinking.
C. They tend to save time when shopping. D. They are too angry to bargain.
5. What do we learn from the text?
A. Emotions are a part of decision-making.
B. Sad people always make worse choices.
C. No emotion seems to help us make good choices.
D. Only sad feelings affect our thinking and motivation.
As people slowly learn to cure diseases, control floods, prevent hunger, and stop wars, fewer people die every year. As a result, the population of the world is becoming larger. In 1925 there were about 2 billion people in the world; today there are over 6 billion.
When the number rises, extra mouths must be fed. New lands must be brought under development, or land already farmed must be made to produce more crops. In some areas the land is so over-developed that it will be difficult to make it provide more crops. In some areas the population is so large that the land is divided into too tiny units to make improvement possible with farming methods. If a large part of this farming population went into industrial work, the land might be farmed much more productively (多产地) with modern methods.
There is now a race for science, technology, and industry to keep the output of food rising faster than the number of people to be fed. New types of crops, which will grow well in bad weather, are being developed, so there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle in Siberia and North America. Irrigation (灌溉) and dry-farming methods bring poor lands under the plough. Dams hold back the waters of great rivers, which can provide water for the fields in all seasons and provide electric power for new industries. Industrial chemistry provides fertilizer to suit different soils. Every year, some new methods are made to increase or to protect the food of the world.
1. The author says that the world population is increasing because _____.
A. there are many rich valleys and large fields
B. farmers are producing more crops than before
C. people are living longer due to better living conditions
D. new lands are being made into farmlands
2. The author says that in areas with large populations, land might be more productively farmed if _____.
A. the land was divided into smaller pieces
B. people moved into the countryside
C. industrial methods were used in farming
D. the units of land were much larger
3. We are told that there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle. This has been made possible by _____.
A. growing new types of crops
B. irrigation and dry-farming means
C. providing fertilizers
D. destroying pests and diseases
4. Why is the land divided into tiny units in some areas?
A. There are too many people living there.
B. It saves more natural resources there.
C. It prevents crops from serious diseases there.
D. Farmers can grow various kinds of crops there.
5. Why do some people use dams to hold back waters from great rivers?
A. To develop a new kind of dry-farming methods.
B. To prevent crops from floods.
C. To provide water and electricity in all seasons.
D. To water poor lands in bad weather.