THE WAY TO READ FAST
Perhaps you have been told about some habits（习惯） which stop a person reading fast、and have been strongly asked to break those habits which you might have.
Do you still have any of these bad habits7 Check yourself by answering "yes" or "no" to
these questions:
1. Do you move your lips(嘴唇) when reading silently？
2. Do you point to words with your finger as you read?
3. Do you move your head from side to side as you read?
4. Do you read one word at a time?
If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, start at once to break the habit.
If you move your lips, hold your fingers over them, or hold a piece of paper between your lips while you are reading. Then if your lips move, you will know it and can stop them.
If you point to words, hold the two sides of your book, one side with your left hand, the other side with your right hand. Then you will not have a free finger to use in pointing while reading.
If you move your head, place your chin（下巴）in one hand, and hold your head still(不动地，静止地).
If you read no more than one or two or three words at a time, you need to work very hard in learning to take in more words at each glance(看一眼) as your eyes travel across the lines of words.You may hold your fingers over your lips while reading
| A．to hold a piece of paper between them |
| B．to stop yourself talking to others |
| C．to tell others to be silent |
| D．to feel whether y our lips move or not |
When your eyes travel across the lines of words,
| A．you need to read the words out |
| B．you need to look at every word carefully |
| C．you need to read several words at a time |
| D．you need to remember every word |
When you read,
| A．don’t use your finger to point to words |
| B．don’t hold your books with your hands |
| C．don’t hold your head still |
| D．don’t do any of the things mentioned(提到)above. |
Mapping Your World
Different forms of maps are appearing. They allow independent travelers to get local knowledge of places they are visiting, from the official to the unusual. Meanwhile, hi-tech developments are creating new ways for us to map the world. Here are two of our favorites;
Green Maps
Green Maps allows people to share with the world their knowledge of environmentally friendly places and attractions in the local areas. Users add information with a set of icons (图标), making it easy to read any map, whatever the nationalities of those who produce it. At present there are over five hundred
Map projects being developed in 54 countries Green Maps' advertised idea is "think global, map local". It is a wonderful way of gaining all sorts of a place, ranging from community garden to good places of bird watching.
Green Maps is not specifically intended for travelers. Not all of its maps are online, so it may be necessary for some users to communicate with producers through the Green Maps website.
Maps Mashups
Many people use online maps developed by Google, but not many know about the mashups of them. Working in a similar way to Green Maps, Maps Mashups allows people to add icons of their own to existing maps to express a certain topic. The mashups is so called because it combines all the knowledge you could ever need. It ranges from the extremely useful, such as where all the World Heritage Site are, to the most bizarre (古怪的)，such as where America's drunkest cities are. With the mashups added to the basic Google Maps, a multi-layered (多层的) map can be created.
| 1． |
According to the passage, which of the following is a characteristic of Green Maps?
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| 2． |
Which of the following icons is most probably NOT used in Green Maps
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| 3． |
Map Mashups is named with the word "mashups"because
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| 4． |
What do Green Maps and Map Mashups have in common?
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There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckers. One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and dilapidated one, which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.
Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled (溢出). The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked along the path.
Sometimes the new bucket would say, "See how capable I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don't know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!"
And all that the old bucket could say was, "I know I'm not very useful, but I can only do my best. I'm happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least."
One day, the gardener heard that kind or conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said, "You both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the path."
Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare (光秃秃的)earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.
| 1． |
What does the underlined word "dilapidated" probably mean?
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| 2． |
What was the old bucket ashamed of?
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| 3． |
The new bucket made conversations with the old one mainly to
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| 4． |
Why was the old bucket still kept by the gardener?
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Human remains of ancient settlements will be reburied and lost to science under a law that threatens research into the history of humans in Britain, a group of leading archeologists (考古学家) says. In a letter addressed to the justice secretary, Ken Clarke, 40 archaeologists write of their "deep and widespread concern" about the issue. It centers on the law introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2008 which requires all human remains unearthed in England and Wales to be reburied within two years, regardless of their age. The decision means scientists have too little time to study bones and other human remains of national and cultural significance.
"Your current requirement that all archaeologically unearthed human remains should be reburied, whether after a standard period of two years or a further special extension, is contrary to basic principles of archaeological and scientific research and of museum practice," they write.
The law applies to any pieces of bone uncovered at around 400 dig sites, including the remains of 60 or so bodies found at Stonehenge in 2008 that date back to 3,000 BC. Archaeologists have been granted a temporary extension to give them more time, but eventuallly the bones will have to be returned to the ground.
The arrangements may result in the waste of future discoveries at sites such as Happisburgh in Norfolk, where digging is continuing after the discovery of stone tools made by early humans 950,000 years ago. If human remains were found at Happisburgh, they would be the oldest in northern Europe and the first indication of what this species was. Under the current practice of the law those remains would have to be reburied and effectively destroyed.
Before 2008, guidelines allowed for the proper preservation and study of bones of sufficient age and historical interest, while the Burial Act 1857 applied to more recent remains. The Ministry of Justice assured archaeologists two years ago that the law was temporary, but has so far failed to revise it.
Mike Parker Pearson, an archaeologist at Sheffield University, said: "Archaeologists have been extremely patient because we were led to believe the ministry was sorting out this problem, but we feel that we cannot wait any longer."
The ministry has no guidelines on where or how remains should be reburied, or on what records should be kept.
| 1． |
According to the passage, scientists are unhappy with the law mainly because.
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| 2． |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
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| 3． |
What can be inferred about the British law governing human remains?
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| 4． |
Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
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Humpback whales
| Humpback whales are sometimes called performers of the ocean. This is because they can make impressive movements when they dive. The name "humpback", which is the common name for this whale, refers to the typical curve shape the whale's back forms as it dives. Sometimes the humpback will dive with a fantastic movement, known as a breach. During breaching the whale uses its powerful tail flukes to lift nearly two-thirds of its body out of the water in a giant leap. A breach might also include a sideways twist with fins stretched out like wings, as the whale reaches the height of the breach. A humpback whale breathes air at the surface of the water through two blowholes which are located near the top of the head. It blows a double stream of water that can rise up to 4 meters above the water. The humpback has a small dorsal fin located towards the tail flukes about two-thirds of the way down its back. Other distinguishing features include large pectoral fins, which may be up to a third of the body length, and unique black, and white spots on the underside of the tail flukes. These markings are like fingerprints: no two are the same. Humpback whales live in large groups. They communicate with each other through complex "songs". |
Quick Facts |
| Size: |
14m~18m in length 30~50 tons in weight |
| Living environment: |
Open ocean and shallow coastline waters |
| Migration: |
From warm tropical (热带的) waters, where they breed, to cold polar waters, where they eat. |
| Diet: |
Shellfish, plants and fish of small size |
| Hunting: |
Sometimes in groups, in which several whales form a circle under the water, blowing bubbles that form a "net" around a school of fish. The fish are then forced up to the surface in a concentrated mass. |
| Current state: |
Endangered: it is estimated that there are about 5000~7000 humpback whales worldwide. |
| 1． |
According to Quick Facts, a humpback whale.
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| 2． |
To make a breach, a humpback whale must.
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| 3． |
From the passage we can learn that a humpback whale.
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The teacher who did the most to encourage me was, as it happens, my aunt. She was Myrtle C. Manigault, the wife of my mother’s brother Bill. She taught me in second grade at all-black Summer School in Camden, New Jersey.
During my childhood and youth, Aunt Myrtle encouraged me to develop every aspect of my potential, without regard for what was considered practical or possible for black females. I liked to sing; she listened to my voice and pronounced it good. I couldn’t dance; she taught me the basic dancing steps. She took me to the theatre—not just children’s theatre, but adult comedies and dramas—and her faith that I could appreciate adult plays was not disappointed.
My aunt also took down books from her extensive library and shared them with me. I had books at home, but they were all serious classics. Even as a child I had a strong liking for humour, and I’ll never forget the joy of discovering Don Marquis’s Archy & Mehitabel through her.
Most important, perhaps, Aunt Myrtle provided my first opportunity to write for publication. A writer herself for one of the black newspapers, she suggested my name to the editor as a “youth columnist”. My column, begun when I was fourteen, was supposed to cover teenage social activities—and it did—but it also gave me the freedom to write on many other subjects as well as the habit of gathering material, the discipline of meeting deadlines, and, after graduation from college six years later, a solid collection of published material that carried my name and was my passport to a series of writing jobs.
Today Aunt Myrtle is still an enthusiastic supporter of her “favourite niece”. Like a diamond, she has reflected a bright, multifaceted (多面的) image of possibilities to every pupil who has crossed her path.Which of the following did Aunt Myrtle do to the author during her childhood and youth?
| A．She lent her some serious classics. |
| B．She cultivated her taste for music. |
| C．She discovered her talent for dancing. |
| D．She introduced her to adult plays. |
What does Archy and Mehitabel in Paragraph 3 probably refer to?
| A．A book of great fun. | B．A writer of high fame. |
| C．A serious masterpiece. | D．A heartbreaking play. |
Aunt Myrtle recommended the author to a newspaper editor mainly to ______.
| A．develop her capabilities for writing |
| B．give her a chance to collect material |
| C．involve her in teenage social activities |
| D．offer her a series of writing jobs |
We can conclude from the passage that Aunt Myrtle was a teacher who ______.
| A．trained pupils to be diligent and well-disciplined |
| B．gave pupils confidence in exploiting their potential |
| C．emphasized what was practical or possible for pupils. |
| D．helped pupils overcome difficulties in learning |
