As we grow old, we realize that we have so little time to read and there are so many great books that we’ve yet to get around to. Ye re-readers are everywhere around us. For certain fans, re-reading The Lord of the Rings is a conventional practice annually. One friend told me that Jane Austen’s Emma can still surprise him, despite his having read it over 50 times.
New sudden clear understandings can be gained from the process of re-reading. Journalist Rebacca Mead, a long-time Englishwoman in New York, first came across George Eliot’s Middlemarch at 17. Since then, she has read it again every five years. With each re-reading, it has opened up further; in each chapter of her life, it has resonated (引起共鸣) differently. Mead evidenced the large number of ways in which really good books not only stand the test of repeat reads, but also offer fresh gifts each time we crack their spines. These kinds of books grow with us.
Scientists have also recognized the mental health benefits of re-reading. Research conducted with readers in the US found that on our first reading, we are concerned with the “what” and the “why”. Second time round, we’re able to better appreciate the emotions that the plot continues to express. As researcher Cristel Russell of the American University explained, returning to a book “brings new or renewed appreciation of both the great book and its readers.”
It’s true that we often find former selves on the pages of old books (if we’re fond of making notes on the pages). These texts can carry us back to a time and place, and remind us of the kind of person that we were then. We’re changed not only by lived experience but also by read experience – by the books that we’ve discovered since last reading the one in our hand.
More so than the movie director or the musician, the writer calls upon our imaginations, using words to lead us to picture this declaration of love or that unfaithfulness in life. A book is a joint project between writers and readers, and we must pour so much of ourselves into reading that our own life story can become connected with the story in the book.
Perhaps what’s really strange is that we don’t re-read more often. After all, we watch our favourite films again and we wouldn’t think of listening to an album only once. We treasure messy old paintings as objects, yet of all art forms, literature alone is a largely one-time delight. A book, of course, takes up more time, but as Mead confirms, the rewards make it adequately worthwhile.The two books are mentioned in Paragraph 1 mainly to __________.
| A．attract the attention of readers |
| B．introduce the topic of the passage |
| C．provide some background information |
| D．show the similarity between re-readers |
The underlined expression “crack their spines” in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.
| A．recite them | B．re-read them |
| C．recall them | D．retell them |
It can be learned from the passage that __________.
| A．reading benefits people both mentally and physically |
| B．readers mainly focus on feelings on their first reading |
| C．we know ourselves better through re-reading experience |
| D．writers inspire the same imaginations as film directors do |
The purpose of the passage is to __________.
| A．call on different understandings of old books |
| B．focus on the mental health benefits of reading |
| C．bring awareness to the significance of re-reading |
| D．introduce the effective ways of re-reading old books |
Miscioscio, 60, a marketing consultant in Pearl River, N.Y., says she's addicted to her Sony e-reader. She buys or borrows a print book only when it's not available digitally. Miscioscio says most of her friends and relatives have also switched to e-books for the convenience and lower prices. Last winter, she notes, she vacationed in Costa Rica and says “at least 75% of those reading were reading electronically. I was shocked to see people taking their e-readers onto the loungers (躺椅) in the pool.”
Meier, 43, a marketing director in Beaver Falls, prefers her books on paper, not screens. After working on a computer all day, she says, “I want a book in my hand. Turning over its pages is my way of knowing it's time to relax and slow down.” Meier, who's sticking with physical books, doesn't consider herself any kind of digital “resister.” “I'm comfortable with all forms of technology,” she says. “However, when it comes to books, I suppose I'm a traditionalist. My preference will always be the real thing.”
To her, part of the joy of reading is the book itself: “pulling it from the shelf, inspecting the cover, letting it fall open to a random page.”
Both have lots of company. Statistics show that e-book sales grew 43% last year, but that's a slowdown compared with the triple-digit increases in recent years. E-books remain the fastest-growing part of the book market but account for only about 20% of all sales, reported by publishers.
Miscioscio and Meier are at opposite ends of a book business in transition. Even though e-book sales have grown more than 4,000% since 2008, it's unlikely that physical books will disappear the way records did in the music industry.Miscioscio will ______ when a book is not available digitally.
| A．give up reading such kind of books |
| B．switch to the book of lower price |
| C．buy the book on paper |
| D．take an e-reader onto the loungers |
According to Meier, her “preference” refers to ______.
| A．paper book | B．part of joy |
| C．a random page | D．an e-book |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Records are unlikely to disappear in the music industry. |
| B．Miscioscio and Meier are two opponents in book business. |
| C．The market share of e-books is bigger than that of paper books. |
| D．Physical books will remain to be accepted to some people. |
What is the passage mainly concerned with?
| A．E-books will dominate the book industry eventually. |
| B．Readers go their own way in choosing books. |
| C．New technology brings more benefits for readers. |
| D．Physical books will disappear gradually in the future. |
Here is your best chance to travel around the UK in 2015: More than 200 B&Bs (bed & breakfast) across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are selected to offer you amazing services for your stay at their lowest prices! Don’t miss it. Just collect the vouchers (活动券) in our B&B Daily and book the stays for your travel following the terms and conditions below:
●The offer includes a room for the night and a breakfast the next morning.
● The offer is valid for a basic twin or double room only.
● The stay must be booked directly with the chosen B&Bs before 28/04/2015.
● Each voucher can only be used by the holder to book one room for one night.
●The offer is ￡20 per room, per night. If voucher holders book additional services such as lunch, evening meal or activities, an extra charge is required. Please check directly with your chosen B&Bs to see what extra services are available.
● Vouchers must be presented on arrival. If no vouchers are presented, the B&Bs may reserve the right to charge at full price for every night of stay.
● Vouchers may not be used together with any other offer.
● The voucher holders must pay for the stay in full at the time of booking. Meanwhile, additional ￡10 has to be paid to confirm the booking and will be returned on arrival.
● The B&Bs reserve the right to refuse voucher holders’ bookings for people under the age of 18.How much should be paid for a two-night stay when you book a room with vouchers?
| A．￡75. | B．￡35. | C．￡50. | D．￡55. |
What right do the B&Bs reserve?
| A．To request extra charges as tips. |
| B．To refuse bookings for guests under the age of 18. |
| C．To charge at full price for stays not confirmed. |
| D．To charge extra￡10 for bookings with no vouchers. |
According to the passage, the voucher holders can ________.
| A．book the stays through B&B Daily |
| B．use the B&B offer together with other offers |
| C．book either a basic twin or double room at the chosen B&Bs |
| D．have lunch or evening meal without paying any extra money |
Educating girls quite possibly outputs a higher rate of return than any other investment (投资) available in the developing world. Women’s education may be an unusual field for economists, but raising women’s contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social problem. And economics, with its emphasis on motivation, provides an explanation for why so many girls can’t receive education.
Parents in low-income countries fail to invest in their daughters because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into somebody else’s family and bear children. Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school—the prediction turns into reality, trapping women in a vicious circle (恶性循环) of neglect.
An educated mother, on the other hand, has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices. She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children, ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance. The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls, as well as of boys, will be educated and healthy. The vicious circle is thus transformed into a good circle.
Few will disagree with it that educating women has great social benefits. But it has enormous economic advantages as well. Most obviously, there is the direct effect of education on the wages of female workers. Wages rise by 10 to 20 per cent for each additional year of schooling. Such big returns are impressive by the standard of other available investments, but they are just the beginning. Educating women also has a significant influence on health practices, including family planning.The author argues that educating girls in developing countries is ________.
| A．troublesome | B．rewarding |
| C．labor-saving | D．expensive |
What does the underlined part probably mean?
| A．Girls will turn out to be less valuable than boys. |
| B．Girls will be capable of realizing their own dreams. |
| C．Girls will eventually find their goals in life beyond reach. |
| D．Girls will be increasingly discontented with their life at home. |
The author believes that a vicious circle can turn into a good one when ________.
| A．women care more about education |
| B．girls can gain equal access to education |
| C．a family has fewer but healthier children |
| D．parents can afford their daughters’ education |
The passage mainly discusses ________.
| A．unequal treatment of boys and girls in developing countries |
| B．the potential earning power of well-educated women |
| C．the major contributions of educated women to society |
| D．the economic and social benefits of educating women |
Finding time to enjoy life is becoming harder and harder. As the average workweek lengthens, leisure time drops. Yet some of the world’s busiest people are able to develop rewarding careers and also make time for family and leisure activities. Here is their best advice plus that of time-management experts:
1. Use your peak hours wisely.
People tend to be most alert in late morning and midevening. Afternoon brings an increase in sleepiness. Use your high-efficiency hours to handle difficult jobs or engage in creative thinking. For low-efficiency times, concentrate on cleaning up or sorting your mail. By adapting to your mental condition, you can accomplish more in less time.
2. Make a plan.
Just 20 minutes of organizing can save an hour of extra effort remembering what must be done. “Don’t try to carry your life around in your head,” says Lucy Hedrick, author of Five Days to an Organized Life. “Write things down so you can free your brain for more inventive pursuit (追求).”
3. Discourage drop-ins.
The person who welcomes every visitor will get plenty of conversation but won’t accomplish much.
The trick is to develop harmless ways to protect yourself from minute-stealing interruptions. David E. Levy, a public-relations consultant (顾问), uses an alternative to the open-door policy by keeping his door half open. The message is clear: he really doesn’t want you to come in, but you can if it is important.
4. Tame (驯服) the telephone.
Few devices save more minutes—or waste so many more—than the telephone. Signal the end of your conversation with a phrase such as “Before we hang up…” You can save even more time by not taking every incoming call.
Keep a record of when people you call regularly are least busy and call them at those times. Even better, make appointments to call important contacts.
To help us gain an extra hour every day, a clockmaker in Dallas has created a timer measuring each minute at 57.6 seconds. The 2.5 seconds borrowed from each minute add up to an extra 60 minutes at the end of each day.According to Lucy Hedrick, you should ________.
| A．carry out your plans when you are free |
| B．stop occupying your mind with lots of things |
| C．forget everything annoying when taking a walk |
| D．enjoy your life whenever you can |
Why does David E. Levy keep his door half open?
| A．To show drop-ins are not welcome at all. |
| B．To tell drop-ins to come if they want. |
| C．To keep unimportant visitors from dropping in. |
| D．To indicate he is expecting a visitor. |
Who works most efficiently according to the passage?
| A．An editor who is trying to produce a title for his article in the afternoon. |
| B．A manager who is designing selling plans with his office door open. |
| C．A visitor to a mayor without making an appointment. |
| D．A student in class without taking any incoming calls. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Gain an Extra Hour Every Day |
| B．Live One Day at a Time |
| C．How to Live Your Life to the Fullest |
| D．Create Your Own Opportunities |
Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s cars and action figures weren’t just toys. “They would always be characters, and I would always put on stupid voices,” says Thomas (Born on 16 May 1990). For him, acting was just a matter of moving childhood games to a set.
Maturity and independence came to Thomas early as he started work at ten. After his first audition (试镜), he learned about rejection. Though hurt and disappointed, he took a part in a tiny, unknown TV film in 2001. No one noticed his performance – no one except screenwriter Richard Curtis. Two years later, he played Sam, a twelve-year-old in love in Curtis’s Love Actually. After that hit film, he played actor Colin Firth’s son in Nanny McPhee. Firth then joined a film called The Last Legion and supported Thomas for its lead role. As a result, the boy played Rome’s final ruler in the action-adventure.
At about 16, Thomas had to make a decision. Did he really want to devote his life to acting? Many people in the public “aren’t letting you be you because they see you as something special”, he says. Also, friendship made during filming was often broken soon after the project finished. Despite these things, he found enough joy and satisfaction in the work to continue. Actually, Thomas seems to find joy in difficulty itself. He played 10-year-old Adolf Hitler in a TV movie and a teenage Paul McCartney in Nowhere Boy. The subject of his film Death of a Superhero made it his most challenging film. Still, he found a positive message in its story of a schoolboy with cancer.
Thomas now enjoys roles in Game of Thrones and the upcoming Maze Runner films. Popular as those projects may be, most still recognize him as Sam in Love Actually. Sam seems to run after Thomas, just as he ran through Heathrow airport to his sweetheart.Thomas Brodie-Sangster reached maturity early probably because of ________.
| A．his failure in the first audition |
| B．his starting acting as early as ten |
| C．his being supported by adult actors |
| D．his acting in a tiny unknown TV film |
The underlined word “rejection” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to ________.
| A．recovery | B．respect |
| C．response | D．refusal |
What can be considered as one of the negative aspects of acting according to Thomas?
| A．Pressure from the public. |
| B．Long-term working friendship. |
| C．Finding joy in difficulty itself. |
| D．Reading scripts and memorizing lines. |
Thomas played the lead role in ________.
| A．Love Actually | B．Games of Thrones |
| C．The Last Region | D．Nanny McPhee |