Reading is the key to school success, and like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. An excellent sportsman practices until he can play quickly, correctly and without thinking.
Educators (教育家) call it "automaticity (自动性)”．
A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and finding the meaning of the words. With more and more practice, he stumbles less and less. As a result, he can read by the phrases and soon by sentences. With automaticity, he doesn't have to think about the meaning of words, so that he can give all his attention to the meaning of the text.
It can begin as early as first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found that automatic readers in the first grade not only read almost three times as fast as the others, but also got better results in exams.
According to Rossman, the key to automaticity is the amount of time a child spends reading, not his IQ. Any child who spends at least 3.5 t0 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will probably reach automaticity. It can happen if a child turns off TV just one night for reading at home.
You can test yourself by reading something new which is suitable for your level. If you read aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, you probably are an automatic reader. If you read brokenly, one word at a time, without expression or meaning, you need more practice.
| A．helps school develop faster |
| B．is a key to a successful school |
| C．helps students go to a key school |
| D．can improve students' learning results |
| A．know how to read the words |
| B．pay attention to the meaning of the text instead of the words |
| C．read by themselves without any help |
| D．do not have to think while reading |
| A．turns off TV one night 4 weeks |
| B．reads books by the word quickly |
| C．spends an hour reading every day |
| D．gets the same grades as others in exams |
| A．结结巴巴地读 | B．全神贯注地读 |
| C．心不在焉地读 | D．声情并茂地读 |
| A．IQ is the Key- to the Automaticity |
| B．TV is Bad for Children's Reading |
| C．Automaticity Needs a Lot of Practice |
| D．Automatic Readers Must Be Successful |
Judie is a good student. She usually gets up at half past six in the morning. She does morning exercises (锻炼) for half an hour. Then she reads English from 7:00 a. m. to 7:30 a. m. She has breakfast at home. She goes to school at 7:45 a. m. She has four classes in the morning. She usually has lunch at school, but on Sundays she has lunch at home with her family. She has three classes in the afternoon. She goes home at 5:00 p.m. She usually helps her mom cook dinner and has dinner at about 6:00 p.m. Then she does her homework from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. She doesn’t like watching TV in the evening.What time does Judie usually get up?
A. At 6:00 a. m.
B. At 6:30 a. m.
C. At 7:00 a. m.What does Judie usually do at 6:45 a. m.?
A. Reads English.
B. Has breakfast.
C. Does morning exercises.How many classes does Judie have a day?
A. Four classes.
B. Six classes.
C. Seven classes.Where does Judie usually have lunch?
A. At home.
B. At school.
C. At a restaurant.What does Judie do in the evening?
A. She reads English.
B. She does her homework.
C. She watches TV.
Can you help me, please? I can not find my daughter. Her name is Mary. She is only(仅仅) three years old. She is very short. She has a round face, big blue eyes, a small nose and a wide mouth. Her hair is blond. She is in a red shirt and a pink skirt. And her shoes are brown. A yellow toy is in her hands. Please help me find her. My name is Rose White. My telephone number is 318-6290. Thank you!Mary is _______ years old.
A. 2 B. 3 C. 4Mary has _____ hair and ______eyes.
A. pink; yellow
B. black; brown
C. blond; blueMary has a round ________and a wide ______.
A. nose; mouth B. face; mouth C. face; noseMary is in _______.
A. a red shirt B. a brown skirt C. pink shoesWhich(哪个) is RIGHT?
A. Mary is tall.
B. A yellow banana is in her hands.
C. Rose White’s telephone number is 318-6290.
阅读短文, 根据短文内容回答问题。（共6分,每小题2分）
Mei Lanfang（1894-1961）, known as the great master of China’s dramatic arts, was the one who developed the modevn Beijing Opera.
Mei Lanfang was born into a family of Beiing Opera performers in Beijing. He made his first performance when he was just 10 years old. He was especially good at playing females, or the Dan role.
With a deep love for his people, he gave his whole life to the art of Beijing Opera. During his stage career（舞台生涯） of over 50 years, not only did he carry on the best of the traditional art of opera, but also kept searching for ways to improve his art and created many lively and unforgettable artistic images（形象） by studying and learning from the best of other local and national operas. He successfully put acting, singing and dancing together in his performing, and turned Beijing Opera into a colorful art of the highest stage effects（效果）. As a result, he developed his own style called the “Mei Lanfang School”.
Mei Lanfang was the first one who introduced Beijing Opera to the world and made successful tours to Japan（1919, 1924 and 1956） and the USA（1930）. He popularized the Chinese classical drama among foreign audiences and won international fame（声誉）. Through his performances Beijing Opera won the hearts of many foreign people and influenced（影响） foreign stages in return.
Mei Lanfang is the symbol of China’s performing arts, the hero of his people and country.Was Mei Lanfang good at playing the Dan role?
What did he put together in his performing?
Why is Mei Lanfang the symbol of China’s performing arts?
阅读短文。根据短文内容。从短文后的五个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余选项。（共4分, 每小题1分）
A ten-year-old girl saved about one hundred other tourists in 2004 by warning them that a Tsunami（海啸）, a huge ocean wave, was on its way across the sea. She knew what was happening. Why? _____.
“I was on the beach and the water started to go funny, ”Tilly Smith told the reporter from the newspaper. “There were bubbles（水泡） and the water went back suddenly. _____. I told Mum, ”she said.
____. They cleared people from the beach just minutes before a huge wave reached the land. Luckily, no one died.
____. “She’s a very clever girl... It is very lucky that our class were learning about this kind of tsunami just two weeks before Christmas, ”he told the newspaper.
| A．They thought they were in danger. |
| B．Tilly’s mother and the hotel workers acted quickly. |
| C．Tilly’s teacher was very proud of her. |
| D．I knew there was going to be a tsunami. |
E. Because she learnt about underwater earthquakes at school.
I was a small boy of 8, and was having lunch in a restaurant with my mother and my grandma. I ordered a Salisbury steak, confident in the knowledge that under that wonderful name was a good hamburger. When brought to the table, it was with a plate of peas. I have always hated peas. I don’t know why anyone would like to eat peas. I never ate them before. And I certainly was not about to eat them now.
“Eat your peas, ”my grandmother said.
“Mother, ”said my mom. “He doesn’t like peas. Leave him alone. ”
My grandmother did not answer, but I saw something strong in her eyes. “I’ll pay you $5 if you eat them, ”she said.
I sat there still. In my mind, $5 was a huge, nearly unimaginable amount（数量） of money, and as terrible as peas were, only one plate of them stood between me and that $5. I began to eat them.
My mother was angry while grandma was pleased. My mother stared at（盯着） her mother and me. If there were a staring Olympics, she would win the gold medal. The stares made me nervous, and every single pea made me nearly throw up, but the image of $5 were in my mind, and I finally finished them.
My grandmother left for Aunt Lillian’s a few weeks later. That night, at dinner, my mother served a big bowl of peas. I, of course, said no at once. My mother looked at me coldly and then came the words that followed me for years.
“You ate them for money.” she said. “You can eat them for love. ”
Oh, despair（绝望）! Oh, my god! Now, too late, came the understanding that I’d drawn myself into something from which there was no way to run away.
What possible answer could I say against that?
I ate them. I ate them that day and every other time they were served. The five dollars were quickly spent. My grandmother passed away a few years later. But the story of the peas lived on, and the words became my forever nightmare（噩梦）, “You ate them for money, you can eat them for love. ”What kind of person is the grandma according to the writer?
| A．Strict. | B．Terrible. | C．Friendly. | D．Funny. |
After the lunch, the mother continued to serve peas to her son because ____________.
| A．she disliked her son very much |
| B．she wanted to see if he loved her |
| C．she decided to teach him a lesson |
| D．she wanted him to remember his grandma |
The writer wanted to tell us that ____________.
| A．his grandmother became his nightmare |
| B．he realized money was so easy to spend |
| C．he never refused to eat peas from then on |
| D．he learnt he shouldn’t do everything for money |