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 |
2021 is the year of the ox（牛）.In March，a set of stamps about the famous Tang Dynasty painting，Five Oxen，came out. Itallows more people to know better the great art of ancient China，as well as the importance of agriculture（农业）in history.
Han Huang （723﹣787）was the painter of Five Oxen.He worked as a government official in the Tang Dynasty.His paintings were loved by many because the animals he painted were so alive.Unluckily，Five Oxen is probably his only painting left.
Five Oxen is one of the best animal paintings in China's art history.In the painting，the five oxen are in a line.They are of different colors and shapes.And each has a different appearance（形态），walking or standing，holding their heads high or low.With lively expressions and bright eyes，the oxen show the spirit of doing hard work without complaints（抱怨）.As the name suggests， ▲.It makes people focus（关注）on the oxen themselves.
The painting was missing in 1900.Luckily，it returned to China during the early 1950s.However，it was terribly broken with many holes in it.Great efforts were made to save it.Now Five Oxen，probably the oldest Chinese painting on paper，is kept with care in the Palace Museum in Beijing.
（1）The underlined word " It" in Paragraph 1 refers to "
| A． |
The year of the ox |
| B． |
The set of stamps |
| C． |
The Tang Dynasty |
| D． |
The painting Five Oxen |
（2）Han Huang's paintings were loved by many because the animals he painted were so .
| A． |
alive |
| B． |
bright |
| C． |
lucky |
| D． |
colorful |
（3）Which of the following sentences can be put in the ▲？
| A． |
the ox is very popular in the Tang Dynasty |
| B． |
the ox is a symbol of Chinese traditional culture |
| C． |
the painting is of the five oxen with no special background |
| D． |
the painting wants to tell people to work hard and creatively |
（4）This passage mainly wants to tell us that .
| A． |
Five Oxen is Han's only painting left |
| B． |
oxen have different colors and shapes |
| C． |
oxen are very hard﹣working animals |
| D． |
Five Oxen is valuable and meaningful |
Liu Xiuxiang was born in a poor family.When he was 4，his father died.His mother developed mental（精神的）health problems.When he was 10，his elder brother and sisters left and never returned.To make a living，Liu collected rubbish，and in high school he worked 18 hours a day during summer vacations.However difficult it was，he never gave up his study.
In 2007，Liu failed the Gaokao.He got lost.He wondered if he should continue studying.After working in a bathhouse for about 50 days，he decided to go back to school.In 2008，h finally passed the Gaokao and went to university.
After graduation，he became a history teacher in his hometown. "I want to come back to tell the children，who are as poor and lost as I was，that education has changed my life. "Liu set a good example for them to take control of lives through education.
Now Liu gives speeches around the country.His story inspires（鼓舞）many students and encourages people to help those from poor families.Since 2012，he has helped more than 1，900 students and called on more teachers to work in poor areas to improve the quality（质量）of education.
Liu was titled "the most beautiful teacher" in 2020.His story moves us a lot.
（1）How long did Liu Xiuxiang work during summer vacations in high school？
| A． |
4 hours a day. |
| B． |
10 hours a day. |
| C． |
12 hours a day. |
| D． |
18 hours a day. |
（2）The underlined word " lost" in Paragraph 2 probably means " .
| A． |
丢失的 |
| B． |
错过的 |
| C． |
迷路的 |
| D． |
迷茫的 |
（3）Liu Xiuxiang set a good example for the children to take control of lives through .
| A． |
speeches |
| B． |
money |
| C． |
education |
| D． |
jobs |
（4）The passage is written in the order of .
| A． |
space |
| B． |
time |
| C． |
persons |
| D． |
opinion |
Build for yourself a strong box.Build each part with care；
When it strong as your hand can make it，
Put all your troubles there.
Hide there all thought of your failures.And each pain that you take；
Lock all your heartaches in it，
Then sit on the lid（盖子）and laugh
Tell no one else what's inside，Never share its secrets；
When you've dropped in your care and worry，
Keep them for ever there.Hide them from sight（视野）so completely；
That the world will never dream half；Cover the strong box safely，
Then sit on the lid and laugh.
（1）The material above is probably .
| A． |
a story |
| B． |
a play |
| C． |
a poem |
| D． |
a letter |
（2）What does the writer advise us to put in the box？
| A． |
Happy things. |
| B． |
Sad things. |
| C． |
Interesting things. |
| D． |
Boring things. |
（3）According to the writer，we'd better keep these things in the box .
| A． |
for ever |
| B． |
for a year |
| C． |
for a month |
| D． |
for a week |
（4）After covering the box with the lid，we can sit on it and .
| A． |
cry |
| B． |
share |
| C． |
dream |
| D． |
laugh |
A map is a drawing of a place.The title tells you what place it is.The symbols of the map key stand for different places.A map shows the four directions.The letters N，S，E and W stand for north，south，east and west.Look!Walk west on the road，then turn left，and you can find the school.
（1）The picture above is a map of .
| A． |
a country |
| B． |
a city |
| C． |
a town |
| D． |
a park |
（2）On the map，you can find the following places EXCEPT .
| A． |
a hotel |
| B． |
a school |
| C． |
a bank |
| D． |
a hospital |
（3）If you want to go to the zoo，you can .
| A． |
walk east on the road |
| B． |
walk west on the road |
| C． |
walk south on the road |
| D． |
walk north on the road |
Newspapers are dying.Electronic devices like mobile phones，pads，TVs and car radios can all be the killers.Most people believe in the long run，there is no reason• no practical reason for newspapers to survive.No matter what we do may only buy time.
Can anything save newspapers？I decided to have a try.
Many years ago，Bonnier，a Swedish publisher，set a newspaper in the former Soviet countries .After a few years，they had more newspapers in central and eastern Europe.However，these newspapers were run by a group of inexperienced people，and they didn't have enough money.In many places there were not even art directors.
I got a position in Bonnier's newspaper as an art director.
It was very difficult at first.I was really disappointed，until one day，in Londonn，when I saw performance by Cirque du Soleil. "These guys took some run﹣down entertainment，and put it to the highest possible level of performance art.M Inspiration lighted me up， "Why can't we do the same with the newspapers.We started to redesign the newspapers，one by one.
We used our imagination.We treated the whole newspaper as one piece，one composition - like music.
Music has a rhythm，has ups and downs.Design is responsible for this experience.Flipping through pages was readers' experience and I was responsible for this experience.
The front page became my personal channel to talk to the readers.My approach was simple and direct.I wanted to show my understanding of art，and of reality.I wanted to make posters，not newspapers.Not even magazines：posters.
We had determination，and we kept on trying.We experimented with type，with illustration and with photos.We kept asking：Why do we do it？What's our goal？
Design was not only about the front page.It was a part of the process.To be good was not enough.The process we made was about improving the product completely.
We adjusted the content accordingly.We improved everything to what our readers thought it should be and how they liked reading it.We kept improving and we had fun.
Soon in Poland ，our pages were named "Covers of the Year" three times in a row.One year later this newspaper，in the same country，they named it the "World's Best﹣Designed Newspaper".Two years later，the same award came to Estonia.The circulation of the newspapers kept going up.They became more and more popular.
Someone may think we are buying time，but our newspapers are alive，and growing.
（1）According to the passage，most people think newspapers .
| A． |
will be replaced |
| B． |
should be improved |
| C． |
need to be saved |
| D． |
may die immediately |
（2）Why did the writer go to work in Bonnier's newspaper？
| A． |
Art director was a well﹣paid position. |
| B． |
It would die and he was going to save it. |
| C． |
He hoped to get more working experience. |
| D． |
It was a big publishing company in Europe. |
（3）Which of the following is probably the writer's opinion？
| A． |
Newspapers can be alive if they are designed as posters. |
| B． |
The other newspapers can develop as quickly as Bonnier. |
| C． |
We may only buy time no matter how we save newspapers. |
| D． |
Newspapers won't survive unless we keep improving them. |
（4）What makes the writer's newspapers survive and grow？（请用约 40 词回答）
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