Speed-reading is a necessary skill in the Internet age．We skim over articles, e-mails and WeChat to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text．Surrounded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by word, line by line．But a new trend calls on people to unplug and enjoy reading slowly, listing benefits beyond the intelligent stimulation．
A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones．They sink into cozy chairs and read in silence for an hour． Unlike traditional book clubs, the point of the slow reading club isn't exchanging ideas about a certain book, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment． According to the Journal, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement started by book lovers who miss the old-fashioned way of reading before the Internet and smartphones．
Slow readers, such as The Atlantic's Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to sympathize． Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand other's mental states and beliefs, a fundamental skill in building relationships．
Yet technology has made us less attentive readers． Screens have changed our reading patterns from the straight and information．left-to-right sequence to a wild skimming and skipping pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text punctuated with links leads to weaker comprehension than reading plain text. The Internet may have made us stupider, says Patrick Kingsley from The Guardian． Because of the Internet, he says, we have become very good at collecting a wide range of interesting news, but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, reflect, and relate all these facts to each other．
Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted, straight pattern, in a quiet environment free of distractions． Aim for 30 minutes a day, advises Kelly from The Atlantic． “You can squeeze in that half hour pretty easily if only during your free moments, you pick up a meaningful work of literature,” Kelly said． “Reach for your e-reader, if you like． Kindles make books like War and Peace less heavy, not less substantive, and also ensure you'll never lose your place．”The book club in Wellington mentioned in Paragraph 2 shows____________．
| A．the new trend of slow reading |
| B．the decline of electronic devices |
| C．the importance of exchanging ideas |
| D．the increasing number of club readers |
According to Patrick Kingsley, people are stupider partly because of_____________．
| A．a non-stop reading pattern |
| B．the straight, left-to-right screen |
| C．a wide range of interesting news |
| D．the lack of reflection |
According to the passage, slow reading___________．
| A．contributes to understanding among people |
| B．promotes the current technology advances |
| C．provides people with a quiet environment |
| D．cures the memory loss of elderly people |
What's the best title for the passage?
| A．Benefit of Reading Clubs． |
| B．Return of Slow Reading． |
| C．Reading of the Internet Age． |
| D．Influence of Speed Reading． |
第三部分 阅读理解 (共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.
By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand. Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power”.
Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas, the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success.
Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem—why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there.
Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often, they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.
56．According to the passage, writing can help you a lot EXCEPT______.
A．to increase your brain power. B．to improve the ability to remember.
C．to develop your interest in study. D．to strengthen the understanding 
of a topic.
57．The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fourth paragraph means that______.
A．you are already successful
B．there’s a long way for you to go to reach your goal.
C．you are left wondering what to do
D．you have been on the way to success
58．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．A Way on How to Write. B．A More Powerful Mind Through Writing.
C．Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing. D．How to Start Your Writing.
59．Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A．Writing can cure people o
f their brain disease.
B．People who can keep all thoughts in mind are more likely to succeed.
C．Writing a book about one topic is the only way to understand it.
D．The more you write, the more logical you will be.
New rules and behavior standards(行为规范)for middle school students came out in March .Middle school is going to use a new way to decide who will be the top students. The best students won’t only have marks. They will also be kids who don’t dye(染)their hair, smoke or drink. The following are some of the new rules.
Tell the truth.Have you ever copied someone else’s work in an exam? Don’t do it again! That’s not something an honest student should do. If you have played computer games for two hours in your room, don’t tell your parents you have done your homework.
Do more at school. Good students love animals and care for other people. April is Bird-Loving Month in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate?
You should join! That way, you can learn more about animals and how to protect them. When more people work together, it makes it more fun for everyone.Have you ever quarreled with your teammates when your basketball team lost? Only working together can make your team stronger. Be friendly to the people you are with. Try to think of others, not only yourself.
Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? Maybe you’ll discover EarthII some day. Don’t look down on new ideas。 Everyone’s new ideas are important . You should welcome them, because new ideas make life better and easier for everyone.
Protect yourself. Have someone ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don’t let it happen to you . If you have to go home late. You should take care of yourself and let your parents know.
Use the Internet carefully: The Internet can be very useful for your studies. But some thinks on the Internet aren’t for kids, so try to look at Web pages that are good for you. You can use the Web for fun or homework.
( )57.When did the new rules come out ?
A. Last year. B. Last week. C. Last month.
( )58. Do you have to tell your parents if you have played computer games instead of doing your homework according to the new rule?
A. Yes, I do. B. There’s no need to do that. C No, I don’t.
( )59. What should you do if you can’t get home on time according to the new rule?
A. I wouldn’t say anything.
B. I should let my parents know.
C. I think I can take care of myself.
( )60. What is the use of the Internet for children?
A. It is used for children to play computer games all day.
B. It is used for children to study or sometimes for fun.
C. It is used for children to chat with friends.
( )61. What does the passage mainly tell us to do?
A. How to protect (保护)animals.
B. How to use the Internet.
C. How to be good students
四．阅读理解(30分，每小题2分)
An important question about eating outside is who pays for the meal. If a friend of yours asks you to have lunch with him, you may say something like this, “I’m afraid of it,I’ll have to be some place cheap, because I have very little money .”The other person may say, “ OK, I’ll meet you at McDonald’s.” This means that these two persons agree to “go Dutch”, that is, each person pays for himself. He may also say, “Oh, no. I want to take you to lunch at Smith’s,” or “I want you to try the Chinese dumplings there. They’re great.” This means the person wants to pay for both of you. If you feel friendly towards this person, you can go with him and you needn’t pay for the meal. You may just say, “Thank you.” That would be very nice.
American customs（风俗） about who pays for dates（约会） are much the same as in other parts of the world. In the old days, American women wanted men to pay for all the meals. But, today, a university girl or a woman in business world will usually pay her way during the day. If a man asks her for a dance outside the working hours, it means “Come, as my guest（客人）.” So as you can see, it is a polite thing to make the question clear at the very beginning
（）52.The passage tells us_______________ .
A. how to eat outside B. where to eat outside
C. what to eat outside D. who pays for the meal
（）53.If you have little money, ___________________.
A. you’ll have a cheap mealB. you’ll borrow some from others C. you’ll ask your friend to pay for your meal D. you won’t want your friends to ask you to dinner
( )54.“Go Dutch" in this passage means______________ .
A.去饭馆B.就餐C.订餐D.各自付款
( )55. Sometimes your friend takes you to lunch. It means_______________ .
A. He’s going to lend some money to you B. He’s going to pay for your meal,too
C. He’ll be angry with you D. He can’t understand you
( )56. In America, some girls and women now______________ .
A. Ask men to pay for their mealsB. Try to pay for the men’s meals
C. Try to pay for their own mealsD. Never have anything outside
The best way of learning a language is using it. The best way of learning English is talking in English as much as possible. Sometimes you’ll get your words mixed up and people will not understand you. Sometimes people will say things too quickly and you can’t understand them. But if you keep your sense of humor, you can always have a good laugh at the mistakes you make. Don’t be unhappy if people seem to be laughing at your mistakes .The most important thing for learning English is: Don’t be afraid of making mistakes because everyone makes mistakes.
( )62. The writer thinks the best way to learn a language is ______.
A writing in it B. using it C. learning the grammar.
( )63. What should you do in learning English?
A. Be careful not to make any mistakes.
B. Write as quickly as you can.
C. Talking in it as much as possible.
( )64. When people laugh at your mistakes, you______.
A. shouldn’t care about it B. should be angry with them C. should be happy
( )65. When you make a mistake, you should___________.
A. keep quiet B. get angry C. keep a sense of humor
( )66. What dose the passage mainly tell us?
A. Few people make mistakes in learning English.
B. Only foolish people make mistakes.
.C. Everyone makes mistakes in learning English
Machines in the home have a short history. Sewing machines, washing machines and tumble dries are common enough today, but a hundred years ago few people could even imagine such things. However, inventors have designed and built a wide range of household machines since then. In most cases the inventor tried to patent（申请专利）his machine, to stop anyone copying it. Then he tried to produce a lot of them. If the machine became popular, the inventor could make a lot of money.
In 1790 the first sewing machine was patented. The inventor was an Englishman called Thomas Saint. There was nothing to match his machine for forty years, and then someone built a similar device. He was a Frenchman, Bartelemy Thimonier. However, neither of these early machines worked very well. It wasn’t until 1846 that an inventor came up with a really efficient sewing machine. He was an American, Elias Howe and his machine was good enough to beat five skilled sewing women. He didn’t make much money from it, however. The first commercially successful sewing machine was patented by Isaac Singer five years later.
Today, we take washing machines for granted, but there was none before 1869. The revolving drum（旋转桶）of that first machine set a pattern for the future, but it was crude by today’s standards. The drum was turned by hand, and needed a lot of effort. Eight years passed before someone produced an electric washing machine. The world had to wait even longer for a machine to dry clothes. The first spin-drier was another American invention, patented in 1924; but it was 20 years before such machines were widely used.
It was yet another American, called Bissell, who introduced the carpet sweeper. He patented the original machine back in 1876. It didn’t pick up dirt very well, but it was quicker than a dustpan and brush. Thirty-six years later, even the carpet sweeper was old-fashioned: modern homes now have a vacuum cleaner（吸尘器）with an electric motor to suck the dust.
72. Whose sewing machine could do as much as,or even more than the work of five skilled sewing women?
A. Thomas Saint’s. B. Bartelemy Thimonier’s.
C. Elias Howe’s. D. Isaac Singer’s.
73. According to the article, modern inventors __________ .
A. follow the pattern of the first revolving drum but improve it much
B. only imitate (模仿)the first washing machine
C. power the first ever-made washing machine by electricity
D. have to wait for the first spin-drier for a long time
74. The underlined word “crude” in the sentence “but it was crude by today’s standards” probably means __________ .
A. useless B. ugly-looking C. rough D. not skillfully made
75. The article mainly tells us about __________ .
A. the great inventors in the world
B. the important inventions in the world
C. the short history of household machines
D. the importance of the machines used in the home