C
A crisis is on the way.Global warming? The world economy? No,the decline of reading.People are just not doing it anymore,especially the young.Who’s responsible? What is responsible? The Internet,of course,and everything that comes with it—Facebook,Twitter,etc..
There’s been a warning about the coming death of literate civilization for a long time.In the 20th century,first it was the movies,then radio,then television that seemed to end the written world.None did.Reading survived;in fact it not only survived,it has developed better.The world is more literate than ever before — there are more and more readers.and more and more books.
The fact that we often get our reading material online today is not something we should worry over.The electronic and digital revolution of the last two decades has arguably shown the way forward for reading and for writing.Interconnectivity allows for the possibility of a reading experience that was barely imaginable before.Where traditional books had to make do with photographs and illustrations,an e-book can provide readers with an unlimited number of links:to texts,pictures,and videos.
On the other hand,there is the danger of trivialization(碎片化).One Twitter group is offering its followers single-sentence-long“digests”of the great novels.War and Peace in a sentence? You must be joking.We should fear the fragmentation(碎片)of reading.There is the danger that the high-speed connectivity of the Internet will reduce our attention span—that we will be incapable of reading anything of length or which requires deep concentration.
In such a fast-changing world,in which reality seems to be remade each day,we need the ability to focus and understand what is happening to us.This has always been the function of literature and we should be careful not to let it disappear.Our society needs to be able to imagine the possibility of someone entirely in pace with modern technology but able to make sense of a dynamic,confusing world.
In Paragraph 2,we can learn .
A.the disappearance of traditional books |
B.the development of human civilization |
C.the historical challenges for reading |
D.the birth of pioneering e-books |
According to the passage,the advantage of e-books is .
A.1imited link |
B.imaginative design |
C.low cost |
D.varied contents |
How does the author feel towards single-sentence-long novels?
A.Doubtful | B.Worried |
C.Shocked | D.Hopeful |
What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Technology is an opportunity and a challenge for traditional reading. |
B.Technology pushes the way forward for reading and writing. |
C.Interconnectivity is a feature of new reading experience. |
D.Technology offers a greater variety of reading practice. |
A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the sad eyes of a little boy.
“Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."
"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat of the back of his neck, “these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."
The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. "I've got thirty- nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?”
"Sure," said the farmer.
And with that he let out a whistle. "Here, Dolly!" he called.
Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.
As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared; this one noticeably smaller.
Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up....
"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt.
The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."
With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands."
With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup. Holding it carefully he handed it to the little boy.
"How much?" asked the little boy.
"No charge," answered the farmer, "There's no charge for love."
The world is full of people who need someone who understands. It's National Friendship Week. How many baby pups did the farmer have for sale?
A.3 | B.4 | C.5 | D.6 |
Why did the farmer agree to sell the boy one of the puppies?
A.The boy had the money to buy one. |
B.There were few people wanting to buy a dog. |
C.The farmer felt sorry for the boy. |
D.The farmer wanted to get rid of the dogs quickly. |
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to the underlined word “ hobbling”?
A.strolling. | B.crawling. | C.limping. | D.running. |
Why did the boy finally choose the “ hobbling” pup?
A.He feared the farmer would kill it. |
B.He thought no one else would buy that pup. |
C.He believed it was the cutest of the pups. |
D.He could identify with this pup. |
What would be the most suitable title for this passage?
A.Man’s Best Friend | B.Puppy For Sale. |
C.Perfect Match. | D.Love at First Sight. |
Everyone has got two personalities-the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don't show your secret personality when you're awake because you can control your behavior, but when you're asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their position. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you're a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don't like to upset people, so you never express your real feelings. You're quite shy and you aren't very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive(不外露) person. You worry a lot and you're always easily upset. You're very stubborn(顽固), but you aren't very ambitious. You usually live for today not tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.
If you sleep curled up, you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you're often defensive. You're shy and you don't normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You're easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You're usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don't often get depressed. You always say what you think even if it annoys people.According to the writer, you naturally show your secret and real personality _______.
A.only in a normal night |
B.only when you go to sleep |
C.only when you refuse to show yourself to the world. |
D.only when you change sleeping position |
Which is NOT mentioned in the second paragraph about a person’s personality?
A.He or she is always open with others. |
B.He or she always likes new ideas earlier than others. |
C.He or she is always easily upset. |
D.He or she tends to believe in others. |
Point out which sentence is used to show the personality of a person who is used to sleeping on his or her stomach.
A.He or she is careful not to offend others. |
B.He or she doesn’t want to stick to his or her opinion. |
C.He or she always wants to get ahead. |
D.He or she likes to have a good time. |
Maybe you don’t want to make friends with a person who sleeps curled up. Why?
A.He or she would rather be alone than communicate with you. |
B.He or she is rarely ready to help you. |
C.He or she prefers staying at home to going out. |
D.He or she wouldn’t like to get help from you. |
It appears that the writer tends to think highly of the person who sleeps on one side because ________.
A.He or she always shows sympathy for people. |
B.He or she is confident, but not stubborn. |
C.He or she has more strengths than weaknesses. |
D.He or she often considers annoying people. |
Students who say they never or hardly ever used dictionaries often speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes.
The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. Therefore they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English.
The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, or divide it into syllables (音节), they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check these in a dictionary.
The writer thinks that .
A.choose a good dictionary, and you’ll be successful in learning English |
B.dictionaries are not necessary to the students who learn English |
C.it is very important for students to use good dictionaries properly |
D.using dictionaries very often can’t help to improve writing |
According to the passage, which of the following is wrong?
A.Dictionaries have little effect on learning to speak English. |
B.Whatever new words you meet while reading, never use dictionaries. |
C.Small two-language dictionaries have serious defects (缺陷). |
D.Reading something for the first time, you’d better not use dictionaries. |
When in the reading does the writer advise students to use a good dictionary?
A.At the beginning of the reading |
B.At the end of the readi![]() |
C.During the first reading |
D.After the first reading |
This passage mainly tells us .
A.students shouldn’t use small two-language dictionaries |
B.what were the defects of small two-language dictionaries |
C.why students should use large college edition dictionaries |
D.what dictionary students should choose and how to use it |
Which is not mentioned in this passage?
A.How to make good use of a dictionary. |
B.When to use a dic![]() |
C.How to improve spoken English. |
D.How to practise reading fast. |
When you want to go shopping, decide how much money you can spend on new clothes. Think about the kind of clothes you really need. Then look for those clothes you really need. Then look for those clothes on sale.
There are labels(标签) inside all new clothes. The labels tell you how to take care of your clothes. The label for a shirt may tell you to wash it in warm water. A sweater l
abel may tell you to wash in cold water. The label on a coat may say “dry clean only”, for washing may ruin this coat. If you do as the directions (说明)on the label, you can keep your clothes looking their best for a long time.
Many clothes today must be dry cleaned. Dry cleaning is expensive. When buying new clothes, check to see if they will need to be dry cleaned. You will save money if you buy clothes that can be washed.
You can save money if you buy clothes that are well made. Well-made clothes last longer. They look good even after they have been washed many times. Clothes that cost more money are not necessarily(不一定) better made. They do not always fit better. Sometimes less expensive clothes look and fit better than more expensive clothes.If you want to save money, you had better buy clothes that __ .
A.don’t fit you | B.don’t last long |
C.need to be dry cleaned | D.can be washed |
The labels inside the clothes tell you______.
A.how to keep them looking their best | B.how to save money |
C.whether they fit you or not | D.where to get them dry cleaned |
The first thing for you to do before you buy clothes is __ .
A.to look for well-made clothes![]() |
B.to see how much money you can spend on it |
C.to know how to wash them |
D.to read the labels inside them |
We learn from the passage that cheaper clothes __ .
A.are always worse made | B.must be dry cleaned |
C.can not be washed | D.can sometimes fit you b![]() |
The best title for the passage should be __ .
A.Buy Less Expensive Clothes |
B.Taking Enough Money When Shopping |
C.Being a Clever Clothes Shopper |
D.Choosing the Labels inside New Clothes |
Many teenagers(青少年) feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends.They believe that their family members don’t know them as well as their friends do.In large families, it is quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for some ideas.
It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends.Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone.This communication is very important in children’s growing up, because friends can discuss something.These things are difficult to tell their family members.
However, parents often try to choose their children’s friends for them.Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends.Have you ever thought of the following questions?
Who chooses your friends?
Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?
Have you got a good friend your parents don’t like?
Your answers are welcome. Many teenagers think that ____ can understand them better.
A.friends | B.brothers | C.sisters | D.parents |
When teenagers have something difficult to tell their parent
s, they usually____.
A.stay alone at home | B.fight with their parents |
C.discuss it with their friends | D.go to their brothers and sisters for help |
The sentence (句子) “Your answers are welcome.” means _______.
A.You are welcome to discuss the questions with us |
B.We’ve got no idea, so your answers are welcome |
C.Your answers are always right |
D.You can give us all the right answers |
Which of the following is the writer’s attitude(态度)?
A.Parents should choose friends for their children. |
B.Children should choose everything they like. |
C.Parents should understand their children better. |
D.Teenagers should only go to their friends for help. |
Part of the purpose of this
passage is to ___.
A.give information for the parents to make their own judgment (判断) |
B.give advice to children who want to choose their friends |
C.help parents to find better friends for their children |
D.get some information from many readers |