To improve your reading，you can try the form of reader's theatre，a formatted（编排）script for readers to read aloud.It's so interesting!
Cast of Characters：Narrator，Kayla，Ms.Lee，Zack
Narrator：On a sunny day in southern Texas，Ms.Lee's students gathered in the school playground.
Ms.Lee：Tomorrow is the day of the sidewalk（人行道） chalk﹣art festival.The principal has allowed us to practise our wet﹣chalk drawing on the playground sidewalk，which will be our studio.Remember，whenever you want to draw on a sidewalk，always ask an adult in charge for permission before you draw.Now let's review the steps of wet﹣chalk drawing.What do we do first？
Narrator：As the students told her the steps in order，Ms.Lee wrote them on a large pad of paper.When she finished writing，she pulled the paper off the pad and displayed the directions so everyone could read them.Then the students chose and soaked（浸湿） their pieces of chalk.Meanwhile，Kayla and Zack planned their drawing.
Kayla：Let's draw a jungle feast.Parrots can be eating all kinds of fruit.
Zack：I'll draw a model train carrying food to the birds.
Narrator：The students removed their pieces of chalk from the water and drew.As Zack drew a sweeping curve of train track，his hand knocked over the jar of water.He and Kayla watched water streak across their drawing.
Zack：Our drawing is ruined（毁坏）!
Kayla：Don't be so worried!Quick，mix the water and the chalk together!Now let's use more chalk and smear（涂抹） it around.
Narrator：Kayla and Zack worked quickly.The smeared colours looked glorious，like rich，thick frosting on a cake.
Ms.Lee：That looks great!That's a special method you're using，kids.Are you two interested in taking part in the chalk﹣art festival tomorrow？The timetable for the festival says that drawing starts at 9：00 a.m.
Kayla and Zack：Sure!
Kayla： Tomorrow well pour water over our drawing on purpose.
Zack：Then we'll know just what to do!
（1）What do we know about readers' theatre？
A.A place for readers to enjoy plays.
B.A reading material for people to read aloud.
C.A series of steps for children to draw on the sidewalk.
D.A number of people gathering together to play games.
（2）What does the underlined word "streak" in the passage mean？
A.Rise rapidly.
B.Move quickly.
C.Disappear suddenly.
D.Swim slowly.
（3）The narrator in the readers' theatre .
A.tells the whole story in a silent way
B.gives instructions to the characters
C.helps the characters understand the story
D.describes settings and events
（4）What does the underlined sentence "Tomorrow we'll pour water over our drawing on purpose."at the end of the passage mean？
A.Kayla and Zack will ruin their drawing with water for fun.
B.Kayla and Zack will find the steps by accident by themselves.
C.Kayla and Zack will draw as well as their teacher by pouring water.
D.Kayla and Zack will draw pictures using the method they discovered today.
【2014年江苏省淮安市中考】
With the development of science and technology, our dailylife is becoming more colorful and more convenient.
An Underwater Hotel
It looks like a spaceship but it is actually a picture of an underwater hotel. A company plans to build the hotel in the sea which is about 15metres below the surface(表面).The whole building is underwater and you can get to it by swimming and diving.
Google Glass
Google Glass is a pair of glasses with a battery(电池)hidden inside the frame(边框). It can perform many of the same tasks as smart phones. The glass has hidden camera and a tiny screen. It is designed to take hands-free photos or videos of anything people are doing.
A New Kind of shirt
Hate washing clothes? You’re going to love this kind of shirt made by an American clothing company, Wool Prince. This shirt can be worn for 100 straight days without washing! The Wool Prince shirt never needs ironing(熨烫).
The Digital(数字) Library
Can you imagine walking into a library and finding all books have turned into companies? The first bookless public library is planned to open in San Antonio, Texas, America. Computers will take the place of books soon. The underwater hotel is about _______meters below the surface.
| A．10 | B．15 | C．100 | D．150 |
You needn’t use ______ when you take photos or video with Google Glass.
| A．camera | B．a screen |
| C．a battery | D．your hand |
You can wear the Wool&Prince shirt for about ______ without washing.
| A．a month | B．two months |
| C．three months | D．a year |
The digital Library tells us something about a library without ______.
| A．books | B．computers |
| C．bookshelves | D．reader |
Which one of the following can reduce our housework in our daily life?
A. The underwater hotel B Google Glass
C. The Wool&Prince shirt D. The digital Library
【2014年湖北省荆州市中考】
先阅读短文，然后根据短文内容从文后每小题的四个选项中，选出一个能完成所给句子或回答所提问题的最佳答案。
March 21 is World Sleep Day. How’s your sleep recently?
The Chinese Medical Doctor Association asked 8,200 people in China about their sleep. More than 36.3 percent of them said they often sleep badly. The study also finds that many students have only 5 hours of sleep a day. According to the US National Sleep Foundation, teenagers need 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep every night.
What cuts into their sleeping time? Homework. Also, school starts early in the morning. But bad sleeping habits also play a role.
Do you like to have a look at your mobile phone before going to bed? The survey finds that 60 percent of people check their phones before they sleep. They read news, check their WeChat (微信) and micro blog(博客) messages, or chat with QQ friends.
It’s important for us to get enough sleep. If we can't get enough sleep, we'll feel sleepy and think slowly. And sleepy kids are often unhappy, says a study by the US National Sleep Foundation.
We can’t change our school time. But there are still ways to get better sleep. Stay away from soda, coffee and tea at night. They make it hard to sleep well. Leave your mobile phone and computer on your desk. Watch less TV.
Look at these numbers in the box. They are glycemic indexes (血糖生成指数). The bigger the number is, the better that food can help you to get better sleep.
How many hours of sleep do teenagers need every night according to the passage?
| A．About 12 hours | B．About 9 hours |
| C．About 4 hours | D．About 5 hours |
Many students can’t get enough sleep because .
| A．they play sports too much and feel tired |
| B．they use mobile phones during the day time |
| C．they drink too much soda, coffee and tea at night |
| D．they have too much homework and bad sleeping habits |
When people can’t get enough sleep, they may .
| A．feel sleepy and unhappy |
| B．go to bed earlier next day |
| C．change their school time |
| D．go to work late next day |
In the passage if you want to get better sleep, you should .
| A．chat with your friends |
| B．eat the right food |
| C．put your phone beside you |
| D．be away from food like dates |
【2014年湖北省荆州市中考】
先阅读短文，然后根据短文内容从文后每小题的四个选项中，选出一个能完成所给句子或回答所提问题的最佳答案。
Many young people use computers, but few of them know how to look after them. Remember the following when you use your computer.
◆Keep your computer in a cool room. Too much or too little heat is bad for computers. Most computers work best at a temperature of 5 ºC—30 ºC.
◆Don’t let people smoke cigarette(香烟）near your computer. Smoke of all kinds is very bad for many parts of a computer and can cause many problems.
◆Don’t eat or drink when you are near your computer. Pieces of food and a little water in the keyboard can also cause many problems.
◆Make sure the screen is the correct distance from your eyes. If you wear glasses, make sure these glasses are correct for using with the computer. Some people use a different pair of glasses when they use a computer.
◆Keep your screen clean and don’t have it too bright. A dirty screen can hurt your eyes. A very bright screen can also be bad for your eyes. According to the passage you should use your computer .
| A．in a small room | B．in a big room |
| C．in a cool room | D．below 5ºC |
When you work on the computer, you can .
| A．wear glasses | B．smoke cigarette |
| C．eat some hamburgers | D．clean the keyboard with water |
If you want to look after your eyes, you should when you use computers.
| A．buy a pair of sunglasses |
| B．keep your screen clean |
| C．have your screen very bright |
| D．keep your screen near your eyes |
【2014年甘肃省兰州市中考】
阅读下面三段材料，根据材料内容和要求，回答问题。
As human beings, we depend on plants for a number of reasons. They give us food, wood to build houses and furniture, paper, medicines and clothes. Like all living things, plants also have their own life cycle. The following picture can help you understand it.
根据以上科普材料，在1至4处填写A、B、C、D四段文字，使其相匹配；并回答第5小题。
A. A small shoot comes from the seed.
B. The plant forms seeds and the life cycle starts all over again.
C. The shoot grows and becomes bigger. It can get energy from the sunshine. Roots start forming and going into the soil.
D. The stem becomes stronger and taller. It starts having leaves and flowers. What is the best title of this passage?
| A．Life Cycle of a Plant | B．I Love Plants |
| C．How to Plant | D．Roots and Stems |
【2014年福建省漳州市中考】
根据所提供的内容，从四个选项中选择最佳答案。
Butterflies are common all over the world，but butterflies in hotter countries are usually bigger and more brightly colored than those in coo1er countries，and there are more different kinds．
Usually the male(雄性的)butterflies are more brightly colored than the females．The females have bigger and heavier bodies since they carry the eggs．The bright colors of the males help to attract the females，and the duller(较暗淡的)colors of the females make them less likely(可能的)to be caught by enemies before they have laid their eggs．
Some butterflies have bright pattern colors on the upper surface of their wings that show when flying ,but when they rest on a tree or leaves , they close their wings．On the undersides of their wings there are green and brown marks which look like the tree or leaves．They are then difficult to be seen．The best example of this is the Dead Leaf Butterfly．When its wings are c1osed，it looks exactly like a dead leaf．There are even marks that look like the holes in a dead leaf．When the butterfly is run after by a bird，it closes its wings and seems to have disappeared completely．
Many butterflies have round marks on their wings that look like eyes．The round marks have a useful function(功能)．When the butterflies are resting，their wings are closed，and these marks can’t be seen. When a bird sees one，and begins to attack it，the butterfly will open its Wings. The bird thinks that it sees two eyes staring at it，frightened，and flies away．The female butterflies have bigger and heavier bodies than the males because _______
| A．the females carry the eggs |
| B．the females eat more |
| C．the males are more active |
| D．the males have smaller wings |
The duller colors of the female butterflies ___________ .
| A．help to fly easily |
| B．help to attract the males |
| C．make them look fearful |
| D．make them harder to be caught |
The underlined word“that”in Paragraph 3 refer to______．
| A．their wings | B．pattern colors |
| C．green leaves | D．some butterflies |
when run after by a bird，the Dead Leaf Butterfly _________.
| A．is frightened and flies away at once |
| B．opens its eyes and stares at the bird |
| C．closes its wings and seems to have gone |
| D．opens its wings to frighten the bird away |
The last paragraph mainly tells US________
| A．why the butterfly can not be seen |
| B．how the butterfly opens its wings |
| C．what the round marks look like |
| D．what the function of the round marks is |