文秋芳编
―Variety is the spice of life‖ (the proverb comes from Cowper‘s poem) therefore means that variety gives
life extra value and allows you to appreciate life in particular ways.
2 We learn to look beyond our immediate surroundings to the horizon and a landscape far away from
home. (Para 3)
This means that through reading we learn to look beyond our immediate experience or familiar
environment to things beyond our immediate experience, ie to completely different things that we can imagine and experience through books.
3 When a baseball player hits a home run he hits the ball so hard and so far he’s able to run round the
four bases of the diamond, and score points not only for himself but for the other runners already
on a base. (Para 9)
In the American game of baseball, the field of grass is diamond-shaped and has four bases (specific points
marked around the diamond), round which players must run to score points. One team bats (ie team members take turns to hit the ball and run round the bases) and the members of the other team throw (pitch)
the ball and, when it is has been hit, try to catch it or get it quickly to one of the four bases. If a batting player can hit the ball hard enough, he can run round all four bases before the other team can get the ball
and thus score maximum points – with a home run. In the passage, a really good book is a home run. 1 Why are we like Alice in wonderland when we read a book?
(a) Because, like Alice, we often have accidents.
(b) Because reading makes us feel young again.
(c) Because reading opens the door to new experiences.
(d) Because books lead us into a dream world.
2 According to the writer, what is the advantage of reading over real life?
(a) There is more variety in books than in real life.
(b) We can experience variety and difference without going out of the house.
(c) The people we meet in a book are more interesting than real people.
(d) It‘s harder to make sense of real life than a book.
3 What do the seven novels listed in Paragraph 4 have in common?
(a) Their titles stimulate imagination.
(b) They represent the best writing by British and American novelists.
(c) They have become classics.
(d) You can find all of them in any local library.
4 At what moment in our lives do books become important?
(a) As soon as we start reading.
(b) When we start buying books to fill our shelves at home.
(c) When we start listening to bedtime stories.