B. Students have too many speed reading exercises to do.
C. The books, websites, programmes and courses on speed reading are useless.
D. With just a good short-term memory, one will be able to do speed reading very well. A
2. What is true about slow readers according to the second paragraph? A. They cannot remember images of words at all.
B. They find it hard to concentrate on what they’re reading. C. The words are not stored strongly enough in their brain. D. They have a very limited vocabulary. C
3. When does the brain of a reader process the words that have been read? A. After finishing reading the whole passage. B. When the reading passage is very simple. C. When he/she pauses in reading.
D. While he/she is reading new blocks of words. D
4. If one intends to improve his reading speed, he should be trained to __________. A. enlarge his vocabulary
B. lengthen the time he could concentrate C. strengthen his long-term memory
D. acquire all kinds of mnemonic techniques B
5. What kind of reading material can be used in the training to improve short-term memory? A. The material whose topic is familiar to the trainee. B. The material that has few new words.
C. The material that is more difficult than those one usually reads. D. The material that the trainee has read before. C
Passage 3
The importance of reading to children is obvious to every parent. Reading to children is one of the best ways to put them on the road to success — academically and personally.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) “strongly recommends reading to children every day, starting after they are first born,” because “reading stimulates the development of the brain, language and a closer emotional relationship with a child.”
You can start reading to children right from the moment they are born. Infants love to hear the voices of their parents. It doesn’t matter what you read — just the togetherness of your baby and you, with your reading from Where the Wild Things Are, the sports section, or a cookbook — is what counts.
As your child gets older and can understand the stories you read, take time to ask questions, eg What do you think will happen next? Do you know what that word means? Which character is
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your favourite? You can have them retell the story or make up a new one with the same characters.
Reading to children is so crucial that parents should find time to do it every day. You will be surprised at how creative you can be at finding time to read aloud to your child. Read while waiting to see the pediatrician, having a treat at a restaurant, waiting in line at the store, or cooking dinner. Instead of watching the news, turn off the TV and read aloud. You can read aloud in the morning before school and, of course, at bedtime. Read a story aloud while waiting for the bus or train or once aboard. Make tapes of yourself or another family member reading stories and play them in the car on the way to school or daycare.
Parents aren’t alone in understanding the importance of reading to children. Good teachers read aloud in the classroom. Talk to your child’s teacher to get suggestions for books to read aloud and observe the class to get tips on reading aloud. Make sure that family caregivers, like daycare providers and babysitters, also understand the importance of reading to children.
Older siblings, relatives, and friends may also enjoy reading aloud. When your child is ready, encourage her to read aloud to you and the rest of the family. This will pave the way for a love of reading. 1. A. B. C. D. A 2. A. B. C. D. D 3. A. B. C. D. C 4. A. B. C. D. B
Parents should start reading aloud to their children __________. as soon as the children are born when the children can speak
when the children ask their parents to do so when the children show interest in reading
It can be concluded from the third paragraph that __________. infants should read extensively even at the early age parents should try their best to make their voices sweet parents must carefully choose the stories read to children
what infants really enjoy in reading is to stay with their parents
When children can understand what is read to them, parents should __________. leave them alone to read the stories
read to them the stories that are barely understandable ask them some questions related to the stories
leave children to choose the books appealing to them
By saying that “… how creative you can be at finding time to read aloud to your child”, the writer means __________.
parents should read to their children whenever there is a chance the time to read aloud to children is flexible
parents will gradually be able to make up stories themselves parents will become more and more skillful in telling stories
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5. The tone of this passage is __________. A. optimistic B. instructive C. arbitrary
D. argumentative B
Passage 4
What are the most important components to you of a good book? Characters? Pace? Plot? Setting? Believability? None of the above? All of the above?
An excellent question and one that I consider often when I’m assessing what I’ve read. Obviously there are many factors that go into making a book a good read, but I think we can focus on a few of them as being the most important.
The book has to have at least an adequate level of writing — but you can usually assume that, if the book was published by a reputable publisher. (Occasionally you’ll come across something that’s abysmally written, but most books are at least competent.)
So beyond that, character is the first thing for me. The book has to have a compelling protagonist, someone who makes you care about them and their life, for good or ill. Everything hangs on the characters because if you don’t care about the people in the story, you won’t want to read it. (It doesn’t matter whether you love them or hate them — you just have to care.)
Plot is probably the second thing — and that depends a lot on character, too. You take a character, place them in a certain set of circumstances, and see what they do. That’s how plot develops, especially when there is conflict involved (and there had better be conflict involved). Character and plot together form the basis for a story, so if you can nail those two elements, I’m pretty much sold.
Setting obviously plays a part, but I think it’s of lesser importance. When you read a book that uses its setting especially well, it’s interesting and adds to the story. But when the setting isn’t done quite as well, it generally won’t ruin it. There’s a lot more leeway here than with character. If plot and character are the meat of the book, setting is the seasoning. You have to really mess up the seasoning in order to make the food inedible.
The same thing goes for elements like pacing, dialogue, etc. They all contribute to the overall quality of the book, but they’re secondary. If a book has dialogue that’s a little off, or parts that drag, it can still be a good read as long as the story itself is compelling. On the other hand, nobody wants to read even a superb dialogue coming out of the mouths of poorly-drawn, one-dimensional characters.
1. According to the context, the word “abysmally” in Paragraph 3 means __________. A. wonderfully
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B. C. D. B 2. A. B. C. D. A 3. A. B. C. D. D 4. A. B. C. D. A 5. A. B. C. D. C
badly
unbelievably interestingly
According to the writer, good characters are those __________. who make readers care about them who are very humorous
who arouse hatred in readers’ mind who can get sympathy from readers
What is true about setting according to the passage? A well-done setting is indispensable to a good story. Setting plays an equally important role as characters. A bad setting will make a story unreadable.
A well-made setting enables a story to be more readable. It can be learned from the last paragraph that __________. characters play the most important part in a story all the elements of a story are interrelated excellent dialogues appeal to readers most
the weakness in any element will make a story a failure Which of the following is a suitable title of the passage? How to Market a New Book How to Read a Good Book What Makes a Good Read What Makes a Good Writer
Section VI Cloze XIII. Cloze
Directions: Read the following passages carefully and choose the best answer from the four choices given for each blank.
Passage 1
Sometimes when we visit a house we have not been in before, we have the feeling that somehow the place has no heart or soul, __1__ its occupants may be kind people with well-furnished rooms. Then we suddenly realize that what is missing is — books… Books not only give colour to a home, they are its heart and soul, for in the pages of books are __2__ the feelings, the aspirations, the knowledge, and the wisdom of men and women throughout the ages, always “on call” at the very moment we are in need of advice or comfort or __3__, if we have a good stock of well-chosen books in the house. It doesn’t do to say, “Oh, if I want a book I can get it from the library round the corner”; “round the corner” isn’t good enough when you need that book here and
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now. Milton was not __4__ when he wrote: “A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured __5__ on purpose to a life beyond life.” The following is a brief parable of a household which possessed all present-day conveniences and amenities — “tele”, “fridge”, washing machine, car — but had no room for books.
When I saw the “Small Ad” announcing, “Book case with drawer (抽屉), five shillings,” I at once smelled woodworm. At so small a cost, however, the risk was __6__ taking.
When I rang the bell I heard a woman’s cry. “Dad! Door!” and a few seconds later I was facing a __7__ little man.
“Is the book case sold yet?” I asked.
He looked at me as though I were a space-man. Then, having decided that I __8__ did want a book case, he replied: “Want to have a dekko? It’s outside.”
I followed him, padding along a thick carpet. An open door on the right showed a middle-aged woman brooding __9__ the “tele”. He led me through a kitchen __10__ “fridge”, washing machine, and other ideal home gadgets. We halted before a brick-built air-raid shelter; inside, behind a barricade of bicycles, I could see the case. “Got it with the house,” he apologized.
He levered it out for me. At some period of its history, it had been a bureau, but the flap-lid had been __11__, leaving a deep shelf above the “drawer”, beneath which were two strong shelves. It was exactly what I wanted.
Like an __12__woodpecker, I tapped it. No pepery (呛人的) dust sifted down, nor did I see any castor-like perforations (孔眼).
“Just needs a nice coat of paint,” he cajoled. The walnut was absolutely __13__. “The drawer comes out,” he said, demonstrating.
“It is five shillings?” I asked. I knew that even as firewood it was worth much more.
“That’s right,” he agreed. Then, accepting my two half-crowns, he said, __14__ I could tell him that I would get the book case collected later, “I’ll drop round with it in the car tonight if you’ll give me the address.”
Then, as an after-thought, he added: “You’re fond of reading?” And picking up from the ground a dusty __15__ of women’s magazines, he thrust them into my unwelcoming arms. 1. A. even B. even though C. as if D. as though 2. A. maintained B. deserved C. conserved D. preserved
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