A trip to the library can change your li...

Do you know about a series of books that say they are “for dummies”？ These American selfhelp books have been translated into more than thirty nine languages including Chinese，Arabic，Russian，French，German，Greek and Spanish.

“Dummy” is a word for a stupid person.The dummies books are not really for stupid people.They are designed to show people how to do something they may never have tried before，like painting a house or learning a language.The books all say in a funny way that they are for dummies，such as World History for Dummies，Rabbits for Dummies，Chinese Cooking for Dummies，and Wedding Planning for Dummies.The first such book，DOS for Dummies，was published in 1991.It helped people learn how to use the DOS operating system for computers.Since then，more than one hundred fifty million dummies books have been sold.

The dummies.com website explains the idea behind the books.It says that they show people can be taught to do anything.First they can make fun of ideas that are difficult to understand.Then they show how the information can be interesting and easy.The publishers say that the books do not provide more information than necessary.They give readers just enough information to do what they want.They say that the dummies books give the best and easiest way to do something.And the books use simple and easy language.

There are more than one thousand different dummies books.A report in New York Times says that the top-selling dummies books are those that explain technology and personal finance.

The publishers say that the best-selling dummies books are those providing information many people need－like information about diseases，education and cooking.People interested in opera，car repair and wine can also find dummies books to help them.And there are even more dummies books to come.The publishers say that they publish about two hundred new dummies books every year.

1.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

2.The dummies books have been popular because ________.

3.According to New York Times，we know that books on ________ sell best.

4.What can we learn from the passage?

US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey surprised 300 members of her audience (观众)  by saying she would send them on a trip to Australia in December.Winfrey will also film an episode (集) of her show at the Sydney “Oprah” House.

The Australian government said it was spending AUS$(澳元) 3 million to help bring The Oprah Winfrey Show to the country.

Tourism Minister (旅游部部长) Martin Ferguson insisted it was money well spent as it would put Australia in the spotlight，with the popular TV show watched by 40 million Americans and screened in 145 countries.“Oprah is a famous name and she has the power to improve Australia’s image as an important tourist country，” he said in a statement.

Winfrey made the announcement on Monday.After telling the audience that she might take them on a trip to New York，Philadelphia or Los Angeles，she said  her  last  season  would  provide  something “bigger”．

“I started to think about where I would most want to go.Maybe I should take all of you with me to the other side of the world.We’re going to Australia！”she said.

Several episodes will be filmed during the trip，which had been planned for almost a year and will take in beaches，Sydney Harbour and so on.It marks the first time that the show will be filmed with its US audience outside North America.The Australian trip follows a similar act in 2004 when Winfrey gave a car to each member of her audience.

Winfrey is to start her own television channel (频道)，the Oprah Winfrey Network，in 2011，at the age of her 57.

1.What ’s the  Australian  government’s aim  in inviting Oprah Winfrey?

2.Which word can best describe Martin Ferguson’s attitude towards Oprah Winfrey’s Australian trip?

3.Which of the following about Winfrey is TRUE?

4.What might be the best title for the text?

Lisa was running late.Lisa,25，had a lot to do at work，plus visitors on the way: her  parents  were  coming  in   for Thanksgiving from her hometown.But as she hurried down the subway stairs，she started to feel uncomfortably warm.By the time she got to the platform，Lisa felt weak and tired－maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to give blood the night before，she thought.She rested herself against a post close to the tracks.

Several yards away，Frank,43，and his girlfriend，Jennifer，found a spot close to where the front of the train would stop.They were deep in discussion about a house they were thinking of buying.

But when he heard the scream，followed by someone yelling，“Oh，my God，she fell in！” Frank didn’t hesitate.He jumped down to the tracks and ran some 40 feet toward the body lying on the rails.“No! Not you! ”his girlfriend screamed after him.

She was right to be alarmed.By the time Frank reached Lisa，he could feel the tracks shaking and see the light coming.The train was about 20 seconds from the station.

It was hard to lift her.She was just out.But he managed to raise her the four feet to the platform so that bystanders could hold her by the arms and drag her away from the edge.That was where Lisa briefly regained consciousness，felt herself being pulled along the ground，and saw someone else holding her purse.

Lisa thought she’d been robbed.A woman held her hand and a man gave his shirt to help stop the blood pouring from her head.And she tried to talk but she couldn’t，and that was when she realized how much pain she was in.

Police and fire officials soon arrived，and Frank told the story to an officer.Jennifer said her boyfriend was calm on their 40minute train ride downtown－just as he had been seconds after the rescue，which made her think about her reaction at the time.“I saw the train coming and I was thinking he was going to die，”  she explained.

1.What was the most probable cause for Lisa’s weakness?

2.Why did Jennifer try to stop her boyfriend?

3.How did Frank save Lisa?

4.The passage is intended to ________.

Historians say Harriet Tubman was born in the year 1820.Nobody really knows. But we do know that Harriet Tubman was one of the bravest women ever born in the United States.

From a very early age，Harriet knew how slaves suffered. At six years old，she was sent to the fields. Working outside not only made her body strong but also made her learn about the Underground Railroad，on which she helped hundreds of people escape from slavery later. She also learned many things from the other slaves，which one day would help her lead her people to freedom. She became more of a rebel (反叛者)．

In 1844，at about age 24，she married a free black man named John Tubman. By now，Harriet was sure she wanted to try to escape. Suddenly，the time came. Her owner died. Though opposed by her husband，she decided to escape. With the help of the Underground Railroad，and through a variety of suffering she finally crossed the border into Pennsylvania，where slavery was banned.

Now that Harriet was free，she did not forget the hundreds of other slaves back in Maryland. Harriet traveled back and forth eighteen times，helping about 300 slaves escape into free territory. She became an expert at hiding from slave hunters. The people she helped called her Moses. At one time，anyone finding Harriet was promised $40,000 for catching her－dead or alive.

During the Civil War，Harriet Tubman went into enemy territory to spy for the North. She also served as a nurse. After four years of bloody fighting，the North won the war.

After the fighting ended，Harriet Tubman returned to Auburn，New York. She kept working. She traveled and gave speeches to raise money for better education for black children. She also worked for women’s rights and housing. Harriet Tubman died in 1913.She was about 93 years old. By that time，she was recognized as an American hero. The United States government gave a funeral with military honors for the woman known as Moses.

1.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

2.Which of the following is true of the Underground Railroad?

3.The sentence “Later，she told a friend，‘I felt like I was in heaven.’” can be placed at the back of Paragragh ________.

4.According to the text，we know that ________.

He lost his arms in an accident that took his father’s life. Since then，he has had to depend on the __31__ of his younger brother.__32__ writing with his toes，he was completely unable to do anything in his life. But when the two brothers grew up，his younger brother __33__ to separate from him，living his own life，as many normal people do. So he was __34__ and didn’t know what to do.

A __35__ disaster befell (降临) a girl，too. One night her mother，who  __36__ from mental illness disappeared. So her father went out looking for her mother，__37__ her alone at home. She tried to prepare meals for her parents，__38__ to overturn the kerosene light (煤油灯) on the stove，__39__ in a fire which took her hands away.

Though her elder sister showed her __40__ to take care of her，she was determined to be completely __41__.At school，she always studied hard. Once she wrote the following in her composition: “I am __42__.Though I lost my arms，I still have legs; I am lucky.__43__ my wings are broken，my heart can still fly.”

One day，the boy and the girl were both invited to __44__ on a television interview program. The boy told the TV host about his uncertain __45__ at being left on his own.__46__，the girl was full of hope for her life. They both were __47__ to write something on a piece of paper with their toes. The boy wrote: My younger brother’s arms are my arms while the girl wrote: Broken wings，__48__ heart.

It is true that __49__ can strike at any time. But if you decide to be strong，the hardship will __50__ to be a fortune on which new hopes will arise.