Today we'll talk about reading. When we read a text, our eyes move across a page in short, quick movements. We recognize words usually when our eyes still fixate(停留, 凝视). Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span or the visual span. The length of time for which the eyes stop varies from person to person. It also varies within any person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. In addition, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.
Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, many exercises have been designed to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For example, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for a tenth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often formed in the shape of pyramids, so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive（连续的）fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but it's one thing to improve a person's ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words. Consequently, for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated(孤立的) words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.
1.The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following factors except _______.
A.1ighting and tiredness
B.one's purpose in reading
C.the length of a group of words
D.one's familiarity with the text
2.What does the author mean by the underlined sentence in the second paragraph?
A.The ability to see words is not needed for an efficient reading.
B.The reading exercises mentioned are of little help to an efficient reading.
C.The reading exercises mentioned can help improve reading.
D.The reading exercises mentioned have done a great job so far.
3.The author may believe that reading ______________.
A.demands a deeply-participating mind
B.requires a reader to see words more quickly
C.requires a reader to take in more words at each fixation
D.demands more eyes than mind
4.The tune of the author in writing this text is ___________.
A.supportive B.neutral
C.critical D.optimistic
Over 500 dogs being delivered to a butcher house were saved by a Chinese animal protection organization.
The incident then triggered debate among Chinese netizens about the necessity of pouring so much money and efforts into saving dogs.
On Friday, a truck loaded with over 500 dogs were stopped by volunteers from animal protection organization on Jingha Expressway Beijing section.
Beijing Times reported these dogs were being delivered to slaughter houses in the city of Changchun, northeast Jilin Province and would be eventually served on dinner tables.
After negotiations with the truck driver, pet service provider Leepet Holding Corp. and a philanthropic foundation, Shang shan Foundation purchased these dogs, each paying 50,000 yuan. Dogs were then delivered to the eadquarter of China Small Animal Protection Association (CSAPA), being taken care of and waiting for adoption.
After the “dog saving mission” was reported, Chinese net users debate over whether saving dogs worth so much efforts and money while there are still many poor and needy people in China lacking assistance.
Some net users argue the “dog saving mission” is placing overt attention to animals while lots of needy people are still left unattended.
A microblogger “Xiaowulaitajie” said on China's twitter like website, weibo.com, “Dogs are saved, adopted and they attracted media spotlight. We'd better spend such money and take such efforts in helping the needy people.”
Another microblogger, Liluping, said “We poured such huge sum of money into saving dogs. I would rather the money be spent on disaster relief.”
Some applaud volunteers' actions and show eagerness of offering their helping hands to those saved dogs.
Still many disapprove those “saving dogs” critics, but they argue that such act nonetheless promotes social progress.
A microblogger named “broken bridge” said, saving dogs does not run counter to taking care of people. Such enthusiasm in public affairs will help raise social awareness in helping the needy.
I think people and animals are created equal. Attention should be paid to people as well as animals.
1.Where did the article come from?
A. A storybook. B. A novel.
C. Internet. D. A magazine.
2.Which one has the similar meaning to the underlined phrase “run counter to” in the last but one paragraph?
A. meet with B. go against
C. agree with D. come across
3.Whose opinion is closest to the writer's?
A. Some net users'. B. Broken bridge's.
C. Liluping's. D. Xiaowulaitajie's.
4.The following statements are TRUE except _______.
A. All the people don't think it right to save these dogs with so much money.
B. More than 25,000,000 yuan was given to the truck driver to purchase these dogs.
C. These dogs were finally saved and sent back to their owners.
D. Some people think it better to spend the money in helping the needy people.
Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation?
UBC Professor Simard explains how trees are much more complex than most of us ever imagined. Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard shows just how wrong he was. In fact, the opposite is true: trees survive through their co-operation and support, passing around necessary nutrition “depending on who needs it”.
Nitrogen（氮）and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi（真菌）networks, making sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This hidden system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons（神经元）in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it affects all.
Simard talks about “mother trees”, usually the largest and oldest plants on which all other trees depend. She explains how dying trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important minerals to young trees so they may continue to grow. When humans cut down “mother trees” with no awareness of these highly complex “tree societies” or the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances of survival for the entire forest.
“We didn't take any notice of it.” Simard says sadly. “Dying trees move nutrition into the young trees before dying, but we never give them chance.” If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.
1.What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Old Trees Communicate Like Humans
B.Young Trees Are In Need Of Protection
C.Trees Contribute To Our Society
D.Trees Are More Complex Than You Think
2.In Simard's opinion, trees _______.
A.compete for survival B.protect their own wealth
C.depend on each other D.provide support for dying trees
3.We can learn from the passage that .
A. “mother trees” are usually of no use to other trees.
B. Charles Darwin had the same thought as Simard.
C. if “mother trees” are cut down, the survival for the entire forest will be affected.
D. people know much about the complex “tree societies”.
4.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to .
A. how “tree societies” work
B. how trees grow old
C. how forestry industry develops
D. how young trees survive
Everyone's at it, even my neighbors. I thought I might be the only person left in the world who hadn't done an eBay deal. So I decided to try my hand at online auction.
Buying for beginners: Sign up on www.eBay.co.uk. Most items (e.g. tables, computers, and books) ready for auction will come with a picture and a short description; others may be marked with “Buy It Now” and have a fixed price. You can buy these right away.
If the item is being auctioned, you offer the highest price you are prepared to pay and eBay bids for you.The bid will be increased little by little until it goes beyond your highest bid, then you are emailed and asked if you would like to bid again. Auctions last up to 10 days, and when they finish you get an email telling you whether you have won the item.
How to pay: Sellers decide how they would like to be paid and you need to check this before placing a bid as you might not want to post a cheque or postal orders. The easiest way is through PayPal, an online payment system that takes the money away from your credit card.
Selling made simple: If you plan to sell on eBay, it helps to include a picture of the item.I followed my friends' advice and put up the items I wanted to sell for a 10-day auction, starting on a Thursday.This way buyers had two weekends to bid.
The big things in life: It's easy to post a small item, but furniture is a big part of eBay and this has to be collected or sent by delivery men.Check the ways of delivery before you bid.
1.The passage suggests that a buyer ________.
A. has more than one chance to bid
B. should make payment immediately
C. can only buy one item
D. must give the credit card to the seller
2.The easiest way of making payment mentioned in the passage is ______.
A. through an online payment system
B. through a local bank system
C. by sending the money to the seller
D. by paying the delivery man directly
3.Which of the following statements is true?
A. Big items can't be sold on eBay.
B. Including a picture of the item for sale helps make the selling simple.
C. Sellers can only be paid in one way.
D. Most items ready for auction don't have a picture.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. How to make payment online.
B. Ways of making delivery online.
C. Advantages of an online auction system.
D. How to use an online auction system.
Last week I was riding my special motorbike and then stopped at a convenience store. As I was getting my wheelchair off the back, a man watched me from his car and I noticed a wheelchair in his back seat. We spoke for a moment and I asked him about the wheelchair. He answered that it was for his daughter. “Well, do you think she would like to go for a ride on my motorbike with me?” I asked. He seemed shocked that a total stranger would ask him this. He thought about it for a second and said, “OK, as long as I can follow you.”
He introduced me to Amy and he sat her on my back seat. Her father followed me for a few miles and she talked non-stop about what she wanted for Christmas. As we came back to the convenience store, she said, “This ride is the best Christmas present I could ever receive. I have been in a wheelchair my whole life and didn't know I could do this.” I told her about some of the other things I do (ski, travel the world by myself, etc.). As her father was taking her off my bike, she turned to him and said, “Oh Daddy, I'm going to be OK. Mr. Bryant does all kinds of things, and I will too.” Her father turned away as a tear of joy rolled down his cheek. He hugged me and said, “I was sitting here praying for a gift for Amy that would encourage her. She often felt that her life was dull compared to other children. God answered my prayer just now. Now I pray that God will bless you for your gift to Amy today.” I believed what he said. Being kind and thoughtful to others, we can be an answer to prayer.
1.How did the father feel at first when the author invited his daughter for a ride?
A.He was happy because his daughter could gain excitement.
B.He was moved because the author offered to help his daughter.
C.He felt surprised because he didn’t know the author.
D.He felt nervous because he was worried about his daughter's safety.
2.According to the passage, the girl ____________.
A.used to be a completely healthy person
B.was inspired by the author's experiences
C.was satisfied with her life
D.was unwilling to communicate with a stranger
3.What was the author's gift to Amy according to the girl's father?
A.The motorbike B.The wheelchair
C.The blessing D.The ride
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A.The author usually drove too fast
B.The author worked in a convenience store
C.The author often offered strangers a ride on his motorbike
D.The author was a man with disability
One day I was talking to a stranger on the bus; he told me he had a good in Chicago and he wondered if I to know him. For a moment, I thought he might be , but I could tell from the expression on his face that he was . I felt like saying that it was ridiculous to think that all the millions of people in Chicago I could possibly have ever bumped into his friend. But, , I just smiled and reminded him that Chicago was a big city. He nodded, and I thought he was going to be content to the subject and talk about something else. But he was silent for a few minutes, and then began to tell me all about his friend.
His friend's main in life seemed to be tennis, and he had his own tennis court. A lot of people have swimming pools, yet only two people have private tennis court and his friend in Chicago was one of . I told him that I knew several people like that, my brother, a doctor in California. He that maybe there were more private courts in the country he realized, Then he asked me my brother lived in California. When I said Sacramento, he said that was a coincidence his Chicago friend spent the summer in Sacramento last year and he lived next door to a who had a tennis court in his backyard. I said that really was a coincidence (巧合) because my next-door neighbour had gone to Sacramento last summer and had the house next to my brother's house.
“Would your friend’s name happen to be Roland Kirkwood?” I asked finally. He and said,“Yes. Would your brother's name happen to be Dr Rey Hunter?” It was my to laugh.“Yes,” I replied.
1.A. brother B. friend C. neighbour D. teacher
2.A. managed B. tried C. happened D. wanted
3.A. expecting B. lying C. talking D. joking
4.A. funny B. serious C. careful D. disappointed
5.A. against B. out of C. beyond D. far from
6.A. instead B. actually C. indeed D. exactly
7.A. so B. too C. very D. such
8.A. begin B. reject C. refuse D. drop
9.A. problem B. choice C. interest D. work
10.A. just B. even C. ever D. surely
11.A. those B. them C. that D. whom
12.A. included B. including C. includes D. to include
13.A. admitted B. argued C. advised D. announced
14.A. as B. that C. than D. when
15.A. how B. whether C. where D. when
16.A. if B. because C. then D. though
17.A. friend B. doctor C. neighbour D. player
18.A. hired B. visited C. designed D. sold
19.A. smiled B. nodded C. cried D. laughed
20.A. chance B. turn C. time D. pleasure
