“Hi! John.” Mary ran towards me with a bright smile, saying, “I’m going to have a dance performance tonight. I hope you’ll come. Here is the ticket. Don’t forget!” Then she    41  in a hurry.
“What? Dance? Is that    42  ?” I asked myself. Mary was not such kind of girl. She was quite common one. I had never seen her wearing colorful clothes. In fact, she really did not know    43   to dress up. What a terrible thing!
“I should go to, I must go to.” I thought.
I arrived at the hall with the ticket, found my seat and sat down. Her performance was the seventh one. I knew I would have a    44   time before her turn, for I had no sense of art,    45   her performance was worth(值得)watching, no matter how long I would wait.
Time went    46  , I tried my best not to fall asleep.
Just then, came the words, “Let’s welcome the next exciting dance – Latin!”
Hearing this, I opened my eyes as large as possible,    47   to lose anything. Wearing a golden and shiny skirt, Mary appeared. She danced with a sweet smile, looking like a pretty butterfly flying … I could    48   believe my eyes.
After all the performance ended, I    49   her at the gate.
“Hi!” She stood in front of me with her crystal(水晶) shoes. “How do you feel?”
“Fantastic!” I answered.
“Ha, ha. I knew it would be.” She could not hide her excitement, laughing    50  a child.
At that time, I realized that every girl has a pair of special shoes which are like the crystal shoes of Cinderella.

Reading is the key to school success and, like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. An excellent sportsman practices until he can play quickly, correctly and without thinking. Educators call it “automaticity (自动性)”.

A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and finding the meaning of the words. With practice, he stumbles less and less, reading by the phrase (短语). With automaticity, he doesn't have to think about the meaning of words, so he can give all his attention to the meaning of the text.

It can begin as early as first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found that automatic readers in the first grade not only read almost three times as fast as the others, but also got better results in exams.

According to Rossman, the key to automaticity is the amount (数量) of time a child spends reading, not his IQ. Any child who spends at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will probably reach automaticity. It can happen if a child turns off TV just one night for reading at home.

You can test yourself by reading something new which is suitable (适合) for your level. If you read aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, you probably are an automatic reader. If you read brokenly, one word at a time, without expression or meaning, you need more practice.

1.Children with “automaticity” can read faster because they don’t have to think about ________.

A．how to read the words                   B．the meaning of the words

C．reading by themselves                   D．the meaning of the text

2.Rossman tells that any child who ________  will possibly be an automatic reader.

A．turns off TV one night 4 weeks

B．reads books by the word quickly

C．spends an hour reading every day

D．gets the same grades as others in exams

3.The underlined word “stumble” in the passage means “________” in Chinese.

A．结结巴巴地读                         B．全神贯注地读

C．心不在焉地读                          D．声情并茂地读

4.The best title for the passage is  “________”.

A．IQ Is the Key to the Automaticity

B．TV Is Bad for Children's Reading

C．Automaticity Depends on Practice

D．Automatic Reads Will Be Successful

As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let’s look at the words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching mouse”, have negative meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use the dog to describe positive actions. For example, “You are a lucky dog.” means you are a lucky person. And “every dog has its day.” means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person’s serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog-tired” means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel.

The rose is regarded as symbol of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose means love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.

The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.

1. “Every dog has its day.” means “________”.

A. Everybody in the world is lucky.

B. Each person lives his own way of life.

C. If one works hard, he’s sure to succeed.

D. Everybody has a time in life to be lucky.

2.What can we know from the passage?

A. Words show differences in culture.

B. Chinese people prefer dogs to cats.

C. Western people think cats to be good friends.

D. Rose is the national flower of all western countries.

3.Which statement is right according to passage?

A. People think the rose means love, peace, luck and friendship.

B. The words about plants and animals are used both in positive and negative ways in different cultures.

C. In China, people use the dog to describe negative actions.

D. In eastern culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel.

4.What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Negative or Positive

B. Different Countries Have Different Culture

C. Rose Means the Same in Chinese and English

D. What Dog and Cat Mean in English and Chinese