Some people think that as more and more people have televisions in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read the life story of a famous man, when a short television program can tell you all that you want to know?
Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers sell in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and enjoyment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are printed today as paperbooks (平装本), which are quite cheap. A paperback collection of short stories, for example, is always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or the theater, and you can keep a book for ever and read it many times.
Books are a wonderful provider of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. A good encyclopedia (百科全书), though expensive, is useful, too, because you can find information on any subject. Besides, you can have such books as history books, science textbooks, cookbooks, and collections of stories and poems. Then from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favorite poets.
【小题1】It can be inferred from the passage that ____.

All big cities are quite similar. Living in a modern Asian city isn’t very different from living in an American city. 1.______

In many parts of the world, farmers and their families live in villages or towns. In the United States, however, each farm family lives on its own fields, often beyond (在……之外) the sight of any neighbors. Instead of traveling from the village to the fields every morning, American farmers stay on their land the whole week. 2.______ Their children ride on buses to large schools for all the farm families living in the area. In some areas, there are small schools serving a few farm families, and the children walk to school. Of course life keeps changing for everyone, including farmers. 3.______ And there are also modern machines for farming. All of these have changed the farm life.

4.______ Farmers usually had to deal with their own problems, instead of getting help from others. They learned to try new ways, and to trust their own ideas rather than (而不) followed the old ways.

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A. Today there are cars, good roads, radios and television sets.

B. The same can not be said about living on farms, however.

C. Many years ago, however, farming in America was often a lonely way of living.

D. They travel to the nearest town on Saturdays for shopping or on Sundays for church.

5. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Life in the world also keeps changing.

B. Life in the United States keeps changing.

C. American farmers like their old ways.

D. American farmers have changed their lives.

Some people think that as more and more people have televisions in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read the life story of a famous man, when a short television program can tell you all that you want to know?

Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers sell in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and enjoyment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are printed today as paperbooks (平装本), which are quite cheap. A paperback collection of short stories, for example, is always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or the theater, and you can keep a book for ever and read it many times.

Books are a wonderful provider of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. A good encyclopedia (百科全书), though expensive, is useful, too, because you can find information on any subject. Besides, you can have such books as history books, science textbooks, cookbooks, and collections of stories and poems. Then from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favorite poets.

1.It can be inferred from the passage that ____.

A．Fewer and fewer people will buy books.

B．A good dictionary should be kept in every home.

C．Books with hard covers sell better than paperbooks.

D．More people like TV programs about famous men.

2.What does the sentence “Television has not killed reading, however.” underlined in the second paragraph suggest?

A．People only need reading, though.

B．Reading is still necessary today.

C．Reading is more fun than television.

D．Watching television doesn’t help reading.

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A．TV programs are a chief provider of knowledge.

B．Cinemas are the best choice in getting information.

C．Reading is cheap way of learning and having fun.

D．Newspapers are an expensive way to enjoy oneself.

A blind boy sat there with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said, “I am blind, please help.”
There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took out a few coins and dropped them into the hat .He then turned the sign around and wrote something on it. He put the sign back and walked away.
　　Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and ask, “Are you the one who changed my sign in the morning? What did you do?”
　　The man said, “I only wrote the truth in a different way.”
　　What he had written was, “Today is a beautiful day, but I can’t see it.”
　　Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second one told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.
　　The first sign simply said the boy was blind, while the second one told people they were so lucky that they were not blind.
　　There are at least two lessons we can learn from this simple story.
　　Treasure (珍惜) what you have. Someone else has less. Try your best to help those who need your help.
　  Be creative. Think differently. There is always a better way.
【小题1】From the passage we know that________.