A

A higher reading rate, with no loss of comprehension, will help you in other subjects as well as in English, and the general principles apply to any language. Naturally, you will not read every book at the same speed. You would expect to read a newspaper, for example, much more rapidly than a physics or economics textbook-but you can raise your average reading speed over the whole range of materials you wish to cover so that the percentage gained will be the same whatever kind of reading you are concerned with.

The reading passages which follow are all of an average level of difficulty for your stage of instruction. They are all about five hundred words long. They are about topics of general interest which do not require a great deal of specialized knowledge. Thus they fall between the kind of reading you might find in your textbooks and the much less demanding kind you will find in a newspaper or light novel. If you read this kind of English, with understanding at four hundred words per minute, you might skim (浏览) through a newspaper at perhaps 650-700, while with a difficult textbook you might drop to two hundred or two hundred and fifty.

Perhaps you would like to know what reading speeds are common among native English-speaking university students and how those speeds can be improved. Tests in Minnesota, USA, for example, have shown that students without special training can read English of average difficulty, for example, Tolstoy's War and Peace in translation, at speeds of between 240 and 250 words per minute with about seventy percent comprehension. Students in Minnesota claim that after twelve half-hour lessons, once a week, the reading speed can be increased, with no loss of comprehension, to around five hundred words per minute.

According to the passage, the purpose of effective reading with higher speed is most likely to help you ________.

A. only in your reading of a physics textbook

B. improve your understanding of an economics textbook

C. not only in your language study but also in other subjects

D. choose the suitable materials to read

Which of the following does not describe the types of reading materials mentioned in the second paragraph?

A. Those beyond one's reading comprehension.

B. Those concerned with common knowledge.

C. Those without much demand for specialized knowledge.

D. Those with the length of about five hundred words.

The average speed of untrained native speakers in the University of Minnesota is ________.

A. about 300 words per minute

B. about 245 words per minute

C. about 650-700 words per minute

D. about 500 words per minute

According to the passage, how fast can you expect to read after you have attended twelve half-hour lessons in the University of Minnesota?

A. You can increase your reading speed by three times.

B. No real increase in reading speed can be achieved.

C. Yon can increase your reading speed by four times.

D. You can double your reading speed.

A newly trained teacher named Mary went to teach at a Navajo Indian reservation. Every day, she would ask five of the young Navajo students to __1__ the chalkboard and complete a simple math problem from   2   homework.

    They would stand there, silently,  3   to complete the task. Mary couldn’t figure it out.   4   she had studied in her educational curriculum helped, and she   5   hadn’t seen anything like it in her student-teaching days back in Phoenix.

     What am I doing wrong? Could I have chosen five students who can’t do the  6  ? Mary would wonder. No,  7  couldn’t be that. Finally she   8   the students what was wrong. And in their answers, she learned a   9   lesson from her young   10   pupils about self-image and a(n)   11   of self-worth.

     It seemed that the students  12  each other’s individuality and knew that  13  of them were capable of doing the problems.   14  at their early age, they understood the senselessness of the win-lose approach in the classroom. They believed no one would  15  if any students were shown up or embarrassed at the  16  . So they   17   to compete with each other in public.

     Once she understood, Mary changed the system   18   she could check each child’s math problem individually, but not at any child’s expense  19  his classmates. They all wanted to learn,  20  not at someone else’s expense.

1．  A．go to B．come to    C．get close to      D．bring

2．  A．his    B．their  C．his own    D．her

3．  A．happy       B．willingly   C．readily      D．unwilling

4．  A．Anything  B．Nothing    C．Everything       D．Neither

5．  A．almost      B．certainly   C．hardly      D．never

6．  A．question   B．chalkboard       C．problem    D．homework

7．  A．they  B．it      C．everything       D．each

8．  A．asked       B．questioned       C．told   D．understood

9．  A．outstanding      B．surprising C．annoying  D．frightening

10．A．sunburned B．tender       C．Indian      D．naughty

11．A．sense B．image       C．way   D．aspect

12．A．had   B．ignored     C．respected  D．cared

13．A．none        B．no one      C．each  D．not all

14．A．Especially B．Even though    C．Even so    D．Even

15．A．lose   B．win   C．achieve     D．answer

16．A．time  B．situation   C．chalkboard       D．condition

17．A．refused     B．rejected    C．tried  D．promised

18．A．if      B．so that      C．unless       D．in case

19．A．in favour of    B．of     C．by means of     D．in front of

20．A．and   B．but    C．so     D．or

No matter how long your life, you will, at best, be able to read only a few books of all that have been written, and the few you do read should include the best. You can rejoice in the fact that the number of such is relatively small.

       ________________ Yet there is a surprising uniformity in the lists which represent the best choices of any period. In every age, the list makers include both ancient and modern books in their selections, and they always wonder whether the moderns are up to the great books of the past.

       What are the signs by which we may recognize a great book? The four I will mention may not be all they are, but they are the ones I’ve found most useful in explaining my choices over the years.

       Great books are probably the most widely read. They are not best sellers for a year or two. They are enduring best sellers. GONE WITH THE WIND has had relatively few readers compared to the plays of Shakespeare or DON QUIXOTE. It would be reasonable to estimate that Homer’s Iliad（伊丽亚特）has been read by at least 25,000,000 people in the last 3000 years.

       Great books are popular, not pedantic. They are not written by specialists about specialties for specialists. Whether they are philosophy or science, or history or poetry, they treat of human, not academic problems. They are written for men, not professors. To read a textbook for advanced students, you have to read an elementary textbook first. But the great books can be considered elementary in the sense that they treat the elements of any subject matter. They are not related to one another as a series of textbooks, graded in difficulty or in the technicality of the problems with which they deal.

       Great books are always contemporary, the most readable and instructive.

       Great books deal with the persistently unsolved problems of human life. There are genuine mysteries in the world that mark the limits of human knowing and thinking. Inquiry not only begins with wonder, but usually ends with it also. Great minds acknowledge mysteries honestly. Wisdom is fortified, not destroyed, by understanding its limitations.

64．Which of the following can be put in the blank in the second paragraph?

       A．Great books deal with the persistently unsolved problems of human life.

       B．It is to be expected that the selections will change with the times

       C．The listing of the best books is as old as reading and writing.

       D．The fundamental human problems remain the same in all ages.

65．According to the author, Gone With The Wind is ________.

       A．a best seller                                               

    B．disgusted by readers who like Shakespeare

       C．read more often than Don Quixote        

       D．a great book

66．In the passage “pedantic” means ________.

       A．showing the feelings, esp, those of kindness, which people are supposed to have

       B．serving as practical examples

       C．being elementary

       D．paying too much attention to details in books

67．The best title for this passage is ________.

       A．Great Books in Your Life       B．Great Books in Your Speciality

       C．How to Find a Great Book?    D．What Is a Great Book?

A man and his wife arrived in Boston by train．After getting off the train, they walked without an    36     into the outer office of Harvard’s president．So they were stopped by his secretary and kept    37    ．For hours, the secretary took no notice of them,  38  that the couple would finally become disappointed and    39   ．But they didn’t．The secretary finally decided to disturb the president, though  40  ．

       A few minutes later, the president walked towards the couple with a  41  face．The lady told him, “We had a son that  42  Harvard for one year．He loved Harvard．He was  43  here．But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed．My husband and I would like to  44  a memorial（纪念物）to him, somewhere on campus．”

The president wasn’t moved ．Instead, he was    45   ．“Madam,” he said, “we can’t put up a statue for every person who studied at Harvard and died．If we did, this place would look like a   46   ,” “Oh, no,” the lady  47  quickly．“We don’t want to put up a statue．We would like to give a  48  to Harvard．” The president rolled his eyes and  49  at the couple and then exclaimed, ” A building! Do you have any 50   how much a building costs? We have spent over ＄7,500,000 on the campus building at Harvard．” For a moment the lady was silent．The president was  51  , because he could get rid of them now．Then the lady turned to her husband and said quietly, “Is that all it costs to start a  52  ? Why don’t we just start our own?” Her husband nodded． 53  their offer was turned down．Mr．and Mrs．Stanford traveled to California where they founded Stanford University     54   after them, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer  55  about．

A．choice        B．decision  C．acquaintance     D．appointment

A．waiting       B．standing   C．sitting          D．talking

A．hoping       B．finding     C．realizing       D．imagining

A．go down           B．go out      C．go away        D．go around

A．hopelessly     B．carefully   C．unexpectedly    D．unwillingly

A．pleasant     B．funny       C．cold          D．sad

A．attended     B．visited      C．studied         D．served

A．clever        B．brave     C．proud           D．happy

A．set about       B．set up       C．set down       D．set off

A．satisfied      B．excited     C．shocked        D．ashamed

A．park         B．cemetery  C．garden         D．museum

A．explained    B．expressed  C．refused         D．admitted

A．building      B．yard       C．playground      D．square

A．laughed       B．shouted     C．glanced         D．called

A．suggestion   B．idea       C．thought         D．opinion

A．bored       B．astonished C．interested      D．pleased

A．department  B．university C．business        D．club

A．Once        B．While       C．Since         D．Though

A．named      B．looked     C．taken         D．followed

A．talked      B．knew     C．heard         D．cared

A newly trained teacher named Mary went to teach at a Navajo Indian reservation. Every day, she would ask five of the young Navajo students to __1__ the chalkboard and complete a simple math problem from   2   homework.

They would stand there, silently,  3   to complete the task. Mary couldn’t figure it out.   4   she had studied in her educational curriculum helped, and she   5   hadn’t seen anything like it in her student-teaching days back in Phoenix.

What am I doing wrong? Could I have chosen five students who can’t do the  6  ? Mary would wonder. No,  7  couldn’t be that. Finally she   8   the students what was wrong. And in their answers, she learned a   9   lesson from her young   10   pupils about self-image and a(n)   11   of self-worth.

It seemed that the students  12  each other’s individuality and knew that  13  of them were capable of doing the problems.   14  at their early age, they understood the senselessness of the win-lose approach in the classroom. They believed no one would  15  if any students were shown up or embarrassed at the  16  . So they   17   to compete with each other in public.

Once she understood, Mary changed the system   18   she could check each child’s math problem individually, but not at any child’s expense  19  his classmates. They all wanted to learn,  20  not at someone else’s expense.

1．  A．go to        B．come to         C．get close to    D．bring

2．  A．his           B．their           C．his own         D．her

3．  A．happy          B．willingly         C．readily        D．unwilling

4．  A．Anything      B．Nothing         C．Everything     D．Neither

5．  A．almost         B．certainly        C．hardly           D．never

6．  A．question       B．chalkboard     C．problem         D．homework

7．  A．they         B．it             C．everything     D．each

8．  A．asked              B．questioned     C．told            D．understood

9．  A．outstanding  B．surprising       C．annoying       D．frightening

10．A．sunburned    B．tender         C．Indian        D．naughty

11．A．sense        B．image         C．way           D．aspect

12．A．had          B．ignored          C．respected       D．cared

13．A．none           B．no one        C．each           D．not all

14．A．Especially    B．Even though       C．Even so       D．Even

15．A．lose          B．win            C．achieve          D．answer

16．A．time         B．situation         C．chalkboard     D．condition

17．A．refused        B．rejected         C．tried           D．promised

18．A．if             B．so that        C．unless        D．in case

19．A．in favour of  B．of            C．by means of   D．in front of

20．A．and          B．but             C．so              D．or