It happened to me recently. I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President. A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was ,in his words, “a brilliantly（精彩地）written book”. However, he then went on to talk about Mr Obama in a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.

And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In the World Book Day’s “Report on Guilty Secrets”, Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading, and as I’m not one to lie too often (I’d hate to be caught out ),I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire top ten . But I am pleased to say that, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s really brilliant.

The World Book Day report also has some other interesting information in it. It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky(I haven’t read him,but haven’t lied about it either )and Herman Melville.

Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to “impress” someone they were speaking to. This could be tricky if the conversation became more in –depth!

But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, people named J. k. Rowling, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella (ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty-two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story(I’ll come clean: I do this and am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so).

64. How did the author find his friend a book liar?

A. By judging his manner of speaking.

B. By looking into his background.

C. By mentioning a famous name.

D. By discussing the book itself.

65. Which of the following is a “guilty secret”according to the World Book Day report?

A. Charles Dickens is very low on the top-ten list.

B. 42% of people pretended to have read 1984.

C. The author admitted having read 9 books.

D. Dreams From My Father is hardly read.

66. By lying about reading, a person hopes to      .

A. control the conversation

B. appear knowledgeable

C. learn about the book

D. make more friends

67. What is the author’s attitude to 58%of readers?

A. Favorable.

B. Uncaring

C. Doubtful

D. Friendly

When you meet someone for the first time, you will form an impression in your mind of that person in the first moment. Your reactions to other people, however, are really just barometers (晴雨表) for how you perceive(理解) yourself. Your reactions to others say more about you than they do about others. You cannot really love or hate something about another unless it reflects something you love or hate yourself. We are usually drawn to those who are most like us and tend to dislike those who display those aspects of ourselves that we dislike.

Therefore, you can allow others to be the mirror to illuminate (阐明;照亮) more clearly your own feelings of self-worth. Conversely（相反地）, you can view the people you judge negatively as mirrors to show you what you are not accepting about yourself.

To survive together peacefully with others, you will need to learn tolerance. A big challenge is to shift your perspective from judgment of others to a lifelong exploration of yourself. Your task is to assess all the decisions, judgments you make onto others and to begin to view them as clues to how you can heal yourself and become whole.

Several days ago I had a business lunch with a man who displayed objectionable table manners. My first reaction was to judge him as rude and his table manners as annoying. When I noticed that I was judging him, I stopped and asked myself what I was feeling. I discovered that I was embarrassed to be seen with someone who was chewing with his mouth open and loudly blowing his nose. I was astonished to find how much I cared about how the other people in the restaurant perceived me.

Remember that your judgment of someone will not serve as a protective shield against you becoming like him. My judging my lunch partner as rude does not prevent me from ever looking or acting like him. In the same way, extending tolerance to him would not cause me to suddenly begin chewing my food with my mouth open.

When you approach life in this manner, those with whom you have the greatest dissatisfactions as well as those you admire and love can be seen as mirrors, guiding you to discover parts of yourself that you reject and to embrace your greatest quality. 

1.We can know from the passage that the author advises people to _____________.

A. avoid inappropriate manners.

B. learn tolerance towards others.

C. pay attention to others’ needs and feelings.

D. judge others favorably in any case.

2.The underlined word “objectionable” in Paragraph 4 has the closest meaning to ____________.

A. discouraging          B. satisfying          C. unpleasant           D. acceptable

3.According to the passage, the following statements are all true except _____________.

A. You can’t really love or hate others if they are similar to you.

B. We are easily attracted by someone who is similar to us.

C. Our first judgment of a person mostly comes from our personal opinion.

D. The moment we see a stranger, our mind forms an impression of that person.

4.Throughout the entire story, the last paragraph serves as a(n) ______________.

A. explanation            B. example         C. background         D. conclusion

5.It can be implied from the text that ___________.

A. the writer’s first reaction to the man was to judge him as offensive

B. we will need to learn tolerance to coexist with others

C. we shouldn’t focus on judging others but should constantly reflect on our own

D. the writer didn’t care about other people’s view of him

 

Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage.

I’m not a fast reader and I don’t read as much as many other people, but reading is something I enjoy. It opens new worlds to me and widens my perspective(洞察力,眼力).

Recently I found Kobo，an online book store that allows me to buy e-books and read them on a device of my choice. I’m a girl living in Indonesia, where e-books are not available and I had to buy physical books from Amazon in the past. There are two problems with it:

Shipping cost. Since I live far away from the United States, it costs a lot to ship a book. Shipping costs almost as much as the book itself.

Shipping time. It takes about three weeks for the books to arrive through postal mail.

Now with Kobo, I can eliminate those two problems. Not only does it cost less time and money to get the books, but also I prefer to read e-books this way than reading physical books. Here are three reasons why:

I can easily bring the books everywhere. Since all the books are in my iPod touch, I can simply put the device into my pocket and bring it everywhere I go.

The size is smaller. The size of the iPod Touch is smaller than a physical book. This makes reading more convenient for me.

I can read in any position I want. The iPod has a light source, so I can read when I am in darkness. This means that I can read in practically any position and condition.

One more advantage I haven’t mentioned is space. Physical books take space, but e-books don’t.

1.Why does the author like reading? (no more than 11 words)

_____________________________________________________

2.What are the problems with buying physical books from Amazon? (no more than 9 words)

_____________________________________________________

3.How can the author read when she is in darkness? (no more than 6 words)

_____________________________________________________

4.What’s the author’s attitude towards e-books? (no more than 1 word)

_____________________________________________________

 

Last spring, I was fortunate to be chosen to participate in an exchange study program. In my application letter, I was careful to   21  how much I wanted to see France; evidently, my excitement really came through in my words. Once I   22   that I was going, all I could think about was the fun of foreign travel and making all sorts of new and   23  friends. While traveling was inspiring and meeting people was   24  , nothing about my term in France was what I   25 .       

The moment I arrived in Paris, I was   26  by a nice French couple who would become my host parents. My entire experience was joyous and exciting  27  I received some shocking news from my program coordinator（协调人）: there had been a death in my host parents’ extended family. They had to travel outside France for several weeks. That afternoon, I had to   28  out of one family’s house into another. The exchange coordinator told me I’d have a   29  this time and asked whether I could share a bedroom with an English speaker. To avoid the temptation(诱惑) to   30 my native language, I asked not to be   31  with an English-speaking roommate. When I got to my new room, I   32  myself to my new roommate Paolo, a Brazilian（巴西人） the same age as I, whom I was surprised to find playing one of my favorite CDS! In just a few hours, we knew we’d be good friends for the rest of the   33  .      

I left France with many   34  , so when people asked me what my favorite part of the trip was, they are always   35  to hear me talk about my Brazilian friend Paolo and scores of weekdays in class, weeknights on the town, and weekends   36  France we enjoyed together. I love how people   37  seem so different, but end up being so   38  . The most valuable lesson I gained from studying in France wasn’t just to respect the friend people   39  to respect all people, for your next best friend could be just a continent away. I would recommend an exchange program to anyone who wants to experience foreign cultures and gain meaningful  40  .   

1.                A．discuss         B．express         C．announce D．argue

 

2.                A．approved       B．knew           C．warned   D．denied

 

3.                A．stubborn       B．anxious         C．universal  D．interesting

 

4.                A．boring         B．upsetting        C．exciting   D．promising

 

5.                A．expected       B．liked           C．doubted  D．feared

 

6.                A．sponsored      B．witnessed       C．greeted  D．supported

 

7.                A．until           B．when           C．since D．while

 

8.                A．move          B．travel          C．walk D．rush

 

9.                A．housekeeper    B．leader          C．roommate D．colleague

 

10.               A．learn          B．appreciate      C．speak D．master

 

11.               A．combined       B．fitted          C．involved   D．placed

 

12.               A．added         B．introduced      C．devoted   D．adapted

 

13.               A．term           B．week          C．month D．vocation

 

14.               A．presents        B．suitcase        C．stories    D．dreams

 

15.               A．surprised       B．disturbed       C．embarrassed   D．concerned

 

16.               A．analyzing       B．exploring       C．describing D．investigating

 

17.               A．need          B．shall           C．must  D．can

 

18.               A．generous       B．independent     C．similar D．distant

 

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

 

20.               A．instructions     B．friendships      C．facts  D．data

 

 

As computers become all the more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly relying on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.

Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more widespread among university students. Almost all their assignments and essays are typed on a computer.

All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.

It’s faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that’s why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.

“When I’m writing with a pen, I find I often can’t remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it.”

“I’m not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”

Many students don’t feel this is something to worry about. Now that it’s more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?

Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei, the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, “Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic (审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer’s emotion. Through one’s handwriting, people can get to know one’s thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”

To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory(必修的) and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.

1.Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?

A．The Importance of Handwriting and Typing.

B．To type or to Handwrite.

C．Writing by Computer will Replace Writing by Hand.

D．Practical and Aesthetic Value of Chinese Characters.

2.Which of the following statements is NOT the advantage of handwriting?

A．Handwriting contains the writer’s emotion.

B．The writer’s thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting.

C．Handwriting can impress people well and build one’s self-confidence.

D．Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value.

3.The underlined expression “taking stock in” probably means ___________.

A．getting bored with                      B．getting dependent on

C．becoming curious about                  D．getting curious about

4.We can draw the conclusion from the passage that ___________.

A．more and more students will give up writing on a computer.

B．writing by hand will give way to typing by computer one day.

C．more and more students will pay attention to handwriting.

D．the typing article better expresses one’s emotion and quality.