Well before the 15th century, an Anglo-Saxon custom required that a prospective bridegroom break some highly valued personal belonging. Half of the broken token was held by the father of the bride and the other half by the groom. A wealthy man was expected to split a piece of gold or silver.

The earliest engagement rings were also used as wedding rings, serving to seal an act of sale which transformed ownership of a daughter from father to husband. Such rings were usually of solid gold to prove the groom’s worth.

For Roman Catholics, the engagement ring became a required statement of Nuptial intent（结婚意向）, as decreed by Pope Nicholas I in 860 A.D. The engagement ring was to be of valued metal, preferably gold, which for the husband-to-be represented a financial sacrifice.

Signifying enduring love, and chosen for its durability, the diamond was chosen for the engagement ring. The diamond’s fire is also associated with “love’s clear flame,” given by Medieval Italians because of their belief that the diamond was created from the flames of love.

The Venetians were the first to discover that the diamond is one of the hardest, most enduring substances in nature, and fine cutting and polishing releases the brilliance. Rarity and cost limited their rapid proliferation（急增） throughout Europe but their intrinsic（内在的） appeal guaranteed them a future. By the 17th century, the diamond ring had become the most sought after statement of European engagement.　　

1. Who kept the two halves of the engagement rings before marriage?

   A. The bride’s father and the bridegroom’s mother.

   B. The bride’s mother and the bridegroom.

   C. The bride and the bridegroom.

   D. The bridegroom and the bride’s father,

2. What’s TRUE about the early Anglo-Saxon custom before the 15th century ?

   A. A will-be bridegroom should beat all his valuable belongings.

   B. Every will-be bride should split a piece of gold.

   C. The engagement rings were also used to prove the groom’s worth.

D. A rich bride should break one of her most valuable personal belongs.

3. Pope Nicholas made the engagement ring a required statement of nuptial intent ______.

A. in the 15th century           B. over 1,000 years ago

   C .in the 1860s                D. by the 17th century

4. What kind of engagement ring has been the most popular one in Europe ?

   A. Rings made of gold          B. Rings made of silver

C. Rings made of diamond       D. Rings made of an unknown substance in nature.

Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky （急动的）movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate. Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span(范围)or the visual span. The length of time of which the eyes stop ---the duration of the fixation (定位)----varies considerably from person to person. It also varies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. Furthermore, 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 printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth 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 constructed in the shape of rather steep 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 (因此), 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 facts except ________ .

2.The author may believe that reading ______.

3.What does the author mean by saying “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.” in the second paragraph?

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

5.The tune of the author in writing this article is ________

Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky （急动的）movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate. Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span(范围)or the visual span. The length of time of which the eyes stop ---the duration of the fixation (定位)----varies considerably from person to person. It also varies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. Furthermore, 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 printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth 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 constructed in the shape of rather steep 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 (因此), 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.
【小题1】The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following facts except ________ .

Well before the 15th century, an Anglo-Saxon custom required that a prospective bridegroom break some highly valued personal belonging. Half of the broken token was held by the father of the bride and the other half by the groom. A wealthy man was expected to split a piece of gold or silver.
The earliest engagement rings were also used as wedding rings, serving to seal an act of sale which transformed ownership of a daughter from father to husband. Such rings were usually of solid gold to prove the groom’s worth.
For Roman Catholics, the engagement ring became a required statement of Nuptial intent（结婚意向）, as decreed by Pope Nicholas I in 860 A.D. The engagement ring was to be of valued metal, preferably gold, which for the husband-to-be represented a financial sacrifice.
Signifying enduring love, and chosen for its durability, the diamond was chosen for the engagement ring. The diamond’s fire is also associated with “love’s clear flame,” given by Medieval Italians because of their belief that the diamond was created from the flames of love.
The Venetians were the first to discover that the diamond is one of the hardest, most enduring substances in nature, and fine cutting and polishing releases the brilliance. Rarity and cost limited their rapid proliferation（急增） throughout Europe but their intrinsic（内在的） appeal guaranteed them a future. By the 17th century, the diamond ring had become the most sought after statement of European engagement.　　
1. Who kept the two halves of the engagement rings before marriage?
A. The bride’s father and the bridegroom’s mother.
B. The bride’s mother and the bridegroom.
C. The bride and the bridegroom.
D. The bridegroom and the bride’s father,
2. What’s TRUE about the early Anglo-Saxon custom before the 15th century ?
A. A will-be bridegroom should beat all his valuable belongings.
B. Every will-be bride should split a piece of gold.
C. The engagement rings were also used to prove the groom’s worth.
D. A rich bride should break one of her most valuable personal belongs.
3. Pope Nicholas made the engagement ring a required statement of nuptial intent ______.
A. in the 15th century           B. over 1,000 years ago
C .in the 1860s                D. by the 17th century
4. What kind of engagement ring has been the most popular one in Europe ?
A. Rings made of gold         B. Rings made of silver
C. Rings made of diamond       D. Rings made of an unknown substance in nature.

Well before the 15th century, an Anglo-Saxon custom required that a prospective bridegroom break some highly valued personal belonging. Half of the broken token was held by the father of the bride and the other half by the groom. A wealthy man was expected to split a piece of gold or silver.

The earliest engagement rings were also used as wedding rings, serving to seal an act of sale which transformed ownership of a daughter from father to husband. Such rings were usually of solid gold to prove the groom’s worth.

For Roman Catholics, the engagement ring became a required statement of Nuptial intent（结婚意向）, as decreed by Pope Nicholas I in 860 A.D. The engagement ring was to be of valued metal, preferably gold, which for the husband-to-be represented a financial sacrifice.

Signifying enduring love, and chosen for its durability, the diamond was chosen for the engagement ring. The diamond’s fire is also associated with “love’s clear flame,” given by Medieval Italians because of their belief that the diamond was created from the flames of love.

The Venetians were the first to discover that the diamond is one of the hardest, most enduring substances in nature, and fine cutting and polishing releases the brilliance. Rarity and cost limited their rapid proliferation（急增） throughout Europe but their intrinsic（内在的） appeal guaranteed them a future. By the 17th century, the diamond ring had become the most sought after statement of European engagement.　　

1. Who kept the two halves of the engagement rings before marriage?

   A. The bride’s father and the bridegroom’s mother.

   B. The bride’s mother and the bridegroom.

   C. The bride and the bridegroom.

   D. The bridegroom and the bride’s father,

2. What’s TRUE about the early Anglo-Saxon custom before the 15th century ?

   A. A will-be bridegroom should beat all his valuable belongings.

   B. Every will-be bride should split a piece of gold.

   C. The engagement rings were also used to prove the groom’s worth.

D. A rich bride should break one of her most valuable personal belongs.

3. Pope Nicholas made the engagement ring a required statement of nuptial intent ______.

A. in the 15th century           B. over 1,000 years ago

   C .in the 1860s                D. by the 17th century

4. What kind of engagement ring has been the most popular one in Europe ?

   A. Rings made of gold          B. Rings made of silver

C. Rings made of diamond       D. Rings made of an unknown substance in nature.