Could you tell me the way ________ I can improve my English quickly?

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（2010·吉林实验中学高三第二次模拟） 8. Can you tell me the way ____ I can improve my English?

A. in which      B. which       C. by which     D. at which

The winter skies are grey and it’s cold outside. The nights come early and we spend a lot more time __1__ and alone. Many people __2__ winter: so cold, so dark, so boring. But I like winter because I have more time to read.

For many students reading means school; it means __3__. Reading is something your teacher assigns and it’s something you’re __4__. Reading is something you have to do, not something you want to do. But for me and many other people, reading is the most __5__ thing we can imagine. Getting lost in a good book can __6__ a cold winter evening disappear. Dull grey skies are no __7__ for the fantastic adventures of Frodo in The Lord of the Rings《指环王》or for romantic trouble-making of Jane Austen’s Emma《爱玛》, or for the youthful problems of Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye《麦田守望者》.

      All of those books are studied in North American high schools. They are interesting and well written books that __8__ young people. __9__, even there, many high school students don’t enjoy reading the books because they are __10__ their school work: “Oh, my God! Two hundred pages! I’ll never be able to read __11__ much.” But sometimes a funny thing happens. They begin to read and they begin to follow the __12__. Suddenly, the world inside the book becomes more exciting and more wonderful than the world they __13__. At the moment the thought __14__ reading is work disappears and reading becomes __15__.

      Reading anything is __16__ but reading good books is a terrific （极好的） way to improve your English. Good writers write English very well and __17__ you with good examples to follow. And good books will tell you more about English __18__: what people think, how they talk, how they interact with each other. But don’t let me __19__ it by telling you that reading is good for you. Just think of it as a good way to __20_ on a cold winter evening.

1．A．indoors                       B．indoor               C．outdoors                  D．outside

2．A．like                             B．prefer               C．hate                         D．love

3．A．job                              B．worry               C．try                          D．work

4．A．checked                      B．tested on           C．examined                 D．based on

5．A．enjoyable                     B．reasonable          C．comfortable             D．considerable

6．A．want                           B．cause                C．make                       D．force

7．A．contest                        B．challenge           C．competition              D．match

8．A．appeal to                     B．respond to        C．react to                    D．reply to

9．A．Fortunately                  B．eventually         C．Unfortunately           D．Accidentally

10．A．free from                   B．part of              C．in place of                D．far from

11．A．not                            B．very                 C．this                         D．that

12．A．story                         B．subject              C．idea                          D．theme

13．A．leave for                    B．care about         C．flee from                 D．live in

14．A．what                         B．that                  C．this                         D．which

15．A．a comfort                  B．a failure            C．a success                 D．a pleasure

16．A．bad                           B．mean                C．great                       D．grand

17．A．provide                      B．offer                 C．give                         D．award

18．A．custom                      B．language            C．culture                     D．art

19．A．break                        B．spoil                 C．make                       D．develop

20．A．keep warm                B．stand still          C．stay calm                 D．stay cool

The winter skies are grey and it’s cold outside. The nights come early and we spend a lot more time  1   and alone. Many people __2__ winter：so cold, so dark, so boring. But I like winter because I have more time to read.

       For many students reading means school; it means __3__. Reading is something their teacher assigns and it’s something they’re __4__. Reading is something they have to do, not something they want to do. But for me and many other people, reading is the most __5__ thing we can imagine. Getting lost in a good book can __6__ a cold winter evening disappear. Dull grey skies are no __7__ for the fantastic adventures of Frodo in The Lord of the Rings《指环王》，or for romantic trouble-making of Jane Austen’s Emma《爱玛》, or for the youthful problems of Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye《麦田守望者》.

       All of those books are studied in North American high schools. They are interesting and well written books that __8__ young people. __9__, even there, many high school students don’t enjoy reading the books because they are __10__ their school work： “Oh，my God! Two hundred pages! I’ll never be able to read __11__ much.” But sometimes a funny thing happens. They begin to read and they begin to follow the __12__. Suddenly, the world inside the book becomes more exciting and more wonderful than the world they __13__. At the moment the thought __14__ reading is work disappears and reading becomes __15__.

       Reading anything is __16__ but reading good books is a terrific way to improve your English. Good writers write English very well and __17__ you with good examples to follow. And good books will tell you more about English __18__：what people think, how they talk, and how they communicate with each other. But don’t let me __19__ it by telling you that reading is good for you. Just think of it as a good way to __20 _on a cold winter evening.

1．A．indoors                 B．inside                  C．outdoors             D．outside

2．A．like                       B．prefer                  C．hate                    D．love

3．A．job                       B．worry                 C．try                      D．work

4．A．tested                   B．tested on             C．examined             D．examined by

5．A．enjoyable               B．reasonable           C．comfortable         D．considerable

6．A．want                     B．cause                  C．make                  D．force

7．A．contest                 B．challenge             C．competition         D．match

8．A．interesting             B．interested             C．interest                D．to interest

9．A．Fortunately            B．Luckily                C．Unfortunately       D．Accidentally

10．A．free from            B．part of                 C．in place of           D．far from

11．A．not                      B．very                    C．this                     D．that

12．A．story                   B．subject                C．topic                   D．theme

13．A．leave for              B．care about           C．flee from             D．live in

14．A．what                  B．that                     C．this                     D．which

15．A．a comfort            B．a failure               C．a success            D．a pleasure

16．A．bad                     B．uselessly              C．great                   D．wonderfully

17．A．provide               B．offer                   C．give                    D．award

18．A．custom               B．language              C．culture                D．art

19．A．persuade             B．spoil                    C．make                  D．develop

20．A．keep warm         B．stand still          C．stay calm        D．stay cool

One is not born able to speak a language. One is born able to make a noise. I have heard babies cry in America and in China. I can’t tell any difference. But when I hear someone from America speak English and hear someone speak Chinese, I can tell you there are a lot of differences.
I believe a common(普遍的) problem with Chinese students’ learning English is that they were not taught to think in English. They have an idea spoken in English and want to translate the idea into Chinese, then they think in Chinese of the proper reply and translate it into English. After a long period of speaking the language, one begins to think in the foreign language naturally. You will learn faster if you begin to think in English at the very beginning of your study. Many students ask me: What can I do to improve my spoken English?
My reply is: The more English you speak, the better English you will speak. There are many things you can do to improve your spoken English. Of course, the best way is to live where English is spoken as a language of the country.

1. 1.

   The cries of American and Chinese babies are _______.

   1. A.
      different
   2. B.
      the same
   3. C.
      not like each other
   4. D.
      like each other
2. 2.

   The underlined sentence (in Paragraph 2) means that______.

   1. A.
      some teachers didn’t teach students to think in English
   2. B.
      teachers never gave the students the way of learning English
   3. C.
      students didn’t remember the way teachers taught them
   4. D.
      teachers didn’t want their students to think in English
3. 3.

   The underlined word “they” (in Paragraph 2) refers to “_____”.

   1. A.
      Chinese students
   2. B.
      English students
   3. C.
      Chinese teachers
   4. D.
      English teachers
4. 4.

   According to the article, which of the following is TRUE?

   1. A.
      You must think in English all the time.
   2. B.
      You should always translate English into Chinese.
   3. C.
      After speaking English for a long time, you may probably think in English naturally(自然地).
   4. D.
      The best way of learning English is to live in America.