When you read an article you will understand and remember it better if you can work out how the writer has put the ideas together．Sometimes a writer puts ideas together by asking questions and then answering them．For example，if the article is about groundhogs（土拨鼠），the set of questions in the writer’s head might be：

What does a groundhog look like？

Where do groundhogs live？

What do they eat？…

In the article，the author might answer those questions．

Sometimes an author writes out her questions in the article．These questions give you signals．They tell you what the author is going to write next．Often an author has a question in her head but she doesn’t write it out for you．You have to work out her question for yourself．Here’s a sample reading for you to practice this method.

Earthworms

Do you know how many kinds of earthworms there are？There are about 1800 kinds in the world！ They can be brown，purple，green．They can be as small as 3 cm long and as large as 3 m long．

The best time to see earthworms is at night，especially a cool，damp night．That’s when they come up from their burrows（地洞）to hunt for food．Earthworms don’t like to be in the sun．That’s because they breathe through their skin，and they can’t breathe if their skin gets too dry．Earthworms must come out of the earth if it rains a lot，because they can't breathe in their flooded burrows．What a dangerous life！

Earthworms don't have eyes，so how can they tell when it's dark？ They have special places on their skin that are sensitive to light．These spots tell whether it’s light or dark．If you shine a flashlight on an earthworm at night，it will quickly disappear into the ground．

Earthworms don't have ears either，but they can hear by feeling movements in the earth．If you want to hear like an earthworm，lie on the ground with your fingers in your ears．Then have a friend stamp his or her feet near you．This is how earthworms feel birds and people walking，and moles digging，near them．

Earthworms are useful．Farmers and gardeners like having lots of earthworms in their land because the worms help to make better soil when they dig．That digging keeps the soil loose and airy（通风的）．In one year earthworms can pile up as much as 23,000 kg of castings in an area about the size of a football field．

1.What’s the purpose of reading Earthworms?

A．To show the special life facts of earthworms.

B．To explain the differences from the groundhogs.

C．To put the writer’s idea into real use.

D．To make the readers think more clearly.

2.Which question CANNOT be answered in the passage?

A．How do earthworms help with gardeners?

B．What life are earthworms living with?

C．When may people observe earthworms?

D．Why can human listen like earthworms?

3.How can you understand Earthworms better according to this passage?

A．Read, ask and answer questions in your own head while reading.

B．Read to work out all the questions in the writer’s head while reading.

C．Read and check all the things that are not clear to you again and again.

D．Read for general ideas and discuss or compare with other similar topics.

4.What’s the best title for the passage?

A．One way to help with understanding

B．One way to practice with a new idea

C．One way to learn to be a wise writer

D．One way to be clearer about worms

 

 

Reader’s Digest is a monthly magazine. Before the 1980s, it belonged to a privately held company, which was started in 1922 by Lila Bell Wallace and Dewitt Wallace. This magazine is small and easy to carry, just half the size of most American magazines, which caused a phrase in 2005, “America in your pocket.” It is the best selling magazine in the USA. At present, its circulation(发行量） in the USA has reached 10 million copies and the number of the readers there is 38 million. Its global circulation outside the USA has reached 40 million people throughout more than 70 countries in 21 languages.

This magazine’s focus(焦点） is not news but more of cultural views because the editors think people now can get timely news from somewhere else. They hope this magazine can give readers something that is about special personal experiences, something the readers can share with their families. In different countries, this magazine provides a window to the world for the local readers. Some parts of the magazine are about the local customs and interests of the local readers. The other parts give the local readers information from all over the world.

This magazine actually used to be a family business until the Wallaces died in the 1980s. Because they had no children, there was no one to take over the company. Sixteen years ago, this company went public and became a public company.

1.How often does Reader’s Digest come out in the USA?

       A. Once a year.     B. Once a month.     C. Once a week.     D. Once a day.

2.What’s the number of the readers of this magazine all over the world?

A. 38 million.      B. 40 million.        C. 78 million.       D. 108 million.

3.This magazine’s focus includes the following topics except _________.

       A. something about the timely news

B. some special personal experiences

       C. some information from all over the world

       D. the local customs and interests of the local readers

 

    Apple’s logo is one of the most familiar icons(图标) around the world. But what’s the story about the Apple logo? The image of the apple is obvious, because that’s the name of the company. What about the bite? The famous story is that the logo shows respect and honour for Alan Turing. He was the father of computer science. He researched artificial intelligence(人工智能) and unlocked German wartime codes(密码). However，after the war, he was put into prison，because of his beliefs. He could not stand the looking down and chose to bite a poisoned apple to end his life in the prison.
However, Rob Janoff, who designed the famous Apple logo, said, “It’s not the truth, but only a legend(传说, 传奇). The real reason why I designed it with a bite is very simple. I wanted people to get that it was an apple not a cherry (樱桃). When I go to markets to buy apples, I always mistake apples for cherries. It really has nothing to do with the scientist.”
Are you kidding? An apple is much bigger than a cherry. It’s very easy to tell. But if you use an apple to design a logo, some people may mistake it for a cherry.
【小题1】Both the apple and the cherry are almost the same actually in ________.

A．shape

B．size

C．colour

D．weight

【小题2】According to the passage, Alan Turing________.

A．died in the prison

B．used an apple to design a logo

C．was put into prison during the war

D．was the father of a computer company

【小题3】What’s the purpose of writing the passage about the apple logo?

A．To introduce its designer.

B．To tell us a legend about it.

C．To try to find the truth of it.

D．To explain its market research.

   

Apple’s logo is one of the most familiar icons(图标) around the world. But what’s the story about the Apple logo? The image of the apple is obvious, because that’s the name of the company. What about the bite? The famous story is that the logo shows respect and honour for Alan Turing. He was the father of computer science. He researched artificial intelligence(人工智能) and unlocked German wartime codes(密码). However，after the war, he was put into prison，because of his beliefs. He could not stand the looking down and chose to bite a poisoned apple to end his life in the prison.

However, Rob Janoff, who designed the famous Apple logo, said, “It’s not the truth, but only a legend(传说, 传奇). The real reason why I designed it with a bite is very simple. I wanted people to get that it was an apple not a cherry (樱桃). When I go to markets to buy apples, I always mistake apples for cherries. It really has nothing to do with the scientist.”

Are you kidding? An apple is much bigger than a cherry. It’s very easy to tell. But if you use an apple to design a logo, some people may mistake it for a cherry.

1.Both the apple and the cherry are almost the same actually in ________.

A．shape            B．size              C．colour            D．weight

2.According to the passage, Alan Turing________.

A．died in the prison                       B．used an apple to design a logo

C．was put into prison during the war          D．was the father of a computer company

3.What’s the purpose of writing the passage about the apple logo?

A．To introduce its designer.                 B．To tell us a legend about it.

C．To try to find the truth of it.                D．To explain its market research.

 

When you read an article you will understand and remember it better if you can work out how the writer has put the ideas together．Sometimes a writer puts ideas together by asking questions and then answering them．For example，if the article is about groundhogs（土拨鼠），the set of questions in the writer’s head might be：
What does a groundhog look like？
Where do groundhogs live？
What do they eat？…
In the article，the author might answer those questions．
Sometimes an author writes out her questions in the article．These questions give you signals．They tell you what the author is going to write next．Often an author has a question in her head but she doesn’t write it out for you．You have to work out her question for yourself．Here’s a sample reading for you to practice this method.
Earthworms
Do you know how many kinds of earthworms there are？There are about 1800 kinds in the world！ They can be brown，purple，green．They can be as small as 3 cm long and as large as 3 m long．
The best time to see earthworms is at night，especially a cool，damp night．That’s when they come up from their burrows（地洞）to hunt for food．Earthworms don’t like to be in the sun．That’s because they breathe through their skin，and they can’t breathe if their skin gets too dry．Earthworms must come out of the earth if it rains a lot，because they can't breathe in their flooded burrows．What a dangerous life！
Earthworms don't have eyes，so how can they tell when it's dark？ They have special places on their skin that are sensitive to light．These spots tell whether it’s light or dark．If you shine a flashlight on an earthworm at night，it will quickly disappear into the ground．
Earthworms don't have ears either，but they can hear by feeling movements in the earth．If you want to hear like an earthworm，lie on the ground with your fingers in your ears．Then have a friend stamp his or her feet near you．This is how earthworms feel birds and people walking，and moles digging，near them．
Earthworms are useful．Farmers and gardeners like having lots of earthworms in their land because the worms help to make better soil when they dig．That digging keeps the soil loose and airy（通风的）．In one year earthworms can pile up as much as 23,000 kg of castings in an area about the size of a football field．
【小题1】What’s the purpose of reading Earthworms?

A．To show the special life facts of earthworms.

B．To explain the differences from the groundhogs.

C．To put the writer’s idea into real use.

D．To make the readers think more clearly.

【小题2】Which question CANNOT be answered in the passage?

A．How do earthworms help with gardeners?

B．What life are earthworms living with?

C．When may people observe earthworms?

D．Why can human listen like earthworms?

【小题3】How can you understand Earthworms better according to this passage?

A．Read, ask and answer questions in your own head while reading.

B．Read to work out all the questions in the writer’s head while reading.

C．Read and check all the things that are not clear to you again and again.

D．Read for general ideas and discuss or compare with other similar topics.

【小题4】What’s the best title for the passage?

A．One way to help with understanding

B．One way to practice with a new idea

C．One way to learn to be a wise writer

D．One way to be clearer about worms