Reading for pleasure is the easiest way to become a better reader in English．It’s also one of the important ways of learning．

Some students say they don't want to read for pleasure．They say they want to use their time to learn the rules of the language and new words．They say that pleasure reading is too easy．

Many experts say that pleasure reading is very important for learning English．A very famous expert on learning languages says that pleasure reading helps you learn many important things about English．Students will learn more grammar and more words when they read for pleasure．They also learn more about good writing．

The experts tell ns that pleasure reading helps each student in a different way．Each student needs to learn something different．Pleasure reading makes it possible for each student to learn what he or she needs．

Reading for pleasure is not the same as studying．When you read for pleasure，you choose your own books，and you don't have to remember everything．There are no tests on your pleasure reading books．Pleasure reading will help you；

* learn how English speakers use English

* read faster in English

* find examples of good writing in English

* learn new words

* learn about the cultures of English speaking countries

1．What is the easiest way to become a better English reader?

2．What do some students think of pleasure reading?

3．Is pleasure reading important for learning English?

4．There are no tests of pleasure reading，are there?

5．What's the greatest advantage of pleasure reading?

Reading for pleasure(消遣) is the easiest way to become a better reader in English. It is also the most important way.

Some students say they don’t want to read for pleasure. They say they want to use their time to learn the rules of the language and new words. They say that pleasure reading is too busy.

Many experts(专家)say pleasure reading is very important for learning English. Dr Stephen Krashen, a famous expert on learning languages, says that pleasure reading helps you learn many important things about English. Students learn more grammar and more words when they read for pleasure. They also learn more about good writing.

Dr Krashen tells us that pleasure reading helps each student in a different way. Each student needs to learn something different. Pleasure reading makes it possible for each student to learn what he or she needs.

Reading for pleasure is not the same as studying. When you read for pleasure, you choose your own books, and you don’t have to remember everything. There are no tests on your pleasure reading books. Pleasure reading will help you：

·learn how English speakers use English

·read faster in English

·find examples of good writing in English

·learn new words

·learn about the culture of English speakers

(     ) 41. Reading for pleasure is the _________way to become a better reader in English.

A. best      B. fastest     C. easiest   D. nearest

(     ) 42. Many experts say students learn more ___________when they read for pleasure.

A. grammar and listening          B. listening and spelling 

C. listening and speaking          D. grammar and words

(     ) 43. Each students need to learn ___________by pleasure reading.

A. something difficult            B. something different   

C. something easy               D. something important

(     ) 44. From the passage, we know pleasure reading makes it the most impossible for each student to___________________.

A. find examples of good writing in English      B. learn new words

C. learn how English writers use English         D. read faster in English

(     ) 45. The passage is mainly about _____________.

A. pleasure reading in a different way        B. pleasure reading in the same way

C. pleasure reading in an easy way          D. pleasure reading in an important way

                            

Reading comprehension(阅读理解)：

　　Kate Holmes was visiting a friend, old Mrs. Sydney. Mrs. Sydney had known Kate all her life. She liked to tell Kate about mysteries(神秘故事) and see whether Kate could solve them.

　　“You are very good at solving mysteries,” she said to Kate, “but some day I'll fool you! Maybe I'll be able to fool you today. Did I ever tell you about the story of the Unknown Brother?”

　　Kate said no and listened. She liked Mrs. Sydney's stories.

　　“Well,” Mrs. Sydney said, “Jed Wright was my friend when I was a child. He ran away from home when he was very young and lived for years by doing all kinds of jobs. Finally, in 1927, he went to Michigan, where he found a copper mine(铜矿). He bought the land and ran the mine and became a very rich man.

　　“Jed never married. His parents had died years before, and his only relative was a brother.”

　　“One day Jed knew he was dying. He sent for a good friend, Dan Cole, who had worked for him for years.”

　　“Jed gave Dan two envelopes.‘This one is for you,’ he said, ‘ and please give the other one to my brother Alf. He is…’ While he was speaking, Jed died.”

　　“There were his dying wishes in Dan's envelope. It gave him Jed's mine and house. The envelope for Alf had some money and business papers in it. Dan and Alf were each to get about half of Jed's fortune(财富). They would both be rich.”.

　　“Dan had never seen Alf. He had only two clues(线索). One was an old photo that showed Alf and Jed. But it was taken on their tenth birthday, fifty years ago. The other clue was a post card from Alf. It had no address. It had been mailed in Boston the month before Jed died.”

　　“Dan went to Boston. He put an advertisement in the newspaper. It said there was good news for Alf Wright. It told where Dan was staying.”

　　“The next day, more than a hundred men came to Dan's hotel. They all said they were Alf Wright. But though he had never seen Alf, Dan was able to pick him out right away.”

　　When Mrs. Sydney finished her story, she smiled.

　　“All right, Kate,” she said. “How did he know Alf?”

　　Kate smiled too. “That's easy,” she said. “You told me how. The clue was the photo.”

　　“Yes, it was,” said Mrs. Sydney. “But it was taken when Alf and Jed were boys. How could that help?”

　　“You said it was taken when both boys were ten years old, so they were…”

　　Kate gave Mrs. Sydney the answer and she had to admit that Kate Holmes had won again.

Answer the questions(根据短文内容回答下列问题，每题所填内容不超过五个单词)：

1．What made Jed Wright a rich man?

The ________ made him very rich.

2．What was in the envelope for Dan?

________________________________________________.

3．Did Dan do what Jed asked him to do?

________________________________________________.

4．What helped Dan to find Alf?

________, ________ and the advertisement.

5．What was Kate's answer to the mystery?

Kite said, “… so they were _____________________________________.”

6．Were they brothers or friends?

Kate and Mrs. Sydney were friends; Jed and Alf were brothers; Jed and ________.

　　How many languages are there in the world? There are about fifteen hundred. English is one of them. It is used not only in England and America, but also in some other parts of the world.

　　What is the best way to learn a language well? We could learn our language well when we were children. If we could learn a second language in the same way, we would not feel so difficult. Let's think of what a small child does:he listens to what people say, and he tries to copy what he hears. When he wants something,he has to ask for it. He is using the language, talking in it and thinking in it all the time. If a second language is used all the time, it will soon be learned.

　　It is also important to remember that we learn our own language by hearing people speak it, not by seeing what they write. We copy what we hear. In school, you learn to read and write as well as to hear and speak, but it is best to learn all the new words through the ears then say them and you can read them, spell them and write them later.

　　You should remember that listening and speaking come first and then reading and writing follow.

(1) There are about ________ languages in the world.

[　　]

A．15

B．150

C．1 500

D．15 100

(2) We can find people speaking English in ________.

[　　]

A．England	B．America
C．many other countries	D．A,B and C

(3) We all learned our own language well ________.

[　　]

A．after we go to school	B．at school
C．from our parents	D．when we were children

(4) Children learn a language by ________.

[　　]

A．thinking it	B．trying to copy what they hear
C．asking for something	D．listening, speaking and using it

(5) We'll feel the language easier to learn if ________ all the time.

[　　]

A．we use it	B．we think in it
C．we talk in it	D．we write in it

This dictionary tells you about English words and how to use them in reading, writing and speaking English. It not only gives the meaning of words, it can also help you with spelling, word building, grammar and pronunciation.
To use your dictionary correctly, you need to understand how the dictionary works. At the front of the book, you will find some exercises to help you make the most use of your dictionary.
If you look up the word “colour”, you will find two spellings for this word. “Colour” is used in British English, while “color” is used in American English. When such a thing happens, the dictionary shows it with the word “BrE” for British English and “AmE” for American English.
The dictionary also helps you pronounce words correctly. It uses a special alphabet (特殊字母表) to show pronunciation. If you turn to the inside back face, you will see all the phonetic letters (音标) with some words to show you how they are pronounced. Just have a look at this page when you’re not sure how to say a word.
The most important reason for using a dictionary is to find out the meaning of a word—its DEFINITION.
In this dictionary, the definitions have been written using only 2000 words. This means that the definitions of even the most difficult words are simply explained and easy to understand.
【小题1】 According to the passage, “neighbor” is used in ______ English.

A．Australian	B．Canadian
C．American	D．British

【小题2】 In Paragraph 5, what does the underlined word “definition” mean?

A．词性

B．词条

C．词库

D．词义

【小题3】 The dictionary explains ______. 

A．some of the difficult words	B．all the words in a simple way
C．all the easy words	D．the words of two meanings