So much to do, so little time．So much information, so little time to read．In this age there is more information than ever before．There is not enough time to read everything we want to read．However, you can take in and understand more information in shorter time through speed-reading．This article will not make you read 3,000 words per minute, but it will show you how to increase your speed greatly．You will also learn the basic techniques of speed reading, along with the dos and don'ts of speed-reading．

When you first learned to read, you would say the word out loud and sound it out．Then you might whisper the word because people can become annoyed when you read aloud．The stage you are now at is saying the word in your head．Most people tend to read this way．Saying the word in your head will cut your reading speed tremendously （极大的）．

How do you calculate your reading speed? The speed is measured by how many words per minute you can read．Get some reading material, preferably a book．Find out how many words are on the page．Time yourself one minute．Start your timer and start reading．When the timer sounds, stop at once．If you counted 500 words on the page and you read half of the page, then you are probably reading at 250 words per minute．

The first thing about speed-reading is looking at the word and recognizing it．Don't say the word in your mind, just look at it and recognize its appearance．Later you will recognize groups of four words or more to increase your speed．This is the first and most important step in speed-reading．

The next step is technique．As with any other skill, speed-reading requires technique．You should first be sitting up straight with your book on a horizontal （水平的） surface, such as a table or desk．Next, should be able to see the entire page．This is necessary if you want to recognize clumps of words．Lastly, you should be focused．It's hard to read with a lot of noise．Find a quiet place to read．This will help your understanding of the text．You need something to guide your eyes while reading．Then right, you should use your hand．Remember when you were little, you would read using your finger．That is a great technique, only now you're using your hand to underline each line．Move your finger smoothly across page．No need to go rush, start out slow．Keep your eyes focused on words as you recognize them while using your hand as a guide．This will increase your speed．

The third step is practice．Practice makes perfect．Set time intervals．Read using different techniques,

but make sure you understand what you're reading．

1.Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

A．Now there is limited information than ever before．

B．Now conditions ask people to use less time to know more information．

C．Now people can read what they like．

D．The less you read, the more time you will spend．

2.The underlined sentence “you should be focused” in the fifth paragraph means that ______．

A．a person should devote his attention to it while reading

B．your feelings will be hurt while reading

C．a person should smooth away difficulties while he reads

D．you should pay attention to your faults while you are reading

3.To speed up your reading, you should_________．

A．sit up straight with your book flat and use something to guide your eyes

B．say every word out loud and sound it out

C．know it is necessary to read quickly

D．underline some important words while you say them

请阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。
A. Pasta House – new Italian restaurant located in the heart of the city. Simple but delicious inexpensive meals. Also has a good range of vegetable-only meals. It’s always crowded so be ready to order take-away or share a table. Open 11 a.m. to midnight.
B. A Taste of India – famous for its spicy curries and many southern Indian dishes using chilli. You will usually be able to find a table during the week but if you’re planning to go on the weekend make sure you book a table in advance. Open noon to midnight.
C. Paris Match – this is the finest French restaurant in the city. Wonderful food you can enjoy in luxurious surroundings. The perfect place to have a romantic meal or impress a business partner, but be prepared for a large bill. Open noon to 2 a.m. Booking essential.
D. Mountain Diner – not fancy but tasty. Excellent Asian and European dishes. Countryside location surrounded by forest. It’s at least an hour’s drive from the city so you might want to stay at the nearby Mountain Hotel overnight. Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
E. Owl Café – open 24 hours a day the café has a large selection of set breakfast, lunch and dinner meals for you to choose from, or you can enjoy one of their many delicious snacks and desserts over a cup of freshly made coffee.
F. Greek Bistro – a lively restaurant that serves great-value Greek food and has live Greek music played by a local band. Customers are encouraged to take part in the entertainment so be ready for a night of loud fun and laughter. Open 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
以下是五个人的选择要求，请匹配每个人拟选择的地方：
【小题1】Bill – was late getting up today so hasn’t had time to make breakfast. He wants to pick up something to eat before he goes to work so he has enough energy to last through to lunch time.
【小题2】Julie – works in the city and wants to get some lunch. She doesn’t want anything too special so long as it is tasty and not too expensive. Julie likes all kinds of food but because she is on a diet she wants to avoid anything containing meat.
【小题3】Sally – has friends visiting her from out-of-town and wants to take them to dinner. She wants to take them somewhere they can enjoy the atmosphere and have fun. She is a university student so doesn’t have a lot of money and doesn’t like her food too hot.
【小题4】 Albert – is a businessman who will meet an important European client for a business dinner next week. Want to book a table at a quiet restaurant that will impress his guest with both its food and its surroundings. 
【小题5】Robert – is meeting his friend Ben for lunch today (Tuesday) and wants to take him to a nice restaurant. Both Robert and Ben enjoy good quality spicy food. Robert doesn’t like arranging things in advance so he hasn’t booked a table.

Light travels at a speed which is about a million times faster than the speed of sound. In one second, light travels about 300,000km, but sound travels only 344m. You can get some idea of this difference by watching the start of a race. If you stand some distance away from the starter, you can see smoke come from his gun before the sound reaches your ears. This great speed of light produces some strange facts. Sunlight takes about 8 minutes to reach us. If you look at the light of the moon tonight, remember that the light rays（光线）left the moon 1.3 seconds before they reached you. The nearest star is so far away that the light which you can see from it tonight started to travel towards you four years ago at a speed of nearly 2 million km per minute. In some cases the light from one of tonight’s stars started on its journey to you before you were born.

Thus, if we want to be honest, we cannot say “ The stars are shining tonight.” We have to say, “ The stars look pretty. They were shining four years ago but their light has only just reached Earth.”

1. Light speed is ________ than sound speed.

2.If you stand 200 meters away from a man who is firing a gun to start a race, you will find out that _____.

3.What does “ it” refer to?

4.The scientific way of saying “ The stars are shining tonight” should be________.

My First Long Kun

Two weeks ago, I had a quarrel with my husband. After he had driven off in anger, I realized that I wasn’t going to feel any better just sitting there. Feeling abandoned and guilty, I put on my gym shoes to get some fresh air.

   Our driveway has a slope(斜坡) that is easier just to jog down if you are lazy, taking advantage of gravity. Instead of stopping at the end of the slope, I decided t see if I could just jog to the end of the street. I had tried a few months ago and failed miserably. Since that first attempt I had been jogging regularly and was significantly fitter, but still very lazy. However this time around I managed to reach the stop sign with ease and I figured I would go a little further.

  After about one kilometer, however, I noticed that my upper body was tense. To make the movement easier I had to relax my body, and tried to take deep breaths of air.

  I kept giving myself the excuse to stop. No one would be disappointed. No one would even know. But I didn’t stop. I wanted to keep going harder, better, stronger. To my great surprise, I ran 4.9 km in 31 minutes. When I got back, I had tears in my eyes. I did something I thought I could never do.

It was the first long run of my life. Since I have improved my stride (步幅) and time, after every run I feel fitter, happier and motivated to keep progressing. I love the runner’s high, I normally jog because I want look good. I want to run because it makes me feel good.

1.    Why did the author feet guilty? (No more than 9 words ) (2 marks)

2.    What did. The author fait to do miserably few months ago? ( no more than 11 words) (2 marks)

3.   What excuses did the author keep giving herself to stop? (no more than 9 words ) (3 marks)

4.    How is running different from jogging t the author? (no more than 14 words) (3 marks)

We lived in a very quiet neighborhood. Earlier that evening my wife had asked me to go to the   1 to get some soft drinks. It seemed like this would be a good time to let my teenage daughter Holly practice her  2 , so I allowed her to go to the store in my truck.

At dinner my son talked about how much he liked my truck. I  3  having it, but I said: “Guy, my heart is not set on that truck. I like it but it is just metal and won’t  4  forever. Never set your heart on anything that won’t last.

We were talking  5  we heard a loud noise.  6  hearing it, the whole family ran outside. My son shouted; “Dad! Dad, Holly crashed your truck!”

My heart sank and my mind was flooded with conflicting (矛盾的) thoughts. Was anyone hurt? Who else was 7? As I ran to the door, I heard a voice in my heart say: “Here is a chance to show Holly  8  you really love. She’ll never forget it.”

The  9 had happened in my own driveway. Holly had  10  my truck into our family van (搬运车). Because of her  11 , she had confused the brakes (刹车) and the gas pedal (油门). Holly was unhurt  12  but when I reached her, she was crying and saying “Oh, Dad, I’m sorry. I know how much you love this truck.” I held her in my arms as she cried.

Later that week a friend asked what had happened to my truck. I told her the whole story. Her eyes moistened (湿润) and she said: “That happened to me when I was a girl. I  13 my dad’s car completely. When I got home, my dad knocked me to the ground and began to  14  me.”

Over 40 years later, she still felt the  15 of the night, which was a deep wound on her soul.

I remember how  16 Holly was when she crashed our truck, and how I   17 her. One day, when Holly  18  on her life, I want her to know that I love her a thousand times  19 any piece of  20 .

9.A affair                   B. event                           C. incident                       D. accident