If you want to become a better reader, here are four important points to remember about rate or speed(速度)of reading:
First, knowing why you are reading and what you are reading to find out will often help you to know whether to read rapidly or slowly.
Second, some things should be read slowly. Examples are directions for making or doing something; arithmetic(算术)problems, science and history books. They are full of important information. You must read such things slowly to remember each important step and understand each idea.
Third, some things should be read rapidly. Examples are simple stories for enjoyment, news, letters from friends, items or bits of news from local or hometown paper, telling what is happening to friends and neighbors.
Fourth, in some of your readings, you must change your speed from fast to slow, and slow to fast, as you read. You’ll need to read certain pages rapidly and then slow down and do more careful reading when you come to important ideas which should be remembered.
小题1:A tale about fairies(神话) should be read_________.

A．slowly

B．carefully

C．rapidly

D．to change one’s speed fast to slow

小题2:A book about knowledge of the nature should be read _____________.

A．either rapidly or slowly

B．rapidly

C．neither rapidly nor slowly

D．slowly

小题3:__________should be read slowly.

A．Novels	B．Letters
C．Some things full of important information	D．Newspapers and magazines

小题4:In this passage the author advises us to ____________.

A．read more books	B．be better readers
C．fit our speed to our needs	D．change our speed of reading now and then(不时地)

小题5:According to this passage, one must pay attention to _______in your reading.

A．why you are reading	B．what you are reading
C．the speed of reading	D．careful reading

The first way to make friends is to smile. When you smile, people think you are __1___ and easy to talk to. It may not be easy at first to smile. But, you can practice in the mirror(镜子). When you look at yourself, think if you’d like to __2___ to your smiling face or your usual face. Of course the smiling face. Most people stay away from an __3___ face.
One easy way to start a conversation with someone is to say __4___ nice about them. For example, you could talk about an interesting __5___ to a teacher’s question, good match at the ball field, pretty shirt, etc…. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn’t it make you want to __6___ talking to that person?
Ask your new friends questions about themselves. Such as: “Who’s their favorite singer?” “Where do they live, who’s their teacher?” “What do they do after school?” … etc. They are all good questions to start a __7___.
When someone asks you a question, do have an answer for them. If you don’t __8___ who your favorite singer is, or what your hobbies are, think about it. There’s nothing that will __9___ a conversation quicker than a shrug(耸肩) for an answer.
Shy kids often have some trouble with complements. When someone says something nice, shy kids often say nothing. This leaves the other person __10___ if they said something wrong. The best and easiest reply to a complement is a simple “thank you”.

小题1:	A．funny B．strang C．crazy D．friendly

小题2:	A．talk B．say C．see D．look

小题3:	A．honest B．old C．angry D．exciting

小题4:	A．anything B．something C．everything D．nothing

小题5:	A．answer B．book C．decision D．invention

小题6:	A．have B．prefer C．finish D．keep

小题7:	A．discussion B．conversation C．meeting D．game

小题8:	A．meet B．believe C．know D．guess

小题9:	A．try B．stop C．find D．make

小题10:

A．wondering B．forgetting C．hearing D．knowing

Americans use many expressions with the word dog. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well.
Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say if a person wants to be successful he has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.
Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks(手艺). They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.
Dog expressions are also used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rain in summer may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.
小题1:If a person without lots of money wants to buy a car, he or she has to ______.

A．treat the dog well	B．live with lots of dogs
C．work like a dog	D．become sick as a dog

小题2:The saying you can never teach an old dog new tricks tells us older people ______.

A．have more ways to do things	B．do things more slowly
C．dislike to learn new things	D．know wonderful tricks

小题3:Which of the following is NOT true according to this passage?

A．Many dogs are loved and treated well by people in America.

B．“Every dog has its day” means dogs are the most successful animal.

C．“It rains cats and dogs” has the same meaning as “It rains heavily”.

D．There are many expressions with the word dog in English.

Space travel is nothing new. The first spacecraft with a human was sent up into space in 1961. Since then, people have not only traveled to space, but also many of them have lived there in space stations for some time.
The Soviet Union(前苏联) sent the first space station into space in 1971. This space station was called Salyut 1. Salyut 1 was designed as a place where people could live while they observed space and did experiments. The first group of astronauts lived there for 23 days. The Soviet Union went on to make seven more Salyut space stations. At about the same time, the United States built its own space station, called Skylab.
Astronauts visited and often lived in these space stations for a short time. However, it wasn’t until the late 1980s when The Soviet Union sent the Mir space station that people began to live in space for a longer time. Mir stayed in space from 1989 until 2001, when it was decided that the space station was too old and no longer safe to live in.
Living in space stations seems to be fun, but astronauts face many problems. One of them is food. All the meals on space station are put together on Earth and sent there by space shuttle. Because the food has to last a long time (sometimes up to three months), a lot of it has to be stored in cans. The space station does not have a fridge, but it has a cool room to keep fruit and vegetables fresh. Astronauts also eat many other foods such as dried meat that do not need special care.
Without the help of gravity, sitting down to eat can be tough. Astronauts sometimes have to fix themselves to the wall while eating. They also have to be very careful to that food does not float away.
小题1:Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word “observed” in Paragraph 2?

A．Discovered

B．Checked

C．Watched

D．Fixed

小题2: What can we infer(推断)from the passage?

A．Astronauts can never have a chance to eat fresh food when they live in space station.

B．The Soviet Union sent a total of 9 space stations into space in the 1970s and 1980s.

C．Astronauts could live in the Mir space station for no more than three weeks.

D．Space travel has quite a long history of more than 60 years.

小题3:What is the best title of this passage?

A．Exploring Space

B．Space Travel

C．Living in Space

D．Space Stations

Childhood is a time of fun and games. Many people still remember when they were young, they often played games like hide-and-seek and chess. Playing teaches children how to get along with others, and it also helps to exercise the mind and body. However, children today spent most of their playing time in front of the computer, playing video games.
A recent survey found that in the US children between 8 and 12 spent at least 13 hours a week playing video games or “gaming”. Boys of this age spend even more time, almost 16 hours a week. Although some people will say that gaming is helpful, it brings many problems as well.
One big problem is that kids who spend most of their time on games might have difficulty communicating with real people. They might have trouble sharing and resolving problems because they do not practice these shills when sitting alone at a computer.
Another problem is about health. Game players usually sit for hours without doing any exercise. And they might not eat healthily. As a result, they might be out of shape.
Next, game players might have trouble with their lessons. Many of them spend more time playing games than working on their homework. In the end, _______________.
Finally, it is always possible that the gamers become addicted(成瘾). Some people play four or five hours a day or even all day. This happened to a 28-year-old Korean man. He spent about 50 hours playing an online game without sleeping or eating well. He died while gaming!
This is one example of the dangers of video gaming. It tells us that video gaming, like everything else, should not be done too much. A few hours a week should not hurt, but several hours a day just might be dangerous to your health.
小题1:Children of 8 to 12 in the US spent at least _____ hours a week playing video games.

A．13

B．16

C．28

D．50

小题2:How many problems about playing video games are mentioned in the passage?

A．Two.

B．Three

C．Four

D．Five

小题3:Which of the following is the right sentence for the blank(空白处) in Paragraph 5?

A．they might become ill	B．they might lose their friends
C．they might stop playing games	D．they might get lower grades at school

小题4:What does the writer want to tell us by writing this passage?

A．Video gaming has quite a lot of advantages.

B．Video gaming might be a dangerous thing.

C．Childhood is a time of fun and games.

D．Children should learn how to get along with others

Trees are useful to man（人类）in three very important ways. The first important way is that they provide man with food, wood and other products. Trees provide not only man with food, but also many animals with food. Without trees many animals could not live on the earth. It's not easy for man to live on the earth, either.
The second important way is that trees give us shade. On a hot summer day, people are eager(渴望)to have a rest under the shade of a tree after they have walked a long way. You can imagine how important the shade of a tree is to man and to animals.
The third important way is that trees help to prevent drought（干旱）and floods（洪水）. However, in many parts of the world, man has not realized the third important way. He has cut trees down in large numbers. In the end he finds that he has lost the best friends he had.
小题1:Trees are important to man in       ways.

A．2

B．3

C．4

D．5

小题2:Which sentence is true?

A．Trees give food to both man and animals.

B．Trees only provide animals with food.

C．Trees give food to neither man nor animals.

D．Trees only provide man with food

小题3:On a hot summer day,        .

A．people are eager to have a rest

B．people usually walk a long way

C．animals don't need shade

D．the shade of a tree is very important to man and to animals

小题4:In many parts of the world, man has not realized that trees help to          

A．give us food	B．give us shade
C．prevent drought and floods	D．give us wood

小题5:In this story the underlined word "He" means       .

A．farmer

B．man

C．worker

D．boy

Hi, my name is Wang Jun. Do you want to know about my staying in America? Well, to tell you the truth, it is really an eye-opening experience here.
In China, I had English classes five times a week since Grade Five. But I didn’t know textbook English could be so different from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Connecticut. When I first studied English, I was told to say “I’m fine.” when people say “How are you?” But in the USA, I found that people say “I’m good.” or “I’m tired.”
One day, someone greeted （问候） me with “What’s up?” It made me confused. I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn’t know what to say.
Since then, I have learnt more and more differences between Chinese and American cultures. To my surprise, American girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun getting a tan (晒黑的肤色). In China, girls try every possible way to keep their skin white.
American students are hard-working like Chinese students. In China, schoolwork is almost everything, so we study hard and that’s it. But here, a “good” student not only gets good grades, but also does a lot for the public. That is to say, they get lots of knowledge at school and learn many life skills from social （社会的） work.
小题1:In China, Wang Jun had _______ English classes every week.

A．five

B．four

C．three

D．two

小题2:Wang Jun found that _______ when he came to Hotchkiss School in the USA.
A. it was really important to learn English well
B. English he learnt in China was helpful to him
C. American students were more hard-working than Chinese students
D. textbook English was different from everyday English
小题3:What does the underlined word “confused” mean in Chinese?

A．困惑的

B．滑稽的

C．紧张的

D．伤心的

小题4:American girls make Wang Jun feel surprised because _______.

A．they work hard at school	B．they try to keep their skin white
C．they hope to get a tan	D．they do lots of social work

小题5:Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．My wonderful travel in the USA	B．After-school activities in American schools
C．What American students learn at school	D．My study experience in the USA

Sleep is like food for the brain. Enough sleep helps the body and brain grow and develop. However, many Chinese do not sleep well, and many do not pay enough attention to sleep.
The Chinese Medical Doctor Association released the 2013 China Sleep Quality Index (指数) on March 19 to mark World Sleep Day – March 21.
According to the index, nearly a quarter of Chinese people don’t sleep well. Half said that they feel tired after getting up and 15 percent people have trouble falling asleep.
Ye Jingying, a sleep expert at Beijing Tongren Hospital, says: “If people often wake up during the night, or always feel weak and tired in the day, they should pay attention to their sleep pattern (模式).”
Many people play with their cell phones or iPads before sleeping. The report said that this is one of the main reasons for bad sleep. Other reasons include stress and bad moods.
How to sleep well? Above all, get enough sleep. Seven to nine hours of sleep every night is perfect for an adult, and eight to nine hours is best for a teenager.
Forming good sleep habits is important. The report suggested that people need to keep away from digital devices (数码产品) for at least an hour before sleep. The lights keep their brains excited for a long while. Other suggestions include: try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends and during holidays, and do the same relaxing things before bed each night, like listening to soft music.
小题1:From Paragraph 1, which of the following is NOT true?

A．The longer you sleep, the better.

B．Many Chinese people don’t sleep well.

C．Many Chinese people don’t care about sleep.

D．Sleep is very important for our body and brain.

小题2:Which of the following means that you sleep well?

A．You feel tired after getting up.

B．You can fall asleep within 20 minutes.

C．You wake up several times during the night.

D．You often do something boring until you feel sleepy.

小题3:From the article, which of the following may NOT cause sleeping problems?

A．Reading a book late at night.

B．Having sad or angry feelings.

C．Playing with digital devices before sleeping.

D．Being under strong stress about their life or work.

小题4:Which of the following helps teenagers sleep well?

A．They should do different things before sleeping.

B．They should sleep for more than nine hours a day.

C．They should not use any digital devices during the daytime.

D．They’d better go to sleep and get up at the same time every day.

For thousands of years, people have used plants to make medicines. They used different parts of the plants —the roots, the leaves, the flowers, and the bark (树皮). Today, doctors have rediscovered more medicinal (药用) values of some plants. Let’s look at some examples.
Foxglove is a common plant. People have used it to make the heart slow down. Recently scientists have developed another drug from it. This new drug helps prevent other heart problems.
In some areas, malaria has been a problem. Scientists have learned that the bark of a South American tree, the cinchona, can be made into a drug to prevent malaria. For a long time, the Chinese have known that a special plant, wormwood, can also fight malaria. Scientists have been working with it to develop new drugs against malaria.
In Germany, some scientists studied garlic (大蒜) for four years. They found that it helps prevent the build-up of plaque (血小板) because too much plaque is bad for health. This very common plant continues to be studied.
As we know, there are about 250,000 kinds of flowering plants in the world. Scientists have only studied little more than one percent of plants for their medicinal value. Maybe medicines for AIDS and cancer will be made from the other 99 percent.
小题1:What can foxglove be used for?

A．Studying plants.

B．Building up the plaque.

C．Treating AIDS and cancer.

D．Preventing heart problems.

小题2:What does the underlined word “malaria” in Paragraph 3 refer to (指的是)?

A．A drug.	B．A plant.
C．An illness.	D．An animal.

小题3:How many plants are mentioned in the passage?

A．3.

B．4.

C．5.

D．6

小题4:Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Past and future

B．Plants and medicine

C．Health and illness

D．Scientists and doctors

If you want to find out a piece of information about anything, the best place to search for it is Wikipedia. This online encyclopedia(百科全书) is written by thousands of people around the world. Anyone can add or change the information if he or she finds it not correct or not well written. In this way, people who know a lot about a certain subject can write about it even if they are not university professors.
What is more, Wikipedia includes articles written in about 235 languages. This fact makes it one of the few websites on the Internet that are truly international. It was started in 2001 by Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales, as a free online English-language encyclopedia project. By April 2008 over 10 million articles had been put on Wikipedia. A quarter of the articles in English. Wikipedia is also a place where people can find the latest news.
However, Wikipedia has its own problems. There have been many complaints that some of the information on Wikipedia is not accurate and some important subjects are not included. This has led to arguments between the writers of articles. The people running Wikipedia say that the accuracy of the information is improving and that it is one of the top 20 visited websites on the Internet.
So, if you are looking for some information, why not try Wikipedia?
小题1:Wikipedia is ___________.

A．a computer game	B．an online magazine
C．a free university	D．a website encyclopedia

小题2:People who write on Wikipedia__________.

A．know much about a certain subject	B．likes writing different stories
C．can’t be university professors	D．are usually famous scientists

小题3:The underlined word “accurate” means __________.

A．错误的

B．准确的

C．有条理的

D．逻辑的

小题4:Which is TRUE according to the passage?  

A．Wikipedia includes articles written in about 253 languages.

B．People can find information about different subjects on Wikipedia.

C．Wikipedia is the only truly international website on the Internet.

D．Half of the articles on Wikipedia are written in English.