Reading is the key to school success and, like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. An excellent sportsman practices until he can play quickly, correctly and without thinking. Educators call it “automaticity (自动性)”.

A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and finding the meaning of the words. With practice, he stumbles less and less, reading by the phrase (短语). With automaticity, he doesn't have to think about the meaning of words, so he can give all his attention to the meaning of the text.

It can begin as early as first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found that automatic readers in the first grade not only read almost three times as fast as the others, but also got better results in exams.

According to Rossman, the key to automaticity is the amount (数量) of time a child spends reading, not his IQ. Any child who spends at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will probably reach automaticity. It can happen if a child turns off TV just one night for reading at home.

You can test yourself by reading something new which is suitable (适合) for your level. If you read aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, you probably are an automatic reader. If you read brokenly, one word at a time, without expression or meaning, you need more practice.

1.Children with “automaticity” can read faster because they don’t have to think about ________.

A．how to read the words                   B．the meaning of the words

C．reading by themselves                   D．the meaning of the text

2.Rossman tells that any child who ________  will possibly be an automatic reader.

A．turns off TV one night 4 weeks

B．reads books by the word quickly

C．spends an hour reading every day

D．gets the same grades as others in exams

3.The underlined word “stumble” in the passage means “________” in Chinese.

A．结结巴巴地读                         B．全神贯注地读

C．心不在焉地读                          D．声情并茂地读

4.The best title for the passage is  “________”.

A．IQ Is the Key to the Automaticity

B．TV Is Bad for Children's Reading

C．Automaticity Depends on Practice

D．Automatic Reads Will Be Successful

Do you speak English? Do you speak e-mail English? Maybe you don’t. E-mail English is a new kind of English that many people use to save time. A lot of e-mail English words come from a computer program called QQ, which means I seek(寻找)you. Ian Lancashire, a Canadian teacher, likes QQ, “People can use QQ to talk with each other using computer. But, you have to be able to type quickly or the other person will be bored. So e-mail English can give some help.”

   A message in e-mail English mostly uses two kinds of new words. The first kind is made up of the first letters of the words. These are called acronyms. The second kind is homophones，letter combination(合并), symbols that sound like other words.

Acronyms in an e-mail save space and time. It takes a long time to write by the way. BTW is much faster. Other acronyms are F2F which stands for face to face, CSL for can’t stop laughing and DBEYR for don’t believe everything you read! Some of the acronyms look like strange words, such as SWAK. But this one means sealed(封口) with a kiss.

   Homophones often use letters and numbers that sound like words or parts of words. For example, 8 sound like—eat in great, to save time, people write gr8. Another example is CU for see you or sometimes CU l8r (see you later)

   The number 2 is used for to or too and the number 4 is used instead of for.

   Another part of e-mail is emotive symbols(表情符号) which make faces when you look at them sideways. The most common emotive, is the happy face :). A comma (逗号) is often used to help add other parts of the face and show different expressions.

   E-mail English is fun. An e-mail message with lots of e-mail English starts to look like secret code(密码). Your best friend will probably understand it, but your parents and teachers may not. In fact, many teachers don’t like e-mail English. It’s not just because they can’t comprehend what it means. It’s because students start to use e-mail English in their everyday writing. E-mail English is great for writing quickly. But most teachers say that e-mail English should only be used in e-mails to one’s friends.

1.What does the writer talk about in the first paragraph?

   A. How to read new e-mail words.

   B. How new e-mail words are made.

   C. Why people use e-mail English.

   D. Canadian teachers and their e-mails.

2.The underlined word “comprehend” in the last paragraph means “_______”.

   A. accept                               B. understand           C. guess                               D. prefer

3.What do teachers insist according to the passage?

   A. Parents will have to learn some e-mail English.

   B. E-mail English will develop our everyday writing.

   C. E-mail English can’t be used among schoolmates.

   D. E-mail English shouldn’t be used in school writing.

4.What’s the title for this passage?

   A. E-mail English on Computer.                   B. American E-mail English.

   C. The Forms of E-mail English.                   D. The Changing of English.

“I’ve been writing a book, John. Do you think anyone would be interested in   1   it?” said the old lady.

John took over the papers from her shaking hand and seated her in chair. He remembered her rich    2   in the early days of the Old West. He looked through the papers. “It’s good, Grandma,” he said gently. Then realizing that she    3   hear him, he shouted into her ears, “I think it’s very good. I’ll  4   it to a publisher (出版商).”

Ten days later, he reported that the publisher had had time to read only a few    5  . But he was so impressed (给...留下深刻的好印象) that he had sent $ 100 for an option（版权）. More money would be given as an advance (预付款). Every month John    6   $100 for her with a letter from the publisher telling about the progress of the book.

One morning, three months after her 100^th birthday, Grandma didn’t get up. The doctor told her that she couldn’t    7   more than a few days. She was ready to go, but she first wanted her book to be in print. John promised that she could get it very soon.

Grandma held on until the day the book came into her hands with the title and her name on the cover. Though she couldn’t see it, she could touch it. She proudly traced（找到）her name with her fingers(手指), tears(眼泪) in her eyes. Two hours later, she died peacefully,    8   holding her book.

Her granddaughter took up the book and opened it. “Why, it’s just blank pages!” she cried in    9  . John’s face turned    10  . Then the girl understood. There never was a book. Grandma couldn’t hear the little bell when the typewriter came to the middle of the line. She would keep on working, not knowing the whole sentences and sometimes the paragraphs were missing. John did not tell her, for he couldn’t take away her only hope. It was John himself who had written the letters and sold his car to pay the advance.

(   ) 1. A. buying     B. publishing      C. reading         D. lending

(   ) 2. A. sufferings     B. experiences     C. thoughts        D. family

(   ) 3. A. couldn’t    B. needn’t          C. mustn’t             D. doesn’t

(   ) 4. A. throw      B. put             C. send            D. lift

(   ) 5. A. words      B. sentences         C. pages            D. books

(   ) 6. A. brought        B. took              C. gave             D. carried

(   ) 7. A. die            B. stay             C. last               D. sleep

(   ) 8. A. still           B. yet              C. always         D. then

(   ) 9. A. anger          B. joy             C. surprise        D. tears

(   ) 10. A. white         B. red             C. gray             D. pale

Linda Evans was my best friend—like the sister I never had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding.

When I was 13, my family moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special time—like my wedding (婚礼) and Linda’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address (地址) Unknown. ” I had no idea how to find Linda.

Over the years, I missed Linda very much. I wanted to share (分享) happiness of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.

One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagman — Linda’s married name. “There must be thousands of Wagmans,” I thought, but J still wrote to her.

She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagman is my mother. ”

Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives. Now the empty place in my heart is filled. And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!

根据以上短文内容，然后从每题所给的四个选项中选择最佳选项。

1.The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans _______.

A. at the age of 13??????

B. before she got married

C. after they moved to new homes?????

D. before the writer’s family moved away

2.They didn’t often write to each other because they _______.

A. got married????????????? ?

B. had little time to do so

C. didn’t like writing letters?

D. could see each other on special time?????????????

3.The writer was happy when she _______.

A. read the newspaper?

B. heard Linda’s voice on the phone

C. met a young woman who looked a lot like Linda?

D. wrote to the woman whose last name was Wagman

4.They haven’t kept in touch _______.

A. for about 40 years?????????????

B. for about 27 years

C. since they got married?

D. since the writer’s family moved away

Reading is the key to school success and, like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. An excellent sportsman practices until he can play quickly, correctly and without thinking. Educators call it “automaticity (自动性)”.

A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and finding the meaning of the words. With practice, he stumbles less and less, reading by the phrase (短语). With automaticity, he doesn’t have to think about the meaning of words, so he can give all his attention to the meaning of the text.

It can begin as early as first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found that automatic readers in the first grade not only read almost three times as fast as the others, but also got better results in exams.

According to Rossman, the key to automaticity is the amount (数量) of time a child spends reading, not his IQ. Any child who spends at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will probably reach automaticity. It can happen if a child turns off TV just one night for reading at home.

You can test yourself by reading something new which is suitable (适合) for your level. If you read aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, you probably are an automatic reader. If you read brokenly, one word at a time, without expression or meaning, you need more practice.

1.“Reading is the key to school success” means that reading            .

A. helps school develop faster

B. is a key to a successful school

C. helps students go to a key school

D. can improve students’ learning results

2.Children with “automaticity” can read faster because they            .

A. know how to read the words

B. do not have to think while reading

C. read by themselves without any help

D. pay attention to the meaning of the text

3.Rossman tells that any child who             will possibly be an automatic reader.

A. turns off TV one night 4 weeks

   B. reads books by the word quickly

   C. spends an hour reading every day

   D. gets the same grades as others in exams

4.The underlined word “stumble” in the passage means “           ” in Chinese.

   A. 结结巴巴地读                       B. 全神贯注地读

   C. 心不在焉地读                       D. 声情并茂地读

5.The best title for the passage is “           ”.

   A. IQ Is the Key to the Automaticity

   B. TV Is Bad for Children’s Reading

   C. Automaticity Depends on Practice

   D. Automatic Reads Will Be Successful