When you are curious about something and want to know more about it, you can use the way of asking questions. Asking questions is the first step to make discoveries and find interesting answers. The following steps can guide you during the research.

Step 1 Write down the subject that you are interested in on a piece of paper. Just get the main idea down. For example, you might write:

Discover more about robots.

Step 2 Stop and think for a moment about what you have already known about your subject. List what you have already known like the sentences below:

1. The first robot appeared in the USA in 1959.

2. A robot can do housework and act as a teacher.

3. Sometimes a robot catches viruses and causes a lot of problems.

Step 3 What can you do with what you want to learn? By asking questions, start writing down questions about the robots on the paper:

1. What might robots be like in the future?

2. What other things can robots do for people?

3. What kind of power will robots possibly use in five years?

Step 4 Armed with your list of questions, you can now go to the nearest library or computer to begin your research. As you learn more about your subject, you'll probably discover some new questions.

For example, you might discover that robots can help scientists explore dangerous places, like the sea and outer space. How? What happened? Asking new questions can help you research your subject more widely.

The next time you find something interesting to research, take time to organize your thinking by asking good questions. And remember that learning more always brings more questions.

1.What does the writer advise us to do when we’re curious about something?

   A. To read more books about it.      B. To look it up in the dictionary.

   C. To turn to the teacher for help.  D. To raise questions and find the answers.

2.What does the underlined part “Armed with your list of questions” mean?

A. Writing down your list of questions. B. Discussing your questions with others.

C. Taking your list of questions with you.                D. Putting your list of questions under your arm.

3. What might be the correct order of the steps when you do research?

① List what you want to learn.         ② Find new problems.

③ List what you’ve already known.      ④ Choose a research subject.

A. ④③①②           B. ④①③②       C. ②③④①       D. ③②①④

4. What might be the best title for this passage?

A. Doing Research on Robots           B. Asking Good Questions While Doing Research

C. Having Interesting Answers on Robots  D. Finding Subjects before Doing Research

Vanilla is my best friend. She is a lovely girl with two big, beautiful eyes. But she always hides them behind a pair of black glasses.
One day, though, I nearly ended our friendship. I remember that day clearly. We were sitting in class. The teacher was giving us our results for a Chinese test. I had done badly. I felt so sad that I wouldn’t talk to anyone. At lunchtime, I even stayed in the classroom alone. Suddenly, I heard a voice. It was Vanilla. “You look very unhappy,” she said. “What’s wrong?” I looked up at her, but said nothing. I knew Vanilla had got a good mark in the test. I thought she was making fun of me. I stayed silent (安静), but Vanilla didn’t go away. She kept asking me questions: “Is it because of the exam? Do you want me to show you the right answers?” I looked away from her. When I looked up again, Vanilla had gone. And so had my exam paper! I didn’t know what to do. I looked everywhere for my paper, but couldn’t find it.
In the afternoon, Vanilla came up to my desk and gave me my exam paper back. I looked at it and got a big surprise. Vanilla had written the right answer next to every one of my mistakes（错误）. My face went red. Vanilla had been trying to help me all along. How mean (卑劣的) I had been to her when she was being so nice. I wanted to hug her, but all I did was to hold her hands and said, “Thank you.” That afternoon, Vanilla and I walked home together. I felt so happy that I had to thank her again. We were still best friends.
(    ) 6. The sentences “ But she always hides them behind a pair of black glasses.” Really means _________.
A. she doesn’t want others to see her eyes
B. there is something wrong with her eyes
C. she likes to wear dark glasses          
D. she is often shy
(    ) 7. The writer felt sad because ________ in the Chinese test.
A. she got a good mark                 B. Vanilla had done better than her
C. she didn’t have a good mark          D. the teacher was angry with her
(    ) 8. Vanilla really came to the writer to _______.
A. make fun of her                     B. help her
C. find out what had happened to her       D. show her the right answers
(    ) 9. Vanilla left the writer because she __________.
A. wanted to write the right answers for the writer
B. didn’t know what to do to help her friend
C. was angry with the writer
D. wanted to go home for lunch
(    )10. Which of the following phrases has the same meaning as “make fun of”?
A. Saying “hello” to.                  B. Seeing me off.
C. Looking after.                      D. Laughing at.

In learning English, one should first pay attention to listening and speaking. It is the groundwork (基础) of reading and writing. You’d better     your best to speak while you do much listening. Don’t be       of making mistakes. But be careful not to let them stop (阻止) you from improving your       . While you are doing this, a good        is to write or keep a diary, write notes or letters. Then if you can, ask some others to go through (浏览)        you have written and tell you where it is wrong. Many mistakes in your speaking will be         found when you write. Through correcting mistakes, you can do better in learning English.

If you are slow in speaking, don’t        about it. One of the helpful ways is reading, either aloud or to yourself. The important thing is to choose       interesting to read. It mustn’t be too difficult for you. When you are reading        this way, don’t stop to        the new words if you can guess their meanings when they have nothing to do with the sentences. You can do that some other time.

1.A. have          B. send         C. make           D. try

2.A. sure          B. proud        C. afraid           D. tired

3.A. English       B. Chinese       C. Japanese        D. French

4.A. start          B. idea          C. time           D. way

5.A. how          B. when         C. what           D. why

6.A. happily       B. easily         C. really          D. slowly

7.A. talk          B. fear          C. worry          D. hurry

8.A. something     B. everything    C. anything        D. nothing

9.A. by           B. on           C. at              D. in

10.A. look        B. look for       C. look up         D. look over

In learning English，one should first pay attention to listening and speaking．It is the groundwork of reading and writing．You’d better  31  your best to speak while you do much listening．Don’t be  32  of making mistakes．But be careful not to let them stop you from improving your  33 ．While you are doing this，a good  34  is to write-keep a diary，write notes or letters．Then if you can，ask some others to go through  35  you have written and tell you where it is wrong．Many mistakes in your speaking will be  36  found when you write．Through correcting mistakes，you can do better in learning English．

If you are slow in speaking，don’t  37  about it．One of the helpful ways is reading，either aloud or to yourself．The important thing is to choose  38  interesting to read． It mustn’t be too difficult for you．When you are reading  39  this way，don’t stop to  40  the new words if you can guess their meanings when they have nothing to do with the sentences．You can do that some other time．

31．A．have         B．send         C．make          D．try

32．A．sure         B．afraid       C．proud         D．tired

33．A．English      B．Chinese      C．Japanese      D．French

34．A．start        B．idea         C．way           D．manner

35．A．how          B．when         C．why           D．what

36．A．happily      B．easily       C．really        D．slowly

37．A．talk         B．fear         C．worry         D．hurry

38．A．something    B．everything   C．anything      D．nothing

39．A．by           B．on           C．at            D．in

40．A．look at      B．look for     C．look up       D．look over