This brief book is aimed at high school shjeents , but speaks to anyone learning at any stage of life.
Its formal ,serious style closely matches its content ,a school-masterly bonnk on schooling .The author , W .H . Armstrong ,starts with the basics : reading and writing . In his opinion , reading doesn’t just mean recognizing each word on the page ; it means taking a sandwich and makes it a part of himself .The goal is to bring the information back to life , not just to treat it as dead facts on paper from dead trees . Reading and writing cannot be completely separated from each other ; in fact ,the aim of reading is to express the information you have got from the text .I’ve seen it again and again ：some-one who can’t express an idea after reading a text is just as ineffective as someone who hasn’t read it at all.
Only a  thied of the bonk remains after that discussion ,which Armstrong devotes to specific tips for studying languages ,math , science and history . He generally handles these topics thoroughly(透彻地) and equally ,except for some weakness in the science and math sections and a bit too much passion(激情) regarding history to his students , that was a  hundred times more than my history teachers ever got across .to my disappointment , in this part of the book he ignores the arts .As a matter of fact ,they demand all the concentration and study that math and science do,though the study differs slightly in kind .Although it’s commonly believed that the arts can only be naturally acquired ,actually ,learning the arts is no more natural than learning French or mathematics.
My other comment is that the text aged. The first edition apparently dates to the 1960s---none of the references(参考文献)seem newer than the late 1950s. As a  result, the discussion misses the entire computer age.
These are small points, though, and don’t affect the main discussion. I recommend it to any student and any teacher, including the self-taught student.
63. According to Armstrong, the goal of reading is to________.
A. gain knowledge and expand one’s view
B. understand the meaning between the lines
C. experts ideas based on what one has read
D. get information and keep it alive in memory
64. The author of the passage insists that learning the arts_________.
A. requires great efforts
B. demands real passion
C. is less natural than learning maths
D. is as natural as learning a language
65.  What is a shortcoming of Armstrong’s work according to the author?
A. Some ideas are slightly contradictory.
B. There is too much discussion on studying science.
C. The style is too serious.
D. It lacks new information.
66. This passage can be classified as________.
A. an advertisement
B. a book review
C. a feature story
D. A news report

B
　　Although man has known asbestos for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H. W. Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for he opening of that first mine.
　　Mr. Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy. He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands. How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all. You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials. However, because it was very expensive to transport them from Italy to the United States, Mr. Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein in the province of Quebec in Canada.
　　Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen. When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be. When it is separated, a strange thing happens; the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibers .
　　Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads,but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”.
　60. Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?
　   A. Asbestos mined in Canada                  B. Fireproof matter
C. A “wonder” mineral                           D. A new roofing material
　61. Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______.
　   A. going into roofing business              
B. carrying asbestos from Italy
　   C. sending a trained scientist                 
D. showing the use of asbestos gloves
　62. Which is the most important character of asbestos that the author wants to show us?
　   A. It is like thread.                               B. It feels soapy.
C. It burns easily.                                 D. It is unusually heavy.
　63. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______.
　   A. show the need for more scientists
　   B. compare asbestos with other minerals
　   C. increase the sales of asbestos
　   D. present facts about asbestos

         Modcm inventions have speeded up people’s lives amazingly. Motor-cars cover a bundred miles in little more than an hour. Aireraft cross the world a day, while computers operate at lightning speed. Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending. Every ycar motor-cars are produced which go even faster each new computer boasts（吹嘘）of saving preeious seconds in handling tasks.

         All this saves timc, but at a prick.When we lose or gain half a day in speeding aeross the world in an airplane, our bodies tell us so. We get the uncomfoerable feeling known as jet-lag; our bodies feel tlru they have been left bebind in anot ar nine zoors Again pending too long at compulers resul’s in painti ninrts and fingers. Mobile phones also to dange according to some seientists; too much uss may thesmit h bul radiation into our brains, a we do not like to think about.

         Howave, what do we do with the time we have saved?Certainly not or so it seems. We are so accustomed to constant activity that we find it difficult to sit and do nothing, or even just one thing at a time. Pcrhaps the days are long gone when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imavination take us into another world.

         There was a time when some people’s lives were devotcd simply to the cultivation of the land or the eare of eattle. No multi-tasking there; their lives wenl on at a much gentler pace, and in a familiar pattern. There is much that we might envy about a way of life like this. Yet before we do so ,we must think of the hard tasks our ancestors faeed;:they farmed with bare hands, often lived close to hunger, and had to fashion tools from wood and stone. Modem machinery has freed peope fre that primitive existcnee.

1.The new rooucts opcome more and more time-saving beeause_________.

         A.our love of speed secure never-ending

         B.time is limited

         C.theprices are increasingly high

         D.the manufacturers boast a lot

2.What does“the days”in Paragraph 3 refer to?

         A.I maginary life               B.Simple life in the past

         C.Times of inventions           D.Time for constant activity

3.What is the author’s attitude towards the modem teehnology?

         A.Critical            B.Objective        C.Optimistic            D.Negative

4.What does the pa mge mainly diseuss?

         A.The present and past times             B.Machinary and human beings

         C.Imaginations and inventions            D.Modem technology and its influenec

       Modcm inventions have speeded up people’s lives amazingly. Motor-cars cover a bundred miles in little more than an hour. Aireraft cross the world a day, while computers operate at lightning speed. Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending. Every ycar motor-cars are produced which go even faster each new computer boasts（吹嘘）of saving preeious seconds in handling tasks.

       All this saves timc, but at a prick.When we lose or gain half a day in speeding aeross the world in an airplane, our bodies tell us so. We get the uncomfoerable feeling known as jet-lag; our bodies feel tlru they have been left bebind in anot ar nine zoors Again pending too long at compulers resul’s in painti ninrts and fingers. Mobile phones also to dange according to some seientists; too much uss may thesmit h bul radiation into our brains, a we do not like to think about.

       Howave, what do we do with the time we have saved?Certainly not or so it seems. We are so accustomed to constant activity that we find it difficult to sit and do nothing, or even just one thing at a time. Pcrhaps the days are long gone when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imavination take us into another world.

       There was a time when some people’s lives were devotcd simply to the cultivation of the land or the eare of eattle. No multi-tasking there; their lives wenl on at a much gentler pace, and in a familiar pattern. There is much that we might envy about a way of life like this. Yet before we do so ,we must think of the hard tasks our ancestors faeed;:they farmed with bare hands, often lived close to hunger, and had to fashion tools from wood and stone. Modem machinery has freed peope fre that primitive existcnee.

1.The new rooucts opcome more and more time-saving beeause_________.

       A.our love of speed secure never-ending

       B.time is limited

       C.theprices are increasingly high

       D.the manufacturers boast a lot

2.What does“the days”in Paragraph 3 refer to?

       A.I maginary life               B.Simple life in the past

       C.Times of inventions           D.Time for constant activity

3.What is the author’s attitude towards the modem teehnology?

       A.Critical            B.Objective        C.Optimistic            D.Negative

4.What does the pa mge mainly diseuss?

       A.The present and past times             B.Machinary and human beings

       C.Imaginations and inventions            D.Modem technology and its influenec

Anais Nin was a famous writer. Nin was born French-Cuban but lived in the United States in her later years of life till she died. Nin’s works had her relationships with authors，artists，and other figures as the main subject. Some of her writings were made into films. Nin was also a visiting lecturer in several colleges and promoted Women's Movement with her strong writings.

Anais Nin was born in France in 1903. Her father was a Spanish artist and a composer living in Cuba（古巴）where he met her mother, a French singer working in Cuba. As a child Nin was brought up in Spain. When her parents separated, Nin and her two brothers moved to New York with their mother. At the age of 16 Nin decided to give up studying and started to work as a dancer and model to reduce the financial burden on her mother so that her brothers could go on with their studies.

In 1923 Nin got married to her husband，Hugh Parker Guiler in Cuba. In 1924 Nin and Hugh moved to Paris where Hugh continued with his banking career and Nin started writing. Nin wrote her first book in print, D. H. Lawrence：An Unprofessional Study in 16 days. In 1939 Nin left Paris as it was a French government's request to its residents to leave Paris because of the coming war. Nin returned to New York with Hugh and sent her written books to Frances Steloff of the Gotham Book Mart in New York for safekeeping.

In 1931 Nin wrote her book Henry and June from the Unexpurgated Diary of Anais Nin. In 1936 Nin published House of Incest which was a 72-page fiction novel.

Nin also appeared and was a part of various films. In 1973 Anais Nin was awarded an honorary doctorate（荣誉博士学位）by the Philadelphia College of Art. In 1974 Nin was elected to the United States National Institute of Arts and Letters.

In 1977 Nin died in her Los Angeles home after battling with cancer for three years.

1.What information can we get from Paragraph one?

A．Anais Nin was a native American.

B．Anais Nin started Women's Movement.

C．Anais Nin gave lectures in several colleges.

D．Anais Nin wrote mainly about her family life.

2.Why did Nin and her husband move back to New York in 1939?

A．Because they expected to enter the film industry.

B．Because the couple wanted to stay away from the coming war.

C．Because they intended to have her books published.

D．Because they both meant to promote the sales of new books.

3.We can infer from the passage that＿．

A．Nin got married in 1923 and started writing a year later

B．Nin wrote her book Henry and June from the Unexpurgated Diary of Anais Nin after she moved to America

C．Nin directed and played in various films

D．Anais Nin was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Philadelphia College of Science