I grew up in a house where the TV was seldom turned on and with one wall in my bedroom entirely lined with bookshelves, most of my childhood was spent on books I could get hold of. In fact, I grew up thinking of reading as natural as breathing and books unbelievably powerful in shaping perspectives (觀點) by creating worlds we could step into, take part in and live in.

With this unshakable belief, I, at fourteen, decided to become a writer. Here too, reading became useful. Every writer starts off knowing that he has something to say, but being unable to find the right ways to say it. He has to find his own voice by reading widely and discovering which parts of the writers he agrees or disagrees with, or agrees with so strongly that it reshapes his own world. He cannot write without loving to read, because only through reading other people’s writing can one discover what works, what doesn’t and, in the end, together with lots of practice, what voice he has.

Now I am in college, and have come to realize how important it is to read fiction (文學(xué)作品)．As a. law student, my reading is in fact limited to subject matter—the volume (量) of what I have to read for classes every week means there is little time to read anything else. Such reading made it all the clearer to me that I live in a very small part in this great place called life. Reading fiction reminds me that there is life beyond my own. It allows me to travel across the high seas and along the Silk Road, all from the comfort of my own armchair, to experience, though secondhand, exciting experiences that I wouldn't necessarily be able to have in my lifetime.

What can be inferred about the author as a child?

A.  He never watched TV.

B.  He read what he had to.

C.  He found reading unbelievable.

D.  He considered reading part of his life.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

The underlined word "voice" in the second paragraph most probably means “       ”.

A.  an idea     

B.  a sound quality

C.  a way of writing

D.  a  world to write about

What effect does reading have on the author?

A.  It helps him to realize his dream.

B.  It opens up a wider world for him.

C.  It makes his college life more interesting.

D.  It increases his interest in worldwide travel.

Which of the following can be the best title of this text?

A.  Why do I read?

B.  How do I read?

C.  What do I read? 

D.  When do I read?

It was my sister      first had the idea to cycle along the entire Mekong River from ______ it began to where it ends.

A. who; which              B. who; where              C. that; which        D. that; what

Just like a voyage at sea, our life journey, _____days are limited, is full of difficulties.

   A. its    B. whose     C. which    D. that

—Haven’t we met before?

—_______.

—But your face seems familiar to me.

A. No way                               B. I’m afraid so

C. It’s up to you                           D. I don’t think so

We all consider ______ important that we should put theory into practice.

A. that            B. which          C. this                D. it

Many crimes are committed by some bad people， an example of which is fraud， a crime 　　　　 money is stolen by cheating others．

       A．which       B．that       C．whose     D．where

Cathy went to the hospital alone. If she had told me about it, I       with her.

       A．had gone  B．would have gone     C．would go  D．went

So long as teachers fail to distinguish（區(qū)別, 辨認(rèn)） between teaching and learning, they will continue to undertake to do for children that which only children can do for themselves. Teaching children to read is not passing reading on to them. It is certainly not endless hours spent in activities about reading．Douglas insists that “reading cannot be taught directly and schools should stop trying to do the impossible”.

　  Teaching and learning are two entirely different processes. They differ in kind and function. The function of teaching is to create the conditions and the climate that will make it possible for children to devise the most efficient system for teaching themselves to read. Teaching is also public activity. It can be seen and observed.

　  Learning to read involves all that each individual does to make sense of the world of printed language. Almost all of it is private, for learning is an occupation of the mind, and that process is not open to public observation.

　  If teacher and learner roles are not interchangeable, what then can be done through teaching that will aid the child in the quest（探索）for knowledge? Smith has one principal rule for all teaching instructions. “Make learning to read easy, which means making reading a meaningful, enjoyable and frequent experience for children.”

When the roles of teacher and learner are seen for what they are, and when both teacher and learner fulfill them properly, then much of the pressure and feeling of failure for both is eliminated(除去, 剔除). Learning to read is made easier when teachers create an environment where children are given the opportunity to solve the problem of leaning to read by reading.

The problem with the reading course as mentioned in the first paragraph is that ______.

       A．it is one of the most difficult school courses　     

       B．students spend endless hours in reading

       C．reading tasks are assigned with little guidance　

       D．too much time is spent in teaching about reading

The teaching of reading will be successful if ______.

　　A．teachers can improve conditions at school for the students

　　B．teachers can enable students to develop their own way of reading

　　C．teachers can devise the most efficient system for reading

　　D．teachers can make their teaching activities observable

According to the passage, learning to read will no longer be a difficult task when ______.

       A．children become highly motivated　　        

       B．teacher and learner roles are interchangeable

       C．teaching helps children in the search for knowledge　

       D．reading enriches children’s experience

The main idea of the passage is that ______.

　　A．teachers should do as little as possible in helping students learn to read

　　B．teachers should encourage students to read as widely as possible

　　C．reading ability is something acquired rather than taught

D．reading is more complicated than generally believed

Today we begin a series of programs about learning disabilities．These are disorders in the ways that people understand or use language．They can affect the ability to listen or think, or to speak or to read and write．They can also affect the ability to do mathematics．Researchers believe that learning disabilities are caused by differences in the way that the brain works with information． They say children with learning disabilities are not unintelligent or do not want to work．Researchers say that as many as one out of every five people in the United States has some  kind of learning disability．Almost three-million children in the United States receive some kind of help in school for a learning disability．

experts look for a difference between how well a child does in school and the level of intelligence or ability of the child．But there is no one sign of a disorder．A few signs of learning disability include not connecting letters with their sounds or not understanding what is read．A person with a learning disability may not be able to understand a funny story．They may not follow directions．They may not read numbers correctly or know how to start a task．One person may have trouble understanding mathematics．Another may have difficulty understanding what people are saying．Still another may not be able to express ideas in writing．These different kinds of learning disabilities are known by different names．For example，a person who has difficulty reading may have dyslexia(誦讀困難癥)．

Experts say learning disabilities cannot be cured．Teachers and parents can help young people with learning disabilities to learn successfully．

A．Different people have different kinds of learning disabilities．

B．Their brains just process information differently than other people．

C．People with learning disabilities have difficulty in communicating with others

D．But people who have them can be helped．

E．Why does a person have a learning disability.

F．A person with a learning disability has unusual difficulty in developing these skills．

G．How can you tell if someone has a learning disability?

面對現(xiàn)實生活的各種壓力，保持一個良好的心態(tài)非常重要。請你以The importance of keeping a good mood為題，寫一篇100字左右的英語文章，發(fā)表自己的看法，以及支持你的看法的原因（至少兩個）