The sign on the librarian’s desk read: “Readers Wanted for Project Read Aloud.” Sherene stared at it as the librarian stamped the book that she had selected for her weekly reading fare with a return by date.
“What is Project Read Aloud?” Sherene asked.
“Here’s the brochure about it. There’s a form inside to fill out if you want to become a reader. There is no pay, by the way,” the librarian said with a smile.
Sherene walked home. She loved living within walking distance of her town’s public library. She loved to sit in one of the overstuffed reading chairs in the reading room with the smell of books all around her and lose herself in a book. She had moved away after high school and had recently moved back. The library and fond memories of her childhood had drawn her back to this small town.
Once home, she sat down to read the brochure, which said, “Project Read Aloud seeks to provide the opportunity of hearing stories read aloud in a comfortable setting.” That is a fine goal, she thought.
Sherene filled out the form. She loved reading aloud. When she was a child, she read aloud to her teddy bear. Later, when she grew up and became a teacher, she read aloud to her students many times throughout the day. Since her retirement, she read aloud only to herself and Boots, her cat. It would feel so good to have a human audience once again to share stories with.
A couple of days later, Sherene sat in the now empty small theatre in the library, preparing the first story she was going to read. Soon, the audience began to wander in and find their seats. The theatre was half full in half an hour. Sherene stepped to the edge of the stage and introduced herself. She explained the origin of the story, opened the book and began to read. She wove the tale masterfully creating voices for the characters, pausing for emphasis, and taking the listeners into another world.
When Sherene read the last words of the story, there was a momentary silence as it all sank into the listeners and then a burst of enthusiastic applause. At that moment, understanding did grow in the town through the sharing of stories.
1. What can we learn about Sherene?| A．She used to be a teacher. | B．She lived far from the library. |
| C．She liked hearing stories read aloud. | D．She was involved in many social activities. |
| A．She wanted to make new friends. | B．The project’s goal suited her interest. |
| C．The project brought her extra income. | D．She needed to improve her reading ability. |
| A．Meaningful and humorous. | B．Novel and amusing. |
| C．Impressive and conventional. | D．Vivid and absorbing. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Speed-reading is a necessary skill in the Internet age. We skim over articles, e-mails and WeChat to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text. Surrounded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by word, line by line.
A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones.
Slow readers, such as the Atlantic’s Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to sympathize.
Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted, straight pattern, in a quiet environment free of distractions.
| A．The point is to sit down and exchange ideas about a certain book. |
| B．Yet technology has made us less attentive readers. |
| C．Aim for 30 minutes a day, advises Kelly from The Atlantic. |
| D．But a new trend calls on people to enjoy reading slowly. |
| E．They sink into comfortable chairs and read in silence for an hour. |
| F．The Internet provides us with many chances, says Patrick Kingsley from The Guardian. |
| G．It also helps people understand others’ mental states and beliefs. |
【推荐2】I was almost 10 years old the first time I remembered to move to a new house.
One of the things that troubled me most was that I had to leave in the middle of a book.Our fourth grade teacher, Mrs.Rice, was reading aloud to our fourth grade class from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie—a few pages each day.
I was a child in the fifties and sixties, long before the television series started Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, so I couldn't just pick up on the story on the black－and－white television in our new living room.
I must have told my teacher how sad I was to leave in the middle of Laura's story, which I'd grown to love.Mrs.Rice, in all her wisdom, told me she was sure the book would be waiting in the library in my new town.She said I should go there once we got settled, check it out and finish reading it.
The move was not among the easiest I've made in my lifetime.The new teacher was certainly no Mrs.Rice, and with a few fortunate exceptions, the new kids weren't like the friends I'd left behind.
My mother knew the comfort I'd found in books through the years—beginning with the first one I remember her reading to me, Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses.So, in her wisdom, she loaded my siblings and me in the car and took us to the Carnegie－style library in our new town.
Over the next five decades, I moved more than a half－dozen times, but one thing was constant in each community—the library was one place where I always felt at home and was never worried about what people thought of the “new kid”．
1. What does the author intend to tell readers in the passage？| A．Books are of great influence. |
| B．Mrs.Rice is a good teacher. |
| C．He is terribly tired of moving. |
| D．His family lives a life of unrest. |
| A．because he had to say good－bye to Mrs.Rice |
| B．because he lost contact with Laura Ingalls Wilder |
| C．because he couldn't finish the book he liked |
| D．because he had no chance to watch TV |
| A．Take Laura's story with him everywhere. |
| B．Laura's story isn't the best one in the world. |
| C．He'd better settle down in a local library. |
| D．Pay a visit to the local library as possible. |
| A．would find many such good teachers as Mrs.Rice |
| B．was able to get on well with his classmates |
| C．would make a great fortune in life |
| D．looked kind of blue to a certain extent |
This book based on Greg Hefley's own "diary" lets kids express themselves in an exciting way．In the book, kids will be asked: What was the best dream you have ever had? The worst thing you have ever eaten? The best secret you have ever heard? This Do-It-Yourself Book is unique and special because it has blank pages for readers to write their own stories and keep their own diaries．
Author: Jeff Kinney
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Train to Somewhere
Marianne, heading west with fourteen other children on a train, is sure her mother will show up at one of the stations along the way. Stop after stop goes by, and there is no sign of her mother in the crowds that come to look over the children. No one shows any interest in adopting shy Marianne, either. But that is all right. She has to be free for her mother to claim her. Then the train stopped at its final stop, a town called Somewhere...
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Chinese Children's Favorite Stories
This volume of beloved Chinese stories contains a delightful(令人愉快的) selection from the store of Chinese legend.(传奇) Discover many delightful animal characters as well as Chang’e and Guan Yin. Retold for an international audience, the stories with beautiful pictures will give children aged ix to ten in other countries a chance to learn about both the tradition and culture of China.
Author: Mingmei Yip
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The Way Science Works
The perfect introduction to show how science explains the world around us! Eye-opening experiments and extraordinary photography bring science to life．Discover science in action from the principles that explain everyday facts to the theories behind the technology in today's fast-moving world. Full of facts about famous scientists, technology news and more．
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1. Diary of a Do - It - Yourself Book is different from other books because you can .
| A．write your own stories in the book |
| B．have a chance to see beautiful photos |
| C．ask the author questions |
| D．read many interesting stories about the author |
| A．14. | B．13. | C．15. | D．16. |
| A．Jeff Kinney's． | B．Eve Bunting's． |
| C．Mingmei Yip's． | D．Robin Kerrod's. |
【推荐1】It was Monday. Mrs. Smith’s dog was hungry, but there was not any meat in the house. Considering that there was no better way. Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it：“Give my dog half a pound of meat.” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently：“Take this to the butcher(屠夫)and he’s going to give you your lunch today.”
Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher’s. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady’s handwriting and soon did it as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once.
At noon, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more.
The next day, the dog came again exactly at noon. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers(顾客).
But, the dog came again at four o’clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher’s more surprise, it came for the third time at six o’clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled. He said to himself, “This is a small dog. Why does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?”
Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it!
1. Mrs. Smith treated her little dog quite________.| A．cruelly | B．fairly | C．kindly | D．unfriendly |
| A．might do it much harm | B．could do it much good |
| C．would help the butcher | D．was worth many pounds |
| A．until he was paid enough by Mrs. Smith. |
| B．when he found that the words on the paper were not clear |
| C．because he had sold out all the meat in his shop |
| D．before he felt sure that the words were really written by Mrs. Smith |
| A．the dog was clever enough to write on the paper |
| B．the dog dared not go to the butcher’s any more |
| C．the butcher was told not to give any meat to the dog |
| D．the butcher found himself cheated by the clever animal |
【推荐2】It was our first evening dog-sitting while our teenage daughter Rochelle was on vacation for two weeks. Louie searched the entire house for his “mommy”. Then, that disappointed but determined puppy （小狗） developed a plan.
While my husband Paul and I were watching TV, we heard loud noises. Something heavy was being dragged down the stairs. I looked around and saw this six-month-old puppy laboriously dragging his large, hard-sided carrier down the stairs. The next moment saw him drag his possessions one by one, first his blanket, and then his bowl, bone, ball and sweater. The project took most of the evening but Louie showed no sign of tiredness at all.
After packing all the items into the carrier, he attempted to jump inside. Once inside, he got the zipper between his teeth and, with all the strength, he pulled the zipper closed. Then he lay down and went to sleep in it throughout the night. The message was abundantly clear. He wanted to go see his “mommy”. He had seen her pack her suitcase and go away for her vacation. He must do the same so he could find her. When I unzipped his carrier in the morning, Louie was excited, but his “mommy” was nowhere to be seen.
The puppy surprised us with new undertakings every day. His absolutely favorite activity was going for a car ride. The possibility of stopping at McDonald's was his consideration. But one day, my husband didn't stop at McDonald's. He left Louie in the car with the window slightly open while he went to a drugstore. Louie managed to jump out of the window. He walked two blocks and found Paul, walking around him as if saying, “Can we go to have fried chicken now?”
Louie is an old gray-haired dog now, but he is still up to his old, and new, tricks.
1. Why didn't Louie show any sign of tiredness?| A．He was eager to see Rochelle. | B．He could drag the carrier easily. |
| C．He wanted to delight Paul and me. | D．He enjoyed searching the house. |
| A．He did that as trained. | B．He used his strong teeth. |
| C．He followed his owner. | D．He employed all his strength. |
| A．He could play at McDonald's. |
| B．He could have his favorite food. |
| C．He could walk through the blocks freely. |
| D．He could accompany Paul to the drugstore. |
| A．Clever and well-trained. | B．Brave and proud. |
| C．Strong-minded and smart. | D．Faithful and quiet. |
【推荐3】My childhood was a painted picture of sunny sky and rolling green fields stretching to the horizon. It tasted of sharp berries and smelt of sour grapes. My family lived in a cabin (小木屋) in the countryside but I lived in my mother’s arms. They were so delicate but strong, her red hair falling around me like a curtain separating me from the world.
Childhood was simple. The borders of my village were the furthest my troubles went and monsters only lived in the pages of books. Every day was a waking dream of running races and muddy knees. My village was archaic, dying cabins housing dying farmers with dying traditions. There weren’t many children but me and the other boys; boys of butchers and sellers formed our own group.
They called us wild. I suppose we were. Trees and mountains formed our playgrounds and fights broke out as easily as sudden laughter. Free from the restrictions of society, we would run into the woods, deeper and deeper until we found a lake which, with a wild yell, we would jump into all at once.
My most vivid memories from boyhood center around that lake. Water shone brightly and the sounds of our screams broke into the outcry from birds. The shock of cold water against sweating skin would wake every nerve in my body and my bare feet would hit the sinking muddy bottom. As we submerged (淹没), time would stop, movements slowing as bubbles rose around us.
I was drowning. I was living. I was living. I was drowning.
For timelessness or a second (both felt the same), we would stop, curl up (蜷缩起来), and then be forced back out into breathing air.
We should have known that it wouldn’t last forever. Yet, even under the best circumstances, there’s something so tragic about growing up: to have your perspective (看法) on the people and life around you change; to always struggle to reach a mirror only to find yourself tall enough to see your reflection one day. And find, a different person staring back out at you.
1. What does the underlined word “archaic” mean in paragraph 2?| A．Borderless. | B．Valueless. | C．Old-fashioned. | D．Poor. |
| A．They played in the woods crazily. |
| B．They tricked others purposefully. |
| C．They frequently broke social rules. |
| D．They firmly refused school education. |
| A．By sharing feelings. |
| B．By expressing ideas. |
| C．By making comparisons. |
| D．By describing characters. |
| A．Loneliness and challenges make a man grow up. |
| B．The regret of growth is that you have never tried. |
| C．Growth is often accompanied by sad goodbyes to the past. |
| D．Growth begins when we begin to accept our own weakness. |
【推荐1】A man sat at a subway station in Washington D. C. and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him. They stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet their schedule.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother followed him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded (鼓掌), nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most gifted musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most beautiful pieces ever written, on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell’s playing in the subway station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment.
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
1. Why did few people stop to listen to Joshua Bell playing?| A．They were busy. | B．It was too cold in the subway. |
| C．They were not interested in music. | D．The performance was not good enough. |
| A．They would give him some money. | B．They would stop to enjoy the music. |
| C．They would applaud for the performance. | D．They would ask them to continue walking. |
| A．To make more money. |
| B．To practise his skills in playing music. |
| C．To make an advertisement for his concert. |
| D．To find out people’s reaction under such a condition. |
| A．To show us how to play music. | B．To set us to think about our life. |
| C．To report a subway performance. | D．To tell us the importance of music. |
【推荐2】In 2004, Moe Hunter was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis (细菌性脑膜炎) in the brain. He went into a coma (昏迷) for over a month, during which his heart even stopped. He awoke from brain surgery with no memory, but instead, a new set of art skills.
“I woke up on Oct. 13, 2004. I don’t remember anything before 2004—everything has been said to me by family and friends,” Hunter, 38, said. “I really wasn’t creative before, in fact, people used to laugh at my drawings,” he said. “I was more interested in going out, football and computer games.”
His friends and family still can’t believe his newfound ability, describing it as “crazy.” “They’re still completely astonished,” he said. “It’s insane, but when I spoke to the doctor, he just said, ‘Enjoy it,’ and said there’s so much about the brain they still can’t understand, and this is just a phenomenon.”
Hunter has sold and displayed his artwork at Comic Con events across the country. He builds complex life-size model of characters from films and TV shows.
“Nobody has really given a medical explanation for it. I just know comas can do crazy things to a human brain. They just kind of said there are many stories and theories over the years and people have woken from comas with skills and even speaking other languages,” Hunter said.
“I remember the first thing I drew afterwards was a Legend of Zelda sketch and my mum turned around to me and said ‘when did you learn how to draw?’ It was crazy, I haven’t stopped since then. I just found I had this passion there which never existed in me before. I just feel incredibly lucky but also shocked as I really don’t know where this came from.”
1. What sort of person was Moe Hunter before 2004?| A．Weak. | B．Outgoing. | C．Creative. | D．Forgetful. |
| A．It’s a normal phenomenon. | B．He had a complex surgery. |
| C．It remains a mystery. | D．He learned it secretly. |
| A．Continue seeing the doctor. | B．Give up his drawing ability. |
| C．Find out why he could draw. | D．Enjoy and keep on drawing. |
| A．Mysterious Artworks. | B．Skills from a Coma. |
| C．A Strange Disease. | D．A Crazy Man. |
【推荐3】Two weeks ago, I took a trip to my friend’s house in Serawai in Indonesia. My trip was full of unforgettable moments --- great people, delicious food, new cultures. However, what left a deep impression on me was meeting up with my friend’s dad, Fx. Ngawan. He is now working as an education supervisor (教育主管) in Sintang Regency.
At our first meeting, he looked like an ordinary man with dark skin. As he mentioned that he used to be an English teacher, we discovered we were a match! I am an English teacher myself. More importantly, he is a language lover. During the talk, he often changed from one language to another such as Indonesian, English and Javanese. He is now fluent in at least 15 languages and most of them are local languages.
He has to go all the way from Serawai sub-district (分区) to Sintang Regency by motorcycle, riding about 170 km to work. The trip can take six hours if the day is bright and sunny. However, it is not uncommon for him to spend three to seven days for the journey if the rainy season comes.
Therefore, he has to stop at some villages if he can’t continue the trip and meet up with people speaking so many different languages along the way. So, whenever he stops in a particular (特别的，独有的) village, he leans a different language. For him, learning languages helps him to connect with people.
In our talk, he said learning languages is important. He hopes that the younger generation in Indonesia starts realizing that language can open the door to so many opportunities. Local languages are on the edge of disappearance (消失，不见) because more people are leaving them behind. When people stop speaking the language, the knowledge and culture from that language will also disappear.
1. What was the author’s trip to his friend’s house like?| A．Hopeful. | B．Moving. | C．Creative. | D．Wonderful. |
| A．Being interested in different cultures. | B．Being fluent in several languages. |
| C．Being a language lover. | D．Being an English teacher. |
| A．He learns different cultures. | B．He learns some languages. |
| C．He makes many friends. | D．He does much exercise. |
| A．The importance of languages. | B．The different local languages. |
| C．The cultures language carries. | D．The young’s attitude to languages. |
