【推荐1】There is distinction between reading for information and reading for understanding.     1    

The first sense is the one in which we read newspapers, magazines, or anything else.     2    Such materials may increase our store of information, but they cannot improve our understanding. And clearly we don’t have any difficulty in gaining the new information, for our understanding was equal to them before we started. Otherwise, we would have felt the shock of puzzlement.

The second sense is the one in which we read something that at first we do not completely understand. Here the thing to be read is at the first sight better or higher than the reader. The writer is communicating something that can increase the reader’s understanding.     3    Otherwise one person could never learn from another. Here “learning” means understanding more, not remembering more information.

What are the conditions in this kind of reading? First, there is inequality in understanding.     4       Besides, his book must convey something he possesses and his potential readers lack. Second, the reader must be able to overcome this inequality in some degree. And he should always try to reach the same level of understanding with the writer. If the equality is approached, success of communication is achieved.

    5    It is the least demanding and requires the least amount of effort. Everyone who knows how to read can read for entertainment if he wants to. In fact, any book that can be read for understanding or information can probably be read for entertainment as well.

A．Thus, we can employ the word “reading” in two distinct senses.

B．Such communication between unequals must be possible.

C．We can get access to the content of those materials easily.

D．The writer must be “superior” to the reader in understanding.

E．The writer should have a better communicating skill.

F．Besides gaining information and understanding, there’s another goal of reading—entertainment.

G．Reading for entertainment is capable of increasing our understanding for information.

【推荐2】Ways to increase your reading speed

In a world overflowing with information, the ability to read quickly and effectively is a valuable skill. Increasing your reading speed is a journey that combines technique, practice, and a patient mindset.     1    

Active reading

Active reading involves engaging with the material rather than passively absorbing words. Techniques such as underlining key phrases, taking brief notes and asking questions about the content can significantly enhance your reading speed.     2     That ultimately leading to a quicker reading pace.

Expand your peripheral (周边的) vision

A substantial portion of reading involves the movement of your eyes across lines of text. By expanding your peripheral vision, you can take in more words with each glance.     3     This adjustment can lead to a significant increase in reading speed while maintaining comprehension.

Minimise subvocalisation (默读)

Subvocalisation, or the habit of pronouncing each word in your head as you read, can be a major barrier to reading speed.     4     To break the subvocalisation habit, try reading passages where the content is presented visually, such as in graphs or charts. This exercise encourages your brain to process information without relying on the inner voice, gradually reducing the need for subvocalisation.

    5    

Like any skill, increasing your reading speed requires consistent practice. Set aside devoted time each day for focused reading practice. Gradually increase the complexity and length of the material, challenging your brain to read faster while maintaining comprehension. This intentional and varied practice is key to improving your newfound speed-reading skills.

A．Practice regularly

B．Concentrate on reading

C．By following the strategies, you’ll be looking through texts in no time.

D．These actions force your brain to stay focused and process information more efficiently.

E．Gradually, your eyes will become better at capturing information in a wider field of vision.

F．Despite a natural part of early reading development, it can block progress of reading faster.

G．Practice widening your focus to capture groups of words rather than focusing on one word at a time.

【推荐3】In recent years, little free libraries of all shapes and sizes have popped up. Often built by community members, they could be found on street corners and the sidewalks across the United States, hoping to share their book collections with their neighbors. Minneapolis, Minnesota, even hosted the first Little Free Library Festival, where book fans came together to promote literacy (读写能力)in their communities.

For the most part, little free libraries have more in common with book sharing shelves in hotels, local parks, coffee shops and other public spaces than the traditional public library. Based on the rule of "take a book, leave a book," these little libraries can take many forms from birdhouse-like wooden structures to redesigned newspaper selling machines, Robert Wirsing writes for the Bronx Times.

The little free library organization began when a citizen of Hudson, Wisconsin, named Todd Bol built a little one-room schoolhouse, filled it with books and placed it in his front yard to honor his mother who passed away in 2009. Together with a local educator named Rick Brooks, the two began placing little free libraries across Wisconsin and sharing the idea with people across the country.

"Something we are eager for in this information age is that connection between people," Bol tells Margret Aldrich for Book Riot. "I want to show how Little Free Library is about readers inspiring readers. It goes on and on."

While Little Free Libraries seem like a harmless means to promote literacy by sharing books with neighbors, a few of the roadside landing libraries have caused minor legal problems. officials in Los Angeles and Shreveport, Louisiana, have told some citizens that their homemade libraries broke city roles and that they would have to remove them to avoid being fined.

Still, little free libraries have been well accepted by their commnunities. For anyone interested in making their own at home, the organization has posted helpful tips and guides for building the little book lending boxes in their neighborhoods.

1. What can we know about the little free libraries in America?

A．They are state-owned.

B．They are popular nationally.

C．They are set up to sell books.

D．They help those with no books to read.

2. What is a common character of little free libraries?

A．They lie in many public places.

B．They share a large collection of books.

C．They compete with traditional public libraries.

D．They exist mainly in the form of wooden houses.

3. What is Todd Bol's primary aim of building a library?

A．To remember his dead mother.

B．To help people form a habit of reading.

C．To set an example to other communities.

D．To share his knowledge, with other citizens.

4. What does Todd Bol think of the little free libraries?

A．They cause minor legal problems.

B．They should continue to exist.

C．They mean a lot to community members.

D．They should be supported by the government.

【推荐1】Jane Austen is loved mainly as a charming guide to fashionable life in the Regency period (英国摄政时期). She is admired for describing a world of elegant houses, dances, servants and fashionable young men driving barouches (四轮四座大马车). But her own vision of her task was completely different. She was an ambitious and strict moralist. She was highly conscious of human failings and she had a deep desire to make people nicer: less selfish, more reasonable and more sensitive to the needs of others.

In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bonnet start off heartily disliking each other and then, gradually realize they are in love. They make one of the great romantic couples. He is handsome, rich and well connected; she is pretty, smart and lively. But why actually are they right for one another?

Jane Austen is very clear. It’s for a reason we tend not to think of very much today: It is because each can educate and improve the other. When Mr. Darcy arrives in the neighborhood, he feels “superior” to everyone else, because he has more money and higher status. At a key moment, Elizabeth condemns his arrogance (自大) and pride to his face. It sounds offensive in the extreme, but later he admits that this was just what he needed.

Mostly, we tend to think of love as liking someone for who they already are, and of total acceptance. But the person who is right for us, Austen is saying, is not simply someone who makes us feel relaxed or comfortable; they got to be able to help us overcome our failings and become more mature, more honest and kinder—and we need to do something similar for them.

1. What do we know about Jane Austen from paragraph 1?

A．She lived a fashionable life.	B．She wrote about the life of the rich.
C．She knew exactly human virtues.	D．She was nicer to less selfish people.

2. What can we learn about Mr. Darcy from the text?

A．He dislikes Elizabeth from the beginning to the end.

B．He is handsome, rich and rather modest.

C．He is kind to everyone in the neighborhood.

D．He needs Elizabeth to point out his shortcomings.

3. Which person is right for you according to Jane Austen?

A．A person that you like for who he or she is.

B．A person with whom you feel really relaxed.

C．A person making you become a better man or woman.

D．A person who does something similar to you.

4. What message does the book Pride and Prejudice convey?

A．Improve yourself with your lover’s help.

B．Accept the people you love totally.

C．Earn much money to make people love you.

D．Find your true love with pride and prejudice.

【推荐2】My favourite book is The Adventure of Tom Sauyer by Mark Twain. Tom lives with his aunt Polly in a quiet street of St. Petersburg, Missouri. He’s a lively and clever young boy, and he finds himself in many exciting adventures. He runs away with his two friends, Huck Finn and Joe, to an island in the middle of the Mississippi River for several days. With Huck he goes looking for treasure, with Becky he gets lost in a cave. And finally, they find a box of gold.

My favourite scene in the book is when everyone thinks Tom is dead. He decides to go to his own funeral(葬礼). He hides and watches for a time and then suddenly he appears. Everyone is surprised to see him but they’re also pleased to see him alive.

Tom is the hero of the story, but there are other important characters. Huck is an outsider and everyone is afraid of him. Becky is pretty with fair hair, Joe is Tom’s best friend. And Injun Joe is the bad man of the story.

The theme of the story is about children growing up. It describes how strangers are seen in small towns of America. Finally, it talks about freedom, social rules and how people are punished for bad behaviour.

Why do I think The Adventure of Tom Sawyer is a great book? Mark Twain wrote the story in 1876, but it’s still read and loved by people all over the world today. And although it’s only a story, Twain wrote it in the everyday English of the southern states of America in the 19th century, so it sounds very real. Today its thought to be one of the greatest books in American literature. Go on-read it! I know you’ll enjoy it, too.

1. Where does Tom run away with his two friends?

A．To a quiet street.

B．To a small town.

C．To an island.

D．To a forest.

2. Who is the best friend of Tom in the story?

A．Huck Finn.

B．Joe.

C．Becky.

D．Polly.

3. How did people feel when Tom appeared at his own funeral?

A．They were surprised and happy.

B．They were surprised and sad.

C．They were worried and excited.

D．They were frightened and happy.

4. What’s the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To recommend the book for you.

B．To explain the history of America.

C．To tell us when Mark Twain wrote the story.

D．To explain why the story sounds very real.

【推荐3】根据短文内容，从短文后选项中选出能放入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。注意：将答案写在答题卡上相应题号下，写在本试卷上无效。
Little Lady Starts Big War

Harriet Beecher Stowe had poured her heart into her anti-slavery book "Uncle Tom's Cabin."    1    The publisher was so doubtful that he wanted her to split the publishing costs with him, and all she hoped was that it would make enough money for her to buy a new silk dress.

But when the first 5,000 copies were printed in 1852. They sold out in two days. In a year the book had sold 300,000 copies in the United States and150,000 in England.    2    Within six months of its release, a play was made from the book which ran 350 performances in New York and remained America's most popular play for 80 years. It might appear that "Uncle Tom's Cabins was universally popular, but this was certainly not true. Many people during those pre-Civil War days--particularly defenders of the slavery system--condemned it as false propaganda and poorly written melodrama (传奇剧作品).

Harriet did have strong religious views against slavery (When asked how she came to write the book, she replied: "God wrote it."), and she tried to convince people slavery was wrong, so perhaps the book could be considered propaganda.    3    
Though she was born in Connecticut in 1832, as a young woman she moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, when her father accepted the presidency of newly founded Lane Theological Seminary (神学院). Ohio was a free state, but just across the Ohio River in Kentucky, Harriet saw slavery in action.    4     In 1851, Harriet Beecher Stowe began her book.

Its vast influence strengthened the anti-slavery movement and angered defenders of the slave system.    5    

In fact, when Abraham Lincoln met Harriet at the White House during the Civil War, he said, "So, this is the little lady who started this big war."

A．She had read a lot about the slavery system.

B．Today some historians think that it helped bring on the American Civil War.

C．But if so, it was true propaganda, because it accurately described the evils of slavery.

D．For a while it outsold every book in the world, except the Bible.

E．But neither she nor her first publisher thought it would be a big success.

F．She lived 18 years in Cincinnati, marrying Calvin Stowe, professor of a college.

G．She began her replies.