1 . Three in five people in the UK hold a library card. For some, they’re a shelter from the stresses of day-to-day life.
Most libraries in the UK allow members of the general public to come and go as they like.
Libraries develop with times. They have changed greatly since decades ago.
Libraries are one of very few spaces left in towns and cities where members of the public can come together and actually be and feel like a community. They have notice boards to offer services like exercise classes or learning centers.
| A．Libraries help people learn. |
| B．Libraries help educate the kids. |
| C．They create a great sense of community. |
| D．You can go in, settle down and read a book without being charged a penny. |
| E．Most libraries now have computers and allow people to borrow CDs and DVDs. |
| F．Libraries help us save money as we’re borrowing books rather than buying them. |
| G．For others, particularly the homeless and people in poverty, a lifeline to the world. |
2 . Reading books is one of the best hobbies. It not only helps you pass your time but also helps you increase your knowledge in a meaningful manner.
● Fall into the habit of borrowing books to read.
This is a very old school practice but still it can be highly effective. When you borrow a book, there is obviously a deadline set.
● Read everywhere.
Keep a book in your bag and read it anywhere you go. This will help you to pass your time in a very productive manner.
●
This can easily be described as a new school technique. You can read out to your brother or sister and this will enable you to finish your book as well as increase the knowledge and understanding of your brother or sister.
● Choose your books very carefully.
| A．Therefore, it is necessary to develop the reading habit. |
| B．Realize the importance of reading books. |
| C．Read out to someone else. |
| D．Find an excuse to read every day just by visiting book clubs. |
| E．This can encourage you to read it often to finish the book on time. |
| F．It doesn’t matter whether you are traveling or are about to sleep. |
| G．Yes, life is too short to read a book that doesn’t impress you. |
3 . One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem—inability to read.
In the library, I found my way into the “Children’s Room”. I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my “secret sharer”, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.
There on the book’s cover was a beagle which looked identical(相同的) to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos: the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.
Under the shade of a brush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together
My mother’s call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.
I never told my mother about my “miraculous(奇迹)” experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.
1. The author’s mother told him to borrow a book in order to ________.| A．encourage him to do more walking | B．let him spend a meaningful summer |
| C．help cure him of his reading problem | D．make him learn more about weapons |
| A．it reminded him of his own dog |
| B．he found its title easy to understand |
| C．it contained pretty pictures of animals |
| D．he liked children’s stories very much |
| A．He was forced by his mother to read it. |
| B．He identified with（对某事有同感） the story in the book. |
| C．The book told the story of his pet dog. |
| D．The happy ending of the story attracted him. |
| A．My Passion for Reading | B．Mum’s Strict Order |
| C．Reunion with My Beagle. | D．The Charm of a Book. |
4 . How are you and your family going to celebrate Earth Day? It’s a great day to get outside and ride a bike, but there are other ways you could spend the day. Here are four books. You can learn more about the earth and the animals that make the world a special place to live in.
The Busy Beaver, by Nicholas Oldland
Beaver is very, very busy, and he doesn’t always think carefully. As a result, he makes a mess of the forest and ends up in hospital. Finally, he realizes how careless he’s been and decides to make things right when he returns to the forest.
Lessons from Mother Earth, by Elaine Mcleod
Five-year-old Tess is visiting her grandmother and, for the first time, she visits the garden. Along the way, Tess’s grandmother tells her the rules of the garden, “You must always take good care of our garden. Never throw rubbish around. There is plenty for everyone to share if we don’t destroy the soil.” The story is beautifully told as a caring conversation between a child and her grandmother.
Luz Sees the Light, by Claudia Davila
When Luz’s community (社区) experiences a series of black-outs (停电), she quickly comes to understand the need to save energy and find other ways of doing things. With the help of her friends and neighbors, she creates a community garden and park that everyone can use. The book attracts many young readers.
The Lorax, by Dr Seuss
A young boy learns of the role of the Lorax as protector (保护者) of the trees, and how his home became polluted. The book contains memorable forestry conservation (森林保护).
1. We can learn from the passage that Beaver .| A．always plans things carefully |
| B．never takes care of the forest |
| C．decides to leave the forest forever |
| D．gets hurt because of his carelessness |
| A．The Busy Beaver and The Lorax. |
| B．Luz Sees the Light and The Lorax. |
| C．The Busy Beaver and Lessons from Mother Earth. |
| D．Lessons from Mother Earth and Luz Sees the Light. |
| A．To provide some activities to Earth Day. |
| B．To offer some books to young children. |
| C．To tell readers how to write children’s books. |
| D．To teach readers how to protect our environment. |
5 . Benefits of Reading
The benefits of reading start with the first book a baby hears and continue into childhood and throughout the child’s life. Here are some reasons why reading is important.
Reading teaches children about the world around them.
Children who read do better at school. And they don’t just do better at subjects like reading, English and history.
Reading is a great form of entertainment! A paperback book or an e-reader doesn’t take up much space so you can take it anywhere and you’ll never be lonely or bored if you have a book in your bag.
Reading relaxes the body and calms the mind.
| A．Reading improves concentration. |
| B．Reading develops a child’s imagination. |
| C．We seem to have forgotten how to relax and how to be silent. |
| D．Children learn new words and greatly enlarge their vocabulary. |
| E．They do better at all subjects and they do better all the day through school. |
| F．You can read while waiting for a friend or during a flight delay at an airport. |
| G．By reading, children learn about people, places and events outside their own experience. |
6 . Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table, reading his book. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to copy him in every way he could.
One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa, I try to read the book just like you, but I don’t understand it, and I forget what I understand as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the book do?”
The grandpa quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.”
The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandpa laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned. Out of breath, he told his grandpa that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, so he went to get a bucket instead. The grandpa said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough.” The boy again dipped the basket into the river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandpa the basket was empty again. Out of breath, he said, “Grandpa, it’s useless!”
“So, you think it is useless?” the grandpa said, “Look at the basket.”
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean.
“Grandson, that’s what happens when you read the book. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you’ll be changed, inside and out.”
1. What puzzled the grandson most was _________.| A．why he forgot what he read soon | B．whether it was useful to read books |
| C．what kind of book he could understand | D．how he could read books like his grandpa |
| A．To get him to realize the use of reading books. | B．To punish him for not reading carefully. |
| C．To clean the dirty basket in the river. | D．To train him to run faster. |
| A．The old are always wiser than the young. | B．It is foolish to carry water with a basket. |
| C．You can’t expect to remember all you read. | D．Reading books can change a person gradually. |
| A．Grandpa and Grandson | B．Carrying Water in a Basket |
| C．Baskets and Books | D．Reading for Total Changing |
