1 . Silent reading is far from silent in your brain. Deep within your head there is a voice reading aloud each word as your eyes scan it.

Let’s do a seemingly unrelated experiment first. Turn on your television and radio. Try to understand both the words from the television and the radio contemporaneously. You might have noticed understanding one source required ignoring the other, and you could feel your attention shifting between the two voices. Although we can listen to multiple people speaking at the same time, we can only truly understand one person speaking at a time.

There are three major areas that allow you to understand spoken words. The first is the Auditory Cortex (听觉皮层), which processes the pure characteristics of incoming sounds. Both sides of your brain contain this region. The next area is the Broca/ Wernicke (B/W) network, which makes sense of the spoken words. This network exists in only one side of your brain. This means that, although the sounds of language are initially processed in both sides of the brain, spoken words must eventually be funneled (流经漏斗) into this single network. This quickly leads to a bottleneck, which is controlled by the third area: the left Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG, 额下回). When you try to understand two people speaking at the same time, this region effectively blocks one voice while it allows the other to pass through the B/W bottleneck. Any information that does not immediately make it through the B/W network disappears completely—there is no wait list.

Now, let’s bring all the pieces together to see why it’s related to your silent reading. When you read, the first region to demonstrate activation is the Visual Cortex, which processes the pure visual characteristics of incoming sights. Immediately after the visual cortex activates, the speech areas of the brain fire up because your brain processes your silent reading in a manner almost identical to the way in which it processes an actual, out-loud speaking voice. For this reason, attempting to read while listening to someone speak is the same as trying to understand two people speaking at the same time—it can’t be done!

1. What does the underlined word “contemporaneously” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．At the same time.

B．One at a time.

C．On the whole.

D．Through comparison.

2. Which of the following best illustrates paragraph 3?

Note: disappear; wait

A．	B．
C．	D．

3. What may the author agree with?

A．Students practice listening skills while reading novels.

B．Students solve math problem when following a lecture.

C．Teachers keep silent when students are reading attentively.

D．Professors give a speech with a text-heavy PowerPoint slide.

4. Which of the following can best serve as an introduction to the text?

A．The art of conversation lies in listening.

B．Reading is nothing but a silent conversation.

C．We hear and understand only what we already know half.

D．Once an idea gets into your head, it’s probably going to stay there.

2 . 假定你是李华，你校外教Ryan拟举办英语读书会（English Reading Bar）活动，想了解哪类图书更能吸引学生，请你给外教写一封邮件，内容包括：
1. 推荐的图书类别；
2. 推荐理由。
注意：
1. 写作词数应为80个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear Ryan,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Best regards,

Li Hua

3 . Reading is an exercise for the mind. It is good for our vocabulary and literacy skills, teaching us math or science concepts and helping us learn history. Apart from those, reading has another benefit. Have you read a story and felt tears well up because of a character’s suffering? If so, that is because you have empathy (共情) for the character.     1    

Research shows that human brains react differently to stories and facts.    2     In addition, your brain thinks you are in the story, which means you experience the characters’ thoughts as if they were real.

    3     This skill, called emotional intelligence (EI), can make it easier to communicate and connect with people. Research shows that building this intelligence can lead to greater tolerance. One study found that people who read the Harry Potter novels, which tell stories about humans fighting against the evil, were less likely to behave unfairly towards powerless groups including refugees (难民).

This theory of EI has been put into practice in schools. After reading The Boy at the Back of the Class, a story about a boy who is a refugee escaping from the war, students in St Michael’s High School were inspired to do a 10-mile walk for the non-profit organization — Refugee Action.    4    

    5     Not only are we more likely to engage in helpful behaviors when we feel empathy for other people, but others are also more likely to help us when they experience empathy. For society to develop, communicative and empathetic individuals really matter.

A．In a way, all this increases our ability to read well.

B．This permits people to limit their emotions that others are feeling.

C．Many more areas of your brain light up when you’re enjoying a story.

D．It also stimulated them to raise £1,000 for the homeless caused by war.

E．Reading encourages us to empathize with others, which could be beneficial.

F．Empathy helps you to read people’s emotions and work out the best way to respond.

G．It helps you see into other people’s hearts and can be learned through various stories.

4 . Where are the speakers?

A．In a library.

B．In a classroom.

C．In a bookstore.

7 . More than anything, this is a book about unconditional love—a bond between a caring woman and a loyal dog.

Harley’s Harlequin Heart written by Christy Jaeger and_________through the narration (叙述) of Harley, shows why the power of love can overcome the _________that is part of every life journey.

Harley takes us along on all his_________with his owner Jaeger — from growing up, being trained, to going to dog shows. Then one day, Harley is diagnosed with bone cancer. Fortunately, there’s enough time to explore_________. “Jaeger told me everyone has a sixth sense, which_________them when something’s not right. Looking back, I’m glad she paid attention to her_________warning.”

Through surgery, this smart dog _________. It isn’t easy and he tells us about his pain and fears. But chances of_________look promising. After this experience, Harley _________realizes that when someone has cancer, the entire family will__________. However, all the people playing a part in the process form an unbreakable connection.

Harley’s __________with cancer might concern adults considering reading this book with their children. But Jaeger provides such a positive perspective that there is so much more reason to__________this book. Besides, it helps greatly that the book has a__________ending.

As Jaeger notes, “The book spreads love to us. This small element can be__________in the human and animal worlds.” Love can defeat all. That__________couldn’t be any clearer than in this wonderful book.

1.

A．explained

B．presented

C．designed

D．included

2.

A．misfortune

B．unease

C．inconvenience

D．discomfort

3.

A．packages

B．dreams

C．burdens

D．adventures

4.

A．mysteries

B．problems

C．cures

D．challenges

5.

A．forbids

B．hits

C．informs

D．warns

6.

A．active

B．inner

C．useful

D．sudden

7.

A．pushes through

B．bends down

C．cheers up

D．gets off

8.

A．success

B．recovery

C．victory

D．survival

9.

A．innocently

B．automatically

C．gradually

D．accidentally

10.

A．suffer

B．behave

C．perform

D．delay

11.

A．competing

B．battling

C．continuing

D．mixing

12.

A．possess

B．close

C．share

D．print

13.

A．sad

B．happy

C．ridiculous

D．unusual

14.

A．decisive

B．logical

C．attractive

D．influential

15.

A．meaning

B．principle

C．message

D．expression

8 . Reading is a complex and crucial skill that impacts the youth’s ability to perform as students. Therefore, it’s important to develop reading skills during childhood. A team of researchers focused on the effect of whole-body learning in instruction, known as embodied learning.

The research included 149 children, aged 5 to 6, who had just started school. They were divided into three groups: one that stood up and used their whole bodies to shape letter sounds; a seated group that shaped letter sounds with their hands and arms;and a control group that received traditional, seated instruction during which they wrote letters by hand.

“Our research showed that children who used their whole bodies to shape the sounds of letters became twice as proficient(熟练的)at letter sounds that are more difficult to learn as those who received traditional instruction,” says PhD student Linn Damsgaard of UCPH’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports.

With regard to difficult letter sounds, she adds, “There are many difficult letter sounds in Danish. These sounds are particularly important because once children become proficient at them, they will be better readers.”

Associate professor Jacob Wienecke, who led the study, explains, “The primary goal is to learn more about which methods can be used to give beginner readers a good start. The idea is that if, through play and movement, we can learn where their strengths truly lie, we’ll create a form of learning that combines reading with play, and that’s truly positive.”

Previously, the researchers showed that the children felt more motivated by teaching methods which included physical movement. Jacob Wienecke hopes this will provide an opportunity to inspire teachers and school managers to prioritize movement across subjects.

The study also investigated whether a direct effect of embodied learning could be found on children’s reading of individual words. This was not possible, which might be due to the fact that the children were at such an early stage of their literacy development that they could not yet use their knowledge of letter sounds to read words.

1. What were the participants required to do in the study?

A．To pick out difficult letter sounds in Danish.

B．To learn new letters through repeated writing.

C．To learn letter sounds using different approaches.

D．To memorize some letter sounds as soon as possible.

2. How can embodied learning get children actively involved?

A．By combining learning with games.

B．By offering them chances to cooperate.

C．By inspiring them to overcome difficulties.

D．By explaining instructions to them patiently.

3. What does Jacob expect of the research finding?

A．Promoting harmonious teacher-student relationships.

B．Urging schools to pay attention to physical exercise.

C．Enabling researchers to carry out further studies.

D．Encouraging educators to apply it to teaching.

4. What could be the best title for the text?

A．Whole-body learning—a good start to children’s reading

B．Embodied learning—a booster for children’s reading speed

C．Children’s reading skills matter a lot in their literacy development

D．Children’s literacy development depends on the flexibility of their bodies

10 . From cottages surrounded by impressive gardens to days spent exploring sandy beaches and deep woods filled with wildlife, in My Family and Other Animals, English writer Gerald Durrell provided a vivid account of his family’s time on the Greek island of Corfu in the 1930s.

Come for the arresting descriptions of Corfu landscapes and stay for Durrell’s laugh-out-loud tales of his unusual family. This book, Durrell wrote humorously in the introduction, “was intended to be a nostalgic(怀旧的)account of natural history, but in the first few pages, I made the mistake of introducing my family.”

Durrell, later known for his zoo keeping and the preservation of wildlife, was just a child during his family’s five-year stay in Corfu. He is 10-year-old Gerry in the book—curious, passionate about animals and a detailed storyteller of his strange family: his imaginative elder brother Larry with his literary ambitions, lovestruck sister Margo, sporty brother Leslie and his ever-calm, loving mother.

Durrell’s attention to detail is what makes the book so winning, with every sight, sound and smell of the island brought to life. One minute you’ll be laughing as Larry’s clever literary friends walk down to the daffodil-yellow cottage, the next you’ll be catching your breath as Durrell describes swimming at night in the Ionian Sea: “Lying on my back in the silky water, staring at the sky, only moving my hands and feet slightly, I was looking at the Milky Way stretching like a silk scarf across the sky and wondering how many stars it contained.”

My Family and Other Animals is quite difficult to classify, being one part travel, one part autobiography, one part natural history, and one part comedy, with a thread of descriptive language running throughout that sometimes raises it nearly to poetry.

As a real delight to read, it’s the perfect literary escapism for any adult or older teenager who is currently walking down a tough road in life.

1. Which word best describes Durrell’s life in Corfu?

A．Diverse.

B．Busy.

C．Risky.

D．Tough.

2. What does the underlined sentence mean in paragraph 2?

A．I just introduced my family by mistake.	B．I shouldn’t have introduced my family.
C．I gave false information about my family.	D．I couldn’t help introducing my family.

3. What are paragraph 4 and 5 mainly about?

A．Durrell’s rich imagination.	B．Some interesting plots of the book.
C．The book’s writing feature.	D．Some vivid descriptions of the island.

4. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To share an experience.	B．To introduce a writing style.
C．To recommend a book.	D．To describe an unusual place.