1 . Enjoy these four stories of wonderful friendships between people and creatures.
Albi the Glowing Cow Boy
By Georgia Bwng. Illustrated by Angela Cogo
On a quiet farm in frosty moonlight, a calf (小牛) called Albi is born. A boy called Rufus lives nearby. Soon. Albi and Rufus set off on an incredible journey-but why are the two so deeply connected and how can they each find what they are searching for?
The Boy Who Saved a Bear
By Nizrana Farook
Nuwan works at a library delivering books, but when he unexpectedly crosses the path of a dangerous group of thieves, he must go on the run. Hiding deep in a cave he realizes he’s not alone-he’s sharing his shelter with a scared bear. Nuwan comforted the bear, so this unlikely pair become friends and are soon working together to stop the bad guys and solve a mystery.
Pax
By Sara Pennypacker, Illustrated by Jon Kassen
Peter has a special bond with Pax-a half-tamed fox cub (幼崽). When a war breaks out suddenly, Peter has to move to live with his grandfather, leaving Pax behind. Can the friends find their way back to each other? This story is accompanied by lots of beautiful illustrations.
Wilder
By Penny Chrimes
When a half-wild girl appears from the marshes (沼泽), the people of a nearby village treat her with doubt. She has a mysterious connection to animals, especially the falcon who circles above her. When the river starts to dry up and a dark sickness begins to spread, the girl sets out to save the villagers.
1. Why do Nuwan and the bear become friends?A.They live in the same place. | B.They have to solve a mystery. |
C.The bear was comforted by Nuwan. | D.The bear saved Nuwan from the thieves. |
A.The force of thieves. | B.An unexpected war. |
C.The decision of Peter’s grandfather. | D.The villagers’ doubt. |
A.They are created with the same theme. | B.Their plots are only full of adventures. |
C.They are accompanied by beautiful pictures. | D.Their characters grew up with their animal friends. |
For thousands of years, people have told fables (寓言)
Carson uses a simple, direct style common to fable. In fact, her style and tone (口吻) are
The themes of traditional fables often deal with simple truths about everyday life. However, Cason’s theme is a more weighty warning about environmental
3 . How to Improve Speed Reading Skills
Speed reading is one of many skills that can improve your reading comprehension and shorten your study time.
Look at groups of words, not single words.
Scan for keywords.
Scanning is a highly effective way of extracting answers from a text without really reading it. If you know exactly what you are looking for﹣a name, a date, a statistic, or a specific word-you can find it quickly by skipping over large chunks of the text. To scan, first visualize the word, number, or phrase you would like to find.
You can train yourself to read faster by timing yourself as you go. Start by getting your base time. Set a timer for fifteen minutes, and speed read as you normally do.
A.Race the clock. |
B.Cheek your comprehension. |
C.Here are some speed reading techniques. |
D.Then, run your eyes rapidly over the text. |
E.When the timer goes off, cheek to see bow far you have got. |
F.If you read a text one word at a time, then this will slow your reading speed down. |
G.One of the reasons is that you have to pause to understand what a passage is saying. |
4 . Do you know how to pick a good book you’ll really like? Here are some tips.
Start with your interest.
Pick your type. Do you prefer fiction or nonfiction (or both)? Fiction books, like novels, can transport you to another world or help you imagine something beyond your own experience. Nonfiction books give you the who, what, when, and why of something.
Read the description. The reviews and quotes on the back and inside covers of many books give you an idea of what the book is about. They can also help you pick future books, too. If you find a book you really like, take a minute to read the quotes and see which authors praised the book.
Find a family favorite. Which book did your mother love best when she was at your age?
Find a quiet place and make time for the book.
A.How about your brothers and sisters? |
B.They tell stories using facts — but that doesn’t mean they’re boring. |
C.Reading is a good way to improve your English. |
D.Most reading is best enjoyed when you can concentrate on it. |
E.Often, they’ll have similar styles and you might find books you like by those authors, too. |
F.So you should read as much as possible when you are free. |
G.Reading on your own isn’t like reading for school. |
5 . Londoners are great readers. They buy vast numbers of newspapers and magazines and of books — especially paperbacks(平装本), which are still comparatively cheap in spite of ever-increasing rises in the costs of printing. They still continue to buy “proper” books, too, printed on good paper and bound(装订)between hard covers.
There are many streets in London containing shops which specialize in book-selling. Perhaps the best known of these is Charring Cross Road in the very heart of London. Here bookshops of all sorts and sizes are to be found, from the celebrated one which boasts of being “the biggest bookshop in the world” to the tiny, dusty little places which seem to have been left over from Dickens’ time. Some of these shops stock(贮存), or will obtain, any kind of book, but many of them specialize in second-hand books, in art books, in foreign books, in books on philosophy, politics or any other of the myriad(无数的)subjects about which books may be written. One shop in this area specializes only in books about ballet!
Although it may be the most convenient place for Londoners to buy books, Charring Cross Road is not the cheapest. For the really cheap second-hand volumes, the collector must venture(敢于去) off the beaten track, to Farringdon Road, for example, in the East Central district of London. Here there is nothing so impressive as bookshops. Instead, the booksellers come along each morning and pour out their sacks of books onto small barrows(流动集售货车)which line the gutters(贫民窟). And the collectors, some professionals and some amateurs(业余爱好者), have been waiting for them. In places like this one can still, occasionally, pick up for a few pence an old volume that may be worth many pounds.
1. “Londoners are great readers” means that ________.A.Londoners are great because they read a lot |
B.There are a great number of readers in London |
C.Londoners are readers who read only great books |
D.Londoners read a lot |
A.is in the suburbs of London |
B.is famous for its bookshops |
C.contains various kinds of shops |
D.is the busiest street in London |
A.venture in a most busy street |
B.venture away from a busy street |
C.take the risk of going to the beaten track |
D.take the risk of wasting time to hunt them in less noticeable streets |
A.keep fine bookshops |
B.keep only small bookshops |
C.sell books on hand-carts |
D.sell the same books as the bookshops on Charring Cross Road |
A.Bookshops in London |
B.The biggest bookshop in the world |
C.Charring Cross Road |
D.Buying books in London |
6 . A good book can be satisfying. If reading is a habit you’d like to get into, there are some ways to develop it.
●Realize that reading is enjoyable if you have a good book. If you have a difficult book and you are forcing yourself through it, it will seem like a task.
●Set time. You should have some time during every day when you’ll read for at least 5 to 10 minutes.
●Always carry a book.
●
●Reduce television/ the Internet. If you really want to read more, try cutting back on time on TV or the Internet.
A.Go to bookstores. |
B.Find a quiet place. |
C.This may be difficult for some people. |
D.Wherever you go, take a book with you. |
E.Have some good tea or coffee while you read. |
F.It means you will read no matter how busy you are. |
G.If this happens, give up the book and find another one that you’ll really love. |