1. 发出邀请；2. 活动安排；3. 表达期待。
注意：1. 词数 80 左右；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Linda,
How are you doing?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours
Li Hua
2 . The story of a 92-year-old book lover in a village of Chongqing has touched many recently, Sun Shiquan has collected more than 7,000 books over the past years and has offered a free local library to people there for years.
He was born in Pipa Village in Xiuqi Town of Chongqing’s Chengkou County. Being a bookworm as a child, he read all kinds of ancient books including the Four Books and the Five Classics. In the 1950s, he became one of only a handful of local college graduates and later served as a middle school teacher in the county.
He started to collect books in 1983 and gradually built a collection of many kinds over more than 40 years. Among his holdings is a precious set known as the Si Ku Quan Shu, dating back to Qing Dynasty. It is one of the only seven copies in the country.
Wearing glasses, Sun reads for more than three hours every day. Now he has finished reading most of his collections. Speaking of her father, Sun Ziyu, said, “My father has a habit of making notes on each book. He makes a mark whenever he stops reading so that he can carry on reading from where he left off.”
Village official Liu Jiao said, “Many children in the village love to visit Sun and listen to his stories.” She said the elderly man has earned respect from the whole village. People call him “Teacher Sun” and children call him “great-grandfather”.
Sun Ziyu said her father also writes poems and prose(散文) in his spare time and enjoys reading his works to the family. She said under her father’s influence, family members take the time to read together and exchange views. “That’s their favorite part,” she said.
“My father has loved reading for a lifetime,” Sun Ziyu said. “Reading is his meat and drink.”
1. What can we know from the first two paragraphs?| A．Mr Sun was born in a rich family. |
| B．There was only one free library in Xiuqi Town. |
| C．Mr Sun has been a book lover since childhood. |
| D．It was easy for children to get educated in the 1950s. |
| A．Colorful. | B．Valuable. | C．Demanding. | D．Enormous. |
| A．Mr Sun’s reading habit. | B．Mr Sun’s life experiences. |
| C．Mr Sun’s writing hobby. | D．Mr Sun’s book collections. |
| A．A person with talent. | B．A person worthy of pity. |
| C．A person with disability. | D．A person worthy of respect. |
3 . One of the best things about historical stories is that they can make you interested in learning more about the actual history of the time period.
This Rebel HeartKatherine Locke
This impressive historical story transports readers to 1956 Hungary during the revolution(革命). Csilla grew up near a magic river, but when her country falls apart, and her world crashes around her, she must decide between leaving her home or fighting to save it.
The Peach RebellionWendelin Van Draanen
In post-World War II California, three teenage girls from different backgrounds get bound(捆绑)together through hardship, secrets, and friendship. In this beautiful coming-of-age story, the girls face the storms on their way bravely, helping each other through love and loss.
Luck of the TitanicStacey Lee
The terrible disaster is as attractive as ever in this historical story. Unable to board the ship as a regular passenger, Val hides in it and manages to travel along. She dreams of getting a job at a circus in New York City, but she doesn’t expect to fight for survival(生存)along the way.
Dream CountryShannon Gibney
A fascinating look at the connection between Liberia and America, Dream Country explores the lives of five generations of a family searching for freedom. Heartbreaking and honest, this journey through history is about family, dreams, and the hope for a better future.
1. What is the purpose of this text?| A．To explain scientific facts. | B．To describe historic events. |
| C．To remember famous people. | D．To introduce historical books. |
| A．She is interested in historical stories. | B．She gets aboard the ship with a ticket. |
| C．She meets many hardships along the journey. | D．She works in a circus in New York city. |
| A．Deep love for their country. | B．Long-lasting friendship. |
| C．Struggling spirit. | D．Spirit of freedom. |
4 . Criticism is judgment. A critic is a judge. A judge must study and think about the material presented to him, accept it, correct it or reject it after thinking over what he has read, watched or heard.
Another word for criticism is appreciation. When I criticize or appreciate some object or another, I look for its good points and bad points. In reading any printed or written matter, I always have a pencil in hand and put any comments in the book or on a separate paper. In other words, I always talk back to the writer.
That sort of critical reading might well be called creative reading because I am thinking along with the author, asking him questions, seeing whether he answers the questions and how well he answers them. I mark the good passages to store them in my memory and ask myself about every other part and about the complete piece of writing; where, how and why could or should I improve upon it?
You might think that doing what I suggested is work. Yes, it is, but the work is a pleasure because I can feel my brain expanding, my emotion reacting and my way of living change.
Reading exercises is a great influence on a person. If pictures, still or moving, accompany the reading, the memory will retain the material for a long time.
Just as evil books can corrupt, so also can good books gradually work a change on a corrupt person.
Let's get back to the beneficial effects of thinking while reading. It helps us to enlarge our minds. We understand more about the universe, its people and many of its wonders. We learn to think and observe in new ways. We certainly do get a feeling for the language we are reading. All good writers in any language have been readers who read critically and continuously.
1. According to the writer, creative reading is ________.| A．raising questions and answering them for the author |
| B．reading and giving comments on the materials one has read |
| C．thinking in the same line with the author |
| D．storing up facts in one's memory |
| A．asks what he does not understand |
| B．talks back to the author |
| C．understand the background on which the works are based |
| D．looks for the good and bad points of the material he has read |
| A．following one's thought closely | B．accepting |
| C．considering | D．agreeing |
| A．understand more about their surrounding than others. |
| B．have a thorough insight to the problem in life. |
| C．have the feeling of the language they read. |
| D．have read extensively(广泛地) and critically |
5 . Every parent loves it when their kid wants to read. Who doesn’t want an ambitious little bookworm to learn — or at least turn the pages and demand you read the story?
Here are the beauty of board books. They’re good enough for tiny hands to explore, and therefore sure to last for more than one reading session. But we all know kids’ books can get repetitive after a while; so here are three unique board books that go beyond the standard. Each one is perfect for bedtime (or anytime!)．
DK Braille: Counting
This special little book teaches counting in a unique and revolutionary way. Inside, you’ll find colorful images and words on each page, accompanied by Braille (盲文), so little ones can learn to read in more than one way. This book is perfect for blind children with sighted parents or sighted children with blind parents, allowing everyone to get in on the fun of reading together.
Available from DK, $14.99
All Aboard New York
Planning a trip to a big city? Baby Lit has you covered. Get your kid excited about visiting somewhere new with this “All Aboard” series — whether you’re heading there soon, or just looking to educate them about places near and far.
Available from Baby Lit, $9.99
Canticos: Los Pollitos/Canticos: Little Chickies
Sing your heart out while teaching your little one some Spanish with this sweet book! Written by Susie Jaramillo, it features the popular Spanish song, “Los Pollitos Dicen” for both of you to sing along. So whether your family speaks more than one language already, or you want your kid to get a jumpstart on their Spanish skills, story time will be fun for both of you.
Available from Amazon, $14.06
1. What can the book DK Braille: Counting enable kids to do?| A．Sing a song. | B．Visit an area. | C．Read stories. | D．Do math. |
| A．Take their kids to visit different cities. |
| B．Help their kids know new places. |
| C．Help parents prepare their travel. |
| D．Avoid the trouble to visit places. |
| A．get their kids interested in music |
| B．teach their kids some English with music |
| C．teach their kids a foreign language with a song |
| D．encourage their family to use more than one language |
| A．Little children. | B．Blind parents. |
| C．Disabled kids. | D．Travelers. |
6 . You can either travel or read, but either your body or your soul must be on the way. The popular saying has inspired many people to read or go sightseeing. Here are four books that you can take on your trip.
1. On the Road, 1957, by Jack Kerouac
The book is a popular spiritual guidebook about youth. The main character in the book drives across the US continent with several young people and finally reaches Mexico. After the exhausting and exciting trip, the characters in the book begin to realize the meaning of life.
2. Life Is Elsewhere, 1975, by Milan Kundera
Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." The book describes a young artist's romantic but miserable life, about how he reads, dreams and has a relationship during his trip to Central Europe. The book invites you to deeply reflects on your current life and to honor the Czech-born writer Kundera.
3. My Name Is Red, 1998, by Orhan Pamuk
The book, a masterpiece of the Nobel Prize winner for Literature Orhan Pamuk, has been translated into more than 50 languages and published around the world. It tells a story of a young man, who was away from home for 12 years, coming back to his hometown in Istanbul. What embraces him is not only love, but a series of murder cases as well.
4. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, 2013, by Rachel Joyce
The novel tells a story of a 60-year-old man who lived a boring and unhappy life, until one day, he received his old friend's letter who got cancer. In deep shock and sorrow, he went out to send his reply letter. 627 miles in 87 days, he walked depending on one belief that “his friend can survive as long as he walks”.
1. Whose book can make you rethink your own life?| A．Jack Kerouac. | B．Milan Kundera. | C．Orhan Pamuk. | D．Rachel Joyce. |
| A．On the Road. | B．Life Is Elsewhere. |
| C．My Name Is Red. | D．The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. |
| A．He walked to keep healthy. | B．He was in deep shock and sorrow. |
| C．He expected his friend to live longer. | D．He lived a very boring and unhappy life. |
1. Where does this conversation take place?
| A．In a bookstore. | B．In a school. | C．In a library. |
| A．He gave gifts to millions of people. |
| B．He was a very wealthy man in his times. |
| C．His signature is worth a lot of money. |
8 . Do you get lots of reading assignments as part of your homework? You might wish that you could read faster.
“
In fact, speed reading has been advertised since 1959, when US educator Evelyn Wood introduced a speed reading program. Several US presidents have even asked their staff to take speed reading courses.
Schotter explained that reading is a complicated task. It involves four stages: seeing a word, retrieving its meaning from your memory, relating it to other words in the same sentence, and then moving on to the next word.
Some people who claim to be able to speed read are simply skimming. Skimming involves reading a passage quickly and only looking for certain words or sentences. Skimmers can figure out the main idea of a passage—especially if it’s a topic they’re familiar with—but they will not be able to recall all of the details.
| A．Speed reading is not actually possible. |
| B．So is there a way to become a faster reader? |
| C．This is where speed reading comes into play. |
| D．This process uses many parts of the brain at one time. |
| E．However, there is no real science behind speed reading. |
| F．Some people claim that you can learn to read at super-high speeds. |
9 . Returning to a book you’ve read many times can feel like drinks with an old friend. There’s a welcome familiarity - but also sometimes a slight suspicion that time has changed you both, and thus the relationship. But books don’t change, people do. And that’s what makes the act of rereading so rich and transformative.
The beauty of rereading lies in the idea that our bond with the work is based on our present mental register. It’s true, the older I get, the more I feel time has wings. But with reading, it’s all about the present. It’s about the now and what one contributes to the now, because reading is a give and take between author and reader. Each has to pull their own weight.
There are three books I reread annually .The first, which I take to reading every spring is Emest Hemningway’s A Moveable Feast. Published in 1964, it’s his classic memoir of 1920s Paris. The language is almost intoxicating (令人陶醉的)，an aging writer looking back on an ambitious yet simpler time. Another is Annie Dillard’s Holy the Firm, her poetic 1975 ramble (随笔) about everything and nothing. The third book is Julio Cortazar’s Save Twilight: Selected Poems, because poetry. And because Cortazar.
While I tend to buy a lot of books, these three were given to me as gifs, which might add to the meaning I attach to them. But I imagine that, while money is indeed wonderful and necessary, rereading an author’s work is the highest currency a reader can pay them. The best books are the ones that open further as time passes. But remember, it’s you that has to grow and read and reread in order to better understand your friends.
1. Why does the author like rereading?| A．It evaluates the writer-reader relationship. |
| B．It’s a window to a whole new world. |
| C．It’s a substitute for drinking with a friend. |
| D．It extends the understanding of oneself. |
| A．It’s a brief account of a trip. |
| B．It’s about Hemingway’s life as a young man. |
| C．It’s a record of a historic event. |
| D．It’s about Hemingway’s friends in Paris. |
| A．Debt |
| B．Reward. |
| C．Allowance. |
| D．Face value. |
| A．He loves poetry. |
| B．He’s an editor. |
| C．He’s very ambitious. |
| D．He teaches reading. |
By Franz Brandenberg
$16. 95(available as e-book)
Edward is sick and Elizabeth is well, and nothing could be more unfair! Edward gets to stay in bed and everyone treats him like a prince. Elizabeth has to get out of bed, go to school, do housework and practice the piano. "I wish I was sick too! "
Elizabeth cries, and soon that wish comes true. . . Pleasures of childhood are well shown in this close cat family, drawn with good humor by the illustrator(插画家)Aliki.
Donkey-donkey
By Roger Duvoisin
$16. 95
Hardcover (available as e-book)
Donkey-donkey has a problem. He is sad about his long ears. If only Donkey-donkey could have short ears like his friend Pat the horse, he would be excited. Then he starts to wear his ears differently: to the side like the sheep's, to the front like the pig's. . . will he always be like that? Can the Donkey-donkey learn to accept himself?
The Little Witch
By OtfriedPreussler
$15. 95(20% off)
Hardcover (available as e-book)
Once upon a time there was a little witch(女巫). She is still too young to be invited to Walpurgis Night, a party for all the witches of the land. But this year she decided to sneak(溜)in anyway, so what would be waiting for her?
The Man Who Lost His Head
By Claire Huchet Bishop
$17. 89
Hardcover
It's bad news when you wake up in the morning and find you've lost your head, but such things happen. Instead of bearing it, the man who loses his head in this book is going to make himself a new one. . . So what will he do? Will he be saved by someone?
1. What can we learn about I Wish I Was Sick, Too?| A．It is a picture book. |
| B．It is suitable for kids under 5. |
| C．Its story happens in a school. |
| D．Its story is mainly about friendship. |
| A．Franz Brandenberg's. | B．Roger Duvoisin's. |
| C．OtfriedPreussler's. | D．Claire Huchet Bishop's. |
| A．$12. 76. | B．$15. 95. |
| C．$16. 95. | D．$17. 89. |
| A．I Wish I Was Sick, Too. | B．Donkey-donkey. |
| C．The Little Witch. | D．The Man Who Lost His Head. |
