1 . Having your nose in a book might seem a little anti-social at times — but reading could actually make you a kinder, more considerate person, a study has found. Readers were more likely to act in a socially acceptable manner, while those who preferred watching television came across as less friendly and less understanding of
others' views, researchers said.
123 participants in the study were quizzed on their preferences for books, TV and plays at Kingston University, London. They were then tested on how much they considered people's feelings and whether they acted to help others. Researchers told the British Psychological Society conference in Brighton yesterday that fiction fans showed more positive social behavior.
Readers of drama and romance novels were also empathic, while lovers of experimental books showed the ability to see things from different directions. Comedy fans scored the highest for relating to others. The study suggested reading allows people to see different points of view, enabling them to understand others better.
The researchers added, “Exposure to fiction relates to a range of empathetic abilities. Engaging with fictional prose and comedy in particular could be key to improving people's empathetic abilities.”
However, the authors warned the study did not prove cause-and-effect. So it could be that reading causes positive behavior, or it could be that thoughtful, well-mannered people are more likely to prefer reading. So it is a good idea to pick up a book to begin your travel with the author. Each author will show how they would react to certain situations or confrontations through their characters. Everyone can view the same situation differently, and from 1001 different angles. The more you read, the much better you can understand other peoples' opinions.
1. What do we know about reading according to Paragraph 1?| A．It contributes more to one's anti-social role. |
| B．It is of rare benefit to readers. |
| C．It is related to one's social position. |
| D．It can add to one's social adaptability. |
| A．the way to improve reading skills |
| B．the influence of their preferences |
| C．the places to get new books |
| D．the time of reading books |
| A．Understanding. | B．Mad. |
| C．Sorrowful. | D．Delighted. |
| A．To react to certain situations. |
| B．To understand peoples' opinions. |
| C．To persuade people to read. |
| D．To show how to begin travels. |
2 . 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. |
3 . Children who spend more time reading with their parents have a greater chance of becoming better readers than those who don’t. With the help from their parents, children can learn techniques to improve their reading skills.
“A lot of parents think after their child learns to read, they should stop reading to them,” Donna George said. “They are sadly mistaken.”
George offers her services to parents at the Title I Learning Centers. She said reading aloud to children may be the most valuable thing parents can do. “It is better for children to hear things at a higher level than where they are,” George said. “Parents are their child’s first teacher.” Parents help their children build listening, phonics, comprehension and vocabulary skills when they read aloud to them.
Before parents can identify reading problems, they should escape the enemy —television and limit the time their children spend watching television. George suggested not allowing kids to have a TV in their bedrooms, setting a schedule of when kids can watch or keeping a list of how many programs children watch. Louise Joines said while her 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son enjoy reading, the television sometimes becomes a distraction. So she tries to build the situation by suggesting books the entire family will enjoy reading together, like the Harry Potter series.
Parents who do not read themselves should not count on their children being interested in it. If parents would read to their children at least 15 minutes every day, children would not have so many problems in school. It is the parents’ job to help build that desire in their children, and of course to know what kind of books to read is also important.
1. According to George, reading aloud to children_______________.| A．helps them correct mistakes |
| B．is helpful to their reading |
| C．is parents’ first duty to their children |
| D．can get children out of television’s attraction |
| A．can improve children’s reading |
| B．can help children’s right way of reading |
| C．can make children interested in reading |
| D．stop children from concentrating on reading |
| A．Reading skills. |
| B．Reading speed. |
| C．Reading materials. |
| D．Reading environment. |
| A．Parents choose reading materials for their children. |
| B．Advice is given to control their children. |
| C．What TV programs children can watch during reading. |
| D．How children improve their reading by themselves. |
4 . How to improve reading efficiency
1.Make sure of your purpose of reading.
Before you start reading, ask yourself why you are reading this book. Most people read for two main reasons: pleasure or knowledge. Being specific and clear about your reading purpose not only helps you to avoid books that you don’t need to read, it also reminds you the book is important to you.
2.Read only what you are attracted to.
Whether you are reading fiction or nonfiction, it's important to enjoy what you read. Your friends may recommend books that they love, but those books might not necessarily be the ones you enjoy.
3.Give up books that you don't enjoy.
You may have selected books that match your purpose. You may have selected books that you are attracted to. But you are reading them, there may still be some books that you won't enjoy reading.
4.
Having a reading goal helps you figure out how much reading you need to do in a week or even a day.
5.Give yourself a deadline to finish each book.
Before you read each book, ask yourself when you need to finish this book. What I find interesting is that I tend to read books that I borrow from libraries faster than the books I bought.
| A．Set a reading goal. |
| B．Understand each word of the sentence. |
| C．Read books which you are interested in. |
| D．Reading is the most important way to get knowledge. |
| E．The reason is that the books I bought don't have a due date. |
| F．This encourages you to keep reading and complete the book faster. |
| G．Whenever you realize that you aren't enjoying the book you are reading, give it up. |
5 . Teens and younger children are reading a lot less for fun, according to a Common Sense Media report published Monday.
While the decline over the past decade is steep for teen readers, some data in the report shows that reading remains a big part of many children’s lives, and indicates how parents might help encourage more reading.
According to the report’s key findings, “the proportion (比例) who say they ‘hardly ever’ read for fun has gone from 8 percent of 13-year-olds and 9 percent of 17-year-olds in 1984 to 22 percent and 27 percent respectively today.”
The report data shows that pleasure reading levels for younger children, ages 2—8, remain largely the same. But the amount of time spent in reading each session has declined, from closer to an hour or more to closer to a half hour per session.
When it comes to technology and reading, the report does little to counsel(建议) parents looking for data about the effect of e-readers and tablets on reading. It does point out that many parents still limit electronic reading, mainly due to concerns about increased screen time.
The most hopeful data shared in the report shows clear evidence of parents serving as examples and important guides for their kids when it comes to reading. Data shows that kids and teens who do read frequently, compared to infrequent readers, have more books in the home, more books purchased for them, parents who read more often, and parents who set aside time for them to read.
As the end of school approaches, and school vacation reading lists loom(逼近) ahead, parents might take this chance to step in and make their own summer reading list and plan a family trip to the library or bookstore.
1. What is the Common Sense Media report probably about?| A．Children’s reading habits. |
| B．Quality of children’s books. |
| C．Children’s after-class activities. |
| D．Parent-child relationships. |
| A．In paragraph 2. | B．In paragraph 3. |
| C．In paragraph 4. | D．In paragraph 5. |
| A．E-books are of poor quality. |
| B．It could be a waste of time. |
| C．It may harm children’s health. |
| D．E-readers are expensive. |
| A．Act as role models for them. |
| B．Ask them to write book reports. |
| C．Set up reading groups for them. |
| D．Talk with their reading class teachers. |
6 . Traffic Light Reading is one of students’ favorites! And it’s so simple. Here’s what to do: Take three pens in different colors, most suitably red, orange and green. But it’s not too important as long as teachers and students are both clear on the colour code they’re going to use.
Students read a text, not worrying too much about how much they understand. Teachers can ask them to re-read when students are paying attention to vocabulary. Start by underlining the words that they understand completely (including names, numbers etc) in green.
Then students re-read the text and underline the words that look familiar, they maybe know them but aren
’t too sure about them. You guessed it: in orange.
Finally, students read the text a third time underlining the words they clearly don’t understand in red. Sometimes teachers might want to set students a limit for how many red words they underline, telling them only to underline the words that they believe are seriously blocking their understanding of the text as a whole. Generally, however, students are pleasantly surprised by how few words are red and how many are green. Seeing their ability laid out in a visual way really helps to increase confidence.
Once the whole text is underlined, teachers can give students a limit of 5, 10 or 15 words, depending on the length of the text, and tell them they’re only allowed to look these words up in a dictionary. This helps them to recognize words that are actually getting in the way of their understanding of the text and words that they don’t know but actually don’t impact their whole understanding of
the text.
This is a useful activity that can be done with a printed text, in a Google Doc, on RealtimeBoard, or set as a homew
ork task for some independent study.
| A．It’s easy. | B．It’s expensive. |
| C．It’s difficult | D．It’s useless. |
A．doesn’t know it at al l | B．has actually understood it |
| C．isn’t certain about its meaning | D．has never met with it at all |
| A．increase. | B．form. |
| C．affect | D．use. |
| A．needs more eyes than mind |
| B．trains students’ ability to learn |
| C．makes the students study long hours |
| D．encourages the students to speak bravely |
7 . For the kids who have just started to read, choosing the right books is essential and their parents should be there to help them.
A proper book classification system would be of great help in this regard, since most parents do not know which books suit their children’s reading levels the most. An effective classification system for children’s books would help overcome this problem.
Chinese bookstores, online or offline, still prefer to use age rather than reading ability to categorize what they sell. In fact, reading ability and interests vary from child to child even when they are at the same age. This early form of classification is accepted by most bookstores and publishers, yet many young readers get books that are nowhere near their targeted reading levels.
China has at least 200 million children under the age of 14, and their enthusiasm for reading has increased over the years. The publishers of children’s books should try to introduce a juvenile-centered classification system to help their readers choose books that are suitable for their reading abilities.
Some don’t trust the call for more effective book classification, mentioning the need for youngsters to read extensively and avoid restricting themselves to one or two categories. There is a strong case for resisting selective reading, but not book classification, which is designed to help young children develop good reading habits and hold onto them in the long run.
Studies have found that kids are less likely to be into reading if they have not developed such a habit before the age of 10. That said, it is in their best interests to adopt targeted reading during childhood, as this can greatly improve their comprehension abilities. So greater efforts should be put into designing a book classification system that meets the needs of young readers.
1. A proper book classification system should ________.| A．be on an age basis |
| B．limit readers to one or two categories |
| C．help readers get books suitable for their reading levels |
| D．benefit all the bookstores and publishers |
| A．Young children. | B．Publishers. |
| C．Reading levels. | D．Reading habits. |
| A．There is a strong case for resisting book classification. |
| B．Everyone doesn’t support a more effective book classification. |
| C．Youngsters should be restricted to a few categories of books. |
| D．Youngsters don’t need to read extensively. |
| A．Dissatisfied. | B．Ambiguous. |
| C．Supportive. | D．Unconcerned. |
8 . How do you deal with hunger of your stomach？ Eat your favorite meal and keep quiet after that？
Once you read a book， you run your eyes through the lines and your mind tries to explain something to you.
This is nothing but creativity.
So guys， do give food to your thoughts by reading， reading and more reading.
| A．Hunger of the mind can be actually solved through wide reading. |
| B．Also this makes a great contribution to your vocabulary. |
| C．Reading can help you make more friends as well. |
| D．Now what are you waiting for？ |
| E．Just like your stomach， your mind is also hungry. |
| F．Why not do some reading while you are hungry？ |
| G．The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed. |
9 . Chinese people read less than eight books last year, including both print and e-books, but the average(平均) time spent on mobile reading has for the first time exceeded one hour per day, showed statistics(数据） published by Chinese Academy of Press and Publication on Monday.
This is the academy’s 13th report regarding Chinese people’s reading habits in 17 years. The survey looked at the reading habits of both adults and children from 0 – 80, placing them in four different age groups, across 29 provinces in China.
The number of print books the average person read last year was 4.58, which basically remained the same level as that in 2014. The figure is rather low compared with other countries, with France being 12, South Korea being 11, Japan being 9 and the US being about seven, according to a report by Xinhua last year.
However, in contrast to the tiny increase in books being read last year, people’s interest in mobile reading has seen a rise. The average time Chinese people spent reading on their cellphones is 62.21 minutes, which nearly doubles the previous year’s average time of 33.82 minutes.
And more people are reading via their WeChat app as well. The most popular social networking phone app in China has also been providing public account services, which allow people to read comparatively long articles using the app. In 2015, 51.9% Chinese adults had used WeChat to read, a 17.5% increase on 2014.
But does that mean e-reading is replacing traditional reading in China?
Wei Yushan, president of the Academy of Press and Publication told People’s Daily that it doesn’t seem likely to him. “Having gone through a rapid development between 2011 and 2013, e-books are seeing a slowdown in their sales. Taking the US as an example, the sales growth of e-books has fallen behind that of print books in the past year.” In China, nearly 60% of people still prefer traditional reading to e-reading.
1. What does the underlined word “exceeded” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．rejected |
| B．designed |
| C．outnumbered |
| D．explained |
| A．The time spent on e-reading is more than that on traditional reading. |
| B．Extra services have been provided to allow people to read short articles. |
| C．Compared with Chinese readers, the number of Americans is larger. |
| D．An increase in the interest of mobile reading has been seen. |
| A．By giving explanations. |
| B．By analyzing reasons. |
C．By listing figures(数据） . |
| D．By comparing books. |
| A．All Chinese people like print books better. |
| B．Print books still gain popularity of readers. |
| C．The Sales of E-books have been improved. |
| D．Wei Yushan isn’t willing to give up e-reading. |
In the United Kingdom, the day is recognized on the first Thursday in March. On 3rd March 2016 children of all ages in the UK will come together to appreciate reading. Sometimes, reading a modern novel can be tough ( Booker Prize winner The Luminaries runs to 832 pages! ), especially if reading is not your strong suit. In fact, one in six people in the UK never pick up a book because they’ve experienced difficulties or are out of the habit of reading for pleasure.
The Galaxy Quick Reads series are designed to introduce reluctant readers to bestselling short funny novels, which bring the joy of reading without demanding hours of concentrated time. They cover a range of subjects, from romance to comedy.
Jojo Moyes’s Paris For One is a romantic adventure in which 26-year-old Nell books a weekend away to Paris with her lazy, neglectful boyfriend. When he fails to turn up, she is alone in the city. That is, until she meets Fabien, who shows her the charms of the French capital -- in more ways than one.
Adele Geras’s moving story Out In The Dark was set in World War I, in which young Rob came back from the battlefields. Determined to find the officer’s widow to return the photo of her and their daughter that the captain kept with him, he traveled several thousand miles but never gave up.
Dead Man Talking is a fantastic tale of Pat, who had a terrible fight with his best friend, Joe, ten years ago -- but now hears that Joe is dead, and he must attend his funeral. But Joe is not going quietly that very night -- he’s lying in his coffin being very chatty indeed.
1. What is the main aim of the World Book Day?
| A．To promote book selling. | B．To encourage reading. |
| C．To win authors fame. | D．To perfect education. |
| A．The Luminaries | B．Paris For One |
| C．Dead Man Talking | D．Out In The Dark |
| A．A romance. | B．A comedy. |
| C．A horror story. | D．A moving story. |
| A．The Luminaries tells a story of a Booker Prize winner. |
| B．Paris For One tells a story of Nell and Fabien. |
| C．Out In The Dark is a story during World WarⅡ. |
| D．Dead Man Talking is a story of Pat and his talkative friend. |
