1 . Technology seems to discourage slow, careful reading. Reading on a screen tires your eyes and makes it harder for you to keep your place. Online writing tends to be more skimmable (易略读的) and list-like than print. The neuroscientist Mary Walt argued recently that this new standard of skim reading is producing“an invisible, game-changing transformation”in how readers process words. The neuronal circuit (神经回路) that maintains and supports the brain’s ability to read now prefers the rapid absorption of information.
We shouldn’t overplay this danger. All readers skim. From about the age of nine, our eyes start to skim quickly across the page, reading only about a quarter of the words properly, and filling in the gap s by inference. Nor is there anything new in these fears about declining attention spans (持续时间). So far, the anxieties have proved to be false alarms. “Quite a few critics have been worried about attention spans lately and see very short stories as signs of cultural decline,” the American author Selvin Brown wrote. “No one ever said that poems were evidence of short attention spans.”
And yet the Internet has certainly changed the way we read. For a start, it means that there is more to read, because more people than ever are writing. And digital writing is meant for rapid release and response. This mode of writing and reading can be interactive and fun. But often it treats other people’s words as something to be quickly taken as materials to say something else. Everyone talks over the top of everyone else, eager to be heard.
Perhaps we should slow down. Reading is constantly promoted as a source of personal achievement. But this argument often emphasizes “enthusiastic” “passionate” or “eager” reading, non e of which words suggest slow, quiet absorption. To a slow reader, a piece of writing can only be fully understood by immersing oneself in the words and their slow understanding of a line of thought.
The human need for this kind of deep reading is too tenacious for any new technology to destroy. We often assume that technological change can’t be stopped and happens in one direction, so that older media like “dead-tree” books are kicked out by newer, more virtual forms. In practice, older technologies can coexist with new ones. The Kindle has not killed off the printed book any more than the car killed off the bicycle. We still want to enjoy slowly-formed ideas and carefully-chosen words. Even in a fast-moving age, there is time for slow reading.
1. Which statement would Selvin Brown probably agree?A.Online writing harms careful reading. | B.Fears of attention spans are unnecessary. |
C.The situation of cultural decline is serious. | D.Poetry reading helps lengthen attention spans. |
A.It demands writers to abandon traditional writing modes. |
B.It depends heavily on frequent interaction with the readers. |
C.It leads to too much talking and not enough deep reflection. |
D.It prepares readers for enthusiastic, passionate or eager reading. |
A.Deep-rooted. | B.Widely-acknowledged. | C.Slowly-changed. | D.Rarely-noticed. |
A.Slow Reading is Here to Stay | B.The Wonder of Deep Reading |
C.The Internet is Changing the Way We Read | D.Digital vs Print: A Life-and-Death Struggle |
2 . Searching for the perfect gift can be difficult, especially age-appropriate material for teenagers. Look no further. We have a list of the best teen magazines. Give the gift of reading to your teens today!
Muse For teens up to age 14, Muse teaches, challenges, and excites readers of both genders. Sponsored by the Smithsonian Institute, this magazine features award-winning authors and focuses on science, history, and the arts. Whether your teen is interested in genetics, video games, outer space, beekeeping, robots, or mythology, this magazine has it all! | |
Sports Illustrated Kids Perfect for sports fans aged 8 to 14, SI Kids supplies readers with interesting sports news they won’t want to miss. Articles on favorite athletes feature incredible photography and illustrations. Girls and boys alike will enjoy the advice from athletes, coaches, and experts in the field: they’ll find tips on nutrition, performance, morale, and more. | |
Girls’ Life Magazine Designed for 10 to 15-year-olds, Girls’ Life provides inspiration and entertainment for every reader. She’ll find tips for dealing with stress, navigating high school, achieving academic success, and beauty and fashion advice. This print magazine delivers fun—quizzes, reader submissions, and more—helping guide young women through their teen years while still allowing them to be young. | |
National Geographic Kids While designed for kids aged six and up, this magazine features a lot of important, fun information about the world around us. Discover great stories about wildlife, current events, pop culture, science, technology, other kids’ adventures, and more! They’ll feel like they’re exploring the places themselves, with stunning photography, lively stories, and exciting facts. |
1. Which of the following can you learn from Girls’ Life?
A.News about award-winning authors. | B.Information about interesting events. |
C.Suggestions from coaches about nutrition. | D.Advice on dealing with pressure. |
A.Girls’ Life. | B.Muse. |
C.Sports Illustrated Kids. | D.National Geographic Kids. |
A.Parents. | B.Teenage boys. |
C.Kids. | D.Teenage girls. |
A.In a classroom. | B.In a bookstore. | C.In a library. |
内容包括:
1. 书的内容;
2. 你的感想;
3. 推荐理由。
注意:1. 题目已给出; 2. 写作词数应为 80 左右。
Book Review
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . It’s said that you can tell a lot about a person by looking at what’s on their bookshelves. What do my bookshelves say about me? Well, I’d always thought of myself as a cultured person, but my bookshelves told a rather different story.
So, in October 2011, I registered my blog, ayearofreadingtheworld.com, and posted a short appeal online. I explained how narrow my reading had been and asked anyone who cared to suggest what I read from other parts of the planet. I had no idea whether anyone would be interested, but within a few hours, people started to get in touch.
Books came from surprising sources. My Panamanian read, for example, came through a conversation I had with the Panama Canal on Twitter, which advised I try the work of the Panamanian author Juan David Morgan. I found Morgan’s website and sent him a message, asking if any of his Spanish-language novels had been translated into English. And he said nothing had been published, but he did have an unpublished translation of his novel “The Golden Horse”, and he emailed it to me.
Morgan was by no means the only wordsmith to share his work with me in this way. From Sweden to Palau, writers and translators sent me self-published books and unpublished manuscripts (手稿) of books that hadn’t been picked up by Anglophone publishers or that were no longer available, giving me privileged glimpses (初步的感受) of some remarkable imaginary worlds.
The books I read that year have opened my eyes to many things. That can be an uncomfortable experience, particularly when I’m reading a book from a culture that may have quite different values to my own. But it can also be really enlightening. Wrestling with unfamiliar ideas can help clarify my own thinking and show up blind spots in the way I might have been looking at the world.
When I looked back at much of the English-language literature I’d grown up with, I began to see how narrow a lot of it was, compared to the richness that the world has to offer. Little by little, that long list of countries that I’d started the year with changed from a rather dry, academic register of place names into living, breathing entities.
1. Why did the author create the blog “A Year of Reading the World”?A.To learn from others’ bookshelves. |
B.To broaden her cultural horizons. |
C.To get recommendations from readers. |
D.To find out the literary works she lacked. |
A.They presented a challenge to the author. |
B.They blocked the author’s reading journey. |
C.They offered unique access to literary worlds. |
D.They inspired confidence in the author’s project. |
A.Provide her with unfamiliar topics. |
B.Make her absorbed in other cultures. |
C.Show fields she needs to learn more about. |
D.Reveal areas she lacks insight in her worldview. |
A.Exploring the Global Literary Landscape |
B.The Challenge of Reading the World |
C.Uncovering Stories from Every Country |
D.The Impact of Culture on the Worldview |
6 . If you’ve reached the end of the year feeling as though you didn’t read enough, we’ve got you. Here are some of the best books of the year according to notable artists, image-makers and other cultural taste makers.
Emily Ratajkowski, model: Ghost Lover’“This collection of nine short stories probes into many of the same themes in Lisa Taddeo’s beloved ‘Three Women’, but discusses them in a sharper, more disagreeable way. She ruthlessly explores jealousy relationships between women, aging, revenge and, of course, desire. Taddeo never lets you come up for air -- making you laugh while simultaneously horrifying you all when you least expect it.”
Hans UIrich Obrist, artistic director: ‘I Always Knew’“This is a portrait of artist and writer Barbara Chase-Riboud, through the letters she wrote to her mother, Vivian Mae, between 1957 and 1991. In this remarkable title, Barbara Chase-Riboud tells her mother about her development as an artist, her love stories, and her trips around the globe, from Africa to China. In these memoirs (回忆录), Chase-Riboud frankly and passionately describes her aspirations, her ambitions and creative inspiration,while also showcasing love and tenderness to her mother.”
Avan Jogia, actor and director: ‘Who is Wellness For?’“‘Who is Wellness For?’ is a book that works as part social observation and part memoir. It explores the commercialization of healing and ritual and asks questions about the industry of wellness I found the read insightful, thoughtful, and unafraid. Wellness isn’t for anyone if it’s not for everyone.”
1. What sets “Ghost Lover” apart from “Three Women”?A.The focus on themes. | B.The setting of stories. |
C.The structure of books. | D.The tone of narration. |
A.Barbara Chase-Riboud. | B.Hans Ulrich Obrist |
C.Vivian Mae. | D.Avan Jogia. |
A.They bring laughter to readers. | B.They share the same writing type |
C.They center on the theme of love | D.They stand out as the best reads of the year. |
7 . Not long ago, Linda was sitting by a hospital bed, feeling anxious. Beside her lay her 88-year-old father. His heart was
What
That day in the hospital, Linda’s eye fell on the
It
In fact, almost any kind of reading to another person can be
A.broken | B.weak | C.special | D.lost |
A.worried | B.confused | C.bored | D.embarrassed |
A.funny | B.angry | C.depressing | D.amazing |
A.cooperation | B.imagination | C.expectations | D.conversations |
A.possible | B.desired | C.helpful | D.incredible |
A.returned | B.adapted | C.grown | D.narrowed |
A.books | B.flowers | C.soup | D.fruit |
A.time | B.chance | C.energy | D.courage |
A.looked for | B.thought of | C.took out | D.picked up |
A.constantly | B.probably | C.immediately | D.barely |
A.secret | B.relief | C.burden | D.game |
A.luckily | B.usually | C.otherwise | D.never |
A.Listening | B.Reading | C.Sleeping | D.Dreaming |
A.taught | B.felt | C.recognized | D.introduced |
A.practical | B.available | C.difficult | D.beneficial |
8 . A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps, for there is the companionship of books as well as of men.
A good book may be among the best of friends. I's the same today that it always was, and it will never change. It is the most patient and cheerful of companions.
Books introduce us into the best society.
There is a story of two men: one was a king, who dreamed every night that he was a beggar; the other was a beggar, who dreamed every night that he was a prince , and lived in a palace.
A.Imagination is sometimes more vivid than reality. |
B.Books are to mankind what memory is to a man. |
C.Nothing in books can long survive but what is really good. |
D.It doesn't turn its back upon us in times of difficulty or hardship. |
E.They bring us into the presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived. |
F.And one should live in the best company whether it may be of books or men. |
G.Men discover their liking for each other by the love they each have for a book. |