1 . One day, when I was 12, my mother gave me________: I was to walk to the public library and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to________my strange problem-inability to read.

In the library, I sat down on the floor in the children’s section, and________a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye, it___a picture of a dog. I had recently had a dog, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone,_____to someone who had a space and money to care for him. I never forgot my dog.

There on the book’s cover was a dog which looked___to my dog, as if they were the same one. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the________, Amos, the Dog with a Plan.________I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library.

Under the_____of a bush I started to read about Amos. I read very slowly with difficulty. Though________were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been________from his family and who finally found his way back home. At the end of the story, my mind________the final scene of reunion, on and on,________my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.

My mother’s_____returned me to the real world. It___to me that I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Books________be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.

I________told my mother about my “miraculous” experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom____during the next year. And years later, she was______that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and____his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.

1.

A．a suggestion

B．an order

C．a job

D．a direction

2.

A．defeat

B．abandon

C．destroy

D．complete

3.

A．pushed

B．fetched

C．brought

D．pulled

4.

A．presented

B．printed

C．included

D．displayed

5.

A．given away

B．given up

C．given in

D．given off

6.

A．small

B．hairy

C．identical

D．brave

7.

A．picture

B．title

C．cover

D．dog

8.

A．unknowingly

B．unconsciously

C．uneasily

D．unwillingly

9.

A．shade

B．light

C．background

D．influence

10.

A．paragraphs

B．words

C．fingers

D．pages

11.

A．stolen

B．separated

C．gone

D．sold

12.

A．witnessed

B．continued

C．struggled

D．learned

13.

A．before

B．when

C．until

D．while

14.

A．shout

B．call

C．worry

D．swear

15.

A．seemed

B．occurred

C．happened

D．referred

16.

A．would

B．could

C．should

D．must

17.

A．seldom

B．always

C．never

D．frequently

18.

A．performance

B．activity

C．response

D．reaction

19.

A．proud

B．eager

C．crazy

D．happy

20.

A．mastered

B．found

C．owned

D．authored

2 . Matilda
By Roald Dahl
Price:＄10.25

Gifted and sweet, Matilda White goes largely unnoticed by her less-than-loving parents. Things only get worse when she goes to school. Luckily, her teacher, Miss Honey, helps Matilda discover how special she is and encourages her to create the life she dreams about.

Ivy & Bean
By Annie Barrows
Price:＄4.59

When Ivy moves in across the street, Bean is sure they won't be friends. They are just too different. However, when Ivy helps Bean get away from her sister, who is trying to get Bean in trouble, a friendship blossoms between the unlikely pair. Kids who enjoy this book can read the whole series over the summer.

Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed
By Emily Pearson
Price:＄7.99

When Mary decides to give some fresh-picked wild blueberries to a neighbor, she starts a chain reaction of kindness. After Mrs. Bishop makes and shares newly-made cake, her recipients go on to spread kindness to others they meet. Mary might be a common little girl, but she learns that even children can help make the world a better place.

Frederick
By Leo Lionni
Price:＄14.39

Frederick is a mouse who lives with his family in a large field. During the summer, all of the mice begin to store food to prepare for the cold winter months.All of the mice except Frederick, that is. Instead, Frederick collects things such as rays of sun, rainbows and words.Although the others think he is stupid, they come to learn that everyone's contribution counts.

1. Whose book is mainly about friendship?

A．Roald Dahl’s	B．Leo Lionni’s
C．Emily Pearson’s	D．Annie Barrows’s

2. How much should you pay for a book of animals?

A．＄4.59	B．＄7.99
C．＄14.39	D．＄10.25

3. Where is the text most likely to have been taken from?

A．A story book.	B．A lesson plan.
C．A book review.	D．A kid's magazine.

3 . I am reading a novel at the moment, a story set in Britain and India in the 19th century. It was written by an Indian author who now lives in Denmark, but neither in the language of Hindi nor Danish. Although the paperback edition I’m holding was published in New Delhi, India, four years ago, I (an American) purchased it recently from a second-hand bookshop in Tokyo, Japan.

That’s quite a history already. But there’s more.

The novel is a tale of various mysteries, all expertly put into a well-structured story by a very skillful author. Yet my particular copy presents even more mysteries than the tale.

One summer morning in the year of my paperback’s publication — on July 15, 2012— someone else was reading it while eating breakfast in a restaurant in Mumbai, India.

I know this because I found a receipt of coffee and bread inside. I also know that this person was not the owner of the paperback immediately before me.

In fact, the owner before me was not Indian at all, but Japanese.

I know this because in the book there are handwritten notes in Japanese —translations of English words with which the reader was unfamiliar.

Japanese being a language of characters, not letters, it is not easy to determine if the note writer was a man or a woman. But the care taken to write the translations neatly in the limited spaces available on each page indicates a woman’s hand clearly, and probably a university student, who would keep a dictionary at hand while reading a novel.

But why did she suddenly stop reading? The last translation in my paperback appears on Page 83, less than a third of the way through the novel. Did she give up because the book was proving too difficult? Or was there some other reasons?

Many a novel presents mysteries, all of which are solved by the end of the tale. The mysteries presented by my little paperback, however, remain mysteries, all expertly put into a well-structured story, not by a skillful writer, but this time by the numberless vagaries（变化莫测）of life itself.

1. What can we learn about the novel?

A．It is about a world trip.

B．It is well written.

C．It was written in an American restaurant.

D．It was first published in the 19th century.

2. The author assumes the Japanese owner of the book was a woman based on ______.

A．the pretty handwriting	B．the food written on the receipt
C．the good condition of the book	D．the effort taken in writing the notes

3. Which of the following can best describe the author?

A．He is a great reader of historical fiction.

B．He is a hard-working university student.

C．He is a productive writer with sensibility.

D．He is a careful observer with imagination.

4. What’s the best title for the next?

A．The tale of a Paperback	B．Different Life Experiences
C．Unsolved Mysteries of Life	D．A Book’s Exciting Adventure

4 . Your 2018 Reading List, Provided by Bill Gates

Most of us can’t live like billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, but we can read like him. Gates recommended four books in 2018—though some were published earlier.

Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson (2017)

The bestselling biographer of Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein researched deeply into da Vinci’s contributions beyond art, highlighting the breadth of his scientific, technological, and creative output. “Leonardo nearly understood almost all of what was known on the planet at the time. That’s mostly because of his curiosity about every area of natural science and the human experience,” said Gates.

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir, by Thi Bui (2017)

Gates calls this graphic novel “really impressive”. Bui is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees who came to America after the fall of Saigon, and becoming a parent inspired her to look into her own parents’ miserable history. “I was struck by how the experiences Bui illustrates manage to be both universal and specific to their circumstances,” said Gates.

Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders (2018)

Saunders, a long-time short story writer, won high praise for this novel. The book imagines the ghosts that haunt (萦绕) the basement of Willie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s son, who died at 11 in real life. “Willie’s death after the Civil War made the president have a new understanding of the grief he’s creating in other families by sending their sons off to die in battle,” said Gates.

Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, by David Christian (2018)

This new book is by the creator of Big History, a free, online social studies course. It traces history in wide, sweeping movements, starting with the Big Bang, and it provides, in effect, a short course in modern science. This is a brief history of the universe. “David gets a little stuck on the current economic and political problems in the West, and I wish he talked more about the role innovation will play in preventing the worst effects of climate change,” said Gates.

1. Which books refer to the field of science?

A．Origin Story and Leonardo da Vinci.

B．Lincoln in the Bardo and Origin Story.

C．Leonardo da Vinci and The Best We Could Do.

D．The Best We Could Do and Lincoln in the Bardo.

2. If you are interested in thrillers, whose book will you most probably choose?

A．Walter Isaacson.	B．Thi Bui.
C．George Saunders.	D．David Christian.

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The Best We Could Do is an autobiography.

B．Lincoln in the Bardo has been warmly received.

C．David Christian talks much about the part that innovation will play.

D．Readers can only read about Leonardo da Vinci’s contributions towards art.

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.

2. Where can you find the data that best supports “children are reading a lot less for fun”?

A．In paragraph 2.	B．In paragraph 3.
C．In paragraph 4.	D．In paragraph 5.

3. Why do many parents limit electronic reading?

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.

4. How should parents encourage their children to read more?

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.