英语阅读理解及快速阅读

Unit1

Language is a way to communicate with each other. Westarted to learn language when we were born. However, people are used to speaking their native language, so immigrants are having many problems between the first generation and the second generation because they don't have the same native language. Also, the second generation is losing their identity. Especially in America, there are many immigrants that came from different countries to succeed in the States. Because they suffer in lots of areas such as getting a job and trying to speak English, they want their children to speak English, not only at school, but also at home in order to be more successful. Because of this situation, their children are losing their ethnic identity and, even more, they are ignoring their parents whose English is not very good.

I think most immigrants are trying to preserve their native language in their new country, but this doesn't help very much in getting a good job. My aunt didn't teach Korean to her children in order to help them succeed in the US; she did so, hopefully, to help them establish a Korean identity. Though the second generation is born in the new country, they often get confused about their identity. My cousins told me that when they visited Korea a few years ago, they felt different from other Koreans. They could even feel it just strolling around the street because they wore different clothes.

We must realize that language is important and valuable for many reasons. Immigrants should make an effort not to be ignored by their children and to make their children understand their heritage by teaching them the parents' language. This is important in helping the second generation establish their identity.

1.Which people are having trouble with language?

A. Natives.

B. People of the 2nd generation.

C. People when born.

D. Immigrants.

2. Why are children ignoring their parents?

A. Children have lost their identity.

B. Parents cause children to suffer.

C. They speak different languages.

D. They have different job levels.

3. The author's aunt taught Korean ________.

A. so she could preserve her language

B. so she would have a job in America

C. to help children succeed in their new country

D. to help children keep their Korean identity

4. The author's cousins felt ________.

A. they were not similar to people in Korea

B. they could not get a job in America

C. it was all right to look and feel different

D. it was important to keep their identity

5. A proper title for this passage is ________.

A. The Identity of the Second Generation

B. Korean Problems in America

C. Learning a New Language in the US

D. Keeping Your Culture in a New Land

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage or dialog.

Two similar-sounding English words caused trouble for a man who wanted to fly from Los Angeles to Oakland, California. His problems began at the airport in Los Angeles. He thought he heard his flight announced, so he walked to the gate, showed his ticket, and got on the plane. After flying for twenty minutes, the man began to worry. Oakland was north of Los Angeles, but the plane seemed to be heading west, and when he looked out his window all he could see was ocean. "Is this plane going to Oakland?" he asked the flight attendant (服务员). The flight attendant was shocked. "No," she said. "We're going to Auckland-Auckland, New Zealand."

English is not the only language with similar-sounding words. Other languages, too, have words that can cause mistakes, especially for foreigners.

Auckland and Oakland. When similar-sounding words cause a mistake, probably the best thing to do is just laugh and learn from it. Of course, sometimes it's hard to laugh. The man who traveled to Auckland instead of Oakland didn't feel like laughing. But even that mistake turned out all right in the end. The airline (航空公司) paid for the man's hotel room and meals in New Zealand and for his flight back to California. "Oh well," the man later said, "I always wanted to see New Zealand."

6. The main topic of this passage is ________.

A. mistakes made by people in airports

B. troubles experienced by foreigners in a new country

C. difficulties had by people when taking a plane

D. problems caused by words that sound alike

7. She told him the plane would arrive in ________.

A. Oakland

B. Auckland

C. Los Angeles

D. California

8. The man realized something was wrong when ________.

A. he landed in Oakland, California

B. he saw that the flight attendant was shocked

C. he noticed the direction of the plane

D. he walked up to the gate

9. The sentence "Oh well, I always wanted to see New Zealand." reflects ________.

A. the man's sense of humor

B. the man's frustration

C. the man's disappointment

D. the man's despair

10. According to the passage one proper way to deal with a mistake caused by similar-sounding words is ________.

A. to have a sharp ear

B. to learn a good pronunciation

C. to speak clearly and slowly

D. to laugh and learn from it

Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage or dialog.

Yinlan looked at the people sitting around the table and smiled with satisfaction. Everyone in her family was there—her children, her grandchildren, and her new great-grandson, just one month old. Her whole family had come to celebrate the Harvest Moon Festival (节日).

Two days after the Harvest Moon Festival, Yinlan died peacefully in her sleep. Her family was sad but at the same time grateful. They felt happy that they had been able to celebrate the Harvest Moon Festival with her one last time. Everyone said it was remarkable that Yinlan had died just two days after the holiday.

Actually, the timing of Yinlan's death was not remarkable at all. Recently sociologists (社会学家) studied the death rate among elderly Chinese women in California. They discovered that the death rate drops 35 percent before the Harvest Moon Festival and then rises 35 percent. Sociologists believe that these changes in death rate show the mind's power over the body. The Harvest Moon Festival, when families gather, is important to elderly Chinese women. Apparently some women are able to postpone (推延) their deaths so that they can celebrate the festival one last time.

The idea that people can postpone the time of their deaths is not new. Many families tell stories of a relative who held on to life until after an important event. The stories people tell, however, are just that: stories. They are not proof that people can postpone their deaths. The sociologists' work is important because the sociologists studied facts, not stories. The facts—the drop and rise in death rates—prove that people really can postpone their deaths.

11. When did Yilan die?

A. During the Harvest Moon Festival .

B. Before going to sleep.

C. Just before the Harvest Moon Festival.

D. A couple days after the Harvest Moon Festival.

12.The writer tells us the story of Yilan to let us know that _________.

A. the Harvest Moon Festival is important to elderly Chinese women

B. Chinese families get together to enjoy the Harvest Moon Festival

C. families are often sad during the Harvest Moon Festival

D. people may be able to put off death for an important event

13. Where did the study take place?

A. China.

B. Yilan's home.

C. Festival grounds .

D. California.

14. What does the author describe as "not new"?

A. The work of sociologists.

B. Proof of postponing death.

C. The Harvest Moon Festival.

D. Stories of putting off death.

15. What provides us with proof?

A. The stories of family members .

B. The numbers showing death rates.

C. The important events.

D. The postponing of death.

DCDAD DBCAD DDDCB

Unit2

Questions 1 to 10 are based on the following passage or dialog.

Engineers of the Woods

In the forests of North America, where the winters are often long and cold, small lakes can be found along the streams. Sometimes these lakes are natural, sometimes they are man-made, and sometimes

they are the constructions of beavers (海狸). You can tell a beaver lake by its dam. To make the dams, the beavers lay sticks and branches on top of each other to form an effective barrier against the water of the stream. Near the dam the beavers lay sticks and branches. Usually this barrier is similar to a small island in a lake. This is the house where a beaver family spends the winter, protecting themselves from enemies and from the cold. The beavers are able to keep dry in the center of the house, which is above water level.

The beavers work hard to make their house. They cut down trees, gather branches and put them together with mud. Most of the summer is spent on this kind of work, but in winter the beavers' work pays off. Their house protects them from bears as well as the cold.

The beaver is related to animals such as rats and mice. The beaver, however, is much bigger than his relatives. An adult beaver may weigh more than 50 pounds, and his body may be about three feet long. His tail will add ten to twelve more inches to his length. His back feet are webbed, which help him swim rapidly. His front feet are similar to a pair of strong hands. With them he can carry wood and stones. His eyes, nose and ears are small, but he has two huge front teeth. These teeth are always growing, and he must keep them sharp by constant use. The teeth of an adult beaver are yellow from the bark of trees that he bites.

Men attach great value to the beaver because beavers can be sold to make expensive clothing. Beavers have almost disappeared from Europe because trappers (设阱捕兽者) have killed so many of them. Beavers might easily have become extinct in America, too, but laws were passed to protect them before they were all killed.

The beaver likes family life, and lives with the same mate all his life. Several young—usually two to five—are born every year. The little beavers stay with their parents for two years before mating and setting out on their own. They share the work of building dams, constructing homes and raising the young.

When there are too many beavers in one place, some of them will group together in another place. They usually choose a spot near some fairly deep lake or river, where there are trees. The bark of trees is eaten as food. Then the wood is used for building.

Sometimes the lodges are built on the bank of the water, but usually they are built on an island in the water. If there is no island already there, the beavers make one by piling sticks and mud on the bed of the river until the top is a few inches above the level of the water. The top is carpeted with small pieces of wood leaves. A roof of sticks and lots of mud is then built over this "floor". Food for the winter is taken to the lodge before the weather gets too cold. Some of it—the larger pieces—is stored on the bottom of the lake or river, near the entrance to a tunnel leading up to the lodge. There are sometimes several such entrances, under the surface of the water. Wood that is kept under water may be stuck in the mud, or weighted down with stones.

Beavers prefer to work at night. One beaver, on a single night, can cut down a tree that is eight inches around. After cutting down the tree, the beaver cuts the trunk into pieces that can be carried. He uses these as the base for the dam. A small dam may be enlarged after several years, in order to flood a

large surface and provide living space for more beavers. Under favorable conditions, a dam may last for a hundred years or more. Naturally, other animals use these dams as bridges, forcing the beavers to keep the dams in good repair. The dams must be strong enough to hold up against the pressure of ice in spring and sometimes, holes are made by the beavers, after heavy rains, to allow excess water to run off.

Another type of work beavers do is canal digging. When they have used up the good trees near their home, they must bring more wood from farther away. To accomplish this, they may dig a canal (运河) to float the trees to the place where they are needed.

Beaver dams help people because they prevent floods and bring water to farms. It is fortunate that these animals have not been allowed to disappear completely.

1. The stick and branch dams made by beavers are similar to ________________.

A. houses where people spend the winter

B. small islands in a lake

C. barriers against the water of the stream

D. dams that are man-made

2. Beavers spend most of the summer ________________.

A. hiding from bears

B. making their house

C. keeping cold

D. looking for mice and rats

3. To help it swim quickly, a beaver has ________________.

A. small ears

B. strong front feet

C. a long tail

D. webbed back feet

4. ________________ have (has) protected beavers from becoming extinct.

A. Family life

B. Europe

C. Laws

D. Trappers

5. Beavers usually choose to live ________________.

A. in one place

B. near some deep lakes or rivers with food

C. near some deep lakes or rivers with trees

D. near the dams of rivers

6. On the bottom of the lake or river, beavers store ________________.

A. large pieces of food

B. small pieces of wood leaves

C. wood and stones

D. sticks and lots of mud

7. In only one night, a beaver can ________________.

A. build a small dam

B. cut down a tree

C. repair a dam

D. make more living space

8.After heavy rains, beavers make holes in the dam to let excess water-

____________________________.

9.Beavers dig canals to _____________from the places farther away to the places where they are

needed.

10.Preventing floods and bringing water to farms are two ways that beaver

dams__________________________.

BBDCCAB

run off float the trees help people

Unit3

So long as teachers fail to distinguish between teaching and learning, they will continue to undertake things for children that children can only do for themselves. Teaching children to read is not passing reading on to them. It is certainly not endless hours spent in activities about reading. Douglas insists that "reading cannot be taught directly and schools should stop trying to do the impossible."

Teaching and learning are two entirely different processes. They differ in kind and function. The function of teaching is to create the conditions and the climate that will make it possible for children to devise the most efficient system for teaching themselves to read. Teaching is also a public activity: it can be seen and observed.

Learning to read involves all that each individual does to make sense of the world of printed language. Almost all of it is private, for learning is an occupation of the mind, and that process is not open to public examination.

If teacher and learner roles are distinguishable, how can teaching aid the child in the quest for knowledge? Smith has one principal rule for all teaching instructions. "Make learning to read easy, which means making reading a meaningful, enjoyable and frequent experience for children."

When the roles of teacher and learner are seen for what they are, and when both teacher and learner fulfill them appropriately, then much of the pressure and feeling of failure for both is eliminated. Learning to read is made easier when teachers create an environment where children are given the opportunity to solve the problem of learning to read by reading.

1.The problem with the reading course as mentioned in the first paragraph is that ________.

A. it is one of the most difficult school courses

B. too much time is spent in teaching about reading

C. students spend endless hours in reading

D. reading tasks are assigned with little guidance

2.The teaching of reading will be successful if ________.

A. teachers can enable students to develop their own way of reading

B. teachers can improve conditions at school for the students

C. teachers can devise the most efficient system for reading

D. teachers can make their teaching activities observable

3.The word "examination" at the end of Paragraph 3 most probably means "________".

A. inquiry

B. observation

C. control

D. suspicion

4.According to the passage, learning to read will no longer be a difficult task when ________.

A. children become highly motivated

B. teacher and learner roles are identical

C. teaching helps children in the search for knowledge

D. reading enriches children's experience

5.The main idea of the passage is that ________.

A. teachers should do as little as possible in helping students learn to read

B. teachers should encourage students to read as widely as possible

C. reading ability is something acquired rather than taught

D. reading is more complicated than generally believed

Society usually tends to focus on the negative side of inner-city schools. Many people like to stereotype (模式化) these schools which, while these general statements may be true in some cases, tend to be worse most of the time. People think that the students of these schools receive inferior educations. My school, an inner-city school named St. Ignatius, is regarded as one of the best in the state. People also believe that violence occurs on a daily basis, both in the school itself and in the nearby city. I cannot even remember a serious fight at St. Ignatius. People who think that the teachers at inner-city schools lack love for their job worsen this typical stereotype even further. My teachers not only had a love for teaching, but they were also able to cultivate a love for learning in their students.

Take Mrs. Borroni, my Spanish teacher, for example. She would often take time out of her class to tell her students about the numerous activities after class with which we should get involved. She loved her job so much that she stayed after school every day to moderate activities such as "Amnesty International" (an international organization that protects human rights) and the Spanish Club. Her students, including me, joined all of the clubs which she moderated just because she made them so interesting.

After reading all of this, most people would argue that St. Ignatius should not be considered a true "inner-city school". While this may hold some truth, I am arguing that my life was greatly enriched simply because of the school's location in the middle of Cleveland, as opposed to a poor suburban area.

6.What do people often think negatively about?

A. Inner-city schools.

B. Stereotypes.