If you have questions about developing your study practices,the first place to look is in our Study Guides. However,if you don't find the answers you need here, or you feel the guidance would make more sense in the situation of your own work, then you may find it helpful to talk to an adviser individually.

We offer subject-focused sessions(辅导课) -with friendly professional advisers. These 30-nunute sessions (longer if necessary)are "tailor-made" to your individual needs and completely secret.

What to expect from an individual advice session

Our individual advice sessions are quite informal and tailored to your needs. Your adviser will usually want to talk a bit about how your studies are going generally, and what you would like to discuss. As sessions are quite short, it's useful if you can be prepared by tlunking about this before you arrive. It will be helpful for us if you can bring any marked work that you have, so that we can see what areas of your work markers have commented on.

We aimto help you developyour skills to study more effectively andachievesubject success. So we will not correct work for you, but will help you understand what youneed to know to correct it yourself in the future. Everyone works differently, so we may make a number of suggestions - it will be up to you to try them out and see what worksest for you.

If you'd like to discuss a coursework assignment which you are currently working on,it may be helpful if you can email your work to the adviser you are seeing oefore your meeting (contact details are here), with a note sessions are quite short, you might prefer that develop your work, rather than reading it!

Please note:

Saying what you would like to discuss. Aswe spent the time discussing how you can．  We cannot pravide subject-specific advice. For this,it is best to consult your course    tutor. If you would prefer to talk to someone else, try your personal tutor, or the    Senior Tutor in your department. Your department or school office will be able to advise on who that is.

We do not proof-read work. See our guide to Effective Proof-reading to help you to develop develop your own proof-reading practices.

Study Advisers are not trained to teach English as a Foreign Language. For basic     principles relating to common errors in academic English, please see our guide to       Academic Writing. If you feel you need more detailed help, there are also links on the    Academic Writing pages to more comprehensive websites, including some with  interactive exercises.

If  English is not your first language, the In-sessional English SLrpport Programme    (IESP) provides training courses in academic writing skills, speaking skills, and  pronunciation practice.There is a smll charge for students not paying full overseas fees.

Booking an advice session

Sessions may be booked in advance by calling 0118 378 4242 0r emailing studyadvice@reading.ac.uk. Please include a contact phone number in any messages you  leave.

1.The underlined word "tailor_made" in Paragraph 2 most probably means      .

A．valuable          B．suitable           C．available          D．acceptable

2.As sessions are time-limited,it is helpful if you can       .

A．predict what suggestion works best for you

B．bring some non-marked work for comments

C．prepare what you'd like to discuss in advance

D．consult with your adviser on your work by phone

3.If a Chinese student plans to take an English pronunciation training course, he/she can see the guide to       .

A．Study Guides                           B．Effective Proof-reading

C．Academic Writing                       D．In-sessional English Support Programme

4.What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To give some professional subject advice.

B．To promote the individual advice sessions.

C．To stress the importance of a friendly adviser.

D．To provide four websites offering study guides.

December 21, 2012 marks the completion of the 5,125 year Great Cycle of the Ancient Maya Long Count Calendar.

Rather than being an end－point, this cycle that is closing is naturally I followed by the start of a new cycle. What this new cycle has in store for humanity is a mystery that has yet to unfold...

The recent 2012 movie serves to alert a targeted 140 million people, in case they too haven't already heard the news. Unfortunately, however, the movie does a disservice because it distorts the message of this ancient prophecy (预言) by associating it with fear and destruction, as described by the movie's global disaster scenario (场景), rather than the themes of transformation and renewal the prophecy is actually based on.

In other words, the global scenario of the 2012 movie is not based on any facts. As Emmerich clarifies，“We only used the fact that the Mayan calendar ends. That gave us the year.” Emmerich said after checking out the range of 2012 books on Amazon, he realized, “...there are so many (theories) that, in a way, you can just create your own.” He shares that “2012” was tacked on as a title to his disaster movie because it is something “people believe” and it made the movie seem more “real.”

Interestingly, Emmerich's underlying motivation for the movie seems to be genuine concern about the course we are all on as modern society. As he states, “I hope we are not ruining our planet. I really believe that, if we keep going and doing what we are doing, we will not be leaving the planet how it should be, for our kids. That has been going on for generations. It just very sad to see and read the news, every day, and see what these people are fighting over. It's like they don't  understand that the clock is ticking.”

6. According to the Ancient Maya Long Count Calendar, December 21,2012 is the day on which ________.

A. the world will end with many disasters

B. the old age will end and a new one will begin

C. there will be a world flood

D. the world can survive many disasters

7. Which of the following is TRUE about the movie 2012?

A. It is intended to explore what is in store in the new cycle.

B. It tells us about the Ancient Maya Long Count Calendar as it is.

C. It is just based on the director's ideas.

D. It describes the ancient prophecy vividly.

8. What Emmerich says suggests that ________.

A. he is quite concerned about the present situation on the earth

B. he is regretful that people have misunderstood his movie

C. he himself believes what is described in the movie

D. he just wants to attract viewers by the disaster scenario

9. By this passage, the author intends to ________.

A. tell us about what the movie 2012 is all about

B. help the director to promote his film

C. tell us what we should learn from the movie 2012

D. explain whether we can trust the ancient prophecy

10. The underlined word “distort” in the third paragraph probably means ________.

A. change something in a wrong way

B. convey the original meaning

C. describe something clearly

D. give more proof to something

第二节完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
In a hall, a lecturer was giving a lecture to his students on stress management. At the beginning of the speech,he 41 a glass of water and asked the audience, “How 42 do you think this glass of water is?”
The students’ answers 43 from 20g to 500g.
“Actually,it does not matter on the absolute 44 . But it depends on how 45 you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for a(n) 46 , I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to 47  an ambulance. It is exactly the 48 weight, but the longer I hold it, the 49 it becomes.” Hearing these words,the whole audience became silent, lost in thought.
After a moment, the lecturer continued, “ 50 we carry our burden all the time, 51 , we will not be able to carry on with the burden becoming increasingly heavier,  52 heavy for us to bear.
“So, what you have to do is to 53 the glass, rest for a while 54 holding it up again.”
As is shown in the story above, we have to put down the burden periodically, 55 we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.
So before you 56 home from work tonight, put the burden of 57 down. Don’t carry it back 58 . You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burden you are having now on your 59 , let it down for a moment if you can.
Life is short,  60 it!  
41. A. supported            B. drank                C. needed                        D. raised
42. A. heavy                 B. pure           C. sweet                       D. many
43. A. differed             B. ranged              C. numbered                 D. limited
44. A. weight            B. volume             C. height                     D. quantity
45. A. tight                B. long                  C. difficult                   D. high
46. A. day                  B. second              C. hour                D. half
47. A. require                  B. invite          C. call                D. ask
48. A. proper                  B. same           C. right                   D. usual
49. A. less                  B. lighter              C. more                   D. heavier
50. A. If                     B. Unless         C. While                   D. Since
51. A. now and then    B. little by little        C. sooner or later      D. sometimes
52. A. too              B. so              C. rather                D. quite
53. A. put away       B. put down          C. put aside            D. put back
54. A. after            B. for              C. by                       D. before
55. A. so that                B. even if            C. as if                D. as soon as
56. A. leave                  B. clean                C. approach                  D. return
57. A. life                  B. duty                      C. task                     D. work
58. A. home                  B. office             C. company             D. family
59. A. shoulders            B. heart              C. body                   D. hands
60. A. do                   B. like                C. love                D. enjoy

Don’t you think your schoolbag is too heavy to bear? The e-schoolbag will free you from the weight.
It is said that e-schoolbags are going to be brought into use in Chinese middle schools soon. An experiment with several hundred e-schoolbags will begin in seven cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Taiyuan and Shijiazhuang. And the e-schoolbags are going to cover all over China if the experiment proves to be successful. In fact, the e-schoolbag should perhaps be called an e-notebook. It is a small hand-held computer for school students.
Heavy schoolbags have long been a serious problem for school students. The average schoolbag of middle school students weighs up to 5 kilos. But the e-schoolbag will change everything. It is much lighter than a usual schoolbag, weighing under 1 kilo.
Also, it is no bigger than a usual book, but it can still hold all the things for study, such as a textbook, a notebook and exercise book. They could be made into chips that are as small as a stamp. The students can read the text page by page on the screen. They can still take notes using a special electronic pen. If they want to know the meaning or the pronunciation of a new word, or even e-mail their teachers, it’s just a press of a button.
In some foreign countries, it is becoming common. But it is hard to tell when people will receive this new form of study. Some say that e-textbooks can be easily broken, some say that it is not good to students’ eyesight to look at the screen for long.  But only time will tell.
【小题1】The e-schoolbag has many functions EXCEPT ________.

阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词。

Whenever we meet with difficulty or failure, teachers, parents or others often say to us or perhaps we say to ourselves, “Never give up.” These can be encouraging words and words of determination. A person who believes in himself will keep trying to reach his goal no matter how many times he fails. In my opinion , the quality of determination to succeed is an important one to have. Therefore, I believe that we should never give up.

One reason is that if we give up too easily, we will rarely achieve anything. It is not unusual for us to fail in our first attempt at something new, so we should not feel disappointed and should try again. Besides, if we always give up when we fail , we will not be able to develop new skills and grow.

Another reason we should never give up is that we can learn from our mistakes so that we can not make the same ones. If we do not try again, the lesson we have learned is wasted.

Finally, we should never give up because as we work to reach our goals, we develop confidence, and this confidence can help us succeed in other areas of our lives. If we never challenge ourselves, we will begin to doubt our abilities.

In short, it is important that we do not give up when working for our goals. Whether we succeed in the end or not , we will learn something , and what we learn will help us to become better and more confident. Furthermore, if we give up , we have no chance of attaining our goals any more , but if we keep making great efforts, there is always a chance that we will succeed one day.

Topic: Never Give UP