8.The word “best seller” in this passage means ____.

　 A. a person who sells books best

　 B. books that sell in the largest numbers

　 C. a person .who sells the best book

D. books which are sold in the best bookstore　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Words per minute ______

%Comprehension _______

Passage 37

A Different Kind of Beauty

　　　 Japan is made up of a chain of islands that lie off the coast of Asia. People came to live in Japan from the nearby countries of China and Korea. From these older countries, the Japanese borrowed ideas, inventions and habits.

　　　 For many years, the Japanese built buildings like those in China. They dressed like the Chinese. From China came their way of writing and their habit of drink tea.

　　　 In more recent times, the Japanese have borrowed from the United States. They have a government like ours. They do much work in science, as we do. Baseball(垒球) is a favorite sport in Japan, just as it is here.

　　　 Things change when they come to Japan. The Japanese improve on almost everything they borrow. The art of garden making came from Korea and China, but the Japanese gardens are special. Each garden has a waterfall(瀑布), a pond, and small bridges. There are few flowers in Japanese gardens. But the gardens are green during all seasons because they have many evergreens. Japanese gardens have a different kind of beauty.

　　　　　　　　　　　　 Length 185

Total Reading Time ___

_____________________________________________________________________

Answer the following questions without referring to the reading:

7.The book itself may set a world record in the number of the editions.　　　　　　 T　　 F

6.The need to answer such a question as was given in the passage made

　 Beveagh think of publishing the book.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

5.It is nearly fifty years since the first edition of the book was published.　　　　　 T　　 F

4.Guinness Book of World Records provides the answers to all problems

in the world.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

3.Guinness Book of World Records is a book that collects almost all records

　in our life. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

2.It took Beveagh more than five years to publish the first edition of

Guinness Book of World Records　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

1. This passage mainly tells ____.

　 A. who published Guinness Book of World Records

　 B. when to publish Guinness Book of World Records

　 C. that Guinness Book of World Records was the best seller

　 D. how Guinness Book of World Records came into being

8. The word hammock in this passage means ____.

　 A. a cage which can be swung to and fro in the air

　 B. a seat hanging by two ropes from the branch of a tree

　 C. a suspension bridge in the South American rain forests

　 D. a net hung between two supports and used as a bed

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Words per minute ______

%Comprehension _______

Passage 36

Guinness Book of World Records

Guinness Book of World Records is a wor1d-famous collection of world records in human life, including all specific skills.

How the book came out is an interesting story. On Nov. 10, 195l, an Englishman, Sir Beveagh, was having a discussion with his friends. They couldn’t agree with each other whether the falcon(猎鹰) flew quickest among all the birds in Europe. And they failed to find the answer in any books. He knew that there must be many such problems in the world. Why not publish a useful book to provide the answers to all those prob1ems?

In 1954 Beveagh decided to work for it. He asked for he1p from two friends who owned an information supply center in London. They put together the first edition of Guinness Book of World Records in August, 1955. The book had only 197 pages, but it was a great success. It was well received by readers and immediately won the No. 1 best seller in Britain.

The book of records has been renewed each year, and bas been bought and enjoyed in 141 countries around the world. The 262 editions and 35 languages it has used may be a world record itself.

　　　　　　　　　　　 Length 202

Total Reading Time ___

_____________________________________________________________________

Answer the following questions without referring to the reading:

7.In the first sentence the globe refers to ____.

　 A. the sea　　　　　　　 B. the earth　　　　　　　　　　　 C. the forest　　　　　　　 D. the stars