If you look for a book as a present for a child. You will be spoiled for choice even in a year when there is no new Harry Potter. J.K Rowling’s wizard is not alone: the past decade has been a harvest for good children’s books, which has set off a large quantity of films and in turn led to increased sales of classics such as The Lord of the Rings.

Yet despite that, reading is increasingly unpopular among children. According to statistics, in 1997 23% said they didn’t like reading at all. In 2003, 35% did. And around 6% of children leave primary school each year unable to read properly.

Maybe the decline is caused by the increasing availability of computes games. Maybe the books boom has affected only the top of the educational pile. Either way, Chancellor Gordon Brown plans to change things for the bottom of the class .In his pre-budget report, he announced the national project of Reading Recovery to help the children struggling most.

Reading Recovery is aimed at six-year-olds, who receive four months of individual daily half-hour classes with a specially trained teacher. An evaluation earlier this year reported that children on the scheme made 20 months’ progress in just one year, whereas similarly weak readers without special help made just five months’ progress, and so ended the year even further below the level expected for their age.

International research tends to find that when British children leave primary school they read well, but read less often for fun than those elsewhere. Reading for fun matters because children who are keen on reading can expect lifelong pleasure and loving books is an excellent indicator of future educational success. According to the OECD, being a regular and enthusiastic reader is of great advantage.

1.Which of the following is true of Paragraph 1?

A．Many children’s books have been adapted from films.

B．Many high-quality children’s books have been published.

C．The sales of classics have led to the popularity of films.

D．The sales of presents for children have increased.

2.Statistics suggested that               .

A．the number of top students increased with the use of computers

B．a decreasing number of children showed interest in reading

C．a minority of primary school children read properly

D．a large percentage of children read regularly

3.What do we know about Reading Recovery?

A．An evaluation of it will be made sometime this year.

B．Weak readers on the project were the most hardworking.

C．It aims to train special teachers to help children with reading.

D．Children on the project showed noticeable progress in reading.

4.Reading for fun is important because book-loving children _________.

A.      take greater advantage of the project

B．show the potential to enjoy a long life

C．are likely to succeed in their education

D．would make excellent future researchers

5.The aim of this text would probably be _________.

A．to overcome primary school pupils’ reading difficulty

B．to encourage the publication of more children’s books

C．to remind children of the importance of reading for fun

D．to introduce a way to improve early children reading

 

Mark Twain has been called the inventor of the American novel. And he surely deserves additional praise: the man who popularized the clever literary attack on racism.

I say clever because anti-slavery fiction had been the important part of the literature in the years before the Civil War. H. B. Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is only the most famous example. These early stories dealt directly with slavery. With minor exceptions, Twain planted his attacks on slavery and prejudice into tales that were on the surface about something else entirely. He drew his readers into the argument by drawing them into the story.

Again and again, in the postwar years, Twain seemed forced to deal with the challenge of race. Consider the most controversial, at least today, of Twain’s novels, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Only a few books have been kicked off the shelves as often as Huckleberry Finn, Twain’s most widely read tale. Once upon a time, people hated the book because it struck them as rude. Twain himself wrote that those who banned the book considered the novel “trash and suitable only for the slums (贫民窟).” More recently the book has been attacked because of the character Jim, the escaped slave, and many occurences of the word nigger. (The term Nigger Jim, for which the novel is often severely criticized, never appears in it.)

But the attacks were and are silly—and miss the point. The novel is strongly anti-slavery. Jim’s search through the slave states for the family from whom he has been forcibly parted is heroic. As J. Chadwick has pointed out, the character of Jim was a first in American fiction—a recognition that the slave had two personalities, “the voice of survival within a white slave culture and the voice of the individual: Jim, the father and the man.”

There is much more. Twain’s mystery novel Pudd’nhead Wilson stood as a challenge to the racial beliefs of even many of the liberals of his day. Written at a time when the accepted wisdom held Negroes to be inferior (低等的) to whites, especially in intelligence, Twain’s tale centered in part around two babies switched at birth. A slave gave birth to her master’s baby and, for fear that the child should be sold South, switched him for the master’s baby by his wife. The slave’s lightskinned child was taken to be white and grew up with both the attitudes and the education of the slave-holding class. The master’s wife’s baby was taken for black and grew up with the attitudes and intonations of the slave.

The point was difficult to miss: nurture (养育), not nature, was the key to social status. The features of the black man that provided the stuff of prejudice—manner of speech, for example— were, to Twain, indicative of nothing other than the conditioning that slavery forced on its victims.

Twain’s racial tone was not perfect. One is left uneasy, for example, by the lengthy passage in his autobiography (自传) about how much he loved what were called “nigger shows” in his youth—mostly with white men performing in black-face—and his delight in getting his mother to laugh at them. Yet there is no reason to think Twain saw the shows as representing reality. His frequent attacks on slavery and prejudice suggest his keen awareness that they did not.

Was Twain a racist? Asking the question in the 21st century is as wise as asking the same of Lincoln. If we read the words and attitudes of the past through the “wisdom” of the considered moral judgments of the present, we will find nothing but error. Lincoln, who believed the black man the inferior of the white, fought and won a war to free him. And Twain, raised in a slave state, briefly a soldier, and inventor of Jim, may have done more to anger the nation over racial injustice and awaken its collective conscience than any other novelist in the past century.

1. How do Twain’s novels on slavery differ from Stowe’s?

A．Twain was more willing to deal with racism.

B．Twain’s attack on racism was much less open.

C．Twain’s themes seemed to agree with plots.

D．Twain was openly concerned with racism.

2.Recent criticism of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn arose partly from its ______.

A．target readers at the bottom

B．anti-slavery attitude

C．rather impolite language

D．frequent use of “nigger”

3.What best proves Twain’s anti-slavery stand according to the author?

A．Jim’s search for his family was described in detail.

B．The slave’s voice was first heard in American novels.

C．Jim grew up into a man and a father in the white culture.

D．Twain suspected that the slaves were less intelligent.

4.The story of two babies switched mainly indicates that ______.

A．slaves were forced to give up their babies to their masters

B．slaves’ babies could pick up slave-holders’ way of speaking

C．blacks’ social position was shaped by how they were brought up

D．blacks were born with certain features of prejudice

5.What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 7 refer to?

A．The attacks.                            B．Slavery and prejudice.

C．White men.                            D．The shows.

6.What does the author mainly argue for?

A．Twain had done more than his contemporary writers to attack racism.

B．Twain was an admirable figure comparable to Abraham Lincoln.

C．Twain’s works had been banned on unreasonable grounds.

D．Twain’s works should be read from a historical point of view.

 

In the kitchen of my mother’s houses there has always been a wooden stand (木架) with a small notepad (记事本)　and a hole for a pencil.

I’m looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can’t be the same pencil? The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely  the original one.

 “I’m just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these years.” I say to her, walking back into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. “You still use a pencil. Can’t you afford a pen?”

My mother replies a little sharply. “It works perfectly  well. I’ve  always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in those days.”

Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, “One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on.”

This story—which happened before I was born—reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is, as a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have travelled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible (看不到的) exhibits at every meal.

1.Why has the author’s mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?

A．To leave messages.

B．To list her everyday tasks.

C．To note down maths problems.

D．To write down a flash of inspiration.

2.What is the author’s original opinion about the wooden stand?

A．It has great value for the family.

B．It needs to be replaced by a better one.

C．It brings her back to her lonely childhood.

D．It should be passed on to the next generation.

3.The author feels embarrassed for             .

A．blaming her mother wrongly

B．giving her mother a lot of trouble

C．not making good use of time as her mother did

D．not making any breakthrough in her field

4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The mother is successful in her career.

B．The family members like travelling.

C．The author had little time to play when young.

D．The marks on the breadboard have disappeared.

5.In the author’s mind, her mother is             .

A．strange in behaviour

B．keen on her research

C．fond of collecting old things

D．careless about her appearance

 

Thirty years ago, the Earnshaw family lived at Wuthering Heights, with two teenaged children Hindley and Catherine. Mr. Earnshaw travels to Liverpool, where he adopts a homeless Gypsy boy, naming him "Heathcliff". Hindley finds himself robbed of his father's love and care and becomes bitterly jealous of the newcomer. However, Catherine grows very attached to him. Soon, the two children spend hours on the moors (荒原) together and hate every moment apart.
Because of the conflict(冲突), Hindley is eventually sent to college. However, he marries a woman named Frances and returns three years later, after Mr. Earnshaw dies. He becomes master of Wuthering Heights, making Heathcliff their servant instead of a family member.
Months after Hindley’s return, Heathcliff and Catherine travel to Thrushcross Grange to spy on the Linton family. However, they are found and try to escape. Catherine is caught by a dog, and then brought inside the Grange to have injuries tended to while Heathcliff is sent home. Catherine eventually returns to Wuthering Heights as a changed woman, looking and acting as a lady. She laughs at HeathcIiff’s dirty appearance. When the Lintons visit the next day, Heathcliff dresses up to impress her. It fails, however, when Edgar, one of the Lintons' children, argues with him. Heathcliff is locked in the attic, where Catherine later tries to comfort him. He swears revenge(报复) on Hindley.
In the summer of the next year, Frances gives birth to a son, Hareton, but she dies before the year is out. This leads Hindley to fall into a life of drunkenness and waste. Two years pass and Catherine has become close friends with Edgar, growing more distant from Heathcliff.
One day in August, while Hindley is absent, Edgar comes to visit Catherine. Before long, they declare themselves lovers. Catherine explains to Nelly, her servant, that she does not really love Edgar but Heathcliff. Unfortunately, she could never marry Heathcliff because of his lack of status and education. She therefore plans to marry Edgar and use that position to help raise Heathcliff’s status. Unfortunately, Heathcliff has overheard the first part and runs away, disappearing without a trace. After three years, Edgar and Catherine are married.
Six months after their marriage, Heathcliff returns as a gentleman, having grown stronger and richer. Catherine is delighted to see him although Edgar is not so keen. Edgar's sister, Isabella, now eighteen, falls in love with Heathcliff. He looks down upon her but encourages the adolescent love, seeing it as a chance for revenge on Edgar. When he embraces Isabella one day at the Grange, there is an argument with Edgar, which causes Catherine to lock herself in her room and fall ill.
Heathcliff has been staying at the Heights, gambling with Hindley and teaching Hareton bad habits. Hindley is gradually losing his wealth, mortgaging （抵押) the farmhouse to Heathcliff to repay his debts.
While Catherine is ill, Heathcliff leaves with Isabella, causing Edgar to disown （与……断绝关系) his sister. The two marry and return two months later to Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff hears that Catherine is ill and arranges to visit her in secret. In the early hours of the day after their meeting, Catherine gives birth to her daughter, Cathy, and then dies. Hindley dies six months after Catherine. Heathcliff finds himself the master of Wuthering Heights and the guardian of Hareton.
【小题1】From the first paragraph, we can know ______ .

A．Hindley hates the fact that his parents give all their love and care to Catherine

B．Mrs. Earnshaw adopts Heathcliff in Liverpool

C．Hindley is the oldest of all three children

D．Catherine likes Heathcliff so much that she enjoys staying with him for long

【小题2】After Frances dies, Hindley________.

A．lives a disordered life	B．locks Heathcliff in the attic
C．argues with Heathcliff very often	D．returns to Wuthering Heights as a changed man .

【小题3】The underlined part "the first part" in Paragraph 5 most probably refers to ________ .

A．Catherine says that Edgar has asked her to marry him and she has agreed

B．Catherine loves Heathcliff but can't marry him because of his lack of status and education

C．Catherine decides to marry Edgar, with whose help she can help raise Heathcliff’s status

D．Catherine and Edgar declare themselves lovers to the family

【小题4】At the end of the story________.

A．Isabella dies after his brother disowns her

B．Catherine becomes the master of Wuthering Heights

C．Wuthering Heights falls into the hands of Heathcliff

D．Hindley dies and leaves Wuthering Heights to Cathy

If you look for a book as a present for a child, you will be spoiled for choice even in a year when there is no new Harry Potter.J.K. Rowling's wizard is not alone: the past decade has been a harvest for good children's books, which has set off a large quantity of films and an increased sales of classics such as The lord of the Rings.

Yet despite that, reading is increasingly unpopular among children. According to statistics, in 1997 23% said they didn't like reading at all. In 2003, 35% did. And around 6% of children leave primary school each year unable to read properly.

Maybe the decline is caused by the increasing availability of computes games. Maybe the books boom has affected only the top of the educational pile. Either way, Chancellor Cordon Brown plans to change things for the bottom of the class. In his pre－budget report, he announced the national project of Reading Recovery to help the children struggling most.

Reading Recovery is aimed at six－year－olds, who receive four months of individual daily half－hour classes with a specially trained teacher. An evaluation earlier this year reported that children on the scheme made 20 months' progress in just one year, whereas similarly weak readers without special help made just five months' progress, and so ended the year even further below the level expected for their age.

International research tends to find that when British children leave primary school they read well, but read less often for fun than those elsewhere. Reading for fun matters because children who are keen on reading can expect lifelong pleasure and loving books is an excellent indicator of future educational success. According to the OECD, being a regular and enthusiastic reader is of great advantage.

6. Which of the following is TRUE of Paragraph 1?

A. Many children's books have been adapted from films.

B. Many high－quality children's books have been published.

C. The sales of classics have led to the popularity of films.

D. The sales of presents for children have increased.

7. Statistics suggested that ________.

A. the number of top students increased with the use of computers

B. a decreasing number of children showed interest in reading

C. a minority of primary school children read properly

D. a large percentage of children read regularly

8. What do we know about Reading Recovery?

A. An evaluation of it will be made sometime this year.

B. Weak readers on the project were the most hardworking.

C. It aims to train special teachers to help children with reading.

D. Children on the project showed noticeable progress in reading.

9. Reading for fun is important because book－loving children ________.

A. take greater advantage of the project

B. show the potential to enjoy a long life

C. are likely to succeed in their education

D. would make excellent future researchers

10. The aim of this text would probably be ________.

A. to overcome primary school pupils' reading difficulty

B. to encourage the publication of more children's books

C. to remind children of the importance of reading for fun

D. to introduce a way to improve early children reading