I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with the

easy carelessness of  youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me years

later, and ever since have been of great value to me.

Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I was doing. I said three or four hours a day.

"Do you practice in long stretches, an hour at a time?"

"I try to."

"Well, don't," he exclaimed. "When you grow up, time won't come in long stretches.    Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks. Spread the practice through the day, and piano-playing will become a part of your life."

When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript ready for revision, later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were idle moments which could be caught and put to use. I even took up piano--playing again, finding that the small intervals of the day provided sufficient time for both writing and piano practice.

There is an important trick in this time--using formula: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but five minutes for writing, you can't afford to waste four chewing your pencil. You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes. Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize.

I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a tremendous influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I plunge（投入）in without delay.

56．The meaning of “stretch” in the underlined part is the same as that in sentence “       ”.

A．The forests in the north of the province stretch for hundreds of miles.

B．Bob worked as a government official for a stretch of over twenty years.

C．My family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.

D．During his senior year his earnings far enough to buy an old car.

57．Which of the following statements is true?

　　A．The writer didn’t completely take the teacher’s words to heart at first.

　　B．Carl Walter has had a great influence on the writer's life since he became a student.

　　C．The writer owes great thanks to his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.

　　D．Rapid concentration is actually more difficult than most people imagine.

58．We can infer that the writer             . 

A．has new books published each year however busy his teaching is

B．is always tired of interruptions in life because his teaching schedule is always heavy

C．has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels

D．can find sufficient time for mental preparations beforehand, so he's devoted to work   instantly

59．What is the best title of this passage?

A．Concentrate on Your Work           B．A Little at a Time

C．How I Became a Writer                 D．Good AdviceIs Most Valuable

B
　　Chinese children will be able to get a taste of adult working life in a theme park planned for Hang-zhou city,East China's Zhejiang Province.The Kids City,the first of its kind in China,will allow children aged five to ten to try out jobs of their choice after it opens in October 2008.
　　Located in eastern Hangzhou,the indoor entertainment and educaion park,similar to "Kidzania" in Mexico and Japan,offers more than 50 professions,including pilot,doctor,police officer and lawyer,according to Hangzhou Youth Activity Center(HYAC),the organizer of the park,The park will be a 7:10 scale (比例尺) city with streets,hospitals,museums,supermarkets, schools,airport and other facilities.Construction has begun on the indoor section.
　　Inside the 7,000-square-meter city,every kid would get a bank account holding special money that they can only spend in the park.They could earn more money by working in different booths or workshops.One job would take about half an half an hour and the whole tour would usually last five to six hours."The interactive(交互式) experience will help kids to learn about the adult life,which is good for their future career planning.They will have a lot of fun here,"said Huang Jianming,chief of HYAC.Parents are not allowed to enter the city,but they can take pictures from outside the huge glass house.
　　The ticket price has not been decided yet.But HYACsaid it might be lower than Kidzania Tokyo's and around several hundren yuan.With the majority of investment(投资) coming from the government,the project also needs financial support from companies and organizations,according to HYAC.
　　The world's first Kidzania was opened in Mexico City in 1999.It has turned out to be a huge success receiving about 800,000 visitors every year.In 2006,Kidzania opened its Tokyopark in Japan,which also became an attraction to kids."We are confident that the Chinese version(版本) wll be very successful."said Huang.
　　60.The theme park is aimed at letting the kids_______.
　　　A.work with adults B.experience adult careers
　　　C.imitate adults looking after a family D.watch adults work
　　61.The Kids City will________.
　　　A.be more than half the size of Hangzhou City
　　　B.consist of two parts,one larger than the other
　　　C.contain buildings smaller than those we use
　　　D.have lower buildings than Kidzania Tokyo's
　　62.A visitor to the Kids City ______.
　　　A.has nothing in his bank unless he's worked
　　　B.always leaves his tour with much money in his bank
　　　C.learns to earn money as well as to use it
　　　D.can try out all the professions on one tour
　　63.How many of such theme parks are open to visitors at present in the world?
　　　A.Only one B.Two C.Three D.None

B

　　Chinese children will be able to get a taste of adult working life in a theme park planned for Hang-zhou city,East China's Zhejiang Province.The Kids City,the first of its kind in China,will allow children aged five to ten to try out jobs of their choice after it opens in October 2008.

　　Located in eastern Hangzhou,the indoor entertainment and educaion park,similar to "Kidzania" in Mexico and Japan,offers more than 50 professions,including pilot,doctor,police officer and lawyer,according to Hangzhou Youth Activity Center(HYAC),the organizer of the park,The park will be a 7:10 scale (比例尺) city with streets,hospitals,museums,supermarkets, schools,airport and other facilities.Construction has begun on the indoor section.

　　Inside the 7,000-square-meter city,every kid would get a bank account holding special money that they can only spend in the park.They could earn more money by working in different booths or workshops.One job would take about half an half an hour and the whole tour would usually last five to six hours."The interactive(交互式) experience will help kids to learn about the adult life,which is good for their future career planning.They will have a lot of fun here,"said Huang Jianming,chief of HYAC.Parents are not allowed to enter the city,but they can take pictures from outside the huge glass house.

　　The ticket price has not been decided yet.But HYACsaid it might be lower than Kidzania Tokyo's and around several hundren yuan.With the majority of investment(投资) coming from the government,the project also needs financial support from companies and organizations,according to HYAC.

　　The world's first Kidzania was opened in Mexico City in 1999.It has turned out to be a huge success receiving about 800,000 visitors every year.In 2006,Kidzania opened its Tokyopark in Japan,which also became an attraction to kids."We are confident that the Chinese version(版本) wll be very successful."said Huang.

　　60.The theme park is aimed at letting the kids_______.

　　　A.work with adults B.experience adult careers

　　　C.imitate adults looking after a family D.watch adults work

　　61.The Kids City will________.

　　　A.be more than half the size of Hangzhou City

　　　B.consist of two parts,one larger than the other

　　　C.contain buildings smaller than those we use

　　　D.have lower buildings than Kidzania Tokyo's

　　62.A visitor to the Kids City ______.

　　　A.has nothing in his bank unless he's worked

　　　B.always leaves his tour with much money in his bank

　　　C.learns to earn money as well as to use it

　　　D.can try out all the professions on one tour

　　63.How many of such theme parks are open to visitors at present in the world?

　　　A.Only one B.Two C.Three D.None