To the Editor

I have been reading your newspaper, the Hometown Gazette, for the past two years, ever since I moved to Smithville. We moved here from New York City, so I am accustomed to reading excellent newspapers such as The New York Times. In fact, we still have the Times delivered on Sundays. The entire family enjoys reading the recipes(食谱) in the magazine, as well as the Styles section.

The Times is great, but the Gazette is another story. I' ve never read an article that doesn't contain at least three or four spelling or grammatical errors. For instance, in last week's issue, you misspelled the word “secretary,” used a singular verb with a plural noun, and used “it's” as a possessive(所有格). And that was just in the lead story! In case you never went to elementary school, “it's” means “it is. ”It's not a possessive adjective!

It's a pity that this tiny little hick (乡下) town has only one newspaper, because I' d like to have an alternative to the rag you publish. I find it hard to believe your news stories. If you can' t spell correctly, how can you get your facts right？

I' ve been meaning to get this off my chest for some time. Please cancel my subscription(订阅 ).And buy yourself a dictionary.

Sincerely,

Jane Z. Jones

60. Which phrase from the passage shows the writer' s prejudice？

A. get this off my chest

B. three or four spelling or grammatical errors

C. tiny little hick town

D. reading the recipes in the magazine

61. The author's tone in this passage can best be described as       

A. happy         B. angry          C. sympathetic         D. objective

62. Which statement from the passage is a fact？

A. It' s a pity this town has only one newspaper.

B. The Times is great, but the Gazette is another story.

C. We still have the Times delivered on Sundays.

D. You never went to elementary school.

63. Which statement of the following is not true according to the passage？

A. The writer once lived in New York City, so he was used to reading the Times.

B. The entire family enjoys reading the Styles section in the magazine.

C. The writer has long been planning to express his dissatisfaction with the local newspaper.

D. It is obvious that the editors of the newspaper are not very careful about their work.

Sun Li has bumped into the headline of the press recently not because of her role of an actress but of a sponsor (赞助者) of a university student.

The student named Zhang Haiqing, who studies in Shanghai Fisheries University, wrote a letter to a reporter named Qiu Zhaoju working in Chongqing Satellite TV , saying that Sun, who had sponsored him for two years, stopped the financial aid after his entry into university and insulted him with words like “you are no better than a pet dog. ”

In 2002, Sun decided to sponsor the student who had lived in a poverty-stricken area when she shot a TV series in Yunnan Province. According to Sun’s spokeswomen Ms. Wang, the actress and her mother bought pens, notebooks, even a mobile phone and a camera besides tuitions for him.

Qiu revealed the complaint in his blog, which has soon set off a heated debate over whether Sun should stop or continue her aid to Zhang. Most of netizens who responded to the news expressed strongly different views to-wards the issue.

The issue has answered for an old Chinese saying that longtime sponsorship will lead to hatred, an article written by a reader named Yin Guo’an on people. com. cn.

The saying tells us that longtime contacts will set off conflicts. If Sun had donated 5,000 yuan to Zhang once and for all, the student would have had heartfelt gratitude for her. Now, however Sun’s two year-old funding has induced his complaint.

It could be seen, the article said, that Sun had planned to shoulder Zhang’s tuition until his graduation from university, as showed the actress’ responsible attitude.

As a student being sponsored, Zhang should have some self-control so he could neither feel justified to ask for constant help nor return kindness with hatred, the article suggested.

The reporter Qiu also voiced his own views on kindness. There is no real kind and enmity between Sun and Zhang, he said. Both parties have not done something wrong, the reporter believed, _____, which results in mis-understanding and such a result no one could expect at the very beginning.

That is why he put the student’s letter in his blog, the reporter explained. “I want you to think of the questions: why will a kind action lead to a bad ending? How should we help an innocent student deal with the action? What sort of kind actions will get the best result?”

64. The sponsoring matter between Sun Li and Zhang Haiqing was probably first released ______.

A. by Yin Guo’ an                      B. in Chongqing Satellite TV

C. on the Internet                         D. by Sun Li’s spokes woman

65. Which of the following is the best sentence to be put into the blank in the text?

A. they just lack some communication             

B. they don't want their matter solved

C. the key between them lack honesty

D. they both think themselves

66. Yin Guo’an has right approved of all EXCEPT______.

A. Zhang Haiqing should return kindness to Sun Li

B. Sun Li had better give away a amount of money to Zhang once

C. long-time sponsorship has led to this complaint

D. Sun Li will give up the sponsorship to Zhang Haiqing

67. From the text we can infer that ______.

A. Qiu Zhaoju has blamed neither Sun Li nor Zhang Haiqing

B. Zhang Haiqing is not a good and honest student

C. many netizens have been in favor of Guoan’s opinions

D. a kind action is always made use of by someone

So much to do, so little time．So much information, so little time to read．In this age there is more information than ever before．There is not enough time to read everything we want to read．However, you can take in and understand more information in shorter time through speed-reading．This article will not make you read 3,000 words per minute, but it will show you how to increase your speed greatly．You will also learn the basic techniques of speed reading, along with the dos and don'ts of speed-reading．

When you first learned to read, you would say the word out loud and sound it out．Then you might whisper the word because people can become annoyed when you read aloud．The stage you are now at is saying the word in your head．Most people tend to read this way．Saying the word in your head will cut your reading speed tremendously （极大的）．

How do you calculate your reading speed? The speed is measured by how many words per minute you can read．Get some reading material, preferably a book．Find out how many words are on the page．Time yourself one minute．Start your timer and start reading．When the timer sounds, stop at once．If you counted 500 words on the page and you read half of the page, then you are probably reading at 250 words per minute．

The first thing about speed-reading is looking at the word and recognizing it．Don't say the word in your mind, just look at it and recognize its appearance．Later you will recognize groups of four words or more to increase your speed．This is the first and most important step in speed-reading．

The next step is technique．As with any other skill, speed-reading requires technique．You should first be sitting up straight with your book on a horizontal （水平的） surface, such as a table or desk．Next, should be able to see the entire page．This is necessary if you want to recognize clumps of words．Lastly, you should be focused．It's hard to read with a lot of noise．Find a quiet place to read．This will help your understanding of the text．You need something to guide your eyes while reading．Then right, you should use your hand．Remember when you were little, you would read using your finger．That is a great technique, only now you're using your hand to underline each line．Move your finger smoothly across page．No need to go rush, start out slow．Keep your eyes focused on words as you recognize them while using your hand as a guide．This will increase your speed．

The third step is practice．Practice makes perfect．Set time intervals．Read using different techniques,

but make sure you understand what you're reading．

1.Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

A．Now there is limited information than ever before．

B．Now conditions ask people to use less time to know more information．

C．Now people can read what they like．

D．The less you read, the more time you will spend．

2.The underlined sentence “you should be focused” in the fifth paragraph means that ______．

A．a person should devote his attention to it while reading

B．your feelings will be hurt while reading

C．a person should smooth away difficulties while he reads

D．you should pay attention to your faults while you are reading

3.To speed up your reading, you should_________．

A．sit up straight with your book flat and use something to guide your eyes

B．say every word out loud and sound it out

C．know it is necessary to read quickly

D．underline some important words while you say them

CANYOUIMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKETHIS? The ancient Greeks wrote this way. The lack of punctuation marks(标点符号) probably didn’t bother good readers, though. As they read, they just put pauses where they fit best. Also at this time, sentences switched directions. A sentence read from left to right. The next one read right to left, and then left to right again, etc.

The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like this: They·put·a·point·between·each·word·in·a·sentence. The word punctuation actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a prick(刺).

       When the 5^th century arrived, there were just two punctuation marks: spaces and points. The space separated words and while the points showed pauses in reading. Then in the 13^th century, a printer named Aldus Manutius tried to standardize punctuation. He always used a period for a complete stop at the end of a sentence. He used a slash (/) to indicate a short pause. Over time, that slash was shortened and curled, and it became the modern comma.

       Since that time, other marks have enlarged the punctuation family. The exclamation mark comes form the Latin word xt. It was originally formed by putting an upper-case(大写字母) I on the lower-case xt. The Latin word xt means “exclamation of joy.” The question mark originally started out as the Latin word question, meaning question. Eventually, scholars put it at the end of a sentence to show a question. Over time, it became a symbol formed by putting a lower-case q on an o.

         Punctuation is still changing today. New marks are coming into existence, and old punctuation marks are used in new ways. Take for example, the “interrobang.” This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation mark for times when writers want both. For example, “She did what??” or “How much did you pay for that dress??” Obviously, the interrobang is not widely used or recognized – yet. But its invention shows that English is not yet finished with its punctuation.

Which of the following is a comma?

A. ,                             B. :                       C.   ;                    D. !

What’s the first paragraph mainly about?

A. The history of punctuation.

B. The introduction of punctuation.

C. The very beginning of punctuation.

D. The ancient Greek way of writing without punctuation.

Please put the following events in the order they happened.

a. The exclamation mark and question mark came into the punctuation family.

b. Comma came into existence.

c. Romans put a dot between words to separate words.

d. A period was used to end a sentence.

e. The “interrobang” was invented.

A. cbdae                B. dcbae                C. dbcea                D. cdbae

What is the most possible situation for “She did what??”?

A. You are told she gave her baby boy a good beat.

B. You are wondering what she did to save the poor boy.

C. You want to know what she did for a living after fleeing to a foreign country.

D. You demand someone else tell you what in the world happened to her.

According to the article, we learn ________.

A. punctuation didn’t come into being until the 5^th century.

B. no one can really tell what new marks we may have in the future.

C. the invention of “interrobang” is a failure since it is not widely used.

D. both the exclamation mark and the question mark come from Greek words.

CANYOUIMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKETHIS? The ancient Greeks wrote this way. The lack of punctuation marks(标点符号) probably didn’t bother good readers, though. As they read, they just put pauses where they fit best. Also at this time, sentences switched directions. A sentence read from left to right. The next one read right to left, and then left to right again, etc.
The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like this: They·put·a·point·between·each·word·in·a·sentence. The word punctuation actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a prick(刺).
When the 5^th century arrived, there were just two punctuation marks: spaces and points. The space separated words and while the points showed pauses in reading. Then in the 13^th century, a printer named Aldus Manutius tried to standardize punctuation. He always used a period for a complete stop at the end of a sentence. He used a slash (/) to indicate a short pause. Over time, that slash was shortened and curled, and it became the modern comma.
Since that time, other marks have enlarged the punctuation family. The exclamation mark comes form the Latin word xt. It was originally formed by putting an upper-case(大写字母) I on the lower-case xt. The Latin word xt means “exclamation of joy.” The question mark originally started out as the Latin word question, meaning question. Eventually, scholars put it at the end of a sentence to show a question. Over time, it became a symbol formed by putting a lower-case q on an o.
Punctuation is still changing today. New marks are coming into existence, and old punctuation marks are used in new ways. Take for example, the “interrobang.” This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation mark for times when writers want both. For example, “She did what?” or “How much did you pay for that dress?” Obviously, the interrobang is not widely used or recognized – yet. But its invention shows that English is not yet finished with its punctuation.
【小题1】Which of the following is a comma?

A．The history of punctuation.

B．The introduction of punctuation.

C．The very beginning of punctuation.

D．The ancient Greek way of writing without punctuation.