The _____ stuck on the outside of the envelope said "By Air".

　　A. label    B. ticket    C. signal    D. sign

When you practice reading with passages shorter than book length, do not try to take in each word separately, one after the other. It is much more difficult to grasp the broad theme of the passage this way, and you will also get the stuck on individual words which may not be absolutely essential to a general understanding of the passage. It is a good idea to skim through the passage very quickly first to get the general idea of each paragraph. Titles, paragraph headings and emphasized word can be a great help in getting this skeleton outline of the passage. It is surprising how many people do not read titles, introductions or paragraph headings. Can you, without looking back, remember the title of this passage and the heading of this paragraph?
Most paragraphs of a passage or chapter have a 'topic sentence' which expresses the central idea. The remaining sentence expand or support that idea. It has been estimated that between 60% and 90% of all expositive（说明的）paragraphs in English have the topic sentence first. Always pay special attention to the first sentence of a paragraph; it is most likely to give you the main idea.
Sometimes , though , the first sentence in the paragraph does not have the feel of 'main idea' sentence. It does not seem to give us enough new information to justify a paragraph. The next most likely place to look for the topic sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph.
Remember that the opening and closing paragraphs of a passage or chapter are particularly important . The opening paragraph suggests the general direction and content of the piece, while the closing paragraph often summarizes the very essence （精髓）.
【小题1】It is a good idea to skim through a passage quickly first ________.

Once upon a time, a Japanese man wanted to rebuild his house. First he had to tear the walls open .Japanese houses  36  have hollow(空的)spaces between the wooden walls. As he was  37  them down, he found a lizard(蜥蜴)  38 there because a nail(钉子)from the outside had been hammered into one of its feet. Seeing this, he felt  39 for it, and at the same time was curious about it.
     He knew very well that the  40  had been hammered 10 years before when the house was first  41   . What had happened since? The lizard had  42  for 10 years! To be stuck in a dark wall for 10 years without  43 —it hardly seems possible, and is hard to   44  . Then he wondered how the lizard could have lived for 10 years without moving a single step —since its   45  was nailed! So he stopped work and began to   46  the lizard. He wanted to know what it had been doing, and what and   47  it had been eating.
     A short time later another lizard   48  with food in its mouth. He was shocked, and at the same time deeply   49  . Another lizard had been feeding the stuck one   50 the past ten years.
     "What love  51 in this tiny creature! What can love do? It can do  52 ! Just think, one lizard has been   53  another untiringly for 10 long years, without   54 hope that its partner would be saved,"the man marvelled.
     If a small creature like a lizard can   55   like this, just imagine how we could if we tried

Once upon a time, a Japanese man wanted to rebuild his house. First he had to tear the walls open .Japanese houses  36  have hollow(空的)spaces between the wooden walls. As he was  37  them down, he found a lizard(蜥蜴)  38 there because a nail(钉子)from the outside had been hammered into one of its feet. Seeing this, he felt  39 for it, and at the same time was curious about it.

     He knew very well that the  40  had been hammered 10 years before when the house was first  41   . What had happened since? The lizard had  42  for 10 years! To be stuck in a dark wall for 10 years without  43 —it hardly seems possible, and is hard to   44  . Then he wondered how the lizard could have lived for 10 years without moving a single step —since its   45  was nailed! So he stopped work and began to   46  the lizard. He wanted to know what it had been doing, and what and   47  it had been eating.

     A short time later another lizard   48  with food in its mouth. He was shocked, and at the same time deeply   49  . Another lizard had been feeding the stuck one   50 the past ten years.

     "What love  51 in this tiny creature! What can love do? It can do  52 ! Just think, one lizard has been   53  another untiringly for 10 long years, without   54 hope that its partner would be saved,"the man marvelled.

     If a small creature like a lizard can   55   like this, just imagine how we could if we tried

When you practice reading with passages shorter than book length, do not try to take in each word separately, one after the other. It is much more difficult to grasp the broad theme of the passage this way, and you will also get the stuck on individual words which may not be absolutely essential to a general understanding of the passage. It is a good idea to skim through the passage very quickly first to get the general idea of each paragraph. Titles, paragraph headings and emphasized words can be a great help in getting this skeleton outline of the passage. It is surprising how many people do not read titles, introductions or paragraph headings. Can you, without looking back, remember the title of this passage and the heading of this paragraph?

    Most paragraphs of a passage or chapter have a 'topic sentence' which expresses the central idea. The remaining sentences expand or support that idea. It has been estimated that between 50% and 90% of all expositive（说明的）paragraphs in English have the topic sentence first. Always pay special attention to the first sentence of a paragraph, it is most likely to give you the main idea.

    Sometimes, though, the first sentence in the paragraph does not have the feel of 'main idea' sentence. It does not seem to give us enough new information to justify a paragraph. The next most likely place to look for the topic sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph.

    Remember that the opening and closing paragraphs of a passage or chapter are particularly important. The opening paragraph suggests the general direction and content of the piece, while the closing paragraph often summarizes the very essence（精髓）.

1. It is a good idea to skim through a passage quickly first ____________.

A. at about 315 w.p.m.（words per minute）

B. to get the general idea of each paragraph

C. so that you can take in each work separately

D. to make sure you get to the end at least once

2.The topic sentence of an expository paragraph in English _____________.

A. usually comes in the middle

B. is most likely to be found at the end

C. is most often at the beginning

D. is usually left out in expository writing

3. Most expository paragraphs in English have a clearly defined topic sentence. In such paragraphs the topic sentence comes first _____________.

A. in about 5% of cases                       B in about 80% of cases

C. in about 20% cases                         D. very rarely

4.Sometimes we know the first sentence is not the topic sentence because ____________.

A. it does not seem to give us enough new information

B. it is not long enough

C. it does not come at the beginning

D. it does not make a complete sentence

5.The closing paragraph of a piece of writing ____________.

A. is not really very important

B. is often unnecessary repetition

C. often comes at the end

D. often summarizes the essence of the passage