In the Internet age, speed reading is a necessary and important skill. We skim over articles and e-mails to try to get key words and the main idea of the text. With so much information through our electronic devices (电子设备), it would be impossible to get through everything if we read word by word, line by line. However, a new trend calls on people to enjoy reading slowly.

A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a café and turn off their smartphones. They sit back in comfortable chairs and read in silence for an hour.

Unlike typical book clubs, the point of the slow reading club isn’t to exchange ideas about certain books, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment. According to the story, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement started by book lovers who miss the traditional way of reading.

Traditional readers, like Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to understand others. Some of these benefits have been backed up by science. For example, a study of 300 elderly people published by the journal Neurology last year showed that adults who take part in activities that use their brain, such as reading, suffer less memory loss as they get older. Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand others’ mental states and beliefs — a key skill in building relationships.

Yet technology has made us less careful readers. Computer and phone screens have changed our reading patterns from the top-to-bottom, left-to-right reading order we traditionally used, to a wild skimming pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text online that has many links to other web pages also leads to weaker comprehension than reading plain text. The Internet may have made us stupider, says British journalist Patrick Kingsley, only half joking. Because of the Internet, he says we have become very good at collecting a wide range of factual tidbits (花边新闻), but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, think and connect all these facts with each other.

1.Speed reading is a necessary and important skill in the Internet age because people ______.

A. no longer read word by word, line by line

B. have to get the meaning faster

C. have much more information to read

D. must use their smartphones more frequently

2.Members of the Wellington book club are expected to ______.

A. make coffee for the other members

B. read peacefully for an hour

C. regularly exchange ideas about books

D. turn off their smartphones for sleeping

3.According to the Neurology study, who is most likely to suffer memory loss?

A. A 79-year-old woman who reads regularly.

B. A 17-year-old middle school student who seldom reads.

C. A healthy 24-year-old university graduate who often plays games.

D. A 65-year-old man who rarely reads.

4.The last paragraph is written to ______.

A. explain the secrets of others’ minds

B. describe the problems caused by electronic reading

C. call on people to read more about science

D. encourage people to read as slowly as possible

What should you think about when trying to find your career? You are probably better at some school subjects than others. These may show strengths that you can use in your work. A boy who is good at mathematics can use that in an engineering career. A girl who spells well and likes English maybe good at office work. So it is important to know the subjects you do well in at school. On the other hand, you may not have any specially strong subjects but your records show a general satisfactory standard. Although not all subjects can be used directly in a job, they may have indirect value. A knowledge of history is not required for most jobs but if history is one of your good subjects you will have learned to remember facts and details. This is an ability that can be useful in many jobs.

Your school may have taught you skills, such as typing or technical drawing, which you can use in your work. You may be good at metalwork or cookery and look for a job where you can improve these skills. If you have had a part-time job on Saturdays or in the summer, think what you gained from it. If nothing else, you may have learned how to get to work on time, to follow instructions and to get on with older workers. You may have learned to give correct change in a shop, for example. Just as important, you may become interested in a particular industry or career you see from the inside in a part-time job.

Facing your weak points is also part of knowing yourself. You may be all thumbs when you handle tools; perhaps you are a poor speller or cannot add up a column of figures. It is better to face any weakness than to pretend they do not exist. Your school record, for instance, may not be too good, yet it is an important part of your background. You should not ignore it but instead recognize that you will have a chance of a fresh start at work.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A. The importance of working hard at school.

B. Choosing a career according to one’s strengths.

C. How to face one’s weakness.

D. The value of school work.

2.The writer thinks that a student’s part-time job is probably_____.

A. a good way to find out his weak points

B. one of the best ways of earning extra money

C. of great use for his work in the future

D. a waste of time he could have spent on study

3.From the passage we learn that if a student’s school performance is not good, he ______.

A. should pay more attention to learning skills and developing abilities

B. will be regretful about his bad results

C. may also do well in his future work

D. should restart his study at school

4.The underlined phrase “be all thumbs” (in Para.3) probably means “______”.

A. be clumsy at doing things

B. be skillful in doing things

C. be not interested in certain things

D. be easily bored in doing things

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Social media and the mobile web have given rise to a strange phenomenon(现象) called the selfie. It refers to a picture of yourself, usually shared on any social networking website.

1. Some selfies are extremely close-ups, and others show part of an arm held straight outward. A few of them even feature the subject standing in front of a bathroom mirror.

Everyone takes selfies, but the younger crowd seems to be especially involved in the trend. Young people are relatively heavier digital users. They are interested in staying connected to their friends. 2.

There are also kinds of psychological(心理学的) factors driving people to take a selfie and upload it to a social networking site. 3. A quick and easy way to attract others’ attention is to get “likes” and comment from friends. Secondly, it is human nature to show off your own great achievements. When you feel good about yourself or look good, it is far too easy to take out your phone and document it all through one or several selfies. 4. That is right. Sometimes people are bored at work, bored at school, bored at home and even bored on the toilet. Last but not the least, social media is about being social! If that means uploading as many selfies as possible, then so be it. It is fun, and it’s a cool way to sort of document of your own life.

Finally, there are things to be mindful of when you are posting. It’s easy to think you’re sharing a photo with a few people. 5. So don’t post anything online, selfie especially.

A. There are a lot of selfie styles.

B. The rise of selfies has become universal.

C. Social media, to some extent, is the driving force of their selfie activity.

D. The desire to take, post and get “likes” on selfies goes back to a biological behavior.

E. But the whole world of social media is public and every individual can get access to it.

F. There are also people who will take selfies because they have nothing else better to do.

G. The leading factor is that people want to get attention from as many people as possible.

阅读下面材料,在空格处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或使用括号中单词的正确形式。

When someone has deeply hurt you, it can be very difficult to let go of your anger. But forgiveness is possible --- and it can be surprisingly 1. (benefit) to your physical and mental health. So far, research 2. (show) that people who forgive can have more energy, better appetite and better sleep. “People who forgive show 3. (little) anger and more hopefulness,” says Dr. Frederic Luskin, who wrote the book Forgive for Good. “So it can help reduce the tiredness out of the immune system and allow people 4. (feel) more energetic.”

So when someone has hurt you, cool down first. Take a couple of breaths and think of something 5. gives you pleasure: a beautiful scene in nature, or someone you love. Don’t wait for an 6. (apologize). “Many times the person who hurt you may never think of apologizing,” says Dr. Luskin. “They may have wanted to hurt you or they just don’t see things 7. same way. So if you wait for people to say sorry, you could be waiting a very long time.”

Next keep in mind that forgiveness does not necessarily mean 8. (accept) the action of the person who upsets you. Instead, learn to look for the love, beauty and kindness around you. Finally, try to see things 9. the other person’s perspective. You may realize that he or she was acting out of ignorance. To gain perspective, you may want to write a letter to 10. (you) from that person’s point of view.

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