Yes, you．Believe it or not, that may be easier than you think．Not all classics are too difficult or complicated．So you’re not limited to the simplified versions．And the easier books are not all for children．
Books in their original versions may send you to the dictionary．And you might not understand everything you read．But reading one from cover to cover will give you a real sense of accomplishment(成就)．
The key is to find the right books．Let’s take a look at these．
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe(C．S．Lewis)Stepping into an old wardrobe, four English schoolchildren find themselves in the magical world of Narnia．On this delightful land, they find friends among the many talking creatures．
The children soon discover, however, that Narnia is ruled by the White Witch．Edmund, one of the children, falls under her power．Who can free Narnia?Only Aslan, the great and noble lion．He alone knows the Deeper Magic．But the children themselves must help fight the battle against the White Witch and those who serve her．
The Old Man and the Sea(Ernest Hemingway)Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman, hasn’t caught any fish in more than 80 days．Sailing far out from land, the old man hooks an enormous fish．
That begins an agonizing three day battle．First he struggles against the great fish．Then he must fight off the sharks that circle the little boat and threaten to eat his fish．Exhausted and bleeding, the old man arrives back at shore．But his fish, his beautiful fish…
Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for this superb story of strength and courage, of victory and regret．
A Wrinkle in Time(Madeleine Lingle)Meg’s father, a U．S．government scientist, has been missing for many months．He had been experimenting with time travel when he mysteriously disappeared．
Now Meg, her little brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin will try to rescue him．But first they must outwit the forces of evil they encounter(遇到)on their journey through time and space．Can they find Meg’s father before it’s too late?
This novel is more than just a science fiction adventure．It’s an exploration of the nature of our universe．
The Pearl(John Steinbeck)One day Kino, a poor Mexican pearl diver, finds a magnificent pearl．
With it he dreams of buying a better life, new clothes and schooling for his son．Instead, it brings only evil．His wife pleads with him to get rid of it．“No,”says Kino．“I will have my chance．I am a man．”But when he kills a man who is trying to steal the pearl, Kino and his wife must run for their lives．
This tale of dreams, justice and the power of greed is told simply and beautifully．
The Long Winter(Laura Ingalls Wilder)It’s winter, 1880－1881, on America’s northern prairies．Mr．and Mrs．
Ingalls and their four girls stay near the kitchen stove to keep warm．
Heavy snowstorms cut them off even from neighbors．With the trains stopped, no supplies can reach the town．Food and fuel are running out．
Day after day the girls must grind wheat for bread and twist hay to burn．
At times they nearly lose the battle to keep their spirits up．
This story provides a fascinating glimpse into the life of early American settlers．
(1)
In the passage, the author intends to ________．
[ ]
A．
recommend a few simplified versions of classics
B．
recommend a few original versions of classics
C．
tell us how to read an English book from beginning to end
D．
tell us how to find proper English books to read
(2)
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the White Witch is probably ________．
[ ]
A．
an evil woman with magic power
B．
a friendly woman with magic power
C．
a delightful talking creature
D．
a powerful lion
(3)
The underlined word “outwit”in the passage probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
get rid of
B．
take advantage of
C．
beat by being cleverer
D．
make the most of
(4)
Which book deals with history?
[ ]
A．
The Pearl．
B．
The Old Man and the Sea．
C．
A Wrinkle in Time．
D．
The Long Winter．
(5)
A Wrinkle in Time is different from other books mentioned in the passage in that ________．
One of Britain's most popular reality TV programmes has returned to our screens for a fifth series．The Apprentice sees 16 ambitious individuals competing for a job with electronics tycoon(巨头)Sir Alan Sugar．
The Apprentice is a BAFTA award-winning British reality television series in which fl group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for the chance to win a￡100,000-a-year job as“apprentice”to the British business tycoon Alan Sugar, The Baron Sugar．Winners have gone on to work at Amstrad, an electronics manufacturing company founded by Sir Alan(but since sold to BSkyB), or one of Sugar's other companies, Viglen, Amsprop or Amshold．TheApprentice, billed as a“job interview from hell”, is similar in format to the American series of the same name, which stars entrepreneur Donald Trump．
With endless talk of financial crisis, redundancies(过剩)and cut-backs, it may come as no surprise that thousands of brave hopefuls applied for the show．The chosen 16 will compete in a series of business tasks and do their best to escape elimination．Not one of them wants to hear the fateful words：you're fired．
It should also be noted that this year's apprentices are not going, to be allowed to forget the terrible economic climate quite so easily．At the launch of this year's TV show, Sir Alan announced that some episodes have been“specifically made towards recognition of what difficult times we are in”．
The tasks will as usual be tough tests of business wisdom。team-working and leadership skill．They will also make for some funny viewing．British viewers will be shaking their heads in disbelief at the crazy decisions of the wanna be apprentices．But perhaps the most entertaining feature of the show will be watching the hopefuls squirm(局促不安)and quarrel in the。boardroom．It is here they will have to explain just why they have failed each task so badly．
What drives people to take part in the show is difficult to say．Some are clearly motivated by the promise of a six-figure salary and some claim they want the experience of working with a successful businessman such as Sir Alan．One thing is for sure．the contestants will all gain some level of celebrity．The show is a regular ratings winner．
To date, there has been one big winner and that is the show's creator, Mark Burnett．Originating in the US, The Apprentice's winning format has been copied all over the world and with the hype(炒作)surrounding this latest series, it looks as though the show will have success for many years to come．
(1)
What's the aim of contestants'taking part in The Apprentice?
[ ]
A．
Tb acquire a good job．
B．
To meet famous people．
C．
To win some prize money．
D．
To obtain some experience．
(2)
What is special about this year's The Apprentice?
[ ]
A．
There will be more contestants．
B．
There will be more famous people．
C．
It is affected by the financial crisis．
D．
1t is supported by Sir Alan Sugar．
(3)
The tasks in The Apprentice lay emphasis on the following EXCEPT ________．
名校课堂系列答案
farmer，inventor，astronomer writer and antislavery supporter．He created the first American—built striking clock．
lt(一卷)of white cloth for his mother and looked around for someone to taik to．Benjamin’s heart jumped like a rabbit when he saw a friend holding a gold watch．Benjamin had always wanted to figure out how clocks and watches worked．The friend saw Benjamin and let him sit down for a good talk．
r two years，Benjamin farmed all day and worked on his wood pieces at night．In1753，two years after he had borrowed the watch，Benjamin put all the pieces together．Benjamin had made his own clock．