Question

My first English novel was Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice,recommended by many Eng?lish teachers and professors as an ideal book for English learners. But my experience was some?what disastrous"艮糟的) .Stumbling (摇摇晃晃的) along the lines,I had great difficulty in under?standing the novel,let alone enjoying it. It's not the vocabulary that troubled me,but rather the way Austen constructs sentences,and her way of thinking,which seemed too remote to me at that time. My fading enthusiasm was much recovered after reading Hemingway's novel Farewell to Arms. No long and complicated sentences. And I particularly liked his concise (简明的) and straightforward style. So my first suggestion is,as a beginner,you'd better choose contemporary novels instead of classical ones. You can easily engage yourself in reading,get fun out of it,and gradually build up confidence. I do not mean to exclude (不在考虑之列) classi?cal novels for ever. Actually,the second reading of Pride and Prejudice greatly pleased me (probably the result of my improved English comprehension) . It is only that classical novels are less accessible (易接近的) to beginners due to their language styles and social background. I'd like to recommend three contemporary novelists to you―Ursula Le Guin,Ernest Hemingway,and Doris Lessing.

However,reading novels is not the only way to improve your English. In fact,if you re?strict yourself to novels,you will miss a lot of treasures. English essays can at once inform you,entertain you,and refine your taste in English. The best example is Bertrand Russell's work. Its language is plain,yet you cannot help feeling the elegance (雅致) and the peculiar sense of hu?mor. His simple language enables his philosophy within the reach of ordinary people. Here comes my second suggestion―essays are indispensable (必不可少的) .

My last advice is never follow others' recommendations and opinions blindly,however fa?mous or influential the person might be. We should be open to various ideas,but always think and determine for ourselves. As a saying goes,one man's meat is another man's poison. With that in mind,we are bound to find out our favorite writers through reading and develop our fine taste in English.

(   ) 5. What does the underlined phrase "let alone" mean in the first paragraph?

   A. Lacking companions.

   B. On your own.

   C. Not to mention.

   D. Without anybody or anything else.

(   ) 6. What is a shortcoming of restricting yourself only to novels according to the author?

   A. The value of novels is really limited.

   B. The style of novels is not worth appreciating.

   C. We may overleap many other worthy treasures in reading.

   D. We can't enjoy ourselves while reading novels.

(   ) 7. What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?

   A. Sharing some experiences on how to choose the appropriate books,especially as a beginner.

   B. English essay is another treasure to improve your English.

   C. We shouldn't follow others' recommendations and opinions blindly.

   D. We'd better choose contemporary novels instead of classical ones.

(   ) 8. Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

   A. It Is Not Enough for One to Understand the Novel

   B. To Cultivate One's Taste in English Prose,the Most Effective Way Is to Read English Books Extensively

   C. Reading English Novels Can Also Improve One's English

   D. We Shouldn't Restrict Ourselves to Reading

Answer 1

 CCAB

如何选择适合自己的英文读物来提高自己的英语水平，本文作了介绍。

5. C猜测词义题。

6. C细节理解题。第二段有答案出处。

7. A全文阅读理解判断题。

8. B主旨大意题。要注意选择最佳标题。此处四个选项或许都对，要根据文意选择最佳。三、完成句子