Four girls go to school every day by taxi. One day one of the girls says,“There is a test this morning. Let's get to school late. Then we will not have the test.”

“What can we tell the teacher?”One of the girls says.“He will be angry. We will need a good excuse.”The girls think for a moment, then one of them says,“Let's tell him that our taxi has a flat tire.”“That's a good idea,”the other girls say.“We will tell him that .”They get to school an hour later.

　　The test is over.“Why are you late?”The teacher asks,“Sit down, one of you in each corner of the classroom.”The four girls do this. Then the teacher says,“Write down a piece of paper the answer to this question: Which tire is flat?”

A．They don't like school.

B．They want to go shopping.

C．They don't finish their homework.

D．They don't want to take a test.

A．No, they can't. Because they can't remember which tire is flat.

B．Yes, they can. Because there is a flat tire.

C．No, they can't. Because they may give a different answer.

D．Yes, they can. Because all of four tires are flat.

A．They find a good excuse.

B．The teacher is very clever.

C．There is a flat tire.

D．They don't like to go to school by bike.

Reading is the key to school success and, like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. An excellent sportsman practices until he can play quickly, correctly and without thinking. Educators call it “automaticity (自动性)”.
A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and finding the meaning of the words. With practice, he stumbles less and less, reading by the phrase (短语). With automaticity, he doesn’t have to think about the meaning of words, so he can give all his attention to the meaning of the text.
It can begin as early as first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found that automatic readers in the first grade not only read almost three times as fast as the others, but also got better results in exams.
According to Rossman, the key to automaticity is the amount (数量) of time a child spends reading, not his IQ. Any child who spends at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will probably reach automaticity. It can happen if a child turns off TV just one night for reading at home.
You can test yourself by reading something new which is suitable (适合) for your level. If you read aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, you probably are an automatic reader. If you read brokenly, one word at a time, without expression or meaning, you need more practice.
【小题1】“Reading is the key to school success” means that reading            .

Reading is the key to school success and, like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. An excellent sportsman practices until he can play quickly, correctly and without thinking. Educators call it “automaticity (自动性)”.

A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and finding the meaning of the words. With practice, he stumbles less and less, reading by the phrase (短语). With automaticity, he doesn’t have to think about the meaning of words, so he can give all his attention to the meaning of the text.

It can begin as early as first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found that automatic readers in the first grade not only read almost three times as fast as the others, but also got better results in exams.

According to Rossman, the key to automaticity is the amount (数量) of time a child spends reading, not his IQ. Any child who spends at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will probably reach automaticity. It can happen if a child turns off TV just one night for reading at home.

You can test yourself by reading something new which is suitable (适合) for your level. If you read aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, you probably are an automatic reader. If you read brokenly, one word at a time, without expression or meaning, you need more practice.

1.“Reading is the key to school success” means that reading            .

A. helps school develop faster

B. is a key to a successful school

C. helps students go to a key school

D. can improve students’ learning results

2.Children with “automaticity” can read faster because they            .

A. know how to read the words

B. do not have to think while reading

C. read by themselves without any help

D. pay attention to the meaning of the text

3.Rossman tells that any child who             will possibly be an automatic reader.

A. turns off TV one night 4 weeks

   B. reads books by the word quickly

   C. spends an hour reading every day

   D. gets the same grades as others in exams

4.The underlined word “stumble” in the passage means “           ” in Chinese.

   A. 结结巴巴地读                       B. 全神贯注地读

   C. 心不在焉地读                       D. 声情并茂地读

5.The best title for the passage is “           ”.

   A. IQ Is the Key to the Automaticity

   B. TV Is Bad for Children’s Reading

   C. Automaticity Depends on Practice

   D. Automatic Reads Will Be Successful