For the first time in modem history, less than half of the U.S. adult population now reads literature, according to a recent survey. Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America presents a detailed review of the decline of reading's role in the nation's culture.

     Reading at Risk is a survey of national fashion in adult literary reading. The data source for Reading at Risk is as reliable and objective (客观的) as any such survey can be. The key results of the survey are presented in the "Summary", but the report can be further explained as: literary reading in America is not only declining rapidly among all groups, but the rate of decline has been speeded up, especially among the young. Reading at Risk merely shows a great cultural change that most Americans have already noted our society's great turn to electronic media for entertainment and information.    

Reading a book requires a degree of active attention and devotion. Indeed, reading itself is a progressive skill that depends on years of education and practice. On the contrary, most electronic media such as television, recordings, and radio make fewer demands on their audiences, and indeed often require no more than passive participation. While oral culture has a rich reality and electronic media offer the considerable advantages of variety, print culture affords irreplaceable forms of focused attention and thought that make various communications and views possible. The decline in reading, therefore, equals a larger retreat (减少) from participation in public and cultural life.

     What is to be done? There is surely no single solution to the present problem, just as there is no single cause. The important thing now is to understand that America can no longer take active and devoted reading for granted.

     Reading is not a timeless, common ability. As more Americans lose this ability, our nation becomes less informed, active, and independent minded. These are not qualities that a free, inventive, or productive society can afford to lose.

59. The main purpose of the survey is to_______.

    A. focus on the role of electronic media and reading

    B. show that American young people read less and less

    C. give a report of the national fashion of literary reading

    D. review that less than half of the population now reads literature

60. According to the passage, reading_______ .

A. requires less attention and devotion  

B. demands no more than passive participation

    C. limits various communications and views

    D. means active participation in public and cultural life

61. The underlined phrase "cultural change" in Paragraph 2 refers to the change________.

   A. from oral culture to electronic media   B. from print culture to electronic media

   C. from electronic media to oral culture   D. from electronic media to print culture

62. The author of the passage_______ .

    A. misunderstands oral culture

    B. doubts the results of the survey

    C. encourages the Americans to read more

    D. agrees to the solution to the present problem in reading

For the first time in Hong Kong’s history, an entertainer has been written into middle school textbooks. He is considered one of the best actors in Hong Kong. Yes, he is Chow Yun-fat.
The example of his long hard struggle for success has been used in a chapter in a Hong Kong middle school textbook. Using his experience, students can learn to make the most of their time and to grab every opportunity to succeed．
On hearing about this, Chow said happily, “I really hope that my experiences can make young people understand that one should not be afraid of difficulties and setbacks (挫折), for they are the only way to success.”
Indeed, Chow has travelled a long and difficult path to reach his success. In 1955, he was born into a poor family in Hong Kong. When he was 17, he had to leave school. He worked in a number of jobs—as a postman, camera salesman and taxi driver. These experiences paved (铺路) the way for him to play all kinds of roles later in life.
Chow broke into the film industry in the late 1970s. He was one of the hardest working actors and starred in a number of popular TV dramas and films including “Shanghai Bund”(《上海滩》) and “A Better Tomorrow”. Since 1985, he has won many awards including Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards.
In 1995, he went to Hollywood. Although he was already over 40, he had to learn English. He even put chopsticks in his mouth to practise pronouncing certain sounds. His film, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, began to gain him more fame and recognition around the world. In 1998, the mayor of Chicago set aside January 12 as “Chow Yun-fat Day”.
【小题1】Chow Yun-fat has been written into middle school textbooks mainly because ________.

For the first time in Hong Kong’s history, an entertainer has been written into middle school textbooks. He is considered one of the best actors in Hong Kong. Yes, he is Chow Yun-fat.

The example of his long hard struggle for success has been used in a chapter in a Hong Kong middle school textbook. Using his experience, students can learn to make the most of their time and to grab every opportunity to succeed．

    On hearing about this, Chow said happily, “I really hope that my experiences can make young people understand that one should not be afraid of difficulties and setbacks (挫折), for they are the only way to success.”

    Indeed, Chow has travelled a long and difficult path to reach his success. In 1955, he was born into a poor family in Hong Kong. When he was 17, he had to leave school. He worked in a number of jobs—as a postman, camera salesman and taxi driver. These experiences paved (铺路) the way for him to play all kinds of roles later in life.

    Chow broke into the film industry in the late 1970s. He was one of the hardest working actors and starred in a number of popular TV dramas and films including “Shanghai Bund”(《上海滩》) and “A Better Tomorrow”. Since 1985, he has won many awards including Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards.

In 1995, he went to Hollywood. Although he was already over 40, he had to learn English. He even put chopsticks in his mouth to practise pronouncing certain sounds. His film, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, began to gain him more fame and recognition around the world. In 1998, the mayor of Chicago set aside January 12 as “Chow Yun-fat Day”.

1.Chow Yun-fat has been written into middle school textbooks mainly because ________.

A. he plays best in Hong Kong

B. he keeps on struggling for success

C. his experiences are very special

D. he is well thought of

2.Chow felt ________ when he learned that he had been written into middle school textbooks.

   A. surprised        B. shy           C. sad          D. happy

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A. Chow Yun-fat is proud of his success.

B. Chow Yun-fat prefers to make a living by selling cameras rather than by    performing.

   C. Chow Yun-fat has won more awards than other actors.

   D. Chow Yun-fat is popular both at home and abroad.

4.The underlined sentence (in paragraph 6) suggests ________.

   A. chopsticks is of great help to practise English pronunciation

   B. Chow Yun-fat is willing to struggle with difficulties

   C. Chow Yun-fat has suffered a lot before he went to Hollywood

   D. it is hard for a person who is over 40 years old to learn spoken English

5.The author wrote this passage to ________.

A. introduce Chow’s films

B. praise Chow for his excellent performance

C. call on people to learn from Chow 

D. show why Chow is popular

For the first time in five decades, Taiwan buys water from the mainland of China to help soothe(缓解) a severe drought.

Sat May 4,5:21 a.m. ET

By WILLIAM IDE, Associated Press Writer

TAIPEI, Taiwan—Facing its worst drought in decades, Taiwan is buying water from the mainland of China   1  since the two rivals split amid civil war 54 years ago.

A Taiwanese ship on Sunday was expected   2  2,300 metric tons (2,530 short tons) of water back from the mainland of China to Taiwan’s outlying island of Matsu, just off China’s southeastern coast.

Buying water from the mainland of China has been an issue of serious debate in Taiwan because the government does not want to become too   3  its communist neighbor, which has repeatedly said to   4  Taiwan.

But the serious drought has left Taiwan   5  ,and Taiwan’s top China policy—maker, Tsai Ingwen, said on Saturday that this weekend’s water purchase would be a “trial run,” the semiofficial Central News Agency   6  .

“  7  it will become a model for easing needs in drought—stricken Taiwan depends on the needs of other areas,” Tsai, chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council, was quoted as saying.

There are no direct   8  air links between the mainland of China and Taiwan’s main island, separated by   9  160—kilometer—wide YC Taiwan Strait. But last year, Taiwan opened shipping links between the mainland of China and the outlying Taiwanese islands of Kinmen and Matsu—an experiment   10  links between the mainland of China of Taiwan’s main island.

1.       A．the first time B．for the first time C．first time D．at first

2.       A．fetching       B．to bring       C．to take        D．borrowing

3.       A．dependent of   B．independent of C．dependent on   D．relied on

4.       A．turn over      B．hand over      C．take over      D．give over

5.       A．with few other choices           B．for the few other choices

C．with few choices                 D．for several choices

6.       A．was said       B．was believed   C．announces      D．reported

7.       A．That           B．Whether or not C．If             D．Where

8.       A．shipping or    B．shipping of    C．shipped and    D．shipping

9.       A．a              B．the            C．an             D．/

10.    A．which could lead                 B．that could lead to  

C．that resulted from               D．which could lie in

For the first time in Hong Kong's history，an entertainer has been written into middle school textbooks. He is considered one of the best actors in Hong Kong. Yes，he is Chow Yun fat．

The example of his long hard struggle for success has been used in a chapter in a Hong Kong middle school textbook．Using his experience，students can learn to make the most of their time and to grab every opportunity to succeed．

On hearing about this，Chow said happily，“I really hope that my experiences can make young people understand that one should not be afraid of difficulties and setbacks（挫折），for they are the only way to success．”

Indeed，Chow has travelled a long and difficult path to reach his success．In 1955，he was born into a poor family in Hong Kong. When he was 17，he had to leave school．He worked in a number of jobs―as a postman，camera salesman and taxi driver. These experiences paved the way for him to play all kinds of roles later in life．

Chow broke into the film industry in the late 1970s. He was one of the hardest working actors and starred in a number of popular TV dramas and films including “Shanghai Bund”（《上海滩》） and “A Better Tomorrow”． Since 1985， he has won many awards including Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards .

In 1995, he went to Hollywood． Although he was already in his 40s, he had to learn English．He even put chopsticks in his mouth to practise pronouncing certain sounds. His film， “Crouching Tiger，Hidden Dragon”，began to gain him more fame and recognition around the world．In 1998，the mayor of Chicago set aside January 12 as “Chow Yun fat Day．”

56. Chow Yun fat has been written into middle school textbooks mainly because________．

A. he plays best in Hong Kong         B. he keeps on struggling for success

C. his experiences are very special   D. he is well thought of

57. Chow felt_________when he learned that he had been written into middle school textbooks．

A. surprised        B. happy       C. sad      D. shy

58. What can we infer from the passage？

A. Chow Yun fat is proud of his success．

B. Chow Yun fat is popular both at home and abroad．

C. Chow Yun fat prefers to make a living by selling cameras rather than by performing．

D. Chow Yun fat has won more awards than other actors．

59. The underlined sentence（in Paragraph 6） suggests ＿＿＿＿．

A. chopsticks is of great help to practise English pronunciation

B. Chow Yun fat is willing to struggle with difficulties

C. Chow Yun fat has suffered a lot since he went to Hollywood

D. it is hard for a person who is over 40 years old to learn spoken English

60. The author wrote this passage to ＿＿＿＿．

A. introduce Chow's way to success

B. praise Chow for his excellent performance

C. call on people to learn from Chow

D. show why Chow is popular