When a baby sees a ball, the baby may reach out for it. If the baby is very young, and you __21____the ball behind a pillow (枕头), then the ball ______22 exists for the child. As the child grows older, the child will move the pillow to get the ball. Even though the child cannot see the ball, the ball still exists. This is an early example of “learning to see the __23____”.

Just about all of us have __24____, so we all think we can see. But, in __25____ we are all blind to probably 99% of the world. Because___26____ people realize this, few people make the attempt to learn more, in order to see more. Just like a child, what we don’t see doesn’t exist.

__27_____, because most of us are blind to 99% of the world, we rely on others to give us the answers. We willingly allow doctors, lawyers, priests, and politicians to tell us what to do or think, but they take no responsibility when the results go wrong. Commercial television, radio, newspapers, and magazines are largely corporate owned, profit driven, and focus more on distraction and misinformation than on education. Yet, we continue reading, watching and listening to commercial media under the illusion that we are learning. Corporate (法人的) media is education with blinders. They only show you the __28____ picture, and, in this way, they control public opinion. __29___ needs to turn to noncommercial television, radio, and Internet world news to get the big picture. Everyone needs to know more in order to __30___ the political spin and lies.

21.  A. put                B. play                 C. find               D. take

22.  A. still              B. no more             C. no longer          D. even

23.  A. visible           B. invisible            C. ball                 D. child

24.  A.  ears              B. noses              C. balls               D. eyes

25.  A. return            B. reality             C. short               D. case

26.  A. many             B. few                 C. some               D. a lot of

27.  A. Unfortunately   B. actually            C. fortunately        D. strangely

28.  A. big               B. little                C. clear               D. new

29.  A. Everyone        B. Someone           C. Anyone             D. No one

30.  A. see to            B. look out             C. see through        D. look for

课文填空（每小题0.5分，满分5分）

James’s grandpa is 82 years old but he is still fit enough to cycle 20 kilos. The following is his experience of smoking as well as his advice to James.

“Believe me how easy it is to begin smoking and how ① t________ it is to stop, because you can become ②_________ in three different ways. First ③___________, which means after a while , your body becomes accustomed to having nicotine. Second , you can become dependent on it through ④_______. As we know if we do the same thing over and over again, you begin to do it ⑤_________. Lastly , ⑥_________, you will feel happier and more relaxed after having a cigarette.

“When I was young, I didn’t know much about the harmful ⑦_________ of smoking. I don’t know it could do damage to our lung and heart . Nor did I know the baby may be ⑧ a_________ in some way. But I did know I smelt ⑨________ and become breathless quickly. I didn’t realize I had to ⑩_________ smoking until I was taken off the school football team. “

James’s grandpa is 82 years old but he is still fit enough to cycle 20 kilos. The following is his experience of smoking as well as his advice to James.

“Believe me how easy it is to begin smoking and how ① t________ it is to stop, because you can become ②_________ in three different ways. First ③___________, which means after a while , your body becomes accustomed to having nicotine. Second , you can become dependent on it through ④_______. As we know if we do the same thing over and over again, you begin to do it ⑤_________. Lastly , ⑥_________, you will feel happier and more relaxed after having a cigarette.

 “When I was young, I didn’t know much about the harmful ⑦_________ of smoking. I don’t know it could do damage to our lung and heart . Nor did I know the baby may be ⑧ a_________ in some way. But I did know I smelt ⑨________ and become breathless quickly. I didn’t realize I had to ⑩_________ smoking until I was taken off the school football team. “

阅读理解

　　Jenifer Reilly began reading to her daughter Abby shortly after she was born. At first, the infant chewed (咀嚼) on the book covers and drooled (流口水) over the pages. Jenifer didn't mind. She even let Abby sleep with her books. By the time Abby was one, she loved books. She'd nestle (依偎) on her mother's lap and listen wide-eyed as Jenifer read about snow children and dancing bears. When she started to walk, Abby often sat next to the family's Labrador (一种猎犬) with an upside-down book in hand, reading to the dog.

　　Like Abby's mother, I read to all my children—just as my parents read to me, and as I now read to my 12 grandchildren. Reading aloud is one of the best-kept secrets of good parenting. It has tremendous (巨大的) impact (影响) on a young mind and gives youngsters a head start on their education. Children like Abby, educators say, can be 2．5 years ahead in reading readiness when they enter kindergarten (幼儿园).

　　Children often gain more than learning skills, however. Reading teaches sharing and involvement. It brings families together and makes children feel loved. When I read to groups of children at schools and libraries across America, without any prompting. (促使) one or two will climb up and sit on my lap. The rest, sitting on the floor, will squeeze (挤) forward, crowding around my feet.

　　So start a family read-aloud program, and you can't begin too soon. Carol Brown read to her son, Hanson, shortly after she brought him home from the hospital. Over the next few years, she read him book after book. By the time Hanson was in kindergarten, he read on his own, even though he was severely (严重地) learning disabled. Eventually his reading skills leveled off. Today school is hard for him, but he continues to love and enjoy books. “For Hanson,” says his mother, “I know that reading to him all those years made an enormous (巨大的) difference.”

　　The important thing is to start reading aloud.

1．The writer calls for the parents to read to their children because ________.

[　　]

A．reading can make children love books

B．reading can make the children feel the parents' love

C．reading can help children start their education

D．All the above.

2．By Jeniffer's example, the writer wants to show that ________.

[　　]

A．it wasn't suitable to read to the baby too early, because the baby may tear the books

B．reading to the children can make them love their dogs

C．reading to the children can make them love and enjoy books

D．reading to the children too early will make them story-tellers

3．The sentence “So start a family read-aloud program, and you can't begin too soon.” (in Para. 4 ) most probably means ________.

[　　]

A．it's not suitable to read to children too early

B．you should start to read to your children as soon as possible

C．you should not start to read to your children right now

D．when you read to your children, don’t begin too suddenly

4．Because Carol Brown read to her son Hanson very early, Hanson ________.

[　　]

A．lose the learning ability

B．can not read by himself

C．need not read by himself

D．maintains his love of books though he is unable to learn

5．According to the author, which of the following statements is NOT true?

[　　]

A．Reading to children can make them ready for reading by themselves more early than other children at the same age.

B．Reading can create a chance for the family members to get together.

C．Reading can make the children full of love to the world.

D．Reading can teach the children how to learn very early.