If you want to see a thing well, reach out and touch it

   Your eyes can tell you that a glass ball is round. But by holding it in your hands, you can feel how smooth and cool the ball is. You can feel how heavy the glass is.

The roundness, smoothness, coolness and heaviness are parts of the ball. When you feel all these things about the ball, you really see it.

With your skin, you can feel surprisingly well. For example, your fingers can tell the difference between a nickel and dime in your pocket. You can feel a tiny drop of water on the back of your hand, or a puff of air against your skin. You can even feel sounds against your skin.

Most of us like the feel of fur. We like to touch a fur coat or a fur collar .And we like to pet a kitten because of its soft fur.

All children soon learn what “ Don’t touch” means. They hear it often. Yet most of us keep right on touching things as we grow up.

The bottoms of our feet can feel things, too. You know this when you walk barefoot. Warm sand, cool grass and a soft rug all feel different beneath your feet.

There are ways of learning to see well by feeling. One way is to close your eyes and try to feel everything that is touching your skin. Feel the shoes on your feet, the clothes on your body, the air on your skin. At first, it is not easy to feel these things consciously. You are too used to them.

   Most exhibits in museums are just for looking. But today some museums have some things to touch. Their sings say, “Do touch!”

   There you can feel the shape of a gun, the smooth silk of a pillow, the rough wood of an old chair. If you want to see better, reach out and touch. Then you will really see!

1．With your skin ________________.

A．you can’t feel much                     B．you can feel almost everything

C．you can only feel something               D．you can feel nothing

2．Most of us like to pet a kitten____________

A．because its fur feels soft              B．because it can catch rats

C．because we like to play with it           D．because of its beautiful face

3．Why is it not so easy to feel consciously those things around you?

A．You are not used to them              B．You take no notice of them

C．You don’t feel like touching them       D．You are too used to them

4．If you wanted to see things better, ____________

A．open your eyes wider                 B．keep on asking questions

C．go and visit museums                 D．reach out and touch them

5．Which of the following titles do you think best fits the story?

A．Things Feel Soft Hard                 B．Signs That Say “ Don’t touch”

C．To See Better-----Feel                 D．By hearing , by feeling

Though we were poor, my sister managed to buy me a pair of “magic shoes” that changed my life.
      Anne is six years older than me. Growing up, we were very poor, and my mother worked evenings at a factory in a small town. Not seeing my mother much, Anne took over much of the support. During those teenage years, Anne was always there for me, not only as a big sister, but as a mother and my best friend.
      When I was seventeen，I had no money. I thought my only chance of going to college was trying to win a scholarship. I had an important interview for such an award. I told her about my interview, that General Motors was sending me a bus ticket, and I would get to visit the city for my scholarship interview. I was excited about the adventure* and asked her advice on what to wear. I showed her my best coat and how I planned to be careful, how I sat so that the hole in the bottom of my shoe would not be seen, but I wasn’t sure what I would do if it rained.
      Anne suggested that we should go shopping, and we took the bus to a store. There we found a beautiful pair of leather shoes on sale. She told me to try them on, but I thought it was just for fun .As neither of us had ever owned anything that expensive before. But this time was different. Anne handed me the boxed shoes and said, “Here, I’ll buy these for you.”
      “But…” was all I could say.
      “You deserve* them,” she replied. “I want to see you get that scholarship.”
      I went to the interview and crossed my legs so that my beautiful new shoes shone with pride. I won the scholarship and became an engineer. Now, after twenty years have passed, I still have that pair of shoes with me, and I just wear them on those occasions* when I need to feel special. It’s kind of like having magic slippers when you’re homesick.

52. The writer said that Anne was like the author’s mother because____________?
A. she took care of the author.
B. Anne was much older than the author.
C. Anne looked like the author’s mother.
D. Anne admired the author’s mother.

53. Anne suggested that they go shopping in order to ____________.
A. buy a pair of new shoes for the author
B. buy a pair of new shoes for herself
C. repair the author’s poor shoe
D. try on different kinds of clothes

54. The interview was successful probably because _____________.
A. the interviewers noticed her new shoes and liked them
B. the author looked especially beautiful wearing the shoe
C. the author was confident with the new shoes on
D. the shoes are a pair of “magic shoes”

55. What is the best title for the passage?

A. Growing Up   B. An Interview    C. Going to College   D. Magic Shoes.