When Joe left university, he got a good work in a bike factory.
But after he had been worked there for some years, he decided
to have change, so he put a notice in several newspapers,
saying what experiences he had and the kind of job he would
like to have. One of the answers he accepted was from a man
was looking for a job, too. This man wrote to him, “Dear, sir,
when you get a new job, be kind enough to give your name and
address to your present boss as I have been trying to find
a position like yours for a long time.” After he reads the letter,
he suddenly realized that what he had done was real foolish.

So much to do, so little time. So much information, so little time to read. In this age there is more information than ever before. There is not enough time to read everything we want to read. However, you can take in and understand more information in shorter time through speed-reading. This article will not make you read 3,000 words per minute, but it will show you how to increase your speed greatly. You will also learn the basic techniques of speed reading, along with the dos and don’ts of speed-reading．

When you first learned to read, you would say the word out loud and sound it out. Then you might whisper the word because people can become annoyed when you read aloud. The stage you are now at is saying the word in your head．Most people tend to read this way. Saying the word in your head will cut your reading speed tremendously.

How do you calculate your reading speed? The speed is measured by how many words per minute you can read. Get some reading material, preferably a book. Find out how many words are on the page. Time yourself one minute. Start your timer and start reading. When the timer sounds, stop at once. If you counted 500 words on the page and you read half of the page, then you are probably reading at 250 words per minute.

The first thing about speed-reading is looking at the word and recognizing it. Don’t say the word in your mind, just look at it and recognize its appearance. Later you will recognize groups of four words or more to increase your speed. This is the first and most important step in speed-reading.

The next step is technique. As with any other skill, speed-reading requires technique. You should first be sitting up straight with your book on a horizontal surface, such as a table or desk. Next, should be able to see the entire page．This is necessary if you want to recognize clumps of words. Lastly, you should be focused. It’s hard to read a lot of noise. Find a quiet place to read. This will help your understand of the text. You need something to guide your eyes while reading. Then right, you should use your hand, Remember when you were little, you would read using your finger. That is a great technique, only now you're using your hand to underline each line．Move your finger smoothly across page．No need to go rush , start our slow. Keep your eyes focused on words as you recognize them while using your hand as a guide. This will increase you speed.

The third step is practice. Practice makes perfect. Set time intervals（时间间隔）. Read using different techniques, but make sure you understand what you’re reading.

Which of the following statements in true according to the text?

A．Now there is limited information than ever before.

B．Now conditions ask people to use less time to know more information.

C．No people can read what they like.

D．The less you read, the more time you will spend.

What is the subject discussed in the text?

A．What speed-reading is.

B．Why we need speed-reading.

C．Now it has much information, less time.

D．People should practice speed-reading in different kinds of ways.

Which of the following shows the right way for the speed-reading from the text?

a．Ask for some techniques.

b．Look at many words and recognize them.

c．Practice more.

       A．c, a, b      B．c, b, a       C．b, a, c       D．a, c, b

The underlined sentence “you should be focused” in the fifth paragraph means that          .

A．a person should devote his attention to it while reading

B．your feelings will be hurt while reading

C．a person should smooth away difficulties while he reads

D．you should pay attention to your faults while you are reading

To speed up your reading, you should       。

A．sit up straight with your book flat and use something to guide your eyes

B．say every word out loud and sound it out

C．know it is necessary to read quickly

D．underline some important words while you say them

It's a small gas station that has snacks, drinks, cigarettes, and candies. The young man behind the counter knows his   __36__   by name and what they normally want to buy. He treats children and adults with equal   __37__. He reads science fiction behind the counter when business is   __38__.
One day, three people rushed in and grabbed（抓住） food off the shelves as fast as they could,   __39__   not intending to pay for it. He hit the “panic button” , then went over the counter（柜台） and   __40__   the front door. It was obvious that they were homeless, and  equally obvious that they weren't going   __41__   with their ill­gotten（非法获得的） gains. They    __42__   the food and simply crowded together in panic（惊慌地）—knowing the police were   __43__   the way.
Imagine what they must have felt like when they were told they didn't have to steal if they were that    __44__. “We have food in the back, expired (到期)but still   __45__   to eat. If you need food, you   __46__   have some.” 
They were told to   __47__   what they had dropped and put it back, and then asked to straighten out（清理） the mess. They were doing just that    __48__    the police arrived. The officers were told the situation was under control and the police were no longer   __49__.
This wasn't what they had    __50__. They were being treated as human beings who could right the wrong they'd done. Shocked, they quickly followed orders to take turns and use the restroom to clean up.
Soon three   __51__   people walked out with all the    __52__   their arms could hold. They were   __53__   that，if they needed to come back again, they were to ask and not just grab.
And then the young man went back to read until the next customer came in. He would be the    __54__ person in the world to claim he was a hero. But he gave three people something they were in desperate need of—a   __55__amount of self­respect and a little bit of hope.

Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely act of stealing or an even cheat. Either way, it could be the perfect crime, because the criminals are birds—homing pigeons !

The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car: if you want the car back, pay up. Then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside. Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off.

There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however,  may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind—one that avoids not only collecting money but also going out to steal the car in the first place. Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return. Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an advertisement in the newspaper asking for help.

The thought is supported by the fact that, so far, none of the stolen cars have been returned. Also, the amount of money demanded-under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars–seems too little for a car worth many times more.

Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal. “We have more important things to do,” he said.

1.After the car owner received a phone call, he _______.

2.The “lazier and more inventive” criminal refers to _______.

3.The writer mentions the fact that “none of the stolen cars have been returned” to show _______.

4.The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to ____.

5. We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because _______.

These days, many passers-by always spot a beggar on the Jiaochangkou Street in Yuzhong District of Chongqing in southwest China.
The beggar’s name is Xia Haibo, and he was born in Meihe Village, Tianmen City of Hubei Province. Being 25 years old, he is quite a special beggar in some ways — he doesn’t beg on his knees, as other beggars do when begging. Rather, he often stands in the crowded street, either reading a book or thinking about something carefully. He also started a blog on the Internet which has been clicked more than 500,000 times. He likes reading — he has read many classical Chinese poems. He has kept writing and recently, he has planned to publish his writings.
In 1998, Xia entered Tianmen Middle School as the best student in his town. However, a year before he took the college entrance examination, he came down with a high fever and was later diagnosed (诊断) as having rheumatoid arthritis (类风湿性关节炎). In order to treat his disease, his father borrowed 60,000 yuan from relatives and friends. However, with this money, he didn’t recover from the disease. He did not want to become a burden (负担) to his family any more. So in July, 2006, he left his hometown and went to Wuhan to make a living by begging.
Begging has become a job to Xia now. However, he doesn’t plan to go on living like this. “By July 24, 2008, when I have been begging for two years, I will stop my begging life. I promise,” he said.
It is his plan that by using the money he “earns”, he will rent a small shop in his hometown and keep on writing in his spare time.
Right now, he is trying to finish a book of his own. The book, called Love Is With Me, tells about the people who helped him during his begging life.
【小题1】The underlined word “spot” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to “______”.