If you’re like most students, you probably read both at home and outside your home: Perhaps somewhere on your schoolyard and maybe even at work during your breaks. Your reading environment can have a great effect on your understanding, so give some thought to how you can create（营造）or choose the right reading environments. The right environment allows you to stay alert （专注的）and to keep all of your attention on the text, especially when it is both interesting and difficult.

When you’re at home, you can usually create effective conditions for reading. You might want to choose a particular place-----a desk or table, for example ----where you always read. Make sure the place you choose is well lighted, and sit in a chair that requires you to sit straight. Reading

In a chair that’s too soft and comfortable is likely to make you sleepy! Keep your active reading tools (pens, markers, notebooks or paper) and a dictionary close at hand.

     Before you sit down for a reading period, try to reduce all possible interruptions. Turn off your phone, the televisions, and the radio. Tell your family members or roommates that you’ll be busy for a while. If necessary , put a “Do not disturb” sign on your door! The more interruptions you must deal with while you read, the harder it will be to keep your attention on the task at hand.

1.The author believes that the right reading environment _______.

A. helps readers a little in their reading tasks

B. helps readers a lot in their reading tasks

C. can only be created at one’s home

D. can only be created outside one’s home

2.Which type of the following interruptions is mentioned in the text?

A. Dictionaries     B. Paper            C. Notebooks            D. Phone calls

3.What would be the best title for the text?

    A. What to Read                     B. The Ways to Reduce Possible Interruptions

    C. Creating an Effective Reading Environment    D. How to Read Fast

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从1—15各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

The subject of what separates art and design has been debated for a long time. Artists and designers both create visual works using a/an   1   knowledge background, but their reasons for doing so are   2   different. Some designers consider themselves artists, but few artists consider themselves   3  .

So what exactly is the difference between art and design? Perhaps the most fundamental difference that we can all agree on is their   4  . Typically, the process of creating a work of art starts with nothing, a blank sheet of paper. A   5   of art is born from a view or value that the artist holds within himself or herself. They create the art to share that feeling with others, to   6 

the viewers to relate to it, learn from it or be   7   by it. The most renowned and successful art today is something that establishes the strongest   8   connection between the artist and their

  9  .

By contrast, when a designer sets out to   10   a new piece, they almost always have a

  11   starting point, whether a message, an image, an idea or an action. The designer’s job isn’t to invent something   12  , but to communicate something that already exists, for a purpose. That purpose is almost always to motivate the audience to do something: buy a product, use a

  13  , visit a location, or learn certain information. The most   14   designs are those that most effectively   15   their message and motivate their consumers to carry out a task.

1.A. unique                B. separate               C. shared                             D. accepted

2.A. entirely              B. occasionally          C. hardly                              D. unnecessarily

3.A. inventors  B. designers              C. writers                                     D. viewers

4.A. purpose            B. product                  C. interest                           D. cost

5.A. love                     B. type                        C. part                                  D. work

6.A. stop                    B. allow                      C. require                                     D. move

7.A. understood       B. fooled                     C. inspired                           D. discouraged

8.A. political              B. social                      C. physical                           D. emotional

9.A. supporters        B. audiences             C. buyers                             D. enemies

10.A. sell                    B. imagine                 C. create                             D. draw

11.A. fixed                 B. good                       C. strange                           D. positive

12.A. surprising                 B. special                   C. creative                          D. new

13.A. phone               B. service                            C. language                        D. name

14.A. important                 B. creative                 C. successful                      D. unusual

15.A. learn                          B. receive                   C. confuse                           D. communicate

“Get yourself up and make something of yourself，buddy！”Though my mother has passed away，her words are as clear in my head today as when I was a boy．

??? “Christ！”I said，“I have made something of myself. I want to sleep late as I like．”

??? “If there’s one thing I can’t stand，it’s a quitter．”Her voice in my head is more powerful than my will to refuse，so I pull myself from bed．

????? Before I was out of primary school，mother could see I lacked the gifts for either making millions or winning the love of crowds．So she began pushing me toward working with words．Words ran in her family．There seemed to be a word gene that passed down from her mother’s grandfather·

The greatest proof was my mother’s first cousin Edwin．He was the managing editor of the New York Times and had gained a name in his career．

??? In 1947 1 graduated from Johns Hopkins and applied for a job with the Baltimore Sun as a police reporter．It paid＄30 a week ．When I complained the wage was shameful for a learned man，mother refused to sympathize．“If you work hard at this job，”she said，“maybe you can make something of it．”

??? After a while，I was asked to cover diplomats（外交官）at various African embassies. Then，

seven years later I was arranged by the Sun to cover the White House，a task that was as close to heaven as a journalist could get．However，whatever achievement of mine only seemed insignificant in her eyes．Uncle Edwin’s success was really annoying during my early years as a reporter．What a thrill，I thought．

??? Then，out of my wildest childhood fantasy，the Times came knocking．It was sad that Uncle Edwin had passed away by this time．In 1979 I won the Pulitzer Prize．Unfortunately，my mother’s brain and health broke down the year before，leaving her in a nursing home，out of touch with life forevermore ．She never knew of my Pulitzer．

????? I can probably guess how she’d have responded．“ That’s nice，buddy．It shows if you work hand，you’11 be able to make something of yourself one day，”

1.The first three paragraphs are intended to＿＿＿＿＿＿

A．draw readers’attention to the author’s success

B．remind readers that the road to success is rough

C．serve as an introduction to the author’s mother

D．explain why the author’s mother kept blaming him

2.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 probably means that tier families＿＿＿＿

A. were gifted at language? B．never broke their promise

C. were fond of reading ? D. stuck to their family belief

3.What can we learn about the author

A．He got a good salary working as a police reporter．

B．He lived a rich life with his mother in his childhood．

C．It was proud of her mother to see his winning the Pulitzer Prize．

D．It was beyond his wildest dream that he could work for the Times．

4.The author regards Uncle Edwin’s success as a thrill because＿＿＿＿＿＿．

A．he himself was less smart than Uncle Edwin

B．his mother’s family thought Uncle Edwin to be a good reporter

C．few reporters can become the managing editor of the New York Times

D．Uncle Edwin spared no effort to get the Pulitzer Prize at the cost of his life

One day a teacher was giving her young students a lesson on how the government works. She was trying to explain the principle of income tax (收入税).

“You see ,” she began , speaking slowly and carefully , “each person who works must pay part of his or her salary (薪水) to the government . If you make a high salary , your taxes are high . If you don’t make much money , your taxes are low .”

“Is that clear?” she asked. “Does everyone understand the meaning of income tax?” The students nodded.

Are there any questions?” she asked. The students shook their heads.

“Very good!” she said.” “Now, I would like you to take a piece of paper and write a short paragraph on the subject of income tax.”

Little Joey was a slow learner. He had lots of problems with spelling and grammar, but this time he at least seemed to understand the task. He took his pen and after a few minutes, he handed the teacher the following composition:

Once I had a dog. His name was Tax.

I opened the door and in come Tax.

1.The teacher was trying to explain        one day.

2. After the teacher’s explanation,       .

3.The students were asked       .

4.Little Joey      .