As I write this, I have half an eye on an old James Bond film that is showing on my computer. But this is a story about how I stopped watching TV and began reading again for pleasure, after ten years in which I hardly turned a page.

I suppose I was an enthusiastic reader of "literature" between the ages of nine and fourteen. I had enough time to be White Fang, Robinson Crusoe, and Bilbo Baggins and Jeeves. Of course there was room in the schoolboy's imagination for some real historical figures: Scott of the Antarctic, all of the Vikings, and Benjamin Franklin were good friends of mine.

Then, in adolescence, I began a long search for strange and radical (激进的) ideas. I wanted to challenge my elders and betters, and shock my fellow students with amazing points of view. Of course, the only place to look was in books. I hunted out the longest titles and the authors with the funniest names; I searched the library for completely unread books. Then I found one which became my bible for the whole of 1982, it had a title composed of eleven long words and an author whose name I didn't know how to pronounce. It was really thick and looked dead serious. Even better, it put forward a whole world-view that would take days to explain. Perfect. I took it out of the library three times, proud to see the date-stamps lined up on the empty library insert.

Later, I went to university. Expecting to spend long evenings in learned discussion with clever people, I started reading philosophy. For some reason I never found the deep-thinking intellectuals I hoped to meet. Anyway, I was ready to impress with my profound (深奥的) knowledge of post-structuralism, existentialism and situationism. These things are usually explained in rather short books, but they take a long time to get through. They were the end of my youthful reading.

Working life was hard to get used to after so much theory. It was the end of books for me. There didn't seem to be much in books that would actually get things done. To do things you had to answer the telephone and work a computer. You had to travel about and speak to people who weren't at all interested in philosophy. I didn't stop reading, you can't avoid that. I read all day. But no books came my way, only manuals (操作手册) and contracts and documents. Maybe most people satisfy their need for stories and ideas with TV and, to tell the truth, it was all I needed for ten years. In those days I only had a book "on the go" for the duration of aeroplane flights. At first I would come home and watch TV over dinner. Then, I moved the TV so I could watch it from bed. I even got a switch so I could turn it off without getting out of bed. Then, one fateful day, my TV broke and my landlady took it away.

My new TV is an extra circuit board (电路板) inside my computer. It's on a desk in front of a working chair and I can't see it from the bed. I still use it for the weather forecasts and it's nice to have it on while I'm typing this… but what to do last thing at night? Well, have another go with books.

Now, I just like books. I have a pile of nice ones by my bed and I'm reading about six at the same time. I don't want to be any of the characters. I don't care if a thousand people have already read them. I don't have to search through libraries. There are books everywhere and all of them have something to read in them. I have the strange feeling that they've been there all along, waiting for me to pick them up.

1.The writer enjoyed reading “literature” between the ages of nine and fourteen because ________.

A．he thought it was important for a schoolboy to do so

B．he was still too young to understand other books

C．he believed all the real historical figures were his friends

D．he could imagine himself being the characters in the books

2.“Existentialism” (in paragraph 4) is probably ________.

A．a library intended for teenagers            B．a kind of books on traditions

C．a philosophy theory                     D．a kind of reading skill

3.The main reason the writer stopped reading books was that ________.

A．he found watching TV was more interesting

B．he became too busy to read any books

C．he found books were of little use to his work

D．he had to read a lot of manuals, contracts and documents

4.Now the writer starts to read books again ________.

A．to find back his youth in books             B．for the pure pleasure of reading

C．so as to help kill his spare time             D．for only business purposes

5.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．The Years with Books                     B．Books and TV Programs

C．Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover           D．Reading Makes One Excellent

Almost every family in America or England buys at least one copy of a newspaper each .day Some people buy as many as two or three different papers.

Why do people read newspapers?

Newspapers supply us with news about events (事件 )in our hometowns, in our country, and in other parts of the world. Today we can read about important things that took place in foreign countries on the same day they happened, even in countries far away. But hundreds of years ago, news of things took months or even years to travel from one country to another. In those times, news was often passed from one person to another and never entirely(完全)true. Newspapers today supply us with more than just what happened in our country or in other countries. If we want to know what the weather will be like, we can read the weather reports. If we want to find out what films are being shown, or what plays or concerts we can go to we can look in the newspapers.

In many countries people put notices in newspapers if they are trying to get a job, hunting for a house or rooms that they can rent(租),or even when looking for a person who is lost.

1．This article tells us　　   .

A. most people read newspapers

B. all people read newspapers

C. every person in America or England reads newspapers

D. all families read newspapers

2．Newspapers supply us with　　   .

A. only home news

B. only world news

C. home news and world news

D. important things

3．Today we can read in our newspapers about important events　　   .

A. that took place hundreds of years ago

B. that took place in faraway countries soon after they happened

C. that will take place in foreign countries

D. that will take place in the world

4．Things such as　　   can be found in newspapers.

A. weather reports and film or concert guider

B. requirements for a job or a house

C. information about a lost person

D. all of the above

5．Which is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A. The habit of reading newspapers is found among most people.

B. Newspapers not only supply us with news from all over the world but also give us a lot of useful information.

C. Hundreds of years ago news was not wholly true because it was told in spoken words.

D. If you have no place to live in, you can put notice in a newspaper and then you will おcertainly get a room to live in.

阅读理解

Almost every family in America or England buys at least one copy of a newspaper each .day Some people buy as many as two or three different papers.

Why do people read newspapers?

Newspapers supply us with news about events (事件 )in our hometowns, in our country, and in other parts of the world. Today we can read about important things that took place in foreign countries on the same day they happened, even in countries far away. But hundreds of years ago, news of things took months or even years to travel from one country to another. In those times, news was often passed from one person to another and never entirely(完全)true. Newspapers today supply us with more than just what happened in our country or in other countries. If we want to know what the weather will be like, we can read the weather reports. If we want to find out what films are being shown, or what plays or concerts we can go to we can look in the newspapers.

In many countries people put notices in newspapers if they are trying to get a job, hunting for a house or rooms that they can rent(租),or even when looking for a person who is lost.

1．This article tells us　　   .

A. most people read newspapers

B. all people read newspapers

C. every person in America or England reads newspapers

D. all families read newspapers

2．Newspapers supply us with　　   .

A. only home news

B. only world news

C. home news and world news

D. important things

3．Today we can read in our newspapers about important events　　   .

A. that took place hundreds of years ago

B. that took place in faraway countries soon after they happened

C. that will take place in foreign countries

D. that will take place in the world

4．Things such as　　   can be found in newspapers.

A. weather reports and film or concert guider

B. requirements for a job or a house

C. information about a lost person

D. all of the above

5．Which is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A. The habit of reading newspapers is found among most people.

B. Newspapers not only supply us with news from all over the world but also give us a lot of useful information.

C. Hundreds of years ago news was not wholly true because it was told in spoken words.

D. If you have no place to live in, you can put notice in a newspaper and then you will おcertainly get a room to live in.