I entered high school having read hundreds of books.But I was not a good reader.Merely bookish,I lacked a point of view when I read.Rather,I read in order to get a point of view.I searched books for good expressions and sayings,pieces of information,ideas,themes—anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated.When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a “complicated(复杂的) idea” until he had read at least two thousand books,I heard the words without recognizing either its irony(嘲讽) or its very complicated truth.I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever read.Strict with myself,I included only once a title I might have read several times.(How,after all,could one read a book more than once?)And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length.(Could anything shorter be a book?)

There was yet another high school list I made.One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college.The article had a list of the “hundred most important books of Western Civilization.”“More than anything else in my life,”the professor told the reporter with finality,“these books have made me all that I am.”That was the kind of words I couldn’t ignore(忽视).I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles.Most books,of course,I hardly understood.While reading Plato’s The Republic,for example,I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about.However,with the special patience and superstition(迷信) of a schoolboy,I looked at every word of the text.And by me time I reached the last word,pleased,I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic,and seriously crossed Plato off my list.

On heating the teacher’s suggestion of reading,the writer thought ______.

A.one must read as many books as possible

B.a student should not have a complicated idea

C.it was impossible for one to read two thousand books

D.students ought to make a list of the books they had read

While at high school,the writer ______.

A.had plans for reading

B.learned to educate himself

C.only read books over 100 pages

D.read only one book several times

The underlined phrase “with finality” probably means ______.

A.firmly                                                                 B.clearly

C.proudly                                                               D.pleasantly

The writer’s purpose in mentioning The Republic is to ______.

A.explain why it was included in the list

B.describe why he seriously crossed it off the list

C.show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand

D.prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word

The writer provides two book lists to ______.

A.show how he developed his point of view

B.tell his reading experience at high school

C.introduce the two persons’ reading methods

D.explain that he read many books at high school

I entered high school having read hundreds of books.But I was not a good reader.Merely bookish,I lacked a point of view when I read.Rather,I read in order to get a point of view.I searched books for good expressions and sayings,pieces of information,ideas,themes—anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated.When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a “complicated(复杂的) idea” until he had read at least two thousand books,I heard the words without recognizing either its irony(嘲讽) or its very complicated truth.I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever read.Strict with myself,I included only once a title I might have read several times.(How,after all,could one read a book more than once?)And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length.(Could anything shorter be a book?)

There was yet another high school list I made.One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college.The article had a list of the “hundred most important books of Western Civilization.”“More than anything else in my life,”the professor told the reporter with finality,“these books have made me all that I am.”That was the kind of words I couldn’t ignore(忽视).I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles.Most books,of course,I hardly understood.While reading Plato’s The Republic,for example,I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about.However,with the special patience and superstition(迷信) of a schoolboy,I looked at every word of the text.And by me time I reached the last word,pleased,I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic,and seriously crossed Plato off my list.

On heating the teacher’s suggestion of reading,the writer thought ______.

A.one must read as many books as possible

B.a student should not have a complicated idea

C.it was impossible for one to read two thousand books

D.students ought to make a list of the books they had read

While at high school,the writer ______.

A.had plans for reading

B.learned to educate himself

C.only read books over 100 pages

D.read only one book several times

The underlined phrase “with finality” probably means ______.

A.firmly                                                                 B.clearly

C.proudly                                                               D.pleasantly

The writer’s purpose in mentioning The Republic is to ______.

A.explain why it was included in the list

B.describe why he seriously crossed it off the list

C.show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand

D.prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word

The writer provides two book lists to ______.

A.show how he developed his point of view

B.tell his reading experience at high school

C.introduce the two persons’ reading methods

D.explain that he read many books at high school

It happened to me recently that I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father and how it had changed my views of the current US president. The person I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, “a wonderfully written book”. However, he then proceeded to talk about Mr. Obama in a way that suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.

    And it seems that he is not the only one. Clearly two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In the World Book Day survey, Dreams from My Father is at number 9. The survey lists top ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading. As I’m not one to lie too often, I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire ten books. But I am pleased to say that I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s absolutely outstanding.

Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to impress someone they were speaking to. This could be difficult if the conversation became more in depth!

The World Book Day survey also has some other interesting information in it. It shows that many people lie about having read classical works by Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens and so on. But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, they named J.K. Rowling, Jilly Cooper, and Stephen King (ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty-one percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story.

So which books have you lied about reading — if any — and which is your favourite?

1．The main reason why people lie about reading is to _________.

A. make fun of the listener                 B. impress the listener

C. please the listener                      D. interest the listener

2．The underlined word “proceeded” in the passage probably means “_________”.

A. wanted           B. happened         C. continued            D. stopped

3．What does the World Book Day survey show?

A. Nearly half of the people surveyed didn’t read through a whole classical book.

B. People don’t like Dreams from My Father and George Orwell’s 1984.

C. Few people lie about having read classical works by Jane Austen.

D. People usually enjoy reading books by Charles Dickens.

4．What is the best title for the passage?

A. Are You a Book Liar?                 B. Readers Are All Liars

C. World Book Day                       D. Dreams from My Father

It happened to me recently that I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s DreamsfromMyFather and how it had changed my views of the current US president.The person I was talking to agreed with me that it was，in his words，“a wonderfully written book”. However，he then proceeded to talk about Mr Obama in a way that suggested he had no idea of his background at all.I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.

And it seems that he is not the only one.Clearly two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t.In the World Book Day survey，DreamsfromMyFather is at number 9.The survey lists top ten books，and various authors，which people have lied about reading.As I’m not one to lie too often，I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire ten books.But I am pleased to say that I have read the book at number one，GeorgeOrwell’s 1984.I think it’s absolutely outstanding.

Asked why they lied，the most common reason was to impress someone they were speaking to.This could be difficult if the conversation became more in­depth!

The World Book Day survey also has some other interesting information in it.It shows that many people lie about having read classical works by Jane Austen，the Bronte sisters，Charles Dickens and so on.But when asked which authors they actually enjoy，they named J．K.Rowling，Jilly Cooper，and Stephen King (ah，the big sellers，in other words)．Forty­one percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story.

So which books have you lied about reading—if any—and which is your favourite?

1.The main reason why people lie about reading is to________.

A．make fun of the listener

B．impress the listener

C．please the listener

D．interest the listener

2. The underlined word“proceeded” in the passage probably means “________”.

A．wanted                               B．happened

C．continued                             D．stopped

3.What does the World Book Day survey show?

A．Nearly half of the people surveyed didn’t read through a whole classical book.

B．People don’t like DreamsfromMyFather and GeorgeOrwell ’s 1984.

C．Few people lie about having read classical works by Jane Austen.

D．People usually enjoy reading books by Charles Dickens.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Are You a Book Liar?                     B．Readers Are All Liars

C．World Book Day                        D．Dreams from My Father

It happened to me recently that I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of the current US President. The person I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, “a wonderfully written book.” However, he then proceeded to talk about Mr. Obama in a way that suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar(说谎者)．
And it seems that he is not the only one. Clearly two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In The World Book Day survey, Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The survey lists top ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading. As I’m not one to lie too often, I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire ten books. But I am pleased to say that I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s absolutely outstanding．
Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to impress someone they were speaking to. This could be difficult if the conversation became more in-depth!
The World Book Day survey also has some other interesting information in it. It shows that many people lie about having read classical works by Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens and so on. But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, they named JK Rowling, Jilly Cooper, and Stephen King. Forty-one percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story．
So which books have you lied about reading —if any — and which is your favorite?
【小题1】The main reason why people lie about reading is to __________.