69. Which of the following readings should you read slowly and carefully? ________

A. Fairy tales.　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　B. Aesop’s Fables.　　　　

C. Directions for use of a machine.　　　 　　　　　　　D. An evening paper.

68. According to the passage, your reading speed depends on 　　　.

A. whether the reading material is easy or difficult　　 　B. what you are reading

C. what your purpose in reading something is　　 　　　D. both B and C

4. In some of your readings, you must change your speed from fast to slow to fast, as you go along. You need to read certain pages rapidly and then slow down and do more careful readings when you come to important ideas which must be remembered.

3. Some things should be read rapidly throughout. Examples are simple stories meant for enjoyment, news, letters from friends, items, or bits of news from local, or hometown, paper, telling what is happening to friends and neighbours.

2. Some things should be read slowly throughout examples are directions for making or doing something, arithmetic problems, science and history books, which are full of important information. You must read such things slowly to remember each important step and understand each important idea.

1. Knowing why you are reading –what you are reading to find out –will often help you to know whether to read rapidly or slowly.

59. The neighbours all gathered around the old happy woman when she was dying, because　　 .

A. they loved this woman deeply and they didn’t wanted her to die

B. the woman had lots of money to be shared as soon as she died

C. they wanted to know the secret of her lifetime happiness

D. they wanted to pray for her after her death.

　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　B 

　　America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while - then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending sometimes deeply into both families.

　 Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality easily.

　 Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.

　 For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!

60. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? _________

A. Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families.

B. Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives.

C. Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy.

D. Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break.

61. From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.

A. warmly welcomed at the airport　　　 　　B. offered a ride to his home

C. treated hospitably at his home　　　　 　　D. treated to dinner in a restaurant

62. The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______. 

A. strict with time　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　B. serious with time

C. careful with time　 　　　　　　　　　　　　D. willing to spend time

63. A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”. 

A. Friendships between Chinese　　 　　　　　　B. Friendships between Americans

C. Americans’ hospitality　　　　 　　　　　　D. Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships

C

　The other day I heard a few local musicians talking,

 “I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can’t even understand a bit of music.”

 “I’m never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us.”

 But, one younger musician said, “There are a few clubs that book my band a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also looking to book a few summer festivals this year.”

 I’ve heard that you are the average of the five people whom you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are.

 Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative, they’re rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who complain about lack of work and about other musicians, or blame others, and you play the role of victim, chances are you will start to as well. So it’s time to take a look at the people you call “friends”.

 This is an easy exercise: Make a list of the people who you hang out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard.

 Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it. Ask if they will help you get the work you’re looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path.

64. The underlined sentence “they’re rubbing off on you” in Paragraph 6 means ______.

A. they’ll push you ahead

B. they’ll influence you 

C. they’ll cover your shortcomings

D. they’ll help you achieve your goal

65. The musicians’ words at the beginning are written mainly to show ______.

A. the musicians’ living conditions are quite poor

B. people have poor taste in music

C. people have different attitudes towards the same thing

D. young people have greater chances of succeeding

66. By taking the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 7, you can ______.

A. improve a lot in making more friends

B. come to the right way of making friends 

C. develop a better relationship with your friends

D. arrange the time with your friends properly

67. The passage is mainly written for ______.

A. musicians　　　 B. managers　 　C. negative people 　　D. people wanting to succeed

D

If you wish to become a better reader, here are four important points to remember about rate, or speed, of reading,

58. The butterfly 　　　　　after was saved by the little girl.

A. flied away　　 　B. still died　 　C. changed into a fairy　　 D. was more beautiful than before

57. Noticing the butterfly was caught by the thorn, the orphan girl　　　　 .

A. helped the butterfly escaped from the thorn

B. felt sorrow, but she didn’t go up to help it

C. fell down on it too

D. failed to help it release from the thorn

56.　　　　 the girl felt sad and lonely.

A. there were many friends but　　　 B. there was nobody to love her so

C. there was nothing to do　　　　　 D. seeing the butterfly was caught