World Book Day falls on April 23 every year．It was set up by the UNESCO* in 1995 to encourage people，especially teenagers，to discover the pleasure of reading．It is also the day to honor great writers，for example，William Shakespeare，born or dead on that day．

Many countries celebrate World Book Day．Take UK as an example．On that day，millions of schoolchildren can buy books of special price，a much lower price than usual，in any bookstore．It has been done every year since 1998．World Book Day is also celebrated in China．Wen Jiabao，Premier of China，is an avid reader．He does lots of reading every day though he is very busy．On World Book Day 2009，he called on people to do more reading．Wen suggested that young people should spend more time reading．"Books can not change the world，but people can change the world by changing themselves through reading，" he said．

Reading can benefit people in many ways．Reading helps us become more knowledge- able and more intelligent．Reading helps us to follow the latest developments of science and technology．Reading gives us information about other cultures and places of the world．When we read，we may find many things that are unfamiliar* to us．We would have to use our brain to think about them or do more reading to find out the answers．The more we read，the more we know．The more we know，the smarter we become．Reading is also one of the most important ways to learn a foreign language like English．We all know that it is difficult to learn everything in the classroom，for example，the ways English people are speaking and writing today．Reading helps us．

"Reading makes a full man" （Bacon，1597 ）：Books，magazines，newspapers and other" kinds of reading materials can help us to know more about the outside world and perfect us．Therefore，it is necessary for us to spend time on reading every day．

1．Why was World Book Day set up?

A．To encourage people to learn English．

B．To encourage people to do more reading． 

C．To encourage people to buy more books． 

D．To encourage people to know more about science．

2．An avid reader is a person who ________

A．loves reading                            B．never reads

C．does little reading                          D．hates reading

3．According to the passage，reading can help people in many ways EXCEPT _______

A．learning English better                      B．knowing more about culture

C．improving your memory                   D．knowing more about the outside world

4．What's the best title for the passage?

A．World Book Day in UK

B．Suggestions on Reading

C．World Book Day in China

D．World Book Day and Benefits of Reading

One summer evening as I was cooking dinner, there was a knock at the door. I opened it and saw an old man. But his voice was pleasant as he said, “Good evening. I come to see if you have a room for just one night. I live far away from here, and there's no bus till next morning. ”

I told him we would find him a bed, but it was not comfortable. I went inside and cooked dinner. When we were ready, I asked him if he would like to join us. “No, thank you. I have plenty.” When I had finished the dinner, I went out to talk with him. He told me he fished for a living to help his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was ill and too weak to do anything.

At bedtime, we put a bed in the children's room for him. On his next trip, as a gift, he brought a big fish and some fresh vegetables. In the years he came to stay overnight with us, and there was never a time he did not bring us some fish or vegetables from his garden.

 I know it was thankful for our family to know him, from whom we learn what was to accept the bad without a complaint(抱怨) and the good with thanks.

1Why did the old man go to the writer's house?

A. To give a fish to the writer.                   B. To stay for the night.

C. To sell some fish.                             D. To ask for some money.

2 How many people were there in the old man's daughter's family?

A. Two.           B. Four.                 C. Six.           D. Seven.

3 Which of the following is true?

 A. The old man stayed for the night with the writer only once.

 B. The old man came to the writer's house to ask for some food.

 C. The old man came to stay with the writer for the night many times.

 D. The old man felt lonely because he had no son or daughter.

British people are famous for drinking tea. But brother and sister, Sarah and Bobby Green, became young millionaires(百万富翁) when they opened a chain of American-style coffee shops in the UK.

Having the idea: It started when Sarah took a weekend trip to New York to visit her brother Bobby. One evening, in a Thai restaurant, Sarah told Bobby how much she wished she could buy American-style coffee in London. Bobby suggested they started their own coffee shop. Sarah fell in love with the idea.

Doing the research: Back in London, she spent a whole day on the London subway, getting off the train at different stations to taste the coffee. “It was terrible, and I knew there was a gap (空缺) in the market.” In 1995, they opened their first Coffee Republic shop in the center of London.

Making it work: The first year was very difficult. British people were not used to the names of American coffees, like latte and macchiato. But being successful was their dream and they were not going to give up. Today, there are over 100 Coffee Republic shops all over the country and the company has ￡30 million a year.

Advice for others: Sarah has now written a best-selling book about their experience, called Anyone Can Do It! She hopes it will help other young people to start their own businesses. She says, “If you think you have the energy, then get out and follow your dream.”

4What kind of company do they run?

A. A fast-food restaurant.                                B. A tea shop.   

C. A coffee shop.                       D. A big hotel.

5 Where are their Coffee Republic shops?

A. All over the UK.                        B. All over the US.

C. In the center of London.                D. In New York.

6Which information is mentioned in the passage?

A. Sarah was not interested in Bobby’s idea.

 B. British people never drank coffee before 1995.

 C. Sarah’s best-selling book is about how to make coffee.

 D. Sarah found a business chance while doing the research.

Most people around the world are right-handed. This also seems to be true in history. In 1799, scientists studied works of art made at different times from 1,500 B. C. to the 1950s. Most of the people shown in these works are right-handed, so the scientists guessed that right-handedness has always been common through history. Today, only about 10% to 15% of the world's population is left-handed.

  Why are there more right-handed people than left-handed ones? Scientists now know that a person's two hands each have their own jobs. For most people, the hand is used to find things or hold things. The right hand is used to work with things. This is because of the different work of the two sides of the brain(脑). The right side of the brain, which makes a person's hands and eyes work together, controls(控制) the left hand. The left-side of the brain, which controls the right hand, is the centre for thinking and doing problems. These findings show that more artists should be left-handed, and studies have found that left-handedness is twice as common among artists as among people in other jobs.

No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed instead of left-handed. Scientists have found that almost 40% of the people become left-handed because their main brain is damaged(伤害) when they are born. However, this doesn't happen to everyone, so scientists guess there must be another reason why people become left-handed. One idea is that people usually get right-handed from their parents. If a person does not receive the gene(基因)for right-handedness, he/she may become either right-handed or left-handed according (根据)to the chance and the people they work or live with.

  Though right-handedness is more common than left-handedness, people no longer think left-handed people are strange or unusual. A long time ago, left-handed children were made to use their right hands like other children, but today they don't have to.

7 After studying works of art made at different times in history, the scientists

found ____________.

A. the art began from 1,500 B. C.

B. the works of art ended in the 1950s

C. most people shown in the works of art are right-handed

D. most people shown in the works of art are left-handed

8 How many people in the world are left-handed now?

A. Less than one sixth.                 B. More than a half.

C. About 40%.                             D. The passage doesn't tell us.

9 According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed.

B. Scientists think there must be some reason why people become left-handed.

C. Today children are not made to use their right hands only.

D. Left-handedness is cleverer than right-handedness.

10 What is the best title for this passage?

A. Left-handed People                           B. Scientists' New Inventions

 C. Which Hand                         D. Different Brains, Different Hands