Yes , you．Believe it or not , that may be easier than you think．Not all classics are too difficult or complicated．So you’re not limited to the simplified versions．And the easier books are not all for children．
Books in their original versions may send you to the dictionary．And you might not understand everything you read．But reading one from cover to cover will give you a real sense of accomplishment (成就)．
The key is to find the right books．Let’s take a look at these．
The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe (C．S．Lewis)
Stepping into an old wardrobe , four English schoolchildren find themselves in the magical world of Narnia．On this delightful land , they find friends among the many talking creatures．
The children soon discover , however , that Narnia is ruled by the White Witch．Edmund , one of the children , falls under her power．Who can free Narnia? Only Aslan , the great and noble lion．He alone knows the Deeper Magic．But the children themselves must help fight the battle against the White Witch and those who serve her．
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
Santiago , an old Cuban fisherman , hasn’t caught any fish in more than 80 days．Sailing far out from land , the old man hooks an enormous fish．That begins an agonizing three day battle．First he struggles against the great fish．Then he must fight off the sharks that circle the little boat and threaten to eat his fish．Exhausted and bleeding , the old man arrives back at shore．But his fish , his beautiful fish．．．
Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for this superb story of strength and courage , of victory and regret．
A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine Lingle)
Meg’s father , a U．S．government scientist , has been missing for many months．He had been experimenting with time travel when he mysteriously disappeared．
Now Meg , her little brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin will try to rescue him．But first they must outwit the forces of evil they encounter (遇到) on their journey through time and space．Can they find Meg’s father before it’s too late?
This novel is more than just a science fiction adventure．It’s an exploration of the nature of our universe．
The Pearl (John Steinbeck)
One day Kino , a poor Mexican pearl diver , finds a magnificent pearl．With it he dreams of buying a better life , new clothes and schooling for his son．Instead , it brings only evil．His wife pleads with him to get rid of it．"No ," says Kino．"I will have my chance．I am a man．" But when he kills a man who is trying to steal the pearl , Kino and his wife must run for their lives．
This tale of dreams , justice and the power of greed is told simply and beautifully．
The Long Winter (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
It’s winter , 1880－1881 , on America’s northern prairies．Mr．and Mrs．Ingalls and their four girls stay near the kitchen stove to keep warm．Heavy snowstorms cut them off even from neighbors．With the trains stopped , no supplies can reach the town．Food and fuel are running out．Day after day the girls must grind wheat for bread and twist hay to burn．At times they nearly lose the battle to keep their spirits up．
This story provides a fascinating glimpse into the life of early American settlers．
(1)
In the passage , the author intends to ________．
[ ]
A．
recommend a few simplified versions of classics
B．
recommend a few original versions of classics
C．
tell us how to read an English book from beginning to end
D．
tell us how to find proper English books to read
(2)
In The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe , the White Witch is probably ________．
[ ]
A．
an evil woman with magic power
B．
a friendly woman with magic power
C．
a delightful talking creature
D．
a powerful lion
(3)
The underlined word "outwit" in the passage probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
get rid of
B．
take advantage of
C．
beat by being cleverer
D．
make the most of
(4)
Which book deals with history?
[ ]
A．
The Pearl．
B．
The Old Man and the Sea．
C．
A Wrinkle in Time．
D．
The Long Winter．
(5)
A Wrinkle in Time is different from other books mentioned in the passage in that ________．
In cities with rent control , the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord (房东) can charge for an apartment．Supporters of rent control argue that it protects people who are living in apartments．Their rent cannot increase; therefore , they are not in danger of losing their homes．However , the critics say that after a long time , rent control may have negative (负面的) effects．Landlords know that they cannot increase their profits．Therefore , they invest (投资) in other businesses where they can increase their profits．They do not invest in new buildings which would also be rent – controlled．As a result , new apartments are not built．Many people who need apartments cannot find any．According to the critics , the end result of rent control is a shortage of apartments in the city．
Some theorists argue that the minimum wage law can cause problems in the same way．The federal government sets the minimum that an employer must pay workers．The minimum helps people who generally look for unskilled , low – paying jobs．However , if the minimum is high , employers may hire fewer workers．They will replace workers with machinery．Therefore , other things being equal , the number of workers that employers want decreases．Thus , critics hold the opinion that an increase in the minimum wage may cause unemployment．Some poor people may find themselves without jobs instead of with jobs at the minimum wage．
Supporters of the minimum wage say that it helps people keep their dignity (尊严)．Because of the law , workers cannot sell their services for less than the minimum．Furthermore , employers cannot force workers to accept jobs at unfair wages．
Economic (经济的) theory predicts the results of economic decisions such as decisions about farm production , rent control , and the minimum wage．The predictions may be correct only if“other things are equal”．Economists do not agree on some of the predictions．They also do not agree on the value of different decisions．Some economists support a particular decision while others criticize it．Economists do agree , however , that there are no simple answers to economic questions．
(1)
There is the possibility that setting maximum rent may ________．
[ ]
A．
cause a shortage of apartments
B．
worry those who rent apartments as homes
C．
increase the profits of landlords
D．
encourage landlords to invest in building apartment
(2)
We can safely say that rent control ________．
[ ]
A．
will always benefit those who rent apartments
B．
is unnecessary
C．
will bring negative effects in the long run
D．
is necessary under all circumstances
(3)
The problem of unemployment will arise if ________．
[ ]
A．
the minimum wage is set too high
B．
the minimum wage is set too low
C．
the workers are unskilled
D．
the maximum wage is set
(4)
The passage tells us about ________．
[ ]
A．
the relationship between supply and demand
B．
the possible results of government controls
C．
the necessity of government control
D．
the urgency of getting rid of government controls
(5)
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
[ ]
A．
The results of economic decisions can not always be predicted．
B．
Minimum wage can not always protect employees．
C．
Economic theory can predict the results of economic decisions if other factors are not changing．
D．
Economists usually have the same prediction about an economic decision．
阅读
阅读短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Language learning begins with listening．Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking , and later starters are often long listeners．Most children will“obey” spoken instructions some time before they can speak , though the word“obey” is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the child．Before they can speak , many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises．
Any attempt to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties．It is agreed that they enjoy making noises , and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves as particularly expressive as delight , pain , friendliness , and so on．But since these can’t be said to show the baby’s intention to communicate , they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language．It is agreed , too , that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment , and that by six months they are able to add new words to their store．This self - imitation (模仿) leads on to deliberate (有意的) imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people．The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech．
It is a problem we need to get out teeth into．The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world．Thus the use at seven months of“mama” as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaningless sound simply because he also uses it at other times for his father , his dog , or anything else he likes．Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself , I doubt , however whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of this ability in an attempt to teach new sounds．
(1)
Before children start speaking ________．
[ ]
A．
they need equal amount of listening
B．
they need different amounts of listening
C．
they are all eager to cooperate with the adults by obeying spoken instructions
D．
they can’t understand and obey the adult’s oral instructions
(2)
Children who start speaking late ________．
[ ]
A．
may have problems with their listening
B．
probably do not hear enough language spoken around them
C．
usually pay close attention to what they hear
D．
often take a long time in learning to listen properly
(3)
A baby’s first noises are ________．
[ ]
A．
an expression of his moods and feelings
B．
an early form of language
C．
a sign that he means to tell you something
D．
an imitation of the speech of adults
(4)
The problem of deciding at what point a baby’s imitations can be considered as speech ________．
[ ]
A．
is important because words have different meanings for different people
B．
is not especially important because the changeover takes place gradually
C．
is one that should be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age
D．
is one that should be completely ignored (忽略) because children’s use of words is often meaningless
(5)
The speaker implies ________．
[ ]
A．
parents can never hope to teach their children new sounds
B．
children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak
C．
children who are good at imitating learn new words more quickly
D．
even after they have learnt to speak , children still enjoy imitating
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
Nick Goldsmith remembers the moment he decided to become a hospice(收容所)volunteer．His mother was telling him a story about a friend who worked at a hospice, about how one day, she was walking past a patient's door when the patient cried out to her．But there was nothing wrong, he only wanted some companionship．He didn't want to be alone, so she sat with him．Goldsmith thought to himself, "There's no reason I can't do that．"
Not only did he do it, but he started a student volunteer program at Dowling Catholic High School to ensure the work he started at Taylor House Hospice will continue after he graduates．Last month, Iowa Health Hospice honored Goldsmith, 18, for his volunteer work with the organization by naming a ＄500 annual scholarship for him, which will be open to any student who volunteers with Iowa Health Hospice．
“ That was by far the least we could do to recognize Nick, " Susie Flood said．"He hasn't just given of his own time and energy, but he's encouraged others to do the same．" Goldsmith hadn't had any experience with hospice before entering the door of Taylor House．He chose it because his mother's friend, whose story had forced him to volunteer, works there．
"They're really excited about my being there and there's a real need for teen volunteers, " Goldsmith said．"The principal at Dowling approved my being able to offer service hours to anyone who would like to volunteer．" Students must earn a certain number of service, or community－service, hours to graduate from Dowling．
When Goldsmith leaves Des Moines next fall to attend college, he'll give up leading the hospice service－learning program．"I want us, as Dowling students, to keep making a difference, " he said．'It's easy to talk about things you can do to help people,, but what many teenagers don't realize is how good it can make you feel inside．"
(1)
Nick Goldsmith's mother's story ________．
[ ]
A．
taught him how to be a volunteer
B．
inspired him to be a hospice volunteer
C．
forced him to work at a hospice
D．
made him learn to accompany the old
(2)
Why did Goldsmith start the student volunteer program?
[ ]
A．
To meet his school's requests．
B．
To make more students work for him．
C．
To help himself to graduate．
D．
To help more patients at a hospice．
(3)
The ＄500 annual scholarship was given to Goldsmith to ________．
[ ]
A．
make him more famous
B．
recognize his work
C．
praise his academic record
D．
pay for his college education
(4)
Which of the following is true of Susie Flood?
[ ]
A．
She worked for Iowa Health Hospice．
B．
She taught at Dowling Catholic High School．
C．
She acted as one of Des Moines' officials．
D．
She was a patient at Taylor House Hospice．
(5)
Who will be the new leader of Goldsmith's volunteer program?
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