Reading is the key to school success, and like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. An excellent sportsman practices until he can play quickly, correctly and without thinking.
Educators (教育家) call it "automaticity (自动性)”．
A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and finding the meaning of the words. With more and more practice, he stumbles less and less. As a result, he can read by the phrases and soon by sentences. With automaticity, he doesn't have to think about the meaning of words, so that he can give all his attention to the meaning of the text.
It can begin as early as first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found that automatic readers in the first grade not only read almost three times as fast as the others, but also got better results in exams.
According to Rossman, the key to automaticity is the amount of time a child spends reading, not his IQ. Any child who spends at least 3.5 t0 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will probably reach automaticity. It can happen if a child turns off TV just one night for reading at home.
You can test yourself by reading something new which is suitable for your level. If you read aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, you probably are an automatic reader. If you read brokenly, one word at a time, without expression or meaning, you need more practice.
【小题1】"Reading is the key to school success" means that reading_______.

Rose usually wakes up early in the morning. She always has her breakfast at half past six. She leaves home at about seven o’clock.. She is never late for school.
She has many classes in the morning. At about twelve fifteen, she comes back for lunch. In the afternoon, she isn’t so busy. After school she does her homework and plays with other children.
In the evening, her parents come back from the factory. The family has supper together. After that, they usually read newspaper or listen to the radio for a little time. Sometimes, they watch TV. Rose goes to bed at half past nine. But her father often works late at night.
【小题1】Rose gets up  ________ every morning.