Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate. Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span or the visual span. The length of time in which the eyes stop ---the duration of the fixation ----varies considerably from person to person. It also varies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. Furthermore, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.

Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often constructed in the shape of rather steep pyramids so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words. Consequently, for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.

1.The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following facts except ________ .

A. the length of a group of words.

B. lighting and tiredness.

C. one’s familiarity with the text.

D. one’s purpose in reading.

2.The author may believe that reading ______.

A. demands an deeply-participating mind.

B. demands more mind than eyes.

C. requires a reader to take in more words at each fixation.

D. requires a reader to see words more quickly.

3.What does the author mean by saying “but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently.” in the second paragraph?

A. The reading exercises mentioned can’t help to improve an efficient reading.

B. The reading exercises mentioned has done a great job to improve one’s ability to see words.

C. The ability to see words is not needed when an efficient reading is conducted.

D. The reading exercises mentioned can’t help to improve both the ability to see or comprehend words.

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading.

B. The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text.

C. The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time.

D. Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye training.

5.The tune of the author in writing this article is ________.

　　A. pessimistic  B. optimistic   C. critical  D. neutral

   Sustainable development is applied to just about everything from energy to clean water and economic growth, and as a result it has become difficult to question either the basic assumptions behind it or the way the concept is put to use. This is especially true in agriculture, where sustainable development is often taken as the only measure of progress without a proper appreciation of historical and cultural perspectives.

   To start with, it is important to remember that the nature of agriculture has changed markedly throughout history, and will continue to do so. Medieval agriculture in northern Europe fed, clothed and sheltered a popularly rural society with a much lower population density than it is today. It had smallest effect on biodiversity, and any pollution it caused was typically localized. In terms of energy use and the nutrients captured in the product it was relatively inefficient.

   Contrast this with farming since the start of the industrial revolution. Competition from overseas led farmers to specialize and increase yields. Throughout this period food became cheaper, safer and more reliable. However, these changes have also led to habitat loss and to decreasing biodiversity.

   What’s more, demand for animal products in developing countries is growing so fast that meeting it will require an extra 300 million tons of grain a year by 2050.yet the growth of cities and industry is reducing the amount of water available for agriculture in many regions.

   All this means that agriculture in the 21^st century will have to be very different from how it was in the 20th. This will require complete thinking. For example, we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are unavoidably more sustainable than new ones. We also need to abandon the idea that agriculture can be “zero impact”. The key will be to abandon the rather simple and unchangeable measures of sustainability, which centre on the need to maintain production without increasing damage.

   Instead we need a more dynamic explanation, one that looks at the pros and cons of all the various way land is used. There are many different ways to measure agricultural performance besides food yield: energy use, environmental costs, water purity, carbon footprint and biodiversity. It is clear, for example, that the carbon of transporting tomatoes from Spain to the UK is less than that of producing them in the UK with additional heating and lighting. But we do not know whether lower carbon footprints will always be better for biodiversity.

   What is critical is recognizing that sustainable agriculture is not just about sustainable food production.

How do people often measure progress in agriculture?

A．By its productivity.               

B．By its impact on the environment.

C．By its sustainability.               

D．By its contribution to economic growth.

What does the author think of traditional farming practices?

　　A．They have remained the same over the centuries.

　　B．They have not kept pace with population growth.

　　C．They are not necessarily sustainable.

　　D．They are environmentally friendly.

What will agriculture be like in the 21st century?

　　A．It will go through thorough changes.

　　B．It will supply more animal products.

　　C．It will abandon traditional farming practices.

　　D．It will cause zero damage to the environment.

What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

　　A．To remind people of the need of sustainable development.

　　B．To suggest ways of ensuring sustainable food production.

　　C．To advance new criteria for measuring farming progress.

　　D．To urge people to rethink what sustainable agriculture is.

C
Sport not only is physically challenging, but it can also be mentally challenging. Criticism (批评) from coaches, parents, and other teammates, as well as pressure to win can create an excessive (过度的）amount of anxiety or stress for young athletes. Stress can be physical, emotional, or psychological, and research has indicated that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable.
　　The early years of development are critical years for learning about oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can, for example, learn how to work together with others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware, at all times, that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parent's and coaches’ criticisms to heart and find a flaw（缺陷）in themselves.
　　Coaches and parents, should also be careful that youth sport participation doesn't become the work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In today’s youth sport setting(环境), young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game, many parents and coaches direct their attention on the outcome（=result）and find fault with young people’s performances. Research indicates that positive reinforcement motivates (积极强化激励) and has a greater effect on learning than criticism. Again criticism can create high levels of stress, which can lead to burnout.
74. An effective way to prevent the burnout of young athletes is________.
　　A. to reduce their mental stress　                B. to increase their sense of stress
　　C. to make sports less competitive   　           D. to make sports more challenging
75. According to the passage, sport is positive for young people in that________.
　　A. it can create high levels of stress
　　B. it enables them to find flaws in themselves
　　C. it can provide them with valuable experiences
　　D. it teaches them how to set realistic goals for themselves
76. According to the passage parents and coaches should________.
　　A. pay more attention to letting children enjoy sports
　　B. help children to win every game
　　C. train children to deaf with stress
　　D. enable children to understand the positive aspect of sports
77.The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to________.
　　A. teach young athletes how to avoid burnout
　　B. persuade young children not to worry about criticism
　　C. stress the importance of positive reinforcement to children
　　D. discuss the skill of mixing criticism with encouragement

There are various ways in which individual economic units can interact with one another. Three basic ways may be described as the market system, the administered system, and the traditional system.

　　In a market system individual economic units are free to interact among each other in the marketplace. It is possible to buy commodities from other economic units or sell commodities to them. In a market, transactions may take place via barter or money exchange. In a barter economy, real goods such as automobiles, shoes, and pizzas are traded against each other. Obviously, finding somebody who wants to trade my old car in exchange for a sailboat may not always be an easy task. Hence, the introduction of money as a medium of exchange eases transactions considerably. In the modern market economy, goods and services are bought or sold for money.

　　An alternative to the market system is administrative control by some agency over all transactions. This agency will issue commands as to how much of each good and service should be produced, exchanged, and consumed by each economic unit. Central planning may be one way of administering such an economy. The central plan, drawn up by the government, shows the amounts of each commodity produced by the various firms and allocated to different households for consumption. This is an example of complete planning of production, consumption, and exchange for the whole economy.

　　In a traditional society, production and consumption patterns are governed by tradition; every person’s place within the economic system is fixed by parentage, religion, and custom. Transactions take place on the basis of tradition, too. People belonging to a certain group or caste（阶级） may have an obligation to care for other persons, provide them with food and shelter, care for their health, and provide for their education. Clearly, in a system where every decision is made on the basis of tradition alone, progress may be difficult to achieve. An inactive society may result.

1.What is the main purpose of the passage?

　 A. To outline contrasting types of economic systems.

　 B. To explain the science of economics.

　 C. To argue for the superiority of one economic system.

　 D. To compare barter and money-exchange markets.

2. In the second paragraph, the underlined word “real” could best be replaced by _______.

　 A. valuable         B. concrete         C. absolute            D. reliable

3.According to the passage, a barter economy can generate ______.

　 A. rapid speed of transactions               B. misunderstandings

　 C. inflation                             D. difficulties for the traders

4. According to the passage, who has the greatest degree of control in the administered system?

　 A. Individual households.                    B. Small businesses.

　 C. Major corporations.                   D. The government.

5.Which of the following is not mentioned by the author as a criterion（标准）for determining a person’s position in a traditional society?

　 A. Family background                 B. Age

　 C. Religious beliefs.                        D. Custom