What is most likely to affect your success at school or at a job? The ability to read. And that goes for your kids too. The declining literacy(读写能力的下降) of our society has been a main concern of educators for a while now, and yet things are not getting better.

In most cases, how well we learn to read will depend largely on our exposure（接触） to language as children. If we hear people around us talking about all kinds of subjects as children, we naturally pick up the words and phrases they use. If we pick up a lot of words, we will learn to read better.

Much of the traditional advice to struggling readers, theses days, seems to include developing “cognitive strategies”（认知策略）. In this way, readers are asked to centre more, to think, to be interested and ask questions, to analyze, to predict, to reason, and to check their understanding, or worse still to answer questions of what they have read. In other words they are asked to become self-conscious（有自我意识的） readers. I do not agree with this approach.

Here are my several strategies for reading improvement.

Read about things that interest you. If you are interested in what you are reading about, the words will come alive, and you will understand better. The more you read, the better you will become at reading. Just get started and it will become a habit, as long as you are interested in what you are reading.

Read material that is at your level or just a little difficult for you. Read material that you find easy to read, or just a little challenging. Looking up many unknown words in a dictionary is dull, and the results of the dictionary search are quickly forgotten.

_____ If you can hear the new words and phrases that you are reading, you will have an easier time understanding and remembering them. Hearing the rhythm of someone reading a text will help your own reading.

Don’t worry about what you don’t understand. Most of your reading should be for pleasure. You can still enjoy reading without understanding all of what you read. You may even understand some things in your own personal way.

Unfortunately not all reading is just for pleasure. When you are reading a textbook or report or other material for school, you may need to underline, take notes and read some parts over again. However, if you have developed the habit of reading for pleasure, you will find that the skills you need will come naturally, and that you will understand a lot better than before.

1.In Paragraph 2, the author tells us the importance of _____.

    A. hearing people around as children            B. talking ability as children

    C. contacting different people                  D. learning different languages

2.Which sentence is best to be filled in the blank in the passage?

    A. Listen as much as possible.              B. Try to use your imagination.

    C. Great works need to be read out loud.    D. Listen first if you have trouble reading.

3.It can be learned from the last paragraph that _____.

    A. you should find pleasure from reading a textbook

    B. the habit of reading for pleasure is important

    C. reading for school is helpful for reading for pleasure

    D. reading for school requires different skills from reading for pleasure

4.What is the purpose of the author in writing the passage?

    A. To tell us some ways to improve reading ability.

    B. To show that poor literacy has been a big problem.

    C. To teach us how to look for fun in reading.

    D. To tell us some ways to pick up new words and phrases.

根据短文内容，从下框的选项中选出能概括每一段主题的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余项。

In November of 2007, NBC Universal launched its first official Green Week. Throughout the week, NBC Universal presented over 150 hours of environmentally themed content across multiple platforms.

Now, NBC Universal is proud to present Green Week 2009. With a new theme and message of "Green Your Routine," Here at NBC and NBC.com we celebrate our talent in the "The More You Know" PSA campaign, presenting green-themed tips in several of our daytime life, among several other features here on the "Green Your Routine" site.

Fashion & Beauty

Throw a clothes swap party! Dying for that sweater your friend wore the other day? Well, maybe she'll trade for that old T-shirt you have. Here's a website that helps you organize a swap party (www.swapstyle.com), or just plan your own!

Go natural with organic make-up. Applying unnatural products directly on your skin wasn't exactly what nature intended. Try switching to a line of organic make-up and cosmetics for a different way to bring out your natural beauty.

Home

Drop a brick in your toilet tank! Literally! According to the EPA, flushing makes up 30 percent of a household's water use (about three to six gallons per flush). By placing a brick in your toilet tank, you can help to conserve the amount of water used during each flush.

Wash clothes efficiently. 90 percent of the energy used in washing clothes is to heat the water. You can reduce your energy bill by washing in cold water and hanging items to dry.

Work

Print smarter. Printing and copying can be one of the most costly operations in any office. To save on ink and paper costs, print double-sided and try to fit more than one page on a sheet. More printing tips can be found here: lifehacker.com

Turn off your computer. Do you leave your computer on overnight? If so, you're using up a good amount of electricity. When you can, try turning off your computer and the power strip it's connected to. If you can't, at least shut off your monitor. Remember, screen savers don't save energy.

Transportation

Organize a carpool. There are many benefits to carpooling. You save on gas, reduce wear and tear on your car, and you get to ride in the HOV lanes. Get connected with your neighbours and co-workers to start sharing rides and check out this website for more tips: www.erideshare.com.

Lose the car, get a bike. If you live close to where you work, try taking a bike instead of driving. You'll keep in shape and save on gas!

Every small step and effort makes a difference! Be sure to GREEN YOUR ROUTINE!

1.NBC Universal holds Green Week activities ___________.

A. in a university              B. in a park                C. in an office              D. on the internet

2.This year, Green Week welcomes ____________.

A. advice on how to improve the website                         

B. suggestions about how to make their activities more interesting

C. tips on what to do to make our life greener

D. opinions on whether we should have campaigns

3.If you want to carpool with somebody, you can find more advice and information at______.

A. www.swapstyle.com                                                          B. www.erideshare.com

C. www. lifehacker.com                                                          D. www. NBC.com

4.Which is NOT recommended(推荐) by Green Week this year?

A. Using things like cucumbers to beautify your skin.

B. Reducing the room of your toilet tank to save water when flushing.

C. Giving away your old clothes to those in need of them.

D. Printing and using computers in an economical way.

It`s not easy being a teenager (13—19岁的青少年)----- nor is it easy being the parent of a teenager. You can make your child feel angry , hurt, or misunderstood by what you say without realizing it yourself . It is important to give your child the space he needs to grow while gently letting him know that you’ll still be there for him when he needs you.

   Expect a lot from your child ,just not everything . Expect for health and safety problems , such as drug use or careless driving, consider everything else open to discussion . If your child is unwilling to discuss something , don’t insist he tell you what’s on his mind . The more you insist , the more likely that he 'll clam up   . Instead, let him attempt to solve（解决）things by himself. At the same time, remind him that you’re always there for him should he seek advice or help. Show respect for your teenager’s privacy(隐私).Never read his mail or listen in on personal conversations.

   Teach your teenager that the family phone is for the whole family . If your child talks on the family’s telephone for too long., tell him he can talk for 15 minutes ,but then he must stay off the phone for at least an equal period of time. This not only frees up the line so that other family members can make and receive calls , but teaches your teenager moderation(节制) .Or if you are open to the idea, allow your teenager his own phone that he pays for with his own pocket money or a part—time job.

1.The main purpose of the text is to tell parents ________.

A. how to get along with a teenager

B. how to respect a teenager

C. how to understand a teenager

D. how to help a teenager grow up

2.What does the phrase “clam up ” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A. become excited 　Ｂ．show respect   C. refuse to talk   D. seek help

3.The last paragraph is about how to teach a teenager __________.

A. to use the phone in a sensible way

B. to pay for his own telephone

C. to share the phone with friends

D. to answer the phone quickly

4.What should parents do in raising a teenager according to the text?

A. Not allow him to learn driving or take drugs.

B. Give him advice only when necessary

C. Let him have his own telephone

D. Not talk about personal things with him

Your body, which has close relations with the food you eat, is the most important thing you own, so it needs proper treatment and proper nourishment（营养）. The old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away. ” is not as silly as some people think. The body needs fruit and vegetables because they contain vitamin C. Many people take extra vitamins in pill form(丸剂), believing that these will make them healthy. But a good diet is made up of nourishing food and this gives all the vitamins you need. The body doesn’t need or use extra vitamins, so why waste money on them?

    In the modern western world, many people are too busy to bother about eating properly. They throw away the good habits and throw anything into their stomachs, eating hurriedly and carelessly. The list of illnesses caused or made worse by bad eating habits is frightening.

1.From the first sentence we know that ________

    A. all kinds of food you eat can be made into nourishment

    B. your body is make up of the food you eat

    C. what you eat has great effect on your health

    D. the more you eat, the better you will feel

2. How do you understand the old saying underlined in the passage?

    A. Eating apples regularly brings lots of benefits to our health.

    B. Doctors are no longer necessary if we eat an apple every day.

C. The apple is the best among all kinds of fruits.

    D. An apple is a good way to cure illnesses.

3. What can we conclude from the second paragraph?

    A. Our bodies need food, or we can’t live.

    B. Often eating apples is a good habit.

    C. Taking extra vitamin pills is completely useless.

    D. A good diet is of great importance for our health.

4.In modern western countries, ________.

    A. people don’t want to pay more attention to their eating

    B. lots of people’s illnesses are caused or made worse by bad eating habits

    C. people throw everything into their stomachs without digestion

    D. people are only too busy to cook meals fro themselves

5. If we want to keep healthy, we should ________ .

A. only eat an apple a day

B. eat properly

C. take as many vitamin pills as possible

D. throw everything into our stomachs slowly and carefully