For many people today, reading is no longer relaxation. To keep up their work they must read letters, reports, trade publications, interoffice communications, not to mention newspapers and magazines: a never-ending flood of words. In  1  a job or advancing in one, the ability to read and comprehend  2   can mean the difference between success and failure. Yet the unfortunate fact is that most of us are   3   readers. Most of us develop poor reading  4    at an early age, and never get over them. The main deficiency   5  in the actual stuff of language itself ——words. Taken individually, words have  6   meaning until they are strung together into phrases, sentences and paragraphs.    7  , however, the untrained reader does not read groups of words. He laboriously reads one word at a time, often regressing（退回） to  8    words or passages. Regression, the tendency to look back over   9  you have just read, is a common bad habit in reading. Another habit which  10   down the speed of reading is vocalization—sounding each word either orally or mentally as  11    reads.

　　To overcome these bad habits, some reading clinics use a device called an  12  , which moves a bar (or curtain) down the page at a predetermined（預先確定的） speeD．The bar is set at a slightly faster rate  13   the reader finds comfortable, in order to “stretch” him. The accelerator forces the reader to read fast,    14  word-by-word reading, regression and subvocalization（默讀）practically impossible. At first  15  is sacrificed for speeD．But when you learn to read ideas and concepts, you will not only read faster,   16    your comprehension will improve. Many people have found  17   reading skill drastically improved after some training. 18  Charlce Au, a business manager, for instance, his reading rate was a reasonably good 172 words a minute  19   the training, now it is an excellent 1,28 words a minute. He is delighted that how he can   20  a lot more reading material in a short period of time.  

1．  A．applying B．doing       C．offering   D．getting

2．  A．quickly    B．easily       C．roughly    D．decidedly

3．  A．good       B．curious    C．poor        D．urgent

4．  A．training   B．habits      C．situations        D．custom

5．  A．lies   B．combines        C．touches    D．involves

6．  A．some       B．a lot        C．little        D．dull

7．  A．Fortunately     B．In fact      C．Logically        D．Unfortunately

8．  A．reuse       B．reread      C．rewrite     D．recite

9．  A．what        B．which      C．that D．if

10．A．scales      B．cuts C．slows       D．measures

11．A．some one        B．one   C．he    D．reader

12．A．accelerator      B．actor        C．amplifier D．observer

13．A．then        B．as     C．beyond    D．than

14．A．enabling B．leading    C．making    D．indicating

15．A．meaning B．comprehensionC．gist    D．regression

16．A．but   B．nor   C．or     D．for

17．A．our   B．your        C．their        D．such a

18．A．Look at    B．Take        C．Make       D．Consider

19．A．for   B．in     C．after        D．before

20．A．master     B．go over     C．present     D．get through

After lunch, without permission from parents, the two boys set off to explore the part of the beach which lay beyond the headland(陸岬，伸出海面的尖形高地).They had persuaded their young sister to _1_, saying that the long walk would be too _2_for her. Once they had got in the head land, the beach reached away endlessly before them. It was like _3_a new world. There were damp, dark caves to _4_,there were many_5_ among the rocks, full of sea creatures(生物);and, here and there along the beach were those _6_ objects, washed up and _7_ by the tide.

The afternoon passed _8_The sun was already _9_when the boys reluctantly(戀戀不舍地) _10_ to make their _11_ homewards. But long before they reached the headland, they could see that the tide had come in so sudden that they were now _12_from either end of the beach. Their only chance of _13_ was to find a way up the cliff(懸崖) nearby.

They soon find a narrow path _14_ the cliff top. But half way up their path was_15_by a large rock which they could not climb_16_The two boys had to_17_ at the top of their voices, _18_ that someone might_19_over the top of the rock, and finally came their father with two policemen. _20_of them climbed down a rope which was lowered over the rock. The boys were then pulled to safety, and thus saved from spending a miserable night on the cliff.

1. A. keep quiet    B. stay behind       C. take a rest        D. join them

2. A. tiring        B. exciting          C. uninteresting     D. impossible

3. A. discovering   B. facing           C. enjoying         D. imagining

4. A. look up      B. explore           C. hide in          D. search

5. A. lakes        B. rivers            C. waterfalls        D. pools

6. A. dirty        B .light             C. strange           D. clean

7. A. moved       B .covered          C. beaten           D. left

8. A. quickly      B. unexpectedly      C. finally            D. suddenly

9. A. leaving      B. dropping          C. going            D. setting

10. A. forgot      B. decided           C. succeeded        D. turned

11.A. road        B. way              C. track            D. path

12. A. cut off      B. left behind         C. held back        D. put away

13. A. running off  B. keeping clear       C. getting away      D. turning back

14. A. reaching    B. passing            C. going up         D. leading to

15. A. blocked     B. covered           C. stopped          D. filled

16. A. on         B. over              C. round            D. through

17. A. shout       B. shoot             C. repeat            D .renew

18. A. wanting     B. guessing          C. believing          D. hoping

19. A .turn        B. appear            C. hide              D. climb

20. A. Any        B. None             C. One              D. First

For years I wanted a flower garden. I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.

But then we had Matthew. And Marvin. And the twins, Alisa and Alan. And then Helen. Five children. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.

Money was tight, as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I'd have to say, "Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know."

Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden.

I wasn't sure, though. I mean, gardens do cost money, and after all these years I was used to living on a pretty lean, no-frills budget.

Then, one spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by. I looked out the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches. Then I put my glasses on - and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!

I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree. Think of all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: "IOU eight hours of digging time. Love, Marvin."

Marvin kept his promise, too. He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen foot bed for me. And my other children bought me tools, ornaments, a trellis (棚架), a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books.

That was three years ago. My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and weed or tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me.

I live up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where winters are long and cold, and summers are too short. But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes - every time.

I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!

By saying “Do you see a money tree outside .….,” the mother actually means “     ”

A．Observation is the best teacher.

B．Seeing is believing.

C．The outsider sees the most of the game.

D．It is not easy to gain money

The best title for the passage would probably be          .

A．My flower garden           B．Marvin helps to realize my dream

C．Love in Michigan           D．Money grows on trees

The underlined word “no - frills” in the fifth paragraphs is similar in meaning to        .

A．wasteful   B．tight  C．absurd      D．helpful

From the last but the third paragraph we can infer that the mother is         .

A．divorced when she was young B．not caring for her kids any longer

C．alone but not at all lonely       D．prouder with her garden than with her kids.

“Look, it’s Baldy!” A boy shouted in my direction across the playground. Even though I was used to regular insults (侮辱) because of the   11   on my head, it was   12   horrible to hear. I sighed as I was headed back to the class.

When I was just 20 months old, I suffered serious   13   after a bowl full hot oil fell on my head. I was   14   to hospital and had to stay there for weeks while the doctors   15   to save my life. “Holly’s very   16   to be alive,” they told Mum and Dad. “But she’ll be   17   with scars on her head, and of course her hair won’t grow there.”

As a child, I cared much about my scars, so I   18   wore a scarf to cover them up when I left home.   19   I didn’t, people would call me horrible names like Baldy. Although my friends were always comforting me, they never   20   understood how it felt.

Then through the hospital I was   21   to a children’s burns camp, where children like me can get any help. There, I   22   14-year-old Stephanie, whose burns are a lot more serious than mine. But she is so   23   that she never lets anyone put her down. “You shouldn’t   24   what people say about what you look like because we’re not different from anyone else, Holly,” she   25   me. “And you don’t need to wear a scarf because you look great   26   it!” For the first time in my life I could speak to someone who’d been through something   27   . So weeks later, at my 13^th birthday party,   28   by her bravery, I gave up my scarf and showed off my scars. It felt amazing not having to   29   away behind my scarf.

Now, I am   30   of what I look like and much happier, because I have realized it is your personality (個性) that decides who you truly are.

After stepping into the classroom, I glanced round all the students and began my following words. “Thank you” are my  【小題1】 words, which I would like to use to express my deepest  【小題2】 to all of you.
Thinking back to the past 3 years, a lot of things  【小題3】 remain fresh in my memory. I cannot forget your  【小題4】 smile the first time I met you. I cannot forget that you were to  【小題5】  for your being late for class,   【小題6】  when I asked why you were late, you tried to 【小題7】  the fact of buying me a lovely teddy bear for Teacher's Day. I cannot forget your humorous words of breaking  【小題8】  when I was angry about your bad performance. I cannot forget that we share the happiness of success after making great   【小題9】.
With time going by, I come to 【小題10】  that you are the mirror of my life. The mirror can reflect my past and  【小題11】 my future. Looking through the mirror, I'm more aware of my   【小題12】 and weaknesses.
It is you who made me believe love can be  【小題13】 . It is you who made me realize sometimes in the  【小題14】 of pursuing our dreams, we may  【小題15】 some difficulties and setbacks（挫折）, but if we set up our mind to do it,   【小題16】 is impossible to a willing heart.
So standing in a higher position, I will help you to  【小題17】  the dreams confidently and firmly,   【小題18】 suffering the mistakes I made when I was your age.
【小題19】 , I pray that kind of friendship can stand the test of  【小題20】  and last forever. I pray that you can get good performance in the entrance examination and make your dreams come true.