He walked s________ so that his son could catch up with him.         66. ___________

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 call it “automaticity (自動性)”.

A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and finding the meaning of the words. With practice, he stumbles less and less, reading by the phrase (短語). With automaticity, he doesn’t have to think about the meaning of words, so 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 (數(shù)量) of time a child spends reading , not his IQ. Any child who spends at least 3.5 to 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 (適合) 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.

1“Reading is the key to school success” means that reading             .

A. helps school develop faster                   B. is a key to a successful school

C. helps students go to a key school         D. can improve students’ learning results

2 The underlined word “stumble” in the passage means “           ” in Chinese.

   A. 結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地讀                                  B. 全神貫注地讀    

C. 心不在焉地讀                                  D. 聲情并茂地讀

3  What is the best title for the passage?

   A. IQ Is the Key to the Automaticity              B. TV Is Bad for Children’s Reading

   C. Automaticity Depends on Practice        D. Automatic Reads Will Be Successful

Recently, binge（暴食）is becoming a major health problem in American.

“As soon as I came home I’d throw down my backpack and just start going though the refrigerator and start eating. Sandwiches, cookies, candy bars—I’d just continuously eat until I went to bed,” says Matt Wymer, 18. Matt was a binge eater.

    “You know we start at a very young age. You fall and hurt your knees. Your mother may say, ‘Oh, here, we’ll go to get some ice cream, that’ll make you feel better.’ Or when you go to the doctor, something bad happens: The doctor says, ‘Oh, here’s something that’s comforting’, and you get a candy,” says Marilyn Tanner, a doctor.

Matt looked for comfort because he was always laughed at because of his weight.

“There’d be days when I’d come and pick him up from school and he’d get in the car and start crying before I asked him anything,” says Cathy Wymer, Matt’s mother.

“I’d just feel better after I ate a lot,” says Matt.

Experts say the first step of treatment for binge eaters is to help them find other ways, besides food, to feel better. “There are about five basic ways: You write, you talk, you cry, you exercise or you laugh,” says Genie Burnett, a psychologist.

With the help of his doctor, Matt started a diet and a daily workout. He’s lost more than 150 pounds, he’s healthier and he says he’d be more confident.

1 From the second paragraph we can learn that ________.

A. Matt is very busy at home every day

B. Matt goes to bed very late at night

C. Matt suffers from an eating disorder

D. Matt is too hungry to go to bed

2Marilyn Tanner mainly tells us that ________.

A. eating disorder begins when children are young

B. children would like to have some ice cream

C. young children fall and hurt their knees easily

D. doctors use candies to comfort the children

3Matt would start crying as soon as he got in the car because ________.

A. he had nothing to eat at the moment

B. his mother didn’t allow him to eat anything

C. he was laughed at by others at school

D. his mother asked him something bad

4 Matt has become more confident by ________.

A. working hard at school                       B. talking and laughing a lot  

C. losing some weight                                   D. reading and writing a lot

One evening two young men were walking together in the street. They tried to find a chance to steal（偷竊）something. The clock struck twelve. Most of the people went to bed. Quickly they came to a house and it seemed that everyone in the house had fallen asleep. Standing at the front gate, one said in English to the other in a low voice, “You wait here. I'll go around to the back door and then get into the house.” Suddenly out of the house ran a dog, barking at them. The two men were very frightened and ran away as fast as they could. Finally, they stopped at a lonely place. The man said breathlessly, “It's too bad. I hadn't expected that the dog could understand English.”

1 Why did the two men walk in the street one evening?

A. Because they couldn't fall asleep           

B. Because they wanted to steal something

C. Because they would like to take a walk      

D. Because they went to visit their friends

2 “One said in English to the other in a low voice.” From the above sentence we know_________.  

A. he didn't know English                   B. he liked speaking English quietly 

C. he couldn't speak aloud                    D. he was afraid of waking up others

3The dog ran out of the house and barked at them only because_________. 

A. it understood English                    B. it knew them 

C. it found someone outside                 D. Both B and C

4 At last the two young men_________. 

A. stole nothing                               B. stole something expensive 

C. were bitten by the dog                  D. were caught by the police

What is color? Why do some of the things around us look red, some green, other blue?

Colors are really made by reflected (反射) light. We see color because most of the things reflect light. Something is red, for it reflects most of the red light. In the same way, if some thing is green, it reflects most of the green light. If something reflects all light, it is white. If it doesn’t reflect any light, it is black.

Some of the light is reflected and some is taken in and turned into heat. The darker the color is, the less light is reflected, and the more light is taken in. So dark-colored clothes are warmer in the sun than light-colored clothes.

1 When something reflects light, we can ________.

  A. see its color          B. see its heat         C. not see its color        D. see nothing

2Something looks white because it reflects ________.

  A. some light             B. no light              C. all light                     D. see nothing

3 The dark-colored clothes are warm because ________ is taken in.

  A. more light             B. less light            C. more color               D. less color

4 In summer ________ make people feel cool.

  A. dark-colored clothes                          B. red-colored clothes   

C. green-colored clothes                         D. light-colored clothes

Lions have been called the kings of the animal world. They can be _1_ in Africa and India. Lions in Africa can go without water for about one month. Lions are also one of the most _2_ animals in the zoo. Almost every zoo around the world has a few lions.

It is very easy for people to tell male（雄性的）and female lions from each other. A male lion has mane（鬃毛）and a large collar of hair around its __3. Females do not have mane. Male lions are also __4__ than females. A male lion usually _5_ about 200 kilograms. Both male and female lions have very strong mouths. They can break the backs of other animals 6_ one bite（一口）. One lion usually kills between ten and twenty large animals each year for food.

    It’s usually for lions to kill people. However, in 1898 two lions killed and ate over one hundred people in Kenya __7__ they were shot by a British man named P.J. Patterson. This _8_ became the subject of a 1996 Hollywood movie _9__ The Ghost and the Darkness. Now the Indian lions are _10_. It’s really necessary to educate the public to care for the animals, or we won’t see them again.

1A. used                           B. found                     C. told                        D. led

2 A. popular                     B. funny               C. confident                D. suitable

3A. mouth                  B. ears                       C. face                       D. nose

4A. larger                   B. smaller                   C. thinner                   D. shorter

5A. walks                   B. wears                     C. weighs                   D. shows

6A. about                          B. on                          C. with                       D. from

7A. before                  B. because                 C. after                       D. while

8A. newspapers         B. magic                     C. story                      D. job

9A. understood          B. called                     C. regarded                D. discussed

10 A. enormous                B. aggressive        C. active               D. endangered

— Could you come back home at three o’clock?

— ________. I’ll be at a meeting at that time.

A. I think so          B. Yes, I hope so          C. I’m afraid not   D. I’m afraid so

— Have you decided ________ the children in the poor area?

— By sending them books and schoolbags.

A. when will you call                                B. what will you give

C. how you will help                                 D. how much you will send

 It’s not easy for him to go to England. He can ________ speak English ________ write it.

A. either; or          B. neither; nor              C. both; and          D. not only; but also

— ________ , I think the blue skirt looks nice on you, mum.

— I think so, I’ll take ________.

A. To be honest; it        B. Excuse me; others    C. Pardon; one      D. I’m sorry; it