It happened to me recently.I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President.A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was，in his words，“a brilliantly (精彩地)written book”．However，he then went on to talk about Mr Obama in a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all.I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.

And it seems that my friend is not the only one.Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t.In the World Book Day’s“Report on Guilty Secrets”，Dreams From My Father is at number 9.The report lists ten books，and various authors，which people have lied about reading，and as I’m not one to lie too often (I’d hate to be caught out)，I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire top ten.But I am pleased to say that，unlike 42 percent of people，I have read the book at number one，George Orwell’s 1984.I think it’s really brilliant.

The World Book Day report also has some other interesting information in it.It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen，Charles Dickens，Fyodor Dostoevsky (I haven’t read him，but haven’t lied about it either) and Herman Melville.

Asked why they lied，the most common reason was to“impress”someone they were speaking to.This could be tricky if the conversation became more in?depth!

But when asked which authors they actually enjoy，people named J．K.Rowling，John Grisham，Sophie Kinsella (ah，the big sellers，in other words)．Forty?two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story (I’ll come clean：I do this and am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so)．

1.How did the author find his friend a book liar?

A．By judging his manner of speaking.

B．By looking into his background.

C．By mentioning a famous name.

D．By discussing the book itself.

2.Which of the following is a“guilty secret”according to the World Book Day report?

A．Charles Dickens is very low on the top?ten list.

B．42% of people pretended to have read 1984.

C．The author admitted having read 9 books.

D．Dreams From My Father is hardly read.

3.By lying about reading，a person hopes to________.

A．control the conversation

B．appear knowledgeable

C．learn about the book

D．make more friends

4.．What is the author’s attitude to 58% of readers?

A．Favorable. B．Uncaring

C．Doubtful D．Friendly

Pride and Prejudice for the Modern Woman

Let us imagine how Pride and Prejudice，Jane Austen’s most

famous work，might be updated，200 years on.

Austen’s popularity is rooted in her intelligence.But today she would certainly have had a very different life，as would her characters.Here’s my own suggestion...

It is a truth finally and universally acknowledged that a single woman with brains deserves to have equal opportunities to men，however disadvantaged she may feel by sexism.

“My dear husband，”said his hopeful wife one day，“have you heard that the local store，standing empty for so long，is taken over by a bright young businesswoman？”

Her dull and indifferent (漠不關(guān)心的) husband replied that he had not.

“But it is，it is，”she replied excitedly.

Mr Dull?Husband made no reply.

“Don’t you want to know her plans？”she cried with some impatience.

“Well，clearly you think it matters to your silly little head...so I’d better listen.”

“Well，my dear，the rumour (傳言) is that she has already set up a string of successful businesses in northern England，though how_a_woman_can_know_anything_about_that_is_beyond_me.She will move in herself next month.”

“What is her name？”

“Bingley.”

“Is she married or single？”

“What a question! And none of your business.But her coming will be a fine thing for our five boys.”

“How so? How can it possibly affect them? ”

“My dear love：those lazy boys need something to wake them up.There are bound to be jobs going.”

“Is that her point in settling here? Surely as a woman she has simply taken a fancy to the place.”

“Nonsense，my love，how little you’ve noticed the world has changed.She’s got a first?rate degree and some sort of business qualification，I’m told.She surely needs one of our boys! Perhaps you might give her a call.”

“Me? No.Perhaps you can take an interest.You still have your looks，after all.She may even offer you a job.”

“Oh，that’s not likely.These new chances belong to the younger generation.But now you mention it，I think I’ll go along all the same.”

And Mrs Bennet went along.That was 10 years ago.She is now managing director of a FTSE?listed company.

...It would remain the case，of course，that Mrs Bennet would be one of very few women on the company board，that her salary would be lower than her male colleagues，her bonus of a more“female”dimension and her lifespan (年限) among the city’s business leaders shorter than theirs.Still，she’d no doubt have enjoyed Davos—and might even have hobnobbed (攀談) with influential figures.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Austen was born 200 years ago.

B．Austen rewrote Pride and Prejudice.

C．Austen’s success lies in her wisdom.

D．Austen’s updated work gains popularity.

2.The underlined part in the passage suggests that Mrs Bennet ________.

A．had mixed feelings of admiration and surprise about Bingley

B．felt kind of worried and doubtful about Bingley

C．was extremely anxious to meet Bingley

D．had a great curiosity about Bingley

3.In the eyes of Mrs Bennet，Bingley surely needed one of their boys to ________.

A．get married to

B．work for her

C．help her move in

D．take over her store

4.What does the writer intend to tell us?

A．Women with brains can also be as successful as men.

B．Women have to pay a high price for success.

C．A judgment must be made free from prejudice.

D．Sex discrimination still exists nowadays.