閱讀理解

A

Author Walter Dean Myers died at the age of 76 after a brief illness. He was the author of more than 100 books for children and young adults and received many top awards.

The prolific author was loved for his vivid description of the lives of African American children， and for writing books for young people that covered difficult subjects like war and violence. “Drugs， drive-by shootings， wasted lives—Myers has written about all these subjects with deep understanding and a hard-won， qualified sense of hope，” said Leonard S. Marcus.

He was born in 1937 and was adopted by Florence and Herbert Dean after his mother died when he was 18 months old. They loved him very much and his adoptive mother read to him from a very young age. Reading pushed him to discover worlds beyond his landscape.

He began writing at an early age. He wrote well in high school and an English teacher recognized this and advised him to keep on writing? no matter what happened to him. “Its what you do，” she said.

He dropped out of high school at 17 and joined the army. After finishing his service， he entered a dark period in his life. Myers began writing at night to pull himself through that miserable time.

In a New York Times essay published several years ago， Myers described how a short story by James Baldwin helped change the course of his life. “I didnt love the story， but I was lifted by it，” he wrote， “for it took place in Harlem， and it was a story concerned with black people like those I knew. His story humanized me. The story gave me a permission that I didnt know I needed， the permission to write about my own landscape， my own map.”

“I write books or the troubled boy I once was，” he wrote， “and for the boy who lives within me still.”

1. What does the underlined word “prolific” in Paragraph 2 probably mean？

A. Productive. B. Unfortunate.

C. Conservative. D. Humorous.

2. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us？

A. How popular Myers was.

B. How Myers became successful.

C. What makes Myers works popular.

D. What people think of Myers works.

3. Who discovered Myers writing talent？

A. James Baldwin. B. His adoptive mother.

C. Leonard S. Marcus. D. One of his teachers.

4. Why was the short story by James Baldwin so important for Myers？

A. It helped him survive the dark period.

B. It inspired him to seek his writing career.

C. He learned many writing techniques from it.

D. The author of the story permitted him to write.

B

The works of Shakespeare and Wordsworth are boosters （助推器） to the brain and better than some guide books， researchers said.

Scientists， psychologists and English experts at Liverpool University have found that reading the works of Shakespeare and other classical writers has a beneficial effect on the mind， catches the readers attention and triggers moments of self-reflection. Using scanners （掃描儀器）， they monitored the brain activity of volunteers as they read works by William Shakespeare， William Wordsworth， T. S. Eliot and other classical writers.

They then “translated” the original texts into more “straightforward” modern language and again monitored the readers brains as they read the words. Scans showed that the more “challenging” essays and poetry set off far more electrical activity in the brain than the much plainer versions. Scientists were able to study the brain activity as it responded to each word and record how it “l(fā)it up” as the readers encountered unusual words， surprising phrases or difficult sentence structures. This “l(fā)ighting up” of the mind lasts longer， shifting （轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)） the brain to a higher speed， encouraging further reading.

The research also found that reading poetry， in particular， increases activity in the right side of the brain， helping readers to reflect on their own experiences， which they compare with what they have read. This， according to the researchers， meant that the classical works were more useful than guide books.

Philip Davis， an English professor， believes “The research shows the power of literature to shift thinking patterns， to create new thoughts， shapes and connections in the young and adults alike.”

5. According to the text， reading classical works can ___ .

A. improve our reading skills

B. benefit our mind and thinking

C. help learn more about history

D. help deal with physical problems

6. How did the scientists and experts do the experiment？

A. By learning the habits of the readers.

B. By reading works of different writers.

C. By scanning the readers brain activities.

D. By lighting up the activities of the brains.

7. What can we learn about reading poetry from Paragraph 4？

A. It has the same effects as reading guide books.

B. Its concerned with the right side of the brain.

C. It helps readers learn more difficult grammar.

D. It makes readers forget about their troubles.

8. What is the authors purpose in writing the text？

A. To present a study on brain activities.

B. To show the power of classical literature.

C. To introduce a research on reading classics.

D. To appreciate what great writers in England have done.

閱讀七選五

Recently some American scientists have given a useful piece of advice to people in industrialized nations. They say people should eat more of the same kind of food eaten by humans living more than 10，000 years ago.

The scientists say that the human life has changed greatly. Our bodies have not been able to deal with these changes in lifestyle and this had led to new kinds of sicknesses.? So they are called “diseases of civilization”. Many cancers and diseases of the blood system are examples of these.

Scientists noted that people in both the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age enjoyed very little alcohol or tobacco， probably none.? However， a change in food is one of the main differences between life in ancient times and that of today.

Stone Age people hunted wild animals for their meat， which had much less fat than domestic ones. They ate a lot of fresh wild vegetables and fruits. They did not have milk or any other dairy products， and they made very little use of grains.? We eat six times more salt than our ancestors. We eat more sugar. We eat twice as much fat but only one third as much protein and much less vitamin C.

But scientists say that we would be much healthier if we eat much the same way the ancient people did， cutting the amount of fatty， salty and sweet food.

A. Stone Age people lived a simple life.

B. But today， we enjoy eating a lot of these.

C. In that case， they would be much healthier.

D. Ancient people also got lots of physical exercise.

E. These new sicknesses were not known in ancient times.

F. Modern people used to suffer from “diseases of

civilization”.

G. People today probably dont want to live like our

ancestors.

1.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 3.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 4.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 5.

完形填空

History has some very special qualities about it. It is a? of what has happened in the past， and the really interesting thing is that much of history has been? time and again. It allows us to learn from the past， both the? made and the successes achieved.

One of the? of history is that it allows us to know how famous people? when they were faced with challenges in their . Although these challenges happened at a certain time in the past or in a? country or culture， all of them can always teach us something .

Take for example the? of Thomas Edison and how many times he? while on the road to finally inventing the light bulb （電燈泡）. He could be held out as a（n）? of a person who never stopped trying. I am sure he was? by those difficulties but he did not let them stop him. He had a? and he just kept trying until he reached success.

Or， think about the story of Abraham Lincoln who? to become President of the United States even though he suffered? ?hearing losses. Most of us only know about his . In fact， his life was not a（an）? one. His story makes us keep moving forward no matter what? we have in life.

These true history stories will make you stop to reconsider? ? going after your dreams even though you may not think you have the courage or the? now to get what you have always wanted. They could help you make decisions and? ? when you have no idea what to do. They could inspire you to be all that you can be.

1. A. note B. belief C. chance D. record

2. A. reported B. expected C. repeated D. corrected

3. A. mistakes B. jokes C. agreements D. challenges

4. A. events B. periods C. problems D. advantages

5. A. studied B. reacted C. competed D. explored

6. A. life B. time C. work D. past

7. A. developed B. poor C. different D. popular

8. A. clear B. simple C. special D. useful

9. A. name B. story C. position D. character

10. A. failed B. watched C. escaped D. traveled

11. A. example B. hero C. scientist D. engineer

12. A. shocked? B. beaten C. discouraged D. controlled

13. A. job? B. dream C. duty? D. thought

14. A. happened B. prepared C. pretended D. managed

15. A. success B. suffering C. struggle D. experience

16. A. easy B. funny C. good D. right

17. A. directions B. promises C. permissions D. difficulties

18. A. keeping up B. giving up

C. setting off D. driving off

19. A. ability B. habit C. goal D. choice

20. A. comments B. conversations

C. judgments D. impressions

語(yǔ)法填空

“If youre talking to me in a noisy restaurant and my nerve system is good at locking onto the sound of your voice， I can understand? you say better.”

The research at Northwestern University shows that playing a? （music） instrument is good for your brain. And the brain remembers how to “l(fā)ock onto” the important sounds， although our ears may not work well as we age， and that helps us to hear better.

A scientist， living in France twenty years ago，? （write） about what he called the “Mozart Effect”. He said that it could be helpful to the brain when? （listen） to the classical music of Mozart. Some? （research） said that Mozarts music would make you much? （smart）， or even have some health disorders? （cure）. Others said that there was nothing special about Mozarts music. Any kind of high energy music would work. So if the cost of a musical instrument or music lessons is too costly， can we get? same brain experience just by listening？

Usually people have teachers， or they can teach themselves music. However， the point is that theyre? （active） playing a musical instrument and engaging? ?making music instead of listening to music passively.

1.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 3.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 4.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 5.

6.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 7.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 8.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 9.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 10.

短文改錯(cuò)

Before lunch Allen happened to see a man fished in a water hole about five meter outside a bar. Allen was stopped curiously. All people passing the man who was fishing regarded him like a foolish man. Allens heart went out to him. He said kindly to fish-catcher， “Hello， will you please do me a favor but have a drink with me in the bar？” The man gladly accepted her invitation. After buying the man several cups of soft-drinks， Allen asked， “You are fishing there， right？ May I know how much fish you have caught this morning？” “You are number 8，” said the man humorous.