I used to think of myself as a person learned in books, but my bookshelves told a different story. Apart from a few Indian novels and an Australian book, my literature collection only consisted of British and American titles. Worse still, I couldn’t ever found anything in translation. My reading was limited to stories by English-speaking authors.
So, at the start of 2012, I set myself the challenge of trying to read a book from every country in a year to find out what I was missing.
With no idea where to get those books, I was unlikely to find publications from nearly 200 nations on the shelves of my local bookshop, so I decided to ask the readers all over the world for help. I created a blog called A Year of Reading the World and put out an appeal for suggestions of titles that I could read in English.
The response was amazing. People all over the world were getting in touch with me, offering ideas and book lists. Some posted me books from their home countries. In addition, several writers, like Turkmenistan’s Ak Welsapar and Panama’s Juan David Morgan, sent me unpublished translations of their novels, giving me a rare opportunity to read works unavailable in Britain. Even with such an extraordinary team of bibliophiles(爱书者) behind me, however, sourcing books was no easy task. With translations making up only around 4.5 per cent of literary works published in the UK, getting English versions of stories was tricky.
One by one, the books from the countries on the list filled my heart with laughter, love, anger, hope and fear. Lands that had once seemed exotic and remote became close and familiar to me. At its best, I learned, reading makes the world real.The author realized she was not a learned person when she found ________.
| A．she could do nothing but read books |
| B．she had never been to Indian and Australian |
| C．she didn’t have any translated books. |
| D．she could only read simple English stories |
What was the challenge the author set for herself?
| A．Reading books from nearly 200 countries in a year. |
| B．Creating a blog to offer help to other readers. |
| C．Looking for publications to publish her own books. |
| D．Giving some suggestions on learning English. |
Which of the following is NOT the help from people around the world?
| A．Offering book names. | B．posting local books |
| C．Giving financial supports | D．Sending unpublished translations |
It was not easy to find the books mainly because ________.
| A．the readers were unwilling to offer help |
| B．there were too few translations in the UK |
| C．the author had no time and no chance to do it |
| D．the writers didn’t want to publish their books |
How men first learned to invent words is unknown, in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to represent those sounds and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters, we call words.
The power of words, then, lies in their association-the thing they bring up before our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad and the sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increase.
Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions. This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary style. Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can convey （表达，传递）his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should, therefore, learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they make our speech silly and vulgar.（粗俗的）Which of the following about a real poet is NOT true?
| A．He is less than a master of words. |
| B．His style is always charming. |
| C．His poem can move men to tears. |
| D．He can express his ideas in words that sing like music. |
Where does the real power of the words come from?
| A．From the words themselves. |
| B．From their characteristics. |
| C．From their curiosity. |
| D．From their association. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The importance of choosing words. |
| B．Where the real power of words come from. |
| C．What great writers are like. |
| D．We should learn to choose words carefully. |
阅读下面短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题（请注意问题后的词数要求。）
A nurse of 78 this weekend celebrates 60 years of walking the wards — and she has no plans to retire.
Jackie Reid was 18 when she started work in 1953 — when the National Health Service（NHS）was just five years old — and is believed to be the oldest nurse in Britain.
The diabetes（糖尿病）specialist had to retire at 65 but returned as a nurse within two weeks and still does up to four seven-and-a-half hour shifts（轮班）each week. Mrs. Reid said, “Nursing is hard if you do it correctly but I love my job. Working for the NHS has been my life. I have no other hobbies because I have worked all my life.”
Jackie has worked at a number of different hospitals — including one in Scotland.
Her specialist field has been diabetes for the past 40 years. She retrained after her 12-year-old daughter Michelle developed the disease. She currently works at South end Hospital, Essex.
Over the last 60 years she has treated tens of thousands of patients.
Jackie believes nursing should be protected from government cuts. She said, “There’re lots of things I would say to the government. If you are going to get good care you have to have the resources（资源）, you can’t do it without enough money. They shouldn’t need the cuts that there are in the NHS. It’s hard now because there’s a shortage of staff.”
Jackie has lived alone in Grays, Essex, since her husband died three years ago.
The couple have two daughters Michelle, 50, and Karen, 54.
Jackie added, “My youngest daughter worries about me — she doesn’t think I should work as much as I do. I constantly say “don’t worry about me, I‟m fine”, but she never believes me. I don‟t like the thought of giving it up and will try to keep going forever.”In which year was the NHS set up? (within 2 words)
——————————————————————————————————What does Jackie think of nursing? (within 6 words)
——————————————————————————————————When did Jackie retrain in the field of diabetes? (within 6words)
——————————————————————————————————What does Jackie wish the government to do? (within 7 words)
——————————————————————————————————Why does Jackie’s daughter worry about her? (within 8 words)
_____________________________________________________________________
Babies are not just passing idle time when they stare at the television--they are actually learning about the world, U. S. researchers said.
Parents may want to limit what their babies see on television, based on the study, said Donna Mumme, assistant professor of psychology at Tuffs University in Boston, who led the research. "Children as young as 12 months are making decisions based on the emotional reactions of adults around them," Mumme said in a statement. "It turns out they can also use emotional information they pick up from television." Mumme's team already knew that babies watch other children and adults for information about the world. A mother urging her baby to eat some "yummy" soup or a brother crying in fear when a dog approaches can influence a baby's reaction.
Mumme's team tested babies to determine if television has the same influence, showing actors reacting on a videotape to objects such as red letter holder, a blue ball, and a yellow lubber. Babies aged 10 months or 12 months were later given the same objects to play with. Ten-month-olds did not seem to be influenced by the videos, but the 1-year-olds were. When the actors acted naturally or positively to an object, the babies happily played with them. But if the actor had seemed afraid or disgusted, the babies would avoid the object.The underlined word "psychology" means the study of_____________.
| A．human's society and its growth |
| B．human's hopes and dreams |
| C．human's mind and how it works |
| D．human's languages and cultures |
Which of the following is Mumme's conclusion?
| A．Small babies should not be allowed to watch television programs. |
| B．Adults should let their babies do nothing but watch television. |
| C．TV programs provide small babies with all the information they need. |
| D．One-year-olds can be emotionally influenced by TV programs. |
Mumme reached his conclusion by_____________.
| A．measuring the time babies spent in front of TV |
| B．making TV programs and advertisements for kids |
| C．showing actors how to react to blue balls |
| D．observing small babies' reactions to TV programs |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the researchers?
| A．Parents may want to limit what their babies see on television. |
| B．Actors may try to behave themselves well in front of babies. |
| C．Babies may be allowed to choose what they see on TV. |
| D．Watching TV does harm to babies' eyes. |
I wonder about my Mom sometimes, and all the other black mothers who got up at 6 a. m. to go to the white man's house with sacks over their shoes because it was so wet and cold. I wonder how they made it. They worked very hard for the man. They made his breakfast and they swept his floors and they took care of his babies. They didn' t have too much time for the three of us.
I wonder about my Mom, who walked out of a white woman's clean house at midnight and came back to her own where the lights had been out for three months, and the pipes were frozen and the wind came in through the holes in the wall. She'd have to deal with the rats(老鼠): leave some food out for them so they wouldn't bite the doors or the babies. Oh, they were just like part of the family!
I wonder how she felt telling those white kids she took care of to brush their teeth after they ate, to wash their hands after they finished bathing. She could never tell her own kids because there wasn't soap or water back home.
I wonder how my Mom felt when we came home from school with a list of vitamins and pills (药片)the school nurse said we had to have. Mom would cry all night, and then go out and spend most of the rent money for pills. A week later, the white man would come for his eighteen dollars' rent and Mom would beg him to wait until tomorrow. She had to lie to him that she had lost her wallet or the relief check was coming soon or the white people had some money for her. Tomorrow I'd be hiding in the closet because there was only supposed to be two kids in the flat, and I could hear the rent man shout at my Mom and call her a cheat. And when he finally went away, Mom put the sacks on her shoes and went off to the rich white man's house to dress the rich white kids so that their mother could take them to a special baby doctor.Mother got up at 6 a. m. every day, because_____________.
| A．she had to cook breakfast for her children |
| B．she had to catch the first bus to the factory |
| C．she had to work in the white man' s house |
| D．she had to go to see a special baby doctor |
Mother never told us to brush our teeth or to wash our hands because______________.
| A．she thought we didn't need to |
| B．we didn't like washing hands |
| C．we had done everything very well |
| D．there was no soap or water in our home |
Why did the writer hide in a closet when the landowner came for rent?
| A．The closet could only hold two kids. |
| B．Only two kids were allowed to live in the house. |
| C．They should pay more rent for two kids. |
| D．There was only one bedroom for the two kids. |
What does the writer mainly tell us?
| A．Black people lead a hard life. |
| B．Black people don't have enough rent money. |
| C．White people lead an expensive life. |
| D．White people have special baby doctors. |
If you are having trouble falling asleep, you are in good company. About 65% of Americans said they have sleeping problems a few nights each week, according to a recent study by the National Sleep Foundation. Sleeping too little can lead to a higher risk of becoming fat and getting depressed(沮丧的). But before you go to a doctor for advice, you’d better examine your sleeping habits one more time. Some of your favorite evening habits may have something to do with the sleeping problems.
1. Setting a Bright Alarm Clock.
The light of your bright alarm clock can prevent you from falling asleep. You can make your room as dark as possible. Cover the bright numbers with a book or consider buying a small travel clock. Your cellphone alarm may also do the trick.
2. Counting Sheep
When you just can’t fall asleep, it’s useless to stay in bed to count sheep. If you’ve been trying to fall asleep for more than 30 minutes, the National Sleep Foundation suggests you get up to do some reading or watch TV for a while. Such activities will make you sleepy. Before you know it, you’ll be going back to bed really tired.
3. Exercising Late at Night
Daytime workouts(锻炼) will keep you full of energy for hours. That’s why you don’t want to exercise within three hours of hitting the sack. Fierce(剧烈的)physical activity raise your body temperature and pumps your energy level—both are bad for a good night’s sleep. What can we learn from the first sentence of the passage?
| A．It’s not good to fail to fall asleep at night. |
| B．People in a good company often have sleeping problems. |
| C．There are many people who have sleeping problems. |
| D．You should find someone to talk to if you can’t fall asleep. |
The underlined part “hitting the sack” in the last paragraph means “______”.
| A．going back home | B．going to bed |
| C．going to the gym | D．falling asleep |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．The bad results of getting too little sleep. |
| B．Why the bright alarm clock keeps you awake. |
| C．What to do if you can’t fall asleep after 30 minutes. |
| D．Why watching TV and reading books make people sleepy. |
By writing the passage, the writer mainly wants to tell us _______.
| A．why so many people can’t sleep well at night |
| B．how to enjoy a good night’s sleep |
| C．that sleeping problems are troubling more and more people |
| D．that people may solve their sleeping problems by some habits |
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