Graph can be a very useful tool for conveying information especially numbers, percentages, and other data . A graph gives the reader a picture to interpret. That can be a lot more pages and pages and pages explaining the data .
Graphs can seem frightening, but reading a graph is a lot like reading a story. The graph has a title ,a main idea ,and supporting details .You can use your active reading skills to analyze and understand graphs just like any other text .
Most graphs have a few basic parts: a caption or introduction paragraph, a title , a legend or key, and labeled axes. An active reader looks at each part of the graph before trying to interpret the data. Captions will usually tell you where the data came from (for example, a scientific study of 400 African elephants from 1980 to 2005). Captions usually summarize the author's main point as well. The title is very important. It tells you the main idea of the graph by stating what kind of information is being shown. A legend, also called a key ,is a guide to the symbols and colors used in the graph. Many graphs, including bar graphs and line graphs, have two axes that form a corner, Usually these axes are the left side and the bottom of the graph .Each axis will always have a label. The label tells you what each axis measures.
Bar Graphs
A bar graph has two axes and uses bars to show amounts. In Graph 1 ,we see that the x-axis shows grades that students earned, and the y-axis shows bow many students earned each grade .You can see that 6 students earned an A because the bar for A stretches up to 6 on the vertical measurement. There is a lot of information we can get from a simple graph like this(See Graph 1).
Line Graphs
A line graph looks similar to a bar graph ,but instead of
Bars, it plots points and connects them with a line .It has the same parts as a bar graph – two labeled axes –and can be read the same way .To read a line graph, it’s important to focus on the points of intersection rather than the line segments between the points, This type of graph is most commonly used to show how something changes over time.
Here is a graph that charts how far a bird flies during the first Five days of its spring migration (See Graph 2).
The unit of measurement for the x-axis is days. The unit of measurement for the y-axis is kilometers. Thus we can see that ,on the first day, the pipit flew 20 kilometers. The line segment goes up between Day 1 and Day 2,which means that the bird flew farther on Day 2.If the line segment angled dawn, as between Day 4 and Day 5,it would mean that the bird flew fewer kilometers than the day before. This line graph is a quick, visual way to tell the reader about the bird’s migration.
Pie Graphs
A typical pie graph looks like a circular pie. The circle is divided into sections, and each section represents a fraction of the data. The graph is commonly used to show percentages; the whole pie represents l00 percent, so each piece is a fraction of the whole.
A pie graph might include a legend,or it might use icons or labels within each slice. This pie graph shows on month’s expense, (See Graph 3 ).
Food $ 25
Movies $ 12
Clothing $ 36
Savings $ 20
Books $ 7
When used in a graph,a legend is_____
A.a guide to the symbols and colors |
B.an introduction paragraph |
C.the main idea |
D.the data |
What is the total number of students who earned a C or better ?
A.4. | B.6. | C.10. | D.20 . |
The bird covered the longest distance on _____
A.Day 1 | B.Day 2 | C.Day 3 | D.Day 4 |
Which of the following cost Amy most ?
A.Food. | B.Books | C.Movies | D.Clothing. |
These comments came specific questions often asked by local newsmen.
A.in memory of | B.in response to |
C.in touch with | D.in possession of |
Jennifer Lynn is turning into a master storyteller. She writes about young adults brilliantly. However, I have got to say Stay With Me wasn’t my favorite in this series, but I still really enjoyed it and I would absolutely recommend it to fans interested in the world of young adults.
Stay With Me is the third book in Jennifer’s Wait For You series, which features a couple that have been in previous books but have their own unique story and can be read as a standalone. I like that about this series. It’s nice to be able to pick up a book and read it, finish it and move on to the next, but the Wait For You series has the added bonus of a more deeper character connection, as they’ve appeared previously, you have more of a feel for them and you look forward to their story.
Stay With Me is Calla and Jaxs story. Calla has a wreck(严重受损的人) of a mother, but she is finally coming to the end of college and is looking forward to a career in nursing. She has done pretty well up for herself and now it was her time to shine. Unluckily, it falls through when her mother robbed her of every penny and took her identity. Calla has to go back to her small home town and into the arms of Jax.
Jax is handsome and cheerful! He is a waiter in a bar and knows Calla’s mother very well and he agrees to help Calla. He is true alpha, with a sweet side and is very protective of Calla. I loved him, but not as much as Cam, sorry Jax! And that’s why Stay with Me isn’t as good as Cam’s book, Wait for You. Don’t get me wrong. Jax is an incredibly great character, well fleshed out and I did care for him, but he just wasn’t as lovely as Cam.
As for Calla, I liked her character, and I liked the connection between her and Jax. I loved how he came out of his shell and showed her to love herself, despite her unsatisfactory past. There are a lot of intense moments between these two characters and they are so well written. Jennifer’s writing is addictive and she wrote the scenes between Jax and Calla beautifully. Calla has never been, what she would call boyfriend material, and so she struggles to see what Jax sees in her and she bats him off and ignores it. There’s a lot of push and pull between them, and it’s very charming. At times I did get a little annoyed with Calla, especially with her insecurity but Jax soon made up for that!
Overall I really enjoyed Stay with Me. Anyway, they are a wonderful pair together. Despite all the troubles that Calla was going through, their relationship seemed more realistic and was made to last.
Who would like to read Stay with me most?
A.Adults. | B.Young adults. |
C.Fans of young adults. | D.Parents. |
The author shows a preference for Calla by ________.
A.analyzing some plots from the book |
B.comparing her with Jax |
C.stating what Jax did to her |
D.presenting her sad past |
The underlined expression “came out of his shell” probably means ________.
A.fell in love with others |
B.expressed his ideas |
C.left his home town |
D.overcame the difficulties |
The author’s overall attitude towards Stay With Me is ________.
A.Unclear | B.Negative |
C.Indifferent | D.Positive |
What style does the passage belong to?
A.An essay. | B.A novel. |
C.A review. | D.A debate |
—I’m planning to go to Kingdom of Cambodia this summer vacation. I think the trip will be exciting.
—____, as it’s the rainy season then.
A.Yes, it will | B.Of course not |
C.You can say so | D.It’s hard to say |
—Are you going to the concert next week?
—I’d like to, but I ______ an exam then.
A.take | B.took |
C.was taking | D.will be taking |
—I didn’t know you play the piano. It sounds wonderful!
—Thank you! I ______ it when I worked in UK.
A.learned | B.had learned |
C.have learned | D.learn |
The whole class applauded wildly at the end of the speech, ______ greatly encouraged Bob.
A.what | B.where | C.which | D.when |
If you miss this chance, it may be years ____ you get another one.
A.As | B.before | C.since | D.after |
Going green seems to be fad(时尚)for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April 22, 2011, we decided to go green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different green things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day for a year, Our Green Year started. My life and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyle. We now shop at organic(有机的)stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.
What might be the best title for the passage?
A.Going Green. | B.Protecting the Planet. |
C.Keeping Open-Minded | D.Celebrating Our Green Year. |
It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because_________.
A.they were expected to follow the green fad |
B.they didn’t know how to educate other people |
C.they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
D.they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?
A.They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
B.They ignore others ungreen behavior. |
C.They chose better chemical cleaners. |
D.They sold their home-made food. |
What can we infer form the last paragraph?
A.The government will give support to the green people. |
B.The couple may continue their project in the future. |
C.Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
D.Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |
Summer Rain
The worst days of any summer are the rainy ones. We spend all year looking forward to nice weather and long, hot days. All of winter, with its cloudy days and bitter cold, we dream of those endless days at the beach, lying on the sand and enjoying the bright and burning sun. And then, summer comes, and it rains.
As a child, I would wake up to rainy summer days and come close to crying. It wasn’t fair. We suffered through months of school and experienced bad weather for those short ten weeks of freedom and pleasant weather.
On those rainy summer days, I had nothing fun to do and could only sit inside, staring out at the rain like a bird in a cage. I was an only child, so there was no one else to play with. My father worked from home, so I was not truly alone, but he could not actively play with me since he was at work. It was those days that I would watch whatever was on television or read any books that I could find lying around. I’d drag through the day and pray each night that the rain would not be there the next day.
As an adult, though, my opinion of summer rain has changed. When you have to work every day, summer is not as exciting. Everything seems dull. Such a mindset makes you cheer for anything new or different. I spend the winter dreaming of summer and the summer dreaming of winter. When summer comes, I hate how hot it is. And then I look forward to the rain, because the rain brings with it a cold front, which makes me comfortable. Rainy days are still the worst days of the summer, but summer rain today means positively beautiful—and considerably cooler—weather tomorrow.
When the author was a child, he ______.
A.hated rainy days |
B.liked staying indoors |
C.preferred cooler weather |
D.dreamed on summer days |
We can learn from the passage that the author ______.
A.had no brothers or sisters |
B.was often left alone at home |
C.could enjoy the brilliant sun in winter |
D.preferred reading to playing outside |
As an adult, the author views summer rain differently because ______.
A.heknowsit won’t last long |
B.rain makes the weather cooler |
C.his summer holiday is very short |
D.he can better deal with his downtime |
The books on the desk, covers are shiny, are prizes for us.
A.which | B.what | C.whose | D.that |
I’m so ______ to all those volunteers because they helped my terrible day end happily.
A.special | B.superior |
C.grateful | D.attractive |
A new term might be the best time to make new friends, but it can be hard to begin the first conversation. Below are four useful ways. Take a look.
Search for common interests. Talking about shared interests, such as sports and popular talent shows, is the easiest way to make a successful talk with someone.
Welcome the silence. In fact, sometimes silence is needed in order to continue a conversation. Remember that if you say something, the other person may need time to understand it.
Keep it positive(积极的). To make great small talk, you should keep things fun. You should be cheerful and able to laugh over things that aren’t very interesting. These will make the other person want to keep talking to you.
Take it as a learning experience. Every time you meet someone from other places, it’s a good chance to learn something new. You can learn more about their cultures and nations. These make you a more interesting person to talk to as well.
How many ways are mentioned to start a conversation in the reading?
A.Only one. | B.Three. | C.Four. | D.Five. |
You can start a meaningful conversation by according to the reading.
A. travelling to other countries
B. studying very hard in the class
C. talking about the same interests
D finding someone from other places
If someone is talking about something you don't like, you should according to the reading.
A.stop the conversation at once | B.be cheerful and relaxed |
C.keep silent all the time | D.talk about something new |
The following is a QUIZ(自测) from a magazine.
Questions |
1 Point |
2 Points |
3 Points |
Where do you live? |
in a village |
in a town |
in a city |
How do you go to work/ school? |
by walking/ bicycle |
by train/ bus/ subway |
by driving a small car |
How many times a year do you fly on airplanes? |
1 |
2 |
3 |
How many hours of electricity do you use each day(e.g. watching TV, keeping lights on)? |
0-6 hours |
6-12 hours |
12-18 hours |
How often do you recycle? |
almost always |
often |
sometimes |
Total Points |
Result |
7 |
Less pollution than the average(平均) person |
8-10 |
As much pollution as the average person |
11-13 |
A little more pollution than the average person |
14-14 |
A lot more pollution than the average person |
Which of the following makes the least pollution?
A.Living pretty well in a big city. |
B.Flying on planes only twice a year. |
C.Almost always recycling used things. |
D.Using 15 hours of electricity each day. |
How many points does the average person get?
A.7 points. | B.8-10 points. |
C.11-13 points. | D.14-15 points. |
Tom lives in a city, goes to work by subway, flies on airplanes once a year, uses 15 hours of electricity a day, an sometimes recycles used things. How many points does he get?
A.11 points. | B.12 points. |
C.13 points. | D.14 points. |
Which of following would be the best title for the quiz?
A.Where Do You Live? | B.What Do You Recycle? |
C.Why Do We Travel? | D.How Green Are You? |