It seems that you can hardly go to any bookstore without encountering Charles Dickens. From Oliver Twist to A Tale of Two Cites, Dickens’ works still enjoy great popularity today and are placed on notable shelves.
As someone who teaches Dickens, the question of why we still read him is often on my min. Nearly 10 years ago, I told my students that Dickens, works started crazes in Victorian readers. Then a hand shot up in the middle of the room. “But why should we still read his stuff?” A student asked. I was speechless because I had never considered the question myself. The answer I gave was only acceptable. “Because he teaches you how to think,” I said.
The question annoyed me for years, and for years I told myself answers, but never with complete satisfaction. We read Dickens because he not only was a man of his own times, but also is a man for our times. We read Dickens because his exploration of the human mind is deep. We read Dickens because we can learn from the experiences of his characters. These are all wonderful reasons, but not exactly the reasons why I read Dickens.
My search for an answer continued in vain, until one day a text message came from a student of mine. “We still read Dickens’ novels,” she wrote, “because they tell us why we are what we are.” Simple as it was, that was the explanation I had thought for years.
Like most people, I think I knew who I was without knowing it. I was Oliver Twist, always wanting and asking for more. I was Nicholas Nickleby, convinced that my father was watching me from beyond the grave. I was Pip, in love with someone far beyond my reach. I was all of these characters, and I began to understand more about why I was who I was because Dickens had told me so much about human beings. Dickens shines a light on who we are during the best and worst of times. That’s why we still need to read him today.
1.What does the underlined word “encountering” mean in Paragraph 1?
A. Focusing on B. Coming across
C. Appealing to D. Subscribing to
2.What can we infer from Paragraph 2?
A. There was a heated discussion about Dickens.
B. The author was annoyed by the rude student.
C. The author wasn’t satisfied with his own answer.
D. None of the students showed interest in Dickens.
3.Why do we have to read his books?
A. Because he teaches us how to think.
B. Because he is the best writer of his day.
C. Because his language is easy to understand.
D. Because we can know why we are what we are.
4.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. The benefits of reading Dickens’ novels.
B. The reason why we still read Dickens today.
C. The great influence Dickens has on teenagers.
D. The reason why Dickens enjoys great popularity.
I'm big into reading, and since you're on this page, I guess you like reading as well. This page is an ongoing log of books I find to be awesome or useful. If you're looking to create a well-rounded, successful college experience, you can't go wrong with any of these.
The Power of Habit
This book is absolutely amazing. As it turns out, habits shape much more of our behavior than we realize.The habits we do have largely determine the progress (either good or bad) we make in life. Luckily, the way habits are formed can be understood—which means they can be changed—and The Power of Habit is the best overview of how habits work that I've ever read.
A Mind for Numbers
If you’re looking for practical techniques you can use to increase your ability to learn new information effectively, you should read this book. Contrary to what the title would imply, Dr. Barbara Oakley's A Mind for Numbers is applicable to any learning discipline--not just math and science. This book will quickly give you an understanding of how your brain learns and encodes (编码) new information, and will also equip you with strategies for learning more while studying less.
Brain Rules
If you know how the brain works, you' ll be better equipped to manage your own and understand the ones contained inside the heads of the people you know and meet In Brain Rules, John Medina expertly shows us how the brain does things, and lays out 12 rules that form a basis for using that pile of mush (糊状物) more effectively. It's not just an excellent brain book—it's an excellent business book and an excellent college success book as well.
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
I firmly believe that a solid foundation of nutrition, exercise, and sleep will help you succeed in college better than any study hack, which is why I recommend this book. Reading it will educate you on how exercise affects your brain, which in turn will give you more mental ammunition (弹药) that you can use to shoot down excuses when you're feeling lazy or “busy”, and don’t want to work out. By the way, how much exercise have you gotten today?
1.What can we know about the author of the text?
A. He thinks highly of the books. B. He isn’t fond of reading books.
C. He wants to sell some books. D. He recommends reading only.
2.What can we learn from the four books?
A. Spark will teach you how reading exercises your brain.
B. Dr. Barbara Oakley offers techniques of studying less.
C. John Medina mainly shows how to do successful business.
D. Habits have a great impact on us and can be changed.
3.Which section does this passage probably come from?
A. Literature B. Career skills
C. Studying and learning D. Survival skills
I wish I ________ an architect because then I ________ be able to design my own house.
A. am, will be B. were, would
C. will be, could D. was, could
A distant relative is not ________ a near neighbor.
A. so far as B. as well as
C. as good as D. so long as
Little ________ where it would lead me when I took the trip.
A. do I know B. had I known
C. have I known D. did I know
His strength ran ________ after he covered that long distance.
A. into B. away
C. across D. out
