You have probably heard it before, most likely from your English teacher. If you want to become a good writer, read good writing. Unluckily, you may not have understood what did good to you and even what you were supposed to get from that experience.
As you start reading a book, poem, or story, do so with no thought at all and the experience will improve your writing. Just read for pleasure to begin with, or to learn. As you progress through the work, think about whether it is “easy” reading or not. Do you become so interested in the subject and flow of the writing that you completely forget the person who wrote it, or does the composition sometimes call too much attention to itself through words and phrases that seem out of place or unexpected? The second situation is a chance to learn from the writer’s mistakes. In fact, the reader should not have to worry about how a writer does “his thing” ... he should be able to just enjoy and learn. Every time a word strikes you as poorly chosen, stop to consider why it has this effect. Also, do not spend a lot of time analyzing (分析) the passage but put more efforts in enjoying it from the whole.
Another thing I do, particularly with nonfiction (非小说) books, is to select a part to read as if it is a completely separate work. Once again, read as a common reader rather than a critic (批评家). For learning how words and phrases work together on the most basic level, however, nothing is more suitable than devoting yourself to reading poems. A poet is often trying to put a book’s worth of meaning and feelings into lines, and every side of the work shows a very close attention to craft (工艺).
As you can see, there is no simple way of reading to improve your writing. The key is not to make it boring. Select writers you admire or like most, and enjoy their works as anyone else would. As long as you are reading, you are improving yourself as a writer.
Improving Your Writing by Reading |
|
Facts |
Ø Reading good writing 1. you become a good writer. Ø You don’t understand the 2. of reading and what to get from reading. |
Ways |
Ø Read not to learn but for 3. . 1) Develop a great 4. in the subject and flow of the writing. 2) Learn from the writer’s 5. if possible. 3) 6. shouldn’t be spent in analyzing the passage but in enjoying the passage from the whole. |
Ø Read as a common consumer rather than a critic. Ø 7. yourself to reading poems and enjoy the lines. |
|
Conclusions |
Ø Don’t make yourself 8. with reading. Ø Select your 9. writers and enjoy their works. Ø You are sure to make 10. during reading. |
根据短文内容,从下面方框中选择适当的词组填空,使短文内容完整正确
growing up feels worried about put on to wait for takes good care of |
Only Mother Love is true love. It gives everybody everything all his life. When you are still a baby, mother 1. you as much as possible. In your waking hours she always holds you in her arms. When you are ill, she stops her work to look after you day and night. When you are 2. day by day, she feels very happy. When you are old enough to go to school, mother still looks after you. On cold winter days, she always tells you to 3. more clothes. She always stands in the wind 4. you back from school. When you hurry to leave home for school with little breakfast, she always 5. you at home. When you do well at school, the brightest smile will be seen on her face.
Mother is always ready to give everything she has to her children, not to receive. What true love that is in the world! We will remember Mother Love forever.
根据句子意思,用括号中所给单词的适当形式填空
1.US singer and actress Whitney Huston was found ▲ (die) in her bathroom on Feb 13th, 2012.
2.Mother Teresa spent all her time she could ▲ (care)for the poor.
3.I didn’t want to be treated ▲ (different) from anyone else.
4.Ricky will always remember the ▲ (please) trip to Hong Kong Disneyland he had last summer.
5.Recently the drought is serious in the ▲ (south) part of China.
6.Tian’anmen Square is the biggest square in the world and is often ▲ (fill) with tourists.
根据括号中所给的汉语写出单词,使句子意思完整正确,
1.The 62-year-old Meryl Streep won an Oscar for her role in the film The Iron Lady for the
▲ (第三) time.
2.Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping paid an official ▲ (访问) to the United States from Feb 13th to Feb 18th , 2012.
3.The Great Wall is one of the ▲ (奇观)of the world.
4.The roads are becoming more and more ▲ (拥挤) because of too much traffic.
5.—Would you mind ▲ (开) the door? It’s too hot.
—Of course not.
Did you notice the number on the book in a library? That number is part of the system used by libraries to organize their collections of books. And it’s used in many countries. The number on each book tells you exactly what kind of book it is. This system is also useful for knowing where to go in the library to find a book.
In this system, there are ten large groups of books. Each of these groups has its own number, such as 100, 200, etc. So, for example, any books about language will have a number 400. On the other hand, any books about history will have a number 900. So, a number in the hundreds place tells you what general group a book is in. If you find a book that has a number in the 500s, you know it is a book about science.
However, science is a big group, so the tens place is used to make a more detailed set of science books. For example, math books are included in the group of science books. Math books all have numbers between 510 and 519. Books about the history of Africa have numbers between 960 and 969.
The system uses the ones place to give a more exact limit for the subject of a book. A book on the history of South Africa will have the number 968.
As you can see, it is a simple system to use as long as you understand what the numbers mean. With this system, the library can keep its books well organized, and people can easily find the book that they want.
1.The reading is about .
A. libraries
B. working in a library
C. how numbers are organized
D. how books are organized in libraries
2.The number system is NOT used to .
A. find where a book is
B. tell you the title of a book
C. tell you what kind of book a book is
D. organize the collections of books in libraries
3.According to the reading, which sentence is TRUE?
A. The number on a book can’t be bigger than 900.
B. There are ten big groups for books in this system.
C. History books can have any number between 500 and 900.
D. This system uses both numbers and letters for some books.
4.A book about math can be found in the same group of books as .
A. reference books B. school books C. science books D. art books
5.Which two numbers would indicate a book about language and a book about science?
A. 439 and 493 B. 439 and 568 C. 530 and 560 D. 563 and 436
One day a lonely girl found two weak birds while she was walking in the woods (树林). She took them home and put them in a small cage. She fed them with love and the birds grew strong. Every morning they greeted her with a beautiful song. The girl loved them very much and wanted their singing to last forever.
One day the girl left the cage’s door open. The 1arger and stronger of the two birds flew out of the cage. The girl watched worriedly as it circled (盘旋) high above her. She was afraid that it would fly away and she would never see it again. So when it flew close, she grasped (抓) at it wildly. She was very happy that she held it tightly within her hand! Suddenly, she felt something had happened to the bird. She opened her hand and was surprised to find the bird was dead. Her love for the bird killed it.
She noticed the other bird jumping in the cage. She could feel that it wanted to be free. It hoped to fly into the clear, blue sky. She lifted (举起) it from the cage and flew it into the air. The bird circled once, twice, three times …
When the bird was flying happily in the sky, she was so glad. Just then the bird flew closer and sat softly on her shoulder. It sang the sweetest song she had ever heard.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold it tight. The best way to keep love is to let it fly!
1.The girl loved the two birds very much because .
A. they greeted her every morning
B. they didn’t eat much food
C. they liked staying in the cage quietly
D. they were hungry but very strong
2.One day the girl forgot to close the door to the cage and of the two birds flew out of the cage.
A. the sick
B. the female
C. the larger and stronger
D. the white and blue
3.The girl held the bird tightly in her hand because she was afraid that .
A. it would be killed
B. it was feeling cold
C. the other bird felt lonely
D. it would fly away
4.The girl felt that the other bird when it was jumping in the cage.
A. wanted to see what happened
B. wanted to be free
C. wanted to sing a beautiful song again
D. wanted to eat something
5.What does the story want to tell us?
A. To keep love is to let it fly.
B. The cage is used to keep birds.
C. The birds are easily killed.
D. We should protect the endangered birds.