Reading is an important activity for many Americans. Today, thousands of men, women and children are members of groups to discuss the books they read.
No one knows how many Americans belong to reading groups called book clubs. Yet publishers(发行人) and bookshops report that more and more throughout the United States are joining the clubs.
Most of the clubs work the same way. Members read the same book at the same time. Then they meet to talk about the book. Members may be friends or people who live near each other. Or, they may be people who work together.
Book clubs may be for only women or only men. Or, they can be for husbands and wives together. Some are family groups where parents attend with their children. Children may belong to book clubs of their own.
Some book clubs in the United States are for husbands and wives. One woman says this is a great idea for a book club. She says husbands and wives often talk to each other only about their children, work, or money problems. "Talking about books," she says, "opens a whole new level of communication."
American children belong to book clubs, too. They may be as young as four years old or as old as eighteen. Some children's clubs get help from the Great Book Foundation (基金). This educational organization provides lists of books to read. It also trains people to lead discussions about the books.
1. It is reported that _____ in the United States.
A. reading is important for men
B. a lot of people are joining book clubs
C. all the people are reading their books
D. fewer and fewer people in the USA are joining the clubs
2.Most book clubs want their members ______.
A. to read the same book at the same time
B. to buy a lot of books at the same time
C. to read different books at the same time
D. to read as many books as they can
3.Before joining the book club, husbands and wives often talk about ______.
A. housework and work B. computer games
C. books and writers D. children, money or work
4.The best title of the passage might be _______.
A. An Important Activity in the USA
B. Reading Clubs for Children
C. Book Clubs in the USA
D. All Kinds of Clubs in the USA
Sixteen years ago, a boy gave me an important gift. It was a smile.
It was the early autumn of my first year at a middle school, and my old school was far away. As a result, no one knew who I was. I was very lonely, and afraid to make friends with anyone.
Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt my heart break. I couldn't talk with anyone about my problems.
Then one day, my classmates were talking happily with their friends, but I was sitting at my desk unhappily as usual. At that moment, a boy entered the classroom. I didn't know who he was. He passed me and then turned back. He looked at me, with a smile.
Suddenly, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy and warm. That smile changed my life. I started to talk with other students and made friends. Day by day, I became closer to everyone in my class. The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now.
One day I asked him why he had smiled, but he couldn't remember doing so!
It doesn't matter because all the dark days have gone. I believe that the world is what you think it is. If you think it is lonely, you might always be alone. So smile at the world and it will smile back.
1.When did the writer get the gift?
A. At the age of 16.
B. After making friends with the boy.
C. In the first year at a middle school.
D. After becoming closer to everyone in her class.
2.Why was the smile an important gift?
A. Because the writer's old school was far away.
B. Because the writer didn't know who the boy was.
C. Because the smile didn't mean anything to the boy.
D. Because the writer felt lonely and had no friends and it made her feel happy and warm.
3.How did the smile change her life?
A. She started to make friends.
B. She became the best friend of the boy
C. Her parents didn't worry about her any more.
D. She realized that she was lonely.
4.Where does she now think her feeling of unhappiness came from?
A. From her old school. B. From her parents.
C. From herself. D. From her class
The Great Wall of China is the longest structure in the world. It's over 7,240 kilometers long and 7 meters high. In most places, it is _ enough for ten men to walk side by side along the top.
The Great Wall has a history of more than two thousand years. It stones and bricks. When you look at the Great Wall, you may want to know the Chinese people were able to build it in the ancient days. _ any modern machines, it was really difficult to build it. All the work was hard to do _ .
It took millions of men hundreds of years the Great Wall. They worked in wild places. It was _to give them enough food to eat and enough clothes to wear, so thousands of workers died of hard work, cold and hunger. Many people were made to work on the wall _ _ their homes, and never came back.
Today the Great Wall is one of the most famous places of interest in China. Every year lots of people come to visit it from all over the world.
1. A. wide B. tall C. long D. thick
2.A. is made in B. is made from C. is made of D. is made into
3.A. when B. how C. where D. why
4.A. No B. Not C. With D. Without
5.A. by hand B. by the hand C. with hand D. with the hand
6.A. building B. built C. to build D. builds
7.A. ordinary B. difficult C. important D. comfortable
8.A. far away B. away from C. from far away D. far away from
A number of foreign players playing basketball in the NBA. The number of them about five hundred.
A. are, is B. is, are C. are, are D. is, is
—It has been thirty years since I my hometown.
— How time flies! Great changes in our hometown in the last thirty years.
A. leave; take place B. left; have been taken place
C. left; have taken place D. have left; took place
—Could you please tell me ?
—Sorry. I'm not sure how to get there.
A. how can I get to the post office
B. how to get to the post office
C. which the way to the post office is
D. where is the post office
