Reading is the key to school success and, like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practising until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. A great athlete practises until he can play quickly, accurately, without thinking. Tennis players call that ”being in the zone.” Educators call it “automaticity”.

   A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and decoding the words. With practice, he stumbles less and less, reading by the phrase. With automaticity, he doesn’t have to think about decoding the words, so he can concentrate on the meaning of the text.

   It can begin as early as first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois Schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found automatic readers in the first grade who were reading almost three times as fast as the other children and scoring twice as high on comprehension tests. At fifth grade, the automatic readers were reading twice as fast as the others, and still outscoring them on accuracy, comprehension and vocabulary.

   “It’s not I.Q. but the amount of time a child spends reading that is the key to automaticity,” according to Rossman. Any child who spends at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will in all likelihood reach automaticity. At home, where the average child spends 25 hours a week watching television, it can happen by turning off the set just one night in favor of reading.

   You can test your child by giving him a paragraph or two to read aloud—something unfamiliar but appropriate to his age. If he reads aloud with expressions, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, he probably is an automatic reader. If he reads haltingly, one word at a time, without expression or meaning, he needs more practice.

13．The first paragraph tells us            .

A．what automaticity is                    B．how accuracy is acquired

C．how a child learns to walk               D．how an athlete is trained

14．The Illinois study shows that the automatic reader’s high speed         .

A．costs him a lot of work            B．a(chǎn)ffects his comprehension

C．leads to his future success         D．doesn’t affect his comprehension

15．A bright child          .

A．a(chǎn)lso needs practice to be an automatic reader

B．a(chǎn)lways achieves great success in comprehension tests

C．becomes an automatic reader after learning how to read

D．is a born automatic reader

16．The main idea of the passage is           .

A．how to score high on comprehension tests

B．reading is the key to school success

C．how to test your child’s reading ability

D．a(chǎn)utomaticity is important for efficient reading

New fast food debuts in U.S. fairs—fired Coke

A new fast food is making its debut(首次演出) at U.S. fairs this fall----fried Coke. Abel Gonzales, 36, a computer analyst from Dallas, tried about 15 different varieties before coming up with his perfect recipe----a batter mix made with Coca-Cola syrup, a drizzle of strawberry syrup, and some strawberries.

Balls of the batter are then deep-fried, ending up like ping-pang ball sized doughnuts（面團）which are then served in a cup, topped with Coca-Cola syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon(桂皮)sugar and a cherry on the top.

“It tastes great,” said Sue Gooding, a spokeswoman for the State Fair of Texas where Gonzales’ fried Coke made its debut this fall. “It was a huge success.”

Gonzales ran two stands at the State Fair of Texas and sold up to 35,000 fried Cokes over 24 days for 4.50 dollars each –and won a prize for coming up with “most creative” new fair food.

Ray Crockett, a spokesman for Coca-Cola Co., said: “we’re constantly amazed at the creative ways folks find to enjoy their Coke and make it part of celebrations like fairs and festivals. This is one is definitely different!”

16. The passage is likely to           .

A. be an advertisement                  B. appear in a newspaper

C. make a comment on a new food         D. give us some advice

17. The new fast food probably is the computer analyst’s ____________.

A. 15th  attempt                  B. disliked food

C. most creative food               D. excellent recipe

18. We are sure that ____________.

A. this new kind fast food will be popular in the future

   B. this new food has been sold 157500 dollars

   C. the food was bought by Coca-Cola Co.

   D. this is a new kind of Coke

19. According to Ray Crockett, ___________.

   A. fried Coke is a completely different form of Coca-Cola.

   B. fried Coke is a very creative use of Coca-Cola.

   C. folks enjoy this new kind of food very much.

   D. he is amazed at the U.S. fairs this fall.

--Do you like to study mathematics?---____? I like it very much.

A. No        B.Not       C.Why not      D.Not why

--Let’s go to see our teacher. ---_____.

A. That will do    B.That’s all     C.That’s right  D.All right

—I hear you’ve got a set of valuable Australian coin. ________ I have a look?

—Yes, certainly.

A. Do     B. May

C. Shall D. Should

Although many families got separated,people still 　　 each other.

A.keep in touch with　　　　　　　B.kept in touch with

C.get in touch with　　　　　　　　D.came into contact with

It　　  that Jane and Mary will be late.They 　　 to miss the party.

A.is like;likely　　　　　　　　　　B.is like;are like

C.is likely;likely　　　　　　　　　D.is likely;are likely

We’ve worked out the plan and now we must put it into      .

A.fact       B.reality       C.practice      D.dead

It’s been over a year since I     back from the countryside.

A.was coming       B.had come      C.will come      D.came

Start studying early and don’t study too much 　　.

A.at one time　　　　　　　　　　B.at a time

C.at times　　　　　　　　　　　D.from time to time