If you wish to become a better reader, here are four important things to remember about reading rate:

● Knowing why you are reading or what you are reading to find out will often help you to know whether to read rapidly or slowly.

● Some things should be read slowly throughout. Examples are directions for making or doing something, arithmetic problems, science and history books, which are full of important information. You must read such things slowly to remember each important step and understand each important ideas.

● Some things should be read rapidly throughout. Examples are  simple stories meant for enjoyment, news letters from friends, pieces of news from local, or home-town, papers, telling what is happening to friends and neighbors.

● In some of your reading, you must change your speed from fast to slow and slow to fast, as you go along. You will need to read certain pages rapidly and then slow down and do more careful reading when you come to important ideas which must be remembered.

60. The underlined word "rate" in the first sentence means _______.

A. fast.           B. slow.        C. speed.             D. skill.

61. Which should be read slowly according to the passage?

A. Stories for enjoyment.             B. Arithmetic problems.

C. Letters from friends.             D. News from hometown newspapers.

62. How fast should we read?

A. The faster, the better.            B. The more slowly, the better.

C. Neither too fast nor too slow.   D. It depends on what we are reading.

63. According to the passage which of the following is NOT true?

A. Read slowly when you are reading something important to you.

B. Read fast when you are reading something unimportant to you.

C. Read the materials that you are interested in slowly.

D. Read the materials that you are interested in fast.

Students in many countries are learning English. Some of these students are small children. Others are teen-agers. Many are adults. Some learn at school, others by themselves. A few learn English by learning the language over the radio, on TV, or in film. One must work hard to learn another language.

Why do all these people want to learn English? It is difficult to answer this question. Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects required for study. They study their own language and maths and English: Some people learn it because it is useful for their work. Many people learn English for their work. Many people learn English for their higher studies, because at college or university some of their books are in English. Other people learn English because they want to read newspapers or magazines in English.

56. People learn English _______.

A. at school. B. over the radio.C. on TV .D. not all in the same way.

57. Different kinds of people want to learn English _______.

A. together with other subjects.    B. for different reasons.

C. for their work.                           D. for higher studies at colleges.

58. From this passage we know that _______.

A. we can learn English easily.

B. English is very difficult to learn.

C. English is learned by most people in the world.

D. English is a useful language but one must work hard to learn.

59. Which of the following is right?

A. We don’t need to learn any foreign languages.

B. We can do well in all our work without English.

C. English is the most important subject in schools.

D. We should learn English because we need to face the world.

Do you know insurance(保險)? Buying insurance is a __36_____by which people can protect themselves___37_____large losses. Protection against fire is one kind of insurance. Large number of people pay ___38_____sums of money to an insurance company. Although thousands of people have paid for fire insurance, only____39____will lose their homes by fire. The insurance company will pay for these homes out or the sums of money it has ___40_____.

The first modern fire insurance company was ___41____in London, England, in 1666. A great fire had just __42_____ most of the city, and people wanted protection against  ___43_____losses. The first company ____44____ rapidly. Soon other companies were founded in other areas.

Benjamin Franklin helped form the first fire insurance company in America in 1752. he also ___45_____  a new kind of insurance for____46_____  . the new insurance would offer protection against the loss of crops____47____  storms.

In 1795, Benjamin Franklin helped start_____48_____ new insurance company in America. This company,____49_____  offered life insurance, collected some money ____50____  from many different men. ____51_____a man died, his family was given a large sum of money. Today, this company is____52_____in business.

Over the years, people have ___53_____ from many new kinds of insurance when they have suffered from ___54_____accidents as car and plane crashes.____55____, almost everyone has some kind of insurance.

36. A. way          B. firm        C. consideration   D. means

37. A. from         B. against     C. with            D. beyond

38. A. small        B. huge        C. much            D. little

39. A. many         B. quite a few C. few             D. a few

40. A. stole        B. collected   C. lent            D. brought

41. A. built        B. found       C. formed          D. organized

42. A. destroyed    B. hurt        C. harmed          D. wounded

43. A. farther      B. further     C. wider           D. longer

44. A. risen        B. rised       C. grew            D. turned

45. A. suggested    B. determined  C. asked           D. demanded

46. A. farmers      B. workers     C. waiters         D. doctors

47. A. with         B. by          C. from            D. for

48. A. other        B. certain     C. another         D. some

49. A. where        B. which       C. whom            D. that

50. A. commonly     B. usually     C. regularly       D. ordinarily  

51. A. If           B. Although    C. Unless          D. Because

52. A. always       B. still       C. hardly          D. seldom

53. A. paid         B. offered     C. bought          D. benefited

54. A. many         B. so          C. such            D. that

55. A. Today        B. Generally   C. Lately          D. Tomorrow

  --Do you think it true that all the theories should ________ facts?

  --I don’t suppose so. If so, there would be no predictions(預言)

   A. be made on    B. be based on   C. be set up with   D. be built with

 This is the very reason ______ he gave for his coming late to the meeting.

   A. that    B. which    C. as    D. why

 To answer violence ____ violence can only result in more violence.

    A. with   B. by   C. for    D. to

 The white man who was put in prison for trying to _____the headquarters(總部) of the ANC tried to escape but failed.

     A. set up    B. break up   C. blow up   D. fire up

The old temple ________ roof was damaged in a storm is now under repair.

A．where  B．which  C．its  D．whose

The number of people invited ________ fifty, but a number of them ________ not seen at the meeting.

A．was； were  B．was； was  C．were； was  D．were； were

—What does the notice say？

—All the storytellers should meet at the same hall ________ won the first three prizes.

A．what  B．a(chǎn)s  C．who  D．which