Reading can be fun, but it can also be time-consuming (taking a long time) if your speed is not as fast as you'd like it to be. An average reading speed can range from 200 to 350 words per minute, but that rate can vary depending on the material and your reading experience. Here are a few tips to help you improve your reading speed.

    Preview（预览） the material you're going to read. Look at main headings, chapters divisions , and other related parts - to develop clues about the structure of the work.

    Adjust（调整） your reading speed as you read the material. Slow down when you need to be sure that you comprehend one section（部分） of the material. Speed up if you are already familiar with or don't need to know other sections,

    Readers can greatly improve their reading speed by taking in several words in the line of text at one time (instead of sounding out each word, or focusing on each letter of the word),    Another way to improve your reading speed is to pay more attention to the key words in the sentences. A significant amount of reading time is wasted on conjunctions, prepositions, or articles (i.e a, an, the, but, and, or, nor, but, etc.).

   Talk about what you've read. Some readers find that by talking about their reading with friends of  fellow students, they are able to effectively synthesize(综合理解） the material. Find a reading spot, where nothing or nobody will disturb your reading.

    Don't reread right away; it will slow you down. If you absolutely don't understand part of the reading selection, go back and review the material later.

Practice. Practice. Practice. The best way to improve your reading speed is to practice reading. Try out some of these techniques(技巧), and then perfect the strategies (策略)that work best for you.

        A farming game becomes popular on the Internet as users get up in the morning to steal crops and fruit from their friends’ farms and become the kings of virtual (虚拟的) farming.

      Just like the farm game “kaixin 001” in Chinese. Users can plant crops, and raise chickens and sheep, and the harvest can be sold and exchanged for experience points to increase the attraction. Players can sneak into (潜入) their friends’ farms and steal crops. The more practiced a user gets in planting crops, the more virtual money he or she can make. That makes it much more fun than just killing time on the Internet.

     Now more city white collars, young office ladies in particular, are going online to live a country life. ________ that they set the alarm for an early rise every day, when they start up the computer and go farming. If they overslept, their fields would turn into a tourist farm where anyone takes whatever he or she wants. They can use a virtual network to plant, water crops, get rid of pests, harvest and sell their crops, and they can raise chickens and cows, and buy dogs to guard the farm. The whole process is much more interesting than electronic chickens, and seeing the results of their own hard work pile in the storage offers some kind of satisfaction in an otherwise boring daily life.

     Compared with wasting some time on line, the game is more interesting. 

I ordered a new consumer product on New Year's Day．The order was so exciting that I felt it was going to enable me to stay organized and stylish．Then I went to the store and made the purchase．They made it pretty difficult because of a new process that had just been put in place．I went to the store with my cash in hand hoping to just give it to someone to get my new product，but I had to work pretty hard to get someone to let me buy it．

Two weeks later，a new accessory（附件） became available for my product．I decided to go and procure this new accessory on my birthday．However，they didn't have any and nobody could answer my questions，and they only had a number system before you could talk to anyone．So I spent an hour of my birthday sitting around waiting to be told that I couldn't be helped．I'm a customer that just wanted to buy the product，and then when I wanted to keep giving them money for my shiny new product，they still weren't interested．

    The only way I was told to get what I needed was to call someone and they could help．

    I knew it would be an experience that would require much patience，so I waited a week and a half to make that call．Today was the day．I was also reminded today that sometimes things would just be comically bad from beginning to end．

    After two specialists and one hour and twelve minutes，I got the information I needed．

    This terrible experience isn't quite over yet，but it's definitely reached the comical stage．So I'm laughing and thinking about what lesson I should learn from this situation．

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Swimming is one of those activities that can be learned early in life. Little children can learn to swim as soon as they walk. In fact, you need the same skills in walking as in swimming. However, I believe that five is the best age to learn. By five or six, a child knows fear of water, a very important thing to know. It’s wise to be afraid, to recognize true danger. Young ones understand that the water can sometimes be very dangerous. To really benefit from swimming, every swimmer should learn ____________：butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and crawl. I feel that one of these—the breaststroke—is different from the others, since some young swimmers use this stroke naturally, without any training.

In swimming, there are certain rules every swimmer should follow:

(1)Never swim alone! No matter how good you are in the water, don’t risk drowning by swimming alone. If you swim by yourself, with no life guards or friends with you, you may get into trouble.

(2)Don’t go beyond your abilities. Most swimmers know enough not to swim too far from the bank or the beach. Showing off by doing dangerous tricks is no good. Swim safely and you will continue to swim and alive.

(3)Don’t smoke. Swimming depends on a healthy body; good lungs are part of it.

(4)Work at any activity that builds muscles.

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 ____________________________and the recognition of its danger are sensible.

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阅读下面短文,并根据短文内容完成下列各题。

People around us, especially our friends, have a strong influence on our lives. We all want to believe that they are the best but sometimes it is not so. As you change over the years, people and your friends change, too. If you are following a path of growth, then you must be prepared to grow new friendships too.

Be open to meeting new people. No matter whether your life has changed or not, always be open to letting new people into your life. They are like a fresh wind on a hot day. They can inspire you. They can give you new ideas. They can become your new best friends. Don’t limit yourself to the circle of people you already know, or you will limit your own ways to grow.

Make sure that you are a friend that you would like to have. Are you always there for your friends? Do you help them? Do you actually listen to them? Can you accept and understand the changes that happened or are happening in their lives? Do you enjoy giving as much as receiving? Answer these questions for yourself first and see if you are the one who needs to grow to the level of your friends.

Explore new ways to make friends. New people won’t just suddenly appear in your life. If you want to meet somebody then you need to start exploring the world. You can make friends online. You can start a new hobby. You can just start talking to a stranger who seems interesting to you. Be the one who starts the relationship, not the one who is waiting for something to happen.

It was a hot summer day that found me running down the street with a dollar in my sweaty hand. The closer I got to Sam & Joe’s Stationery Store, the more excited I was. After all, a dollar was a tidy sum for an 11-year-old boy in 1961.

    Out of breath, I swung open the door and got a blast of cold air that instantly cooled me off. I was in a place of pure happiness. Sam & Joe’s had it all—books, candy, toys, baseball cards, puzzles and games. I went directly to the bar and ordered a bottle of soda. There I sat, considering my next move.

    Books always came first. I picked out five titles. Next came the candy, rows and rows of it. I chose five candy bars, which brought my total to 75 cents. Then a bottle of cold orange juice, a bag of chips and a pack of Ted Williams baseball cards. After paying the clerk, I still had 5 cents.

    I hurried directly to my backyard, where an apple tree patiently waited for me. There, sitting in the shade against its strong trunk, I read my books, ate my candy and drank my orange juice.

As I sat in my own personal heaven, I started thinking about having more. That’s when a fantastic, life-changing idea popped into my head: If I could get more money, I could buy more books I liked, buy anything I wanted. That’s how it all started.

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There is a woman named Tao Porchon-Lynch. She was born in India in 1918. So, if you do the math, she is 98. And at the age of 98, she has been recognized as the oldest yoga teacher in the world. She has been teaching yoga in a gym in her hometown, full-time, since 1967.

    But that is not all she has done. She has also been a model, actress and dancer. She became a model after she graduated from high school. She acted in more than ten fields. She won a lot of medals as a dancer in many competitions. She once said, “If you try your best and never give up, nothing is impossible.”And she is a firm believer in positive thinking. She dreams the impossible dreams, and she is also well-known as a thinker.

    Tao Porchon-Lynch is not the person who talks the talk; she is the person who walks the walk. When she makes up her mind to do something, she takes action to do it without delay. At the age of 85, she learned how to dance and even won several dance competitions. She offers this piece of advice to others, “Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Don't delay. Tomorrow never comes.”

    So, what about retirement? At 98, she is well past the age when many people make retirement plans. Retiring, it turns out, is not Tao's style.“ A little girl, who is only 6 years old and is now learning yoga with me, once asked me,‘ Dear granny, what are you going to do when you retire?’ “ Tao Porchon-Lynch told the little girl that she had no plans to retire but instead would continue to teach yoga and dance her way to the next planet.

第一节  阅读表达

When Dr. Adnan Khera starts dancing on the streets of Bostion, he’s not only doing it for charity, but also to hopefully make himself a better doctor. Since the beginning of May, the anesthesisology resident (麻醉科住院医师) at Tufts Medical Center has been dancing around the city while dressed as a doctor.

  All donations he gets during his performances are donated to a variety of charities, from animal rescue to child poverty, through his Doctor Be Dancing organization. Khera, 28, has raised about $5,000 so far and hopes to bring in $10,000 by October.

  “One of the missions of this project is to show the value of individuality inside of medicine to medicine as a whole,” Khera said. “What I do on th streets allows me to communicate with the population at large. While I feel like normally in medicine, we have trouble communicating with patients. We fail in a lot of senses to communicate with them and show what it’s like to be a doctor and that what is best for the patients. By expressing our individuality, we can better communicate with our patients.”

  Khera is no stranger to public performances, having previously done stand-up comedy(单人滑稽喜剧表演) and public speaking. He is also a runner, so dancing is another way for him to stay fit in busy work. He tries to go out about twice a week in Boston, and also has done performances while visiting his parents in Arizona. “I’ve always been walking around dancing in public, so it never felt that crazy to me,” he said.

   He also realizes his public dancing goes against the usual traitlaced(刻板的) behaviors of doctors. “ The fact that it is for charity makes it hard to speak against it,” he said. I imagine some doctors could think it’s unsuitable for a doctor, but I’ve never met anyone strongly opposed(反对) to it. Overall the goal is to have an impat, and also show the value of individuality.”

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Although I think there is much for me to learn in the area of communication, I've been told by my friends that I’m a great person to speak to. It seems that I have a talent for having conversations go on without boring others. In fact, I don’t think there are any “tricks” you have to use to be a great conversationalist. Below are some rules I apply in all my conversations.

     Focus on the positives. Go for the positive topics. Instead of talking about past sadness, choose a discussion of future goals. During your conversations, always take a forward-thinking attitude. Less complaining, more solutions. Less judging, more understanding. Doing more of the latter will make you a more enjoyable person to speak to.

   It's fine to express your opinion, but don't force them to accept. Respect other people’s privacy. Respect other people’s personal choices—don't criticize or judge. Remember, everyone has his right to be himself, just as you have the right to be yourself. That is, respect others. Respect other people’s point of view.

      Be true to yourself. Your best asset (财富) is your true personality. Value it and let it shine. Don’t cover it up. It’ll be pretty boring if you just repeat the other person’s words during a conversation. If you want to communicate with others very well, be ready to share your real thoughts and opinions and let others know the real you.

      50-50 sharing. I always think that a great conversation should be made up of equal sharing by both people involved in it. Sometimes it may be 40-60 or 60-40 depending on the circumstances, but in general, both should have equal opportunities to share and contribute to the conversation.

  In a recent business magazine article, a president said, Laughter in the workplace is a waste of time. This is a place to do business, not to laugh, some researchers, however, disagree with his words. As scientists have learned more about the brain, they’ve discovered that smiles and laughter stimulate the brain, which can help increase happiness and reduce pain.

   Why do we need laughter in our lives? Laughter is a powerful tool for our health．In a number of studies that were carried out, it was shown that people who are more humorous have stronger immune systems(免疫系统)while people who feel stressed have weaker immune systems．Humor can help make your immune systems stronger

    Here are some tips to add more humor to your life：

   ·Laugh at yourself. Don’t  take yourself too seriously. Have a positive attitude towards yourself and your worries will become lighter too.

    ·Don’t  worry why people laugh--just appreciate it．Be funny．Look for the humorous side of and otherwise difficult situation．

    ·Prepare a first-aid laughter source．11Iis could include books，cartoons，CDs or videos．Write down the amusing things that happen and save them for a sad day．

   ·Be open to silly things．Humor the child within yourself．

   ·Laugh with others for what they do，rather than what they are．

   Research has shown that laughter is indeed the best medicine，so make time for humor now．

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