A few years ago I was shopping with a friend and his 12-year-old daughter in downtown San Francisco. A street musician, whom my friend happened to know from his own musician days, was playing the saxophone(萨克斯管) on a street corner. His name was Clifford, and he had attracted a large crowd with his performance. After he finished, my friend introduced him to me and his daughter. Clifford asked her if she played any instrument. When she replied that she was taking trumpet(小号) lessons and played in her junior high school band, he said, "That.s fine, little lady. Learn your instrument well and you can play anything. "
Somehow these simple yet wise words struck me as appropriate not only for a trumpet player but also for a reader. If you learn to read well, you can read anything you want---not just newspapers and magazines, but more difficult material like philosophy, file criticism, military history---whatever interests you as your confidence grows. You would not be limited in any way. If you have the vocabulary---or at least a good dictionary near at hand---you can pick up a book, concentrate on it, and make sense of the author.s words.
In the United States, reading instruction often ends at elementary school, so students sometimes have difficulty as they progress through school. They must take their assignments armed only with their elementary school reading skills. The result, too often, is frustration and loss of confidence. And the assigned reading in your college courses will be even greater than they were in high school. Developing Reading Skills is designed to accomplish several tasks: to show you the skills that will enable you to read with greater comprehension, to help you cope with reading assignments with confidence, and to teach you to become an active reader.
1 The author develops his point by starting with ______.
A. an example B. an incident C. a statement D. a contrast
2. Which of the following statements is implied in Paragraph 1?
A. Clifford was good at playing the saxophone. B. The author.s friend was once a street musician. C. The 12-year-old girl played the trumpet very poorly. D. Clifford was a good music teacher.
3 "Struck … as appropriate" in Line 1, Paragraph 2 most probably means ______.
A. seemed to be appropriate B. proved to be appropriate
C. happened to be appropriate D. found to be appropriate
4 With good reading skills, you can ______.
A. understand anything you read without difficulty
B. work out the author.s meaning if only you concentrate on the book
C. understand what you read with the help of a good dictionary
D. concentrate on whatever you read
5 It can be inferred from the last paragraph that Developing Reading skills ______.
A. is directed to elementary school students B. centers around vocabulary building skills
C. offers elementary reading skills D. aims at helping students read better
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