Text 2
Books, even in this age of cheap literature, cost money? The shortage of paper, together with the high cost of living, has made books an expensive item in our list of requirements. This would mean that fewer people can afford to have them. Yet there are people who think nothing of spending money on a rich dinner, but don't like to spend the same sum on books. Therefore the time has come for a new public library policy to be introduced, for the higher the price of books the greater the need to give them the widest circulation possible.
The Hong Kong Government has set up Urban (城市的) Council Libraries and study rooms in
various districts. There is no doubt that when books are wisely selected, they have a great educational value, and have done much to encourage the habit of reading among the people.
For setting up libraries, some factors should be taken into consideration. In the first place, it is not enough to have just a building, equip it with shelves and fill them with books. The library building itself must be attractive in structure, desirable in atmosphere, and uncumbered in administration. Then secondly, there is the choice of suitable books to look into. This presents difficulties:
though most of the books are novels and most of the readers are novel-readers, moreover, reading fiction is quite a source of amusement and pleasure. Also, it is a means of broadening one' s mind and learning more about life and human being. Yet, there should always be a good selection of serious books-history, biography, travel, poetry and literature-which are appreciated by many readers.
51 . According to this passage, some people __________.
[ A ] give less consideration to books than food
[ B] can hardly afford time to read books
[ C ] know nothing about the value of education
[ D ] should have spent more money on daily needs
52. In this passage, the writer implies that _________.
[ A ] Urban Council Libraries need more funds for books
[ B ] properly selected books have a good educational value
[ C ] text books are usually more expensive than other books
[D] to be a good learner, one must read widely
53. The need for a wider circulation of books comes from _________.
[A] the educational system [ B ] the increasing number of the readers
[ C ] the high price of books [ D ] the new public library policy
54. According to the author, the difficulty in setting up a library lies in the fact that _________.
[ A ] there is a shortage of space and facilities
[ B ] serious books are not always available in book stores
[ C ] most readers take their interests only in novels
[D] it is not easy to select suitable books
55. The word "uncumbered" ( Line 3 , Para. 3 ) here most probably means _________.
[ A ] difficult [ B ] incomplete
[ C ] efficient [ D ] complicated
Text 3
South Dakota ranks completely the last in average teacher salary and 42nd in the spending per pupil. But its 1989 American College Test scores are among the highest in the nation.
In knowledge and skills South Dakota has a normal teacher combination-good, bad and the
not very good. Nor does the state place enormous emphasis on academic achievements. Many chools
fail to require enough homework and a proposal to require a foreign language for college entrance caused a storm of public anger. But South Dakota' s students have three things going for them: strong families, small schools and old-fashioned values.
South Dakota ' s marriage and birth rates are among the highest in the nation, and its divorce (离婚) rates are among the lowest. South Dakota' s kids are subject to the same troubles that tempt young people elsewhere-drugs, drinking and sex. But because fewer are in pain of emotion from home situations, fewer seek these troublesome escapes.
South Dakota is also fortunate that most of its schools are small. Schools like these are often the focus of community life; there are a lot of school plays, concerts and football games in school. And as much as a fourth of a local newspaper may be school news. It must be difficult for students and teachers not to feel that all eyes are upon them.
And South Dakota enjoy the old values, everyone shares the same pattern of behaviour. A
school's authority is seldom weakened by a parent, or vice versa (反之亦然).
上一页 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] 下一页
责任编辑：虫虫
