I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with the easy carelessness of youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me years later, and ever since have been of great value to me.

    Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I was doing. I said three or four hours a day.

     "Do you practice in long stretches（一段時間）, an hour at a time?"

     "I try to.”

     "Well, don't,” he exclaimed. “When you grow up, time won't come in long stretches. Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks. Spread the practice through the day, and piano-playing will become a part of your life."

When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript（手稿）ready for revision, later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal（零碎的） method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were idle moments which could be caught and put to use. I even took up piano--playing again, finding that the small intervals of the day provided sufficient time for both writing and piano practice.

    There is an important trick in this time--using formula: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but five minutes for writing, you can't afford to waste it in chewing your pencil. You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes. Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize.

     I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a tremendous influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I plunge in without delay.

1. What is the best title of this passage?

   A. Concentrate on Your Work                           B. A Little at a Time

C. How I Became a Writer                                        D. Good Advice

2. Which of the following statements is true?

A. The writer owes great thanks to his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.

B. Carl Walter has had a great influence on the writer’s life since he became a student.

C. The writer didn't take the teacher's words to heart at first.

D. Rapid concentration is actually more difficult than most people imagine.

3. The underlined part "counted on" can he replaced by____.

A. enriched                B. concentrated              C. valued                   D. expected

4. We can infer that the writer           . 

    A. has new books published each year however busy his teaching is

    B. is always tired of interruptions in life because his teaching schedule is always heavy

    C. has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels

    D. makes mental preparations beforehand, so he’s devoted to work instantly

    I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with the easy carelessness of youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me years later, and ever since have been of great value to me.

    Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I was doing. I said three or four hours a day.

     "Do you practice in long stretches（一段時間）, an hour at a time?"

     "I try to.”

     "Well, don't,” he exclaimed. “When you grow up, time won't come in long stretches. Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks. Spread the practice through the day, and piano-playing will become a part of your life."

When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript（手稿）ready for revision, later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal（零碎的） method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were idle moments which could be caught and put to use. I even took up piano--playing again, finding that the small intervals of the day provided sufficient time for both writing and piano practice.

    There is an important trick in this time--using formula: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but five minutes for writing, you can't afford to waste it in chewing your pencil. You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes. Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize.

     I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a tremendous influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I plunge in without delay.

1. What is the best title of this passage?

   A. Concentrate on Your Work                    B. A Little at a Time

C. How I Became a Writer                              D. Good Advice

2. Which of the following statements is true?

A. The writer owes great thanks to his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.

B. Carl Walter has had a great influence on the writer’s life since he became a student.

C. The writer didn't take the teacher's words to heart at first.

D. Rapid concentration is actually more difficult than most people imagine.

3. The underlined part "counted on" can he replaced by____.

A. enriched             B. concentrated            C. valued                D. expected

4. We can infer that the writer           . 

    A. has new books published each year however busy his teaching is

    B. is always tired of interruptions in life because his teaching schedule is always heavy

    C. has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels

    D. makes mental preparations beforehand, so he’s devoted to work instantly

第二部分：閱讀理解（本題有兩小節(jié)，第一節(jié)共20小題；每小題2分，第二節(jié)共5小題；每小題1分；滿分45分）

第一節(jié)：閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的A、B、C、D四個選項(xiàng)中，選出一個最佳選項(xiàng)

    I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with the easy carelessness of youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me years later, and ever since have been of great value to me.

    Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I was doing. I said three or four hours a day.

     "Do you practice in long stretches, an hour at a time?"

     "I try to.”

     "Well, don't,” he exclaimed. “When you grow up, time won't come in long stretches.    Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks. Spread the practice through the day, and piano-playing will become a part of your life."

When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript ready for revision, later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were idle moments which could be caught and put to use. I even took up piano--playing again, finding that the small intervals of the day provided sufficient time for both writing and piano practice.

    There is an important trick in this time--using formula: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but five minutes for writing, you can't afford to waste four chewing your pencil. You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes. Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize.

      I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a tremendous influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I plunge in without delay.

41. What is the best title of this passage?

 A. Concentrate on Your Work                       B. A Little at a Time

C. How I Became a Writer                       D. Good Advice

42. Which of the following statements is true?

A. The writer owes great thanks to his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.

B. Carl Walter has had a great influence on the writer’s life since he became a student.

C. The writer didn't take the teacher's words to heart at first.

D. Rapid concentration is actually more difficult than most people imagine.

43. The underlined part "counted on" can he replaced by____

A. enriched             B. concentrated            C. valued                D. expected

44. We can infer that the writer             . 

  A. has new books published each year however busy his teaching is

  B. is always tired of interruptions in life because his teaching schedule is always heavy

  C. has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels

 D. can find sufficient time for mental preparations beforehand, so he’s devoted to work   instantly

 (福建省廈門雙十中學(xué)09屆高三熱身考試A篇)

For millions of people, the American dream of owning a home seems to be slipping out of reach.

    “Maybe young couples can no longer afford to buy a ready-made house as their parents did,’’ says 40-year-old building instructor Pat Hennin. “But they can still have a home. Like their pioneer ancestors, they can build it themselves, and at less than half the cost of a ready-made house.”

    The owner-builders came from every occupational group, although surprisingly few are professional building workers. Many take the plunge with little or no experience. “I learned how to build my house from reading books,” says John Brown, who built a six-room home for $25, 000 in High Falls, New Jersey. “If you have patience and the carpentry（木匠）skill to make a bookcase, you can build a house.” An astonishing 50 percent of these owner builders hammer every nail, 1ay every pipe, and wire every switch with their own hands. The rest contract（承包）for some parts of the task. But even those who just act as contractors and finish the insides of their homes can save from 30 percent to 45 percent of what a ready-made home would cost.

    One survey revealed that 60 percent of owner-builders also design their homes. Many others buy commercial house plans for less than $100 or use plans available from the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

56．What does the passage mainly tell us?

    A．The cost of having a house built.

    B．The American dream of owning a house.

    C．The life of owner-builders in America.

       D．A comparison between young couples and their parents.

57．It can be inferred from the passage that many Americans find it difficult to         .

    A．build a house                                      B．find a ready-made house

    C．have a good job                                   D．buy a house

58．The underlined phrase “take the plunge” in paragraph 3 most probably means “         .”

    A．decide to build a house                             B．decide to pull down a house

    C．decide to buy a house                             D．decide to rent a house

59．From the passage we learn that           .

    A．Many house plans are offered free of charge.

    B．Most of the house plans arc offered by building instructors.

    C．Most of the owner-builders design their homes.

D．Fifty percent of the American young couples build houses.

       For millions of people, the American dream of owning a home seems to be slipping out of reach.

    “Maybe young couples can no longer afford to buy a ready-made house as their parents did,’’ says 40-year-old building instructor Pat Hennin. “But they can still have a home. Like their pioneer ancestors, they can build it themselves, and at less than half the cost of a ready-made house.”

    The owner-builders came from every occupational group, although surprisingly few are professional building workers. Many take the plunge with little or no experience. “I learned how to build my house from reading books,” says John Brown, who built a six-room home for $25, 000 in High Falls, New Jersey. “If you have patience and the carpentry（木匠）skill to make a bookcase, you can build a house.” An astonishing 50 percent of these owner builders hammer every nail, 1ay every pipe, and wire every switch with their own hands. The rest contract（承包）for some parts of the task. But even those who just act as contractors and finish the insides of their homes can save from 30 percent to 45 percent of what a ready-made home would cost.

    One survey revealed that 60 percent of owner-builders also design their homes. Many others buy commercial house plans for less than $100 or use plans available from the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

56．What does the passage mainly tell us?

       A．The cost of having a house built.

       B．The American dream of owning a house.

       C．The life of owner-builders in America.

       D．A comparison between young couples and their parents.

57．It can be inferred from the passage that many Americans find it difficult to         .

    A．build a house                                       B．find a ready-made house

    C．have a good job                                   D．buy a house

58．The underlined phrase “take the plunge” in paragraph 3 most probably means “         .”

    A．decide to build a house                             B．decide to pull down a house

    C．decide to buy a house                              D．decide to rent a house

59．From the passage we learn that           .

    A．Many house plans are offered free of charge.

    B．Most of the house plans are offered by building instructors.

    C．Most of the owner-builders design their homes.

    D．Fifty percent of the American young couples build houses.