Preparing for a medical emergency involving your pet is always best accomplished before the event takes place. This series is designed to help guide you through the important decisions about first aid, as well as how and when to transport your pet quickly and safely to a veterinary hospital or emergency ability．

VeterinaryPartner．com has provided this complete reference book online for you to skim through, expanding your knowledge of dog and cat first aid；however, we encourage you to buy the book to keep in your home or car as a quick reference during an emergency．

This book is an emergency preparedness ready-reference for dogs and cats．Wise preventive measures, intelligent use of first aid principles, coupled with recognition of abnormal symptoms and treatment of disorders, diseases, and problems, lead to effective health care．

A working knowledge of this information will help you get rid of some potentially dangerous circumstances and help you prepare for emergency situations．

It includes information on what to do and what not to do in specific emergency situations．The authors encourage careful reading and occasional rereading．We have tried to make this book easy to understand, avoiding technical terms as often as possible, but defining（下定義）them in context when they are necessary．

1.What does the underlined word “veterinary” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．Immediate    B．For animals    C．Urgent   D．For humans

2.Why are we advised to buy the book?

A．Because it's very cheap and may be useful to all the people．

B．Because it contains a working knowledge of information about dogs and cats．

C．Because it contains information on specific emergency situations．

D．Because it is convenient to know things dealing with dog or cat in an emergency．

3.Which is NOT true about the book?

A．It can enlarge the readers' knowledge of dog and cat first aid．

B．It contains the knowledge of recognition of abnormal symptoms of dogs and cats．

C．Although it contains many technical terms, it is easy to understand．

D．You can read it on VetrinaryParmer．com free of charge．

4.What's the purpose of the passage?

A．To introduce a book．                B．To introduce a website．

C．To introduce a working knowledge．   D．To encourage careful reading．

 

Testing has replaced teaching in most public schools. My own children's school week is framed by pretests, drills, tests, and retests. They know that the best way to read a textbook is to look at the questions at the end of the chapter and then skim the text for the answers. I believe that my daughter Erica, who gets excellent marks, has never read a chapter of any of her school textbooks all the way through. And teachers are often heard to state proudly and openly that they teach to the mandated (國家指定的) state test.
Teaching to the test is a curious phenomenon. Instead of deciding what skills students ought to learn, helping students learn them, and then using some reasonable methods of assessment to discover whether students have mastered the skills, teachers are encouraged to reverse the process. First, one looks at a commercially available test. Then, one distills (提取) the skills needed not to master reading, say, or math, but to do well on the test. Finally, the test skills are taught.
The ability to read or write or calculate might infer the ability to do reasonably well on standardized tests. However, neither reading nor writing develops simply through being taught to take tests. We must be careful to avoid mistaking preparation for a test of a skill with the acquisition of that skill. Too many discussions of the basics of skills make this fundamental confusion because people are test-centered rather than concerned with the nature and quality of what is taught.
Recently, many schools have faced what could be called the crisis of comprehension or, in simple terms, the phenomenon of students with phonic and grammar skills still being unable to understand what they read. These students are capable of taking tests and filling in workbooks. However, they have little or no experience reading or thinking, and talking about what they read. They know the details but can't see or understand the whole. They are taught to be so concerned with grade that they have' no time or ease of mind to think about meaning, and reread things if necessary.
【小題1】As is indicated in the second paragraph, the author finds it strange that __.

A．tests are used to assess students' skills

B．skills are determined before tests are set

C．teaching is aimed to prepare students for tests

D．teachers use some reasonable methods of assessment

【小題2】The crisis of comprehension most probably results from __.

A．students' poor phonic and grammar skills

B．teaching that takes up much of students' free time

C．teaching that emphasizes details rather than the whole

D．students' lack of ability to think about what they read

【小題3】According to the author, we can infer that __.

A．the basics of skills have been discussed too much

B．the nature and quality of what is taught are fully concerned

C．skills in general are not only useless but often mislead students

D．doing well in a test does not necessarily mean acquiring the skill

閱讀下面短文，并按照題目要求用英語回答問題。（請將答案寫在答題卡上相應(yīng)番號后的橫線上）

Perhaps you are an average student with average intelligence. However, you can receive better grades if you want. Yes, even students with average intelligence can be top students without additional work. Here’s how:

1．Plan your time carefully. Make a list of your weekly tasks. Then make a schedule of your time. Be sure to set aside enough time to complete your normal reading and work assignments. Of course, studying shouldn’t occupy all of the free time on the schedule.

2．Make good use of your time in class. Listening to what the teacher says in class means less work later. Take notes to help you remember what the teacher says.

3．Skim before you read. Look over a passage quickly before you begin to read it more carefully. As you preview the material, you get some idea of the content and how it is organized. Later when you begin to read you will recognize less important material and you may skip some of these portions, Skimming(略讀)helps double your reading speed and improve your comprehension as well.

4．      . Go over your notes as soon as you can after class. Review important points mentioned in class as well as points you remain confused. If you know what the teacher will discuss the next day, skim and read that material, too. If you review your notes and textbook regularly, the material will become more meaningful and you will remember it longer. Regular review leads to improved performance on tests.

5．Develop a good attitude towards tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test, so don’t worry excessively（過分地）about a single test.

There are other techniques that might help you with your studying. Improving your studying habits will improve your grades.

1.Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

If you fail an exam, don’t let it trouble you too much.

______________________________________________________________

2.According to the passage, how can an average student improve his/her grades?(within 10 words)

___________________________________________________________

3.Please fill in the blank in the fifth paragraph with a proper sentence. (within 10 words)

____________________________________________________________

4.Which tip do you think is the most useful? Why? (within 20 words)

_____________________________________________________________

5.Translate the underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph into Chinese.

____________________________________________________________________

 

 The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometres wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a “river of grass” because sawgrass covers most of it. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes—and skin!

Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So, we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat, open boat. Like an airplane, it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a tremendous noise, but it does the job. The boat skims along the water’s surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat, at least we are above the alligators(短吻鱷).

While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades, the most famous is surely the alligator. Once endangered, alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park. Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water.

For a long time, dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900, some people felt this precious wetland should be drained (排干). They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s, there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere, including in the Everglades. They built canals, levees (防洪堤) , and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem.

? People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now, one big problem is the paperbark tree. This tree is an invader from Australia.

Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s, people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However, the invaders adapted too well. Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides (除草劑) to kill them. ?

1.Which helps to explain why it is difficult to travel in Everglades?

A．Airboats may make a very big noise.

B．You may get lost when passing through.

C．Paperbark trees soak up too much water there.

D．Many different kinds of animals are to be protected.

2.Why do people use airboats instead of normal boats?

A．They have big propellers to move them faster than alligators.

B．The propeller makes loud noise so as to scare alligators.

C．Their flat bottom can skim along the water surface.

D．They can watch alligators without hurting them. ?

3.The following measures were taken to drain the Everglades except that people______. ?

A．built canals and levees to stop the rivers flowing into Everglades?

B．built factories near rivers that flowed into the wetland?

C．brought Paperbark to soak up water in Everglades?

D．a(chǎn)re cutting down these Paperbark trees?

4.The underlined word "invader" probably means something______. ?

A．that moves in from another place	B．that enters and takes control?
C．that has been brought in?	D．that is in danger?

 

When you practice reading with passages shorter than book length, do not try to take in each word separately, one after the other. It is much more difficult to grasp the broad theme of the passage this way, and you will also get the stuck on individual words which may not be absolutely essential to a general understanding of the passage. It is a good idea to skim through the passage very quickly first to get the general idea of each paragraph. Titles, paragraph headings and emphasized words can be a great help in getting this skeleton outline of the passage. It is surprising how many people do not read titles, introductions or paragraph headings. Can you, without looking back, remember the title of this passage and the heading of this paragraph?

    Most paragraphs of a passage or chapter have a 'topic sentence' which expresses the central idea. The remaining sentences expand or support that idea. It has been estimated that between 50% and 90% of all expositive（說明的）paragraphs in English have the topic sentence first. Always pay special attention to the first sentence of a paragraph, it is most likely to give you the main idea.

    Sometimes, though, the first sentence in the paragraph does not have the feel of 'main idea' sentence. It does not seem to give us enough new information to justify a paragraph. The next most likely place to look for the topic sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph.

    Remember that the opening and closing paragraphs of a passage or chapter are particularly important. The opening paragraph suggests the general direction and content of the piece, while the closing paragraph often summarizes the very essence（精髓）.

1. It is a good idea to skim through a passage quickly first ____________.

A. at about 315 w.p.m.（words per minute）

B. to get the general idea of each paragraph

C. so that you can take in each work separately

D. to make sure you get to the end at least once

2.The topic sentence of an expository paragraph in English _____________.

A. usually comes in the middle

B. is most likely to be found at the end

C. is most often at the beginning

D. is usually left out in expository writing

3. Most expository paragraphs in English have a clearly defined topic sentence. In such paragraphs the topic sentence comes first _____________.

A. in about 5% of cases                       B in about 80% of cases

C. in about 20% cases                         D. very rarely

4.Sometimes we know the first sentence is not the topic sentence because ____________.

A. it does not seem to give us enough new information

B. it is not long enough

C. it does not come at the beginning

D. it does not make a complete sentence

5.The closing paragraph of a piece of writing ____________.

A. is not really very important

B. is often unnecessary repetition

C. often comes at the end

D. often summarizes the essence of the passage