A. counting how many words a reader has read
B. dividing the total number of words a reader read by the time he spends on reading
C. timing how many minutes a reader has read D. asking help from the teacher 正确答案：B
题目解析：由文章“Then you simply divide the number of words by the number of minutes it takes to read.”可以知道提高阅读速度可以通过分段分时间阅读，正确答案选B。
A symbol is something that is used to represent something else. Numbers, letters, and words are all symbols that show ideas.
The easiest symbols to understand are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. We can put these 10 symbols together in different ways to make every possible number. All people on earth understand the ideas shown by these mathematical symbols. In fact, scientists think that if we meet living things from space, we will use mathematical symbols to try to talk to them.
Letters are symbols we can use to write a sound. We put letters together to make words. Words are symbols, too. For example, we want to write the idea of something that is living. It is made of wood, and it has leaves. We use the word tree. Other languages use different words to make their symbols tree.
The Egyptians made one of the earliest forms of writing called hieroglyphics. They used pictures to represent people and stories. We can still see examples of hieroglyphics in museums. They are very difficult for us to read.
Europeans began to use picture symbols on road signs about 50 years ago. People speak many different languages in Europe , but they
can drive in all European countries because of the picture symbols in the road signs.
11. All the following are symbols except _____. A. letters B.
trees
C. numbers D. words 正确答案：B
题目解析：由文章地一段可以知道“Numbers, letters, and words are all symbols that show ideas”并没有提到B，所以答案选B。
12. In the first sentence of the passage, the word \_____.
A. find B. ask C. give D. show 正确答案：D
题目解析： “represent”是表示、描绘的意思，这里意思接近的只有单词show,正确答案选D。
13. The easiest symbols to understand are _____. A. picture symbols B. letters C. mathematical symbols 正确答案：C
题目解析：由原文“The easiest symbols to understand are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9” 可以知道最早的象征符号是数字，正确答案选C。
14. In this passage, \A. writing in pictures, not words B. writing in words with pictures C. writing in words only
D. signs
D. writing with letters 正确答案：A
题目解析： “hieroglyphics”是象形文字的意思，“They used pictures to represent people and stories”象形文字用的是图画表示人和故事，正确答案选A。
15. Which of the following is not true?
A. Numbers can be used to talk to living things from space. B. Hieroglyphics is still used in Egypt today. C. Words are symbols that show ideas.
D. People speaking different languages can read road signs. 正确答案：B
题目解析：答案ACD都是文中提到的，由“We can still see examples of hieroglyphics in museums”可以知道象形文字现在只存在于博物馆了，所以现在已经不适用了，正确答案选B。
第三部分 词汇和结构
此部分共有5个未完成的句子，针对每个句子中未完成的部分有4个选项，请你从A, B, C, D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
16. These are common materials _____ we are all familiar. A. about which B. of which C. with which 正确答案：C
题目解析：这些是我们都很熟悉的一种普通的物质。由于be familiar with是固定搭配，所以正确答案为C。
17. We can obtain knowledge from other sources _____ books.
D. to which
A. beside B. besides
C. apart D. except 正确答案：B
题目解析：主要区别besides和except，前者表示除了……还有……，后者表（排）除了……其他的，所以根据题意，正确答案为B。
18. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so it seems as if the sun_____ round the earth.
A. circles B. is circling C. be circling D. were circling 正确答案：D
题目解析：太阳从东边升起从西边落下，就好像太阳绕地球转了一圈一样。it seems as if对于一种客观事实的虚拟，用were doing，所以正确答案为D。
19. Although the town had been attacked by the storm several times, _____ done.
A. a few damages were B. few damages were C. little damages was D. a little damages was 正确答案：C
题目解析：虽然这座城镇被暴风雨袭击了许多次，但是只受了一点损失。although引导的句子表示转折，后半句要说明损失的微小，因为damage是不可数名次，并且little表示微乎其微，意思更加准确，所以正确答案为C。
20. He helped me _____ my homework. A. with B. C. about D. 正确答案：A
题目解析： help sb do /help sb do“帮助某人做某事”; help sb with sth“帮助某人某事”，固定搭配，所以正确答案为A。
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