Reading is a good habit, but the problem is that there's too much to read, and too little time to read every word of it. So ①we need to find good ways to read faster. There are hundreds of skills (技巧) to help you read more in less time. Here are two skills that I think are especially good.

Preview (预看) —if it's long and hard. This skill is especially useful for ideas of heavy reading like long magazine articles (文章) and business reports (报告).

    Here's how the preview goes.

●Read the first two paragraphs (段落) and the last two paragraphs carefully.

●Then read only the first sentence of the other paragraphs.

    This skill doesn't give you all the details (细节, 详情). It stops you spending time on things you don't really want or need to read.

    Skim (略读)—if it's short and simple (简单的). Skimming is a good way to get ideas of light reading like popular magazines or sports and entertainment (娱乐) papers.

    Here's how to skim.

    ●Get your eyes to move fast. Sweep across each line.

    ●Pick up only a few ②key words in each line.

    Everybody skims differently. You and I may not pick up the same words when we skim the same piece, but we'll get a similar (相似的) idea of what it's mainly about.

    Billy Smith loves water. His hobbies are swimming and diving (潜水). And he likes golf too. Billy's a very lucky man because his interests are part of his job.

    Billy lives in the USA with his wife, Linda. They got married ten years ago. At that time, Billy worked in an office in New York. He worked with computers. He worked five days a week, from eight in the morning to seven in the evening. He hated his job. There was no time for diving or golf. Linda worked in a shop and she didn't like her boss (老板). She hated the cold winters in New York too. So Billy and Linda decided to leave their jobs in New York and buy a house in Florida. The weather is fantastic in Florida. The days are sunny and hot.

    Now Billy goes diving every day and he goes to golf courses (球场) every day. But he doesn't play golf very much—he works at the golf course. He travels around Florida and he goes to lots of different golf courses. Sometimes Linda goes with him and sometimes she stays at home. There are lakes on many golf courses and Billy only goes to golf courses with lakes. Players often hit their golf balls into the water.

    In his new job, Billy dives in the lakes for these golf balls. On some days, Billy collects two thousand golf balls. Linda has an office in their home and she works there. She sells the lost golf balls that Billy finds. For golfers, they are cheaper than new golf balls.

    Both Billy and Linda are very happy now.

根据材料内容简要回答下列问题。

    Every year， thousands of people get hurt（受伤） or die（死亡） when they are crossing the road{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    Old people often get hurt or die because they can't see or hear very well. Children usually meet with accident（事故） because of their carelessness（粗心）{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    How can we lessen(减少)traffic accidents? All of us must follow the traffic rules. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} I they drive too fast, it will be very difficult to stop the car in a very short time. For the walkers, it's very important to be careful when they are walking on the road. So when we walk across the road we must try0 walk along the pavements（人行道）{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Look left first, next look right, and then look left again, When we are sure that the road is clear, we can cross it, The right way to cross the road is to walk quickly. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If people run across the road, they may fall down.

    We should try to help children, old people or blind people to cross the road, and never play in the street.

    What do we really mean by being open? Being open is a kind of invitation to others to come in, to speak and to share. It is important to let others get to know what we think and how we feel. In this way we will be understood and accepted by others. If we aren't open with others, we won't fully believe in ourselves or others.

    Here are a few ways for you to be more open. First, make your outside behavior the same with your inside feelings and thoughts. Second, share how you really feel about something instead of just opinions. Third, try to change your questions into statements(陈述句) and talk in the first person so that people will understand you more easily. For example, you might say, "I feel happy that you're here." instead of "Are you glad that you're here?" Finally, try not to say, "I don't know." This usually means I don't want to think about it any more.

    Remember also that it is not suitable to be open with everyone in every situation. You may want to be more open with close friends, but not with people you don't know well, because you are not sure how someone else will use what they know about you. Besides, some people may not be used to too much openness. If we say everything we feel or think to them, they will feel every uncomfortable at times.

    In all, being open is a good way for us to get on well with other people，but we'd better keep the balance between being open and not being too open.

    When you go to a new school, it can be terrible. You may worry about making friends. But do not worry too much. Most of the time some people are friendly and some people are not. What makes a person a friend? Here are what the two students say.

    "My name is Helen. Amy and Sally are my best friends. I made friends with Amy when I was three years old. Now we're 14! I like her because she is happy and very friendly almost all the time. Sally is a quiet girl. She makes friends more slowly. However, she is just as good a friend as Amy. They are interested in the same things as me. We all like sports and we often play tennis together in the park. And we also like reading books in the school library. And we listen to each other's problems. We are all good at different school subjects, so we help each other with our homework too!"

    "I'm Tina. My best friend is Mabel. She and I always talk and laugh (笑). There are many things we both like. We like music. We often play the guitar and sing. We also go to movies, but sometimes we can't agree (同意)on which movie to see. Sometimes we just walk around. We also like swimming. On weekends, we usually do the homework, play sports and go to the Music Club. When I'm busy, sometimes I can't see Mabel for about a month. But we still find time to see each other. It's always fun to be with her.

    We all want to protect our planet, but most of us are too busy or too lazy to make a change that would improve our lifestyle and protect the environment.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} There is nothing new here but if you follow at least some of these suggestions, you can be proud of yourself for taking part in protecting the environment.

    Donate

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If they can still be used, give them to someone who needs them. You can also give them to charities. These charities will give them away to help people in need.

    Turn off your electrical devices (电器)

    When you are not using an electrical device, turn it off. For example, if you are not watching TV, turn it off. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It's an easy habit to form which will help you save a lot of money.

    Walk or ride a bicycle

    Driving is one of the biggest causes of pollution. If your parents want to give you a ride, ask yourself the following question: Do I really need to use the car? {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

This list is far from being complete, but besides protecting the environment, all these things will help you save money.