Contents 1
Lesson One 1
Text HOW A CASSETTE RECORDER WORKS 1
Fast Reading Passage Bamboo 5
Reading Skills Guessing the Meaning of an Unfamiliar Word from Its Formation(Ⅰ) 6
Lessin Two 8
Text CAMPING HOLIDAYS 8
Fast Reading Passage The Man from the Government 11
Lesson Three 13
Text THE REDWOODS OF CALIFORNIA 13
Fast Reading Passage The Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay 15
Reading Skills Guessing the Meaning of an Unfamiliar Word from Its Formation(Ⅱ) 16
Lesson Four 19
Text THE MOON SHINES ON 19
Fast Reading Passage Meeting the Boss on the First Day 21
Lesson Five 23
Text THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 23
Fast Reading Passage The Koala 25
Reading Skills Guessing the Meaning of an Unfamiliar Word from Its Synonym 26
Lesson Six 28
Text CITY LIFE AND COUNTRY LIFE 28
Fast Reading Passage(No title) 30
Lesson Seven 32
Text TELLING TIME 32
Fast Reading Passage Telling Time by Shadows 35
Reading Skills Guessing the Meaning of an Unfamiliar Word from Its Antonym 36
Lesson Eight 37
Text INDEPENDENCE DAY 37
Fast Reading Passage The Support of Thomas Nast in Lincoln s Re-election 39
Lesson Nine 41
Text SYDNEY 41
Fast Reading Passage Winter at the South Pole 43
Reading Skills Guessing the Meaning of an Unfamiliar Word from Its Appositive 44
Lesson Ten 46
Text OKAY 46
Fast Reading Passage A King and a Queen 48
Lesson Eleven 50
Text NOTICES 50
Fast Reading Passage The Lucky Customer 53
Reading Skills Drawing a Conclusion from the Facts 55
Lesson Twelve 57
Text THE FIRST WHITE SETTLERS IN AUSTRALIA 57
Fast Reading Passage Help in Time of Trouble 59
Text KEEPING FOOD FRESH 61
Lesson Thirteen 61
Fast Reading Passage The Climate and Man s Mental Abilities 63
Reading Skills Identifying the Main Idea in a Group of Sentences 64
Lesson Fourteen 66
Text TREES IN DANGER 66
Fast Reading Passage Can Trees Communicate with Each Other? 68
Lesson Fifteen 70
Text CHRISTMAS DAY 70
Fast Reading Passage(No title) 73
Reading Skills Identifying the Topic Sentence in a Paragraph 74
Text ADVERTISEMENTS 76
Lesson Sixteen 76
Fast Reading Passage(No title) 79
Lesson Seventeen 81
Text WHY IS FRIDAY THE 13TH CONSIDERED UNLUCKY? 81
Fast Reading Passage Different Nations,Different Cultures 83
Reading Skills Identifying the Main Idea of a Paragraph 84
Lesson Eighteen 86
Text WHO PUBLISHED THE FIRST NEWSPAPER? 86
Fast Reading Passage Three Short Newspaper Articles 88
Text PEOPLE 90
Lesson Nineteen 90
Fast Reading Passage(No title) 94
Reading Skills Inferring the Hidden Meaning in a Dialogue 96
Lesson Twenty 99
Text ELVIS PRESLEY 99
Fast Reading Passage Marco Polo 101
Lesson Twenty-one 104
Text ENGLISH WORDS FROM OTHER LANGUAGES 104
Fast Reading Passage(No title) 107
Reading Skills Inferring the Hidden Meaning in a Single Sentence 108
Text KIDS 110
Lesson Twenty-two 110
Fast Reading Passage What s So Funny? 113
Lesson Twenty-three 116
Text LIFE IN THE 21ST CENTURY 116
Fast Reading Passage(No title) 119
Reading Skills Inferring the Hidden Meaning in a Passage 120
Lesson Twenty-four 123
Text YOU AND THE PAPER 123
Fast Reading Passage Felixstowe 127
Key to Exercises 129
Vocabulary 146