略读和寻读
在快速阅读英语短文时，同学们可采用略读和寻读两种方法。
略读（skimming）是指快速阅读文章以了解其内容大意的阅读方法。阅读时，大家应该运用意群视读，不要在只言片语上纠缠，也不追求对所有细节都理解，只要能以最快的速度掌握文章大意即可。寻读（scanning）是指在文章中寻找特定信息，以解决某些具体的问题的阅读方法。进行寻读时，同学们的针对性一定要强，对于与问题无关的信息可不看。
同学们在做阅读理解题时，读第一遍可采用略读，检查答案是否正确时可采用寻读。
阅读理解
Passage A
Life in 2060
Let us suppose it is now about A.D. 2060. Lets make believe it is about sixty years from now①. Of course， things have changed and life is very different.
Voyages to the moon are being made every day. It is as easy to take a holiday on the moon today as it was for the people in 1960 to take a holiday in Europe. At a number of scenic spots on the moon， many hotels have been built. The hotels are airconditioned， naturally. In order that everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the moon， every room has at least one picture window. Everything imaginable is provided for entertainment （娱乐） of young and old.
What are people eating now？ People are still eating food. They havent yet started to take on heir （继承） supply of energy directly as electrical current or as nuclear power. They may some day. But many foods now come in pill form， and the food that goes into the pill continues to come mainly from green plants.
Since there are several times as many people in the world today as there were a hundred years ago， most of our planets surface has to be filled. The deserts are irrigated with water and crops are no longer destroyed by pests. The harvest is always good.
Farming， of course， is very highly developed. Very few people have to work on the farm. It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then②.
People are now largely vegetarians （素食者）. You see， as the number of people increases， the number of animals decreases. Therefore， the people have to be vegetarians and we are healthier both in our bodies and in our minds， and we know the causes and cure of disease and pain， and it is possible to get rid of diseases. No one has to be ill any more.
Such would be our life in 2060.
译注
① Lets make believe it is about sixty years from now.
让我们假设现在是大约60年以后。词组make believe的意思是“假装，虚构”。
② It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then.
只是通过不时按几个按钮来管理整个农场已成为可能。
根据文章内容，选择正确答案：
1. When was the passage written？
A. In about A.D. 2060.
B. In about 1960.
C. In about 2000.
D. In about 2004.
2. According to the passage， what will be on the moon in about A.D. 2060？
A. Many tourists.
B. Many other animals.
C. Many plants.
D. A sea.
3. What will people eat then according to the passage？
A. Biscuits in pill form.
B. Foods in pill form.
C. Foods in water form.
D. Foods in gas form.
4. The passage tells us that in 2060， on the earth than now.
A. there are fewer population
B. there are more pests
C. there is less water
D. the crops are getting better
5. Why are people largely vegetarians in 2060？
A. Because they dont eat meat.
B. Because doctors advise them not to eat meat.
C. Because the number of animals decreases.
D. Because all the animals have died of diseases.
Passage B
Olaf Stapledon wrote a book called First and Last Men， in which he looked millions of years ahead. He told of different men and of strange civilizations （文明）， broke up by long “dark ages” in between. In his view， what is called the present time is no more than a moment in human history and we are just the First Men①. In 2，000 million years from now there will be the Eighteen or Last Men.
However， most of our ideas about the future are really very shortsighted. Perhaps we can see some possibilities for the next fifty years. But the next hundred？ The next thousand？ The next million？ Thats much more difficult.
When men and women lived by hunting 50，000 years ago， how could they even begin to picture modern life②？ Yet to men to 50，000 years from now， we may seem as primitive （原始的） in our ideas as the Stone Age hunters do to us. Perhaps they will spend their days gollocking to make new spundels， or struggling with their ballalators though the crible. These words， which I have just made up， have to stand for things and ideas that we simply cant think of.
So why bother even to try imagining life far in future？ Here are two reasons. First， unless we remember how short our own lives are compared with the whole human history， we are likely to think our own interests are much more important than they really are. If we make the earth a poor place to live on because we are careless or greedy or quarrelsome， our grandchildren will not bother to think of excuses for us.
Second， by trying to escape from present interests and imagine life far in the future， we may arrive at quite fresh ideas that we can use ourselves. For example， if we imagine that in the future men may give up farming， we can think of trying it now. So set your imagination free when you think about the future.
译注
① In his view， what is called the present time is no more than a moment in human history and we are just the First Men.
在他看来，所谓的当代只不过是人类历史的一瞬间，我们只是第一批人。
② When men and women lived by hunting 50，000 years ago， how could they even begin to picture modern life？
当男人女人在五万年前靠打猎维持生活的时候，他们又怎能勾划现代的生活呢？
根据文章内容，选择正确答案：
1. A particular mention made of Stapledons book in the opening paragraph .
A. serves as a description of human history
B. serves as an introduction to the discussion
C. shows a disagreement of views
D. shows the popularity of the book
2. The text discusses men and women 50，000 years ago and 50，000 years from now in order to show that .
A. human history is extremely long
B. life has changed a great deal
C. it is useless to plan for the next 50 years
D. it is difficult to tell what will happen in the future
3. Spundels and ballalators are used in the text to refers to .
A. tools used in farming
B. ideas about modern life
C. unknown things in the future
D. hunting skills in the Stone Age
4. According to the writer of the text， imagining the future will .
A. serve the interests of the present and future generations
B. enable us to better understand human history
C. help us to improve farming
D. make life worth living
Passage C