閱讀理解

A

On a hill 600 feet above the surrounding land， we watch the lines of rain move across the scene， the moon rise over the hills， and the stars appear in the sky. The views invite a long look from a comfortable chair in front of the wooden house.

Every window in our wooden house has a view， and the forest and lakes seldom look the same as the hour before. Each look reminds us where we are.

There is space for our three boys to play outside， to shoot arrows， collect tree seeds， build earth houses and climb trees.

Our kids have learned the names of the trees， and with the names have come familiarity and appreciation. As they tell all who show even a passing interest， maple （楓樹） makes the best fighting sticks and white pines are the best climbing trees.

The air is clean and fresh. The water from the well has a pleasant taste， and it is perhaps the healthiest water our kids will ever drink. Though they have one glass of juice a day and the rest is water， they never say anything against that.

The seasons change just outside the door. We watch the maples turn every shade of yellow and red in the fall and note the poplars （楊樹） putting out the first green leaves of spring. The rainbow smelt fills the local steam as the ice gradually disappears， and the wood frogs start to sing in pools after being frozen for the winter. A family of birds rules our skies and flies over the lake.

1. What can be learned from Paragraph 2？

A. The scenes are colorful and changeable.

B. There are many windows in the wooden house.

C. The views remind us that we are in a wooden house.

D. The lakes outside the windows are quite different in color.

2. By mentioning the names of the trees， the author aims to show

that the kids ______ .

A. like playing in trees

B. are very familiar with trees

C. find trees useful learning tools

D. have learned much knowledge about trees

3. What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean？

A. The change of seasons is easily felt.

B. The seasons make the scenes change.

C. The weather often changes in the forest.

D. The door is a good position to enjoy changing seasons.

4. What is the main purpose of the author writing the text？

A. To describe the beauty of the scene around the house.

B. To introduce her childrens happy life in the forest.

C. To show that living in the forest is healthful.

D. To share the joy of living in nature.

B

If you are in a dilemma （困境） about being self-taught or getting formal education， you have come to the right webpage. In this article， we note the advantages of each of these to help you decide which one would be the best for you.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of being self-taught is that you are able to save lots of money. The cost of getting a degree is on the rise. As a result， many students these days tend to graduate from college with a significant amount of debt （債務）. This makes it necessary for them to get a job as soon as possible; otherwise， a number of serious issues may arise. Besides， it is possible to learn faster on your own， by focusing on only those areas that you are interested in. Finally， learning on your own can be a great confidence builder. You have to struggle to gain knowledge but once you clear the basics on your own， you will find yourself being more confident about your abilities.

One of the biggest advantages of formal education is that you get a degree which is a mark of recognition that you have achieved a level of knowledge in that particular field. Many companies tend to prefer candidates with a college degree. Whats more， though formal education lacks the convenience and flexibility of self-education， it offers you more in terms of the actual structure of the learning process. Last， being formally educated means you will enter a college or other similar educational institutions （機構）. There you will get the benefit of being taught and guided by learned teachers and other subject experts. This will be a big benefit as you will be able to take advantage of their experience and gain in-depth knowledge about the subject.

Thus， both formal education and self-education have their own sets of advantages. The choice between the two comes down to individual preferences and personal situations.

5. What is an advantage of self-education？

A. A faster pace of learning.

B. Being guided by subject experts.

C. A wider range of ways to gain knowledge.

D. Having more chances of getting part-time jobs.

6. To be taught by learned experts， you should ___ .

A. choose self-education

B. work for learned teachers

C. enter an educational institution

D. make use of webpages about education

7. What is the most important factor in choosing the way of education？

A. The good fame of educational institutions.

B. The knowledge of teachers and experts.

C. The opinions of relatives and friends.

D. Ones preference and situations.

8. What is the authors purpose of writing this text？

A. To introduce a webpage about education.

B. To prove that self-education is the best choice.

C. To help readers choose between two forms of education.

D. To prove that its difficult to decide on the proper education.