国外学生英语阅读理解系列Volume6.docVIP

Volume 6, Number 1, September 11, 2000  A Little Advice Allow me to give you a little advice about writing fiction. First, make your characters believable. Make sure that they behave and talk as individuals. In real life, everyone is unique. If all your characters speak the same way and react to things in the same way, you’ll lose your readers from the start.Once your readers believe in your characters, you must get them to care. Each reader must be able to identify with at least one character, to almost become that character in his or her mind. You can do this by developing characters with genuine human traits, both good and bad. The individuals who populate your story should have human strengths and weaknesses.Now it’s time to weave your tale, to create a plot. Your readers are part of the story now; they are involved.One last thing. Your story must touch the readers’ emotions. If you can make them laugh and cry along with your characters, you will be a successful writer. ? 1. For discussion: Think of a favorite book, movie, or television program. Give examples of how the author or writers followed any of the rules presented in this essay. 2. Solve the crossword puzzle. Every word in the puzzle can be found in the essay. Volume 6, Number 2, September 18, 2000  Word Meanings From Context Use the context of the paragraphs to determine the meanings of the highlighted words. ? We walked slowly down the trail with great trepidation. No one who had gone this way had ever been heard from again. Had they simply found a better place to settle on this dark planet? We doubted that. 1. Which word is a synonym of “trepidation”? a. movementb. worryc. enjoymentd. laughter ? Only an hour or so had passed before a tremendous roar shook the ground. At that very moment, a strange grey creature materialized before our eyes. It resembled a lizard in shape. It was about ten feet high at the shoulders and at least fifty feet long. 2. What did the creature do? a. It whipped its t