To Kill a Mockingbird

(by Harper Lee)

　　To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Alabama in the 1930s and is told from a child's viewpoint(观点). The story deals with race, outcasts（流浪者）and growing up. It is a quick, well-written book that is easy to enjoy.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

(by Zora Neale Hurston)

　　Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel about an African-American woman in rural Florida that was first published in 1937. While it is an important telling of the black experience, it is also a story of love and strength with a voice that will draw you in and hook you.

The Grapes of Wrath

(by John Steinbeck)

　　In high school, half my class loved The Grapes of Wrath and half hated it. I loved it. The Grapes of Wrath is the story of a family during the Great Depression, but the descriptions(描述) and symbolic imagery tell a much bigger tale. This is definitely a classic in American literature.

Dracula

(by Bram Stoker)

　　Read the book that has inspired countless other books, movies and TV shows. Dracula is written through letters and diaries, and will make you feel like an intimate(亲密的) player in a foreign world.

The Great Gatsby

(by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

　　The Great Gatsby is a short book about the American dream with great characters and descriptions of life（for the wealthy) in the 1920s.

21. Which novel has probably been made into films?

A. To Kill a Mockingbird

B. Their Eyes Were Watching God

C. The Grapes of Wrath

D. Dracula

22. Which of the following statements is TRUE about To Kill a Mockingbird?

A. It is a book about the Great Depression.

B. It is a love story in rural Florida.

C. It is related to a child's growing up.

D. It is full of letters and diaries.

23. The passage is mainly to __________.

A. explain why these books are popular

B. show the importance of reading

C. encourage high school students to read

D. introduce some popular books

"How are you?" is a nice question. It's a friendly way that people in the United States greet each other. But "How are you?" is also a very unusual question. It's a question that often doesn't have an answer. The person who asks "How are you?" hopes to hear the answer "Fine.", even if the person's friend isn't fine. The reason is that "How are you?" isn't really a question and "Fine." isn't really an answer. They are simply other ways of saying "Hello!" or "Hi!"