The front matter of a book consists of the title, subtitle, table of contents, and preface

. But the【C1】______ of readers who pay no attention to the signals is larger than you might expect, unless you happen to be one of those who are【C2】______ to admit it. I have this experience again and again【C3】______ students. I have asked them【C4】______ a book was about. I have asked them to tell me, in the most general【C5】______ , what sort of book it was. This, I have【C6】 ______ , is a good way, almost an indispensable【C7】 ______ , to begin a discussion.

Many students are【C8】______ to answer this first and simplest question about the book. Sometimes they apologize 【C9】______ that they haven' t finished reading it yet, and【C10】______ do no know. That's no 【C11】______ ,I point out. Did you look at the rifle？ Did you study the【C12】______ ？ Did you read the preface 【C13】______ introduction？ No, they did not. The front matter of a book【C14】______ to be like the tickling of a clock【C15】______ you notice only when it is not there.

One reason why rifles and prefaces are【C16】______ by so many readers is that they do not think【C17】______ important to clarify the book they are reading. They do not follow this first【C18】______ . If they tried to follow it, they【C19】______ be grateful to the author【C20】______ them.

【C1】

A．majority

B．amount

C．number

D．figure