If you do not use your arm or your legs for some time, they become weak; when you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows that. Yet many people do not seem to know that memory works in the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by using it. When someone else says that his memory（记忆力） is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong. If a friend says that his arms and legs are weak, we know that it is his own fault(过错). But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame(受责备), and few of us know that it is just his own fault. Have you ever found that some people can’t read or write but usually they have better memories? This is because they cannot read or write and they have to remember things they cannot write down in a little notebook. They have to remember days, names, songs and stories; so their memory is the whole time being exercised. So if you want to have a good memory, learn from the people: Practice remembering.
【小题1】The main reason for one’s poor memory is that _______.

A．his father or mother may have a poor memory

B．he does not use his arm or legs for some time

C．his memory is not often used

D．he can’t read or write

【小题2】If you do not use your arms or legs for some time _______.

A．you can’t use them any more

B．they will become stronger

C．they become weak and won’t become strong until you use them again.

D．they will become neither stronger nor weaker

【小题3】Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Your memory works in the same way as your arms or legs.

B．Your memory, like your arms or legs, becomes weak if you don’t give it enough chance for practice.

C．Don’t learn how to read and write if you want to have a better memory.

D．A good memory comes from more practice.

【小题4】Some people can’t read or write, but they usually have better memories, because _______.

A．they have save much trouble

B．they have saved much time to remember things

C．they have to use their memories all the time

D．they can’t write everything in a little notebook

【小题5】Which is the best title for this passage?

A．Don’t Stop Using Your Arms or Legs	B．How to Have a Good Memory
C．Strong Arms and Good Memories	D．Learn From the People

My students often tell me that they don’t have “enough time” to do all their schoolwork.

My reply is often a brief “You have as much time as the president.” I usually carry on a bit about there being twenty-four hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that “not enough time” is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done.

Once in graduate school, I tried to prove to one of my professors by saying that I was working hard. His answer to me was, “That’s irrelevant (无关的). What’s important is the quality of your work.” Since then I have had time to think carefully about the “hard worker” dodge (诀窍), and I have come to some conclusions — all relevant to the problem of how much time we have.

If you analyze the matter, you can identify two parts of the problem: There is, of course, the matter of “time”, which we can think of as fixed. Then there is the problem of “work” during that time. But, as my professor suggested, it’s not how hard one works but the quality of the product that’s important.

That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work. That concept is perhaps best explained by a sign I once saw on the wall in someone’s office: “Don’t work harder. Work smarter.” There is a lot of sense in that idea.

If you can’t get more time, and few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of the work. That means thinking of ways to get more out of the same time than we might otherwise get. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits. Since “work” for students usually means “homework”, the expression “work habits” should be read as “study habits”.

Then, as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you learn to read better and write better, there are big benefits that pay off in all your studies.

1.We can infer from the 2^nd paragraph that we students still _____ .

A．have enough time                       B．can meet the president

C．get everything done well                  D．should accept the explanation

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The author’s students make good use of their time to do all their homework.

B．The author tried to tell the professor that he/she (author) had done a good job.

C．You can’t improve the quality of the work if you can’t get more time.

D．You’ll try to improve your skills in reading and writing if you’re a clever student.

3.What’s the passage mainly about?

A．Students don’t have enough time.         B．Don’t work harder; work smarter.

C．No one can get more time.                D．Read better and write better.

 

If you do not use your arms or your legs for some time, they become weak. When you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows this. Yet there are many people who do not seem to know that one’s memory works in the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by exercising it regularly. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong.
If a friend complains that his arms are weak, we know that it is his own fault. But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame, or that he is just unlucky, and few of us realize that it is really his own fault. Not all of us can become very strong or very clever, but all of us can improve our memory by the same means — practice.
Have you ever noticed that people who cannot read or write usually have a better memory than those who can? Why is this? Of course, because people who can’t read or write have to remember things: they cannot write them down in a little notebook. They have to remember dates, prices, names, songs and stories, so their memory is exercised all the time.
So if you want a good memory, learn from those who cannot read or write: practise remembering.
【小题1】According to the passage, few people know that _____.

A．arms or legs become weak if they are not used for some time

B．when they start using their arms or legs again, they slowly become strong again

C．a person’s memory becomes weak if he does not practise remembering things

D．it is their own fault if their arms or legs are weak

【小题2】The author thinks that if a person has a poor memory, _________.

A．it is his own fault	B．his parents are to blame
C．he is just unlucky	D．his arms must be weak

【小题3】 From Paragraph 3, we can learn that _________.

A．people who can’t read are cleverer than those who can

B．people who can’t write are cleverer than those who can

C．a little notebook helps people who cannot read or write get a better memory

D．people who practise remembering regularly have a better memory

【小题4】 The passage mainly tells us ____________.

A．how to get our arms and legs stronger

B．how to improve our memory

C．how to read and write

D．how to remember dates and prices

Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from the list A--F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.

（考生注意答题卡上的题号要与本题填涂时一致，从76题涂卡）

A. TV’s Influence on Children’s Life B. Argument Against Violence on TV C. TV’s Influence on People’s Leisure Activities D. The Importance of Violence in Real Life E. Attractions of Violence on TV F.  TV’s Power

_________

Television has probably been the most powerful medium in shaping the new community. The electronic community gives us our mutual friends, our significant events and our daily chats. The “produced” relationships of television families become our models for intimacy. We know media stars better than we know our neighbors. Most of us can discuss their lives better than we can discuss those of our relatives. We think a man who plays a doctor on TV actually know something about medicine

_________

TV isolates people in their spare time. People spend more time watching music videos but less time making music with each other. People in small town now watch international cable networks instead of driving to their neighbor’s house for cards. Women watch soaps instead of attending church circles or book clubs. When company comes, the kids are sent to the TV room with videos.

_________

Parent are not the main influence in the lives of their children. Some of the first voices children hear are from the television, the first street they know is Sesame Street. A child playing Nintendo is learning different lessons than a child playing along a creek or playing dominoes with a grandfather.

_________

The time devoted to violence on TV in no way reflects its importance in real life. In real life, most of us exercise, work, visit our friends, read, cook and eat and shop. Few of us spend any significant amount of our time solving murders or fleeing psychotic killers. On television there are many more detective and murderers than exist in the real world. A rule of thumb about violence is “If it bleeds, it leads.” Violence captures viewers’ attention. Our programs have become increasing violent.

_________

Some might say that there is nothing new under the sun. Of course, in a narrow sense, they are correct. There have always been murderers, and stories about violence have been the theme of literature and song. However, things are different now. Children are exposed to hundreds of examples of violence every day. The frequency and intensity of these images is unprecedented in the history of humanity. We have clear records that this exposure makes it more likely that children will be violent and increase their fear levels about potential violence.

Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting creatures,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative meaning.

    So it seems contradictory to talk about habits in the same context as innovation (创新). But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel （平行的）paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

    Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try, the more creative we become.

    But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.

    “The first thing needed for innovation is attraction to wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind. “But we are taught instead to ‘decide’, just as our president calls himself ‘the Decider’.” She adds, however, that “to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”

    “All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware,” she says. Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the ability to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally（程序上的）, collaboratively (合作地) and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that ability, preserving only those ways of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.

    The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us use our innovative and collaborative ways of thought. “This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,” explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will … and Ms. Markova’s business partner. “That’s a lie that we have preserved, and it fosters（培养）commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.” This is where developing new habits comes in.

Brain researchers have discovered that      .

A. the forming of new habits can be guided      B. the development of habits can be predicted

C. the regulation of old habits can be transformed

D. the track of new habits can be created unconsciously

The underlined word “ruts” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to       .

A. zones            B. connections      C. situations           D. tracks

Which of the following statements most probably agrees with Dawna Markova’s view?

A. Decision makes no sense in choices.       B. Curiosity makes creative minds active.

C. Creative ideas are born of a relaxing mind.  D. Formation of innovation comes from fantastic ideas.

The purpose of the author writing this article is to persuade us       .

A. to give up our traditional habits deliberately    B. to create and develop new habits consciously

C. to resist the application of standardized testing  D. to believe that old habits conflict with new habits