It’s nine o’clock on a Tuesday night．You are trying to finish your maths assignment．

You have only two problems left to go．Almost done！You are looking forward to a nice snack and your favorite TV show．You read the next problem and groan．You don，t have a clue how to do it ．You may check your notes from class ．Or you may try reading your text-book ．But the problem might as well be written in a foreign language．

    Does this sound familiar? Most people who have taken any kind of maths class have had this experience．What do you do when you get stuck? Perhaps you call a friend．Or you ask a family member for help．But what if it’s late at night?

    Years ago there were very few ways to get help if you were stuck on a maths problem. Maths is different from other school subjects．You often cannot find what to do in a book．A dictionary or even an encyclopedia（百科全书）probably won’t help you．You need someone to show you the steps．Learning most kinds of maths is something like learning to play a musical instrument．You need a coach to show you what to do．

    In many areas there are homework telephone lines．These hot lines have volunteers．They can help you do homework in all subjects．A maths volunteer can explain the steps in a maths problem that has you stumped?

    Today you can also get help on the Internet．There are several homework help programs and Web pages ．In some，you leave your question on a message board．Or you write it in an e-mail note．In other maths-help programs there are live volunteer teachers．You can wait for a real maths teacher to help you do the problem．

56.This passage is mostly concerned with＿．

    A. why maths is difficult to do

    B. ways of getting help with maths homework

    C. using reference books to do maths homework

    D. using a computer to do maths

57. In the first paragraph，the writer asks you to＿．

    A. solve a maths problem

    B. recall how you once asked someone to help you with maths

    C. use a computer to get help in maths homework

    D. imagine yourself doing maths homework

58. The passage suggests that people who need maths homework help should＿．

    A. not take any more maths classes

    B. try a homework help program on the Internet

    C. watch some television

    D. write an e-mail note to a friend

59. The writer compares learning maths to＿.

    A. learning to play a musical instrument

    B. using a computer

    C. finishing a homework assignment

    D. calling a friend to get help on homework

We may all have had the embarrassing moment：Getting half­way through a story only to realize that we've told this exact tale before to the same  person. Why do  we  make  such  memory mistakes?

According to the research published in Psychological Science, it may have to do with the way our brains process different types of memory.

Researchers Nigel Gopie, of the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, and Colin Macleod, of the University of Waterloo, divided memory into two kinds. The first was source memory，or the ability to keep track of where information is coming from. The second was destination memory，or the ability to recall who we have given information to.

They found that source memory functions better than destination memory, in part because of the direction in which that information is travelling.

To study the differences between source memory and destination memory, the researchers did an experiment on 60 university students, according to a New York Times report. The students were asked to associate (联想) 50 random(随意的) facts with the faces of 50 famous people. Half of the students“told”each fact to one of the faces, reading it aloud when the celebrity's(名人的) picture appeared on a computer screen. The other half read each fact silently and saw a different celebrity picture afterward.

When later asked to recall which facts went with which faces, the students who were giving information out(destination memory)scored about 16 percent lower on memory performance compared with the students receiving information(source memory)．

The researchers concluded that out­going information was less associated with its environmental context (背景)—that is，the person—than was incoming information.

This makes sense given what is known about attention. A person who is giving information, even little facts, will devote some mental resources to thinking about what is being said. Because our attention is limited，we give less attention to the person we are giving information to.

After a second experiment with another group of 40 students, the researchers concluded that self­focus is another factor that undermines destination memory.

They asked half the students to continue giving out random information, while the other told things about themselves. This time around, those who were talking about themselves did 15 percent worse than those giving random information.

“When you start telling these personal facts compared with non­self facts, suddenly destination memory goes down more, suggesting that it is the self­focus component (成分) that's reducing the memory.”Gopie told Live Science.

60．The point of this article is to ________.

A. give advice on how to improve memory

B. say what causes the memory to worsen

C. explain why we repeat stories to those we've already told them to

D. discuss the differences between source memory and destination memory

61．What can we learn from the article?

A. Source memory helps us remember who we have  told the information to.

B. One's limited attention is one of the reasons why those reading aloud to the celebrity's pictures    perform worse on the memory test.

C. Silent reading is a better way to remember information than reading aloud.

D. It tends to be more difficult for people to link incoming information with its environmental context than outgoing information.

62．The underlined word“undermines” probably means________.

A. weakens         B. benefits

C. explains          D. supports

63．What did the scientists conclude from the second experiment?

A. Destination memory is weaker than source memory.

B. Focusing attention on oneself leads to relatively poor source memory performance.

C. Associating personal experience with information helps people memorize better.

D. Self­focus is responsible for the reduction of destination memory.

As computers become more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly relying on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes（笔画）of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.

Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more wide-spread among university students. Almost all their assignments and essays are typed on a computer.

All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.

It's faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that's why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.

“When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it.”

“I'm not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”

Many students don't feel this is something to worry about. Now that it's more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?

Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei, the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, “Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic (审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer's emotion. Through one's handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”

To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory (必修的) and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.

1.Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?

2.The students interviewed prefer to write using a computer mainly because ______.

3.Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE of the advantages of handwriting?

4.The underlined expression “taking stock in” (Paragraph 4) probably means _____.

5.We can draw the conclusion from the passage that _______.

As computers become all the more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly depending on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes（笔画）of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.

Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more wide-spread among university students. Almost all their homework and essays are typed on a computer.

All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.

It's faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that's why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.

"When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it."

"I'm not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper."

Many students don't feel this is something to worry about. Now that it's more convenient and quick to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?

Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei , the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said "Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic(审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only have their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer's emotion(情绪). Through one's handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”

To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory(必修的)and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.

1.Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?

A．The Importance of Handwriting and Typing.

B．To Type or To Hand Write

C．Writing By Computer Will Replace Writing By Hand

D．Practical and Aesthetic Value of Chinese Characters.

2.The students interviewed prefer to write using a computer mainly because______.

A．they are usually asked to e-mail their homework and Essays

B．they can correct the mistakes they make quickly and conveniently

C．they find it not easy to remember how to write a character

D．computers have become popular in China.

3.Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE of the advantages of handwriting?

A．Handwriting contains the writer's emotion.

B．The writer’s thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting,

C．Handwriting can impress people well and build up one’s self-confidence

D．Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value.

4.The underlined expression “taking stock in”(Paragraph 4) probably means_____.

A．getting bored with                      B．getting dependent on

C．becoming crazy about                    D．getting curious about

5.We can draw the conclusion from the passage that_______.

A．more and more students will give up writing on a computer

B．writing by hand will give way to typing by computer one day

C．more and more students will pay attention to handwriting

D．the typing article better expresses one’s emotion and quality

       Be Brave With New Things

   The old advertising slogan, “so simple a child can do it ,” has taken on new meaning to me. A few weeks ago I got a computer, but I an mechanically illiterate. I knew that children had no fear of the future, so that seemed a good place to seek help. I asked my nephew, twelve years old, at an elementary school, to help me.

   My nephew took the machine for granted and has simply accepted the fact that computers are now a way of life. He plays with them and does his homework on them and even creates programs for them. I , on the other hand, are terrified by what this equipment can do. It can interchange paragraphs, switch words around and even correct my spelling. It informs me of Its limitations, takes commands and asks questions. It even seems to have a sense of communication. Rather than accusing me of making an error, it prints “One of us has made a mistake!” It never gets tired and is always patient and ready to go when I am.

   I think it was somewhat normal for me to be suspicious of computers. They represent a break with some very familiar habits and traditions. It is only human to instinctively avoid anything that shifts thoroughly from the acceptable, comfortable past. But the world is governed by ceaseless change and we must therefore establish links with the present and future as well as the past. Computer technology is an excellent case in point, as the newest systems grow out of date in only a few years, or even months.

   This ability to see, experience and accept the new is one of our saving characteristics. To be fearful of tomorrow, to close ourselves to possibilities, to resist the inevitable, to advocate standing still when all else is moving forward, is to lose touch. If we accept the new with joy and wonder, we can move gracefully into each tomorrow. More often than not, the children shall lead us.

6．What is the new meaning of  “So simple a child can do it” for the author?

A．computers are so easy to operate that even a child can play them well

B．A child can always do more complex things than an adult.

C．It is easier for a child to accept new things than for an adult.

D．A child has greater ability than an adult in operating computers.

7．According to the second paragraph, which of the following statements is true?

A．The nephew thought it is natural to accept the fact that computers are now a way of life.

B．The nephew believed that machines were made for people to do whatever they wanted.

C．computers are not only used to communicate, but also to remove their limitations.

D．It is a fact that both adults and children have accepted computers as a way of life.

8．Which of the following doesn’t the author’s computer do ?

A．It asks the author if she has made a mistake.

B．It accuses the author of making mistakes.

C．It corrects the author’s spelling mistakes.

D．It informs the author of her mistakes.

9．According to the third paragraph, it is human nature that we resist those things which   

A．only represent the comfortable and acceptable past

B．change thoroughly into the comfortable and acceptable past

C．make people stand still when all else is moving forward

D．change completely from the acceptable and comfortable past

10．How do you understand the underlined sentence in the  text?

　　A. It is always ready to inform me when I am ready to go.

　　B. It is always ready to start working when I am ready for work.

　　C. When I am ready to go, it is patient to wait.

　　D. When I am ready to go, it has already gone.