Tony Buzan’s grades were going down at university. Disappointed with his low marks, he went to the library to find a book on how to use his brain. He was directed to the medical section. Confused, he said to the librarian, “I don’t want to take my brain out, I just want to learn how to use it.” Her reply was simple: “There’s no book on that.”
“I thought to myself,” says Buzan, “if I buy a little radio, I get an instruction manual (说明书). If I buy a microwave, I get an instruction manual. But for the most important machine in the world, no instruction manual?”
Fifty years later, Buzan has become the world’s leading speaker on the brain and learning. In the late 1960s, he invented the mind map, a visual representation of thought processes.
This kind of thinking has become a popular tool for planning, organizing, problem solving, and communicating across the world. He has since authored and co-authored over 100 books that have appeared in more than 30 languages.
“I think in most cases, people use less than 1 percent of their brains,” he says.
But how do you expand this 1 percent? How do you become the best student you can be?
According to Buzan, the answer is simple. You take a section of whatever it is that you are trying to learn, he says, and you read it for its essence (精髓、要素). Then you make a mind map of all the important details. For a truly effective mind map, you start with a colored image in the center of your page. Draw the first image that comes to mind on the topic you are mind mapping. Branch off from your central image and create one of your main ideas. From your main branches draw some sub-branches and from those sub-branches you can draw even more branches. He emphasizes that you should use plenty of images and colors as these help with memory recall and encourage creativity.
By using this visual format (形式), according to Buzan, your mind will begin to make associations that will help you remember more information for longer periods of time.
Buzan believes that traditional note-taking methods, such as lists and summaries, do not stimulate the brain’s recall capacity or ability in the same way. Because of this, students will often find themselves locked away in their rooms for hours, trying hard to memorize separate details. Buzan believes that for a more effective and lasting way of studying, you must first understand how your brain works.
“Everyone is born smart,” he says. “You just have to learn how to learn.”
【小题1】What is the main purpose of the first two paragraphs?

A．To show that Tony Buzan was worried about his study.

B．To invite us to think about the importance of manuals.

C．To prove that the mind map is a useful tool for the brain.

D．To show why Tony Buzan studies the brain and learning.

【小题2】What does the word “stimulate” mean in the passage?

A．Excite.

B．Improve.

C．Encourage.

D．Affect.

【小题3】What can we infer from the passage?

A．If we learn the mind map, we will become the best student.

B．The mind map will help your brain connect separate details.

C．The mind map will be more effective if we put more details in it.

D．We will solve the problem if we make connections between ideas.

【小题4】What is the best title for the passage?

A．How to make the mind map?

B．Is the mind map widely used?

C．Can your memory be mapped?

D．Is the mind map helpful in thinking?

Yesterday my son, daughter and I went to the grocery store. In front of us in line was a little girl with her mother. The little girl was asking her mother for a box of Smarties. The polite way she was asking almost broke the mother’s heart, “I’m sorry, Honey, but we have no money to buy it ”
My son was watching that dialogue. By the way, he had been raking(用耙子耙)leaves our garden to raise himself some money to buy a bike. As he watched the mother and daughter leave the store, he ran to the candy counter(柜台)and bought a box of Smarties with the money .
He turned to look at me and I just nodded. He ran out after the little girl and her mother and he gave them the box. He came back and told me what he told them. “Every kid should have a pack of Smarties because they can make you smart.”
I was so excited that I bought a pack of Smarties for my son. I told him that I was proud of him, and that was for his act of generosity(慷慨)because he gave his own Smarties to others  Quickly, he replied, “But you do nice things for people and you never get anything for it .”explained, “when you do something nice for someone, you shouldn’t expect to get anything, when you do get something you should be very thankful.”
【小题1】When the writer and her children went to the grocery store, they saw a little girl asking ____.

A．her mother for a nice toy

B．her mother for a box of Smarties

C．where she could find a box of Smarties

D．her mother if she could had enough money

【小题2】From the passage we know Smarties are ____.

A．a beautiful doll

B．an interesting story book

C．a kind of candy

D．some leaves of a nice tree

【小题3】The writer was____to see her son buy a pack of Smarties for the little girl.

A．sad

B．excited

C．angry

D．proud

【小题4】What can we learn from the story above?

A．Every kid should have a pack of Smarties..

B．Everyone should have a good mother.

C．Everyone should do nice things for others.

D．Every mother should often do something for her children.

Are you an only-child in your family? Are you feeling alone at home? How are you dealing with it?

Zhang Luwen, 12, feels lucky to have a 4-year-old “brother”. “With him, I never feel lonely at home. He goes with me wherever I go,” said the girl of Sichuan Province. But it is not easy to be a sister. Zhang has to help her parents bath her “brother” every week. This is because he is hairy — he is a dog.

As the number of pet owners in China grows more and more, Chinese students have animal friends at home. Experts say that these small animals give these only-children lessons in love, care, teamwork and generosity.

This month, the first study on the influence of pets on the children came out. It is a survey of 402 Beijing primary school students. It shows that animal friends are good for children.

China had more than 90 million only-children by 2006, according to the government. “In families of three, most children feel lonely. They don’t have many chances to learn how to love and be responsible for others,” said Zhou Xia in the study group. “So having a pet can help with the problem.”

However, some students complain that their parents don’t allow them to have pets. “They are afraid a pet would stop me studying,” said Chen Qi, of Chongqing.

Perhaps he could learn from Qin Yixing, 13, of Beijing. “I don’t play with my dog until I have finished my homework. I made the promise to my mom and I must keep it,” said the girl.

1.According to the passage, experts think _______.

A．it is good for students to have animal friends at home

B．only-children families in China will be fewer and fewer

C．small animals at home are bad for students

D．parents should buy more pet animals for their children

2.What can we learn from the passage?

A．Zhang Luwen’s parents bath every week.

B．Zhou Xia thinks a pet animal can solve the problem that children feel lonely.

C．Chen Qi of Chongqing has got a pet animal.

D．Qin Yixing’s parents don’t want her to have a pet.

 

A young man was walking through a supermarket to pick up a few things when he noticed an old lady following him round. Thinking nothing of it, he continued.

Finally, he went to the check-out line, but the old lady got in front of him. "Excuse me," she said, "I'm sorry if my staring at(盯着看) you has made you feel uncomfortable,it's just because you look like my son, whom I haven't seen for a long time"

"What a pity," replied the young man, "is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes," she said, "as I'm leaving, can you say 'Good bye, mother’? It would make me feel so much better."

"Sure," answered the young man. So, when the old woman was leaving, he called out, "Goodbye, mother !"

As he stepped up to the check-out counter(收银台), he saw that his total was $127. 50. "How can that be?" he asked, "I only buy a few things!"

The clerk replied, "Your mother said that you would pay for her. "

1.The young man was __ that day.

A. doing some shopping     B. having a walk         C. visiting his mother

2.The old lady stood__ the young man on the check-out line.

A.beside         B.behind           C.before

3.__ wasn't an honest person in this story?

A. The clerk          B. The old lady          C. The young man

4. At last, what the young man had to pay was __ what he expected.

A. more than          B. less than                 C. as much as

5. We know from the story that the old lady__

A. liked shopping       B. had a son             C. paid nothing

 

We are all busy talking about and using the Internet, but how many of us know the history of the Internet? Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time, computers were large and expensive. Computer networks didn't work well. If one computer in the network broke down, then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working, information could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working all the time, At first the Internet was only used by the government, but in the early 1970s. universities, hospitals and banks were allowed to use it, too. However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of 1990s, computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made "surfing" the Internet easier. Today it is easy to get on-line and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mail is more and more popular among young people. The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people's life.

1.How long has the Internet been used?

A. For over 10 years.                        B. For over 20 years.

C. For over 40 years.                        D. For over 60 years.

2.What would happen when one computer in the network broke down after the new network system was set up?

A. The other computers would wait.

B. The other computers would still work.

C. Some of the others still worked.

D. The other computers wouldn't work.

3.Which of the following used the Internet first?

A. Hospitals    B. Universities       C. Banks         D. The government

4.What is true about computers in the 1990s?

A. They became cheaper and easier to use.

B. They became larger and larger.

C. People couldn't buy them anywhere.

D. People could get information only from them.

5.What can we infer from the last sentence?

A. People will die without the Internet.

B. All people should set up their own network.

C. People live easily without the Internet.

D. People will more and more depend on the Internet.