BEIJING - Astronomers have defended against rumors (谣言) that the terrible earthquake and the following tsunami in Japan were closely related to or even caused by the "supermoon" that will appear in the sky on Saturday.

The word "supermoon" was introduced in a report by the British newspaper Daily Mail on March 9, which said amateur scientists were warning that such an astronomical phenomenon could disturb the Earth's climate patterns and may even cause earthquakes and volcanic activity. The moon will be 356,577 kilometers from the Earth on Saturday, the closest in 19 years, and the closest point in its oval orbit coincides（一致） with a full moon, the report said.

However, Saturday's moon is not actually the closest to Earth in 19 years, Tang Haiming, an astronomer with Shanghai Astronomical Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua News Agency. A shorter distance of 356,570 km between the two bodies was reached in January 2005, and a distance of 356,566 km was seen in December 2008.

Yet some people suggest that previous supermoons have occurred prior to extreme weather events. In 1974 the phenomenon was followed by Cyclone Tracy(特雷西龙卷风) in Darwin, Australia, and in 2005 it occurred shortly before a deadly tsunami in Indonesia. Coincidentally, two fresh disasters happened in Asia right before Saturday's supermoon. The public's concern about their connection with the moon boomed after Japan's terrible earthquake and tsunami and an earthquake in Southwest China's Yunnan province that killed 25 people on March 10.

But astronomers are trying to reassure people that such rumors are merely unreasonable.

“A supermoon could cause high tides but has no direct relation with natural disasters such as earthquakes,” Liu Jie, a researcher with the China Earthquake Network Center, told China Daily on Tuesday. “We can't find any necessary connection between previous supermoons and earthquakes. And the quake in Japan occurred because the Earth's inner energy had accumulated to some extent, and it's not related to the moon. ” he said.

James Garvin, chief scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center under NASA, said in an article on NASA's website that “the effects on Earth from a supermoon are minor.”“The combination of the moon being at its closest to Earth in its orbit, and being in its 'full moon' configuration (relative to the Earth and sun), should not affect the inner energy balance of the Earth, since there are lunar tides(月潮) every day. ”

Zhu Jin, curator of the Beijing Planetarium, said“the moon moves around the earth in a certain path, so each orbit has a perigee（近地点）- its closest approach, and an apogee(最远点) - its furthest distance.”“A lunar perigee occurs once a month and there are very small differences in distances between perigees,”he said.“Those tiny differences are far from enough to cause earthquakes or eruption of a volcano,”he added.

1. What word can take the place of the underlined word “reassure” in the fifth paragraph?

A. relieve　　 B. command　　　 C. inform　　　　 D. advocate

2. How many disasters are mentioned in the article?

A. three　　　 B. four　　　　　 C. five　　　　　 D. six

3. What’s the real reason for the quake in Japan?

A. Because supermoon disturbed the Earth's climate patterns.

B. Because the Earth's inner energy had accumulated to some extent.

C. Because the combination of the moon being at its closest to Earth in its orbit, and being in its “full moon” configuration affected the inner energy balance of the Earth.　

D. Because God punished us for our serious pollution.

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. “Supermoon” and earthquake

B. The earthquake in Japan .

C. Experts clarify worries over “supermoon”　

D. A rumor about “supermoon”

The ability to memorize things seems to be a vanishing （消失的） technique.So what can we do to bring out brain cells back into action? A newly published book on memory, Moomvalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by American journalist Joshua Foer, makes a telling point, one that is an analysis of the importance of memorising events and stories in human history; the decline of its role in modem life; and the techniques that we need to adopt to restore the art of remembering.
As For points out, we no longer need to remember telephone numbers.Our mobile phones do that for us.We don't recall addresses either.We send emails from computers that store electronic addresses.Nor do we bother to remember multiplication tables （乘法表） .Pocket calculators do the job of multiplying quite nicely.Museums, photographs, the digital media and books also act as storehouses for memories that once we had to keep in mind.
As a result, we no longer remember long poems or folk stories by heart, feats （技艺） of memory that were once the cornerstones of most people's lives.Indeed, society has changed so much that we no longer know what techniques we should employ to remember such lengthy works.We are, quite simply, forgetting how to remember.
And let's face it, there is nothing sadder than someone who has lost their mobile phone and who finds they cannot even phone home or call their parents or partners because they cannot remember a single telephone number.That is a sad example of loss of personal independence.So, yes, there is a need for us to he able to remember certain things in life.
Therefore, Foer's book outlines the methods that need to be mastered in order to promote our memories and regain the ability to recall long strings of names, numbers or faces.In the process, he adds, we will become more aware of the world about us.
The trick, Foer says, is to adopt a process known as " elaborative encoding", which involves transforming information, such as a shopping list, into a series of "absorbing visual images".If you want to remember a list of household objects—potatoes, cottage cheese, sugar and other items, then visualise them in an unforgettable manner, he says.Start by creating an image of a large jar of potatoes standing in the garden.Next to it, imagine a giant tub of cottage cheese—the size of an outdoor pool—and then picture Lady Gaga swimming in it.And so on.Each image should be as fantastic and memorable as possible.
Using methods like this, it becomes possible to achieve great feats of memory quite easily, Foer says.It certainly seems to have worked for him: he won the annual US Memory Championships after learning how to memorize 120 random digits in five minutes; the first and last names of 156 strangers in 15 minutes; and a deck of cards in under two minutes."What I had really trained my brain to do, as much as to memorise, was to be more mindful and to pay attention to the world around," he says.
These techniques employed by Foer to master his memory were developed by Ed Cooke—a British writer and a world memory championship grandmaster.He acted as Foer's trainer during preparations for the book and helped him achieve his championship performances." Memory techniques do just one thing: they make information more meaningful to the mind, making the things we try to learn unforgettably bright and amusing," said Cooke.

1. 1.

   Which of the following is conveyed in this article?

   1. A.
      People become more independent with modern equipment.
   2. B.
      The memory's role in life is declining in modem society.
   3. C.
      Memory techniques can make information less meaningful.
   4. D.
      Ed Cooke is the first one who benefited from Foer's techniques.
2. 2.

   According to Joshua Foer, people no longer memorize information today because________.

   1. A.
      museums can do everything for them.
   2. B.
      they no longer have the ability to memorize things.
   3. C.
      they have things that can act as storehouses for memories.
   4. D.
      it is not necessary to memorize anything in modem life.
3. 3.

   One method of memorizing things mentioned in the passage is to ________.

   1. A.
      link things to famous pop stars
   2. B.
      find the connection between different things
   3. C.
      form vivid, unforgettable images of certain things
   4. D.
      use advanced digital imaging technology to help
4. 4.

   The underlined word "visualise" in the last paragraph most probably means "_______".

   1. A.
      imagine
   2. B.
      undertake
   3. C.
      remark
   4. D.
      indicate
5. 5.

   This passage can be sorted as ________.

   1. A.
      a news report
   2. B.
      an advertisement
   3. C.
      a scientific discovery
   4. D.
      a book review

The ability to memorize things seems to be a vanishing （消失的） technique．So what can we do to bring out brain cells back into action? A newly published book on memory, Moomvalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by American journalist Joshua Foer, makes a telling point, one that is an analysis of the importance of memorising events and stories in human history; the decline of its role in modem life; and the techniques that we need to adopt to restore the art of remembering．

As For points out, we no longer need to remember telephone numbers．Our mobile phones do that for us．We don't recall addresses either．We send emails from computers that store electronic addresses．Nor do we bother to remember multiplication tables （乘法表） ．Pocket calculators do the job of multiplying quite nicely．Museums, photographs, the digital media and books also act as storehouses for memories that once we had to keep in mind．

As a result, we no longer remember long poems or folk stories by heart, feats （技艺） of memory that were once the cornerstones of most people's lives．Indeed, society has changed so much that we no longer know what techniques we should employ to remember such lengthy works．We are, quite simply, forgetting how to remember．

And let's face it, there is nothing sadder than someone who has lost their mobile phone and who finds they cannot even phone home or call their parents or partners because they cannot remember a single telephone number．That is a sad example of loss of personal independence．So, yes, there is a need for us to he able to remember certain things in life．

Therefore, Foer's book outlines the methods that need to be mastered in order to promote our memories and regain the ability to recall long strings of names, numbers or faces．In the process, he adds, we will become more aware of the world about us．

The trick, Foer says, is to adopt a process known as " elaborative encoding", which involves transforming information, such as a shopping list, into a series of "absorbing visual images"．If you want to remember a list of household objects—potatoes, cottage cheese, sugar and other items, then visualise them in an unforgettable manner, he says．Start by creating an image of a large jar of potatoes standing in the garden．Next to it, imagine a giant tub of cottage cheese—the size of an outdoor pool—and then picture Lady Gaga swimming in it．And so on．Each image should be as fantastic and memorable as possible．

Using methods like this, it becomes possible to achieve great feats of memory quite easily, Foer says．It certainly seems to have worked for him: he won the annual US Memory Championships after learning how to memorize 120 random digits in five minutes; the first and last names of 156 strangers in 15 minutes; and a deck of cards in under two minutes．"What I had really trained my brain to do, as much as to memorise, was to be more mindful and to pay attention to the world around," he says．

These techniques employed by Foer to master his memory were developed by Ed Cooke—a British writer and a world memory championship grandmaster．He acted as Foer's trainer during preparations for the book and helped him achieve his championship performances．" Memory techniques do just one thing: they make information more meaningful to the mind, making the things we try to learn unforgettably bright and amusing," said Cooke．

1.Which of the following is conveyed in this article?

2.According to Joshua Foer, people no longer memorize information today because________．

3.One method of memorizing things mentioned in the passage is to ________．

4.The underlined word "visualise" in the last paragraph most probably means "_______"．

5.This passage can be sorted as ________．

The ability to memorize things seems to be a vanishing （消失的） technique．So what can we do to bring out brain cells back into action? A newly published book on memory, Moomvalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by American journalist Joshua Foer, makes a telling point, one that is an analysis of the importance of memorising events and stories in human history; the decline of its role in modem life; and the techniques that we need to adopt to restore the art of remembering．

As Foer points out, we no longer need to remember telephone numbers．Our mobile phones do that for us．We don't recall addresses either．We send emails from computers that store electronic addresses．Nor do we bother to remember multiplication tables （乘法表） ．Pocket calculators do the job of multiplying quite nicely．Museums, photographs, the digital media and books also act as storehouses for memories that once we had to keep in mind．

As a result, we no longer remember long poems or folk stories by heart, feats （技艺） of memory that were once the cornerstones of most people's lives．Indeed, society has changed so much that we no longer know what techniques we should employ to remember such lengthy works．We are, quite simply, forgetting how to remember．

And let's face it, there is nothing sadder than someone who has lost their mobile phone and who finds they cannot even phone home or call their parents or partners because they cannot remember a single telephone number．That is a sad example of loss of personal independence．So, yes, there is a need for us to he able to remember certain things in life．

Therefore, Foer's book outlines the methods that need to be mastered in order to promote our memories and regain the ability to recall long strings of names, numbers or faces．In the process, he adds, we will become more aware of the world about us．

The trick, Foer says, is to adopt a process known as " elaborative encoding", which involves transforming information, such as a shopping list, into a series of "absorbing visual images"．If you want to remember a list of household objects—potatoes, cottage cheese, sugar and other items, then visualise them in an unforgettable manner, he says．Start by creating an image of a large jar of potatoes standing in the garden．Next to it, imagine a giant tub of cottage cheese—the size of an outdoor pool—and then picture Lady Gaga swimming in it．And so on．Each image should be as fantastic and memorable as possible．

Using methods like this, it becomes possible to achieve great feats of memory quite easily, Foer says．It certainly seems to have worked for him: he won the annual US Memory Championships after learning how to memorize 120 random digits in five minutes; the first and last names of 156 strangers in 15 minutes; and a deck of cards in under two minutes．"What I had really trained my brain to do, as much as to memorise, was to be more mindful and to pay attention to the world around," he says．

These techniques employed by Foer to master his memory were developed by Ed Cooke—a British writer and a world memory championship grandmaster．He acted as Foer's trainer during preparations for the book and helped him achieve his championship performances．" Memory techniques do just one thing: they make information more meaningful to the mind, making the things we try to learn unforgettably bright and amusing," said Cooke．

51．Which of the following is conveyed in this article?

       A．People become more independent with modern equipment．

       B．The memory's role in life is declining in modem society．

       C．Memory techniques can make information less meaningful．

       D．Ed Cooke is the first one who benefited from Foer's techniques．

52．According to Joshua Foer, people no longer memorize information today because________．

       A．museums can do everything for them．

       B．they no longer have the ability to memorize things．

       C．they have things that can act as storehouses for memories．

       D．it is not necessary to memorize anything in modem life．

53．One method of memorizing things mentioned in the passage is to ________．

       A．link things to famous pop stars

       B．find the connection between different things

       C．form vivid, unforgettable images of certain things

       D．use advanced digital imaging technology to help

54．The underlined word "visualise" in the last paragraph most probably means "_______"．

       A．imagine           B．undertake            C.remark           D．indicate

55．This passage can be sorted as ________．

       A．a news report                               B．an advertisement         

       C．a scientific discovery                        D．a book review