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?

1.Mary is always the first person to get to school every day, she arrives at school __________(早) than anyone else in her class.

2.The World Cup will be covered ______________(现场地)，don’t miss it.

3.---Is the book easy enough for young children?

---I don’t think so. It’s far ______________（超出）their ability.

4.The house is ________________（充满）with heavy smoke. Does it catch fire?

5.My tooth ached the whole night, it’s better for me to go to the _______________（牙医诊所） to have it pulled out.

6.Some of the film stars had been _____________(歌手) before they entered the film industry.

7.______________ （成千上万）of swallows will fly to southern countries to spend winter.

8.Beijing is the most important cultural center of China, do you agree___________ me?

9. Wenchuan Earthquake is remembered as a natural ______________. It has destroyed lots of people’s homelands and made them homeless.

10.After Mr. Green raised the question, there was dead _____________ in the classroom. None of us was able to answer it. Everyone just sat there quietly.

Your school has planned a visit to Lions Nature Education Centre. Here is what you should know about the centre. Please read it.

1.You can visit Lions Nature Education Centre            .

A. in the city centre                     B. at Hiram’s Highway

C. on a government farm                 D. inside the exhibition halls

2.In the centre, visitors can learn about            .

A. rural clothes and shoes                B. different kinds of seafood

C. outdoor lions in nature                D. the environment around us

3.Before your school go to the centre, you should tell them            .

A. not to visit the Farmers’ Market         B. not to make a noise or wear hats

C. to care for the wildlife and water        D. to look for rubbish and take it away

4.Lions Nature Education Centre is closed            .

A. at weekends                         B. after 4:30 pm

C. during weekdays                     D. before 9:30am

5.For more information about the centre, you’d better            .

A. call at 2792 2234                     B. ask other visitors

C. study the facilities                    D. provide the website

Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the  money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States and Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument(乐器) or ballet, or other classes which will give them a head in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter. However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap.

Parents can see that their children are very skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today's children are short of self-respect and self-confidence.

The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills that they need to be confident, happy and clever.

Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework. Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking requires patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and finish his job successfully step by step. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and lots of self-confidence.

Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse(激发) his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not only teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.

1.Most Chinese parents don't realize_______.

A．how much the best education is worth       B．when children should be educated

C．what children really need in later life        D．why school tests don't satisfy children

2.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．Fixing old machines is very important.        B．Interest is necessary for everything.

C．Broken things are useful for children.        D．Using hands helps improve thinking ability.

3.The writer's attitude（看法） to children's education is that

A．the cheaper an education is, the better it is

B．children today should learn different skills

C．practical skills are useful to children's growth

D．school education can't meet parents' expectation.

A jobless man wanted very much to have the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test. “You have passed the test,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the form to fill in and the date when you may start.” The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail.” “I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an e-mail, that means you are not living. And anyone who isn’t living cannot have the job.”

The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do with only $10 in his pocket. He thought and thought. Then he went to the supermarket and bought 10 kilos of tomatoes. He sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he had 20 dollars. He repeated the operation three times, and started to go early every day, and returned home late. Shortly, he bought a cart , then a truck, then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles(运货车队). Five years later, the man was one of the biggest food retailers (零售商)  in the US.

　One day, one of his friends asked him for his e-mail. He said, “I haven’t got one.” His friend couldn’t believe his ears. “Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”

1.What did the man do for the test?

A. He sent e-mails.   ??????????? B. He did the cleaning  

C. He sold computers.  ????????? D. He filled in forms.

2.The man didn’t get the job because he_____________.

A. disliked such a job                       B. didn’t pass the test

C. didn’t have an e-mail                  D. knew nothing about computers

3.The man ______after he left Microsoft.

A. went to look for another job            ??????

B. asked for food from door to door

C. thought of an idea to make monkey      ???

D. bought a computer and got an e-mail

4.Why could the man become one of the biggest food retailers in the US?

A. Because he had many friends to help him.

B. Because he was smart and worked very hard.

C. Because he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles.

D. Because he wanted to show Microsoft he was living.

5.What does the story want to tell us?

A. Computers are very important in our daily life.

B. Everyone can make a lot of money with only$10.

C. The HR manager didn’t find the ability of the man.

D. Nothing in the world is impossible if we work hard.