Forget spending the whole night studying for the exam. There’s another way to cram (突击式学习) for tests. New research by scientists at Northwestern University in Chicago shows people can actually learn while they’re asleep.
In the new study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, participants were given diagrams that showed them how to play two simple piano melodies, each 12 notes long. They spent an equal amount of time practicing playing each tune, and then took a 90-minute nap (小睡). While they slept, one of the melodies was quietly played on repeat for four minutes. As a result, upon awakening, the participants could accurately play the melody 4 percent more often than the melody that was not played while they slept, considering it resulted from just four minutes of “sleep-learning.”
“The re-activation (重新激活) process in the experiment is thought to affect a naturally occurring memory consolidation (巩固) process that normally happens over months (possibly years),” said Paul Reber, a psychologist at Northwestern and co-author of the study. So, besides piano songs, what kinds of information can you “cram” while asleep?
Clearly, resting your textbook near your dreaming head won’t do any good. “As long as the memory is tied to a specific type of sound, it looks like the sound can re-activate and strengthen the previously learned information,” Reber said. “It is possible that this effect would help with strengthening memories from a lecture and that it could even help speed up second-language learning.”
In other words, if you’re learning a foreign language, it may help to put on recordings of the language while you sleep. If you need to memorize information presented in a classroom lecture, it might also help to record the lecture and play it quietly at night.
1. The first paragraph serves as a(n) _____.| A．introduction | B．background | C．comment | D．conclusion |
| A．the participants had learned to write the piano melodies |
| B．the participants played each melody for about 90 minutes |
| C．the two melodies were basically of the same level of difficulty |
| D．the two melodies were played in turn while the participants slept |
| A．To tell us the importance of sleep. |
| B．To prove sleep-learning is possible. |
| C．To recommend a way for us to learn music. |
| D．To show that music can improve our memory. |
| A．Study music carefully. | B．Record the sound of sleeping. |
| C．Put a book beside our head. | D．Play recordings quietly. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】What color is a tennis ball? Ask your classmates, and they might give you some surprising answers.
US magazine The Atlantic recently asked 30,000 people this question. Among them, 52 percent said tennis balls are green, 42 percent said they are yellow, and 6 percent went with other colors. According to the International Tennis Federation, tennis balls are yellow.
Scientists call this color constancy (色彩恒常性). For example, we know that China's flag is red. When we see it during sunset or under purple light, we still know that it is red, even if it looks like a different color.
According to The Atlantic, when our brains try to figure out what color the ball is, some people ignore ''cool'' colors, such as green, blue and purple. So they see the ball as being yellow.
| A．It is not just tennis balls that have such a confusing color. |
| B．But others ignore ''warm'' colors, such as red, yellow and orange. |
| C．However, the color of a tennis ball is not as pure as the flag. |
| D．It is difficult for some people to distinguish yellow from green. |
| E．So why did so many people say that they're green? |
| F．Certain parts of our brain are in charge of recognizing colors. |
| G．When we first see an object in natural light, our brains recognize its true color. |
【推荐2】Does happiness have a scent?
When someone is happy, can you smell it?
You can usually tell when someone is happy based on seeing them smile, heating them laugh or perhaps from receiving a big hug. But can you also smell their happiness? Surprising new research suggests that happiness does indeed have a scent, and that the experience of happiness can be transmitted through smell, reports Phys.org.
For the study, 12 young men were shown videos meant to bring about a variety of emotions while researchers gathered sweat samples from them. All of the men were healthy and none of them were drug users or smokers, and all were asked to abstain from drinking or eating smelly foods during the study period.
Those sweat samples were then given to 36 equally healthy young women to smell, while researchers monitored their reactions. Only women were selected to smell the samples, apparently because previous research has shown that women have a better sense of smell than men and are also more sensitive to emotional signaling—though it's unclear why only men were chosen to produce the scents.
Researchers found that the behavior of the women after smelling the scents--particularly their facial expressions--indicated a relationship between the emotional states of the men who produced the sweat and the women who sniffed them.
"Human sweat produced when a person is happy brings about a state similar to happiness in somebody who breathes this smell," said study co-author Gun Semin, a professor at Koc University in Turkey.
This is a fascinating finding because it not only means that happiness does have a scent, but that the scent is capable of transmitting the emotion to others. The study also found that other emotions, such as fear, seem to carry a scent too. This ensures previous research suggesting that some negative emotions have a smell, but it is the first time this has proved to be true of positive feelings.
Researchers have yet to isolate(分离) exactly what the chemical compound for the happiness smell is, but you might imagine what the potential applications for such a finding could be. Happiness perfumes, for instance, could be invented. Scent therapies (香味疗法) could also be developed to help people through depression or anxiety.
Perhaps the most surprising result of the study, however, is our broadened understanding of how emotions get communicated, and also how our own emotions are potentially managed through our social context and the emotional states of those around us.
1. What is the main finding of the new research?| A．Men produce more sweats. |
| B．Negative emotions have a smell. |
| C．Pleasant feelings can be smelt out. |
| D．Women have a better sense of smell. |
| A．avoid | B．practice |
| C．continue | D．try |
| A．Perfumes could help people understand each other. |
| B．Some smells could be developed to better our mood. |
| C．Perfumes could be produced to cure physical diseases. |
| D．Some smells could be created to improve our appearance. |
| A．happiness comes from a scent of sweat |
| B．positive energy can deepen understanding |
| C．people need more emotional communication |
| D．social surroundings can influence our emotions |
【推荐3】Why elephants rarely get cancer is a mystery that has confused scientists for decades. A study led by researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute(HCI), at the University of Utah and Arizona State University may have found the answer.
According to the results, elephants have 38 additional modified copies of a gene that encodes p53, a well-defined tumor suppressor(肿瘤抑制基因), as compared to humans, who have only two. Further, elephants may have a more powerful mechanism for killing damaged cells that are at risk for becoming cancerous. In isolated elephant cells, this activity is doubled compared to healthy human cells, and five times that of cells from patients with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, who have only one working copy of p53 and more than a 90 percent lifetime cancer risk in children and adults. The results suggest extra p53 could explain elephants’ increased resistance to cancer.
＂Nature has already figured out how to prevent cancer. It’s up to us to learn how different animals overcome the problem so we can adapt those strategies to prevent cancer in people,＂says co-senior author Joshua Schiffman, M.D., pediatric oncologist(儿科肿瘤医生) at Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine.
But Prof Mel Greaves, from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, says we should focus on why humans have such high levels of cancer. He pointed to the rise of unhealthy, cancer-causing behaviours, such as obesity and sunbathing. ＂You’ve never seen an elephant smoke!＂ he added.
According to Schiffman, elephants have long been considered a walking problem. Because they have 100 times as many cells as people, they should be 100 times more likely to have a cell slip into a cancerous state and cause the disease over their long life span of 50 to 70 years. And yet analysis of a large database of elephant deaths estimates a cancer death rate of less than 5 percent compared to 11 to 25 percent in people.
1. Why are elephants less likely to get cancer than humans?| A．Elephants are bigger than humans. |
| B．Elephants have more p53 genes than humans. |
| C．Elephants are not as clever as humans. |
| D．Elephants eat more than humans. |
| A．More p53 genes contribute to resisting cancer. |
| B．Elephants have less damaged cells in their bodies. |
| C．A healthy human has only one working copy of p53. |
| D．Patients with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome must get cancer in their lifetime. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Neutral. |
| C．Critical. | D．Favorable. |
| A．Elephants have longer life than people. |
| B．There is no chance that elephants die from cancer. |
| C．The rate of elephants dying from cancer is increasing. |
| D．It was thought that elephants could get cancer more easily. |
【推荐1】The Notre Dame fire has been put out, but its spire and a large portion of its wooden roof have been damaged. The terrible destruction causes a sudden sharp pain to people around the world. On Chinese social media network Wechat a common comment on the disaster is: “What a pity that we cannot see the damaged parts of the wonder anymore.”
But the good news is that there is at least one way of seeing them, namely via a video game called Assassin’s Creed: Unity. In this game, the player can travel to one city after another and enter the buildings exactly like what they are in reality, and see Notre Dame as it was before the fire. Further, with virtual reality technology, which is already quite mature, one can even look around the undamaged Notre Dame as if it is still there. Maybe digital technology could help to better protect architectural cultural heritage.
The idea of digitizing ancient buildings, making digital models of them so their data can be saved, dates back to the 1990s and the necessary technology has continued to advance since then. By scanning the ancient buildings with lasers, building 3D models with multiple images, as well as measuring everything precisely, engineers can make a copy as accurate as the real one.
As computers and smartphones are hugely popular, the digital replica has great use value. First, it allows tourists to feel the cultural relics without touching them, which helps protect them. The virtual tour of Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province is a good example of this as tourists can view the paintings without standing near them. Furthermore, it can make the digitized cultural relics more famous by spreading awareness about them via the Internet. In 2000, a virtual tour of the Great Wall became very popular at the Hannover World Expo, which increased the number of foreign tourists visiting the site in the following years. Above all, it preserves all the information of the cultural relics. Even if the original ones are damaged one day, people can still know what they were like and can build a replica if desired.
Of course, however precise a model is, it is not the original. Time is the biggest threat to a country’s architectural heritage, which will always become ruins with the passing of time. Maybe we will have better technologies in the future, but the digital technology offers a practical way to preserve architectural cultural heritage at the moment.
1. What will engineers do to create a digital replica of the ancient buildings?| A．Improve the technology needed. | B．Scan the photos of the buildings. |
| C．Build 3D models of full size. | D．Measure all the parts exactly. |
| A．It keeps the relics safe. | B．It helps to guard the relics. |
| C．It gathers data of the relics. | D．It advertises the history of the relics. |
| A．By comparison. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By classification. | D．By listing data. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Ambiguous. |
| C．Supportive. | D．Conservative. |
【推荐2】Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD,创伤后应激障碍) is a mental disorder that develops among people who have experienced or observed traumatic things such as wars, disasters or other violent events. At the heart of PTSD is a memory that can not be controlled. It can affect the everyday lives of its sufferers in forms such as flashbacks, nightmares and anxiety.
A new study done by researchers from Yale University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City suggests that patients with PTSD process their traumatic memories differently than regular memories.
The researchers did brain scans of 28 PTSD patients. They asked the patients to listen to recorded narrations of their own memories. Some of the recorded memories were neutral, some were simply “sad”, and some were traumatic.
They found that when the patients listened to the “sad” memories, the hippocampus (海马体), which is responsible for forming memories, was activated. But when they listened to the traumatic memories, a different area, called the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC,后扣带回皮质), was engaged. The PCC is not a memory region. Instead, it regulates internal experiences, such as daydreaming.
The more severe PTSD symptoms are, the more active the PCC is. “The brain doesn’t look like it is in a state of memory; it looks like it is in a state of present experience,” Daniela Schiller, one of the authors of the study, told The New York Times. That means people with PTSD feel as though they’re experiencing the traumatic event again in the present moment, rather than thinking back on it like a typical memory.
The new finding might hold hope for new PTSD therapies (治疗). Future therapies are expected to focus on helping PTSD patients return their traumatic memories to the hippocampus so that they can treat them as regular and non-disruptive (非破坏性的) memories. Changing the ways of thinking could help the brain reduce the feeling of immediate threat caused by trauma, according to Ilan Harpaz-Rotem, one of the paper’s authors.
1. What does the underlined word “flashbacks” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Rapid movements of eyes. | B．Loud sound in the distance. |
| C．Repeated upsetting memories. | D．Bright lights suddenly appearing. |
| A．They treat them as regular memories. |
| B．They can easily control these memories. |
| C．They struggle to remember traumatic events clearly. |
| D．They vividly relive traumatic events as if they are happening at present. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Unclear. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．To analyze the reasons for traumatic events. |
| B．To inform readers of the symptoms of PTSD patients. |
| C．To advocate patients’ participation in future therapies. |
| D．To present a research finding and its potential application. |
The DanKam app, available for iPhone and Android for $2.99, is an application that turns the vague colors that one percent of the population with color-blindness sees into the "true" colors as everyone else sees them. In America, an estimated 32 million color-blind Americans---95% are males---can soon have their life improved.
"DanKam takes the stream of data coming in through the phone's camera and changes the colors slightly so they fall within the range that people who are color-blind see," developer Dan Kaminsky told CNET. He came up with the idea after watching the 2009 film Star Trek with a color-blind friend.
It was then that he got to know more about colorblindness like its varying types and degrees. A vast majority, for instance, have trouble seeing red or green due to a genetic defect(遗传缺陷). Blue-yellow colorblindness, however, is rarer and develops later in life because of aging, illness or head injuries, etc. He started experimenting with one of the most common representations of points in the RGB color model. What the DanKam app attempts to do is to clean up the color space of the image or video signal so that colors can be visible to those suffering from viewing problems. “You can adjust the app to fit your needs. There is a range and not everyone who is color-blind sees things the same.” Says Kaminsky.
Sparkman, a copy editor at CNET, tried out the app and was pleased with the results. "It would be useful for dressing for a job interview," he said. But using it for his art is “the most practical application." It worked well on LED and other lights on electronic gadgets, which means Sparkman can now identify the power light on his computer display as green.
1. According to the first two paragraphs, we can know that DanKam ___________.
| A．appeared in the movie Star Trek |
| B．can turn vague colors into real ones |
| C．is a phone used to help drawing pictures |
| D．is designed to help people with colorblindness |
| A．It puts LED and other lights on electronic gadgets. |
| B．It changes the colors so that color-blind people can see them. |
| C．It checks color-blind people’s types of degrees of colorblindness. |
| D．It shows common representations of points in the RGB color model |
| A．cannot be cured by any methods |
| B．is more commonly seen in women |
| C．is not necessarily inborn disease |
| D．makes people unable to tell any colors |
| A．Choosing clothes. |
| B．Drawing his pictures. |
| C．Playing computer games |
| D．Handling electronic gadgets. |
【推荐1】Gary Koppelman, an award-winning science teacher, didn’t think he’d make it to college. In elementary school, he struggled with math and reading. Speaking in front of his classmates made him awkward. He was teased constantly. By the time he began high school, his instructor told him to forget about college.
Fortunately, Koppelman’s high school teacher, Doug Cline, frequently praised Koppelman’s strengths, and helped him handle incidents of teasing. In 1970, Koppelman got admitted into Eastern Michigan University to pursue a degree in teaching. There, his professor noticed his difficulty in reading and challenges with hearing. Following his professor’s advice, Koppelman started seeing his teachers after lectures to receive extra help and designing projects to understand theories better. In 1976, Koppelman graduated with a master’s degree in elementary education.
Koppelman’s discoveries about his own learning challenged him to design an alternative method to teach science to young children and create the Environmental Life Lab at Blissfield Elementary. He tries to provide opportunities for students to engage with natural world, ask questions, collect and analyze data, and work together to come up with answers. “In the science lab, every day feels like a field trip day,” a seventh grader said.
“At a young age, children are so attracted by animals and insects,” Koppelman said. “It’s hard to explain to people who are not teachers what it looks and feels when something in nature or science touches a child’s sense of awe and wonderment. But I see it every day.”
“Life science is a powerful springboard to get students interested in earth and physical science, and then extend that into math, geography, and social studies. There is nothing else like it,” claimed Linda Mueller, the school’s headmaster. “Blissfield consistently outperforms state averages on standardized science tests, and sometimes near the top of the state.”
1. What do we know about Koppelman’s elementary school life?| A．It was interrupted constantly. | B．It was unforgettable with joy. |
| C．It was filled with achievements. | D．It was depressing with difficulty. |
| A．By having daily field trips. | B．By getting them exposed to nature. |
| C．By giving standardized tests. | D．By seeking help from other teachers. |
| A．It is hard to explain science to people. |
| B．Science is different from other subjects. |
| C．Koppelman’s teaching method has paid off. |
| D．Blissfield tops the state’s elementary schools. |
| A．Devoted and creative. | B．Reliable and punctual. |
| C．Humorous and modest. | D．Disciplined and talkative. |
| Islands that could disappear in your lifetime Island vacations are dreams for many tourists, but climate change has lifted ocean temperatures, raised sea levels and worsened storm severity. As a result, some islands are threatened and could disappear in the coming decades. | |
| Federal States of Micronesia 2019 Population: 112,640 The average rate of sea-level rise worldwide has been 3.1 mm per year since 1993. But the rate around Federated States of Micronesia is three times faster. The country is at risk of disappearing because of coastal flooding, erosion, and frequent storms. | Tuvalu 2019 Population: 11,508. Tuvalu is a small chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean. For more than 25 years, its representatives have raised alarms that climate change could raise sea levels enough to flood the islands. Even if waters never get that high, Tuvalu could still become uninhabitable as rising sea levels have polluted the nation’s groundwater resources with salt. |
| Marshall Islands 2019 Population: 58413 Residents of Marshall Islands, a chain of volcanic islands and coral atolls in the central Pacific Ocean, have known for years that they have to either build new artificial islands to relocate or raise the existing ones. | Shishmaref Alaska 2019 Population: 617 In 2016, people living in Shishmaref, Alaska, located near the Bering Strait, voted to relocate before melting ice and land erosion would forced them to. Alaska had granted the city $8 million toward the move, but officials say it will cost $200 million. |
1. The sea level around Federal States of Micronesia is rising as much as ______ or so a year.
| A．1.1 mm | B．3.1 mm | C．6.6 mm | D．9.3 mm |
| A．Federal States of Micronesia | B．Tuvalu |
| C．Marshall Islands | D．Shishmaref |
【推荐3】Marian Wright Edelman, an American lawyer, educator and children’s rights activist, was born on June 6, 1939 in South Carolina, one of five children. Her father Arthur Wright was a preacher (牧师) who died when she was only 14 years old. In his last words to her, he advised her not to “let anything get in the way of your education.”
After high school, Edelman went on to study at Spelman College and later traveled to the Soviet Union. When she returned to Spelman in 1959, Edelman became involved in the civil rights movement. This work inspired her to drop her plans to enter the Foreign Service and study law instead. In 1973, Edelman set up the Children’s Defense Fund as a voice for poor and disabled children. She served as a public speaker on behalf of these children.
During a tour, Marian met Peter Edelman, an assistant to Kennedy, and the next year she moved to Washington, D. C. to marry him and to work for social justice in the center of America’s political scene. The couple had three sons: Joshua, Jonah and Ezra. Jonah is the founder of Stand for Children, a group that promotes children’s education, and Ezra is a documentary (记录片) filmmaker who won an Emmy for his film “O.J.: Made in America.”
Edelman is the author of many books for children and adults. Her titles for readers include I’m Your child, God: Prayers for Our Children, Guide My Feet: Prayers and Meditations for Our Children, Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors, and The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours, which was a surprising success.
1. What do we know about Edelman’s family?| A．She was the single child. |
| B．Her mother was a preacher. |
| C．They took education seriously. |
| D．The family had a poor life. |
| A．She wanted to study abroad. |
| B．She intended to be a lawyer. |
| C．She had little time for her work. |
| D．She was interested in civil rights. |
| A．In Washington D. C. | B．In the Soviet Union. |
| C．In South Carolina. | D．In Spelman. |
| A．They all worked for social justice. |
| B．They achieved something in career. |
| C．They won many awards in their lives. |
| D．They contributed to their mother’s books. |
【推荐1】New Year's Day is worth celebrating and you probably celebrate New Year's Day together with your family and friends，enjoying drinks and watching the ball drop. If you're lucky，perhaps you share a kiss with that special one when the clock hits 00：00 am. But how New Year's Day would look in another country? Listed below are four of the top ten “Unique New Year Traditions from Around the World.”
1．Breaking Dishes on Neighbor's Door－Denmark
A strange Danish New Year tradition，depending on how you look at it，is throwing dishes at neighbor's door.The family with the tallest tower of broken plates，glasses，cups and other crockery is considered to be the luckiest person because it symbolizes their large crowd of loyal friends.
2．Talking to Spirits－Mexico
Mexicans strongly believe that they can communicate with the souls of their dead loved ones. New Year's Eve is considered the best time to communicate with dead spirits to convey a message or ask for guidance. Taos Inn，in New Mexico for example，offers 15 minutes session of spiritualism and deep thought for $15. Not a bad price for some helpful guidance!
3．Wearing Polka Dots－Philippines
Imagine people wearing polka dots and dining room tables full of round shaped food and fruits on one single day of the year in Philippines. And they believe that this will bring them prosperity by associating the round dots to coins and wealth.
4．Burning Scarecrow Dummy－Ecuador
Ecuador has a custom of crafting scarecrows and burning them. As midnight approaches，gathering outside，each family burns their own scarecrow filled with newspapers and pieces of wood. The tradition says that this destroys all the bad things that took place in the past 12 months. The scarecrow also scares away bad luck，which in turn，fills their new year with luck and happiness.
The world is large but different. People of all nations may celebrate New Year's Day much differently，but a lot of general themes are to be seen. We all want to start a new，fresh year with renewed enthusiasm and hope no matter what happened during the past year. We all want to be happier，find love，renew friendships，increase our wealth and also hope for a little extra luck in the coming new year.
1. People generally celebrate New Year's Day in the following ways except________．| A．sharing the time with their family | B．getting together with their friends |
| C．participating in the ball drop | D．spending the time with their lovers |
| A．The more broken plates，glasses，cups you have at your door，the more good friends you have according to Danish New Year tradition. |
| B．By paying $15 in Taos Inn，Mexicans can communicate with the souls of their dead loved ones. |
| C．Wearing polka dots can help people in Philippines to gain wealth. |
| D．People from Ecuador make and burn scarecrows to win good luck and happiness. |
| A．No matter how we celebrate New Year，increasing our wealth is very important. |
| B．The traditions will be changed with the time going by. |
| C．We seldom experience different traditions to celebrate New Year. |
| D．Celebrating New Year's Day means looking forward to a happier and better coming year. |
【推荐2】Lizard (蜥蜴) species may already have declined past the point of no return in the world. What is the reason? Rising temperatures. Researchers estimate that as much as 40 percent of lizard species worldwide will die out by 2080. The problem is that temperatures in many regions where lizards live have changed too fast for the animals to keep pace.
Barry Sinervo from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California in Santa Cruz, along with colleagues from across the globe, reached that conclusion by taking current data on Mexican lizards. They also estimated that 4 percent of local species have already disappeared worldwide. That number could jump to 20 percent by 2080 if carbon dioxide levels aren’t lowered to reduce warming.
The team looked 48 species of Sceloporus lizard at 200 sites around Mexico. The sites were first sampled from 1975 to 1995. By 2010, research could not find lizards at 12 percent of those sites.
Lizards that bear live young are especially at risk of dying out, the researchers point out, compared to that lay eggs. “Live-bearers have lower body temperatures that heighten the risk of dying,” Sinervo said in a statement. We are watching these species disappear before our eyes.”
Although current evidence shows that climate change is affecting the habitat ranges of many species, there is still a lot of uncertainty about how much climate change will affect species, researchers say.
Many Mexican lizard species live in high altitude “islands”, where climate change happens the fastest. The lizards cannot adjust fast enough to survive. The scientists say they do not think the animals are likely to save themselves just by moving somewhere else either.
“How quickly can Earth’s lizards adapt to the rising global temperatures? That’s the important question,” Sinervo said in a press release. "We are actually seeing lowland species moving upward, slowly driving upland species out of their habitats. If the upland species can’t evolve fast enough, they will die out.”
1. Which of the following lizards face a higher risk of dying out?| A．Lizards at low altitudes. | B．Lizards that bear their young. |
| C．Lizards that lay eggs. | D．Lizards in a stable environment. |
| A．their conclusion is based on current data on various kinds of lizards |
| B．20 percent of local species have already disappeared worldwide |
| C．they are uncertain about how much climate change will affect species |
| D．they are seeing highland species moving downward |
| A．their living habitats’ destruction | B．their living skills |
| C．highland species moving downward | D．their adaptive capacity |
| A．prove that earth is not suitable for lizards |
| B．warn that lizards may die out quickly due to the climate change |
| C．explain why no more lizards will be found by 2080 |
| D．emphasize that the habitat of lizards is changing greatly |
【推荐3】It has been a year since I found out my friend had passed away. I still store his phone number, even though I know calling the number will never reach him again. I feel like if I deleted (删除) his phone number, it would mean he was really gone.
Over the past few years, we have planned to travel together just to see the dolphins in the sea. However, for some reasons it didn’t happen, yet I always took his calls over the years. We shared a lot of interests.
When I knew that he had been diagnosed (诊断) with a very serious illness and was in hospital, I remembered sending messages to him. I did not receive a message back, so I left a voicemail. A week later, I sent him a message once again. However, I still didn’t get a reply. I thought he was busy. During the next several months I was very busy, too. Suddenly, in that mid-summer, I received a short message: “Sorry, Marlynn, He has passed away.”
I was vey sad and surprised at the words. I was very sad and regretful. I regretted that I let the months pass without trying again. I worked with many people who had also lost their best friends. The sadness is often unspeakable. There is guilt (内疚), helplessness and sadness that is difficult to put into words.
Now I try to be grateful for the times and memories we have. I realize the best thing that we can do is value the ones we love.
1. What do we know about the writer’s friend?| A．He lived by himself. |
| B．He deleted the writer’s phone number. |
| C．He has gone to a far-away city. |
| D．He has been dead for a year. |
| A．She telephoned him. |
| B．She left a voice message to him. |
| C．She wrote to him a week later. |
| D．She visited him right away. |
| A．Her hard working experience. |
| B．People’s attitude towards life. |
| C．Her sadness of losing friends. |
| D．Her surprise at her friend’s illness. |
| A．Never Regret | B．Value the Ones We Love |
| C．A Friend with Illness | D．Be Grateful for the Future Time |
