【推荐2】Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.
By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic (逻辑) behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand. Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power.”
Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll increase your brain power, even if you have no idea how right now. Just start with anything, and create an explanation. For example, start with “I’ll learn chess,” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan, and if you actually do this, you’ll have a better understanding of your brain twenty minutes from now.
Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success.
Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem, why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and ___________
Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often, they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.
1. What would be the best title for the text?

A．A Way on How to Write

B．Increase Your Brain Power through Writing

C．Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing

D．How to Start Your Writing

2. If a writer writes something, it means that he or she _______.

A．has understood it very well

B．needs to understand it better

C．wants to remember it in his or her mind

D．is exercising his or her “explain power”

3. The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fifth paragraph implies that ______.

A．you are already successful

B．you still need to work hard

C．writing can help you walk half way

D．you have been on the way to success

4. What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?

A．To advise readers to start their writing.

B．To explain the importance of writing.

C．To persuade readers to become writers.

D．To increase readers’ brain power.

【推荐3】Many people go to school for education. School education is very important and useful, but no one can learn everything from school. A teacher, no matter how much he knows, he can not teach his student everything. His work is to show his students how to learn. He teaches them how to read and how to think. So much more is to be learned outside school by students themselves.

It’s always more important to know how to learn by oneself than to learn some facts or formulas (公式) by heart. It’s quite easy to learn some facts in history or a formula in maths, but it’s very difficult to use them. Edison and Einstein didn’t get everything from school, but they were all successful. They invented so many things. The reason for their success is that they knew how to study. They read many books outside school. They worked hard all their lives, wasting not a single moment. The most important thing is that they know how to use their brains (大脑) .

1. A teacher’s work is _________.

A．to teach the students how to read and think	B．to teach everything
C．to teach all subjects	D．to work hard

2. To know how to__________is much more important than facts or formulas by heart.

A．work out maths problems

B．study

C．study science

D．remember all the facts

3. Why did the famous scientists become successful ? Because__________.

A．they didn’t know how to use their brains	B．they remembered all the formulas
C．they didn’t get everything from school	D．they know how to study

【推荐1】If you can’t get your hands off your cell-phone, you have unknowingly become a slave to this device. Being addicted to a cellphone can be potentially harmful. Here are some reasons why you should use your cellphone less.

    1     Very often you forget the world outside your cellphone. Just leave the phone at home, take a walk, and get to know what you really want in life. Discover what sparks your interest and pursue it with all your heart.

You should focus more on personal interactions in real life. Can you hug your dad and feel his strength through the phone?     2     These are small gestures that play a big role in life. Cellphones just take these precious things away from you.

Your grades will go up. Leave your phone behind when going to school. Once you get home, don’t lie on the bed and text your friends.     3     Your grades will improve.

You need to give your mind a break. Constantly chatting on the phone puts too much pressure on your brain, which does great harm to both your physical and mental health.     4    

You need to keep away from anxiety. Research has shown that people who use cellphones all day long are more anxious and restless. They seem to look for recognition and acceptance through the device.     5     Therefore, keep the phone away to keep anxiety at bay.

A．Get through your homework first.

B．Do you often care about your mom?

C．You should develop your true interests.

D．You should continuously learn new things.

E．Can you kiss your mom good-night over the phone?

F．When they don’t get that, they will become depressed.

G．So make your mind rest so that you can think and function well the next day.

【推荐3】Teachers say the digital age has had a good influence and a not-so-good influence on this generation of American teenagers. More than 2,000 high school teachers took an online survey.

75 percent of the teachers said the Internet and digital search tools have had a “mostly positive” effect on   their students' research habits and skills. But 87 percent agreed that these technologies "make the students not have enough attention.” And 64 percent said the technologies “do more to distract students than to help them academically.”Many students think “doing research” now means just doing a quick search on Google.

Judy Buchanan is a director of the National Writing Project. Ms. Buchanan says digital research tools are helping students learn more, and learn faster. Teachers really like these tools, because they are ways to make some of learning exciting. Young people enjoy using these tools. And the goal is to help them become creative students of meaningful work, and not just that kind of copyist.

But one problem the survey found is that many students don't have a good understanding of how to use the digital knowledge well. In other words, they trust(信任) too much of the information. Judy Buchanan says these students have not developed the skills they need to tell whether the online information is good or bad.

Another problem the survey found is something that might not seem like a problem, at all, being able to quickly find information online. Teachers say the ability of their students to work hard to find answers is becoming weaker. They say students depend too much on search engines (引擎) and do not make enough use of printed books or research, librarians.

Besides, many teachers are also worried about the problem that the Internet makes it easy for students to copy work done by others, instead of using their own abilities.

1. Most of the teachers might agree that      .

A．the digital age only has had a good influence on teenagers.

B．digital search tools have had a positive effect on students’ research.

C．the digital age has had a bad influence on students’ study.

D．technologies can only distract students.

2. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Google can do all the job for students.

B．Google helps students do research.

C．Students just use something they found online when doing research.

D．A quick search on Google means a success in research.

3. Which of the following is NOT the disadvantages of digital age?

A．Online information may not be reliable.

B．Students can easily find the information they needs.

C．Copying work may arise among students.

D．Students won’t use their own abilities.

【推荐1】Most people recognize the music John Williams wrote for the film Jaws. As soon as you hear it, you begin thinking that a shark will attack. And that is exactly what you are meant to think. On the big screen, Jaws is a scary film. However, if you watch it without the music, it becomes boring. The music tells you to be frightened about what you are seeing. Good film scores always signal how to feel about what is happening on the screen.

No one can talk about film scores without talking about Hans Zimmer. He did the music for many films, such as The Dark Knight and The Lion King. Zimmer and Williams have very different styles and ideas for film scores. There are people who do not like Williams, scores for the Harry Potter films because they stand out too much, while some people do not like Zimmer's scores because they sometimes do not stand out enough. Of course, in many ways, that is not the point When you leave a film, you should not be saying, “Wow! Great music!”, Instead, you should be saying, “Wow! Great film!”

A third, very different kind of film composer is Tan Dun, who has a classical music background, unlike many film composers. Tan started out as a musician for the Peking Opera. However, he fell in love witii Western classical music, and started writing classical Western operas that show a strong touch of Chinese music. Like his operas, the scores for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Hero use Chinese musical instruments and styles in a Western classical music score.

The music follows all of the rules of most film scores — the purpose is to tell you how to feel about the action in the film, and to help tell the story. However, perhaps because of Tan's background in classical music, his scores can stand alone as works of art without needing a film to support them.

Film scores are almost always a form of classical music. However, unlike most classical music, they have never been considered high art. Perhaps with Tan Dun, this will begin to change.

1. According to the passage, music scores can ________.

A．signal a great film

B．make the film frightening

C．attract more people to see the film

D．inspire the audience's emotional response to movie scenes

2. Why are John Williams and Hans Zimmer mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A．To show the differences in their styles.

B．To explain the role of musical scores in films.

C．To advertise the films with their musical scores.

D．To inform the readers of their achievements in film scores.

3. What can be learned about Tan Dun?

A．He has made musical scores a form of high art

B．His music breaks all of the rules of most film scores.

C．His musical scores feature a combination of Chinese and western music.

D．He got well-known for his scores for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

【推荐2】Every country has certain cultural patterns making it unique. Of course, habits and customs between cultures and countries tend to overlap(重叠). The popularity of social media, for instance, ignores borders and breaks down cultural differences. Technology has made the world a much smaller and culturally similar place. However, when looking at a foreign country, we will always find differences between our traditions and theirs. Young Italians and young Americans, for example, though alike in many respects, have also some pronounced differences, especially when it comes to work, pastimes and sports.

Most American teens have part-time jobs through high school and college. Youths in Italy tend not to. The reasons behind this are multifaceted. It is, to begin with, rather hard in Italy to find the type of part-time jobs students usually take up. Moreover, there is also a different cultural attitude to take into consideration, especially when thinking of certain parts of Italy. Young Italians like to enjoy life to the full and feel there will be time to work once they become adults, hence the lack of interest in finding odd jobs while still in school. Like the old saying goes, some Italians work to Live, while some Americans often live to work.

In a lot of ways, young Italians and Americans spend their free time in a similar fashion. Listening to music, watching movies, hanging out, practicing sports and surfing the Internet are all common ways to pass some free time. Italians, especially, make a point of going out and being social, often choosing between pizzeria or birrerie (place for pizza or beer), which stay open late. Italians often pile into a couple of cars and go out in a big group. In general, American teens participate in a lot of extracurricular(课外的) activities, many often through school, while Italians may not take part in so many.

When going out, Italian teens tend to meet and gather on the streets of their cities or towns, something not as common in the United States, especially in highly populated areas. This very Italian habit can be linked to the urban arrangement of Italian towns. Many of them date back thousands of years and feature central piazzas(广场) and areas built around historical sites that have now become gathering places for the young. If you’re in Italy, don’t be surprised by the sight of hundreds gathered in a piazza or on the street, laughing and drinking the night away.

1. The passage is mainly about ________.

A．the unique lifestyles shared by American and Italian teens

B．the relationship between young people of America and Italy

C．some customs and habits of the Americans and Italians

D．some differences in tradition between young Americans and Italians

2. By saying “some Italians work to live, while some Americans often live to work”, the author most probably wants to tell us that ________.

A．Italians have a better life attitude toward working

B．Americans are more diligent and thus live a better life

C．Americans and Italians both find it hard to locate a satisfying job

D．Italians and Americans have different choices regarding work

3. According to paragraph 3, which of the following statements is true?

A．American teens practice sports and surf the Internet to pass time.

B．Italian youth take an active part in extracurricular activities.

C．American teens like to drive out and social together in big groups.

D．Italian youth enjoy pizza and beer because they are cheap.

4. If there is one more paragraph in this passage, what will it most probably be about?

A．The working conditions of the young Americans and Italians.

B．The differences in practicing sports between teens of the two nations.

C．The central piazzas and areas built around historical sites in Italy.

D．The urban arrangement of the highly populated American cities.