1 . Are you good at remembering what you’ve learned at school? Is it an easy process for all people? No one’s memory is perfect. Even the smartest people forget things. This does not mean a person has a bad memory. It means he is not using his mind to his advantages.

The brain has short-term memory and long-term memory. When we learn something new, it stays in our memory for around 20-30 seconds. This is our short-term memory. It can hold a small amount of information. If we repeat it and use it often, this information can move from short-term memory to long-term memory, which is the place where memories are stored for a long time.

The skill for remembering is moving information from short-term to long-term memory. No one knows exactly how this happens. But one thing is for sure—practising, or making repetition of information, is one of the most popular methods of remembering. And scientists say that long-term memory will never fill up completely with memories in one’s lifetime.

Then why do we forget things? Forgetting things that are not important helps our brain to remember things that are important. Our brain is always “cleaning out” useless information to make room for something more useful.

If you are interested in improving your memory, there are lots of simple things you can do, like eating healthily, sleeping well and exercising daily. Besides, it’s also important to challenge your brain. You can play mind games, learn a musical instrument or study a new language. All you need to do is to keep your brain healthy and active.

1. How does the writer begin the passage?

A．By listing numbers.	B．By comparing facts.
C．By asking questions.	D．By giving examples.

2. What is one of the most popular ways to remember information according to the passage?

A．Listening or writing.	B．Practising or asking.
C．Listening or speaking.	D．Practising or repeating.

3. The last paragraph mainly talks about ________.

A．the ways to eat healthily	B．the ways to improve our memory
C．the reasons for playing mind games	D．the reasons for studying a new language

4. Where does the text most probably come from?

A．A guide.

B．An ad.

C．A story book.

D．A magazine.

2 . Do you ever feel like there’s not enough time in the day? That time is somehow racing away from you, and it is impossible to fit everything in. But then, you step outside into the countryside and suddenly everything seems slower, more relaxed, like time has somehow changed. It’s not just you — recent research showed nature can control our sense of time.

Richardo Correia, the researcher at the University of Finland, found that being in nature may change how we experience time and perhaps, even give us the sense of time abundance (充裕). Correia compared people’s experiences of time when they performed different types of tasks in cities and natural environments. It showed that people reported a sense of expanded time when they were in nature compared to when they were in cities. For example, a walk through the countryside felt longer than a city walk of the same distance.

It’s not just our sense of time in the moment which appears to be changed by the natural world, and it’s also our sense of the past and future. Earlier research shows that spending time in nature helps to move our focus from the immediate (目前的) moment towards our future needs. So rather than focusing on the stress of the demands (需求) on our time, nature helps us to see the bigger picture. This can help us focus on what’s important so that we meet our long-term goals. This is partly because spending time in nature appears to make us less impulsive (冲动的), enabling us to think more about future benefits instead of wanting immediate ones.

1. How might you feel when you walk in the countryside?

A．Everything remains the same.	B．Time is racing away from you.
C．There are less hours in the day.	D．Things seem to go at a slower speed.

2. In what way did Correia carry out the research?

A．By doing online surveys.	B．By interviewing experts.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By reviewing earlier studies.

3. What does the underlined word “expanded” probably mean?

A．Real.

B．Lost.

C．Passing.

D．Increased.

4. How does nature help with our sense of the future?

A．By meeting our needs.	B．By changing our focus.
C．By showing us pictures.	D．By reminding us of the past.

5. Which is the best title for the passage?

A．What differences time brings us.	B．Where our sense of time has gone.
C．Why we lose sense of time in nature.	D．How nature changes our sense of time.

3 .

Charity Walk The Sunshine Youth Fund organized a charity (慈善) walk around Tai Shek Lake on Sunday, 6th September. It was hot and wet on that day. Over two hundred people joined in it and raised $120,700. The money will go to Project Oasis in Malaysia. It will help provide clear water for some villages. The top donations (捐赠) and the lucky draw (抽奖) results are as follows:
Top Donations 1st Mr. King $28,000 2nd Sun Moon Company $25,000 3rd Mrs. Zhou $20,000	Charity Lucky Draw Winners First Prize Winners A 40 inch LCD TV                 Chen Li Second Prize A vacation to Malaysia          Joseph Beer Third Prize A washing machine                 Jing Kui Other Prizes Bags                                        Kevin Smith and Wu Jun

1. How much money did Mr. King donate?

A．$25,000.

B．$20,000.

C．$28,000.

D．$120,700.

2. Who won a washing machine?

A．Chen Li.

B．Jing Kui.

C．Kevin Smith.

D．Joseph Beer.

3. The article is written mainly to ________.

A．give advice

B．say thanks

C．ask for help

D．show a result

4. Which of the following is TRUE about the charity walk?

A．The money it raised will be used to protect Tai Shek Lake.

B．It took place on a weekend at the end of September.

C．More than two hundred people joined in it.

D．It was popular among young people.

4 . Once upon a time, there was a beaver (海狸) named Furry living in the forest. He had lots of friends and liked to play outside. One day, a big wolf came and started saying, “This is my forest and I am bigger and stronger than you. So you will have to move out of the forest by tomorrow or I will destroy your house.”

Later that night Fury and his friends were thinking what to do. Furry suggested that they should build a trap (陷阱) to catch the wolf and teach him a lesson that there was somebody stronger than him. The beavers decided it would be a deep hole covered with sticks (树枝) on it.

One of the beavers asked, “How are we going to do that?” Furry suggested that they could ask the rabbits for help to build the trap. About one hour later the beavers went to the rabbits’ house and explained what was going to happen tomorrow morning.

The rabbits agreed to help. It took them the whole night but they finished it by the morning. In the morning they all hid up in the tees. The wolf came and barked (叫) at them to pack their bags and leave the forest as soon as possible. Since the wolf wasn’t looking where he was going, he fell into the trap.

All the animals came and saw that the wolf was trapped in the hole. The wolf kept asking whether they could let him out of the hole, but Furry said, “We would but since you have been so unkind to us we will not let you out of the hole.” Then the wolf promised that he would never tell them to move out of the forest and would be friendly to them.

Furry and his friends forgave (原谅) the wolf and they got a big stick and dropped it down the hole so that the wolf could climb out.

1. Who did Furry ask for help to build the trap?

A．Other beavers.

B．The wolf.

C．The rabbits.

D．All the animals.

2. From the passage, we know that ________.

A．the wolf knew there was somebody stronger than him at last

B．Furry made a deep hole covered with sticks on it by himself

C．Furry and his friends destroyed the wolfs house

D．it took Furry and his friends the whole day to build the trap

3. What can we learn from the story?

A．Trust yourself and you will make a good choice.

B．Don’t be unkind to others or you’ll get it back.

C．Where there is a will, there is a way.

D．Always lean to see things in a bad way.

6 . These days, we easily feel stressed as we need to do lots of work every day. It’s important to know how to solve problems and find ways to relax.

We should try organizing our problems from most important to least important as well as most urgent (紧急的) to least urgent. If some problems are both important and urgent, such as studying for a next-day test, do those tasks first. Once those are done, work on things that are important but not urgent, such as preparing for the final exams. From there, we can work on problems that are less important. Organizing our work this way helps a lot in knowing what to do first and not worrying about the rest.

Sometimes we feel stressed because we are not able to complete the task by ourselves. It’s better to ask someone for help. If we stick to doing these tasks ourselves, it can make us more stressed and upset. Open your mouth bravely, and someone must give you a hand.

Still, sometimes we don’t feel relaxed even after organizing our work well. That’s okay. We can try to plan some exercise in our daily life. It doesn’t even have to be a big trip to the gym, although that surely helps. It could be something as small as walking around the neighborhood for 10 minutes. Also, we can try different activities together with our family members or friends.

We can try meditation (冥想). Again, this does not need to be anything special. Just set aside 10to 20 minutes with a timer, sit upright, close your eyes, and focus only on breathing. If other ideas come up, accept that they are there and let them fall away on their own.

By trying these steps, we will go a long way toward feeling relaxed and peaceful when finishing all of the work.

1. In which order should we organize our tasks?
a. Both important and urgent tasks.                 b. Less important tasks.
c. Important but not urgent tasks.                  d. Neither important nor urgent tasks.

A．a→b→c→d

B．a→c→b→d

C．d→c→b→a

D．d→b→c→a

2. What does Paragraph 3 tell us?

A．Always complete the tasks by ourselves.	B．We can tell the truth to other people.
C．Try to give a helping hand to others.	D．We should ask for help sometimes.

3. What does the writer advise us to do to relax in Paragraph 4?

A．Go on a big trip.	B．Take a walk around.
C．Spend time organizing our work well.	D．Do the same activity every day.

4. What should we do when other ideas come up during meditation?

A．Lie down and set a timer.	B．Try to breathe gently.
C．Just leave them alone.	D．Open and then close our eyes.

5. Which can be a proper title for the text?

A．Ways of Organizing Tasks	B．Advice on Dealing with Stress
C．Advantages of Taking Exercise	D．Keys to Keeping a Peaceful Mind

8 . Happiness has become a big deal in the past ten years. Hundreds of books, speeches and even the media tell us that happiness is within our reach. All we have to do is to follow some simple steps, like going to deep thoughts, living in the moment and doing yoga (瑜伽). But if you are going through a difficult time, none of these may work.

In fact, feeling deeply sad is a normal (正常的) part of getting better. It is said that if you are going through a hard time, it’s important for you to do something that can make you feel better. Here are some skills that have helped me and many people. Perhaps they can work for you too.

Looking at water while you are in nature can bring quietness. Being outside is also good. But if you’re not anywhere near an ocean, lake or river, looking at shapes of moving water on TV can be soothing.

But if you have lost the ability to find some pleasure in your daily life or from the people around you, think about the time you were at your happiest. Doing this actually sends chemicals to your brain, and it can make you feel better. If it still doesn’t work, something worse may have happened to you. You’d better think about getting yourself checked out by doctors.

We can’t allow our feelings of low points to rule our lives, but we can’t think little of them, either. They must be treated carefully so that we can move on.

1. According to the passage, if you are in a difficult time, ________ may be helpful.

A．going to deep thoughts	B．doing yoga as much as possible
C．living in the moment	D．doing something that can make you feel better

2. You can feel ________ when you look at water in nature.

A．excited

B．sad

C．quiet

D．nervous

3. The underlined word “soothing” in the passage means “________ ”.

A．nervous

B．comfortable

C．crazy

D．excited

4. If you don’t have ability to find any happiness in your daily life, you should ________.

A．go to see a doctor	B．look at water in nature
C．watch TV	D．think about the sad time

5. What is the best title for the passage?

A．How to Find Happiness	B．Our Feelings
C．Water Can Make You Quiet	D．Happiness Is a Kind of Feeling