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 . Have you noticed that some people succeed, while others may not? This is because some people own certain qualities while others don’t have. If you want to be successful, you should remember the following things.

The first thing you must remember is that in order to succeed, you must have a strong wish. If you do not expect to win, you will not try as hard as those who do expect to win. You also need to have a clear purpose and reason for doing something. If you do not have a purpose, you will not do your best to work hard and make sure that every de tail you have done is right.

Reading is another thing to remember, as it will help you learn about how other people have achieved success. If you want to learn how to set up a successful business, you should read books about some successful people who have achieved amazing success in their areas of business, such as Jerry Yang.

Another thing that helps people succeed is creativity—thinking about things differently and wondering how others will do the same thing. Think about some successful people you know. They might be successful with a little creativity, but the most successful people are the most creative ones.

Practicing is essential if you want to succeed because practice makes perfect. Practice every day for the job you are in, and by doing so, you will see yourself, your business and your self-confidence begin to grow. If you feel confident about what you do, this confidence will make other people believe in you more as well. Your workmates will be happy to work with you, and your boss will give you more important things to do.

Finally, if you succeed, you will get respect from people and do more for our world.

1. What does the writer think is the most important?

A．One’s boss and workmates	B．Wishes and purposes
C．Purposes and plans	D．Famous stories

2. If we want to be like Jerry Yang, why is it important to read?

A．Reading makes a full man.	B．Reading guides people to learn from him.
C．Reading makes people creative.	D．Reading makes people active.

3. Which word’s meaning is close to the underlined word “essential”?

A．Easy

B．Confident

C．Important

D．Difficult

4. What does Paragraph 5 tell us?

A．We should be confident.	B．We should practice every day.
C．We should be happy.	D．We should make others believe us.

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

A．People We Learn from	B．The Road to Success
C．Ways to be Better	D．Qualities of Successful People

3 . Good communication is a necessary skill to help with a happier life. Here are some ways to deal with interpersonal relationships in the modern world.

To build relationships with others, please show respect (尊敬) to other people. This is the most important. Aesop said, “Treat other people as you hope they will treat you.” For example, if you are warm to say hello to others when you meet a person, it will be easier to be learned about, too.	→	Listen to others with an open mind. If you cannot explain your ideas, and don’t have your own minds, there will be no deep communication. As a result, you can’t offer valuable suggestions. Gradually, other people would feel that it is a waste of time when getting along with you and will naturally shy away.
		↓
To be a true friend. And it’s also important not to be selfish (自私的). In fact, true friends don’t mean what we get. Give more, and you will get what is unexpected or more.	←	Being confident (自信的) is very important during communicating. Being confident doesn’t mean you are loud. It’s the opposite. It’s knowing you’re great, and being yourself fully. What’s more, you need to be outgoing and friendly. They’re all helpful to make friends. Last but not least, try to work with others, and you’ll make yourself a good friend.

1. What’s the most important to communicate with others in the writer’s eyes?

A．Being a true friend.	B．Showing respect to others.
C．Trying to work with others.	D．Being outgoing and friendly.

2. Why will other people shy away according to the passage?

A．You waste much time.	B．You don’t say hello to others.
C．You always have your own mind.	D．You can’t offer valuable suggestions.

3. What does the writer think of a true friend?

A．Try to give more to others.	B．Treat other people as they hope.
C．Spend lots of time with each other.	D．Close your mind and listen to others.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．How to listen to others.	B．How to live a happier life.
C．How to get what you expect.	D．How to get along with others.

4 . Join the discussion…

Lakelander—2 hours ago

Today, a man talked very loud on his phone on the train. I really wanted to read a newspaper loud to see what he would do. But I didn’t.

Angie—42 minutes ago

You did right. Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t like to be done to yourself. Once a passenger next to me talked out loud on his mobile phone. I gave him some advice politely to finish his conversation. He realized this and said “Sorry” to me.

Taodas—29 minutes ago

I did read my newspaper out loud on a train, and it turned out well.

Sophie—13 minutes ago

It depends. Once I read some stories loud to my bored and noisy children. Several passengers seemed to feel good about what I did.

1. How did Lakelander feel when he was on the train?

A．happy

B．angry

C．relaxed

D．nervous

2. Why did Sophie read some stories loud on the train?

A．Because another passenger was talking loud on the phone.

B．Because someone was practicing a musical instrument.

C．Because her children would not keep quiet.

D．Because she felt so bored.

3. Which one could be the beginning of the next paragraph?

A．Richard—58 minutes ago	B．Charlie—31 minutes ago
C．Jimmy—8 minutes ago	D．Nick-2 and a half hours ago

5 . Mr. Lin has been in Britain for two days on vacation. Here is his room card with some information about his hotel.

Welcome to Garden Hotel Room Number: 704 * Please give the room card back to the hotel when you check out. Address: 154 Garden Road, London, UK Tel: +44-20-78362400

Price: $560 (2 nights) Room: 1 single bed Tips: *Famous Places: City Library, Garden Cinema, Happy Shopping Mall *Transportation:

1. How can Mr. Lin get to Garden Hotel?

A．By taking Bus No. 13.	B．By taking the subway.
C．By taking Country Line.	D．By taking the train.

2. If Mr. Lin needs to stay one more night, he might pay ________ in total.

A．$280

B．$560

C．$840

D．$1120

3. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．Smoking is allowed in Garden Hotel.	B．Mr. Lin can take the room card home.
C．Garden Hotel is in the capital of the UK.	D．Parking is not allowed in Garden Hotel.

6 . Feng Boyao and Meng Shuqi found that their city library didn’t have enough Braille books for blind people and many of the Braille books were out of date.

So, they teamed up to help the blind by fixing the problem. Feng and Meng both studied at No.37 Middle School in Taiyuan, Shanxi province. They invented a new kind of Braille reader. Their work won the first prize in a national competition aiming to nurture creative thinking by encouraging youths to solve social problems. The invention was also granted (授予) a national patent (专利). When connected to a computer, their Braille reader can turn words into raised dots (凸起的点). Blind people can read by touching the dots, which are magnets (磁铁). This is the first Braille reader that uses magnets.

“We found that today’s Braille readers are very difficult and expensive,” Feng said. “So, we decided to develop a user-friendly product, especially for young blind children from grades 1 to 3. Moreover, it only costs about 2000 yuan.”

After making their first device, Feng and Meng visited a school for the blind to get advice and improved it based on the students’ needs, like changing the size of the screen and the amount of space between the dots. “We hope the invention will be popularized (普及) in the future to help those blind people who can’t afford the Braille reader now,” Meng told Taiyuan News.

1. Why did the two students invent a new kind of Braille reader?

A．To get a national patent.	B．To hold a reading competition.
C．To encourage kids to solve social problems.	D．To help the blind get more Braille books.

2. What does the underlined word “nurture” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．develop

B．lower

C．imagine

D．understand

3. Which is the correct order of the following events?
① Feng and Meng were interviewed by Taiyuan News.
② Many of the Braille books in the city library were out of date.
③ Feng and Meng visited a school for the blind to learn about the students’ needs.
④ They teamed up to help the blind by fixing the problem.

A．②①③④

B．②④③①

C．②④①③

D．②③①④

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Feng and Meng are caring and creative people.

B．Feng and Meng solved many social problems together.

C．Feng and Meng have set up their own business as a team.

D．Feng and Meng hope the invention will be popularized in the future.

5. What is the best title for the text?

A．A Braille Reader.	B．A User-friendly Product.
C．The Need of Blind People.	D．Two Teenagers and Their Invention.

7 . 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.

10 . There was a terrible rainstorm last night. Now the Hills are talking about what they were doing at the time of the rainstorm.

	I was watching my favorite cartoon on TV. Suddenly, the lights went out and it began to rain heavily. I was so scared that I ran to get into my bed. Then I heard my mom shouting, “Don’t be afraid, my son. I’m coming soon.”
I was doing the dishes with my daughter Rosa. We quickly stopped and ran to close all the windows. I was looking around when I heard my son crying. So I rushed to help him.
	I was writing a report on the computer. Two days ago, I listened to the Weather Report. It said there would be a rainstorm in the following days. But it came so suddenly. I quickly stood up and walked around to see if everything was OK. Other families might be in trouble. So I went to help them.

1. Who was working on the computer when the rainstorm came?

A．Mr. Hill.

B．Eric.

C．Rosa.

D．Mrs. Hill.

2. What was Eric doing at the time of the rainstorm?

A．He was doing his homework	B．He was watching TV.
C．He was washing his hair.	D．He was playing computer games.

3. Where might Mrs. Hill be when the rainstorm came?

A．In her bedroom.	B．In the sitting room.
C．In the kitchen.	D．In the washing room.