1 . It’s late in the evening, time to close the book and turn off the computer. You’re done for the day. What you may not realize, however, is that the learning process actually continues in your dreams.

It might sound like science fiction, but researchers are increasingly focusing on the relationship between the knowledge and skills our brains absorb during the day and the often strange imaginings they generate at night. Scientists have found that dreaming about a task we’ve learned improves performance in that activity (suggesting that there’s some truth to the popular idea that we’re “getting” a foreign language once we begin dreaming in it). What’s more, dreaming may be an essential part of understanding, organizing and retaining what we learn.

While we sleep, research indicates, the brain replays the patterns of activity it experienced during waking hours, allowing us to enter what one psychologist calls a neural (神经的) virtual reality. A vivid example of such replay can be seen in a video researchers made recently about sleep disorders. They taught a series of dance moves to patients suffering from sleepwalking and related conditions. They then videotaped the subjects as they slept. Lying in bed, eyes closed, one female patient on the tape performs the dance moves she learned earlier.

This shows that while our bodies are at rest, our brains are drawing what’s important from the information and events we’ve recently encountered, then integrating that material into the vast store of what we already know. In a 2010 study, researchers reported that college students who dreamed about a computer maze (迷宫) task they had learned showed a 10-fold improvement in their ability to find their way through the maze compared with participants who did not dream about the task.

That study’s chief researcher Herbert Smith suggested that studying right before bedtime or taking a nap following a study session in the afternoon might increase the probability of dreaming about the material. Think about that as you go to sleep tonight.

1. What happens when one enters a dream state?

A．The body continues to act as if the sleeper were awake.

B．The neural activity of the brain will become intensified.

C．The brain once again experiences the learning activities of the day.

D．The brain behaves as if it were playing a virtual reality video game.

2. What does the brain do while we are sleeping?

A．It replaces old information with new material.

B．It processes and absorbs newly acquired information.

C．It regroups information and places it in different files.

D．It systematizes all the information collected during the day.

3. How can learning be enhanced according to Herbert Smith?

A．Staying up late before finally going to bed.

B．Having a period of sleep right after studying.

C．Having a dream about anything you are interested in.

D．Thinking about the chances of dreaming about the material.

4. What is the research discussed in the passage mainly about?

A．How study affects people’s dreams.

B．Why people learn more after sleeping.

C．What time students should study and sleep.

D．How dreaming may lead to improved learning outcomes.

2 . A block chain is a data structure that stores time-ordered data in an ever-growing list, like an accounting ledger (分类账簿). The block chain data structure is maintained using a distributed, peer-to-peer network of computers with no central “master”. As with many new concepts, block chain technology generates much optimism and also a huge amount of interest and excitement. Just what is it good for?

In short, block chains may improve any process where people need to access, confirm, send or store information securely. This information could be a person’s identity, a product’s shipment history or digital property like money.

Typical databases, spreadsheets (电子数据表), and ledgers store information about objects, people, and the interactions between them. Much of the world’s information, from credit card transactions to medical and financial records, is stored in these types of systems.

These types of systems have considerable, well-documented weaknesses that arise from their being centralized. A centralized record is hard to understand and is exposed to unauthorized access or distribution. It is also, because it is a ‘master’ copy, exposed to permanent changing or deletion.

Block chains are also used to store information. Crucially, however, they differ in two ways.

First, information is parceled up into blocks and sealed. Bitcoin, for example, which is the most famous practical example of a production block chain, stores all transactions across the network every ten minutes or so in a single, newly formed block. Each block is then added to the previous one to form a chain.

Second, this “chain of blocks” is not stored centrally. Instead, each block is copied and distributed around an entire network of peers - be they individuals, public institutions, or businesses - using distributed ledger technology. (The terms “block chain” and “distributed ledger” are often used interchangeably; for the sake of clarity, block chain technologies tend to employ distributed ledger technology.)

Each time someone adds a new block to the chain, meanwhile it is added to everyone’s copy.

1. What is the biggest strength of a block chain?

A．It promotes people’s enthusiasm about new technology.

B．It strengthens the security of processing information.

C．It enables people to store more data in time order.

D．It stores a large part of world’s information.

2. The typical systems used to store information are weak in that ________.

A．they are difficult to operate	B．they can be accessed easily
C．they have a central “master”	D．they store considerable documents

3. The passage is developed mainly by ________.

A．making comparisons	B．giving examples
C．making a list	D．showing the effect and causes

4. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To analyze the weaknesses of typical systems.

B．To encourage the popularity of the block chain.

C．To introduce the new concept of the block chain.

D．To compare the two different data structures.

3 . Some of the greatest problems we face today are concerned with the gradual destruction of our environment. Brown clouds; wildlife ____; polluted water. These ____ all seem so huge. So my family does what we can. We take cloth bags to stores instead of using plastic bags. We walk where we don’t have to ____.

But does it do any good?

I recently learned something about flamingos (火烈鸟). These beautiful birds gather in     ___ groups of a thousand or more. Every year, when the time ____ for migration, a few flamingos start the process by taking off from the lake. But ____ of the others seem to notice, so the tiny group returns.

However, the next day they ____ again. This time a few more struggle along with them, but the vast majority still ____ no attention, so these pioneers come back.

The ____ continues for several more days. Every time a few more birds join in but, _____ the thousands of others still take no ____, the great migration plan is once again ____.

Then one day something ____. The same small group of birds takes wing and a tiny number more join in, just as before. And this time their total number, though still quite ____, is enough to tip the balance. As one, the whole group takes flight and the migration ____. What a ____ sight it must be – thousands of flamingos taking to the sky at once!

A few can make a ____. It’s true that all of the great problems of the world have been solved because of the ____ efforts of a few.

If you believe in a cause (事业), don’t ____! Others will someday take notice and together we will ____ even our greatest problems.

1.

A．protection

B．extinction

C．migration

D．separation

2.

A．questions

B．costs

C．examples

D．problems

3.

A．drive

B．run

C．cycle

D．stand

4.

A．tiny

B．different

C．huge

D．similar

5.

A．comes

B．passes

C．varies

D．moves

6.

A．all

B．any

C．none

D．most

7.

A．gather

B．try

C．sing

D．appear

8.

A．attract

B．require

C．escape

D．pay

9.

A．plan

B．trend

C．activity

D．movement

10.

A．since

B．though

C．unless

D．while

11.

A．responsibility

B．notice

C．chance

D．measure

12.

A．put off

B．cut off

C．carried out

D．worked out

13.

A．approaches

B．works

C．changes

D．disappears

14.

A．significant

B．reasonable

C．adequate

D．small

15.

A．continues

B．delays

C．finishes

D．begins

16.

A．familiar

B．strange

C．magnificent

D．unrealistic

17.

A．point

B．decision

C．difference

D．mistake

18.

A．useless

B．tireless

C．extra

D．special

19.

A．give up

B．give in

C．give away

D．give out

20.

A．identify

B．understand

C．predict

D．solve

4 . We all know that some things are obviously right. For example, it is right to be _______ to other people. It is also right to look after the environment. Some things are_______ wrong, too. For instance, we should not hurt or bully (欺负) others, nor should we litter. Rules often tell us what is right or wrong.

Rules can help the public make the right _______, and remain safe. Car drivers have to obey traffic regulations that tell them the right things to do on the road to avoid crashes. Cyclists who give signals before turning or stopping help prevent_______.

If people follow rules without taking other matters into consideration, it will be _______for them to form what is sometimes called a “black and white” view. For example, they may believe that people should always tell the truth, and that lying is_______ acceptable. Such people always stick to their views, even if it means that they may get into_______.

Sometimes it may not be so easy to know_______what is right or wrong. Some people choose not to eat meat because they believe that it is _______ to eat animals, but others argue that they can eat meat and ________ be kind to animals; some insist that stealing is always wrong, but others think that one does not need to feel to________ when stealing some food to eat, if lives in a really poor area and he is________ . Rules help us live together in harmony, because they show us the right way to________ other. However, some people argue that rules may be ________, having observed that rules change all the time, and that some schools have some regulations and other have different ones — so who is to ________what is right?

1.

A．kind

B．sensitive

C．fair

D．generous

2.

A．equally

B．slightly

C．clearly

D．increasingly

3.

A．suggestion

B．conclusions

C．turns

D．choices

4.

A．accidents

B．mistakes

C．falls

D．deaths

5.

A．interesting

B．vital

C．easy

D．valuable

6.

A．seldom

B．rarely

C．merely

D．never

7.

A．trouble

B．power

C．prison

D．control

8.

A．roughly

B．eventually

C．deliberately

D．exactly

9.

A．awful

B．cruel

C．unhealthy

D．unnecessary

10.

A．still

B．even

C．later

D．somehow

11.

A．nervous

B．anxious

C．afraid

D．guilty

12.

A．begging

B．starving

C．growing

D．wandering

13.

A．follow

B．instruct

C．treat

D．protect

14.

A．disgusting

B．confusing

C．unsafe

D．unimportant

15.

A．predict

B．explain

C．decide

D．consider