2 . I was taking a memory test while lying inside an MRI scanner to see whether the brains of memory champions like me were different from anyone else’s.

When the results were published, the findings were very positive.     1     Instead, what set us apart was what we did when were learning ---- in particular, the way we used pictures, and put our “mind’s eye” to work.

Everyone can get more from their memory. Any formation can be turned into imagery ---- immediately switching on parts of the brain that create rich, multi-layered memories.

Try it yourself. Here’s a list of random words ---- just the sort of information that’s used to test would-be memory champions.     2     Picture them, as vividly as you can.

MOUNTAIN, TAINBOW, PEA, SOFA,

SHEEP, SNOWMAN, WINDMILL,

NEWSPAPER, PIANO, UMBRELLA

As images, rather than words, these items will stay longer in your short-term memory.       3     you’ll boost your chances of achieving even longer-term learning.

Fire up your visual memory and get your brain buzzing. Notice the relative sizes of the items on the list. Look out for any similarities or differences in shapes, colours or textures. And ask yourself if any of the words fall into obvious pairs or patterns.

    4       Then, start attaching images to information you want to remember: shopping lists, addresses, brilliant ideas. By doing so, you’ll find that you soon become more observant, better with details, and more confident about recalling the things that matter.

    5       and use pictures to help you to set some new “personal bests” for your own memory power!

A．But don’t just read the words.

B．So learn from the champions,

C．And by letting your brain engage with them in new ways,

D．There are two kinds of memory: short-term and long-term.

E．After a few minutes, cover the page and see how many words you recall.

F．Thus, remembering can be thought of as an act of creative reimagination.

G．Expert memorisers didn’t have any physical differences between our ears.

3 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段内容，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数为150左右。

Bales left the pavement of Base Road and stepped onto snow-covered Jewell Trail. She planned a six-hour hike through New Hampshire’s Mount Washington State Park. She had packed for almost every emergency and intended to walk alone.

She’d checked the weather forecast posted by the Mount Washington Observatory before she left. Based on her experience, Bales knew that her hike was realistic. Besides, she had two emergency plans and extra layers of clothing to better adjust her body temperature as conditions changed.

The hike up the lower part of Jewell Trail was pleasant. Bales felt excited as she walked up into snowy paths. The sun shone through the trees and cast a shadow over her smiling face. Less than an hour later, loads of dark clouds had replaced the sunshine, and snow covered the surrounding trees.

She still smiled. However, the weather was showing its teeth. Bales added even more layers to shelter herself from the cold winds and thick fog. She made her way across the snow-covered ridge (山脊toward Mount Washington and began to think about calling it a day. Suddenly, she noticed something: a single set of footprints in the snow ahead of her, which had been made by a pair of sneakers-typically not the type for hiking.

Meanwhile, Bales was getting colder, even though she was moving fast and generating some body heat. With strong gusts of wind screaming and attacking her back and left side, she decided to abandon her plan. The only thing, however, kept her on the trail was the sneaker tracks in the snow.

Paragraph 1:

Bales faced a dilemma about whether to follow the tracks or not.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:

Her searching now turned into rescuing the man.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?

Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.

In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is—politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something—and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.

1. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?

A．Both are about where to draw the line.

B．Both can continue for generations.

C．Neither has any clear winner.

D．Neither can be put to an end.

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

A．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents.

B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict.

C．The teens cause their parents of misleading them.

D．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict.

3. Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ______.

A．give orders to the other

B．know more than the other

C．gain respect from the other

D．get the other to behave properly

4. What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A．Solutions for the parent-teen problems.

B．Examples of the parent-teen war.

C．Causes for the parent-teen conflicts.

D．Future of the parent-teen relationship.

5 . What were you like as a teenager? I was a nightmare. I was rude to my parents, always stayed out late, never did my homework, hung out with the wrong people and made lots of bad decisions. Obviously, this is the age when teenagers are out of control and behave badly. Maybe, if you’re a teenager now, you think this is unfair judgment or it’s not your fault. Well, you might be right!

Experts have found that it’s a teenager’s brain that is to blame. Between the ages of about 13 to 19 — a period known as adolescence, the brain is still developing in areas that control behavior. This has an influence on learning and multitasking, stress and memory, sleep, and decision-making. For parents, these results often make them notice lots of behaviors that they may have earlier blamed on hormones (荷尔蒙) or just moodiness.

So our brains are still developing much later than it was thought before. Is this the perfect excuse for teenagers to walk around aimlessly and not get their homework done on time? Of course not! According to Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, who made the new discovery, it’s to do with our prefrontal cortex that’s the part of our brain right at the front, just behind the forehead. She says “It takes part in a whole area of very high-level cognitive (认知的) tasks such as decision making and planning — we know that this area is going through very large amounts of development during the adolescent years”. This is the part of the brain which plays an important role in planning, and, for a teenager, this hasn’t developed yet. So getting organised to do their homework, for example, can come as a bit of challenge.

I wish I’d known about this because instead of telling my teacher I’d left my homework on the bus or that the dog had eaten it. Now I could say, “Sorry sir, my brain isn’t developed enough for the cognitive task of planning my homework.”

1. Which of the following is common in teenagers?

A．Doing some bad deeds.

B．Being blamed for their age.

C．Stopping their brain development.

D．Making excuses for their bad behaviors.

2. What do we know about the new discovery?

A．The brain develops in the first few years of life.

B．The forehead stops developing during adolescence.

C．Hormones take responsibility for teenagers’ behaviors.

D．The prefrontal cortex affects us performing cognitive tasks.

3. What is the best title for the text?

A．Behind the adolescence

B．Inside a Teenager’s Brain

C．For the Naughty Teenagers

D．About the brain Development

6 . A Uber driver stopped her work day so she could help a new mother with a sick child.

Nicole Ihus’s son John Henry was born last month with a rare disease called congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Nicole and her husband, who live in Kansas City, got m touch with doctors from Minnesota and Missouri in hopes of finding a doctor who could treat John Henry for the condition — but to no avail.

Luckily, Nicole managed to get in contact with the “best doctor in the world for this condition” at Johns Hopkins All Children in St. Petersburg, Florida — so she traveled all the way to the Sunshine State to give her newborn son a fighting chance.

After John Henry was bon into the hands of the NICU, Nicole felt sad and alone in the new state, although she knew that she had to leave her son’s side in order to buy him some new clothes.

After ordering an Uber ride to the nearby Rhea Lana children’s clothing store, she was picked up by a woman named Belinda. Shortly after Nicole got into Belinda’s car, the new mother couldn’t help but told her heartbreaking story.

“She told me her story,” Belinda said in the interview below. “She was in tears a couple of times and I was really concerned about her.”

Rather than simply dropping Nicole off at the store, however, Belinda parked the car and was firmly determined to accompany her passenger into the store.

“She was like, ‘I’m going to help you buy some clothes for your son.’ I asked her, ‘Are you serious?’ I can’t even imagine,” said Nicole. “For this stranger to go completely out of her way — stop what she was doing and stop making money — to come to be with me for a couple of hours while we shopped together, that was just unbelievable.”

1. What does the writer mean by saying “to no avail” in Para.2?

A．Henry’s condition became worse.

B．The couple lost hope of finding a doctor.

C．The doctor didn’t want to treat John Henry.

D．The couple didn’t find the doctor they wanted.

2. How did Belinda help Nicole after hearing her story?

A．By offering her a free ride.

B．By going shopping with her.

C．By buying new clothes for her.

D．By chatting with her for hours.

3. What is the writer’s purpose of writing the passage?

A．To advise readers to help the baby.

B．To tell a story of a helpless mother.

C．To speak highly of the driver’s kindness.

D．To call on people to learn from the driver.

7 . Raised in a motherless home，my father was extremely tightfisted towards us children. His attitude didn’t soften as I grew into adulthood and went to college. I had to ride the bus whenever I came home. Though the bus stopped about two miles from home，Dad never met me，even in severe weather. If I grumbled，he’d say in his loudest father-voice，“That’s what your legs are for！”

The walk didn’t bother me as much as the fear of walking alone along the highway and country roads. I also felt less than valued that my father didn’t seem concerned about my safety. But that feeling was canceled one spring evening.

It had been a particularly difficult week at college after long hours in labs. I longed for home. When the bus reached the stop，I stepped off and dragged my suitcase to begin the long journey home.

A row of hedge(树篱)edged the driveway that climbed the hill to our house. Once I had turned off the highway to start the last lap of my journey，I always had a sense of relief to see the hedge because it meant that I was almost home. On that particular evening，the hedge had just come into view when I saw something gray moving along the top of the hedge，moving toward the house. Upon closer observation，I realized it was the top of my father’s head. Then I knew，each time I’d come home，he had stood behind the hedge，watching，until he knew I had arrived safely. I swallowed hard against the tears. He did care，after all.

On later visits，that spot of gray became my watchtower. I could hardly wait until I was close enough to watch for its secret movement above the greenery. Upon reaching home，I would find my father sitting innocently in his chair.“ So！My son，it’s you！”he’d say，his face lengthening into pretended surprise.

I replied，“Yes，Dad，it’s me.I’m home.”

1. What does the underlined word“grumbled” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Agreed willingly.	B．Explained clearly.
C．Spoke unhappily.	D．Accepted happily.

2. What made the author feel upset was         .

A．the tiredness after long hours in labs

B．the feeling of being less than valued

C．the fear of seeing something moving

D．the loneliness of riding the bus home

3. The author’s father watched behind the hedge because____

A．he was concerned about his son’s safety

B．he wanted to help his son build up courage

C．he didn’t want to meet his son at the doorway

D．he didn’t think his son was old enough to walk alone

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Riding Bus Alone.	B．My College Life.
C．Terrible Journey Home.	D．My Father’s Secret.

8 .
Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the websites you've visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.
In fact, it's likely some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a spouse, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen—the 2lst century is the equal of being caught naked.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, and that it's important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread pieces you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret. The key question is: Does that matter?
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey found an overwhelming pessimism about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is "slipping away, and that bothers me."
But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny part of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths (收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquits has run a series of tests that reveal that people will give personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cent-off coupon.
But privacy does matter—at least sometimes. It's like health; when you have it, you don't notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you‘d done more to protect it.
1. What would psychologists advise on the relationship between friends?

A．Friends should open their hearts to each other.

B．Friends should always be faithful to each other.

C．There should be a distance even between friends.

D．There should be fewer disputes between friends.

2. Why does the author say "we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret" (Line 5 Para.3)?

A．Modern society has finally developed into an open society.

B．People leave traces around when using modern technology.

C．There are always people who are curious about others' affairs.

D．Many search engines profit by revealing people's identities.

3. What do most Americans do with regard to privacy protection?

A．They change behaviors that might disclose their identity.

B．They use various loyalty cards for business transactions.

C．They rely more and more on electronic devices.

D．They talk a lot but hardly do anything about it.

4. Accorg to the passage, privacy is like health in that ________.

A．people will make every effort to keep it

B．its importance is rarely understood

C．it is something that can easily be lost

D．people don't value it until they lose it