Many people complain that their memory is bad, especially as they get older. Phone numbers, names, facts we studied only a few days ago – life would be so much easier if we could remember them all effortlessly. So how can we improve our memory?

Many people think that repeating things is the best way to remember them. While this undoubtedly helps short-term memory (remembering a telephone number for a few seconds, for example), psychologists (心理學(xué)家) doubt whether it ca help you to remember things for very long. The British psychologist Ec Stanford seemed to prove this point when he tested himself on five prayers (祈禱文) that he had read aloud every morning for over 25 years. He found that he could remember no more than three words of some of them! More helpful, especially for remembering numbers, is grouping the information. The following numbers would be impossible for most of us to remember: 1492178919931848. But look at them in chunks, and it becomes much easier: 1492 1789 1993 1848.

So what about “memory training”? We’ve all heard about people who can memorize packs of cards by heart—how is this done and can anyone learn how to do it? According to experts, there are many ways of training your memory. Many of them involve forming a mental picture of the things to be memorized. One method, which may be useful in learning foreign languages, is to create a picture in your mind connected to a word you want to remember.

Another method is to invent a story that includes all the things you want to remember. In experiments, people were asked to remember up to 120 words using this skill; when tested afterwards, on average, they were able to recall 90% of them!

However, not all of us are interested in learning long lists of names and numbers just for fun.For those studying large number of information, psychologists suggest that the best way to form meaningful connections is to ask yourself lots of questions as you go along. So, for example, if you were reading about a particular disease (疾病), you would ask yourself questions like: “Do people get it from water?”, “What parts of the body does it influence?” and so on. This is said to be far more effective than time spent “passively” reading and re-reading notes.

【1】Which of the following is true about repeating things according to the passage?

A. It helps short-term memory for sure. B. It makes remembering things interesting.

C. It helps to remember things for long. D. It makes remembering prayers effortlessly.

【2】The word “chunks” in Paragraph 2 probably means “______”.

A. details B. turns C. groups D. lines

【3】What can we infer from the passage?

A. Creating a picture is useful in learning math.

B. Inventing a prayer trains our memory quickly.

C. Remembering long numbers is easy for people.

D. Asking yourself questions activates the memory.

【4】What’s the writer’s main purpose in writing this passage?

A. To complain that his memory is bad.

B. To recognize some memory problems.

C. To explain some memory experiments.

D. To share some ways of improving memory.

Like it or not, many of us are sleeping less on average (平均). In 1910, most Americans slept 9 hours a night. That dropped to 7.5 hours by 1975. In 2002, a study by the National Sleep Foundation found that the average American got only 6.9 hours. The news is even worse for people who work the night shift. They sleep an average of just 5 hours.

Are we sleeping enough? Not if you believe in the old rule of eight hours of rest, eight hours of work, and eight hours of play. On the other hand, Norman Stanley, a British scientist who studies sleep, believes people’s sleep needs are different. Some people need as many as 11 hours, but others need as few as three. How much do you really need? “To find out,” he says, “simply sleep until you wake naturally, without the help of an alarm clock. That’s your sleep need.”

Meanwhile, other scientists and researchers are searching for new ways to keep us awake longer. Some are developing chemicals (化學(xué)藥品) that are safer and more powerful than caffeine, the chemical found in coffee and tea. One experimental drug, CX717, kept laboratory monkeys working happily for 36 hours. Further developments may allow people to safely stay awake for several days straight. One group of researchers is studying a gene (基因) found in some fruit flies that lets them get by on one-third the usual amount of sleep. Another group is even working on an electric switch that immediately wakes up a sleeping brain.

The meanings of this research are huge. On the one hand, this could lead to a world where we work longer and longer hours with less and less sleep. On the other hand, if we needed less sleep, we would have more free time to travel, read, volunteer, and spend time with family.

【1】How many hours did most Americans sleep a night in 1975?

A. 5. B. 6.9. C. 7.5. D. 9.

【2】What can we learn from the passage?

A. People have got enough sleep. B. People will work longer hours.

C. Sleep time will be a big problem. D. Staying awake for long is possible.

【3】What is probably the best title of the passage?

A. To sleep or Not to sleep? B. How can We Sleep Longer?

C. To Work or Not to Work? D. How Much We can Sleep?

---So there is. The WTO says only 1.5 grams of salt_______ for each man every day.

A. is needed B. Needs

C. will need D. has needed

--Never mind．I here for only a few minutes．

A. came B. have been C. have come D. had come

--You know，we must listen to the teacher carefully ．

A. take notes B. taking notes C. to take notes D. takes notes

A. look for B. look at C.look like D. look after

---Shanghai, of course..

A. the smallest B. the least

C. the most D. the largest

A. if B. or C. and D. but

A. to speak B. saying C. to talk D. to say

J.K. Rowling was born in England in 1965. From a young age, she knew she wanted to be a writer. When she was 6, she wrote her first story—about a rabbit that gets sick. At school, she used to make up stories to tell her friends.

After graduation from college, she worked as a secretary. But she didn’t give up her dream.She spent her lunch hour writing stories, mainly for adults. Then in 1990, on a train trip to London,she got the idea from the boy wizard. She says he just appeared in her head. She soon created many other characters to help Harry fight the forces of darkness.

She kept working on the story while she was teaching English in Portugal, where she married, had her first child, and divorced (與……離婚) a year later. When she returned to England, she brought back a box of Harry Potter stories.

After returning home, she was broke and living in a small house. She continued writing, and in 1995, finished the first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It was published (出版) in 1997 and became an unexpected bestseller.

Rowling’s life has changed a lot. She has become internationally famous and now earns around $40 million a year. She remarried, had a second child and lives in Scotland now.

【1】When did J.K. Rowling write her first story about a rabbit?

A. In 1965. B. In 1971. C. In 1990. D. In 1995.

【2】What happed to J.K. Rowing in 1997?

A. She had a train trip to London.

B. She taught English in Portugal.

C. She became an unexpected bestseller.

D. She remarried and had a second child.

【3】J.K. Rowling become successful because she ________.

A. lives in Scotland now

B. never gives up her dream

C. earns around $40 million

D. keeps working on the train