Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it？Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power？Start writing.
By putting thoughts into words，you are telling yourself the logic behind what you think，feel，or only partly understand. Often，explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words，you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power”.
Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many，if not most，highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head，but if you keep a journal(日志)of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project，you’ll probably have more success.
Want to understand a topic？Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example，but if you are learning something new，write a letter to a friend about it，and you will understand it better. Want to invent something？Write an explanation of the problem—why you want to solve it，and why it is worth solving，and you’re halfway there.
Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often，they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Way on How to Write |
| B．Increase Your Brain Power Through Writing |
| C．Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing |
| D．How to Start Your Writing |
According to the passage，writing can help you a lot except________.
| A．to increase your brain power |
| B．to improve the ability to remember |
| C．to develop your interest in study |
| D．to strengthen the understanding of a topic |
If a writer writes something，it means that he or she________.
| A．has understood it very well |
| B．needs to understand it better |
| C．wants to remember it in his or her mind |
| D．is testing his or her new ideas |
The underlined sentence“you’re halfway there”in the fourth paragraph means that________.
| A．you are already successful |
| B．there’s a long way for you to go to reach your goal |
| C．you are left wondering what to do |
| D．you have been on the way to success |
C
She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful brown haired, freckle-faced(雀斑) image of innocence. It was pouring outside.
We all stood there under the awning(遮篷) and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We all waited, some patiently, others irritated, because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always memorized by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve(暂缓) from the worries of my day.
Her voice was so sweet as it broke the trance（恍惚） we were all caught in, "Mom, let's run through the rain." she said.
"What?" Mom asked.
"Let's run through the rain!" She repeated.
"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit." Mom replied.
This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain."
"We'll get soaked if we do." Mom said.
"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she pulled her Mom's arm."
"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"
"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, if God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!"
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.
Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation(肯定) in a young child's lifetime when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. "Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If get wet, well maybe we just need washing." Mom said. Then off they ran.
We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they ran past the cars . They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked but they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing. Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories. So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day!The first paragraph is functioned as a(n) _____ of the story.
| A．introduction | B．transition |
| C．explanation | D．background |
What attitude of the Mom towards her daughter’s suggestion at first?
| A．Indifferent | B．Positive |
| C．Negative | D．Curious |
How can we understand the underlined sentences in paragraph twelve?
| A．People were sad to hear the bad news of little girl’s father |
| B．People didn’t know how to comfort the little girl and her Mom |
| C．People were curious to know how the Mom would react to the girl |
| D．People didn’t hear what the little girl had said because of the heavy rain |
Which of the following can be the best title of the story?
| A．We Need Washing |
| B．Run Through the Rain |
| C．Cherish Your Memories |
| D．Make Memories Every Day |
B
"How do you account for your remarkable achievements in life?" Queen Victoria of England asked Helen Keller. "How do you explain the fact that even though you were both blind and deaf, you were able to achieve so much?"
Ms. Keller's answer is a tribute(致敬) to her dedicated teacher. "If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown."
According to speaker Zig Ziglar, "Little Annie" Sullivan, as she was called when she was young, was no stranger to hardship. She was almost sightless herself (due to a childhood fever) and was, at one time, diagnosed as hopelessly "insane" （精神失常的）by her by caregivers. She was locked in the basement of a mental institution outside of Boston. On occasion, Little Annie would violently attack anyone who came near. Most of the time she generally ignored everyone in her presence.
An elderly nurse believed there was hope, however, and she made it her mission to show love to the child. Every day she visited Little Annie. For the most part, the child did not acknowledge the nurse's presence, but she still continued to visit. The kind woman left cookies for her and spoke words of love and encouragement. She believed Little Annie could recover, if only she were shown love.
Eventually, doctors noticed a change in the girl. Where they once witnessed anger and hostility(敌意), they now noted an emerging gentleness and love. They moved her upstairs where she continued to improve. Then the day finally came when this seemingly "hopeless" child was released.
Anne Sullivan grew into a young woman with a desire to help others as she, herself, was helped by the kindly nurse. It was she who saw the great potential in Helen Keller. She loved her, disciplined her, played with her, pushed her and worked with her until the flickering candle that was her life became a beacon of light to the world. Anne Sullivan worked wonders in Helen's life， but it was a loving nurse who first believed in Little Annie and lovingly transformed an uncommunicative child into a compassionate teacher.
"If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown." But if it had not been for a kind and dedicated nurse, the name of Anne Sullivan would have remained unknown. And so it goes. Just how far back does the chain of redemption（救赎） extend? And how for forward will it lead?
Those you have sought to reach, whether they be in your family or elsewhere, are part of a chain of love that can extend through the generations. Your influence on their lives, whether or not you see results, is immeasurable. Your legacy of dedicated kindness and caring can transform lost and hopeless lives for years to come.Which of the following is true about Anne Sullivan according to the paragraph 3?
She was strange to hardship when she was young.
She would violently attack anyone who came near sometimes.
She was once locked in the basement of a mental institution in Boston.
She generally ignored everyone in her presence all the time.Which of the following words can describe the elderly nurse?
| A．kind and stubborn | B．persistent and dull |
| C．courageous and talkative | D．optimistic and loving |
The underlined word “compassionate” in the six paragraph means “________”.
| A． open-minded | B．ambiguous |
| C．complicated | D．sympathized |
We can infer from the passage that_____
| A．Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan were both blind and deaf. |
| B．It’s hope and love that the nurse believed Little Annie could recover |
| C．But for the nurse, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown |
| D．The results of influence on other people’s lives can be measured. |
A
When I was six years old, my mother started making me take piano lessons. Every morning, she would make sure I sat in front of the piano and practiced for at least one hour. After two years, I still didn’t like it. When the time for my Grade Ⅰ examination, I couldn’t go through with it. I cried because I didn’t want to play the piano anymore. In the end, I was spared from going for any more lessons. That was the end of my music career.
When I look back at that time, I ask myself—why did I do that for two years? I didn’t think abut it then but the answer seems obvious now—I didn’t think I had a choice.
Then for twelve years, I felt that my life had no meaning. I felt that I really couldn’t go on. I kept waiting for something outside of me to happen to make me happy. But the universe intervened (干涉) and sent me help disguised in the form of a sales call.
One afternoon a lady called me about a Tony Robbins event called Unleash the Power Within. Part of me was curious; but when the time came, I still was considering if I should go in or go to the beach instead. I made a choice to give it a try. In that hall filled with 4,000 people, Tony gave me back something I never knew I had---the power of choice. I left there renewed and refreshed, excited about my new life, knowing from that point forward that in life there are no victims, only choices. To this day, I sometimes wonder how differently my life would have turned out if I had missed taking that sales call.
Sometimes in life, we are stuck in certain situations and it may seem that there is nothing we can do about it. Just remember that everything in life is about choice. You can make a choice to remove yourself from any situation that is not serving you right now. The question is---will you?What was the possible reason for the author’s giving up the piano?
| A．His mother thought he played badly. |
| B．He liked playing other instruments. |
| C．He didn’t like to play the piano. |
| D．He couldn’t pass the examination. |
In the author’s opinion, the sales call is______.
| A．to promote certain kind of products to him. |
| B．to help him in a different form. |
| C．to give him a chance to make a choice. |
| D．to interfere his normal life. |
After the author participated in the Tony Robbins event, he_____.
| A．forgot about all the pleasant things in his life. |
| B．went to the beach immediately. |
| C．was hopeful and optimistic. |
| D．was ready to help others. |
What is main idea of the passage?
| A．People should try different things in life. |
| B．Somehow we will get help in the end. |
| C．We should participate in more activities. |
| D．We aren’t helpless; we can control our own lives. |
D
I am one of seven children. My three sisters and I grew up in a small bedroom with two sets of beds. We shared a closet, a dresser, and just about everything else.
I had friends who were only children. I looked longingly at their perfect dolls and toys placed carefully on their perfect shelves in their perfect little girl bedrooms. They had bathrooms to themselves. These little girls would come home to everything just perfect.
Our bedroom always had stuff hanging about. There just wasn’t room to store the paraphernalia(随身物品) of four girls who had definite ideas about how they wanted their space to be. All of us girls shared a bathroom with our three brothers. From a very young age, I really thought I was hard up.
Looking back, I had to admit my “only children” friends had nice things. They had designer beds and beautiful bedrooms, but I always had someone to play with and talk to. Even if everyone else hated me, one of my sisters would not and that was all I needed.
My sisters and I made up games and went around the neighborhood begging for old dresses so we could put on plays in our garage. Our house was the centre of activity for the whole neighborhood. We had dance shows and baseball games in the street. In short, we had everything we ever needed because we had each other. I have come to realize that there are so many reasons that sisters make a difference to your life and I can give you a few here:
They get you. Your sisters have grown up with you so they know the entire back story of your situation and everything leading to it. They may not agree with you all the time but they never wonder why you do what you do or say what you say.
They have suffered with you through awful times. I know that when one of my sisters is unhappy, I am unhappy too. When some non-family member tries to hurt you, the claws of them will come out!
They have cheered you on. Sisters do get jealous at times but, even so, they are happy that you are doing well. They rejoice at your new bonus as long as you take them out for drinks and fattening appetizers!
They are on the same diet as you. We are women in a world where thinness is equated with beauty. No matter how unjust this is, we are always on a diet. There is nothing like a sister calling and complaining about how she wants an ice cream and can’t ever have one again.
They are aging at the same rate as you. As we get older, we change, and however miserable this can be, it is heartening(令人振奋的) to know that someone shares your misery. They know what you are going through because they are going through it too.
The last and best thing about sisters is that they stick with you. We can have our upsets and misunderstandings but we always come back to each other.
I know many people reading this may have had upsets with their sisters. All I can say is that communication fixes everything. If you miss your sister, tell her so. If you have a BFF(Best Friend Forever) that has stuck with you through thick and thin(不畏艰险地), adopt her as your sister and keep her close to you.What’s the meaning of the underlined sentence in the second paragraph?
| A．Only children have a blessed life. |
| B．Only children have their own items and space. |
| C．All the things that only children have are perfect. |
| D．Only children are given more love and care at home. |
What is NOT a reason that sisters make a difference to your life?
| A．They grow old with you. |
| B．They are on the same diet with you. |
| C．They can understand your strange behavior perfectly. |
| D．They stand by you when other family members hurt you. |
The underlined word “rejoice” in Paragraph 8 means ?
| A．fell grateful | B．show great joy |
| C．appear surprised | D．get disappointed |
From the passage, we can learn that the author .
| A．has adopted her BBF as her sister |
| B．has expressed great sympathy for only children |
| C．had a better relationship with her brothers |
| D．has given some advice to those who had upsets with their sisters |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Sisters, my fortune in life |
| B．Family love, the lasting topic |
| C．Communication fixes everything |
| D．Sharing things gives you a better life |
C
Of all the components of a good night’s sleep, dreams seem to be last within our control. In dreams, a window opens into a world where there is zero logic and dead people can speak. A century ago, Freud formulated(创立理论) his revolutionary theory that dreams were the hidden shadows of our unconscious desires and fears; by the late 1970s, neurologists(神经病学家) had switched to thinking of them as just “mental noise”—the random byproducts(副产品) of the neural repair work that goes on during sleep. Now researchers suspect that dreams are regulating moods while the brain is “offline”. And one leading authority says that these intensely powerful mental events actually can be bought under conscious control, to help us sleep and feel better. “It’s your dream,” says Rosalind Cartwright, chair of psychology at Chicago’s Medical Center. “If you don’t like it, change it.”
Evidence from brain imaging supports this view. The brain is as active during rapid eye movement sleep when most vivid dreams occur as it is when fully awake, says Dr. Eric Nofzinger at the University of Pittsburgh. But not all parts of the brain are equally involved: the limbic system or the emotional brain is especially active, while the prefrontal cortex—the center of intellect and reasoning, is relatively quiet. “We wake up from dreams happy or depressed, and those feelings can stay with us all day,” says Stanford sleep researcher Dr. William Dement. This link is shown among the patients in Cartwright’s clinic. Most people seem to have more bad dreams early in the night, progressing toward happier ones before awakening, suggesting that they are working through negative feelings generated during the day. Because our conscious mind is occupied with daily life we don’t always think about the emotional significance of the day’s events—until, it appears, we begin to dream.
There is probably little reason to pay attention to our dreams at all unless they keep us from sleeping or “We wake up in a panic,” Cartwright says. Those suffering from persistent nightmares should seek help from a therapist. For the rest of us, the brain has its ways of working through bad feelings. Sleep or rather dream on it and you’ll feel better in the morning.What does Rosalind Cartwright think of dreams?
| A．Dreamers can exercise conscious control over them. |
| B．They are shadows of our unconscious desires and fears. |
| C．People with more emotional changes dream more often. |
| D．They are actually products of our brain’s neural repairs. |
What is shown in Cartwright’s clinic?
| A．The functions of vivid dreams. |
| B．The relation of dreams to emotions. |
| C．The functions of different brain parts. |
| D．The secret of rapid eye movement sleep. |
Casual nightmare sufferers are advised to .
| A．ask for medical help |
| B．relax their mind during the day |
| C．don’t take the dreams seriously |
| D．realize the emotional significance of daily events |
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