When you tidy your messy bedroom，it gets a lot easier to find things.Dreams may work the same way for a messy brain，helping you learn by organizing memories and ideas.
To test how much dreams can help learning，Robert Stickgold had some students play a shapefitting game called Tetris (俄罗斯方块) for a few hours and then go to sleep.Soon they were dreaming of falling Tetris shapes.Interestingly，the worst Tetris players had the most Tetris dreams and improved their game the most.Similar tests have shown the same results for all kinds of skills.
As we dream，many important tasks are getting done.The brain decides what to keep and what to forget.It is connecting new experiences to older learning.In fact，the brain is learning all night long.
Another important task of dreams may be to help us deal with emotions (情绪)．At night，emotions are in the driver’s seat.People who have had an upsetting experience often dream about it afterward.Often the dream event changes somehow—another way the brain tries to make the memory less upset.So if your best friend moves away，you might dream that you’re the one who’s moving.In fact，dreams have a proven power to improve mood，and people who dream about what’s bothering them usually feel better sooner than those who don’t.
Everybody dreams for a couple of hours every night—in the course of your life，you’ll spend about 25 years asleep and 6 years dreaming.There’s probably no single answer to the question why we dream，but there doesn’t have to be.One dream might help you remember your math facts，while another might lead to a new invention，or give you a fun，crazy story to tell your friends.It’s all in a night’s work for our busy，mysterious brains. Robert Stickgold’s test shows that________.
| A．games are useful for memory |
| B．dreams can help improve skills |
| C．players stop learning in dreams |
| D．tasks can only be settled through dreams |
We can learn from Paragraph 4 that________.
| A．dreams can get rid of sufferings |
| B．only drivers can deal with emotions |
| C．one may be less upset after a dream |
| D．dreams can copy what one experienced |
Which of the following does the author probably agree with?
| A．Dreaming does harm to one’s mood. |
| B．Dreaming affects the quality of sleep. |
| C．It’s hard to find out the secrets of dreaming. |
| D．It’s not so important to know the cause of dreaming. |
What does the text focus on?
| A．Dreams and memories. | B．Dreams and emotions. |
| C．The benefits of dreams. | D．The patterns of dreams. |
In which part of a magazine can this text be found?
| A．Entertainment. | B．Tourism. |
| C．Science. | D．Advertisement. |
As Apple tries to maintain its growth and success in China, the world's largest smart-phone market is becoming even more critical. Apple's shares(股份) fell sharply as the company's earnings for the holiday quarter through December disappointed investors.
The sales of the iPhone, which include both the iPhone 5 and older models, came in at the low end of analysts' expectations, while the company's income plan for the second quarter was below analysts' forecasts, though Apple is known to give conservative (保守的) forecasts.
Som'6 analysts have said that for Apple to regain its growth, the company.needs a more aggressive strategy for markets, or more specifically for China, where the market for smart phones has been expanding more rapidly than anywhere else. In China, demand is particularly great for inexpensive phones that run on Android(安卓) operating system, sold by many Chinese phone makers as well as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.
But Apple says it's already enjoying strong growth in China. "We saw big growth in iPhones,"Chief Executive Tim Cook said. He said that the company has been quickly expanding its sales channels in China, including the number of Apple stores. "This isn't nearly what we need, we're not even close to that, but we're making great progress. " he said.
In China, a big missing piece for Apple is China Mobile Ltd. , the biggest local telecom carrier that doesn't yet sell the iPhone. Earlier this month, Mr. Cook met China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua in Beijing and discussed cooperation, stirring hopes that the world's largest mobile carrier may soon start offering the iPhone.
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is working on a lower-end iPhone that could launch as early as this year. But one possible challenge for Apple in China is that low-pricod Android-based phones are getting better in terms of quality. A report from CLSA in late November showed that many smart-phones sold at about 1,000 yuan ( $160) came with higher-reso-lution screens, better cameras and more powerful processors than phones at that price did a year earlier.Apple's shares dropped sharply because in December__
| A．the iPhone wasn't popular in China |
| B．its product quality was widely criticized |
| C．the earnings for the holiday quarter was disappointing |
| D．the investors were not satisfied with Apple's management |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Apple tends to offer a lower sales forecast. |
| B．China Mobile Ltd began to team up with Apple. |
| C．Cook is pessimistic about what Apple did in China. |
| D．Apple didn't take measures to develop Chinese market. |
The author uses the report from CLSA to prove
| A．their prices are actually lower than a year earlier |
| B．Apple in China has ability to deal with any problem |
| C．low-ended Android-based phones are progressing fast |
| D．the promotion of lower-end iPhone will face a challenge |
The main purpose of the passage is to show the readers __
| A．Apple.'s high popularity in China |
| B．the challenge Apple faces in China |
| C．the approaching failure Apple will suffer in China |
| D．Apple's aggressive strategy in its market expansion |
Over three million people will do their Christmas shopping entirely online this year without once visiting an actual shop, a poll (民意调查) has found. Overcrowding and long queues in shops are forcing people away from the high street as the hassle (烦扰) of Christmas shopping becomes too much.
The number of people turning their backs on the high street is almost one million higher than it was last year, according to the poll by YouGov. Last Christmas 2.4 million shoppers did not do any of their shopping in actual shops. The figure this year is predicted to be around 3.4 million, equal to around 7 percent of the adult population.
Over a third of people said that the main turn-off about shopping on the high street is 0ver-crow-ding. Meanwhile almost a quarter said that long queues at the cheek-out are the worst thing about it.
Of the 2.065 people pored, even those who are stir taking to the shops plan to spend less time in them this Christmas. Around 31 percent of shoppers who plan to spend at least some time on the high street will spend less than half of their shopping time in actual shops, using the rest of the time to shop remotely via the internet. This compares to 28 percent of people last year. Meanwhile the proportion of people spending over half of their shopping time in high street shops has dropped from 41 percent last year to 39 percent this year. Just 2 percent of people said that they are looking forward to dealing wi.th store staff this festival season.
Guy Boxall, senior product marketing manager at Casio Business Solutions Division, which commissioned the research from YouGov, said that despite the fall in people visiting the high street,humans are "social creatures" who actually like spending time together.
"Although the high street is facing a big challenge Christmas, retailers (零售商) should see this research as a challenge to improve the in-store shopping experience, rather than the nail in the coffin. We are social creatures, and the desire to spend time with each other, particularly at Christmas, is never going to go away," said Mr. Boxall.According to the poll, in this year's Christmas
| A．about 7 % of the population will do both online and actual shopping |
| B．about 31% of shoppers will do half of their shopping in actual shops |
| C．about 39% of shoppers will do more than half of their shopping in actual shops |
| D．over three million shoppers will quit actual shopping just because of the long queues |
What's the meaning of "turn-off" in Para.5?
| A．Something that makes people lose heart |
| B．Something that makes people lose face |
| C．Something that makes people lose interest |
| D．Something that makes people lose courage |
It can be inferred from Mr. Boxall's words that
| A．retailers should reduce their in-store goods. |
| B．retailers wiR be pessimistic about the result of this research. |
| C．retailers should focus on the advantage of in-store shopping. |
| D．retailers will make more profits this Christmas than last Christmas |
Wheat's the writer's attitude towards Christmas online shopping?
| A．Concerned. | B．Doubtful. | C．Approving. | D．Objective. |
If you want to know how crazy people can be about their pets, you might remember that Helmsley left $12 million to her little Maltese dog when she died last year.
The dog's name is Trouble. And apparendy Trouble is still alive. Of course, I would hang on,too, if someone left me $12 million. Look! Top-shelf dog food, soft pillows everywhere, drivers walking me in nice leafy parks. I would live to be 110 in dog years.
The dog's story is still fresh in my mind the other night when I leave a steak house after a superb meal. Then I notice a woman carrying a small bag out of the door behind me.
Once outside, she walks over to where a man is holding a tiny dog hke it's a baby. The dog looks like a Maltese, too, barking and annoying, with a cute haircut,
And now I am treated to an absolute astonishing sight. Because now the woman reaches into the bag and begins pulling out little pieces of meat, which she puts on a plastic spoon and feeds to the dog.
This is no cheap steak house. It's actually, way out of my league --I'm there only because it's a special occasion. I can tell you this: if I walked out of the place with any leftover steak, it sure wouldn't go to a dog. Not at those prices.
So now the woman is Spoon-feeding the dog and the man is just standing there, holding this dog and looking as if this is the most normal thing in the world. And the dog is calmly chewing these pieces of steak as if he's a little king. And this dog is in no hurry. He's having a great time.
A few minutes go by, and now the dog finishes all of his steak. At this point, I hear the woman say to the man "Think he's still hungry?" And she glances behind her at the restaurant, as if she might go back in there to get more steak for the dog.
Watching all this, I'm afraid I'm going to shout, "Are you out of your mind? Feeding all that pricey steak to that little dog? Did you see what our American life is like today? We're all going to be eating dog food if this keeps up!" Why would the author live to be 110 in dog years?
| A．Because he is always in poor health and falls ill. |
| B．Because a Maltese dog lives longer than a human being. |
| C．Because his grandparents left him a large sum of money. |
| D．Because he thinks the dog is treated extremely well. |
What is the story mainly about?
| A．An American family's happy life. |
| B．A Maltese dog getting $12 million from its owner. |
| C．A New Yorker spending $ 8 billion for a few banks. |
| D．A pet dog being fed with expensive food. |
The underlined sentence "It's actually way out of my league. " (in Para. 6) means __
| A．the restaurant is too expensive for the author |
| B．the author hates the dog being taken there |
| C．the superb restaurant is about to be out of service |
| D．the dog doesn't belong to the author's group |
Seeing the dog.is being treated to expensive steak, the author becomes extremely ____
| A．indifferent | B．annoyed | C．concerned | D．envious |
The new studies show that fewer than half of the 9th graders in many of the nation’s largest cities, can ever graduate. The studies clearly show that the dropout rate isn’t dropping. And, in particular, the dropout rate isn’t dropping for poor and minority students.
Amazingly, though so many regret the rising dropout rate, our schools continue to lack formal plans—or any plans—to teach students motivation. Most schools have no game plan to ensure that students understand that schooling will be completely necessary. Schools expect youth and children to act as though schooling is important, but they never teach them to believe that.
Years ago, families ensured that the children recognized the value of schooling. But in many modern families, the children may fail to recognize the importance of school life just because these families may actually tell their children that school is not important. Since many families are not motivating their children to be interested students, youth professionals, like teachers may need to provide this training.
Here are some strategies to convince even the most apathetic (无动于衷的) students that they must stay in school.
Ask students if they will ever need to work: The world has changed. 100 years ago, factory work was the booming job, and it required no education. Today, factories are increasingly automated. Most computer-related jobs require education and at least a high school diploma.
Ask students which century they will be prepared for: In 1900, the most common jobs were farm laborer and domestic servant—education not needed. Now, the most common jobs are office and sales staff—education and diploma usually needed. An amazing 6 out of 10 people today work in a store or office.
Ask students to devise a way that the employee could be replaced. For example, the coming trend in fast food is to use computers rather than people to run the restaurant. A prototype is apparently already being tested. The students should discover that most jobs that lack education and diploma requirements may be ripe for automation.What does the underlined part mean in Paragraph1?
| A．Few students can afford to go to school in large cities. |
| B．A large number of the 9th graders can graduate now. |
| C．There are still quite a few 9th graders leaving school early. |
| D．Most schools in large cities have fewer and fewer students. |
It can be inferred that .
| A．both schools and families should answer for the high dropout rate |
| B．many new jobs don’t need children’s high school diploma |
| C．working in a store doesn’t require a high school diploma |
| D．most schools are ready to help students recognize the importance of study |
The author takes factory work for example mainly to .
| A．tell us that many jobs required certain education in the past |
| B．show that employment in the computer field grows at a high rate |
| C．show that there are more factory work and employment in modern society |
| D．emphasize that modern jobs require education and schools are necessary |
The orderly came back in a few minutes with a rifle（步枪）and some Burmans. He told us that the elephant was in the rice fields below, only a few hundred yards away. As I started forward practically the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed me. They had seen the rifle and were all shouting that I was going to shoot the elephant. It was fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides, they wanted the meat. It made me a little uneasy. I had no intention of shooting the elephant—I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself—and it is always uneasy to have a crowd following you. I marched down the hill, looking and feeling a fool, with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of people knocking and pushing at my heels. Beyond the huts there was a rice field a thousand yards across, muddy from the first rains. The elephant was standing eight yards from the road. He took not the slightest notice of the crowd. He was tearing up bunches of grass, beating them against his knees to clean them and feeding them into his mouth.
As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him. It is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant — it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery. There, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. I thought then and I think now that his attack of “must” was already passing off, in which case he would merely wander harmlessly about. Moreover, I did not in the least want to shoot him.
But at that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me. It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing every minute. I looked at the sea of the faces above the colorful clothes—faces all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot. They were watching me as they would watch a magician about to perform a trick. They did not like me. But with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching. And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward. And it was at this moment that I first felt the hollowness, the uselessness of the white man's control in the East. Here was I, standing in front of the unarmed crowd—seemingly the leading actor; but in reality only a puppet (傀儡). I understood in this moment that when the white man turns ruler of complete power it is his own freedom that he destroys.The people were glad to think the elephant was to be shot mainly because ______.
| A．it had damaged their homes and crops |
| B．it would provide them with meat |
| C．it would make them feel entertained |
| D．it was spoiling their rice fields |
When the writer saw the elephant he felt .
| A．foolish | B．afraid | C．pitiful | D．confident |
The writer realized that he had to shoot the elephant because .
| A．shooting elephants is a serious problem |
| B．everybody expected it of him |
| C．he did not wish to disappoint the rulers |
| D．he had to show how guns are fired |
What does the writer intend to tells us when he tells the story?
| A．Leading actors are sometimes foolish puppets. |
| B．Government for white people are useless. |
| C．Power can sometimes turn people imprisoned. |
| D．Unarmed crowds are in control of everything. |
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