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(逻辑)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”．
Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll increase your brain power，even if you have no idea how right now. Just start with anything，and create an explanation. For example，start with “I’ll learn chess，” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan，and if you actually do this，you’ll have a better understanding of your brain twenty minutes from now.
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 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 half-way 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 text?
| 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 text，writing can help you a lot in the following ways EXCEPT ________.
| A．the increase of your brain power |
| B．the ability to remember |
| C．the development of your interest in study |
| D．the better understanding of a topic |
The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in Paragraph 5 implies that ________.
| A．you are already successful |
| B．you still need to work hard |
| C．writing can help you walk half way |
| D．writing is important to solve problems |
What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?
| A．To advise readers to start their writing. |
| B．To explain the importance of writing. |
| C．To persuade readers to become writers. |
| D．To increase readers’ brain power. |
You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a rise in the world’s temperature But rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation（撤离）of an island nation—the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland.
During the 20th century ,sea level rose 8—12 inches. As a result .Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country’s drinking water.
Paani Laupepa , a Tuvaluan government official ,reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years .Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.
Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions（导致温室效应的气体排放）,which are a main cause of global warming . “By refusing to sign the agreement ,the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years,” Laupepa told the BBC.
Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries .
Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable （易受影响的）to rising sea levels .Maumoon Gayoon ,president of the Maldives ,told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311,000 an “endangered nation”.
1．The text is mainly about .
A．rapid changes in earth’s temperature B．bad effects of global warming
C．moving of a country to a new place D．reasons for lowland flooding
2．According to scientists ,the DIRECT cause of more and fiercer storms is .
A．greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations
B．higher surface water temperatures of the sea
C．continuous global warming
D．rising sea levels
3．Laupepa was not satisfied with the United States because it did not .
A．agree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
B．sign an agreement with Tuvalu
C．allow Tuvaluans to move to the US
D．believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real
4．The country whose situation is similar to that of Tuvalu is .
A．Australia B．New Zealand
C．the Maldives D．the United States
Across the world, 1.1 billion people have no access to clean drinking water. More than 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation.(卫生设备)
The combination proves deadly. Each year, diseases related to inadequate water and sanitation kill between 2 and 5 million people and cause an estimated 80 percent of all sicknesses in the developing world. Safe drinking water is a precondition for health and the fight against child death rate, inequality between men and women, and poverty.
Consider these facts:
●The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is 6 kilometers.
●Only 58 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are drinking safe water. and only 37 percent of children in South Asia have access to even a basic toilet.
●Each year in India alone, 73 million working days are lost to water-borne diseases.
Here are three ways you can help:
1)Write Congress
Current U.S. foreign aid for drinking water and sanitation budgets only one dollar peryear per American citizen. Few members of Congress have ever received a letter from voters about clean drinking water abroad.
2)Sponsor a project with a faith-based organization
Many U.S. religious groups already sponsor water and sanitation projects, working with partner organizations abroad. Simply put a single project by a U.S. organization can make safe water a reality for thousands of people.
3)Support nonprofit water organizations
Numerous U.S.-based nonprofits work skillfully abroad in community-led projects related to drinking water and sanitation. Like the sample of non-profits noted as follows, some organizations are large, other small-scale, some operate worldwide, others are devoted to certain areas in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. Support them generously.
1. The three facts presented in the passage are used to illustrate that________.
A. poverty can result in water-borne diseases
B. people have no access to clean drinking water
C. women’s rights are denied in some developing countries
D. safe drinking water should be a primary concern
2. The intended readers of the passage are________.
A. Americans
B. overseas sponsors
C. Congressmen
D . U.S.-based water organizations
3. The main purpose of the passage is to call on people to _________.
A. get rid of water-related diseases in developing countries
B. donate money to people short of water through religious groups
C. fight against the worldwide water shortage and sanitation problem
D. take joint action in support of some nonprofit water organizations
4. What information will probably be provided following the last paragraph?
A. A variety of companies and their worldwide operation.
B. A list of nonprofit water organizations to make contact with.
C. Some ways to get financial aids from U.S. Congress.
D. A few water resources exploited by some world-famous organizations.
Disney’s cartoon, Finding Nemo, tells a touching story of a father called Martin and his son Nemo.
Martin loses his wife and an entire family of unhatched eggs to a huge shark. Only one fish egg remains, Nemo. Martin promises his dead wife that he will protect his young son at any cost. So, Martin becomes fearful of almost everything in the ocean. That makes him over protective-he hopes to keep his kid safe from the challenges that life presents. Martin’s nagging（唠叨）makes Nemo feel that he doesn’t need his dad telling him what to do.
So on his first day of school, Nemo and some friends swim to the edge of their coral reef, a place Martin always thinks is very dangerous. When Martin shouts at Nemo come back, Nemo refuses to listen to him and swim out to a boat in the distance. Suddenly, he gets caught by some divers. So begins Martin’s journey to find Nemo, who ends up in an aquarium in an office in Australia. Soon the worried father runs into Dory, a forgetful blue fish, who helps Martin find his son. Meanwhile, Nemo misses his father terribly. He soon hears that he will be given to an eight-year-old girl who likes to kill fish.
Can Martin find his son before it is too late?
Finding Nemo is a physical and mental journey. Martin overcomes his shyness and anxieties and Nemo discovers his own and his father’s hidden strengths. It celebrates the relationship between fathers and their sons.
The cartoon paints a sea world that is alive with color. All the characters are very human-like and have their own personalities.
Finding Nemo was released in the US on may 30, earning about US $70.6 million in just three days, it has set a new opening records for a cartoon.
11. What is the passage mainly about?
How a father finds his son.
How to get home when getting lost.
A brief introduction to a cartoon film.
The love between a father and his son.
12. Which of the following statements is True according to the second paragraph?
Martin’s wife and most of his children died because of disease.
Martin is a coward（胆小鬼）that he is afraid of everything.
Nemo has grown up and doesn’t need his father’s protection any longer.
Martin loves his son so much that he becomes so protective.
13. It can be concluded according to the cartoon that ________.
Nemo has a wonderful journey after leaving his father.
Martin has met a lot of difficulties finding his son.
Nemo is really independent after leaving his father.
Nemo never needs any protection from his father.
14. What is the theme of the cartoon?
We should always listen to our parents.
Parents should let their children have an independent life.
Parent should take care of their children in case they get lost.
Parental love is the greatest love in the world.
15. In which section of a newspaper can you probably find this article?
| A．Entertainment | B．News | C．Society | D．Advertisement |
Ocean Park Hong Kong is a theme park in the Southern District of Hong Kong Island. The park was built with donations from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (now Hong Kong Jockey Club) and opened on 10 January 1977. The park is operated by Ocean Park Corporation, which is a statutory（法定的）department. It offers affordable marine animal education and entertainment and is a private organization for commercial purposes.
In the early operation of the park, the main sources of income for the park were the ticket prices and the funding from the Jockey Club. Since the ticket price was low, most of the time Ocean Park was operating under deficit（财政赤字）. In 1 July 1987, the government established a 200 million trust from the funding of Jockey Club, under the Ocean Park Corporation Ordinance. This separated Ocean Park from Jockey Club and became a non-profit organization; it needs to be responsible for its own income and was allowed to use commercial means to operate the park.
Since it was permitted to use commercial means to operate, it gradually raised its ticket price and the deficit turned into profit. In 1992, 3 million visitors visited the park. Since 1998, the East Asian financial crisis（经济危机）, aging attractions, and the passing away of the killer whale; the park recorded a deficit for a couple years. Although it was allowed to host 2 pandas in 1999, the number of visitors did not go up and Ocean Park was forced to close its water attractions and the "Old Village" attraction and turned to bring in more rides in an attempt to capture the youth demand. Together with the opening up of mainland visitors under the Individual Visit Scheme, Ocean Park recorded an astonishing 4 million visitors in the year 2004-2005, the highest since the park opened.
In March 2005, Ocean Park made its redevelopment plan. On 23 November 2006, Ocean Park held a groundbreaking ceremony for its redevelopment
6. At the beginning, Ocean Park Hong Kong _________.
was built with the money from the government
was operated by Ocean Park Corporation
was a great success once it was opened
mainly got income from the ticket prices and donations
7. According to the passage, Ocean Park Corporation _________.
belongs to Hong Kong Jockey Club
is an official organization
is a non-profit organization
can not use commercial means to operate
8. How many deficits the Ocean Park experienced so far?
A. 1 B.2 C. 3 D. 4
9. Ocean Park Corporation took all of the measures to overcome the deficits except _________.
A. raise ticket price B. close some attractions
C. try to attract young customers D. host 2 pandas
10. Which of the following statements is Wrong?
Ocean Park Hong Kong is a theme park.
Ocean Park Hong Kong has taken on a new look since 2005.
The East Asian financial crisis didn’t have any influence on Ocean Park.
At present, Ocean Park Hong Kong also attracts many mainland customers.
One day Walt Disney had a vision. It was a vision of a place where children and parents could have fun together. The more Walt dreamed of a "magical park," the more imaginative and elaborate it became.
The original plans for the park were on 8 acres next to the Burbank studios where his employees and families could go to relax. Although, World War II put those plans on hold. During the war, Disney had time to come up with new ideas, and creations for his magical park. It was soon clear that 8 acres wouldn't be enough.
Finally in 1953, he had the Stanford Research Institute conduct a survey for a 100-acre site, outside of Los Angeles. He needed space to build rivers, waterfalls, and mountains; he would have flying elephants and giant teacups; a fairy-tale castle, moon rockets, and a scenic railway; all inside a magic kingdom he called "Disneyland."
The search for the best venue for the park ended in the rural Anaheim, California with a purchase of a 160-acre orange grove near the junction of the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) and Harbor Boulevard.
Construction for Disneyland began on July 21, 1954, 12 months before the park was scheduled to open.
Some 160-acres of citrus trees had been cleared and 15 houses moved to make room for the park. However, when the real designing came around, Disney met with inevitable questions. How do you make believable wild animals, that aren't real? How do you make a Mississippi paddle ship? How do you go about building a huge castle in the middle of Anaheim, California? Disney asked his movie studio staff for answers. The design of Disneyland was something never done before. There would be four uniquely different theme parts: Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland Tomorrow land. Bit by bit, Disneyland got ready for Opening Day. The staff worked around the clock to get ready.
But opening day was a terrible disaster. Beside the terrible opening day conditions, the park did eventually pick up. By 1965, ten years after opening day, 50 Million visitors had come through the gates.
1. The passage is mainly about___________.
What visitors can enjoy in Disneyland.
The difficulties Disney met in building Disneyland
How Disneyland came into being
A brief introduction to Disneyland
2. Which of the following dates would probably be the opening date of Disneyland?
A. 1953 B. 1954 C. 1955 D. 1965
3. Which of the following statements is Not True?
World War II had some influence on the building plan of the Disneyland.
Disney must have met many difficulties in building Disneyland.
About 50 million visitors have visited Disneyland so far.
Disney was a great man with great imagination and creativity.
4. You could see all the following things except_________ in Disney.
A. rivers, waterfalls, and mountains B. flying elephants and giant teacups
C. a huge castle D. wild animals
5. The underlined phrase in the last paragraph probably means _________.
A. collect B. improve C. find D. open