Grown-ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced ever since. A man who has not had a chance to go swimming for years can still swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after many years and still ride away. He can play catch and hit a ball as well as his son. A mother who has not thought about the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" or remember the story of Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
One explanation is the law of overlearning, which can be stated as follows: Once we have learned something, additional learning trials increase the length of time we will remember it.
In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, bicycle riding, and playing baseball long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and remind ourselves of words such as "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and childhood tales such as Cinderella and Goldilocks. We not only learn but overlearn.
The multiplication tables(乘法口诀表)are an exception to the general rule. that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school, because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood. The law of overlearning explains why cramming (突击学习)for an examination, though it may result in a passing grade, is not a satisfactory way to learn a college course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little overlearning, on the other hand, is really necessary for one's future developmentWhat’s the main idea of Paragraph 1
| A．Children have a better memory than grown-ups. |
| B．People remember well what they learned in childhood. |
| C．Poem reading is a good way to learn words.“ |
| D．Stories for children are easy to remember |
The author explains the law of overlearning by
| A．presenting research findings |
| B．setting down general rules |
| C．using examples |
| D．making a comparison |
According to the author, being able to use multiplication tables is
| A．a result of overlearning |
| B．a special case of cramming |
| C．a skill to deal with math problems |
| D．a basic step towards advanced studies |
What is the author's opinion on cramming?
| A．It leads to failure in college exams. |
| B．It increases students' learning interest. |
| C．It's possible to result in poor memory. |
| D．It's helpful only in a limited way. |
When I met him, I had a lot of anger inside of me．I’ve lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem, but in my neighborhood, there are shoot-ups all the time．I know kids who have been shot or beaten up．I have friends who ended up in prison．I could have ended up that way, too, but Mr．Clark wouldn’t let that happen．
Mr．Clark worked long hours, making sure I did my work．My grades rose．In fact, the scores of our whole class rose．One day, he took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera, and it was the first time some kids had ever been out of Harlem．Before the show, he treated us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk with our mouths full．We did not want to let him down．
Mr．Clark was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year．He said he would draw three names out of a hat; those students would go with him to Los Angeles to get the award．But when the time came to draw names, Mr．Clark said, “You’re all going．”
On graduation day, there were a lot of tears．We didn’t want his class to end．In 2001, he moved to Atlanta, but he always kept in touch．He started giving lectures about education, and wrote a bestselling book based on his classroom rules, The Essential 55．In 2003,
Mr．Clark took some of us on a trip to South Africa to deliver school supplies and visit the orphanages（孤儿院）．It was the most amazing experience of my life．It’s now my dream to one day start a group of women’s clubs, helping people from all backgrounds．
26．Without Mr．Clark, the writer ．
A．might have been put into prison B．might not have won the prize
C．might have joined a women’s club D．might not have moved to Atlanta
27．The Essential 55 is ．
A．a show B．a speech
C．a classroom rule D．a book
28．How many students’ names were finally drawn out of a hat by Mr．Clark?
A．None B．Three C．Fifty-five． D．All．
29．What can we learn in the short reading?
A．It was in Harlem that we saw The Phantom of the Opera for the first time．
B．Mr．Clark taught us not to talk with our mouths full, and we did．
C．Mr．Clark was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year in Los Angeles．
D．In 2003, Mr．Clark moved to Atlanta, and he always kept in touch with us．
30．In the passage, the writer intends to tell us that ．
A．Mr．Clark went to South Africa because he liked travelling
B．Mr．Clark helped to set up a group of women’s clubs
C．a good teacher can help raise his or her students’ scores
D．a good teacher has a good influence on his or her students
I recently turned fifty, which is young for a tree, midlife for an elephant , and ancient for a sportsman, Fifty is
a nice number for the states in the US or for a national speed limit but it is not a number that I was prepared to have hung on me．Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age．but now I am stuck with this number and everything it means．
A few days ago, a friend tried to cheer me up by saying, “ Fifty is what forty used to be ．”He had made an
inspirational point, Am I over the hill ?People keep telling me that the hill has been moved, and I keep telling them that he high-jump bar has dropped from the six feet I once easily cleared to the four feet that is impossible for me now．
“ Your are not getting older, you are getting better ．” says Dr．Joyce Brothers ．This, however, is the kind
of doctor who inspires a second opinion．
And so．as I approach the day when I cannot even jump over the tennis net．I am moves to share some thoughts on aging with you．I am moved to show how aging feels to me physically and mentally．Getting older．of course, is obviously a better change than the one that brings you eulogies(悼词)．In fact , a poet named Robert Browning considered it the best change of all :
Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to me．
Whether or not Browning was right , most of my first fifty years have been golden ones, so I will settle for
what is ahead being as good as what has gone by．I find myself moving toward what is ahead with a curious blend ( 混合) of both fighting and accepting my aging, hoping that the philosopher(哲学家) was right when he said ．”Old is always fifteen years from now．”
5．The author seems to tell us in Paragraph I that
A．time alone will tell B．time goes by quickly
C．time will show what is right D．time makes one forget the past
6．When the author turned fifty , people around him
A．tried to comfort him B．got inspiration with him
C．were friendlier with him D．found him more talkative
7．The author considers his fifty years of life
A peaceful B．ordinary C．satisfactory D．regretful
8．We can infer from the passage that
A．the old should led a simple life B．the old should face the fact of aging
C．the old should take more exercise D．the old should fill themselves with curiosity
Lying in the sun on a rock, the cougar （美洲狮） saw Jeb and his son, Tom, before they saw it．Jeb put his bag down quickly and pulled his jacket open with both hands, making himself look big to the cougar．It worked．The cougar hesitated, ready to attack Jeb, but ready to forget the whole thing, too．
Jeb let go of his jacket, grasped Tom and held him across his body, making a cross．Now the cougar’s enemy looked even bigger, and it rose up, ready to move away, but unfortunately Tom got scared and struggled free of Jeb．
“Tom, no!” shouted his father．
But Tom broke and ran and that’s the last thing you do with a cougar．The second Tom broke free, Jeb threw himself on the cougar, just as it jumped from the rock．They hit each other in mid-air and both fell．The cougar was on Jeb in a flash, forgetting about Tom, which was what Jeb wanted．
Cougars are not as big as most people think and a determined man stands a chance, even with just his fists．As the cougar’s claws（爪子）got into his left shoulder, Jeb swung his fist at its eyes and hit, hard．The animal howled（吼叫）and put its head back．Jeb followed up with his other fist．Then out of the comer of his eye, Jeb saw Tom．The boy was running back to help his father．
“Knife, Tom,” shouted Jeb．
The boy ran to his father’s bag, while Jeb started shouting as well as hitting, to keep the cougar’s attention away from Tom．Tom got the knife and ran over to Jeb．The cougar was moving its head in and out, trying to find a way through the wall Jeb was making out of his arms．Tom swung with the knife, into the cougar’s back．It howled horribly and ran off into the mountains．
The whole fight had taken about thirty seconds．
1．Why did Jeb pull his jacket open when he saw the cougar?
A．To get ready to fight． B．To frighten it away．
C．To protect the boy． D．To cool down．
2．What do we know about cougars?
A．They are afraid of noises． B．They hesitate before they hit．
C．They are bigger than we think． D．They like to attack running people．
3．How did Jeb try to hold the cougar’s attention?
A．By keeping shouting and hitting． B．By making a wall out of his arms．
C．By throwing himself on the cougar． D．By swinging his fists at the cougar’s eyes．
4．Which of the following happened first?
A．The cougar jumped from the rock． B．Tom struggled free of his father．
C．Jeb asked Tom to get the knife． D．Jeb held Tom across his body．
I recently turned fifty, which is young for a tree, midlife for an elephant , and ancient for a sportsman, Fifty is a nice number for the states in the US or for a national speed limit but it is not a number that I was prepared to ave hung on me．Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age．but now I am stuck with this number and everything it means．
A few days ago, a friend tried to cheer me up by saying, “ Fifty is what forty used to be ．”He had made an inspirational point, Am I over the hill ?People keep telling me that the hill has been moved, and I keep telling hem that he high-jump bar has dropped from the six feet I once easily cleared to the four feet that is impossible for me now．
“ Your are not getting older, you are getting better ．” says Dr．Joyce Brothers ．This, however, is the kind of doctor who inspires a second opinion．
And so．as I approach the day when I cannot even jump over the tennis net．I am moves to share some thoughts on aging with you．I am moved to show how aging feels to me physically and mentally．Getting older．of course, is obviously a better change than the one that brings you eulogies（悼词）．In fact , a poet named Robert Browning considered it the best change of all :
Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to me．
Whether or not Browning was right , most of my first fifty years have been golden ones, so I will settle for what is ahead being as good as what has gone by．I find myself moving toward what is ahead with a curious blend （混合）of both fighting and accepting my aging, hoping that the philosopher（哲学家） was right when he said ．”Old is always fifteen years from now．”
20．The author seems to tell us in Paragraph I that _____
A．time alone will tell B．time goes by quickly
C．time will show what is right D．time makes one forget the past
21．When the author turned fifty , people around him _____
A．tried to comfort him B．got inspiration with him
C．were friendlier with him D．found him more talkative
22．The author considers his fifty years of life ______
A peaceful B．ordinary
C．satisfactory D．regretful
23．We can infer from the passage that _____
A．the old should led a simple life B．the old should face the fact of aging
C．the old should take more exercise D．the old should fill themselves with curiosity
Lying in the sun on a rock, the cougar （美洲狮）saw Jeb and his son, Tom, before they saw it．Jeb put his bag down quickly and pulled his jacket open with both hands, making himself look big to the cougar．It worked．The cougar hesitated, ready to attack Jeb, but ready to forget the whole thing, too．
Jeb let go of his jacket, grasped Tom and held him across his body, making a cross．Now the cougar’s enemy looked even bigger, and it rose up, ready to move away, but unfortunately Tom got scared and struggled free of Jeb．
“Tom, no!” shouted his father．
But Tom broke and ran and that’s the last thing you do with a cougar．The second Tom broke free, Jeb threw himself on the cougar, just as it jumped from the rock．They hit each other in mid-air and both fell．The cougar was on Jeb in a flash, forgetting about Tom, which was what Jeb wanted．
Cougars are not as big as most people think and a determined man stands a chance, even with just his fists．As the cougar’s claws（爪子）got into his left shoulder, Jeb swung his fist at its eyes and hit, hard．The animal howled（吼叫）and put its head back．Jeb followed up with his other fist．Then out of the comer of his eye, Jeb saw Tom．The boy was running back to help his father．
“Knife, Tom,” shouted Jeb．
The boy ran to his father’s bag, while Jeb started shouting as well as hitting, to keep the cougar’s attention away from Tom．Tom got the knife and ran over to Jeb．The cougar was moving its head in and out, trying to find a way through the wall Jeb was making out of his arms．Tom swung with the knife, into the cougar’s back．It howled horribly and ran off into the mountains．
The whole fight had taken about thirty seconds．
16．Why did Jeb pull his jacket open when he saw the cougar?
A．To get ready to fight． B．To frighten it away．
C．To protect the boy． D．To cool down．
17．What do we know about cougars?
A．They are afraid of noises． B．They hesitate before they hit．
C．They are bigger than we think． D．They like to attack running people．
18．How did Jeb try to hold the cougar’s attention?
A．By keeping shouting and hitting． B．By making a wall out of his arms．
C．By throwing himself on the cougar． D．By swinging his fists at the cougar’s eyes．
19．Which of the following happened first?
A．The cougar jumped from the rock． B．Tom struggled free of his father．
C．Jeb asked Tom to get the knife． D．Jeb held Tom across his body．