“I can’t concentrate.” “My mind wanders when I try to study.” Lack of concentration is one of the most common complaints heard at school.
We all have the ability to concentrate. Think of the times when you were attracted to a super novel or the times when you were playing your guitar or piano. But at other times your mind races from one thing to another. Here are some tips.
Rest from time to time. Remember to take short breaks. Lectures are usually 50 minutes long, and that’s about the length of time most people can direct their attention to one task. But that’s just an average. Your concentration time might be shorter (20-35 minutes) or longer (perhaps 90 minutes).When you take a break, you get more oxygen to your brain! When we sit for long periods, blood tends to be pooled in our lower body and legs. Get up and walk around the room for a couple of minutes. As a result, more oxygen is carried to the brain and you can concentrate better.
_______________If you study one subject for a long time, you may find it hard to concentrate. Many students improve their concentration by changing one subject to another every one to two hours. In this way you can pay more attention to something that’s different.
Reward yourself. Give yourself a reward when you’ve completed a task. The task might be small, such as staying with a difficult paper until you’ve finished. But giving yourself a reward can help you be more interested in doing other tasks.
Increase your activity level. Your concentration wanders more easily if you just read an article straight through. Instead, take the heading for each part and turn it into a question. For this part, that would be, “How can I increase my activity level while studying?” Then study that part to answer that question. Do this routinely. The questions give us a focus for each part and increase our involvement(参与).According to Paragraph 3, what’s the purpose of walking around?
| A．To help us stay fit. |
| B．To benefit our lower body. |
| C．To provide the brain with more oxygen. |
| D．To increase our concentration time to 90 minutes. |
What’s the best title for Paragraph 4?
| A．Study for one hour each time. |
| B．Do something difficult. |
| C．Study in different ways. |
| D．Change subjects. |
In the last paragraph, the writer suggests that______.
| A．we just read the heading of some articles |
| B．we do our best to read an article straight through |
| C．we ask ourselves questions about what we are reading |
| D．we ask other people questions about the article we are reading |
The writer wrote the passage to______.
| A．encourage us to try to concentrate |
| B．teach us how to concentrate while studying |
| C．give us the reasons for a lack of concentration |
| D．list the benefits we can get from concentration |
I remember my first Christmas party with Grandma．I remember the day when my big sister dropped the bomb: “There is no SantaClaus,” she laughed．“Even dummies know that!”
I fled to Grandma because I knew she always told me 21 ．After I told her everything, she said “No Santa Claus? Don’t believe it. Now, 22 your coat, and let’s go.”
“Go? Go where?” I asked．
“Where” 23 to be the General Store．As we walked through its doors, Grandma 24 me ten dollars．That was a lot in those days．“Take this money and buy something for 25 needs it．I’ll wait for you in the car．”
The store seemed big and 26 , full of people hurrying to finish their Christmas shopping．For a few moments I just stood there, 27 , holding that bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for．
Suddenly I thought of Bobbie who sat right behind me．I remembered he didn’t have a coat．I fingered the bill with growing 28 ．I would buy Bobbie a coat．
“Is this a Christmas present for someone?” the lady behind the 29 asked me kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down
“Yes,” I replied shyly．“It’s…for Bobbie.”
The nice lady smiled at me．I didn’t get any 30 , but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas．
That evening, Grandma helped me 31 the coat and wrote, “To Bobby, From Santa Claus” on it．Then she 32 me over to Bobbie’s house．
Grandma parked down the street from Bobbie’s house, and she and I crept 33 and hid in the 34 ．Then Grandma gave me a sign．“All right, Santa Claus, get going．”
I took a deep 35 , dashed for his front door, threw the present down, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety．Together we 36 breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open．Finally it 37 , and there stood Bobbie．
Forty years haven’t dimmed the thrill of those 38 spent shivering, beside my grandma, in Bobbie’s bushes． 39 , I realized: Santa was alive and well, and we were 40 his team．
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A recent survey made by BUPA, an international healthcare provider, shows that 54 percent of Chinese people aged between 45 and 54 consider themselves old, while 28 percent say that the thought of getting old upsets them. 25 percent are afraid of getting old, and a third worry about life in old age.
BUPA made the survey among 12,262 people from 12 countries over 2 months, starting in June 2010. The survey shows that 72 percent of international participants(参加者) aged over 65 don’t feel old and that 67 percent still feel healthy. On the other hand, 65 percent of Chinese feel old even before reaching 60. About one third of those surveyed in China said they have enough savings(存款), and 46 percent are insured(参加保险). Around 60 percent of the Chinese participants hope they will be taken care of by family members.
According to the survey, the French hold the most positive attitude towards getting old, with 32 percent of them considering age 80 and up old. 17 percent of Brazilians look forward to old age, compared with 3 percent globally. Indians are not bothered by old age, as 70 percent said that they don’t feel that they will be affected by old age and 71 percent say they have already made preparations for this stage of life. The illnesses that most people around the world are worried about are cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.According to the survey, many Chinese people surveyed feel old before they are ______.
| A．50 year old | B．60 years old |
| C．70 years old | D．80 years old |
Most of Chinese people surveyed expect help from _________.
| A．the government | B．family members |
| C．insurance companies | D．healthcare providers |
Who are the youngest at heart according to the survey?
| A．The Indians. | B．The Brazilians |
| C．The French | D．The Chinese |
Why are the Indians not afraid of getting old?
| A．Because they have got ready for old age. |
| B．Because old people are respected in India. |
| C．Because getting old means enjoying life. |
| D．Because they will get more help from society. |
The bar-tailed godwit(斑尾鹬) has just broken its own record for the world’s longest non-stop flight, including humans in planes, according to a report made by Lund University Press. The bird can fly non-stop for eight days, while the most impressive man-made airplane can only remain in the sky for 82 hours without a stop.
The bar-tailed godwit’s journey, from Alaska to New Zealand, covers over 6,835 miles. It completes this trip twice a year, in autumn going to New Zealand, and in spring back to Alaska. The tireless bird ends the trip without stopping once for food or rest. All other birds can only finish trips that are twice as short as what the bar-tailed godwit travels.
One reason for the bar-tailed godwit’s success is that it has made the best use of its fuel, which is only 0.41 percent of its body weight over each hour of any given long flight. Hedenstrom, a professor from Lund University, says, “This figure is extremely low compared with other birds.” The bird also has a special body shape that helps it fly easily. It stores body fat and protein to manage its trips. It also travels fast, compared to other birds and animals.
Many questions remain about this bird record holder that never gets lost in the air. Researchers wonder whether it has an inside compass(指南针) that helps it to know the direction. Please watch how beautiful bar-tailed godwits look as they come in for a landing, along with other birds.For the flight from Alaska to New Zealand, the bar-tailed godwit _____.
| A．doesn’t need to stop to eat | B．is afraid of hot weather |
| C．seems very tired at last | D．should fly less than 7000 metres |
The main reason why the bar-tailed godwit can break the record is that it ______.
| A．eats little food every hour | B．has a special body shape |
| C．stores much water in its body | D．has very light body weight |
The last paragraph tells us that ________.
| A．researchers have understood the bird very well |
| B．the bird has a very good sense of direction |
| C．there are still many who doubt the bird’s ability |
| D．the bird has an inner compass |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．A bird that breaks the record for the longest non-stop flight. |
| B．Birds and airplanes that can fly over a long distance. |
| C．Reasons for the bar-tailed godwit’s long-distance flight. |
| D．An introduction to long-distance flights of birds and humans. |
Let’s say you took violin lessons all through elementary school, but you haven’t got the instrument out of its case for years. Were all those lessons a waste of your parents’ money because you didn’t become a violinist?
Even though it has been a long time since you played the violin, a new study shows that as little as one year of music training can have a positive impact (影响) on your brain that will last the rest of your life.
In an experiment, researchers compared children who had taken music lessons to those who hadn’t. Laurel Trainor, who studies music and the mind, discovered that the musically-trained children had better brain responses in certain sound recognition exams. Trainor’s findings show the possibility that musical education can actually improve the brain’s hearing cortex(大脑皮层). “The study’s results show that music training affects attention and memory, and helps children develop learning skills. In this way music training might lead to better learning across a number of fields,” Trainor said in a statement. The effects of music education are even more obvious on children with difficulty in reading and writing and other language-related disabilities.
So, whether you can play a good piece of music or not, it’s likely that your years of music lessons have prepared your brain for all the speeches, emails, and adult conversations that are part of your life today. We should help make sure that children today have the same opportunities for music, and help out by volunteering with or donating instruments to your school’s music education department.Compared with children who haven’t taken music lessons, musically-trained children _______.
| A．sing better | B．do better in exams |
| C．recognize sounds better | D．response more quickly |
According to the study, we know musical education can _____.
| A．change the structure of the brain |
| B．improve children’s learning skills |
| C．help children focus their attention |
| D．provide more memorizing methods |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Adults should also take some music lessons. |
| B．The author has taken violin lessons when he was young. |
| C．Even a day’s music training can affect the human brain. |
| D．Music training can also help children with certain disabilities. |
He wasn’t sick. He wasn’t old. And he wasn’t losing. He had a very good final season and won his last game in 2008. And then he walked away.
Lloyd Carr was 62. That’s a few years earlier than retirement(退休) age in America and many years earlier than some college football coaches say goodbye. How was Carr, who coached University of Michigan, able to leave so easily?
“ It can be intoxicating,” Carr admits. “The Saturday afternoons and the crowds. And when you win, there’s nothing like it.”
But the job needs hard work. The pressure to win. The endless training. The hours are so long that sleeping at the office is a normal thing. I reported Carr’s career at Michigan from 1995 to 2007. I saw him run onto the field before 100,000 cheering fans, saw him enjoy a share of a national championship with a 12-0 season.
And when I visited him recently in retirement, the difference was noticeable. He seems much calmer, relaxed, more at peace. He says, “As much fun as it is, there’s a period when you have other things to deal with.”
Carr knew he wanted to travel, see the world, read more, do other work. He is now connected with a children’s hospital, does some speaking, plays golf, and enjoys relaxing with his wife, Laurie, and their many grandchildren.
Several of today’s big-name coaches are all about Carr’s retirement age. Nick Saban turns 59 this month. Jim Tressel is 57. Frank Beamer is already 63. None of them seems to be slowing down.
So when, I ask Carr, is the right moment to leave such a great job?
He thinks. Finally, he says, “When you love it and can still walk away from it. That’s the right moment.”Lloyd Carr stopped working as a coach because he _______.
| A．was too old | B．was injured seriously |
| C．had other things to experience | D．followed others’ examples |
The underlined word “intoxicating” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.
| A．exciting | B．disappointing | C．surprising | D．puzzling |
It can be inferred from the text that Lloyd Carr ________.
| A．was always free after retirement |
| B．was a failure as a football coach |
| C．missed the time when he coached |
| D．enjoyed his retirement life very much |
The author is most probably ________.
| A．a football player | B．Lloyd Carr’s assistant |
| C．a retired coach | D．a sports reporter |