“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 |
Gunman Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 children in two classes of Grade One in Sandy Hook Elementary School. The only survivor(幸存者) is a six-year-old girl. She escaped by lying on the floor pretending to be killed.
After the accident , she ran out of the school building covered from head to feet with blood (血). The first thing she said to her mother was, “ Mommy, I was OK, but all my friends were dead,” Pasrtor(牧师) Jim Solomon told the ABC news’s Lara Spencer this weekend , “I thought it was impossible for her to escape from being killed without others’ help. She could behave so calmly in such a dangerous and frightening situation. She has wisdom beyond her age, for sure.”
The girl, whose name is not being written out for special reasons, was the first student to run out of the accident place at Sandy Hook, Solomon said. He said the young girl described the gunman to her mother in a way that only a young child could. “Well, she saw someone who she felt was angry, and someone who she felt was mad,” Solomon said. “Somehow, at that moment, thank God, she was able to act as if she were already dead and saved herself. And that is very unusual and admirable (令人钦佩的) for so young a girl.” she said.
There were 20 students killed on Friday in Sandy Hook Elementary School, eight boys and 12 girls. Six teachers were also killed. “Her parents told me that they couldn’t stand the feeling of a survivor’s guilt（ 负罪）, because so many of their friends no longer have their children but they have theirs.” Solomon said.
“I think you can understand their feelings as well,” he said how the girl’s mother and father were feeling about the disaster. “I don’t know whether I would have the kind of feeling that they have if the same thing happened to me.”How did the six-year-old girl escape from being killed?
| A．By fighting against the killer |
| B．By pretending to be killed |
| C．By running away quickly |
| D．By getting protection from teachers |
According to the passage, which word can best show the quality of the girl?
| A．Strong | B．Friendly |
| C．Wise | D．Curious |
From the passage, we can know that___________________.
| A．all students in Sandy Hook were killed |
| B．Solomon didn’t remember the name of the girl |
| C．eight other children escaped the accident |
| D．people didn’t know the six-year-old girl’s name |
Why did the girl’s parents feel guilty?
| A．Because they had some relationship with the gunman. |
| B．Because they didn’t tell the skills of escaping to other children. |
| C．Because their daughter survived while their friends didn’t. |
| D．Because they didn’t report the terrible accident ahead of time. |
As computers become all the more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly depending on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes（笔画）of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.
Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more wide-spread among university students. Almost all their homework and essays are typed on a computer.
All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.
It’s faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that’s why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.
“When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it.”
“I’m not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”
Many students don't feel this is something to worry about. Now that it's more convenient and quick to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?
Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei , the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said “Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic(审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only have their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer’s emotion(情绪). Through one’s handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”
To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory(必修的)and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.The students interviewed prefer to write using a computer mainly because______.
| A．they can correct the mistakes they make quickly and conveniently |
| B．they are usually asked to e-mail their homework and essays |
| C．they find it not easy to remember how to write a character |
| D．computers have become popular in China |
Which of the following statements of the advantages of handwriting is NOT TRUE ?
| A．Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value. |
| B．Handwriting can impress people well and build up one’s self-confidence. |
| C．Handwriting contains the writer’s emotion. |
| D．The writer’s thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting. |
The underlined expression “taking stock in”(Paragraph 4) probably means __________.
| A．getting bored with | B．getting curious about |
| C．becoming crazy about | D．getting dependent on |
We can infer from the passage that __________.
| A．writing by hand will give way to typing by computer one day |
| B．more and more students will give up writing on a computer |
| C．more and more students will pay attention to handwriting |
| D．the typed article better expresses one’s emotion and quality |
Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.
I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holiday meaningful.
Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership --- a shop selling cars --- was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the show room.
“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?” I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.
“Thank you”--- two powerful words. They’re easy to say and mean so much.The author planned to stop at Oklahoma City ________.
| A．to pay at the cash register |
| B．to see his parents |
| C．to visit a friend |
| D．to make a plan with his friend |
The words “took off” underlined in Paragraph 2 means “_________”.
| A．put up | B．turned off |
| C．moved off | D．set up |
What happened when the author found smoke coming out of his car?
| A．The couple offered to help him. |
| B．The couple sent him a business card |
| C．He had it pulled back to the gas station. |
| D．He called his friend for help. |
How does the author explain the importance of expressing thanks in the passage?
| A．By telling his own experiences |
| B．By doing an experiment |
| C．By explaining cause and effect |
| D．By using quotations(引语) |
For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming home to an empty house. Some deal with the situation by watching TV. But all of them have something in common. They spend part of their time alone. They're called latchkey children, They're children who look after themselves while their parents work outside. Lynette Long was once the headmaster of an elementary school. She said, “We had a school rule against wearing jewelry. A lot of the kids bed chains around their necks with keys attached. 1 was often telling them to put them inside their shirts. There were so many keys that it never came to my mind what they meant.” Slowly , she learned they were house keys.
She and her husband began talking to the children who had them. They learned of the effect working parents had on their children. Fear is the biggest problem faced by the children at home alone. One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to are reported to be scared. Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety.
The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding. It might be in a shower stall under a bed, in a closet. The second is TV. They’ll often play it at high volume.
It ‘s hard to get numbers on latchkey children and most patents are slow to admit they leave their children alone.
| A．are growing in numbers |
| B．suffer problems from being left alone |
| C．watch too much TV during the day |
| D．are also found in middle schools |
| A．tiredness | B．freedom |
| C．loneliness | D．fear |
| A．We had a school rule against wearing jewelry. |
| B．A lot of kids had chains around their necks. |
| C．I was often telling them to put their keys inside their shirts. |
| D．She learned the chains around their necks were house keys. |
| A．night suit | B．night habit |
| C．terrible dreams at night | D．staying up at night |
| A．latchkey children enjoy being left alone |
| B．latchkey children try to hide their feeling |
| C．latchkey children often watch TV with their parents |
| D．it's difficult to find out how many latchkey children there |
One afternoon after school had finished , Peter and Jane were walking along the street. Suddenly they heard a big noise.
“Come on” shouted Peter.“That sounds like an accident. Let’ see what’s happened.”
They ran to where the noise came from. As soon as they got there, they could see what had happened. A small car had knocked into the side of a truck. The accident had happened in a quiet street with only four houses in it. Peter and Jane were the first ones to reach the site. No other people came.“We must be the only ones who saw the accident,” said Jane. They found that both the car driver and the truck driver were hurt.
“Peter,” said Jane,“ Run back down the road to Mrs Day’s house. Ask her to call the policemen and the ambulance. Hurry. I’ll stay here.”
Off went Peter as fast as he could. There was nothing Jane could do but wait. She knew that when people were hurt in an accident, they shouldn’t be moved. It wasn’t long before the police car and the ambulance arrived. The policeman got the car door open and they carried the man out. Then they got the truck driver out. The men weren’t seriously hurt, but they were both taken to the hospital. The policemen thanked Peter and Jane, “You were very good to act so quickly when you saw the accident. Thank you for all your help.”
| A．in a quiet street one school day afternoon |
| B．in a busy street one school day afternoon |
| C．in a quiet street one Sunday after noon |
| D．in a busy street one Sunday afternoon |
| A．Only Peter |
| B．Peter and Jane |
| C．Peter, Jane and Mrs Day |
| D．Peter , Jane, Mrs Day and the policemen |
| A．Only the car driver was hurt |
| B．Only the truck driver was hurt |
| C．Neither of the two drivers was hurt |
| D．Both the drivers were hurt |
| A．Jane | B．The drivers |
| C．Mrs Day | D．Peter |
| A．she was too frightened to do anything |
| B．she was alone after Peter left |
| C．she was waiting for Peter. |
| D．she knew she shouldn’t move the two drivers. |