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(尝试) 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 development.What the main idea of Paragraph 1
| A．People remember well what they learned in childhood. |
| B．Children have a better memory than grown-ups. |
| 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．making a comparison |
| D．using examples |
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's helpful only in a limited way. |
| C．It's possible to result in poor memory. |
| D．It increases students' learning interest. |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
Welcome to Arundel Castle which is situated in West Sussex, England. The castle has a history of nearly 1000 years and has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world. Arundel Castle also plays a starring role in many films.
The Gardens
The White Garden is planted with soft white Iceberg Roses, and Snow White Lilies.
The Rose Garden is newly planted with lovely old-fashioned English roses that are at their very best in June and July.
The Organic Kitchen Garden produces a wide range of seasonal fruit and vegetables, pears, cherries and apples.
The Castle Shop
In the Castle Shop, you will discover a wide and interesting range of gift ideas for everyone. It offers gifts and souvenirs designed to appeal to all tastes and pockets. Foods, china, books, and stationery (文具)are all available. Many are sold in this Castle Shop only.
At Arundel Castle we pride ourselves on supporting local suppliers and actively encourage environmentally friendly products.
The Arundel Festival 2014
Saturday 16th to Monday 25th August
The annual Arundel Festival gets bigger and better every year. It is one of the most amazing, diverse and easily accessible arts festivals in the UK, offering a mix of visual arts, music, theatre and street entertainment.
Parking
Coaches and mini-buses can drop off at the main Castle entrance in Mill Road and park in the main town car park that is opposite the Castle entrance. Please inform us when making your booking of how many parking permits are required.When visiting the castle, you can____________.
| A．get old-fashioned English roses as gifts |
| B．buy eco-friendly products in the Castle Shop |
| C．get seasonal fruit and vegetables for free |
| D．see how the local gifts are being made |
How long does the Arundel Festival last this year?
| A．10 days | B．One week | C．16 days | D．One month |
Where can you park the coach?
| A．In Mill Road |
| B．Inside the Castle |
| C．In the main town car park |
| D．At the main Castle entrance |
Dogs are known for a strong sense of smell. Their noses can be trained to identify different smells. Dogs are often used in search and rescue operations and to sniff for things like drugs and explosives. Some dogs have even been trained to sniff for cancer in people.
Researchers have been trying to reproduce the extraordinary sense of smell that real dogs are born with. Now, officials at the Glasgow airport in Scotland are testing a new security device called an “electronic sniffer dog”. The electronic sniffer dog represents one of the latest developments in the area of smell technology.
A Scottish company, Cascade Technologies, joined with the French security company Morpho to develop it. The device uses lasers to identify explosive materials in gases in the air. The purpose is to identify explosives that may be hidden on a person’s body.
The machine looks similar to the metal detectors now used at airports. Passengers walk through the machine as the lasers test the surrounding air. People are not required to take off their coats, belts or shoes as part of the security process. And, unlike full-body scanners, the new device does not show images of the passengers.
Officials at Cascade Technologies say the machine can process one person per second and produce almost immediate results. They say future development could cut security processing times at airports by screening all passengers at walking speed.
Professor Yushan Yan, the head of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Riverside, points out that unlike real dogs, electronic devices do not get tired or need to be walked or require food and water. Professor Yan says real dogs also have other needs. “They also need very extensive training that could be expensive. And when they work they have to have a very skilled handler around them.”
But Professor Yan says there is an important area where man’s best friend still wins compared to technology. “In terms of sensitivity and selectivity, the current technology out there is still inferior. The real dog has amazing capability of identifying some really minor amount of explosives.” The electronic sniffer dogs will be used to____
| A．replace real dogs to be as pets for people |
| B．search for and rescue people who are in trouble |
| C．help people look after patients in the hospital |
| D．identify drugs and explosives in places like the airport |
Which of the following is true of the electronic sniffer dog?
| A．The device uses lasers to examine for explosive materials. |
| B．People have to take off their clothes when walking through the device. |
| C．The device will show images of the passengers. |
| D．The device can process all passengers at walking speed. |
The advantages of the electronic sniffer dog over the real dog include the following EXCEPT______
| A．its convenience | B．its high efficiency |
| C．its sensitivity | D．its low consumption |
The underlined word “inferior” in the last paragraph most probably has the meaning of_____.
| A．concentrating all one’s effort on a specific area |
| B．not as good as sb. / sth. else |
| C．that cannot be clearly understood |
| D．necessary for completeness |
The future of pinnipeds (鳍足动物)looks much brighter today than it once did. At one time, about 100 years ago, it seemed certain that many pinnipeds in the world would be destroyed by human hunters. Today, it appears that most species( 物种) of pinnipeds are out of danger.
Hunting was not controlled during the 18th and 19th centuries, because little was known about the lives of pinnipeds. Whales and pinnipeds were hunted for the oil from their body fat. This oil was used in lamps before electric lights were invented. Millions of seals and other pinnipeds were used to provide oil for the lamps of the world. As a result, the numbers of many pinniped species fell rapidly.
Several things happened that helped to save pinnipeds. First, species that were hunted to near extinction (灭绝) were left alone because their numbers were too low and the cost of hunting them went up greatly. At the same time, electric lights were invented and the market for seal oil became smaller. Finally, governments around the world made laws to protect pinnipeds.
As a result of all these things, the numbers of most pinniped species have grown in recent years. With some species, such as Northern fur seals, there may be as many animals alive today as there were before all the hunting began.
However, oil is still a danger to pinnipeds and all sea animals. But this time it’s not because they are hunted for their oil. The oil that puts them in danger is from oil spills(泄露) in the sea. The oil covers their fur and reduces their body temperatures. Oil also sticks to the foods they eat. This modern danger to pinnipeds and their environment is one we must work to prevent. During the 18th and 19th century, _______.
| A．people had realized the importance of pinnipeds |
| B．pinnipeds were hunted for their meat |
| C．pinnipeds had a better life than today |
| D．many families were using lamps |
What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?
| A．How electric lights were invented. |
| B．When people began to protect pinnipeds. |
| C．What governments around the world have done to save pinnipeds. |
| D．Why the numbers of some pinnipeds have increased. |
It can be inferred from the passage that________.
| A．the market for seal oil is growing |
| B．Northern fur seals aren’t in much danger now |
| C．oil spills are the biggest problem for pinnipeds |
| D．stricter laws need to be made to protect pinnipeds |
In which part of a magazine can we most probably read this passage?
| A．Wildlife. | B．Lifestyle. |
| C．Tourism. | D．Environment. |
The associates I hired in my bicycle and lawn mower shop like myself were never perfect; however, they were excellent. Working with them as they improved taught me new ways to show forgiveness, understanding, and patience.
One day the placement officer asked me to interview a young man who was having trouble finding a job. He told me that David was a little shy, did not talk much and was afraid to go on with interviews. He requested that I give David an interview just for practice. He plainly told David that I had no positions open at the time and the interview was just for practice.
When David came in for the interview, he hardly said a word. I told him what we did at the bicycle shop and showed him around. I told David to keep showing up because the number one thing an employer wanted in an associate was dependability.
David was very quiet ( he was evaluated as a slow learner in school). Every ten days or so, for weeks after the interview, David walked into the bicycle shop and stood by the front door. He never said a word, just stood by the door.
One day, shortly before Christmas, a large truck came to the shop, packed with 250 new bicycles. It had to be unloaded right away or the driver would leave.
It was raining. Some of my workers (without physical limitations) chose not to brave the weather to get into work, so I was short-handed. It seemed everything was going wrong and on top of it, David came in the front door and just stood there. I looked at him and shouted, “Well, all right! Fill out a time card and help me unload this truck!”
David worked for my bicycle shop for eighteen years. He came to work every day thirty minutes early. He could talk; however, he rarely chose to. He drove my truck and made deliveries. The customers would praise David, saying, “He doesn’t talk, but he really shows you how to operate a lawn mower!”The author gave David an interview to _______
| A．find a person who is reliable |
| B．find a part-time worker in need |
| C．give him some practice |
| D．show sympathy for him |
The author finally hired David because________
| A．there were no other workers in the shop then |
| B．he needed someone who was willing to work then |
| C．David kept showing up |
| D．He realized David was dependable |
We can infer from the last paragraph that_______
| A．some customers just play jokes on David |
| B．David has had his character changed through work |
| C．the author prefers David to be more outgoing |
| D．the author feels lucky to hire David |
For about three years now, I have been writing poetry. It was not until my junior year in high school that I developed an interest, love, and skill for writing poetry.
Back in elementary school, I love to write stories. I would write stories on post-it notes and anywhere I could. Yet when I had to write a limerick （五行打油诗）for an assignment, I could not wrap my head around poetry. I had a very hard time figuring out how to rhyme words and have the words make sense. I eventually tossed the paper with the attempted limerick in the trash. I did not try my hand at poetry again until several years later.
Many years later in my freshman year of high school, my English teacher gave my class a poetry project as an assignment. I still remember my limerick assignment and was afraid of doing the poetry. For the project, we had to analyze a poem and write a response to it. I choose to respond to Robert Frost’s poem Fire and Ice. I also wrote my own poem first. I become really excited when writing the poem.
Two years later, I started writing poetry, as a hobby and for fun. To learn how good or bad my poems were, I handed them in to some magazines and contests. I won second place in the North Carolina Poetry Society’s Sherry Pruitt Award Contest with a poem called The Ocean, and had my two poems published as high merit (优等) poems. I have continued to write poetry, and have even self-published three collections of poetry in both print and e-book formats, which can be found at my store on Lulu.
Now, I love writing poetry, but I don’t hate writing short stories. I just find it more difficult and not my style of writing, even though I still write short stories occasionally.When the author was a pupil, he ____.
| A．liked writing stories |
| B．was good at writing poetry |
| C．could understand poetry well |
| D．was often praised by his teacher |
When given the poetry project in high school, the author was ______.
| A．excited | B．annoyed |
| C．confident | D．worried |
The author took up writing poetry as a hobby when he ____.
| A．was in Grade Three in high school |
| B．worked as a storekeeper |
| C．was in Grade One in high school |
| D．was at college |
How did the author increase his confidence in writing poetry?
| A．He wrote a lot of poems and asked advice from his teacher |
| B．He published three collections of poetry by himself |
| C．He submitted his poems to magazines contests |
| D．He gave up writing stories and only wrote poetry |