Grownups 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 development.What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?
| A．People remember well what they learned in childhood. |
| B．Children have a better memory than grownups. |
| 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. |
Joe Temper should have known better． After all, he works for a large auto insurance company． It won't hurt to leave the key in the truck this once, he thought, as he filled his gas tank at a self-service gas station． But minutes later, as he was paying the money, he saw the truck being driven away．
In 2010, 1．6 million motor vehicles were stolen in the United States —one every 20 seconds． If present trends continue, experts predict vehicle thefts （盗窃） could be over two million every year by the end of the decade．
Vehicle theft is a common phenomenon, which has a direct effect on over four million people a year． The cost is astonishing．
Many police officials blame professional thieves for the large number of the thefts． It is a major moneymaker for organized crime． Typically, stolen cars are taken to pieces and the parts sold to individuals． But as many as 200,000 cars are smuggled（走私） out of the country every year． Most go to Latin America, the Middle East and Europe．
Only about 15 percent car thefts result in an arrest, because few police departments specially conduct in depth auto investigations． When thieves are arrested, judges will often sentence them to probation （缓刑）, not immediately put them in prison because the prisons are overcrowded with violent criminals．
One exception is a Michigan program that calls for 92 police officers to work full time on the state's 65,000 car theft cases a year． Since 2006, when the effort began, the state's auto theft rate has fallen from second in the nation to ninth．
How can you protect your car? If you live in a high theft area or drive an expensive model, consider a safety system． It may cost anywhere from $ 25 to $ 1,000． Some systems work automatically - simply removing the key disables the fuel pump and the starter． When cars are equipped with such systems, thefts may drop by one third． In some states, you may be able to use a device that transmits radio signals, allowing stolen cars to be tracked by police．What does the author think Joe Temper should be to blame for?
| A．He should have equipped his car with a security system． |
| B．He should not have his car refilled at the gas station． |
| C．He should not have been so sure of himself．． |
| D．He should have shut down the engine of his car． |
What is NOT a reason for the increase of car theft as mentioned in the passage?
| A．Police don't give enough attention to car theft cases． |
| B．More people parked their cars and left the keys inside． |
| C．Measures and laws against car thieves are not effective enough． |
| D．Car theft brings car thieves much money． |
It is obvious that the Michigan program .
| A．has an effect on the whole USA |
| B．involves the development of a new safety system |
| C．involves the construction of larger prisons |
| D．involves much work but proves to be quite effective |
What type （s） of safety system can help the police find a stolen car back?
| A．The device that sends out radio signals． |
| B．The device that disables the fuel pumps． |
| C．The device that disables the starter． |
| D．All of the above． |
What category should the ads in the text belong to?
| A．Recreation． | B．Music． | C．Sports． | D．Entertainment |
The word "Magnolia" in the third as most probably refers to.
| A．a theatre showing movies | B．the name of a movie |
| C．a music band | D．the director of a movie |
If you want to know more information about the Bill Autry Band, you'd better visit.
| A．www．afidallas ．com |
| B．www．ntjazzfest．unt．edu |
| C．www．bootscootandbba ．com |
| D．www．billybobstexas ．com |
Those who like movies with Academy Awards are likely to see.
| A．The Lives Of Others | B．The Usual Suspects |
| C．Notes On A Scandal | D．Color Me Kubrick |
So there you are on the phone, you ask a question, and suddenly there's silence． What is this, the phone's gone dead, the person you're talking to is dead? Possibly． But there could be another reason — the other person could be Finnish, or Japanese．
According to a handy new booklet from British Telecom （BT） for business people, in countries such as Britain and Italy "conversation is a form of entertainment． There is a continuous flow of talk．．．"． But in other countries especially Finland and Japan, "it is not only impolite to break in, but listeners will think over what has been said in silence"．
It also points out that English, when spoken by foreigners, is likely to include plenty of "false friends", where word-for-word translation fails． If a Frenchman says something is "interesting", he probably means it's profitable．If he "demands" something, he's actually just asking． If an American says your proposal is "quite good", you should be pleased, because "quite" means "very"． But if he tells you to "table" a proposal, then things are not good at all． Whereas an English person would understand tabling a proposal as putting an idea forward, to an American it means shelves it．
According to the booklet, British people are not "explicit" like the Americans, the Dutch, the Germans or the French． "If a Dutchman says an idea is interesting, he means that it is interesting． If an Englishman says it is interesting, you have to deduce（推论） from the way he says it whether he means it is a good or a bad idea．"
The Japanese, the Russians and the Arabs on the other hand, live in the land of true dioplomatic subtlety（微妙）．"If they say an idea is interesting, it may simply be out of politeness"．
It is safest to stick with plain speaking whenever possible, BT advises its British readers． And whatever you do, be careful to limit the use of the famous British sense of humor．When someone says that an idea is interesting, who don't really mean it?
| A．The Dutch． | B．The French． | C．The British． | D．The Japanese． |
While speaking in English, a foreigner seems.
| A．to use the words "false friends" quite often |
| B．to have a strong foreign accent |
| C．to have difficulty in expressing himself clearly |
| D．to keep on forgetting English words |
We may learn from the passage that the best thing to do while talking to others, especially to foreigners, is to.
| A．speak as a diplomat |
| B．be fully aware of culture difference |
| C．speak with a sense of humor |
| D．avoid being somewhat entertaining |
Sam Trafton was my violin teacher and what he said during one of my lessons often came back to me years later．
One day he asked me how much I practiced, I said three or four hours a day．
"Do you practice in long stretches, an hour at a time?"
"I try to.”
"Well, don't," he shouted． "When you grow up, time won't come in long stretches． Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks． Spread the practice through the day．"
When I was teaching at Boston, I wanted to write a novel, but for two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time． Then I remembered what Sam had said． During the next week I did an experiment． Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so． To my surprise, at the end of the week I had finished a chapter． Later on I continued my novels by the same piecemeal method．Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, every day there were unoccupied moments that could be caught and put to use．
However, you must get into your work quickly． If you have only five minutes for writing, you can't afford to waste four chewing your pencil． You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes． Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize．
Sam Trafton has had a great influence on my life． He let me know that life can be counted on_to supply you short moments and even very short periods of time can add up to all useful hours you need, if you start without delay．The underlined part "counted on" in the last paragraph can probably be replaced by.
| A．enriched | B．added up to | C．concentrated on | D．expected |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．The writer owes great thanks to Sam for teaching him how to use free time |
| B．Sam has had a great influence on the writer's study． |
| C．The writer didn't take the teacher's words to heart at first． |
| D．Rapid concentration is actually more difficult than most people imagine |
It can be inferred from the passage that the writer.
| A．has new books published each year however busy his teaching is |
| B．can always find enough time for mental preparations beforehand |
| C．has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels |
| D．is always tired of life because his teaching schedule is always heavy |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．A Little Time at a Time | B．How I Became a Writer |
| C．Concentrate on Your Work | D．My Violin Teacher |
Your beliefs are very powerful and have the power to create or to destroy your life. In most cases, whatever you believe is what you will become. If you believe that you are a loser, that you never get a breakthrough in life, and that you can’t accomplish(succeed in doing) anything, these things will be your reality. Believe that you are unlimited, that you can do anything you hope to do and when you do, your accomplishments will know no bounds. You control your beliefs, and that is how you finally control your life. This is a very important point. So how do you develop beliefs that will empower you?
Many of our beliefs come from our environment, the world we live in on a daily basis. If your environment is limiting your beliefs, then work very hard on changing it. If you are constantly around people who are negative and limiting, find other people to hang out with and get around positive, successful people.
Beliefs also come from past experiences. That is why it is so important to experience success on a regular basis. Set small achievable goals, and then try your best to reach them. “I will finish this project by early afternoon.” “I will make six calls on the phone in the next hour.” “I will exercise 20 minutes tonight.” When you start to experience success, then you start to believe in success, and that leads to more and bigger successes.
Beliefs come from knowledge. The more you learn, the more things you will possibly know.
Always take the advantage of opportunities to learn something new. It will bring new possibilities into your beliefs and your life.
Most importantly, you can develop new beliefs by setting and visualizing(设想) goals for
your life. Define your goals clearly. Then in your mind, see yourself achieving them in all of their sensory details. Mentally live the experience, see the sights, hear the sounds, smell the aroma, and feel the feelings. The beliefs formed in this way will lead you to their reality.In the author’s opinion, your life depends on.
| A．your environment where you live |
| B．your experiences |
| C．your knowledge and opportunities |
| D．your beliefs |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．You should try your best to help the negative people around you. |
| B．You should try to achieve small success to believe in success first. |
| C．The more knowledge you learn, the more you will control your life. |
| D．You should stick to your own beliefs without changing. |
According to the passage, what is the most important about your beliefs?
| A．To imagine your success with your senses. |
| B．To make efforts to achieve them. |
| C．To learn as much knowledge as possible. |
| D．To try to experience success regularly. |
Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?
