Reading comprehension(阅读理解)

　　“Memorize these words.” “Learn this spelling rule.” “Don't forget tomorrow's quiz(测验).” You remember things every day, but how do you do it?

　　You find a telephone number in the phone book, dial it, and then forget it. This is your short-term memory. It lasts less than 30 seconds. However, you don't look in the phone book for a friend's number. You know it. This is long-term memory. Your long-term memory has everything that you remember.

　　Why do you forget something? What is the reason? You did not learn it in the beginning. This is the major reason for forgetting. For example, you meet some new people, and you forget their names. You hear the names, but you do not learn them. Then you forget them.

　　You can remember better. Here are some ideas.

　　a．Move information from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. Practice the information. Say the information to yourself. Think about it. Spend time on it.

　　b．Over learn. After you learn something, study it some more. Learn it more than you need to. For example, when you know a list of new words, don't stop. Practice the words a few more times.

　　c．Be sure that you understand the information. It is difficult to memorize something you don't understand.

　　d．Do only one thing at a time. Study in a quiet place.

　　e．Try to connect the new information with something you already know. For example, when you learn the name of a new kind of food, think of a similar kind of food.

　　f．Divide(分开) the information into parts. Do not have more than seven parts. Learn one part and stop for a few minutes. Don't try to learn all the parts at the same time.

　　g．Make a picture in your mind. For example, maybe you see a new word. It is a kind of fruit. Make a picture in your mind of this fruit. Remember what it looks like.

　　h．Try to relax(放松) when you study. Enjoy it. You cannot remember things when you are tired or unhappy.

　　Some people have a photographic(照相机般的) memory. They see everything like a picture. Later they can see the picture in their mind again and describe everything in it. They can remember long lists of numbers and thousands of other things. Would you like to have a photographic memory?

True or False(判断下列句子是否符合短文内容，符合的用T表示，不符合的用F表示)

1．It is easy to memorize things that we don't understand.

(　　)

2．A short-term memory lasts only a minute.

(　　)

3．Your address is in your long-term memory.

(　　)

4．A photographer has a photographic memory.

(　　)

5．You can remember things well when you are glad and healthy.

(　　)

6．People who have a photographic memory can usually remember better.

(　　)

If you have a problem with speaking, you can do several things. Listen to English as much as possible. You can learn a poem(诗) or a song by heart. You can also learn more dialogues（对话）. And practice speaking with your friends as much as you can.

Many people find it difficult to listen to English. The answer is to listen as much as you can. However, don’t do too much at one time. It is better to practice listening for five minutes every day. Don’t sit down and listen for an hour at a time. That’s too much! Do choose listening passages that are interesting and not too difficult. Choose（选择） tapes（磁带） on which the people speak clearly and not too fast. Take it easy， at first. Success with simple tapes at the beginning is the answer. Later on you can practice with tapes that are more difficult.

Finally, how can you learn to write well? How do you use little words like in, on, of and for? There are two answers to this. First, do some study with new words. Keep a list of verbs like look for, look after and so on. Second, read as much English as possible. There are many things that can’t be learnt. You must see them in books many times. Then you’ll be able to use them correctly(正确地) yourself. So, in order to write well, you must first learn to read much.

1.This passage is about English ______ .

2.If you ______ , you can speak well.

3.Which of the following is right according to the passage?

4.Which of the following ways can help you to improve（提高） your written English? 

A. Buy books of writing practice.        B. Read as much as possible.

C. Do some study with new words.      D. Both B and C.

5.Which of the following is not right according to the passage?