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 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
【小题1】What’s the main idea of Paragraph 1

A．Children have a better memory than grown-ups.

B．People remember well what they learned in childhood.

C．Poem reading is a good way to learn words.“

D．Stories for children are easy to remember

【小题2】The author explains the law of overlearning by

A．presenting research findings

B．setting down general rules

C．using examples

D．making a comparison

【小题3】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

【小题4】What is the author's opinion on cramming?

A．It leads to failure in college exams.

B．It increases students' learning interest.

C．It's possible to result in poor memory.

D．It's helpful only in a limited way.

Generally speaking, the harder one works, ____________.

A．the better he gets result                  B．The better results he gets

C．He gets better results                    D．Does he get better results

 

 

Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat. Either way, it could be the perfect crime, because the criminals are birds—horning pigeons!

The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car: if you want the car back, pay up then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside. Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off.

There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind—one that avoid not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place . Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return. Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad in the newspaper asking for help.

The theory is supported by the fact that, so far, none of the stolen cars have been returned. Also, the amount of money demanded-under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars –seems too little for a car worth many times more.

Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal. “We have more important things to do,” he said.

1. After the car owner received a phone call. He ______.

A. went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried

B. gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park

C. sent some money to the thief by mail                  

D. told the press about it

2. The “lazier and more inventive” criminal refers to ______.

A. the car thief who stays at home                          

B. one of those who put the ads in the paper

C. one of the policemen in Changwa              

D. the owner of the pigeons

3. The writer mentions the fact that “none of the stolen cars have been returned” to show_____.

A. how easily people get fooled by criminals         

B. what Chen thinks might be correct

C. the thief is extremely clever                                  

D. the money paid is too little

4. The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to ______.

A. criminals                               B. pigeons                      

C. the stolen cars                                 D. demands for money

5. We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because______.

A. he reads the ads in the newspaper            

B. he lives in the same neighborhood

C. he has seen the car owners in the park             

D. he has trained the pigeons to follow them

 

A new law has recently been announced which forbids people to disturb, annoy, harm, kill or interfere with any bats which choose to live in their houses. Anyone who disturbs a bat on its nest ,or handles one without a license will be fined ￡1,000.

There are some people who like bats. The late Mrs. Ian Fleming was one. She would crawl for miles to see them in caves or hanging from trees. Similarly, there are many people who do not like bats much but are not particularly troubled by them. The chance of a bat resting in their attics（阁楼） or spare bedroom curtains may seem far away from them. But there are others who do not fall into either of these categories and Mr. Auberon Waugh is one. Underneath his house are eight large cellars(地下室) which for some reason bats have chosen to claim for themselves. He finds it extremely disagreeable to have to fight his way through a colony of them every time he wants a bottle of wine. And as a wine-lover he gets a particular pleasure from the ownership of wine. He has certain bottles in his cellar which he thinks are too good to serve to anyone he knows, but he likes to go down and enjoy looking at them occasionally. The bats entirely destroy this pleasure.

Until the recent law, he could keep the bat problem within manageable proportions by sending his children down on a bat hunt every three months armed with tennis rackets. They usually managed to kill one or two and discouraged the rest from settling. But now, Mr. Waugh fears that the bats will take over the house. To solve the problem he inquired what course of action he could take and was told by Dr Robert Stebbings of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, “I am sure that no one will mind if you pick up a bat and take it outside and hang it on a tree or the outside of the house.” The trouble with this, as Mr. Waugh explains, is that he would be fined a ￡1,000 if he had not already applied to the Nature Conservancy Council for a license to handle bats. And there is no certainty that he would automatically be granted（agreed to give）one.

Mr. Waugh thinks that bats        .

A. should all be destroyed  B. interfere with his wine 

C. should be kept under control D. prevent him owning wine

Because he is a wine-lover, M. Waugh        .

A. stores only good wines   B. keeps certain good wine

C. refuses to drink good wines  D. only wants to own the best wines

Success in removing bats from your home depends on        .

A. applying for a license from the Nature Conservancy Council

B. seeking help from the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology

C. taking the course of action recommended by Dr Stebbings

D. the granting of a Nature Conservancy Council license

Some people who dislike bats        .

A. think they are unlikely to be bothered by them

B. run the risk of finding them in their attics

C. think it strange they should roost（栖息） in the curtains

D. do not mind them hanging in trees    

It takes more than just practice to become an Olympian. Gold medal performances require some serious nutrition. Have you ever wondered what these successful athletes eat to stay in peak shape?

Keri Glassman, a registered dietitian and founder of Nutritious Life Meals, appeared on "Good Morning America" today to give you a glimpse into the diets of some top athletes. Some of their meals could surprise you.

Crazy Calorie Count

Glassman said Olympians eat a lot of food---quantities that for ordinary people would constitute pigging out. One secret of swimmer Michael Phelps' astonishing performance in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing was consuming as many as 12,000 calories in one day.

Athletes can eat like this and not gain any weight because their workouts are intense. According to Glassman, Phelps' workouts can burn 4,000 to 6,000 calories in a day, and those calories must be replenished (补充) in order to train the following day.

Snacking Secrets

Some athletes eat wacky (strange, unusual) foods that they swear improve their performance. Yohan Blake, the Jamaica sprinter and 100-meter world champion, has been making waves for stealing champion sprinter Usain Bolt's thunder on the track during the Olympic trials. Asked about how he gets his stamina, Blake answered that he eats 16 bananas per day, Glassman said.

Jonathan Horton, the lead gymnast on the US team, has a blood sugar problem. His solution is honey. When he starts to feel shaky at the gym, he takes swigs of honey to boost his energy, Glassman said.

Foods for Recovery

What are the best foods to help the body recover after rigorous (strict) competition?

For Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, the recovery meal is grilled chicken breasts with Alfredo sauce, whole-grain spaghetti and a salad with lemon juice and olive oil. Lochte, who recently cut out junk food, candy and soda, has undertaken a rigorous strength-training regimen(养生法) that involves flipping tractor tires, dragging shipyard chains and tossing beer kegs, Glassman said.

1.What’s the best title of this passage?

A．Good Diet Makes a True Olympian.

B．Olympians Have Olympic-size Appetites.

C．Olympians’ Strange Eating Habits.

D．The Diets of some Top Olympic Athletes.

2.What does the underlined sentence probably means?

A．Ordinary people eat few pigs compared with Olympians.

B．Olympians eat a lot more food than ordinary people.

C．Olympians tend to eat a lot of high-quality food.

D．Olympians eat a large amount of food, just like pigs.

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

A．Ryan Lochte quit eating junk food, candy and soda for his recovery.

B．Usain Bolt beat Yohan Blake on the track in the Olympic trials.

C．Michael Pheleps astonishing performance was due to his eating lots of food.

D．Jonathan Horton has a blood sugar problem because of taking too much honey.

4.Which of the following is not the best food to help the body recover?

A．Soda.                                B．Olive oil.

C．Whole-grain spaghetti.                   D．A salad with lemon juice.

5.The passage is most likely to be found in __________ .

A．a technical report                       B．a fashion magazine

C．an education column                     D．a sports newspaper