There is a lot of misunderstanding about studying. Most students have not been taught the principles behind really effective working. Imagine a graph showing the amount a person learns against the number of hours he works in a day. If he doesn’t do any work, he learns nothing (point 0). If he does an hour’s work he learns a certain amount (point 1). If he does two hours’ work he learns about twice as much (point 2). If he does more work he’ll learn still more (point 3). However, if he tries to do twenty-three and a half hours’ work in a day, he will be so tired that he’ll hardly remember anything: what he learns will be very little (point 4). If he did less work he’d learn more (point 5).

Now whatever the exact shape of the graph’s curve(曲线), made by joining these points, it must have a high point. Point “X” is the very maximum anyone can learn in the day. And this represents the optimum(最适度), the best, amount of work to do. It is the best possible compromise between adequate time at the books and fatigue(劳累). Fatigue is an absolutely real thing; one can’t escape it or ignore it. If you try to ignore it and press yourself to work past the optimum, you will only get on this downward slope and achieve less than the best – and then become very tired and lose your power of concentration.

The skill in being a student consists of getting one’s daily study as near the optimum point as possible. I cannot tell you what the optimum is. It differs with the type of work, it differs from person to person, and even in the same person it varies from week to week. You must try to find your own. Every day you study, bear this principle of the optimum in mind. When you feel yourself getting fatigued, if you find yourself reading the same paragraph over and over again and not taking it in, that’s a pretty good sign you’ve reached your highest point for the day and should stop. Most ordinary students find their optimum at five hours a day. Yours may be a little more or a little less – but if you get in five hours’ good work a day, you will be doing well.

Now, what are you doing with yourself when you aren’t working? Before examinations some students do nothing at all except sit in a chair and worry. Here is another misunderstanding. People often think that the mind works like the body; it does not. If one wanted to save one’s physical energy in order to cut the maximum amount of firewood, one would lie flat on a bed and rest when one wasn’t chopping. But the mind cannot rest. Even in sleep you dream, even if you forget your dreams. The mind is always turning. It gets its relaxation only by variety. That is what makes the mind rest.

When you’ve finished your optimum number of hours you must stop. You must not then sit around in the chair thinking about the work – that only tires without any learning. You must get out and do something. It doesn’t matter what – anything so long as you are actively doing something else but work.

1.According to the passage, _______.

A．the longer you study every day, the more you will learn

B．you’ll achieve better learning results if you work three hours every day

C．the less work you do, the better you will learn

D．your work efficiency will decrease once you exceed a certain point of work

2.Fatigue can result in ________.

A．loss of memory	B．a need for relaxation
C．a lot of anxiety	D．loss of concentration

3.The passage tells us that a person’s optimum number of working hours _______.

A．follows a regular pattern with each individual

B．changes regularly from week to week

C．can be partly determined by the sort of work he is doing

D．should be determined before he gets too tired

4.The only way the mind can relax is by ________.

A．doing a variety of things in turn

B．not thinking about anything

C．turning continuously

D．getting oneself in a state of fatigue

5.After you have reached the optimum point of study in a day, you should ________.

A．lie in bed and rest

B．do something else actively

C．do some physical labor

D．stop thinking about your studies

 

Amy returned to her small apartment at midnight, tired. Her worst fears raced through her mind. Would the court tell her she couldn’t care for her family anymore? Would the kids go through the sadness once more of being split up and sent away? She was so young, almost a child herself, and yet Amy knew everything depended on her. At that moment, she wondered if she would ever find the strength to see it through.

From earliest childhood, Amy took care of her younger brothers. Jan, their mother, only added to the family disorder and confusion because of her drug addict. Sometimes they lived in apartments, sometimes in shelters.

One afternoon Amy was called to the high school, where a social worker was waiting for her. “We’re going to have to put you guys in foster（收养) care.” the social worker said. “No! Don’t spilt us up!” the girl cried out. “Can’t you just leave it the way it is?” The social worker shook his head. Amy’s voice then rose like the howl of a lion protecting her babies: “Why can’t I take them? I take care of them all the time anyway.” The social worker hesitated, and then said, “Maybe. Once you’re 18, you could apply to become their relative caretaker. Then you’d be their foster mother until we find a home where all of you can be together.” “I’ll do it,” Amy said.

One month later, Amy was named guardian of her brothers for a six-month trial period. It was a remarkable victory for an 18-year-old girl. Her brothers didn’t make her task any easier in the months ahead. However，Amy’s efforts were rewarded when the court allowed her to continue as guardian. Amy’s relief at remaining the kids’ guardian was at risk of being taken away by the pressure she always

felt to measure up. Social workers still looked regularly over her shoulder and asked the boys shameful

questions: “Does she feed you? Does she ever try to harm you?” Then one day a visiting social worker

came over. “We’d like to get the boys adopted into homes,” she said. Sensing that the family was about to be split apart yet again, Amy replied, “Fine, then. Call it adoption if you want, but they’re not going anywhere.” To her surprise, the social worker took her remark seriously. She explained that if Amy were to adopt the boys, they would become like any other family.

That night at dinner Amy told the boys about the idea. “Cool!” Joey said. He threw a piece of corn at Adam. His brother flicked it back, and pretty soon corn was flying. Amy rolled her eyes. They didn’t have far to go to be like any other family. As the proceedings（程序）ended, Amy thanked everyone. “No,” the judge responded, “Thank you. You saved three kids. Not many family members would do what you’re doing, especially for this many children. I’m very proud of you.” 

On a lazy spring day, in a modest suburban neighborhood, Amy stood in front of a neatly kept one-story house. She watched her brothers playing basketball, and heard the playful bark of their dog, Tahoe. The young lady had made good on her promise: they had rented a home, a real home, and the boys had gotten their dog. Amy continues to raise her family alone, but has begun taking courses in business management at a nearby community college. Eventually, she hopes to become a child psychologist.

1. Which of the following best describes Amy?

A．Crazy and tough                        B．Firm and stubborn

C．Enthusiastic and generous                 D．Abnormal and aggressive.

2.From Paragraph 3, we can learn that __________.

A．The social worker gave in to Amy.

B．The social worker tried to adopt Amy’s brothers.

C．Amy tried to apply for the guardian of the brothers

D．Amy had no idea how to face her family being separated up.

3.By saying “They didn’t have far to go to be like any other family”, the writer means________.

A．they will live in the same area as other families

B．they made a deep impression on the neighborhood

C．Amy is able to take good care of the family

D．Amy and her brothers would be already just like a family

4.The best title for this text would be___________. 

A．Standing On Two Feet                    B．Growing Up Alone

C．A Lifelong Fight                         D．A Teen Hero

5.What does  the underlined word guardian in paragraph 4 mean?

A．保护者           B．监护人           C．收养人           D．引导人

 

二、完成下列句子。（每空2分，满分10分）

1.这张照片让我想起了我的童年

The photo ___________________my childhood.

2.过去，他靠卖报纸维生。

In the past, he ______________________by selling newspaper.

3.汤母是在农村被他祖父抚养长大的。

Tom _____________________________by his grandfather in the countryside.

4.一旦你找到了诀窍，掌握一们外语就不难了。

It’s not difficult for you to master a foreign language once you______________________ it.

5.那女孩有音乐天赋，有希望成为音乐家。

The girl ________________________  music and promises to be a musician.

 

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Test-taking tips

Do you sweat, check your pencil, and feel butterflies in your stomach as your teacher hands out the test paper? A lot of people feel anxious when it is time to take a test. Here are some tips for taking tests:

  1 .Your memory recall will be much better if you have had enough rest. In a scientific study, people who got enough sleep before taking a math test did better than those who stayed up all night studying.

Read the test through first. Once you have the test paper in front of you, read over the entire test, checking out how long it is and all the parts that you are expected to complete.  2 .If something seems unclear before you start, do not panic: ask the teacher.

Focus on addressing each question individually.  3 . Instead, answer the best way you can or skip over the question and come back to it after you have answered other questions.

Relax.  4 .Of course you can not get up and move around in the middle of a test, but you can wiggle (扭动) your fingers and toes, take four or five deep breaths. As we all know, It can be easy to forget things we know well. During a test, if you forget something and start to get tense, it suddenly becomes much more difficult to remember.

Finished already? Although most teachers will let you hand your test paper in early, it is usually a good idea to spend any extra time checking over your work.  5 .On the other hand, if you have 5 minutes until the bell rings and you are still writing, wind up whatever you are working on without panic.

A.  Be sure you have studied properly. B.  Get enough sleep the night before the test. C.  This will allow you to decide how much time you have for each section. D.  As you take the test, if you do not know an answer, do not worry about it. E.  As the teacher hands out the test paper, be sure you know what is expected of you. F.  You can also add details that you may not have thought you’d have time for. G.  If you are so nervous that you blank out, you might need a mini-break.

 

Somali pirates(海盗) robbed three Thai fishing ships with 77 sailors on board nearly l，200 miles off the Somali coast，the farthest-off-shore attack to date，an officer said Tuesday.

Pirates have gone farther south and east in answer to increased patrols(巡逻)by warships off the Somali shore. The robbing of the three ships on Sunday was about 600 miles outside the normal operation area for the international force，said a spokesman．

The spokesman said the attack so far out at sea was a clear sign that the international patrols against pirates were having a “marked effect on pirate activity in the area”．

“Once they start attacking that far out，you’re not even really talking about the Somali basin or areas of water that have any connection with Somalia,” said an officer，Ro ger Middleton．“Once you’re that far out，it's just the Indian Ocean，and it means you’re looking at trade going from the Gulf to Asia，from Asia to South Africa.”

"This is the farthest robbing to date．They are now operating near the Maldives and India,”said another officer．

The three ships--the MV Prantalay ll，12，and l 4—had 77 members on board in total．All of them are Thai, the spokesman said．Before the Sunday robbing，pirates held l l ships and 228 sailors．

Pirates have increased attacks over the past year in hopes of catching more dollar payments. Because of increased patrols and defenses on board ships，the success rate(率)has gone down，though the number of successful attacks has stayed the same year over year.

1.Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Somali Pirates Robbing Three Thai Fishing Ships.

B．Somali Pirates

C．Somali pirates Attack.

D．Somali Pirates Enlarging Their Field Increasingly.

2.The pirate attack reported in the text happened            ．

A．far out in the Indian Ocean

B．in the normal patrol area

C．near the Somali, coast

D．in the south of Africa

3.According to the text, which can best describe the situation of the pirate problems?

A．More goods on board are lost.

B．Pirate attacks happen in a larger area now.

C．The number of attacks has stayed the same these years.

D．Pirate attacks are as serious as before along the Somali coast.

4.Which is true about the warship patrols according to the text?

A．The patrols are of little effect.

B．The patrols are more difficult.

C．More patrols are quite necessary even in Asia.

D．The patrols only drive the pirates to other areas.

5.How many sailors were held by the pirates up to the time of the report?

A．228.             B．77.               C．383.             D．305.