Tony Buzan’s grades were going down　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 at university. Disappointed with his low marks, he went to the library to find a book on how to use his brain. He was directed to the medical section. Confused, he said to the librarian, “I don’t want to take my brain out, I just want to learn how to use it.” Her reply was simple: “There’s no book on that.”　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

“I thought to myself,” says Buzan, “if I buy a little radio, I get an instruction manual (说明书). If I buy a microwave, I get an instruction manual. But for the most important machine in the world, no instruction manual?”

Fifty years later, Buzan has become the world’s leading speaker on the brain and learning. In the late 1960s, he invented the mind map, a visual representation of thought processes.
　 This kind of thinking has become a popular tool for planning, organizing, problem solving, and communicating across the world. He has since authored and co-authored over 100 books that have appeared in more than 30 languages.

“I think in most cases, people use less than 1 percent of their brains,” he says.
　 But how do you expand this 1 percent? How do you become the best student you can be?
　 According to Buzan, the answer is simple. You take a section of whatever it is that you are trying to learn, he says, and you read it for its essence (精髓、要素). Then you make a mind map of all the important details. For a truly effective mind map, you start with a colored image in the center of your page. Draw the first image that comes to mind on the topic you are mind mapping. Branch off from your central image and create one of your main ideas. From your main branches draw some sub-branches and from those sub-branches you can draw even more branches. He emphasizes that you should use plenty of images and colors as these help with memory recall and encourage creativity.

By using this visual format (形式), according to Buzan, your mind will begin to make associations that will help you remember more information for longer periods of time.

Buzan believes that traditional note-taking methods, such as lists and summaries, do not stimulate the brain’s recall capacity or ability in the same way. Because of this, students will often find themselves locked away in their rooms for hours, trying hard to memorize separate details. Buzan believes that for a more effective and lasting way of studying, you must first understand how your brain works.

“Everyone is born smart,” he says. “You just have to learn how to learn.”

56. What is the main purpose of the first two paragraphs?

　 A. To show that Tony Buzan was worried about his study.

　 B. To invite us to think about the importance of manuals.

　 C. To prove that the mind map is a useful tool for the brain.

D. To show why Tony Buzan studies the brain and learning.

57. What does the word “stimulate” mean in the passage?

A. Excite.　　　 B. Improve.　　　 C. Encourage. 　　　D. Affect.

58. What can we infer from the passage?

　 A. If we learn the mind map, we will become the best student.

　 B. The mind map will help your brain connect separate details.

　 C. The mind map will be more effective if we put more details in it.

D. We will solve the problem if we make connections between ideas.

59. What is the best title for the passage?

A. How to make the mind map?　　　　　　　　 B. Is the mind map widely used?　

　 C. Can your memory be mapped?　　　　　　　 D. Is the mind map helpful in thinking?　

A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow(乌鸦) was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain(鄙视).

“You have no flying skills at all!” he said to the swans. “All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, that’s beyond you. Let’s have a flying competition. I’ll show you what real flying is!”

One of the swans, a strong young male, took up the challenge. The crow flew up and began to show his skills. He flew in circles, performed other flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.

Now it was the swan’s turn. He flew up, and began flying over the sea. The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments(评价) about his flying. They flew on and on till they couldn’t see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so exhausted that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water.

The swan pretended(假装) not to notice, and said, “Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick?”

“No,” said the crow. He knew he had lost the competition. “I’m in trouble because of my pride! If you don’t help me, I’ll lose my life…”

The swan took pity on him, and took him on his shoulders and flew back to the beach.

(  ) 56. What’s the correct order of the following events?

a. The crow showed off its flying skills.

b. The swan felt pity for the crow and saved it.

c. The crow laughed at the swan’s flying.

d. The crow followed the swan and got into trouble.

e. The crow challenged the swans and a strong young swan accepted it.

A. e, c, d, a, b         B. a, e, c, d, b               C. c, e, a, d, b            D. e, a, d, c, b

(  ) 57. What does the underlined word “exhausted” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. Tired.                B. Angry.               C. Frightened.             D. Regretful.

(  ) 58. Why did the crow keep touching the water?

A. It was showing another flying skill.             

B. It was struggling to keep itself from falling into the water.

C. It was thirsty and wanted to drink some water.

D. It was enjoying itself by doing so.

(  ) 59. What can we infer(推断) from the passage?

A. The crow didn’t know flying.            

B. Flying skills were useless.

C. The swan saved the crow because they were good friends.

D. The swan was better at long-distance flying than the crow.

(  ) 60. What does the story tell us?

A. No pains, no gains.                          B. The early bird catches the worm.

C. Pride goes before a fall.                    D. Practice makes perfect.

　　 Books are our best friends. They are very quiet, but we can always find both fun and knowledge once we open them. Here are two good books you can read during the holiday.

　　 The little Prince（王子）

French Writer: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

　　 Both adults and children love this classic book. It is about the adventure of a young prince. It shows the importance of innocence (纯真), imagination and love.

　　 The little prince comes from planet B -612. In his eyes, adults are all very strange. Unlike them, he sees the essence (本质) of things. He cares more about a flower and a sheep than the "important" things of the adult world.

　 The prince lives on his planet with a rose. He loves the rose very much. But he soon feels tired and leaves his planet. He meets many more strange adults on other planets.

　　 On Earth, he discovers interesting things such as a snake, other roses and a fox. The fox tells him a secret: Only the heart can discover the most important things. This helps the prince realize his love for the rose and he goes back to his planet.

　　 To Succeed on One' s Own

　 American Writer: Liu Yong

　　 Writer Liu Yong from Taiwan wrote this book for his daughter. It can help young people succeed.

　　 The book teaches you about student, how to use your free time and even what kind of clothes to wear. It answers many teenagers’ most common questions. Liu uses his daughter' s stories as examples to help readers understand the principles(原则).

　　 His book is far from boring. There are lively stories and dialogues, with objective analysis (客观分析), hope and confidence (信心) from a good father.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案．并在答题卡上按要求作答。

56. Where does the writer of "The little Prince" come from?

　　　 A. England.　　　 B. France.　　　　 C. America.　　　 D. China.

57. What does the prince do after the fox tells him a secret?

　　　 A. He cares more about a flower and a sheep.

　　　 B. He meets many more strange adults on other planets.

　　　 C. He discovers interesting things such as a snake, other roses and a fox.

　　　 D. He realizes his love for the rose and he goes back to his planet.

58. What does " The little Prince " mainly talk about?

　　 It' s about 　　　 .

　　　 A. the adult world　　　　　　　　　 B. the planet B -612

　　　 C. a rose and a fox　　　　　　　 　　D. the adventure of a young prince

59. Who did Liu Yong write the book "To Succeed on One' s Own" for?

　　　 A. His daughter.　　 B. His students.　 C. Teenagers.　　　 D. Young people.

60. From the passage, we know that we can always find 　　　 in books.

　　　 A. the importance of teenagers’, imagination and love

　　　 B. the answers to many of teenagers' most common questions

　　　 C. the objective analysis, hope and confidence

　　　 D. both fun and knowledge

If you have no special plans for your holidays, why not spend your time helping others?

　 Don't listen to people who say the young people today often think only of themselves. It's not true at all. More and more people in the USA volunteer(自愿) to spend their school holidays working for others. And they don't do it for money. Here are some of their stories.

Alice Hamilton, 17

　 I'm going to help the Forest Centre build new hiking paths in the mountains. It's going to be terrific--I'll spend the whole summer living in the tent and breathing the clean mountain air. I'm going to sleep under the stars, It'll be a nice sport, and I'll be able to do something good at the same time.

Jason Moore, 18

This summer, I'm going to volunteer with Special House Program. They build good, low-cost houses and sell them to families that are not very rich. They'll teach me what to do, so I'll help people and also have a chance to learn how to build houses.

Trish Anderson, 16

　 I'm going to teach kids who have trouble reading. I'll work for a program called "Reading for Life". Every day, I'm going to help kids choose and read books that they like. I want to be a teacher and I love children and reading, so this is going to be a great experience for me.

(　 )56. Young people in the USA volunteer to spend 　　　 helping others.

A. school holidays 　B. weekdays　 　C. every morning　 D. every afternoon

(　 )57. What does Alice volunteer to do in summer?

A. To breathe the clean mountain air. B. To spend the whole summer living in the tent.

C. To sleep under the stars.　　　　 D. To help build new hiking paths in the mountain.

(　 )58. From the passage, we know that Special House Program helps 　　 .

A. children in poor families　　　　　　　　　　 B. workers who build houses

C. poor families that can't afford houses　　　　　 D. build hiking paths

(　 )59. 　　　 wants to be a teacher.

A. Alice Hamilton B. Jason Moore　 C. Trish Anderson D. none of them

(　 )60. Which is the most possible title for this passage?

A. Reading for Life　　　　　 　 B. Special House Program

C. The Forest Centre　　　　　 D. Young American volunteers

All live poultry(家禽) markets in Shanghai will be closed from April, 6th after H7N9 bird flu virus was found on a farm product market, the government announced. On the morning of April, 5^th, 20,536 birds were killed at the Huhuai market, where the virus was found the day before.

Up to now, the city has reported six cases of H7N9 bird flu, and four people have died from the virus (病毒). The other two, an adult and a 4-year-old boy, remain in a hospital.

So far, 16 H7N9 cases have been confirmed(确诊) in China. Apart from the Shanghai cases, six are in Jiangsu, three in Zhejiang and one in Anhui provinces. Two people died in Zhejiang.

Shanghai's two surviving patients "are getting better", Wu Fan, chief of the city's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news conference (记者招待会) on Friday. "Not all H7N9 cases lead to worse illness."

Wu suggested that people with a fever and runny nose who suspect(怀疑) they have the virus go to hospital immediately. "The most important factor (因素) in limiting the number of H7N9 patients depends on whether the virus can spread among human beings. So far we haven't found any cases that show this kind of virus can spread from person to person," Wu said. Up to now there are no effective vaccines (疫苗) for H7N9, experts said, but using Tamiflu (克流感) may be effective in the early stages (阶段).

"Breathing masks and Banlangen (板蓝根), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that may help fight against the virus, are in high demand. Xue Li, a sales clerk at a drugstore in Wuxi, said their Banlangen was sold out and all the masks were out of stock.

56.  When was the bird flu virus found at the Huhuai market?

A. April 6^th     B. April 5^th     C. April 4^th       D. April 3^rd

57.  What does “the city” refer to in Paragraph 2?

A. Shanghai    B. Hangzhou    C. Wuxi       D. Zhejiang 

58.  According to the passage, what do you know about Shanghai’s two surviving patients?

A. Their illness becomes worse     B. They are becoming better 

C. They are out of hospital now.    D. They are dying

59.  In order to limit the number of H7N9 patients, the most important thing is to _________.

A. get vaccines

B. buy breathing masks and Banlangen

C. find out whether H7N9 can spread among people

D. kill all the poultry.

60.  According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. Three cases of H7N9 bird flu have been found in Zhejiang.

B. Not all H7N9 cases will become worse.

C. Few people go to the drugstore to buy breathing masks and Banlangen.

D. H7N9 patients can take Tamiflu in the early stages.