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.”
【小题1】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.
【小题2】What does the word “stimulate” mean in the passage?
A.Excite.B.Improve.C.Encourage.D.Affect.
【小题3】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.
【小题4】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?

The high school diploma (文凭) is losing its value quickly, as a growing number of students graduate (毕业) from school without the math and reading skills that colleges and companies require, according to a new report.
The high school graduation exams that most states (州) require students to pass before they graduate remain far too easy. Most of the exams generally test eighth-or ninth-grade level work.
Today, even high school graduates who are going to have blue-collar (蓝领) jobs need to study the math, research and writing courses. But in high school, only students who are going to college are now required to take these courses.
“If you want a good job with a good pay, it’s a high-skill job,” said Michael Cohen, a leading member of the America Diploma Project.
The project suggests that all graduates master a wide range (范围) of skills. “A high school diploma should mean something to a company and university,” said Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who is Achieve’s co-chairman.
In Taft’s state, about 30% students who go directly to college from high school have to take remedial classes of English or math, he said. It’s easy to see that the present high-school graduating standards are not preparing students for college education.
And with high-skilled jobs increasingly headed overseas to places like India and Ireland, states need to act, he said.
To prove why math and reading skills matter, the report includes real-life examples of problems students meet in college and that workers must solve each day on the job. ?
Some states are taking actions to upgrade the high school diploma. In Texas, all high school students, starting with the 2008 graduating class, will have to take the college-prep curriculum (大学预备课程) - unless a parent agrees to an easier course load. Other states are planning similar moves.
The report includes examples of reading and math skills that high-school students should have. Project leaders say they hope parents will use those examples to judge (评定) the coursework at their kids’ high schools.
【小题1】Why is the high school diploma losing its value quickly?

A.Because the number of high school students is growing fast.
B.Because high school students fail to reach the standards.
C.Because the graduation tests are easier than it should be.
D.Because difficult courses are not required in high schools.
【小题2】Remedial classes in Paragraph 6 mean classes____.
A.for good learners to study quickly and better
B.for slower learners weak in the subject
C.for learners to be taught one by one
D.for learners to reach a higher standard
【小题3】What can we learn from the passage?
A.Colleges require higher math and reading skills than companies.
B.It is easier for companies to find high-skilled workers in India.
C.Math and reading skills help little for workers to solve daily problems.
D.Parents ask high schools to offer college-prep curriculum in Texas.
【小题4】What can be the best title for the passage?
A.High School Diploma Means Little
B.Give Students More High-skill Jobs
C.Math and Reading Skills Really Matter
D.Judge Coursework at High Schools


USBoy, 9, Plans to Take Balloon Flight Alone
ALBUQERQUE. New Mexico — Bobby Bradley is ready. He has been training for about five years and learned from some of the
most experienced and decorated pilots in the sport of ballooning.
BENGHAZI, Libya — Muammar Gadhafi accepted an African Union(AU) plan to end the Libyan civil war but the opposite said on Monday there could be no deal unless he leaves office.
NEW YORK — A new book written by Amy Chua on her super-. strict parenting—Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother has raised media (媒体) storm and strong arguments in the US.
Amy Chua is the mother of two teenage girls. In the book she
describes her efforts to give her children what she describes as a
traditional, strict "Chinese" way of bringing up children.
TOKYO — The operator of Japan’s quake-hit nuclear plant( 受地震袭击的核电站) said on Sunday it aims to reduce radiation leaks(辐射泄漏) in three months and achieve a "cold shutdown" in six to nine months.
LOS ANGELES — Sunday night, the 83 annual (每年一度的) Academy Awards took place in Los Angeles. Colin Firth won the Best Actor for his role in "The King’s Speech”, and Natalie Port man won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in " Black Swan".
 
Judge the following sentences True (T) or False (F).
【小题1】A 9-year-old American boy is ready to take a balloon flight on his own after training for about five years.
【小题2】Gadhafi agreed to end the Libyan civil war but the opposite wouldn’t accept it if he leaves office.
【小题3】"Tiger Mother" parenting raises media storm in the US, but all people agree other traditional, strict "Chinese" way of bringing up children.
【小题4】Japan tries to fix radiation leaks in 9 months.
【小题5】 Natalie won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in "The King’s Speech" while Co­lin won the Best Actor for his role in "Black Swan. "

I am Steve. I was born and grew up in South Wales. My favorite place to play was out on the hills where my imagination had plenty of space to expand (拓展).

My family moved out of Wales when I was thirteen. I went to a new school. One of my subjects was French. Because I had never learned any French, my teacher told me to sit in the corner and write anything I was interested in. That’s the time I started writing, just for myself, and I’ve been writing ever since.

I have always loved BIG IDEAS, and so I enjoy writing fantastic stories. And I also write horror (恐怖) I think they are like the old fairytales (童话故事) ,and can teach you important things.

I am in my forties on the outside, twelve on the inside. I like rock music, Indian and Chinese food, and I enjoy drinking. I live in a small village with my wife Mary, ducks, cats, goats, hens and lots of rabbits. If you’d like to find out more about me and hope to buy any books, go to www. showkett. freeserve. co. uk

1.When he was 13, the writer ________.

A.wrote lots of poems                     B.moved out of Wales

C.sold many story books                    D.became a famous singer

2.He liked playing out on the hills because he could ________.

A.expand his imagination                   B.learn French

C.listen to stories                         D.buy some books

3.Maybe the writer is ________ years old now.

A.12               B.22               C.32               D.42

4.According to the passage, the write keeps _______

A.cats, hens and pigs                      B.ducks, goats and rabbits

C.hens, rabbits and dogs                    D.rabbits, pigs and cats

5.From the passage, we can learn that the writer ________.

A.lives in a big city with his son               B.likes eating Japanese and Indian food

C.lives in the countryside with his wife         D.introduces a nice book to us

 

On February 3rd,1949,New York Harbor(港) was an exciting place.Many people were there to greet a ship from France.On the ship were 49 French railroad boxcars(火车车箱) filled with gifts from the people of France to the people of America.These boxcars were from the famous Merci Train(Merci:a French word meaning "thank you").

After World War II (二战),a lot of factories,roads and farms in France had been destroyed.Many French people had no jobs or money and had little to wear and little to eat.In the winter of 1947,a train was sent across the United States,stopping in cities and towns along the way.At every stop,people gave whatever they could.Factories gave clothing and medicine.Farmers gave food.Families gave money.Even school children gave away their pocket money(零用钱).All the things were then taken to France by ship.

By 1949,the French had begun to recover(恢复) from the war.The Merci Train was their way of saying "thank you" to America.French people had filled the boxcars with gifts.Most of them were personal,like hand-made toys,children's drawings,or postcards.But the boxcars  themselves were perhaps  the most meaningful of the gifts.On each car,the French people had painted the pictures of all their 40 provinces,with an American eagle on the front.The boxcars were taken to each state of America,where they were warmly greeted.

Now many of the states still keep their boxcars.Gifts sent by the French people can still be seen in some museums.The Merci Train came out of the war,but it now reminds the world that countries can also work together in peace(和平).

1.Many people crowded at New York Harbor on February 3rd,1949 to______

A.welcome the Merci Train                 B.meet their families

C.have a big party                         D.start a trip by ship

2.In 1947,a train stopped in cities across America in order to______

A.give away clothing and food                     B.get more soldiers for the war

C.collect things to help French people                     D.show exhibitions from the museums

3.The underlined word "them" in Paragraph 3 refers to(指)______

A.the American people                     B.the French people   

Co the boxcars                           D.the gifts

4.The French people painted their 40 provinces and an American eagle on each boxcar because______

A.they thought France was stronger than America

B.it could show the friendship between the two countries

C.the boxcars would be more beautiful

D.they were very good at painting pictures

5.The passage is mainly about______

A.the story of the Merci Train

B.American museums where the boxcars are kept

C.gifts that American people liked

D.World War II

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