Man still has a lot to learn about the most powerful and complex part of his body — the brain.

It may be surprising to learn that it isn’t age that makes you lose your memory. The reason could be that you have a "lazy" memory, not an old one. Like your body your memory improves with exercise. Once given plenty of exercise, the brain keeps its power. Before discussing how to improve the memory, let’s look at how the brain works. There are two sides to the brain, the left and the right. The right side deals with the senses (what we see, hear, feel and smell). It's the creative and imaginative side. The left side is concerned with logic. It analyzes information and puts it in order.

Some recent research suggests that we remember everything that happens to us. The problem most of us has is recalling events. Most forgetting takes place immediately after learning. An hour after learning something new, more than 50% has been forgotten. After a month, 80% has been forgotten, and so on.

This shows revision is very important. If you revise new material you have learnt, you remember much more. So it's of vital importance to revise newly learned material often, and have frequent breaks. We best remember what we learn at the beginning of a learning period and at the point where we stop. After the break, revise what was learned before the break and then continue learning the new material. These breaks should happen every 20 or 45 minutes.

Other experiments have shown the brain needs time to "digest" what has been learned. The time necessary for this is 5 to 10 minutes. After the break, the memory will have absorbed what it has just learned, and more will be remembered. During this period it is important to exercise the right side of the brain, because the left side is used during the learning period. Therefore you should relax. Listening to music, breathing in fresh air, and looking at a picture are all ways of using the other side of the brain. So when you are studying alone, make a plan which shows when to have breaks and to revise newly learned material immediately before you begin studying again. If you do in this way, your memory will improve.

1.According to the text, you lose your memory by ________.

A. getting too old B. hardly using your brain

C. working too hard D. using your brain too much

2.To fight forgetting effectively, we're advised to ________.

A. go back to what was learned regularly

B. break down materials into small pieces

C. focus on both ends of a learning period

D. take breaks to give the brain a good rest

3. During the learning process the brain need breaks to ________.

A. use the right side of the brain

B. revise newly learnt materials

C. take in what has been learnt

D. relax the left side of the brain

4.Where is this text most probably taken from?

A. Science fictions. B. Students’ literature.

C. An advertisement. D. A science report.

The scientists observed that the more junk food the rats ate, the more they wanted to eat – a behavior very similar to that of rats addicted(上了瘾的) to heroin, a dangerous drug. Johnson said the experiment shows that the brain chemistry of obesity(肥胖) and drug addiction may be quite similar.

In their experiment, Johnson and his team studied the “pleasure center” of rats’ brains. The pleasure center is a complicated network of nerve cells. If the animal exercises or eats, the cells reward the animal by releasing chemicals into the body that make it feel good. And when the body feels good, the animal – or person – will want to do the behavior again.

For the experiment, Johnson fed foods like cheesecake to one group of rats. Food like this is high in calories and fat. Another group of rats got a regular diet. The rats that ate junk food started to eat more and more.

“They’re taking in twice the amount of calories as the control rats,” says Paul Kenny, one of Johnson’s colleagues.

Kenny and Johnson wanted to know what was going on in the brains of these rats. They first designed a way to deliver a small electrical charge to the rats’ brains. This electrical charge would stimulate the pleasure centers to release pleasure-causing chemicals. The rats could control how much stimulation – and how much pleasure – they received by running on a wheel. The more the rat ran, the more pleasure it received.

The rats that had been eating junk food started running more and more. This behavior suggested that the junk-food-eating rats needed more brain stimulation to feel good compared with rats on a normal diet. In other words, their pleasure centers were becoming less sensitive and the junk food didn’t make them feel good unless they ate more and more.

Experiments like this one could help scientists understand how chemicals in the brain contribute to obesity. With that information, they may be able to help people avoid obesity in the first place.

(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS.)

1.The scientists suggested it was actually ___________________ that made the rats feel good.

2.How did the scientist know what was happening in the brains of the junk-food-eating rats?

3.What was the purpose of the experiment mentioned in the article?

Dad was not only my best friend, but my compass (指南针).While he was alive, he ____ me with his actions and advice. He taught me one important ____:“Believe in yourself.”

If there was one phrase my dad ____ liked to hear, it was “I can't.” He did not have chance to finish high school and ____ two jobs to support his large family, ____ he never complained. Through self-education and years of hard work, my dad became an excellent journalist.

When I was in high school, I had a ____ time with math. He tried to help me, but I ____ struggled. So my math teacher suggested I meet with him at 7:00 each morning before school for ____ help. I told Dad, “That's ____! I'm tired! I can't do that!” He replied, “You're doing it. I'll send you to school.” Every morning at 6:45, we'd leave the ____.Despite (尽管) working 12 hours every day, Dad never once ____ driving me to school.

After months of ____, I was facing the final exam. I was so ____.On the day of the final, my dad hugged me and said, “Luke, ____ yourself. You can do it.” His words made me realize I needed to trust in my ____ and in the hours of work I'd ____.When I got my ____ proudly, the first person I called was my father. He cried, “Yes! You deserved it!”

Even now, whenever I ____ that a task is too much for me, I think back to that exam. No matter how ____something is, if you're willing to work, you can succeed. I'm forever ____ to Dad for that lesson.

1.A. understood B.forgave C.guided D.impressed

2.A. history B.lesson C.skill D.language

3.A. always B.almost C.ever D.never

4.A. took B.lost C.left D.finished

5.A. so B.or C.but D.and

6.A. good B.free C.terrible D.short

7.A. still B.nearly C.hardly D.probably

8.A. real B.practical C.immediate D.extra

9.A. wonderful B.crazy C.expensive D.necessary

10.A. house B.school C.office D.farm

11.A. suggested B.risked C.enjoyed D.missed

12.A. meeting B.testing C.learning D.interviewing

13.A. excited B.nervous C.happy D.shocked

14.A. stand for B.hold back C.believe in D.look after

15.A. teacher B.luck C.time D.ability

16.A. wasted B.ignored C.picked up D.put in

17.A. answer B.grade C.pay D.gift

18.A. hope B.forget C.worry D.promise

19.A. different B.important C.hard D.interesting

20.A. grateful B.sorry C.polite D.useful

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