D

Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.

By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic (逻辑) behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand. Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power.”

Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll increase your brain power, even if you have no idea how right now. Just start with anything, and create an explanation. For example, start with “I’ll learn chess,” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan, and if you actually do this, you’ll have a better understanding of your brain twenty minutes from now.

Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success.

Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem, why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there.

Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often, they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.

71. What would be the best title for the text?

   A. A Way on How to Write

   B. Increase Your Brain Power through Writing

   C. Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing

   D. How to Start Your Writing

72. According to the text, writing can help you a lot in the following ways EXCEPT ______.

   A. the increase of your brain power

   B. the ability to remember

   C. the development of your interest in study

   D. the better understanding of a topic

73. If a writer writes something, it means that he or she _______.

   A. has understood it very well

   B. needs to understand it better

   C. wants to remember it in his or her mind

   D. is exercising his or her “explain power”

74. The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fifth paragraph implies that ______.

   A. you are already successful

   B. you still need to work hard

   C. writing can help you walk half way

   D. writing is important to solve problems

75. What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?

   A. To advise readers to start their writing.

   B. To explain the importance of writing.

   C. To persuade readers to become writers.

   D. To increase readers’ brain power.

A peer is a person who is about the same age as you. Peers affect your life, whether you know it or not, just by spending time with you. 
Peers can have a good effect on one another. Maybe another student in your science class taught you an easy way to remember the planets in solar system. Maybe you got others excited about your new favorite book and now everyone’s reading it. 
However, sometimes peers affect one another in another way. For example, one kid in school might try to get another to cut class with him, your soccer friend might try to persuade you to be mean to another player and never pass her the ball, or a kid in the neighborhood might want you to shoplift with him. Some kids give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, to fit in, or because they worry that other kids may make fun of them if they don’t go along with the group. Others may go along because they are curious to try something new that others are doing. The idea that “everyone’s doing it” may influence some kids to leave their better judgments or their common senses behind. 
Peer pressure can be extremely strong and hard to get rid of. Experiments have shown how peer pressure can influence someone to change her/ his mind from what she/ he knows for sure is a correct answer to the incorrect answer－just because everyone else gives the incorrect answer! That holds true for people of any age in peer pressure situations. 
It can be hard to walk away from peer pressure, but it can be done. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help you know the right thing to do. Inner strength and self-confidence can help you stand firm, walk away and resist doing something when you know better.
68. What is the best title for this passage? 
A. Peers have a good effect   B. Children give in to peer pressure
C. Peer pressure is hard to resist    D. Peer pressure
69. The underlined word “shoplift” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________”.
A. do some shopping     B. carry goods for shops 
C. steal in shops            D. take the lift upstairs in shops
70. The writer will NOT agree that ________.
A. only children change their correct answers to incorrect ones because of peer pressure
B. peers have an effect on one another
C. peer pressure can be got rid of
D. peers will believe in themselves if there are other peers who agree with them
71. By writing the passage the writer intends to ________.
A. tell people to follow other’s opinions
B. warn people to stay away from their peers
C. tell it is hard to walk away from pressure
D. persuade people to do the right thing regardless of peer pressure

B
Ever since I was a small girl in school, I’ve been aware of what the school textbooks say about Indians. I am an Indian and, naturally, am interested in what the schools teach about natives of this land.
One day, I read that a delicacy(美味) of American Indian people was dried fish, which , according to the textbook, tasted “like an old shoe, or was like chewing on dried leather.” To this day I can remember my surprise, my anger and my sadness at reading these words. We called this wind-dried fish “sleet-shus”, and to us, it was our favorite delicacy and, indeed, did not  taste like shoe leather, and didn’t rot our teeth and bring about the various dietary problem that trouble Indian people in modern times. It took many hours of long and hard work to cure the fish in just this particular fashion. Early fur traders and other non-Indians must have agreed, for they often had this food as they traveled around isolated areas.
I brought the textbook home to show it to my father, leader of my tribe at that time. On this particular day, he told me in his wise and modest manner that the outside world did not understand Indian people, and that I should not let it prevent me from learning the good parts of education.
At a later time in my life, I had brought a group of Indian people to the country fairgrounds to sell Indian-made arts and crafts. My group was excited to make some money by selling Indian handicrafts. We thanked the man who showed us to our booth and told him it was nice of him to remember the people of the Indian community. The man expanded a little and remarked that he liked Indian people. “In fact,” he went on to state, “we are bringing some professional Indians to do the show!”
As we stood there in shock, listening to this uninformed outsider, I looked at my dear Indian companion, an eighty-year-old woman who could well remember the great chiefs of the tribe who once owned all the land of this country before the white man came bringing “civilization”, which included diseases and pollution. My friend said not a word, but took the hurt as Indian people have done for many years.
Of course, we all knew that the “professional Indian” were not Indians at all, but dressed in leather and dancing their own dances. And, anyway, how does one become a “professional Indian”?
45．Which of the following statements about “sleet-shus” is true?
A．It tasted like an old shoe.
B．Eating it was like chewing on dried leather.
C．It was delicious but bad for our teeth.
D．It must have brought pleasure to Indians as well as early business men.
46．What does the writer mean by saying “how does one become ‘a professional Indian’”?
A．Only the Indians know how to become professional Indians.
B．The outside civilization can help and Indian become a professional Indian.
C．An Indian is a born professional Indian.
D．The outside civilization can help white people become professional Indians.
47．After reading the passage, you don’t know __________.
A．what the writer’s profession is
B．what upset the writer and her friend at the county fair
C．why the writer went to the county fair
D．the writer’s attitude to the so-called civilization
48．This story is primarily about ___________.
A．customs of native Americans
B．how textbooks describe native Americans.
C．misunderstanding between people from different cultures
D．how an Indian becomes a “professional Indian”

B
Economists usually study markets．Now，two Americans have won the Nobel Prize in economics for not studying markets．They will share almost one and a half million dollars for their analysis of economic governance(治理)．The winners are Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University in Bloomington and Oliver Williamson of the University of California，Berkeley．The prize in economic sciences has gone to 63 men since it was first awarded 40 years ago．Elinor Ostrom is the first woman．And，like other winners over the years，her training is not limited to economics．She is a professor of political science and of public and environmental affairs．
Today，economic theory suggests that good resource management requires ownership，either private or public．If not，the thinking goes，then self-interest will lead to overuse and destruction of shared resources．Ecologist Garrett Hardin described this idea in 1968 as“the tragedy of the commons．”
Elinor Ostrom showed how local decision making can lessen the tragedy．Her research has deepened understanding of how people balance their needs with those of others who depend on the same resources．    
She studied communities like farmers in Southern  California who depended on a common water supply． She documented how people who use resources often develop ways to share them．One example is forest management．She says，“One of the absolutely key，most important variables(变量)as to
whether or not a forest survives and continues is whether local people monitor each other and its use．Not officials，locals．”
Oliver Williamson has studied big companies and found that they often are better than markets at doing complex jobs．Under his theory，businesses act as structures for conflict resolution．
For example，companies that own their suppliers can avoid long-term contracts and disputes over prices．This can make production more efficient and make better use of limited resources．But businesses can also abuse their power．Professor Williamson says the best way to deal with this is not by limiting the size of companies，but through industry regulation．
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said economists need to do more than study markets and prices．The Nobel judges urged more research like the kind they recognized with this year’s award．
60．According to Elinor Ostrom，                ．
A．the tragedy of the commons is caused by local decision
B．private ownership can cause the tragedy of the commons
C．overuse of shared resources can cause the tragedy of the commons
D．it is not the officials but the local people who can do something to avoid the tragedy
61．This year’s Nobel Prize for economics is shared by        ．
A．Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson   B．Elinor Ostrom and Garrett Hardin
C．Oliver Williamson and Garrett Hardin   D．63 economic scientists
62．Professor Williamson proved that long-term contracts and disputes over prices can be
avoided by big companies by                  ．
A．1imiting the size of other companies
B．providing sufficient production
C．sharing resources with their own suppliers
D．setting up their own industry regulation
63．Which of the following can serve as the best title for the passage?
A．Two American Economists Won the Nobel Prize for Studying Markets．
B．Researchers of Economic Governance Won the Nobel Prize for Economics．
C．First Woman to Win the Nobel Prize for Economic Strategies．
D．The Tragedy of the Commons and the Big Businesses．

A peer is a person who is about the same age as you. Peers affect your life, whether you know it or not, just by spending time with you.
Peers can have a good effect on one another. Maybe another student in your science class taught you an easy way to remember the planets in solar system. Maybe you got others excited about your new favorite book and now everyone’s reading it.
However, sometimes peers affect one another in another way. For example, one kid in school might try to get another to cut class with him, your soccer friend might try to persuade you to be mean to another player and never pass her the ball, or a kid in the neighborhood might want you to shoplift with him.
Some kids give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, to fit in, or because they worry that other kids may make fun of them if they don’t go along with the group. Others may go along because they are curious to try something new that others are doing. The idea that “ everyone’s doing it” may influence some kids to leave their better judgments or their common senses behind.
Peer pressure can be extremely strong and hard to get rid of. Experiments have shown how peer pressure can influence someone to change her/ his mind from what she/ he knows for sure is a correct answer to the incorrect answer——just because everyone else gives the incorrect answer! That holds true for people of any age in peer pressure situations.
It can be hard to walk away from peer pressure, but it can be done. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help you know the right thing to do. Inner strength and self- confidence can help you stand firm, walk away and resist doing something when you know better.
【小题1】 What is the passage mainly about ?