For those who are conditioned to think that learning only happens in a classroom, the world of self-learning can be a little daunting. How do we best take   1   of these new opportunities?

Your interest in the subject is the essential driver of success. You can’t learn what you do not want to learn. Emotion is an important part of the learning   2   . If you are even moderately interested in a subject, give yourself  a chance. The key is to get started. If you can create some pleasurable   3  , you may find that the subject grows on you.

Don’t expect to understand things, much less remember them, the first time you study them. Trust that things will get clearer   4   your brain comes to grips with new information. It is like a cross-word puzzle. As you start to put the pieces together, or string the words together, the full picture becomes clearer. The brain learns all the time, but    5    its own schedule. Learning does not take place according to a schedule laid down by a curriculum or teacher. Some things are easier to learn than others. Some things just take    6   to click in. Keep at it, and you will gradually find that things that seem difficult at first , will become easy with time.

Your brain is struggling to form patterns to    7    new input from your learning activities. Sometimes, no matter how long you focus on one subject, your brain is not going to pick it up. If you are stuck, move   8   . Then cover the same general information from a different source, a different book, or a podcast, or an online lecture or a video. Try to become a  grazing learner, roaming the countryside,     9   a feedlot learner, just standing there in one spot. The broader your base, the easier it is to learn. Just as the “rich get richer”, the more you know,     10   you can learn.

Take full advantage of the Internet, iTunes, and     11   mobile devices, not to mention good old-fashioned books and magazines. Learn during “dead time”. Listen in your car, on the train, or   12   jogging. Have your learning with you while waiting in the doctor’s office, or listen while checking out at the supermarket. Anytime is     13  time. Remember, you are learning through exposure, not by nailing things down. It is more like moisture accumulation in a    14   , rather than building a brick wall.

The more varied your learning content, and the more varied the ways in which you learn, the       15 the puzzle will become. Different learning activities suit different people, at different times of the day. Vary your activities in order to keep your interest level   16    . Even if listening and reading work best for you, treat yourself to the odd video lecture, or get-together with other learners. This will renew your batteries.

The “loneliness of the distance learner” is a thing of the   17  . Join a learning community on the web, where members share their knowledge and experience. Search for the communities that suit your interests and learning style. You will find encouragement, advice and stimulus from fellow learners,        18    from tutors, teachers and coaches. In these communities, you can measure your progress against your own goals, or compare your experience     19    that of other learners. You can even teach and help others, which is a great way to learn.

Never has it been easier nor more exciting to be a learner. Let constant learning be a major part of your life-style. The   20        will be constant, personally, socially, and professionally.

(   ) 1. A. advantage    B. place               C. possession        D. example

(   ) 2. A. progress      B. process             C. pressure            D. proposal

(   ) 3. A. roads          B. streets              C. routines            D. building

(   ) 4. A. with           B. if                     C. unless               D. as

(   ) 5. A. on                  B. to                    C. with                 D. for

(   ) 6. A. shorter               B. sooner              C. longer              D. lower

(   ) 7. A. take with     B. com with          C. go with            D. cope with

(   ) 8. A. down          B. on                    C. away               D. off

(   ) 9. A. more than   B. less than           C. rather than               D. other than

(   ) 10. A. less           B. quicker             C. lower                      D. more

(   ) 11. A. same        B. similar             C. familiar            D. various

(   ) 12. A. while               B. before              C. after                 D. if

(   ) 13. A. playing     B. learning            C. talking             D. speaking

(   ) 14. A. cloud               B. sky                  C. earth               D. sea

(   ) 15. A. cleaner      B. clearer              C. harder              D. lower

(   ) 16. A. down               B. up                    C. in                    D. out

(   ) 17. A. present      B. day                  C. past                  D. night

(   ) 18. A. as long as B. as far as            C. as well as          D. as soon as

(   ) 19. A. without     B. with                 C. to                    D. beyond

(   ) 20. A. awards      B. words               C. remarks            D. rewards

I grew up in a house where the TV was seldom turned on and with one wall in my bedroom entirely lined with bookshelves, most of my childhood was spent on books I could get hold of. In fact, I grew up thinking of reading as natural as breathing and books unbelievably powerful in shaping perspectives（观点）by creating worlds we could step into, take part in and live in.
With this unshakable belief, I, at fourteen, decided to become a writer. Here too, reading became useful. Every writer starts off knowing that he has something to say, but being unable to find the right ways to say it. He has to find his own voice by reading widely and discovering which parts of the writers he agrees or disagrees with, or agrees with so strongly that it reshapes his own world. He cannot write without loving to read, because only through reading other people’s writing can one discover what works, what doesn’t and, in the end, together with lots of practice, what voice he has.
Now I am in college, and have come to realize how important it is to read fiction. As a law student, my reading is in fact limited to subject matter — the volume（量）of what I have to read for classes every week means there is little time to read anything else. Such reading made it all the clearer to me that I live in a very small part in this great place called life. Reading fiction reminds me that there is life beyond my own. It allows me to travel across the high seas and along the Silk Road, all from the comfort of my own armchair, to experience, though secondhand, exciting experiences that I wouldn’t necessarily be able to have in my lifetime.
【小题1】What can be inferred about the author as a child?

根据对话情景和内容， 从对话后所给的选项中选出能填入每一空白处的最佳选项。

Jerry: Hi, Mike. Look like you’ve got some sun.

Mike: I guess so. I spent the weekend on the beach.

Jerry: Really? That sounds exciting.      1.    

Mike: At my friend’s house. He invited me to stay there for as long as I wanted.

Jerry:       2.       

Mike: Oh, I have a paper to work on.

Jerry:       3.      I mean besides lying out in the sun.

“Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move,” said David Belle, the founder of parkour(跑酷).

Do you love running? It is a good exercise, yet many people find it boring. But what if making your morning jog a creative one? Like jumping from walls and over gaps, and ground rolls? Just like the James Bond in the movie Casino Royale? Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond’s wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.

Yes, that’s parkour, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the obstacles in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Parkour is considered an extreme sport. As its participants dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from rooftop to rooftop.

Parkour can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see parkour much more than that.

Overcoming all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy(理念) behind parkour. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in parkour and never fall back from them in your life, to reach the destination successfully. A parkour lover said, “I love parkour because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything.”

Another philosophy we’ve learnt from parkour is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself that you earn energy and confidence.

Parkour has become popular throughout the world because of     .

A. its founder, David Belle                  B. the film, Casino Royale

C. its risks and tricks                          D. the varieties of participants

The underlined word “obstacles” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “    ”.

A. streets                                           B. objects

C. barriers                                         D. roofs

Which of the following is true of parkour?

A. It challenges human abilities.          B. It is a good but boring sport.

C. It needs special training.                 D. It is a team sport.

As its participants move around a city,     .

A. they can ask for help                      B. they may choose to escape

C. they should run to extremes             D. they must learn to survive

Which of the following is the philosophy of parkour?

A. Sports and extremes.                      B. Excitement and popularity.

C. Dreams and success.                       D. Determination and freedom.

—Your sister’s plan is not quite practical.Why not try to persuade her to give it up?

—My sister is very stubborn，so it is________to try to change her mind.

A．by chance? B．in vain

C．on purpose? D．for sure