There is a lot of misunderstanding about studying. Most students have not been taught the principles behind really effective working. Imagine a graph showing the amount a person learns against the number of hours he works in a day. If he doesn’t do any work, he learns nothing (point 0). If he does an hour’s work he learns a certain amount (point 1). If he does two hours’ work he learns about twice as much (point 2). If he does more work he’ll learn still more (point 3). However, if he tries to do twenty-three and a half hours’ work in a day, he will be so tired that he’ll hardly remember anything: what he learns will be very little (point 4). If he did less work he’d learn more (point 5).

Now whatever the exact shape of the graph’s curve(曲线), made by joining these points, it must have a high point. Point “X” is the very maximum anyone can learn in the day. And this represents the optimum(最适度), the best, amount of work to do. It is the best possible compromise between adequate time at the books and fatigue(劳累). Fatigue is an absolutely real thing; one can’t escape it or ignore it. If you try to ignore it and press yourself to work past the optimum, you will only get on this downward slope and achieve less than the best – and then become very tired and lose your power of concentration.

The skill in being a student consists of getting one’s daily study as near the optimum point as possible. I cannot tell you what the optimum is. It differs with the type of work, it differs from person to person, and even in the same person it varies from week to week. You must try to find your own. Every day you study, bear this principle of the optimum in mind. When you feel yourself getting fatigued, if you find yourself reading the same paragraph over and over again and not taking it in, that’s a pretty good sign you’ve reached your highest point for the day and should stop. Most ordinary students find their optimum at five hours a day. Yours may be a little more or a little less – but if you get in five hours’ good work a day, you will be doing well.

Now, what are you doing with yourself when you aren’t working? Before examinations some students do nothing at all except sit in a chair and worry. Here is another misunderstanding. People often think that the mind works like the body; it does not. If one wanted to save one’s physical energy in order to cut the maximum amount of firewood, one would lie flat on a bed and rest when one wasn’t chopping. But the mind cannot rest. Even in sleep you dream, even if you forget your dreams. The mind is always turning. It gets its relaxation only by variety. That is what makes the mind rest.

When you’ve finished your optimum number of hours you must stop. You must not then sit around in the chair thinking about the work – that only tires without any learning. You must get out and do something. It doesn’t matter what – anything so long as you are actively doing something else but work.

1.According to the passage, _______.

2.Fatigue can result in ________.

3.The passage tells us that a person’s optimum number of working hours _______.

4.The only way the mind can relax is by ________.

5.After you have reached the optimum point of study in a day, you should ________.

短文改错

In my family，there are three people，My father is

hardworking But goes to work in the field every day.        1._______

He isn’t good at talk But he gets on well with other         2._______

people. My mother is very much kind and is               3._______

friendly to everyBody. So when I have the proBlem         4. _______

I will turn to her for help. My friends say I am clever.       5._______

When the teacher asks us very difficulty questions,          6._______

I’ll think quickly and stand to answer. At home my         7._______

Father often thinks I’m silly. He said if I decide            8._______

To do something, it takes him much times to stop me.        9._______

This is how I need to improve in the future.                10._______

四、阅读理解 （2分×15=30分）阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项。

Talk about a real-life hero! Ten-year-old Larry Champagne from St. Louis，Missouri, hit the brake (刹车) on a runaway school bus. He saved himself and 20 other kids on board from disaster.

It all happened in one terrible accident. On the way to school, the bus driver, Ernestine Blackman, suddenly fell ill. Seeing the car was running away, the other kids started to scream, but Larry ran to the front and stopped the bus.

“At first I thought, ‘We’re going to die,’” says Larry, “but after I pressed the brake, I felt safe.”

Larry’s speedy reaction made news all over the country. He appeared on TV shows as a hero. The bus company gave Larry a big gift. His school hung a medal of honor around his neck.

“My grandmother always tells me to do what’s right,” says Larry. He thanked his brother, Jerrick, 9, who “helped me get the bus driver up” during the emergency（紧急情况）. How did he know how to stop the bus? Larry is something of a mechanic（机械师）. He helps his grandfather work on his old truck. “He gets his hands dirty,” says his grandfather. One thing is for certain: Larry knows where to find the brakes.

1. What did Larry do to save the runaway bus?

A. He parked it for the sleeping bus driver. 

B. He helped all the kids climb out through the windows.

C. He dialed 911.              D. he pressed the brake.

2. When did Larry finally feel safe?

A. When the kids finally stopped screaming.        B. When the police officers arrived.

C. Once he pressed the brake, and the bus stopped.   D. When the bus driver started driving again.

3. Larry got the following as praise for his hero action Except            .

A. appearing on TV shows                                   B. a scholarship from his school

C. a big gift from the bus company                    D. a medal of honor

4. Larry thanked his brother Jerrick for             .

A. helping him get the bus driver up                           B. helping him work on his old truck

C. teaching him how to find the brake              D. teaching him how to stop the bus

5. The underlined sentence“Larry is something of a mechanic” tells us that               .

A. Larry’s job is a mechanic                                 B. Larry knows something about machines

C. Larry is a robot                                                   D. Larry knows nothing about machines

A new research shows that in Britain more and more people are returning to the old tradition that the whole family have a meal at table. Worrying about the obesity and breakdown of a family, people change their eating habits so greatly, according to analysis. They find the number of the family having a meal together increases by 5% from 2002 to 2004, and most people who have meals with their family come from the rich social class.

       The new discovery makes doctors and the people struggling against obesity extremely excited. Giving up the tradition that the whole family have a meal together is exactly one of the reasons for a series of problems including children’s overweight. If a child has a meal in front of the television or the computer alone, he will often eat some fast food.

       Jason Collins is one of the persons returning to the old tradition. Collins is a manager of a bake(烘面包) house. He finds after he gets used to having a meal at home with his child, the child becomes much more obedient(听话的). Dr. Jin is a child psychologist, and she expresses welcome to this result of the study.  She says it can make parents have a very good chance to chat with the child when the whole family have a meal together.

What makes people change their eating habit back to the old tradition in Britain?

A. Worrying about their children.        B. Worrying about some social problems.

C. Worrying about the living expense.  D. Worrying about health and family problems.

We can infer from the passage that _______.

A.people’s eating habit has much effect on their family

B. most rich people have meals with their family

C. most children have the problem of overweight

D. most children don’t like having dinner with the parents

How do the people who hope to lose weight feel about the new discovery?

A. They feel glad.                       B. They feel surprised.     

C. They feel sorry.                   D. They feel disappointed.

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The child having dinner with his parents doesn’t like watching TV.

B. Children become overweight all because of having dinner alone.

C. The family having dinner together is more united and friendly.

D. The reason a child has dinner alone is that he likes fast food.      

All right! Enough cookies,cola, and chips! It seems that junk food is all that the children want to eat these days.Television controls their tastes.The kids see well-known personalities eating potato chips, candy and other processed food, and they want to be like their heroes.How do they do it?They eat the same food. I wish there were more characters like old Popeye（大力水手）, the sailor, who ate spinach（菠菜） and not French fries.
Now I don't expect my children to eat healthy food because I like brown rice, beans, and fresh vegetables. I'm glad to cook traditional meals of meat and potatoes for them. I really can't be too upset with the kids because most adults aren't careful about what they eat. The other night, my wife and I went to a party where there was plenty to drink but very little for us to eat. They served hot dogs and hamburgers. I can't eat hot dogs, with all those preservatives（防腐剂）, and hamburgers are filled with chemicals so that they look better. Besides the meat, they had sugar-filled cookies and cake, and of course, chips. I don't want the world to change because of me, but I think people should realize that there are alternatives(选择) to eating meat. They always tell me that I probably don't get my essential(必要的) proteins. I feel better than ever and I'm sure that it's because I'm a vegetarian(素食主义者). I would really like to see more television advertisements which show the benefits of good, healthy, natural food.
【小题1】According to the passage, it seems that ______.