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.”

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.

2.What does the word “stimulate” mean in the passage?

A．Excite.            B．Improve.          C．Encourage.        D．Affect.

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.

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?

Take a look at our library! Our library is open to everyone and the library card is free.

Books        ☆ books in 36 languages

☆ information about the world

☆ all kinds of stories

☆ picture books for children

☆ novels

– You can enjoy newspapers and magazines in the reading room.

– You can borrow two books at a time and keep them for three weeks.

Videos       ◆ all kinds of video films

◆ music videos

◆ TV plays

– You can enjoy yourself and watch your favorite videos at home.

– You can rent a video at two yuan for a week.

Audios      music for everyone

 language cassettes; 42 world languages

– Special rooms for you to enjoy listening. CDs and cassettes can be borrowed – FREE.

– You can borrow one CD or one cassette at a time and keep it for one week.

E-books     ● many different kinds of e-books

● e-newspapers and e-magazines

– You can browse all the e-books in the computer room – FREE.

1.How many books can you borrow at a time?

A. One.            B. Two.                C. Three.        D. Four.

2.How much should you pay if you keep two videos for a week?

A. Two yuan.         B. Three yuan.               C. Four yuan.     D. Free.

3.What can you do in the computer room?

A. Enjoy music videos.                B. Borrow some books.

C. Enjoy e-books.                    D. Borrow some CDs.

There are some easy things you can do to protect(保护) the environment and the earth. Choose ideas from the list or come up with a few of your own.
● Plant flowers, grass or trees.
●Whenever you visit a park or beach, take away what you bring there----keep rubbish in a bag until you can put it in a dustbin (垃圾箱).
●Turn off the lights, TV sets when you leave the room. This saves (节约)a lot of electricity.
●Turn off the tap (水笼头)when you brush your teeth. You can save some water by not letting it run. Also, use a glass cup instead of a paper cup because this saves paper.
●Keep the doors and windows closed in winter to keep warm air in.
●Give your old books and magazines to a library instead of throwing them away.
●Give your old clothes to poor children you know instead of throwing them away.
●Use both sides of paper.
●Stop pouring (倒)dirty water into the rivers or the lakes nearby (附近).
●Encourage all your friends to do the same things you do to help protect the earth.
You don’t have to wait until Earth Day to do these things. Make every day Earth Day.
If everyone makes a contribution (贡献)to protecting the environment, the world will become much more beautiful.
【小题1】From the above, we know that this is ____________.

Just how popular was Mini? Very. Every year her classmates voted(推举) her the favorite student. The friends she had were much more than those of anyone else.
One day Mini was caught yakkety-yakking(大声说笑) and ordered to stay back as punishment(惩罚). Staying back meant doing something “useful”, like helping in the library after school.
Now Mini’s school had a rule. Once a month, if you had something else to do the day you were punished, you could ask a friend to stand in for you.
Unluckily, her aunt was visiting Mini that day. That afternoon was the only chance Mini had of seeing her for another five years.
Mini needed someone to stand in for her. She asked Betty, her “best” friend. “Oh, no, Mini, I can’t,” Betty said. “I must help my brother do his homework.”
“Tony, will you stay back for me?” Mini asked another friend. “I wish you’d told me earlier. I have to go to a relative’s house with my father,” he said.
Now, Mini was beginning to doubt(怀疑) if even one of her friends would agree to stay. But she tried again. She asked three more friends and each one refused.
So, after school Mini stayed to help the librarian. And, when she found Mini crying after everyone had left, it was she who surprised Mini by allowing her to leave to meet her aunt. “I may have many friends,” Mini said to herself, “but in reality I have none.”
【小题1】What does staying back mean in Mini’s school?