Sheela spent three days memorizing a poem for an oral test, but her friend Nisha merely scanned a new
poem twice before reciting it from memory! Why then was there a difference? Nisha just knew how to learn
better than Sheela. She had increased the ability of her brain by using some skills. Here are some steps to better
learning.
     Preview the matter first: That is, don't plunge headlong into reading new, unfamiliar material. You can
understand more if you first scan it or skim over it quickly. Read the first sentence of each paragraph, and
glance at the table of contents and the preface.
     Slow down and read it aloud to yourself: Speed reading is fine for easy material but for more complex
works, slower reading is much more effective. Good learners vocalize (发声), either loudly or in their minds,
listening to each word as they read. They also actively think about what they read and take in it.
     Organize facts into categories: For instance, if you have to memorize a jumbled list containing names of
animals, types of transport, items of clothing and kinds of jobs, it is easier if you divide them into groups or
categories. Dividing it into smaller, meaningful parts makes it easier to learn.
     Be focused: To improve concentration (专心) and focus, fix a particular time and place for studying. Use
a variety of methods, like writing down what you've read or taping it and then listening to it, or making an
outline.
     Follow your own learning style: Each person has his own way of learning. lf given the pieces of an object
to assemble (集合), each of us uses a different method to arrive at the same result. Analyze your approach and
follow the method that you feel most comfortable with.

1. The passage mainly tells us _____.

A. some ways to listen carefully
B. some new memorizing skills
C. some methods for reading complex works
D. some good learning skills

2. The example of Sheela and Nisha is used to _____.

A. show the difference between people in learning ability
B. explain the difficulty in memorizing poems
C. teach people how to memorize a poem quickly
D. introduce the main topic - learning skills

3. The underlined sentence in the passage probably means " _____".

A. don't read new, unfamiliar material at all
B. don't read new, unfamiliar material without thinking carefully
C. don't read material with your head forward
D. don't read new, unfamiliar material that is too long

4. The underlined word "jumbled" in the passage probably means "_____ ".

A. mixed
B. detailed
C. divided
D. related

5. Which of the following is advised by the author?

A. Listening to whatever you are reading.
B. Reading all passages at slow speed.
C. Taking an active part in your reading.
D. Reading the last sentence of each paragraph

      As we all know, human beings have five senses.  1.________    have you ever heard that
instead of having five senses like humans, plants have just one or two senses?
     Some plants can sense sunlight and grow towards it. Plants   2.________   feed on small
insects can sense the soft touches of the insects on their leaves.   3.________  they sense the
insects, they move their leaves all of a sudden to catch them. Scientists have found that plants
can feel  4.________    the animals around them want to hurt them or not.   5.________   is
even more amazing are the results of  6.________   recent experiment carried out by some
Italian and German biologists. According to their report, when some plants sense dangerous
insects, they give  7.________   a kind of smell to pass the information on to   8.________  
plants. The smell also attracts other insects which will kill the dangerous ones. In this way, the
plant can avoid being eaten.

     A third of primary schoolchildren in China are suffering from psychological ill-health as a result of
classroom stress and parental pressure, according to a study published on Tuesday.
     The problem is so bad that urgent measures are needed, warns the study, led by British and Chinese
researchers.
     The investigation surveyed 2,191 pupils aged nine to 12 in nine schools in urban and rural Zhejiang,
a relatively prosperous coastal province in eastern China.
    Eighty-one percent of the youngsters said they worried "a lot" about exams, 63 percent feared being
punished by their teacher, 44 percent had been physically bullied at least sometimes - with boys likelier
to be victims than girls - and 73 percent had been physically punished by their parents.
     Most of the children complained they struggled to cope with the amount of homework they were
assigned.
     Over one-third reported headaches or abdominal pains - psychosomatic symptoms of stress - at least
once a week. The most stressed children reported incidence of aches or pains of four times a week.
     The investigation, led by Therese Hesketh, a professor at University College London (UCL) Centre
for  International Health and Development, pointed the finger at extreme competitiveness in China's
education system, from the onset of primary school.
     "The competitive and punitive educational environment leads to high levels of stress and
psychosomatic symptoms," the authors say.
     "Measures to reduce unnecessary stress on children in schools should be introduced urgently."
     The paper appears in Archives of Disease in Childhood, a peer-reviewed journal of the British
Medical Association (BMA).
     The "urban" setting for the study was Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang, while the "rural"
setting was a poor county in Quzhou prefecture, in the west of the province.
     The study highlights some of the complexities that, it says, explain the demands for academic
excellence and intolerance of failure.
     One factor is the country's dramatic rise in prosperity, which has created "previously unheard-off
possibilities for upward mobility" and in turn stoked pressures on children to do well at school.
     Other reasons are China's one-child policy and the Confucian traditions of respect for parents and
elders, filial piety, obedience and discipline.
    "The aspirations of many parents, who had limited educational opportunities themselves are now
invested in their only children," it says.
     Previous studies on school-related stress and its impact on health are few and generally come from
Scandinavia.
     A 2008 assessment among 10- to 13-year-old in Sweden found that 21 percent of boys of 30
percent of girls experienced headache, and 17 percent of boys and 28 percent of girls experienced
abdominal pain at least once per week.

1. What mainly caused schoolchildren to suffer from psychological ill-health?

A. Competitiveness in education system
B. Classroom stress and parental pressure
C. Physical punishment from their parents
D. Endless homework from school teachers

2. The underlined part "cope with" in Para.5 most probably means ______.

A. to fit in    
B. to adapt to    
C. to deal with      
D. to get along with

3. From Paragraph 4, we know what the schoolchildren worry most is _______.

A. bullying behavior at school
B. many examinations at school
C. physical punishment by parents
D. physical punishment by teachers

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A. More and more schoolchildren will drop out of school soon
B. Homework and examinations will be cancelled at all schools
C. Parents and teachers will give up educating the schoolchildren
D. Too much stress does great harm to schoolchildren physically and mentally

5. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Children in China sickened by school pressure
B. Measures to reduce unnecessary stress on children
C. The investigation, led by University College London
D. Extreme competitiveness in China's education system