Adults are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practised in the meantime. A man who has not had an opportunity to go swimming for years can ___21___ swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after several decades and still    22    away. A mother who has not    23   the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" or recite the story of Cinderella or Snow White.

　　One explanation is the    24     of over learning, which can be stated as following: Once we have learned something, additional learning increases the    25    of time we will remember it.

　　In childhood, we usually continue to practise such skills as swimming, bicycle riding long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and    26    ourselves of poems such as "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and childhood tales such as Cinderella or Snow White. We not only learn but  __27   .

　　The law of over learning explains why cramming (突击学习) for an examination, though it may result in a(an)    28     grade, is not a    29    way to learn a school course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little over learning,    30   , is usually a good investment toward the future.

　　21. A. only                B. hardly            C. still                D. even

　　22. A. move               B. drive              C. travel              D. ride

　　23. A. thought about     B. cared for          C. showed up       D. brought up

　　24. A. result              B. law                C. rule              D. cause

　　25. A. accuracy           B. unit                  C. limit              D. length

　　26. A. remind             B. inform              C. warm             D. recall

　　27. A. recite               B. overlearn          C. research          D. improve

　　28. A. passing            B. average              C. excellent             D. discouraging

　　29. A. convenient        B. demanding       C. satisfactory        D. swift

　　30. A. at most            B. by the way        C. on the other hand  D. in the end

Do you know the 　　　 of the saying I just quoted??

A.source　　　B.resource　　　C.course　　　D.cause?

I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “full of years”, as the Bible would say. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence(吊唁) calls on the two families on the same afternoon.

At the first home, the son of the deceased(已故的) woman said to me, “If only I sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today It’s my fault that she died.” At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take. It’s my fault that she’s dead.”

You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course ---keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation--- would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?

There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.

The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.

A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons(召唤) the rest of the world to his tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.

50. What is said about the two deceased elderly women?

A. They weren’t used to the cold and the snow.

B. They died of exhaustion after the long plane ride.

C. They lived out a natural life.

D. They died due to lack of care by family members.

51. The author had to hold the two women's funerals probably because____.

A. he was minister of the local church

B. he was an official from the community

C. they lived in harmony in the same community

D. he wanted to comfort the two families

52. People feel guilty for the death of their loved ones because ____.

A. they couldn't find a better way to express their sorrow.

B. they believed that they were responsible

C. they had neglected the natural course of events

D. they didn't know things often turn in the opposite direction

53. Which of the following is True according to the writer?

   A. People should feel guilty when everything turned out wrong.

   B. People’s childhood view makes them believe that their wishes cause things to happen.

   C. Every effect has its cause.

   D. Babies believe that they make things turn out the opposite.

54. What's the idea of the message?

　 A. Life and death is an unsolved mystery

　 B. Every story should have a happy ending

　 C. Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault

　 D. In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Motherhood is a career to respect

　　A WOMAN renewing her driver’s license at the CountyClerk’s office was asked to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

　　“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a...”

　　“Of course I have a job,” said Emily. “I’m a mother.”

　　“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation... ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.

　　One day I found myself in the same situation. The Clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title. “What is your occupation?” she asked.

　　The words simply popped out. “I’m a Research Associate (研究员) in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”

　　The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.

　　I repeated the title slowly, then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement (声明) was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

　　“Might I ask,” said the clerk with interest, “just what you do in your field?”

　　Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t), in the laboratory and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”

　　There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out.

　　As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (激励) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants – ages 13, 7, and 3.

　　Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6-month-old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.

　　I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”

　　Motherhood... What a glorious career! Especially when there’s a title on the door.

How did the female clerk feel at first when the writer told her occupation?

　　A. Cold-hearted.　　　　B. Open-minded.

　　C. Puzzled. 　　　　　　D. Interested.

How many children does the writer have?

　　A. 3　　　 B. 4 　　　C. 7　　　 D. 13

Why did the woman clerk show more respect to the writer?

　　A. Because she thought the writer did admirable work.

　　B. Because the writer cared little about rewards.

　　C. Because the writer did something that she had little knowledge of.

　　D. Because she admired the writer's research work.

What is the point of the article?

　　A. To show that how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it.

　　B. To show that the writer had a grander job than Emily.

　　C. To argue that motherhood is a worthy career.

　　D. To show that being a mother is hard and boring work.

It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp. It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.
　　Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn't work and a young officer, Mr. Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry.
　　"I'm sorry, sir," said the first soldier. "I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back."
　　And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier's turn. He said, "I'm sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but…"
　　Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, "If you say something was wrong with your bus, I'll punish you at once!"
　　"No, no, sir," said the young man. "My bus was all right, but the dead horses were in its way!"
【小题1】The military camp was built in the village to _______.