Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.

By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic (邏輯) behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand. Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power.”

Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll increase your brain power, even if you have no idea right now. Just start with anything, and create an explanation. For example, start with “I’ll learn chess,” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan, and if you actually do this, you’ll have a better understanding of your brain from now.

Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success.

Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem, why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there.

Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often, they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.

What would be the best title for the text?

A. A Way on How to Write.

B. Increase Your Brain Power through Writing.

C. Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing.

D. How to Start Your Writing.

According to the text, writing can help you a lot in the following ways EXCEPT ______.

A. the increase of your brain power

B. the ability to remember

C. the development of your interest in study

D. the better understanding of a topic

If a writer writes something, it means that he or she ______.

A. has understood it very well

B. needs to understand it better

C. wants to remember it in his or her mind

D. is exercising his or her “explain power”

The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fifth paragraph implies

that ______.

A. you are already successful

B. you still need to work hard

C. writing can help you walk half way

D. writing is important to solve problems

What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?

A. To advise readers to start their writing.

B. To explain the importance of writing.

C. To persuade readers to become writers.

D. To increase readers’ brain power.

短文改錯(cuò)(共10小題;每小題1分，滿分10分)

此題要求改正短文中的錯(cuò)誤。對(duì)標(biāo)有題號(hào)的每一行作出判斷：如無(wú)錯(cuò)誤，在該行右邊橫線上劃一個(gè)勾(√)；如有錯(cuò)誤(每行只有一個(gè)錯(cuò)誤)，則按下列情況改正：

該行多一個(gè)詞：把多余的詞用斜線(＼)劃掉，在該行右邊橫線上寫出該詞，并也用斜線劃掉。

該行缺一個(gè)詞：在缺詞處加一個(gè)漏字符號(hào)(∧)，在該行右邊橫線上寫出該加的詞。

該行錯(cuò)一個(gè)詞：在錯(cuò)的詞下劃一橫線，在該行右邊橫線上寫出改正后的詞。

注意：原行沒(méi)有錯(cuò)的不要改。

He'll come _______ I promise him to buy that new dictionary.

A. so long            B. on condition that    C. as soon as        D. by the time

Out of the crowded bus             , who was dressed in a black suit and waved to a woman.

A. a tall man stepped                          B. stepped a tall man

C. did a tall man step                          D. did a tall man stepped

It was foolish _____ the French princess to ______ the English prince, who cheated on her without

mercy.

A. for; believe in    B. of; believe      C. of; believe in    D. for; believe

–Have you got any idea what led to the result that he was turned down?

   --___ in the job interview, I guess.

A. He did not perform well               B. Because he did not perform well

C. Due to his bad performance         D. That he did not perform well

One winter during college in New York, I took an 8 am history class to fulfill a requirement. It was 36 to get up for that class, but every morning I would 37 the cold winds and went to the lecture.

The professor for the class would step 38 into the room. He was terribly nervous about the class and always fixed his eyes on his book, never 39 us.

I felt that I needed to do something to 40 the boredom, so I tried to find something in his lecture to ask him, 41 me to pay attention rather than letting my eyes close. The first time 42 I raised my hand, he was surprised but was obviously 43 to have a question to answer. I continued to do this every day. The professor seemed to become a bit more 44 and some other students even joined in. In fact, his answers were always 45. In this way, I learned quite a lot and realized the professor was indeed a/an 46 in his field.

On the last day of class we 47 our books and headed out. The professor stepped directly in front of me, with obvious 48, putting out his hand. He said, “49 you for making my class so interesting,” shaking my hand and smiling. I was so 50. To me, it had been a pleasant way to 51 the time in his lesson. I had no idea that my 52 had any effect on him or the others at all.

That 53 has stayed with me for 30 years. I don’t 54 the fact I learned in his class, but I’ll never forget the professor who taught me a lesson about the 55 of acts of kindness, indeed or not.

A. impossible               B. rough             C. natural                  D. tough

A. slow                       B. brave             C. lower              D. warm

A. shyly                      B. eagerly           C. proudly           D. hurriedly

A. looking down at            B. looking up at     C. looking up to  D. looking down upon

A. ignore                        B. delay              C. stop                D. understand

A. forcing                       B. allowing         C. advising           D. persuading

A. when                      B. in which         C. *                    D. that

A. impatient                    B. sorry              C. shocked          D. pleased

A. relaxed                       B. annoyed          C. tired               D. determined

A. boring                       B. interesting       C. puzzling         D. worrying

A. permanent               B. temporary       C. expert             D. fool

A. read                           B. copied             C. ordered            D. gathered

A. pity                           B. effort              C. humor            D. guilt

A. Thank                       B. Forgive           C. Blame             D. Praise

A. honest                        B. nervous          C. surprised        D. disappointed

A. save                           B. spend              C. spare              D. pass

A. stories                      B. questions         C. appearance    D. care

A. moment                     B. opinion          C. suggestion       D. wish

A. like                            B. know              C. recall             D. believe

A. concept                      B. reward             C. price               D. power

Animals are more like us than we ever imagined．They feel pain, they experience stress, they show affection, excitement and love．All these findings have been made by scientists in recent years---and such results are beginning to change how we view animals.

Strangely enough, some of this research was sponsored by fast food companies like McDonald’s and KFC．Pressured by animal rights groups , these companies felt they had to fund scientists researching the emotional and mental states of animals.

McDonald’s, for instance, funded studies on pig behavior at Purdue University, Indiana．This research found that pigs seek affection and easily become depressed if left alone or prevented from playing with each other．If they become depressed, they soon become physically ill．Because of this, and other similar studies, the European Union has banned the use of isolating pig stalls from 2010．In Germany, the government is encouraging pig farmers to give each pig 20 seconds of human contact a day, and to provide them with toys to prevent them from fighting

Other scientists have shown that animals think and behave like humans．Koko, the 300-pound gorilla at the Gorilla Foundation in Northern California, for instance, has been taught sign language．Koko can now understand several thousand English words, more than many humans who speak English as a second language．On human IQ tests, she scores between 70 and 95.

Before such experiments, humans thought language skills were absent from the animal kingdom．Other myths are also being overturned, like the belief that animals lack self-awareness．Studies have also shown that animals mourn their dead, and that they play for pleasure.

These striking similarities between animal and human behavior have led some to ask a question: “If you believe in evolution, how can’t you believe that animals have feelings that human  beings have?”

Until recently, scientists believed that animals behaved by instinct and that what appeared to be learned behavior was merely genetically-programmed activity．But as Koko the Gorilla shows, this is not the case．In fact, learning is passed from parent to offspring far more often than not in the animal kingdom.

So what implications does this knowledge have for humans? Because of this, should we ban hunting and animal testing? Should we close zoos? Such questions are being raised by many academics and politicians．Harvard and 25 other American law schools have introduced courses on animal rights．Germany meanwhile, recently guaranteed animal rights in its constitution---the first country to do so.

McDonald’s and KFC give money to support scientist to do research on animals, because_____

       A．they are international big companies.

       B．they love animals.

       C．they are pressured by animal right groups.

       D．they earn a large amount of money and want to do some good deeds.

The research on pigs at Purdue University shows that______

       A．pigs love being alone.

       B．pigs easily become physically ill.

       C．pigs need affection.

       D．pigs don’t like to play with each other.

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

       A．Animals behave by instinct.

       B．Animals have self-awareness.

       C．Animals have feelings and love.

       D．Animals do not have language skills.

Should we ban hunting and animal testing?

       A．Yes.

       B．No

       C．Not certain

       D．Not mentioned

假定英語(yǔ)課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文，請(qǐng)你修改你同學(xué)寫的以下作文。文中共有10處語(yǔ)言錯(cuò)誤，每句中最多有兩處。錯(cuò)誤涉及一個(gè)單詞的增加、刪除或修改。

增加：在缺詞處加一個(gè)漏字符號(hào)（）,并在其下面寫出該加的詞。

刪除：把多余的詞用斜線（\）劃掉。

修改：在錯(cuò)的詞下劃一橫線，并在該詞下面寫出修改后的詞。

注意：1. 每處錯(cuò)誤及其修改均僅限一詞；

2．只允許修改10處，多者（從第11處起）不計(jì)分。

If you park your car in the wrong place, the traffic policeman will soon find. You will be very luck if he lets you to go without a ticket. Therefore, this does not always happen. Traffic police are sometimes very politely. During a holiday in Sweden, I find this note in my car: 'sir, we welcome you to our city. This is a "No Parking" area. You will enjoy your stay here if you pay attention to your street signs. This note is only a reminder.' Whether you receive a request like this, you can not fail to obey it!

After the rich man heard the touching story, he________ most of his money to charity.

A. give in           B. give off           C. give away         D. give out