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 (逻辑) 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 how 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 twenty minutes 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.
1. 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
2. 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
3.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
4.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.
ARLANDA, Sweden (Reuters Life!) --Many people hate the idea of having to sleep on a plane. But Swedish entrepreneur（企业家）Oscar Dios thinks they can be persuaded otherwise and he has created a new kind of hostel（旅社）to prove it.
Dios says it is the world’s first Jumbo jet hostel, an actual jet-plane at Sweden’s main airport outside Stockholm which has been changed into a 25-room guesthouse that sleeps as many as 72 people.
“I learned about this plane that was standing deserted at Arlanda airport and I’ve been trying the concept of hostels in many different houses and buildings,” he told Reuters. “I thought, ‘ Why not a plane?’ ”
Jumbo Hostels opened for business on Thursday, giving customers the chance to check in and sleep in a room that can best be described as comfortable.
“The most challenging part with this project is trying to build something inside a metal hull(外壳)--it’s just really, really tight.”
The jet, which was originally produced for Singapore Airlines, was taken out of service in 2002. It is held on a concrete（混凝土）foundation with the landing gear（着陆装置）secured in steel cradles.
One feature of the hostel is its price--a room starts at 350 Swedish crowns (about $ 41 ), which is a lot less than hotel rooms outside of major airports.
Another feature is that customers can get married on the wing of the plane and stay in the plane’s more luxurious honeymoon suite (套房).
Instead of walking down the aisle（过道）in the church, lovebirds can take what Jumbo Hostels calls the “wing walk,” where they can be joined in great happiness at the wing tip. The hostel has someone ready to perform the ceremony.
But in some respects, this hostel remains a plane--most customers have to share the jet’s nine bathrooms and the staff only wear air host and hostess clothes. The only room that has its own bath-room is the honeymoon suite.
1. One of the features of the plane hostel is that _______.
A. customers can sleep in comfortable rooms B. air hostesses can offer good service
C. the staff can have a “wing walk” D. a wedding ceremony can be held on the wing
2. We can learn from the text that _______.
A. the hostel lies at Arlanda airport in Stockholm
B. the jet plane was out of use for over six years
C. every hostel room is $ 41 per night
D. the hostel provides nine bathrooms for customers
3. The underlined word "tight" means _______.
A. crowded B. tense C. small D. full
4.The purpose of the passage is to _______.
A. introduce a new kind of hostel B. prove people can sleep on a plane
C. describe a wonderful place for weddings
D. call on people to make use of the deserted things
Experience the Colorado River the Hualapai Way!
River Runners offers the ONLY One Day Whitewater trip ANYWHEERE at the
GRAND CANYOU!
Since1973，Hualapai River Runners has been conducting whitewater rafting journey to the Colorado River. Our experienced guides expertly sail along the river and share the history of the Canyon and the Hualapai people with you.
Visitors experience the excitement of whitewater rapids and then stop to enjoy the impressive beauty of Travertine Falls and a tasty lunch．No charge for children 2 years and under.
One-Day Trip
Retail$249.00+$79.00(helicopter and round-trip ground transportation)
Whitewater rafting tours begin in Peach Springs．Hualapai River Runners transports you to Diamond Creek, which is the starting point for the 37 mile rafting tour. Lunch is included and upon arrival at the rafting tour termination point(终点)，fly out of the Grand Canyon by helicopter （直升机）to Grand Canyon West．
Two-Day Trip
Retail$549.00+$79.00(helicopter and round-trip ground transportation)
Two-day rafting trips with one night on the Colorado River. All supplies and meals are included. Two days in the Grand Canyon，on the Colorado River allows more time to explore one of the Seven Wonders of the World。
Tours Include：
●Round-trip transportation from Peach Springs to the starting point and from the termination point back to Peach Springs．
●Snack，drinks and lunch(vegetarian meals available upon request)
●Waterproof dry bags for storing your cameras, sunscreen, dry clothes, etc．
●The helicopter part of transportation is weather permitting. If the helicopter transportation is cancelled because of bad weather, the raft will continue an additional two hours to South Cove and a maximum（最大量）$20.00 per customer will be given back.
Special Website booking rate 15% off rafting in April 2010. So book now!
Call us Toll Free Today! Tel: 1-888-868-9378
1. Where do whitewater rafting tours start?
A. Travertine Falls B. Peach Springs
C. Diamond Creek D. Grand Canyon West
2. We learn from the passage that _______.
A. Hualapai River Runners provides dry clothes
B. you will get $20 back if you are dissatisfied
C. the trip is free of charge for children under 2
D. online booking has a better offer all year round
3. What is the purpose of the passage?
A. To attract people to the sights B. To explore the Hualapai culture
C. To explain how to make a rafting trip D. To introduce the history of the Colorado River
When I was nine years old I lived in a small town. I found an ad for selling greeting cards in the back of a children’s magazine. I thought to myself I could do this. I begged my mother to let me send for the kit (配件). Two weeks later the kit arrived. The next three hours later, I returned home with no card and a pocket full of money shouting, “Mama, all the people couldn’t wait to buy my cards!” A salesperson was born.
When I was twelve years old, my father took me to see Zig Ziegler. I remember sitting in the dark hall listening to Mr. Ziegler raise everyone’s spirits up to ceiling. I left there feeling like I could do anything. When we got to the car, I turned to my father and said, “Dad, I want to make people feel like that.” My father asked me what I meant. “I want to be a motivational speaker just like Mr. Ziegler,” I replied. A dream was born.
Recently, I began pursuing（追求） my dream of motivating others. I realized that everything I had accomplished — the graduate degree, the successful sales career, speaking appointments, training and managing for a major fortune 100 company as a senior manager— had prepared me for this moment. I told my boss who was a great leader I would leave the company though I might not reach such a height in career. He told me to proceed（进行） and he believed I would succeed.
Having made that decision, I was immediately tested. One week after I gave notice, my husband was laid off from his job. We had recently bought a new home and needed both incomes to make the monthly mortgage (抵押) payment and now we were done to no income. I even planned to turn back to my former company, knowing they wanted me to stay but I was certain that if I went back, I would never leave. I decided I still wanted to move forward rather than end up with a mouth full of “if onlys” later on. A motivational speaker was born.
When I held fast to my dream, even during the tough times, the miracles（奇迹） really began to happen. In a short time period my husband found a better job. We didn’t miss a mortgage payment. And I was able to book several speaking appointments with new clients (客户). I discovered the incredible power of dreams. I loved my old job, my workmates and the company I left, but it was time to get on with my dream. To celebrate my success I had a local artist paint my new office as a garden. At the top of one wall she marked, “The world always makes way for the dreamer.”
1.Why was the kit sent for?
A. Selling greeting cards. B. Collecting greeting cards.
C. Buying greeting cards. D. Sending greeting cards.
2. When did the author decide to become a motivational speaker?
A. After buying a new home by mortgage.
B. After giving notice to leave her safe position in the company.
C. After finding a job in a major fortune 100 company.
D. After listening to Mr. Ziegler’s inspiring speech.
3. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
A. She was once an excellent manager.
B. She left her post at the height of her career.
C. She was not sure whether the former company could accept her.
D. She didn’t miss paying the monthly mortgage payment.
4. What does the underlined sentence mean in the last paragraph?
A. Carry on with your dreams and you will be successful.
B. Risk everything you have for a dream and you will succeed.
C. The world belongs to dreamers.
D. Everyone will find their dreams.
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Childhood curiosity（好奇） can last a lifetime and I learned this from my son, Bill. When he was very young, I often took him to the 36 . He loved to read and often needed to 37 the books he’d read in order to borrow more books. One unintended 38 of his nonstop reading habits was that he even 39 at the dinner table. His mother, Mary, and I did our best to 40 him that, on certain social 41 , reading while dining with others was not a good thing.
Every summer the teachers at his school 42 give the students a reading list, and there was a contest to see who could read the most books. He was so 43 , and he always wanted to win. And he often 44 . But the main reason why he read so obsessively (着迷地) was that he was so 45 . He didn’t just want to learn about 46 things. He wanted to learn about everything.
We helped 47 his curiosity in every way. 48 an unfamiliar word came up in conversation, we’d turn to the 49 , looking up the word, and reading the definition aloud. Thus my son came to realize that if you have a question, the 50 exists somewhere. All you have to do is 51 it.
Bill remains as much of a 52 today as when he was a child, and he seems to 53 everything he reads. He’s often 54 to share what he’s learned with the next person he meets. He 55 reads at the dinner table, though — which is a good thing because the books he’s attracted to now are increasingly unappetizing (引不起食欲的): The Eradication of Infectious Diseases, Mosquitoes, Malaria & Man, and Rats, Lice, and History.
1. A. school B. office C. library D. museum
2. A. return B. store C. talk D. pick
3.A. advantage B. discovery C. explanation D. consequence
4.A. play B. read C. study D. laugh
5.A. convince B. promise C. warn D. advise
6.A. issues B. services C. occasions D. duties
7. A. could B. would C. should D. might
8. A. sincere B. crazy C. positive D. competitive
9.A. went B. failed C. did D. proved
10.A. curious B. confident C. diligent D. excellent
11. A. simple B. past C. any D. some
12. A. protect B. develop C. examine D. follow
13.A. Until B. If C. Though D. Because
14. A. teacher B. newspaper C. partner D. dictionary
15. A. person B. book C. answer D. matter
16. A. find B. use C. tell D. ask
17. A. speaker B. reader C. maker D. user
18.A. imagine B. believe C. create D. remember
19. A. eager B. afraid C. careful D. sure
20. A. now and again B. at all time C. no longer D. just now
The manager promised to keep me _______ of _______ our business was going on well.
A. informed; whether B. informing; how C. informing; whether D. informed; how
