Dreams can be familiar and strange, fantastical or boring, but some dreams might be connected to the mental processes that help us learn. In a recent study, scientists found a connection between nap-time dreams and better memory in people who were learning a new skill.
In the study,99 college students between the ages of 18 and 30 each spent an hour on a compute, trying to get through a virtual maze（迷宫）.The maze was different place each time they tired—making it even more difficult. They were also told to find a particular picture of a tree and remember where it was.
For the first 90 minutes of a five-hour break, half of the participants stayed awake and an half were told to take a short nap .Participants who stayed awake were asked to describe their thoughts. Participants who took a nap were asked about their dreams before sleep and after sleep—and they were awakened within a minute of sleep to describe their dreams.
Stickgold, a neuroscientist（神经科学家）,wanted to know what people were dreaming about when their eyes weren＇t moving during sleep.
Four of the 50 people who slept said their dreams were connected to the maze. Some dreamed about the music that had been playing when they were working ; others said they dreamed about seeing people in the maze. When these four people tried the computer maze again, they were able to find the tree faster than before their naps.
Stickgold suggests the dream itself doesn‘t help a person learn—it＇s the other way around.He suspects that the dream was caused by the brain processes associated with learning.
All four of the people who dreamed about the task had done poorly the first time, which makes Stickgold wonder if the dreams show up when a person finds a new task particularly difficult. People who had other dreams, or people who didn＇t take a nap, didn＇t show the same improvement.
1.Before having a short nap, participants of the experiment were asked to .
A. stay in a different place in the maze
B. design a virtual maze which is difficult to get through
C. experience the experiment and try to remember something
D. get through a virtual maze on a computer from the same place
2.What can we learn from the text?
A. Participants who took a nap were required to express their thoughts.
B. Some dreams may encourage people to invent something new.
C. Participants who dreamed about films could finish the task more easily.
D. Participants whose dreams had something to do with the maze could find the tree faster.
3.According to Stickgold, .
A. every person may dream about what they learned
B. people＇s brain processes may still be connected with their learning in their dreams
C. once people＇s eyes stop moving, they are sure to dream about something
D. no matter how fantastical or boring, dreams are connected with people＇s life
4.What is the best title for this text?
A. Dreams Are Strange B. Not All Dreams Are True
C. Dreaming Makes Perfect D. Stickgold, a Dream Expert
Music to My Ears
Robby was 10 for his first piano lesson in my class. Much as he tried, he ____ even the basic rhythm. However, he dutifully reviewed the pieces that I required.
Over the months he tried and tried while I ____ and encouraged him. At the end of each lesson he'd always say, "My mom's going to hear me play some day." ____ it seemed hopeless.
I only knew his mother from a ____as she waited in her aged car to pick him up. Then one day Robby stopped coming. I was secretly ____ that he stopped because of his lack of ability.
Weeks later I informed the students, including Robby, of the coming recital（独奏）. To my ____, Robby asked me if he could be included. I told him he really did not qualify because he had ____ out. He said his mom had been sick and unable to take him to lessons but he was still ____ .
“I've just got to play!" he ____. Something inside me let me allow him to.
Then came the recital night. The gym was ____ with parents. I put Robby up ____, thinking that I could save his poor performance through my “curtain closer（谢幕）.”
The recital went off smoothly. Then Robby came up on stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair was ____. "Why didn't his mother at least make him comb his hair for this special night?" I thought.
Robby pulled out the piano bench and began. I was not ____ for what I heard next. His fingers were ____ on the keys. Never had I heard Mozart played so well by people of his age. After he ended, everyone was ____ their feet in wild applause.
In ____ I ran up on stage and put my arms around Robby. "I've never heard you play like that, Robby! How did you ____ it?"
Robby explained, "Well, Miss Hondorf…remember I told you my mom was sick? …____ she had cancer and passed away yesterday. She was born deaf, so tonight she could hear me play in heaven. I wanted to make it special."
There wasn’t a ____ eye in the house. That night I felt he was the teacher and I was the pupil, for it was he who taught me the meaning of perseverance and ____.
1.A. had B. lacked C. showedD. got
2.A. learned B. checkedC. listened D. played
3.A. And B. ButC. SoD. Or
4.A. conversation B. performanceC. distanceD. picture
5.A. guiltyB. anxiousC. glad D. sad
6.A.surprise B. reliefC. pleasureD. satisfaction
7.A. steppedB. wornC. runD. dropped
8.A. actingB. practicingC. performingD. recording
9.A. insistedB. suggestedC. complainedD. threatened
10.A. packedB. linedC. piledD. covered
11.A. least B. mostC. firstD. last
12.A.cool B. messy C. neat D. dull
13.A. eager B. concernedC. preparedD. grateful
14.A. hesitating B. crawling C. touchingD. dancing
15.A. over B. underC. inD. on
16.A. chaos B. return C. silenceD. tears
17.A. find B. feelC. makeD. like
18.A. Gradually B. SuddenlyC. FrequentlyD. Actually
19.A. bright B. curiousC. dryD. wet
20.A. love B. talent C. regretD. courage
“I hope the dialogue,” said the spokesman, “______ between the two presidents next week will give us some active signals.
A. making B. to make C. to be made D. made
This restaurant has an inviting, homelike atmosphere ___ many others are short of.
A. whereB. when C. that D. what
With our country entering an aging society, ______ the retirement age is probably unavoidable.
A. having delayed B. delaying C. being delayed D. to be delayed
The new policy allows a couple to have a second birth _____either is an only child.
A. though B. if C. unless D. until
