It is very common that many students complain they lack concentration. For example ,“I can’t concentrate.” “My mind wanders when I try to study.”
We all have the ability to concentrate. Think of the times when you were attracted to a super novel or the times when you were playing your guitar or piano. But at other times your mind races from one thing to another. Here are some tips.
Rest from time to time. Remember to take short breaks. Lectures are usually 50 minutes long, and that’s about the length of time most people can direct their attention to one task. But that’s just an average. Your concentration time might be shorter (20-35 minutes) or longer (perhaps 90 minutes). When you take a break, you get more oxygen to your brain! When we sit for long periods, blood tends to be pooled in our lower body and legs. Get up and walk around the room for a couple of minutes. As a result, more oxygen is carried to the brain and you can concentrate better.
If you study one subject for a long time, you may find it hard to concentrate. Many students improve their concentration by changing one subject to another every one to two hours. In this way you can pay more attention to something that’s different.
Reward yourself. Give yourself a reward when you’ve completed a task. The task might be small, such as staying with a difficult paper until you’ve finished. But giving yourself a reward can help you be more interested in doing other tasks.
Increase your activity level. Your concentration wanders more easily if you just read an article straight through. Instead, take the heading for each part and turn it into a question. For this part, that would be, “How can I increase my activity level while studying?” Then study that part to answer that question. Do this routinely. The questions give us a focus for each part and increase our involvement (参与).
1.According to Paragraph 3, what’s the purpose of walking around?
A.To help us stay fit.
B.To provide the brain with more oxygen
C.To benefit our lower body.
D.To increase our concentration time to 90 minutes.
2.What’s the best title for Paragraph 4?
A.Study for one hour each time.
B.Do something difficult.
C.Change subjects.
D.Study in different ways.
3.In the last paragraph, the writer suggests that______.
A.we just read the heading of some articles
B.we do our best to read an article straight through
C.we ask other people questions about the article we are reading
D.we ask ourselves questions about what we are reading
4.The writer wrote the passage to______.
A.encourage us to try to concentrate
B.give us the reasons for a lack of concentration
C.teach us how to concentrate while studying
D.list the benefits we can get from concentration
The Man of Many Secrets — Harry Houdini — was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century. He was a man famous for his escapes — from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic” tricks.
Of course, his secret was not magic, or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted.
Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch.
It was the publicity(宣传) that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs and toes trained to escape ankle chins. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck — and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, pass quickly from her mouth to his.
Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? World-wild fame, and a name remembered today.
1.According to the passage, Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on _______.
A. his special tricks and supernatural power B. his unusual ability and a skeleton key
C. his magic tricks and supernatural powers D. his wisdom and magic tricks
2.In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to _______.
A. his first prison escape B. the year 1898
C. the publicity D. Harry Houdini’s success
3.It can be inferred from the passage that Houdini became famous _______.
A. in 1894 B. before he married
C. at the age of 17 D. when he was about 24
4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. A Skeleton Key B. A Man of Many Secrets
C. World-wild Fame D. Great Escape
阅读下面材料,根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。
Little snow had fallen this winter. For Reuven the frier(皮衣制作工) it was a bad year, and after long hesitation he decided to sell Zlateh the old goat. The town butcher had offered eight silver coins for the goat. Reuven told his oldest boy, Aaron, to take the goat to town. Aaron understood what it meant, but he had to obey his father. His sisters cried loudly.
Aaron took along two slices of bread to eat on the road. He needed to deliver the goat by evening and return the next day with the money. While the family said goodbye, Zlatch stood as patiently as ever. Zlateh trusted human beings.
The sun was shining when Aaron left. Suddenly the weather changed, and after a while it began to snow. Soon their path was completely covered and Aaron got lost. Beneath the snow Aaron’s boots touched the softness of a plowed field. He realized that he was no longer on the road. Zlateh bleated (哀鸣) as if asking to be taken home. Aaron looked around hoping to find a farmer driving a sleigh(雪橇) along the way. But he could see nothing.
Aaron knew that if they did not find shelter, they would freeze to death. Suddenly he made out the shape of a hill. When he came near it, he realized that it was a large haystack (大干草堆) covered by snow. Aaron knew that they were saved. When he reached the hay, he dug a nest for himself and the goat. It was always warm in the hay. And hay was food for Zlateh.
Zlateh, sat down and seemed to have regained her confidence in man. Aaron ate his bread, but after the difficult journey he was still hungry. He looked at Zlateh and realized that he would not be starved to death. Goat’s milk was sweet. Zlateh ate frequently and her body gave forth an animal warmth, and Aaron hugged her tightly. The snow fell for 3 days and the wind
quieted down.
Paragraph 1: .
On the morning of the fourth day, Aaron heard the ringing of sleigh bells.
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Paragraph 2:
The news that Aaron and Zlateh were coming up the road was a great joy in the family.
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新华中学近期组织了校园劳动周(Campus Labor Week)活动。假定你是学校英语报记者，请写一篇简短的英文报道。内容包括：
1.活动的时间与地点；
2.活动的过程；
3.你的评论。
注意: 1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Britons are well known 1. the amount of tea that they drink. The average person in the UK consumes around 1.9kg of tea annually. Tea 2. (drink)by all sections of society. But tea does not grow in Britain. The vast majority of tea is grown in India and China.
At the beginning of the 1700s，the amount of tea 3. (arrive)in Britain increased gradually. At first people drank the tea 4. (exact)as it was in China. They soon discovered that it mixed really well with a little milk and sugar，giving the drink a special British characteristic.
In the 1800s tea was still a product 5. (enjoy)only by people with money. At this time they began to have“afternoon tea”. This involves drinking tea with a snack around 4 p.m. to avoid feeling 6. (hunger) between lunch and dinner. It is a tradition that is still going today 7. has become less popular in recent times. Tearooms—shops 8. you could buy and drink tea—started to appear across the country. At 9. start of the 20th century，Britons began to make tea in their homes whenever they felt like it. 10. (kettle)became essential in every kitchen.
I suffered from Asperger's at my childhood. One of the biggest_ _______ I faced was communicating with others. I was shy but I loved to read and recite facts. This sometimes made me a_______ for bullies(欺凌). I didn't really understand as much about the disease or how it_______ my life.
When I was in my 20s, I_______ to Paris. I was deeply attracted by the city, and I_______ a job in a big hotel right then. As an Eiffel Tower ambassador,I _______ guests and visitors as they took the lift to the top of the hotel's 46-story tower, where I liked to_______ the local attractions and helped people find the best_______ for taking photos. At first, I had a problem with changes in everyday life,_______ when talking with people who were different from me. But I liked to memorize facts, and that really________ in my job because people loved to learn all of the interesting things about the city. Every day when I clocked in, I felt it's time for me to perform for and________ the guests. I loved it when I learnt something new because I couldn't ________ to share the information with others.
Everyone is________, and everyone has a gift. It takes me more than 50 years to________ that I am different. Just be yourself, be kind, and try to make a________ in your life.
1.A.decisions B.challenges C.conflicts D.changes
2.A.victory B.design C.memory D.target
3.A.reflected B.improved C.affected D.forgot
4.A.moved B.escaped C.rushed D.gathered
5.A.prepared for B.put away C.applied for D.turned down
6.A.drove B.directed C.sent D.accompanied
7.A.introduce B.identify C.consider D.connect
8.A.advertisements B.spots C.reasons D.habits
9.A.chiefly B.personally C.specially D.especially
10.A.favored B.treated C.helped D.relaxed
11.A.entertain B.trust C.hire D.educate
12.A.stop B.work C.wait D.follow
13.A.difficult B.terrible C.bright D.unique
14.A.recognize B.realize C.wonder D.admit
15.A.difference B.promise C.choice D.sacrifice
