Some people seem to have extraordinary (非凡的) memories. Zheng Aiqiang, a “memory athlete” on TV show Super Brain (《最強(qiáng)大腦》), can remember 2,660 numbers in just one hour!

You would think people like this have special brains. But according to a recent study by researchers from the United States and the Netherlands (荷蘭), the brain structure (結(jié)構(gòu)) of ordinary(普通的) people and 23 of the world’s leading memory athletes shows no difference.

That’s because good memories can be trained. New research in the journal Neuron (《神經(jīng)元》) suggests that you can become a super memorizer with just six weeks of hard training, reported The Guardian.

Researchers found that a technique (技巧) called loci, invented by the ancient Greeks, can greatly help improve memory.

By using loci, you are using your imagination to improve the brain’s memory networks. You can link (關(guān)聯(lián)) something you need to remember with a place that you know very well. For example, to remember a list of numbers, imagine yourself walking through your house. Each thing is linked to a number. For example, zero could be the handle (把手) on the door and five could be the painting on the wall.

“Not everyone can become a (memory) champion. But everyone using the technique can improve a lot from the level they’re at,” said Boris Konrad, one of the researchers in the study.

回答下面5個問題，每題答案不超過7個詞。

【1】How many numbers can Zheng Aiqiang remember in just one hour?

_____________________________________________

【2】Are the brain structure of ordinary people and 23 of the world’s leading memory athletes different or similar?

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【3】When using loci to remember something, what do you link something with ?

_______________________________________________

【4】How long does it take an ordinary person to train hard to be a super memorizer?

_______________________________________________

【5】Who was loci invented by?

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Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, found an association（聯(lián)系）between daydreaming and creative problem-solving. Their study includes having participants（參與者）first do an “unusual-use task”. They had to try to come up with as many different ways to use an object as they could.

Then, the participants chose to do one of the following four things before doing the “unusual-use task” again: Complete a difficult task ; complete an easy task; take a 12 –minute break; or skip（跳過）12-minute break and move right on to the task exercise again.

Surprisingly, the group that performed(執(zhí)行) best was the one that completed the easy task. Many participants reported that they were daydreaming while performing the easy task. So the researchers believed that this daydreaming might have helped unlock their creativity.

But how could daydreaming help the brain come up with creative ways? The answer is something known as “unconscious thought”. Even when you are not actively working to solve a problem, it is still in the back of your mind. Your brain is still thinking about the problem, but in a much more subtle（不易察覺的）way.

When you daydream, your mind is allowed to think in ways it normally would not. Because it is free of control, it can create completely new and out-of-the-box ideas.

Great ideas never come easily, but that does not mean you always have to work hard to get them. Feel free to do what you want and let your mind wander.

【1】What could you do to create great ideas according to the passage?

A.Work hard.B.Let your mind wander.C.Have a nice sleep. D.Read more books.

【2】The “unusual-use task” included having participants______________________.

A.complete an easy taskB.complete a very difficult task

C.take a 12-minute breakD.come up with different ways to use an object

【3】Why did the participants who completed the easy task perform best?

A.Because they were more creative than the others.

B.Because they were more knowledgeable than the others

C.Because they were better at solving problems than the others

D.Because they had the time to daydream, which might have helped unlock their creativity.

【4】What does the underlined phrase “unconscious thought” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A.Your brain is thinking about a problem outside of your awareness（意識）

B.Your brain knows what you’re thinking and doing.

C.Your brain has a purpose of its own that cannot be known.

D.Your brain refuses to receive any information from the outside world.

【5】What is the main idea of the passage?

A.Brainstorming is important to creative ideas.

B.The more we exercise our brains, the more ideas we will have.

C.Daydreaming is a way to improve creativity.

D.Problem-solving skills are important in our lives.

The festival is in memory of Qu Yuan. He was an honest minister who was always worried about people in his country. However, the emperor and the government didn't b【5】his words. At last, he jumped into Miluo River and killed himself. People didn't want fish to eat him so they t【6】some food into the river to get the fish away. The Dragon Boat Festival formed.

The festival is famous for its dragon-boat race, e【7】in the southern places where there are many rivers and lakes. The traditional food is n【8】 rice dumplings. They are usually made of glutinous rice, meat and so on. Nowadays, you can eat d【9】kinds of rice dumplings. They are very delicious. To c【10】it, people always eat rice dumplings and watch dragon-boat race on that day.

【1】Since you _________(cancel) your meeting, why not go out to play with us?

【2】He fell off his bike and ________(lie) on the ground. How unlucky he was!

【3】There is no doubt that China will be among _________ (wealth) countries in the world in the future.

【4】Our city is building a new senior high school. I hope it _________（complete）before September next year.

【5】These foreign_________(music) names are so difficult to remember, but their works are really great.

【1】According to the survey in Russia, about 70% of the Russians hope Putin will be still the next_________ (總統(tǒng)).

【2】He ________(后悔) putting her through and caused a lot of problems.

【3】—Who do you think is the best at _________(化學(xué)) in your class? —Of course Tom.

【4】My mother is a lot _________(嚴(yán)格) with me in my study than my father. I call them “Tiger Mom Cat Dad” at home sometimes.

【5】Next Saturday is Jim’s mother’s ________(第四十九) birthday, their family are going to have a party to celebrate it.

A.when he is coming backB.how many days he will stay there

C.how long will he be backD.how soon will he come back

—Don’t worry. .

A. It’s never too old to learn B. Rome was not built in a day

C. Well begun is half done D. The early bird catches the worm

—Wonderful! I like it very much, ____ many viewers think it’s not so attractive.

A.becauseB.ifC.unlessD.although

—How amazing! The ______ programme is so popular that about ______ of the students in my class prefer to watch it at weekends.

A.90-minute, three-fourthB.90-minute, three-quarters

C.90-minutes, third-foursD.90 minute's, three-fourths

— ___ And it’s said that it is Xinghua Qianduo Rape Flowers Tourism Festival now. We can’t miss it.

A.Why not?B.I’m not sure.C.I am afraid not.D.I don’t think so.