Some people seem to have extraordinary (非凡的）memories. Zheng Aiqiang, a “memory athlete” on TV show Super Brain, 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 US and the Netherlands, the brain structures（结构）of ordinary people and 23 of the world's leading memory athletes show no difference.

    That's because good memories can be trained. New research in the journal Neuron (神经元期刊) suggests that you can become a super memorizer with just six weeks of hard training.

    Researchers found that technique (技巧）called loci, invented by 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（关联）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 handle（把手）on the door and five could be the painting on the wall.

    In one study, some ordinary people were given 20 minutes to remember 72 words. First they could only remember 26 of them. But when they were taught loci, they could remember 62 words.

    “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.

    Young people are often unhappy when they are with their parents. They say that their parents don't understand them. They often think their parents are too strict with them and they are never given a free hand. (让…自由行动)

    Parents often find it difficult to win their children's trust and they seem to forget how they themselves felt when they were young. For example, young people like to do things without thinking much. It's one of their ways to show that they have grown up and they can deal with difficult things.

    Young people often make their parents angry by clothes they want, the music they enjoy, the hairstyle they have and something else. But they don't like to cause any trouble. They just feel that in this way they can be cut off (阻断) from the old people's world and they want to make a new culture of their own.

If you plan to control your life, you'd better win your parents over (把…争取过来) and try to get them to understand you.

Information Card

    A few days ago,I ran into(撞上)a stranger as he passed by.I said sorry to him, and he said,“Excuse me too,I wasn't even watching for you.”We were very polite,this stranger and I. Then we went on our way after saying goodbye.

    Later in the kitchen at home,as I cooked our meal,my daughter Betty walked up to me, very quietly.When I turned around(转身),I nearly knocked her down.“Get out of the way!”I shouted angrily.She ran away,crying.

    That night,when I lay in bed,my husband said to me,“You were so rude to Betty.Go and look around on the kitchen floor,and you'll find some flowers there.Betty brought those for you.She picked them herself－pink,yellow,and your favorite blue.”

    When I heard this,I thought deeply:While meeting with a stranger,I was calm and polite;but with my daughter,I was not patient(耐心的).I felt sad and tears began to fall.

    I quietly went to Betty's bed.“Wake up,my dear,”I said.“Are these the flowers you picked for me?”She smiled,“I found them by the tree.I knew you'd like them,especially the blue.”I said,“I am so sorry that I treated(对待)you that way today.”And she whispered,“Mommy,that's okay－I still love you anyway.”I kissed her and said,“I love you too and I do love the flowers.”

    That day Betty gave me a lesson on how to get along with each other in the family.I spent much time on work before and didn't realize how important family life was.I decided to do better in the future.

根据短文内容完成下列各题。

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}We were both young when I first saw you, I close my eyes and the flashback starts, I'm standing there on a balcony(阳台) in summer air. See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns. See you make your way through the crowd and say hello, and I knew that you were Romeo.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Blue Skies for yon and me. We'll step out of the shadows and walk into the light. Yeah it's gonna be Blue Skies for you and me. But my heart beats slowly as the storm carries on up high.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}And I don't know what goes on in your mind. Someday we'll find you live forever. But no goodbyes, you are a great lady, you'll always be the pride of our country. We watched you fly, our great lady, but nothing's free, the angel of our country.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Hey, what about yesterday? The heavens are falling down. I can't even breathe. What about the bleeding earth? Can't we feel the wounds? What about nature's worth? It's our planet's womb(发源地). What about animals? We've turned kingdoms to dust.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Say goodbye to all your pain and sadness. Say goodbye to all those lonely nights. I know sometimes you feel so helpless. Sometimes you feel like you can't win. You'll never have to feel that way again. We are here together.

    In England, usually people don't talk very much. You can go on a bus, or on a train, and everyone sits looking out of the window. Often they read. They read books and newspapers, but they don't talk much. When you meet English people, they often talk about one thing—the weather. So when you meet someone in England, you can say, "Nice weather at the time of the year!"

    "But it's a little cold," someone may answer. "But it'll be warmer later!" you can say.

    The English will think, "How friendly you are!"

    Great weather! It was sunny yesterday. We arrived in Beijing at 9: 00 in the morning. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} We went to the hotel by taxi. After lunch and a short rest, we took a bus to the Summer Palace. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} While we were in a boat on Kunming Lake, we heard someone singing Beijing Opera on the bank. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} In the evening we walked to Tian'anmen Square because it was next to our hotel. We took some photos there. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This morning when we walked to the Palace Museum, we passed by (路过) a square and saw some people flying kites. The kites were in different shapes (形状) {#blank#}5{#/blank#} They were really beautiful. I'll go to the aquarium (水族馆), and then Beihai Park. The day after tomorrow we'll visit the Great Wall. I hear it's very great and I think I will have great fun playing there.