A Calendar as a Schedule（计划表）

 Some schedules are actually calendars. The schedule below shows all the important things that are happening on each day at Fairview High School during the month of May. The days on this schedule are listed across the top, and each day of the month has a number.

    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.

How do you learn English best?

    This week we asked students at New Star High School about the best ways to learn English. Many students said they learnt English by using it. Some students had more specific suggestions. Li Lianli, for example, said the best way to learn new words was reading English magazines. She said that memorizing the words of pop songs also helped a little.When we asked about studying grammar, she said, "I never study grammar. It's too boring."

    Wei Ming felt different. He had been learning English for six years and really loved it. He thought studying grammar was a great way to learn a language. He also thought that watching English movies wasn't a bad way because he could watch the actors say the words. Sometimes, however, he found watching movies frustrating because the actors spoke too quickly.

    Liu Chang said that joining the English club at school was the best way to improve her English. Students could get lots of practice and they could also have fun. She added that having conversations with friends was not helpful at all. "We get excited about something and then end up speaking in Chinese ， " she said.

⑴题判断正误；⑵题完成句子；⑶⑷题简略回答问题；⑸题将文中画线句子译成汉语。

Dear Mom and Dad,

    How are you? I hope everything is okay. I'm doing well.

    Here at Valley College, I'm very busy with my English classes at the ESL Center. My teacher says, "It's important to practice English outside the classroom." That's why I'm writing this e-mail in English!

    Sometimes I'm a little afraid to use my English, but people are usually nice. I speak English with others here in the dorm(宿舍) and the dining room.

    I feel very comfortable here. This college has everything! It's like a small city. The student store is next to my dorm. There's a beautiful garden across from the student store. The health center is on the corner, across from my dorm. The sports center is on the corner of College Avenue and Garden Street, There are three coffee shops on College Avenue!

    There is one thing the college doesn't have, Mom: your cooking!

Love,

Sunny

Four Funny Inventions

       ①        

    Are you a person who wants to know the time and temperature during the day? You might like Time Temp Glasses. These special glasses show the time above your right eye and a temperature above your left eye. It is surely easier than wearing a watch, and you never have to guess the temperature.

      ②        

    Do you eat too quickly? Do you eat too much? How can the Alarm Fork help you? Aren't you curious? Well, this special fork has two lights: one green and one red. When the green light is on, it's OK to take a bite of food. The fork "knows" when you take a bite, and soon the red light is on. Wait for the green light before you take another bite.

       ③        

    How do you know if your breath(呼气) smells nice or if it smells bad? It's difficult to know, because it's very hard to smell the air that comes out of your own mouth. Smell This is useful for this situation. Smell This covers your nose and your own mouth, so it is easy to smell the air that comes out of your mouth. Does your breath smell nice, or do you need a piece of gum?

       ④       

    Has this ever happened to you? You put a banana in your bag lunch in the morning and when you open the bag at noon, the banana looks like someone drove a car over it. If you put your banana in the Banana Suitcase, this will never happen. It keeps a banana safe, delicious and looking like a banana!