Language students often think they have memory problems. They worry because they can't remember words. In fact, the problem usually isn't with their memory. The problem is with how they study.

    To remember words better, you need to understand how memory works. There are two kinds of memories: short-term and long-term. When you see, hear, or read something, it goes first into short-term memory. But short-term memory lasts for only a few seconds. You will only remember something longer if it goes into long-term memory. Your long-term memory is like a very big library with many, many books. And like a library, it's organized (有条理的). When you put away a book – or memory – you can't just leave it anywhere. You have to choose a place where you can find it again.

    How can you do this with vocabulary? The answer is to work with the word and think about the word in new ways. You can do this by writing new sentences that include it. Even better, you can invent a little story about the word, with people or places that you know. Another way is to make a picture in your mind with the word. For example, if the word is height, you can think of the tallest person you know and try to guess his or her height. All of these activities are good ways to think about words. They make the meaning of words stronger in your long-term memory. And they give a way to find a word when you need it.

   There is little doubt that house cat first developed naturally from ancient wild cats. The cleverest relative is the America wild cat which still lives in Africa today. This is understandable because the first house cats came from Africa.

    Cats first started to live around people in Egypt about 6,000~7,000 years ago. From Egypt, cats started to move around the world. This is about the same time that Egyptians began storing grain(谷物）in buildings. Scientists used to believe that people tamed cats to catch mice and protect the grain. However, cats don't like to be told what to do! Now, scientists believed that cats followed the mice and learned to accept people. Finally, some of the cats began to grow comfortable around people, these were smaller cats that needed protection. As these cats and people got used to each other, then they moved in together. Around 5,000 years ago, cats started to live with people.

   Soon cats were in Greece, then the Middle East and China. They moved along Egyptian business roads keeping away mice and keeping people around them. After the Romans came to Egypt, they also accepted the cats and brought them to Europe. These cat likely bred(繁殖） with other cats to form the many kinds of house cats we have today.

    Cats are relatively recent house animals. House cats still have a lot in common with their wild relatives. Cats sleep a lot to save energy just like wild cats. They will often get food at night as well. House cats are generally peaceful and friendly, but be careful! If a cat feels it is in danger, it will fight back—just like a wild cat.

    Songs help memories

    The power of music

    Most people can remember important news stories clearly, whether it was the murder of President Kennedy in the US or 9/11.But now psychologists Martin Conway and Catriona Morrison, from the University of Leeds in the UK, are investigating how music can create “autobiographical memories” of the main events in our lives. The study is online. People have to choose a song by the Beatles and describe the memories that they have when they listen to it.

Reminiscence bump

    Morrison explained that they looked at different age groups and their memories. We often remember more from when we are teenagers and this is called “the reminiscence bump”. This is the time in your life when you form your idea of who you are. For older people who have memories related to the Beatles' music, most of those memories are from when they were teenagers. But younger people also had clear personal memories from their past.

    She loves you

    This study was different from other memory studies, because people remembered events from their past with lots more details. Morrison explained:     “It was like people had travelled back to the past, and they had very clear memories of things that had happened. When they heard a song like She Loves You by the Beatles, they could remember one night in autumn 1963.They remembered what they were wearing, what the weather was like and what their friend said to them. You get a lot more information than if you just say, ‘tell me about a night you remember'. ”

    The study has found that music could be used with people who have problems remembering the past. “You could use music to help improve people's ability to remember,” said Morrison. “In the future, we would like to do more experiments to see how useful music is in helping people to remember the past, and compare it to other things that might also help.”

    People already know a lot about animals. However, there are still some things about animals that may surprise you. Here are some facts about animals you probably didn't know.

    Cows do have best friends and feel stressed when they are separated. Scientists have found that cows are very social animals and a cow always makes friends with other cows. When a cow is with its friends, it feels relaxed, compared with when it is alone.

    During breeding season, a male penguin (企鹅) will offer a small stone to a female penguin as a gift. If she takes it, they will become partners. When the female penguin lays an egg, she and her partner may carry it on their feet, because some penguins don't build nests (鸟巢).

    Crocodiles (鳄鱼) swallow (吞) stones. Crocodiles always swallow their food instead of eating it like other animals. They swallow stones which break the food into very small pieces in their stomachs. These stones may stay in their stomachs all their lives.

    Elephants use plants to treat pain or other illness. Scientists once found a pregnant (怀孕的) elephant in Africa who ate a kind of plant which was not part of her normal food. Four days later, she gave birth to a baby elephant. The same plant was used by the local pregnant women.

根据短文内容,判断下列句子正误。

    Techeng Island(特呈岛)lies in the southeast of Zhanjiang. The villagers there used to make a living by fishing. But now, most of them make much money by doing business. They believe that their island is a gift from nature and they give thanks to it every day. In 2003, President Hu Jintao came to visit the island and pointed out that the government of Zhanjiang should take the is land into a "civilized new ecotourism island"(文明生态旅游新海岛). Since then, the island has opened a new page in history.

    Today, the island has become a popular place for tourists. It takes you about 15 minutes to get there by boat from Maxie Pier(码头)near Haibin Park. But it is a just 8­minute boat ride from Zhanjiang Port Pier. In the resort(度假村), you can not only enjoy the fantastic sights but also have a lot of interesting things to do, like walking on the beach, visiting the museum and enjoying the delicious seafood. The best way to relax yourself is to enjoy the hot springs(温泉)there.

    Welcome to Techeng Island! It's a place to visit!