For the people living in the Nile Basin，...

It looks like a scene from the thriller movie Jaws，but these photos of a huge shark swimming with swimmers were in fact taken in Britain. The amazing pictures，which showed that the basking shark (姥鲨) was swimming friendly with swimmers，were taken at Porthcurno beach，Cornwall，where the basking shark was swimming just yards off shore.

The single 14foot giant was feeding in the shallow waters off the scenic area，and quickly became curious about the swimmers and surfers sharing the water. Though it came within touching distance，the swimmers and surfers were in no danger. The large sharks are plankton (浮游生物) feeders－unlike the man－eating Great White from Jaws.

Beach-goer Rachel Hosken，who took the pictures，said that several basking sharks had been seen in the area.“It is one of the few I have ever seen around this year and it was great to see，” she said excitedly.“There are usually more of them by now，but for some reason there are fewer around than normal at this time of year. I think more have been spotted in deeper waters，but the particular one in the pictures seems to have taken a liking to this spot. I have seen it a few times.”

Known as the gentle giant of the sea，the basking shark is the second largest fish in the sea，only weighing lighter than the whale shark. They can grow to over 36 feet (11 meters) and weigh up to seven tons (7,000 kilograms) and feed on a diet of plankton and small fish. Basking sharks normally begin to appear in May and June.

1.In the pictures taken by Rachel Hosken，we can infer that ________.

2.Why didn’t the basking shark attack the swimmers or surfers?

3.From what Rachel Hosken said we know that ________.

4.What’s the best title for this passage?

Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.

By putting thoughts into words，you are telling yourself the logic(逻辑)behind what you think，feel，or only partly understand. Often，explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words，you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power”．

Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll increase your brain power，even if you have no idea how right now. Just start with anything，and create an explanation. For example，start with “I’ll learn chess，” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan，and if you actually do this，you’ll have a better  understanding of your brain twenty minutes from now.

Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many，if not most，highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head，but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project，you’ll probably have more success.

Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example，but if you are learning something new，write a letter to a friend about it，and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem，why you want to solve it，and why it is worth solving，and you’re half-way there.

Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often，they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.

1.What would be the best title for the text?

2.According to the text，writing can help you a lot in the following ways EXCEPT ________.

3.The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in Paragraph 5 implies that ________.

4.What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?

I had been rather proud of myself when my friends and family got the ticket，whether it was for speeding，parking or stop sign violations (违反)．It was something that happened to others. But last Friday I joined the club.

I was asked to do a new project last week. On Friday morning on my way to work，I suddenly remembered that I had spent the past six weeks without considering that I had a week’s vacation planned during that time. I was very disappointed with myself for not remembering it.

The truth is that I was not paying enough attention to my driving and I did not come to a complete stop at the stop sign in front of a school. I was so distracted (思想不集中的)that I didn’t even notice I had a policeman on my tail with his lights flashing. Finally I looked in my mirror and caught on.

The policeman was rude and took my papers. Fortunately，I had everything up to date and since I had never had a ticket before，there was nothing for him to do but write me a ticket. While I was sitting there in the seat of “shame”，I felt bad. If I had been that distracted and a child had run onto the road，perhaps I would have not reacted as well as I could have. It was a wake-up call.

People at work asked me if I tried to talk my way out of it. Frankly，it never occurred to me. I felt guilty. Now I no longer have a clean driving record. Please be careful out there，as a moment’s distraction can lead to tragedy.

1.What is this passage mainly about?

。

2.We can infer that the underlined part “the club” in Paragraph 1 here refers to ________.

3.What made the writer unable to focus on her driving?

4.From the experience，the writer has probably learnt ________.

Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment－to draw a picture of something for which they were __31__.

Most of the class might be considered economically __32__，but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These，the teacher thought，would be the __33__ of most of her students’ art. And they were.

But Douglas made a different kind of __34__.Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery，weak and __35__.As other children played at break，Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the __36__ Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.

Yes，his picture was __37__.When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful，he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an __38__ hand.

His abstract image __39__ the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer，because farmers __40__ turkeys. Another suggested a police officer，because the police protect and __41__ people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God，for God feeds us. And so the __42__ went－until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When the children had gone on to other assignments，she __43__ at Douglas’desk，bent down，and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and __44__，“It’s yours，teacher.” She __45__ the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here or there，__46__ she had the other students. How often had she said，“Take my hand，Douglas，we’ll go outside.” Or，“Let me show you how to __47__ your pencil.”Or，“Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand.

Brushing aside a tear，she went on with her work.

The story speaks of __48__ thankfulness. It says something about teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing __49__，and how much it means to the Douglases of the world. They might not always say thanks，but they’ll remember the hand that __50__.

We can see monuments here and there. Those who have made great ________to human beings and society will never be forgotten.