Memory is the ability to keep track of things that have happened in the past. Memory really is learning. One needs memory to ride a bicycle. A dog needs to remember if it is to come when called.

Memory is said to be stored in the brain as a “memory trace（记忆痕）.” What makes up this trace is not known. Some scientists believe that certain chemical substances may carry certain memories. For example, one substance, when given to rats, causes them to fear the dark.

Other research into memory has to do with how the brain works. Psychologists use three means to find out how a person remembers. For example, give a person a grocery list. Let the person memorize the list, then put it away. The most natural way to find out how much a person remembers of the grocery list is to ask what he or she remembers. This is called the method of recall. Another method is called recognition. Give the person another grocery list. Ask him or her to choose items on the first list from the items that are on only the second list. Often a person will be able to recognize things that he or she cannot recall. A third method of finding how much a person remembers is called relearning. Here the person is asked to read over the first list. The person will probably learn the list the second time faster than he did the first time. The difference in the time it takes to relearn the list is thought of as a measure of how much a person has remembered.

One way of remembering something is to repeat it many times. Interest is very important. Boring lists of facts are much more difficult to remember than something that we understand and are interested in. Motivation, or wanting to do something, is also important. Motivation is linked with reward. For example, a hungry animal quickly learns how to do something if that action gets the animal food. In humans, wanting to learn is often motivation. The praise of a teacher or the knowledge that an answer is correct is rewarding.

1.We can learn from the 2nd paragraph that ___________       .

2.The way to pick out the items on the first list from the second is known as ________ .

3.What is considered as a measure of how much one has remembered?

4.A good way to train an animal to do something quickly is to ________.

What’s On Stage

An acrobatic show: To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the China Acrobatic Troupe (剧团) will present “The Soul of China”, where the seemingly impossible is made real. Chills will run down your spine(脊柱) as you watch breathlessly as performers take their art and their bodies to the edge.

Time: 7:30 p.m., September 13-19

Place: Capital Theatre, 22 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District

Exhibitions

Joint Show: A group ink painting exhibition is running at the Huangshicheng Art Gallery in Beijing. About 50 works by 25 young artists including Ge Yun and Yu Yang are on display.

Time: 9:00 a. m.-5:00 p.m. until September 10

Place: Huangshicheng Art Gallery, 136 Nanchizi Dajie, Dongcheng District

Oil paintings: The Wanfung Art Gallery will host a joint show of oil painting by 10 young and middle-aged artists. On display are more than 30 of their latest works, which capture the wondrous variety of life in unique styles.

Time: 9:00 a.m. -4:00 p.m. until September 15

Place: 136 Nanchizi Street, Dongcheng District

Literature museum: The National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature offers an in-depth study of the evolution of Chinese contemporary literature from 1919 to 1949.

Time: 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., daily

Place: 45 Anyuan Donglu, Chaoyang District (Shaoyaoju area)

Concerts

Beijing rocks: “The Fashion Night of Chinese Rock” is set to bring rock fans out by the thousands next month. Nine Chinese rock bands will perform at the concert, including older generation bands, middle generation and some recent arrivals. The audience will be given a chance to decide what songs they want to hear, which is sure to bring a storm.

Time: September 16

Place: The Olympic Center

Belgium orchestra：La Petite Bande, the Baroque Orehestra of Belgium, will perform in Beijing at the Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities as part of activities across the world in memory of the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death.

Time: 7:30 p.m. September 11-14

Place: Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities

1.What do you think of the acrobatic show mentioned above?

2.The most characteristic thing about the Fashion Night of Chinese Rock is that ______.

3.Suppose it is September 14 today, how many activities can people choose to attend?

4.On the whole, we can conclude ______.

Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team " Football, tennis, cricket - anything with a round ball．I was useless," he says now with a laugh．But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire, England．

It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him．At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest．Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend． Gradually, Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength．At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon．

The following year, he met John Ridgway and was hired as an instructor at Ridgway's School of Adventure in Scotland, where he learnt about Ridgway's cold - water exploits．Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures, then decided that this would be his future．

In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long - distance expedition towards the North Pole．It took unbelievable energy．He suffered frostbite （冻疮） ,ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his supply -loaded sled （雪橇） up and over rocky ice． Next October, Saunders, 27, heads south from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, a 2900 - kilometer journey that has never been completed on skis．

1.What change happened to Saunders after he was 15 yeas old?

2.The underlined word "exploits" （Paragraph 3） is closest in meaning to______．

3.Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Saunders?

a．He ran his first marathon．         b．He skied alone in the North Pole．

c．He rode his bike in a forest,        d．He planned an adventure to the South Pole．

4.What does the story mainly tell us about Saunders?

My husband and I sat outside. A small child about three came up the street, accompanied by her mother. As she saw another girl a few feet away, she gave her admiring comment, “Mommy, I like her dress.” Her mom   21 , “Well, why don’t you go and tell her?”

The little girl walked   22  toward the girl wearing the pretty dress. The other one,

  23  the same age, was standing with her   24  turned, alongside her parents. They had not heard the compliment (赞美). Receiving no answer, this little one   25 . My husband said to the other girl, “  26  wants to tell you something.” As she turned around, connection was made. Once again, the little one   27  “I like your dress,” and upon hearing those words, the other one gave her a big smile and excitedly   28  “Look, it’s a spinning (旋转) dress!”, at which moment she began to spin in  29. Both of them smiled widely.

Now, the one stopped spinning and said, “It’s my favorite dress and I have (a)   30  that match!” She   31  running toward a stroller (婴儿车) parked nearby.

The mom and the daughter started to   32  down the street,   33  the encounter (邂逅) had ended. Moments later, the “spinning dress girl” reappeared, shoes in hand,   34  her new friend who had seemingly disappeared. Now, an elderly couple, seated on a bench, had obviously been  35  of all this. The man   36  the child, saying, “There’s someone coming behind you.” Then we saw one showed and the other   37  the beautiful shoes.

If you can make a   38  better, do it. I have no idea how many others that evening might have   39  this act, hoping to help good things to happen. But such brief moments,  40  together, make up what might very well be the important times in our lives.

The visiting European architects showed great ______ for the ancient Chinese building designs in the Forbidden City.

It was only with the help of special device ______ the information.

____ from endless homework on weekends, the students now find their own activities, such as taking a ride together to watch the sunrise.

—How did you sleep last night? 

—A sound sleep. Never slept ______.

In other cultures, looking thin for a husband-to-be is not        a woman desires at all, but looking a little overweight is considered more attractive.

Having been attacked by terrorists, ______.