D

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 (邏輯) 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.

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

   A. A Way on How to Write

   B. Increase Your Brain Power through Writing

   C. Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing

   D. How to Start Your Writing

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

   A. the increase of your brain power

   B. the ability to remember

   C. the development of your interest in study

   D. the better understanding of a topic

73. If a writer writes something, it means that he or she _______.

   A. has understood it very well

   B. needs to understand it better

   C. wants to remember it in his or her mind

   D. is exercising his or her “explain power”

74. The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fifth paragraph implies that ______.

   A. you are already successful

   B. you still need to work hard

   C. writing can help you walk half way

   D. writing is important to solve problems

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

   A. To advise readers to start their writing.

   B. To explain the importance of writing.

   C. To persuade readers to become writers.

   D. To increase readers’ brain power.

Just not a long time ago did I finish my blog about the unforgettable snowy storm that I had on Monday night in November. I got another big   36  in Seattle again. But this time, it's not snow, but the wind and rain. I have   37  seen such a strong wind before even though I had    38  the typhoon every summer when I was still in my home country.

That    39  storm was so powerful that it    40  the whole big Seattle area out of    41  . 700,000 people had no electricity, and    42  13 people have died. Seattle is famous for its evergreen trees, but those trees made a big   43  this time. They broke down the power line above the ground,  44  the road and streets, and    45  the houses.

As the last storm was still   46  in my mind, I had another personal   47  about this new storm.   48  , this time, it was not good either. I was    49  to have my TOEFL test on the second day of the stormy night. Since the whole city had no electricity, my test had to be    50  off, and I had to prepare for another one later. It was my last test for the   51   , and I already made a plan for the time after the test, but now    52  is changed.

I guess sometimes, the way that the thing    53  is not always what you    54  . And what I can do now is to fit for it.   55  , we got a free hotel room from my husband's cousin and met my lovely nephew from San Francisco. 

A few months ago, I had the responsibility of delivering some donations (捐贈物) to the local City Mission, a place where the homeless, and often the injured can find shelter from a life that has been turned upside down for them.

It was late autumn, and already the promise of winter was whispering through the open windows of the Mission's storage area.

After setting the donations near the sorting table, I said goodbye to the worker, and headed back through the dining area towards the door.

I was careful not to notice the people sitting at the tables, choosing to leave before feeling the guilt (罪過) of my " having", in the midst of so many who have nothing.

But it was not to be.

"Not yet," I heard a woman's voice say. "Not till we pray (祈禱)."

I was behind them when the mother bowed her head and began one of the most heartfelt prayers I have ever heard, and I stopped where I was to look over at the table.  A young mother was there with her two young boys, one about three years old on her left, the other, about five, on her right. Both were waiting, heads bowed, eyes closed.

My heart broke as I watched and listened. She was in a leg cast (腿上打著石膏), and scars (傷疤) covered her arms, her face and head.

One of the younger ladies working at the Mission had come to stand beside me, and she whispered, "She's a single mom; her husband just took off one day and didn't come back. She came here when their apartment caught fire. She was burned getting her kids out."

She started to say something else but stopped.

We were silent ... and the words this young mother said in our silence will always follow me, "... and thanks for the fruit on the ground, when I just can't reach the tree."

54. By saying "Not yet", the woman probably wanted to______.

A. thank the author for sending the food   B. ask her children to pray before eating

C. blame those who have too much       D. pray for the happiness of her children

55. Why did the woman come to the City Mission?

A. Because her husband left her and her children.

B. Because she suffered from a serious disease.

C. Because her house caught fire suddenly.

D. Because she was out of work.

56. From the last paragraph, we can infer that the woman was ______.

A. happy to find the fallen fruit on the ground

B. regretful for not climbing the tree for the fruit

C. satisfied to pick up the fruit for her children

D. grateful very much for the help she received

A few months ago, I had the responsibility of delivering some donations (捐贈物) to the local City Mission, a place where the homeless, and often the injured can find shelter from a life that has been turned upside down for them.
It was late autumn, and already the promise of winter was whispering through the open windows of the Mission's storage area.
After setting the donations near the sorting table, I said goodbye to the worker, and headed back through the dining area towards the door.
I was careful not to notice the people sitting at the tables, choosing to leave before feeling the guilt (罪過) of my " having", in the midst of so many who have nothing.
But it was not to be.
"Not yet," I heard a woman's voice say. "Not till we pray (祈禱)."
I was behind them when the mother bowed her head and began one of the most heartfelt prayers I have ever heard, and I stopped where I was to look over at the table.  A young mother was there with her two young boys, one about three years old on her left, the other, about five, on her right. Both were waiting, heads bowed, eyes closed.
My heart broke as I watched and listened. She was in a leg cast (腿上打著石膏), and scars (傷疤) covered her arms, her face and head.
One of the younger ladies working at the Mission had come to stand beside me, and she whispered, "She's a single mom; her husband just took off one day and didn't come back. She came here when their apartment caught fire. She was burned getting her kids out."
She started to say something else but stopped.
We were silent ... and the words this young mother said in our silence will always follow me, "... and thanks for the fruit on the ground, when I just can't reach the tree."

1. 1.

   By saying "Not yet", the woman probably wanted to______.

   1. A.
      thank the author for sending the food  
   2. B.
      ask her children to pray before eating
   3. C.
      blame those who have too much      
   4. D.
      pray for the happiness of her children
2. 2.

   Why did the woman come to the City Mission?

   1. A.
      Because her husband left her and her children.
   2. B.
      Because she suffered from a serious disease.
   3. C.
      Because her house caught fire suddenly.
   4. D.
      Because she was out of work.
3. 3.

   From the last paragraph, we can infer that the woman was ______.

   1. A.
      happy to find the fallen fruit on the ground
   2. B.
      regretful for not climbing the tree for the fruit
   3. C.
      satisfied to pick up the fruit for her children
   4. D.
      grateful very much for the help she received

D

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 (邏輯) 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.

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

   A. A Way on How to Write

   B. Increase Your Brain Power through Writing

   C. Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing

   D. How to Start Your Writing

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

   A. the increase of your brain power

   B. the ability to remember

   C. the development of your interest in study

   D. the better understanding of a topic

73. If a writer writes something, it means that he or she _______.

   A. has understood it very well

   B. needs to understand it better

   C. wants to remember it in his or her mind

   D. is exercising his or her “explain power”

74. The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fifth paragraph implies that ______.

   A. you are already successful

   B. you still need to work hard

   C. writing can help you walk half way

   D. writing is important to solve problems

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

   A. To advise readers to start their writing.

   B. To explain the importance of writing.

   C. To persuade readers to become writers.

   D. To increase readers’ brain power.