out invisible train platforms.
M: How do you come up with the names of your characters?
W: I invented some of the names in the Harry books, but I also collect strange names. I've gotten them from medieval saints, maps, dictionaries, plants, war memorials, and people I've met!
M: Oh, you are really resourceful.
22. What do we learn from the conversation about Ms. Rowling’s first book?
23. Why does Ms. Rowling consider herself very luck?
24. What dictates Ms. Rowling’s writing?
25. According to Ms. Rowling, where did she get the ideas for the Harry Potter books?
22. A. It was about a little animal.
23. B. She can make a living by doing what she likes.
24. A. Her ideas.
25. D. She doesn’t really know where they originated.
Passage one
Reducing the amount of sleep students get at night has a direct impact on their performance at school during the day. According to classroom teachers, elementary and middle school students who stay up late exhibit more learning and attention problems. This has been shown by Brown Medical School and Bradly Hospital research. In the study, teachers were not told the amount of sleep students received when completing weekly performance reports. Yet they rated the students who have received eight hours or less as having the most trouble recalling old material, learning new lessons, and completing high quality work. Teachers also reported that these students had more difficulty paying attention. The experiment is the first to ask teachers to report on the effects of sleep deficiency in children. ‘Just staying up late can cause increased academic difficulty and attention problems for otherwise healthy while functioning kids’, said G. F., the study’s lead author. So the results provide professionals and parents with a clear message: when a child is having learning and attention problems, the issue of sleep has to be taken into consideration. ‘If we don’t ask about sleep and try to improve sleep patterns in kids’ struggling academically, then we aren’t doing our job’, F said. For parents, he said, the message is simple. Getting kids to bed on time is as important as getting them to school on time.
26. What were teachers told to do in the experiment?
27. According to the experiment, what problem can insufficient sleep cause in students?
28. What message did the researcher intend to convey to parents?
26. D. Record students’ weekly performance.⊿本⊿作⊿品⊿由⊿在⊿線⊿閱⊿讀⊿網⊿友⊿整⊿理⊿上⊿傳⊿
27. B. Lack of attention.
28. D. They should see to it that their children have adequate sleep.
Passage two
P. P never wanted to be a national public figure. All she wanted to be was a mother and a homemaker. But her life was turned upside down when a motorist distracted by his cell phone, ran a stop sign and crashed into the side of her car. The impact killed her two-year-old daughter. Four months later, P. reluctantly but courageously decided to try to educate the public and to fight for laws to ban drivers from using cell phones while a car is moving. She wanted to save other children from what happened to her daughter. In her first speech, P. got off to a shaky start. She was visibly trembling and her voice was soft and uncertain. But as she got into her speech, a dramatic transformation took place. She stopped shaking and spoke with a strong voice. For the rest of her talk, she was a forceful and compelling speaker. She wanted everyone in the audience to know what she knew without having to learn it from a personal tragedy. Many in the audience were moved to tears, and to action. In subsequent presentations, P. gained reputation as a highly effective speaker. Her appearance on a talk show was broadcast three times transmitting her message to over 14,000,000 people. Her campaign increased public awareness of the problem and prompted over 300 cities and several states to consider restrictions on cell phone use.
29. What was the significant change in P. P.’s life?
30. What had led to P.’s per