(2020·攀枝花高三第三次统测)Next month, I'm traveling to a remote area of Central Africa and my aim is to know enough Lingala — one of the local languages — to have a conversation.I wasn't sure how I was going to manage this — until I discovered a way to learn all the vocabulary I'm going to need.Thanks to Memrise, the application I'm using.It feels just like a game.
“People often stop learning things because they feel they're not making progress or because it all feels like too much hard work，” says Ed Cooke, one of the people who created Memrise.“We're trying to create a form of learning experience that is fun and is something you'd want to do instead of watching TV.”
Memrise gives you a few new words to learn and these are “seeds” which you plant in your “greenhouse”．When you learn the words, you “water your plants”．When the application believes that you've really memorized a word, it moves the word to your “garden”．And if you forget to log on, the application sends you emails, reminding you to “water your plants”．
The application uses two principles about learning.The first is that people memorize things better when they link them to a picture in their mind.Memrise translates words into your own language, but it also encourages you to use “mems”．For example, I memorized motele, the Lingala word for “engine”， using a mem I created — I imagined an old engine in a motel (汽车旅馆) room.
The second principle is that we need to stop after studying words and then repeat them again later, leaving time between study sessions.Memrise helps you with this, because it's the kind of application you only use for five or ten minutes a day.
I've learnt hundreds of Lingala words with Memrise.I know this won't make me a fluent speaker, but I hope I'll be able to do more than just smile when I meet people in Congo.Now, I need to go and water my Vocabulary!
语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文。作者自己介绍了一个学习外语的好帮手——Memrise。它是一款手机应用软件，旨在帮助使用者记单词。其寓教于乐的学习方式很受作者的喜爱。
8．What does Ed Cooke make an effort to do with Memrise?
A．Create memorable experiences.
B．Make progress with hard work.
C．Learning words instead of watching TV.
D．Combine study with entertainment.
解析：选D　细节理解题。题干中的关键信息是Ed Cooke，由此可定位到文章的第二段。根据该段中的“Ed Cooke, one of the people who created Memrise.‘We're trying to ...do instead of watching TV.’”可知，Ed Cooke创造Memrise的初衷就是使学习外语单词不再枯燥乏味，他们尝试用寓教于乐的学习方式让使用者更好地学习单词，故选D。
9．What are you doing when you “water your plants”？
A．Logging on to the application.
B．Being a Memrise user.
C．Practising the vocabulary.
D．Moving words to your garden.
解析：选C　推理判断题。由于题干中的“water your plants”在文章中出现过两次，所以要知道其真正含义应该仔细阅读原文中第一次出现这些词语的地方，即第三段中的“Memrise gives you a few new words to learn and these are ‘seeds’ which you plant in your ‘greenhouse’．When you learn the words, you ‘water your plants’．”由此可知Memrise会给你一些“种子”(单词)让你学习，当你练习这些单词的时候，你就是在给你的“花园”里的“植物”(单词)“浇水”，所以这里“浇灌植物”指的是“学习新单词”，故选C。
10．How does Memrise work?
A．By linking different mems together.
B．By putting knowledge into practice.
C．By offering human translation services.
D．By applying an associative memory approach.
解析：选D　推理判断题。题干问的是Memrise的运行模式，因此可定位到第四段中的“The application uses two principles about learning.The first is that people memorize things better when they link them to a picture in their mind.”及作者举的例子可知，该软件通过联想记忆的方法帮助使用者记单词，故选D。
11．What is the author's attitude towards Memrise?
A．Doubtful.  B．Positive.
C．Uninterested.  D．Negative.
解析：选B　 观点态度题。从第一段中的“Thanks to Memrise, the application I'm using.It feels just like a game.”及最后一段中的“I've learnt hundreds of Lingala words with Memrise.”可知，作者通过Memrise学会了很多单词，而且学习的过程也充满了乐趣，所以他对该软件的态度是认可的，故选B。