1 . A new study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family claims that all that time you spend parenting just doesn’t matter. But it’s a claim that, despite the enthusiastic and widespread coverage by the media, does not hold water.
The research suggests that child outcomes (including behavior problems, emotional problems, and academic performance) are barely connected with the time that parents spend with their children. The researchers examined the time diaries of 1,600 children, looking at parenting time and outcomes when the kids were aged 3 to 11 in 1997, and again in 2002, when they were between 8 and 16. (A time diary is a detailed report of all activities you carry out in a day. )
This research largely reflects the failure of the authors to correctly measure parental input. It just looked at time diaries from two particular days-one a weekday and the other a weekend day.
Trying to get a sense of the time you spend parenting from a single day’s diary is a bit like trying to measure your income from a single day. If yesterday was payday, you looked rich, but if it’s not, you would be reported as poor. You get a clearer picture only by looking at your income — or your parenting time—over a more meaningful period.
What you did yesterday should not be taken as representative of what you did last year, This is why most high-quality studies of parenting time focus instead on how often parents read to their children, play with them or help their with homework over a period of a month or longer — long enough to represent their different approaches to parenting.
As an exhausted parent who doesn’t get enough time to work out, and who hasn’t seen a movie for months, I understand why so many of us might seize on studies suggesting that we should take more time for ourselves. Perhaps we should. But I agree with Ariel Kalil, a developmental psychologist, on the suggestion “that when parents spend high-quality time with their children, their children are more likely to succeed.”
1. By saying in Paragraph 1 “ ... it’s a claim that ... does not bold water”, the author means the claim is not ________.A.reasonable | B.surprising | C.confusing | D.usual |
A.children’s habits and parents’ influence | B.parenting time and child outcomes |
C.time diaries and child development | D.daily activities and children’s problems |
A.By giving descriptions. | B.By analyzing the cause. |
C.By making a comparison. | D.By offering research findings. |
A.be completed in one month. | B.adopt some different approaches. |
C.concentrate mainly on learning time. | D.be based on data of a longer time period. |
A.He goes to bed early every night. | B.He has little interest in movies. |
C.He has little time for himself. | D.He leads a very easy life. |
2 . Schooling is not only about studying but also having fun. Education is best offered if learning is made fun. It is students being not overburdened with the school curriculum and being able to devote enough time to the overall personality development that matter. It is thus important for school officials to encourage the active participation of students in sports. These activities at school act as a major part of school schedule and also help create an environment that is beneficial to the general growth and development of young minds. There are various sports and leisure activities that can be planned for school students.
Sports are an essential part of a school curriculum. In spite of the grade a student is studying in, sports are a must. And it is needless to state the importance of sports in school. They help in building up the much-needed team spirit among students. They help in educating a sportsman spirit in children and serve as an effective method to bring children together from different cultural backgrounds.
Gymnastics, swimming competitions, tennis and badminton tournaments, cricket and soccer matches and inter-class sports events can be organized in schools. Sports enthusiasts can participate in these events, while those not participating can be a part of the cheering team. Kids are sure to enjoy activities like cycling, running races, skating and other fun games.
Wondering how schooling is associated with leisure activities? Well, you are mistaken if you believe that schooling is only about class assignments and homework. School education is much more than that. In fact, it is about helping the students learn the important lessons of life. It aims at their overall development which includes developing moral values and principles in them. Devoting their entire schedule to studies and examinations defeats the purpose of an effective school education. It is very important to include some leisure activities in the school’s weekly schedule.
Sports and leisure activities are about making fruitful use of time in a creative way. They are the best way to find hidden talent, cultivate bright minds and encourage innovation. School years are the funding years of one’s life. They need to be filled with fun and excitement so that children have an ideal beginning to the “long journey” ahead.
1. What should school authorities do according to the author?A.Encourage students to do more studies instead of sports. |
B.Ensure the students have enough time for personal development. |
C.Learn about the great benefits of developing students’ personality. |
D.Knowing which sports are beneficial to students’ personal development. |
A.beneficial to children physically and mentally. |
B.beneficial to children’s future competitiveness. |
C.helpful for students to get on well with each other in sports. |
D.capable of freeing students from tiring school examinations. |
A.Leisure activities are necessary for schooling. |
B.Examinations are meaningless to students’ studies. |
C.Current schooling restricts students’ overall development. |
D.Schooling merely emphasizes class assignment and homework. |
A.By setting more examinations and tests |
B.By providing more spare time for them. |
C.By offering them more happiness at school. |
D.By encouraging them to participate in sports. |
A.school curriculum | B.children’s physical health. |
C.sports and leisure activities | D.children’s personal spirit |
3 . Gifted students in the Wichita Falls Independent School District in Texas had the opportunity to travel to STEM facilities and learn coding and other technical skills, but the transportation is not convenient. “We just started talking about, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we were able to design a mobile STEM lab? ’ ”says Dr. Peter E. Griffiths, the district’s associate superintendent. Educators soon realized that they could retrofit an old bus into a mobile STEM lab, which would provide increased access to career and technical education (CTE) experiences for students.
Districts sold off buses when the vehicles became too old. Griffiths and his colleagues decided to retrofit one of those old vehicles. “Give me your ‘best worst’ bus,” Griffiths said to the transportation department. Soon the process of transforming began. Griffiths reached out to Reuben Rodriguez, the owner of a local car company, and explained what they wanted to do. Rodriguez agreed to work with the district on the price on condition that they could send CTE students to lend a hand with some of the building work. And bringing the bus from the dream stage to fruition has taken a lot of joint efforts of educators and the community.
Called STEAM Machine, the bus looks like a device from a video game or a real-life Lego truck, and rides as a mobile maker space. “It has two touch screen TVs outside. It comes complete with drones and drone obstacle courses that will help students learn about coding in an enjoyable way,” Griffiths says. “Those are things that a lot of these kids have never experienced before.”
To drive the bus, the district has hired a retiring teacher who will take the bus to various schools and engage in different lessons with students and educators. “We were so concerned about kids losing out on experiences before, and this is a solution. We aren’t going to let this go. The STEAM Machine will be equipped with all the necessary materials and resources, and it may change the way students learn and engage with their education,” Griffiths said.
1. What is the main purpose of the mobile STEM lab?A.To develop students’ interest in STEM research. |
B.To replace traditional school buses with electric ones. |
C.To provide fun activities for students during long trips |
D.To enable students to get more learning chances. |
A.Educators needed to pay him in advance. |
B.Some students could help with the building work. |
C.The old bus should be equipped with high technology. |
D.The district must provide him with necessary materials. |
A.It brings students fun learning experiences. |
B.It awakens students’ curiosity about bus driving. |
C.It protects students’ health with its special design. |
D.It saves students’ time by reducing traffic on the road. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Worried. | C.Hopeful. | D.Unclear. |
A.Safe and long-lasting. | B.Fashionable and comfortable. |
C.Creative and educational. | D.Cheap and eco-friendly. |
4 . Psychological science is full of interesting topics, many of which tell a coherent (连贯的) picture of human nature, but some of which create seemingly contradictory stories. A case in point is the tricky, and misunderstood, overlap (重叠部分) between strength-based science and the research on narcissism (自恋).
There is now convincing evidence to show that narcissism is on the rise, especially in our youth. Some researchers say that about 25% of young people show symptoms of narcissism. The inflated ego of Generation Me is reflected in reality TV, celebrity worship, and out-of-control consumerism.
We are correct to be concerned about this phenomenon, but our fear that all kids are potential narcissists has caused an unhelpful counter-reaction to approaches that seek to make our children and teens feel good about themselves.
In my own research on strength-based parenting, it is common for people to wrongly think this approach to be the cause of narcissism. Their argument seems to be that a child who knows his strengths will automatically view himself as better than everyone else. It is argued that the self-assurance that comes with identifying and using their positive qualities will make a child selfish and uncaring. Genuine confidence about one’s strengths is categorized as over-confidence; desirable self-knowledge is branded as excessive (过分的) self-admiration.
Why does this occur? It’s partly because more is known about narcissism than strengths. While strengths psychology has largely stayed within the limit of academic journals, research on narcissism has made its way into the mass media and our daily life. A famous magazine noted that narcissism is a favored topic and that people everywhere are diagnosing others with it.
The fear that a strength-based approach will cause narcissism also occurs because of our binary (非此即彼) thinking. We mistakenly believe that one cannot be both confident and humble. We focus on Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian rather than Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa. Without confidence in their strengths, Gandhi and Mother Teresa couldn’t have achieved so much, and yet modesty and selflessness are their qualities.
When we assume that strength-focus is the same as a self-focus, we fail to make the idea clear that people who know their strengths are, actually, more likely to be pro-social and ready to help others.
It’s easy to conclude that every young person is at risk of becoming a narcissist but I’d like to stand up for the thousands of young kids I have worked with, who are caring, thoughtful and humble — even when they use their strengths.
1. Which of the following opinions may the writer agree with?A.Strength-based parenting leads to narcissism. |
B.It’s unhelpful for us to make our children feel good about themselves. |
C.To say all kids are potential narcissists is overstating the case. |
D.Children who know their strengths tend to be more selfish and uncaring. |
A.Academic journals report more on narcissism. |
B.There is a lack of narcissism in our common sense. |
C.Many people are diagnosed with narcissism by doctors. |
D.The general public has less access to strengths psychology. |
A.Because they are as famous as Donald Trump. |
B.Because they are both confident and modest. |
C.Because confidence is quite important for celebrities. |
D.Because a strength-based approach will cause narcissism. |
A.Favorable. | B.Neutral. | C.Disapproving. | D.Doubtful. |
A.Teens’ Psychology Research | B.Teens’ Narcissism Diagnosis |
C.Teens’ Strength-based Approach | D.Teens’ Confidence Misunderstood |
5 . Every year, thousands of teenagers participate in programs at their local art museums. But do any of them remember their time at museum events later in life? A new report suggests that the answer is yes — and finds that arts-based museum programs are credited with changing the course of alumni’s (毕业生的) lives, even years after the fact.
The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Walker Art Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles recently asked researchers to conduct a study to find out how effective their long-standing teen art programs really are. They involved over 300 former participants of four programs for teens that have been in existence since the 1990s. Alumni, whose current ages range from 18 to 36, were invited to find out how they viewed their participation years after the fact.
Among the alumni surveyed, 75 percent of them thought the teen art program experience had the most favorable impact on their own lives, beating the family, school and their neighborhoods. Nearly 55 percent thought that it was one of the most important experiences they had ever had, regardless of age. And two-thirds said that they were often in situations where their experience in museums affected their actions or thoughts.
It turns out that participating in art programs also helps keep teens keen about culture even after they reach adulthood: Ninety-six percent of participants had visited an art museum within the last two years, and 68 percent had visited an art museum five or more times within the last two years. Thirty-two percent of alumni work in the arts as adults.
Though the study is the first of its kind to explore the impact of teen-specific art programs in museums, it reflects other research on the important benefits of engaging with the arts. A decade of surveys by the National Endowment for the Arts found that the childhood experience with the arts is significantly associated with people’s income and educational achievements as adults. Other studies have linked arts education to everything from lower dropout rates to improvement in critical thinking skills.
1. What is the main function of paragraph 1?A.To make a comparison. | B.To propose a definition. |
C.To provide the background. | D.To present the subject. |
A.To change the course of alumni’s lives. |
B.To introduce the art museums. |
C.To explore the impact of teen art programs. |
D.To invite people to participate in the art programs. |
A.Students are more influenced by the family and school. |
B.Teen art programs in museums are highly beneficial. |
C.Many teens fail to realize the great value of art programs. |
D.Most experiences in museums are boring for today’s teens. |
A.They are intended to attract more adults. |
B.They are designed to support art museums. |
C.They create adults who are culturally aware. |
D.They provide many job opportunities for adults. |
A.All prove the good effects of art education. |
B.All suggest the need to improve museum programs. |
C.All show the growing popularity of art programs. |
D.All focus on the link between art and education. |
The Yosufs’ house is unlike any other house. In the sitting room, instead of a television, there is a blackboard on the wall. For two hours every day, Mr Yosuf writes complex mathematical problems on the board. His daughter, Zuleika, copies them into an exercise book and solves them.
Zuleika is special. She’s five years old, but instead of watching cartoons or playing computer games, her favourite pastimes are solving equations and reading books. She already spends hours every day in a university library. Next year Zuleika will become Britain’s youngest “A” level student.
Not surprisingly, the Yosufs are a very clever family. Zuleika’s two sisters and a brother, aged 16, 14 and 12 are also good at maths and are already at university. Her father, who specialises in maths research, has taught them all. “Zuleika is very competitive, says her father.” She sees her brother and sisters working every day and she can’t wait to catch up with them. I remember teaching the others maths when they were eight. Zuleika solves the same problems now, although she took up maths much earlier. We could see she was interested in numbers at a much younger age. ”
So what is the secret of their success? When their first child arrived, Mr Yosuf and his wife made up their minds to teach all of their children at home. They say that home tuition combined with love and understanding has helped their children to succeed. “We’ve been patient and supportive, and they take pride in what they do,” says Mr. Yosuf. “Maybe Zuleika has a natural talent for maths, but I believe given the right surroundings, any child could do well. ”
One thing all child prodigies(神童) do have in common is a complete dedication to and love of their subject. They spend many more hours working at it than the average child, and this extra effort is reflected in their achievements. It is not necessary to be extremely talented to be a child prodigy, but you do have to have a lot of motivation.
1. What is the blackboard in the sitting room used for? (no more than 20 words)2. Why is Zuleika special? (no more than 15 Words)
3. What does the underlined word “surroundings” in paragraph 4 probably mean? (1 word)
4. What do all child prodigies have in common according to the text? (no more than 15 words)
5. What do you think of studying at home?Give your reasons. (no more than 20 words)
(1)教材的优点(至少2条)和不足之处(至少1条);
(2)提出你的改进建议。
注意:(1)词数:不少于100字;(2) 开头和结尾已为你写好,不记入总词数;
Dear Editor,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Best regards.
Li Hua
8 . Parents should stop blaming (责备) themselves because there’s not a lot they can do about it. I mean the teenager problem. Whatever you do or however you choose to deal with it, at certain times a wonderful, reasonable and helpful child will turn into a terrible animal.
I’ve seen friends deal with it in all kinds of different ways. One strict mother insisted that her son, right from a child, should stand up whenever anyone entered the room, open doors and shake hands like a gentleman. I saw him last week when I called round. Sprawling himself (懒散地躺) on the sofa in full length, he made no attempt to turn off the loud TV he was watching as I walked in, and his greeting was no more than a quick glance at me. His mother was ashamed. “I don't know what to do with him these days,” she said. “He’s forgotten all the manners we taught him.”
He hasn't forgotten them. He' s just decided that he' s not going to use them. She confessed (坦白) that she would like to come up behind him and throw him down from the sofa onto the floor.
Another good friend of mine let her two daughters climb all over the furniture, reach across the table, stare at me and say, “I don’t like your dress; it’s ugly.” One of the daughters has recently been driven out of school. The other has left home.
“Where did we go wrong?” her parents are now very sad. Probably nowhere much. At least, no more than the rest of that unfortunate race, parents.
1. This text is most probably written by ________.A.an expert in teenager studies | B.a headmaster of a middle school |
C.a parent with teenage children | D.a doctor for mental health problems |
A.the change from good to bad that ' s seen in a child |
B.the way that parents often blame themselves |
C.the opinion that a child has of his parents |
D.the advice that parents want their children to follow |
A.lazy | B.quiet | C.unusual | D.rude |
A.pay no attention to them | B.are too busy to look after them |
C.have come to hate them | D.feel helpless to do much about them |
A.Parents have no choice but to try to accept it. |
B.Parents shouldn’t pay attention to the change at all. |
C.Parents should work more closely with school teachers. |
D.Parents are to blame for the change in their children. |
9 . “If you don’t behave, we’ll call the police.” is a lie that parents generally use to get their young children to behave. Parents’ lies work in the short terms, but a new study led by NTU Singapore suggests that they’re associated with harmful effects when the child becomes an adult.
The research team asked 379 Singaporean young adults whether their parents lied to them when they were children, how much they lie to their parents now, and how well they adjust to adulthood challenges. Adults who reported being lied to more as children were more likely to report deceiving their parents in their adulthood. They also said they faced greater difficulty in meeting psychological and social challenges.
Lead author Assistant Professor Setoh Peipei from NTU Singapore’s School of Social Sciences said, “Parenting by lying can seem to save time especially when the real reasons behind why parents want children to do something is complicated to explain. When parents tell children that ‘honesty is the best policy’, but display dishonesty by lying, such behavior can send conflicting messages to their children. Parents’ dishonesty may eventually break trust and promote dishonesty in children. Our research suggests that parenting by lying is a practice that has bad consequences for children when they grow up. Parents should be aware of this and consider alternatives to lying, such as acknowledging children’s feelings, giving information so children know what to expect, offering choices and problem-solving together, to help children develop good behavior.”
The analysis found that parenting by lying could place children at a greater risk of developing problems that the society disapproves, such as aggression (侵害) and rule-breaking behavior. Some limitations of the study include relying on what young adults report about their past experience of parents’ lying. “Future research can explore using more information providers, such as parents, to report on the same topic,” suggested Asst Prof Setoh.
1. Why is a parental lie mentioned in the first paragraph?A.To introduce the topic for discussion. |
B.To tell a popular way to educate children. |
C.To prove the great influence of the police. |
D.To show the harmful effects of parental lies. |
A.worrying | B.abusing | C.disappointing | D.cheating |
A.Their parents lied to them when they were young. |
B.They think lying to their children can avoid wasting time. |
C.They believe dishonesty can help solve adulthood challenges. |
D.They are afraid their children will suffer more by telling truth. |
A.Identify with the children’s emotions. |
B.Force good behavior on their children. |
C.Stop children knowing what to expect. |
D.Let children solve problems independently. |
A.It is quite controversial. |
B.It is rather meaningless. |
C.It needs to be perfected. |
D.It demands honest responses. |
The Yosufs' house is unlike any other house. In the sitting room, instead of a television there is a blackboard on the wall. For two hours every day Mr Yosuf writes complex mathematical problems on the board. His daughter, Zuleika, copies them into an exercise book and solves them.
Zuleika is special. She's five years old, but, instead of watching cartoons, or playing computer games, her favorite pastimes(消遣) are solving problems and reading books. She already spends hours every day in a university library. Next year, Zuleika will become Britain's youngest "A" level student.
Not surprisingly, the Yosufs are a very clever family. Zuleika's two sisters and brother, aged 16, 14 and 12 are also good at maths and are already at university. Her father, who specializes in maths research, has taught them all. "Zuleika is very competitive, " says her father, "She sees her brother and sisters working every day and she can't wait to catch up with them. I remember teaching the others maths when they were eight. Zuleika solves the same problems now, although she took up maths much earlier. We could see she was interested in numbers at a much younger age.
So what is the secret of their success? When their first child arrived, Mr Yosuf and his wife made up their minds to teach all of their children at home. They say that home teaching combined with love and understanding has helped their children to succeed. "We'll be patient and supportive, and they take pride in what they do, " says Mr Yosuf. "Maybe Zuleika has a natural talent for maths, but I believe given the right surroundings, any child could do well."
One thing all child prodigies(神童) have in common is a complete love of their subject. They spend many more hours working at it than the average child, and this extra effort is reflected in their achievements. It is not necessary to be extremely talented to be a child prodigy, but you do have to have a lot of motivation.
1. What does Mr. Yosuf use the blackboard for? (No more than 15 words)2. What is the main idea of Paragraph 2? (No more than 10 words)
3. What does the underlined word "surroundings" in paragraph 4 probably mean? (1 word)
4. What do all child prodigies have in common according to the text? (No more than 10 words)
5. What do you think of studying at home? Give your reasons. (No more than 20 words)