【推荐1】    1    Moving from high school into college can be especially different because of the freedom students experience in college along with a new set of expectations.

In high school, students usually live at home, and their parents take care of all their physical needs such as food and housing.     2    Parents are also there to help with and make sure that the student’s homework is done. During the school day, students rarely have free time. They go directly from one class to another. Teachers are always around to tell the students what to do.     3    So students can often complete their homework and reading in a short time.

    4    They may be responsible for shopping, paying bills, and laundry. They also may have to cook their own meals. Their parents are not around to help with homework or even to check that it has been done. Contrary to students in high school, students in college may have a lot of free time between classes, but must discipline themselves to use this time productively or homework and other assignments.     5    

A．Students do not usually have to shop for their food, take time to pay bills, or even do their own laundry.

B．High school students have to bury themselves in piles of papers

C．Finally, the work itself it not so challenging.

D．In contrast, in college, students often live away from home in dorms or apartments.

E．In college, students may apply to a bank loan and others will try to find part-time jobs.

F．Each new level of education brings new challenges and demands to students.

G．Most important, college requires a higher level of thinking and a lot more work than high school.

【推荐2】French children are saying “Hello” to the new academic year and “Bye” to their cell phones during school hours. That’s because a new law has come into effect which bans phone use by students up to the age of 15. The rule, which follows a campaign promise by French President Emmanuel Macron, also bans tablets and smart watches.

The ban is also in place at break times, with exceptions in cases of emergency and for disabled children, the French Education Ministry said in a statement. In emergencies, students can ask their teachers for permission to use their phones. Meanwhile, high schools can voluntarily carry out the measure.

Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said the new rules aim to help children focus on lessons, better socialize and reduce social media use. The ban is also designed to fight online bullying and prevent thefts and violence in school. Blanquer has claimed the rule would improve discipline among France’s 12 million school students, nearly 90% of whom have mobile phones. “Being open to technologies of the future doesn’t mean we have to accept all their uses,” Blanquer said in June as the bill was going through in Parliament.

As for carrying out the ban, it’s up to individual school administrations to decide how to put through the ban. School principals can decide to store students’ phones in lockers or allow them to keep them, switched off, in their backpacks. The law allows teachers to take away the phones until the end of the day in case of someone disobeying the bans.

Jacqueline Kay-Cessou, whose 14-year-old son, David, is entering eighth grade at the Camille See International School told the reporter she was happy to hear of the ban. “It’s fantastic news. It’s something I’ve wanted for years,” Kay-Cessou said. “I think phones are socially harmful. Kids can’t think and sit still anymore and it’s highly addictive.”

1. What is the new rule for ordinary French students in the new term?

A．They are not allowed to use their watches.

B．They should follow President Macron.

C．They should say “Hello” to school teachers.

D．They can’t use their cell-phones at school.

2. What is the opinion of Jean-Michel Blanquer?

A．Cell phones are the only reason for school violence.

B．The society should be strict with all the school students.

C．New technology should be properly used at school.

D．None of the young students should have mobile phones.

3. Who is/are responsible for carrying out the ban?

A．The school administrators.	B．The student monitors.
C．The students’ parents.	D．The Education Minister.

4. What is the purpose of the last paragraph?

A．To show the parental response to the ban.

B．To provide a conclusion for the text.

C．To offer an example for the new law.

D．To make a list of cell phone’s harms.

【推荐1】Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time: if corrected too much, he will stop talking. He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s. In the same way, children learning to do all the other things: they learn to do without being taught to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle, compare their own performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them for himself. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to. Let him work out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says, what the answer is to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not.

If it is a matter of right answer, as it may be in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such routine (常规) work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer. Let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn, how to measure their own understanding, and how to know what they know or do not know.

1. According to the passage, the best way for children to learn things is by ________.

A．listening to skilled people’s advice	B．asking older people many questions
C．making mistakes and having them corrected	D．doing what other people do

2. Which of the following does the writer think teachers should NOT do?

A．Give children correct answers.	B．Allow children to make mistakes.
C．Point out children’s mistakes to them.	D．Let children mark their own work.

3. According to the writer, teachers in school should ________.

A．allow children to learn from each other	B．point out children’s mistakes whenever found
C．give children more book knowledge	D．correct children’s mistakes as soon as possible

4. The passage suggests that learning to speak and learning to ride a bicycle are ________.

A．different from learning other skills	B．the same as learning skills
C．more important than other skills	D．not really important skills

【推荐2】If you think of the jobs robots could never do, you would probably put doctors and teachers at the top of the list. It's easy to imagine robot cleaners and factory workers, but some jobs need human connection and creativity. But are we underestimating what robots can do? In some cases, they already perform better than doctors at diagnosing illness. Also, some patients might feel more comfortable sharing personal information with a machine than a person. Could there be a place for robots in education after all?

British education expert Anthony Seldon thinks so. And he even has a date for the robot takeover of the classroom: 2027. He predicts robots will do the main job of transferring information and teachers will be like assistants. Intelligent robots will read students' faces, movements and maybe even brain signals. Then they will adapt the information to each student. It's not a popular opinion and its unlikely robots will-ever have the ability to really connect with humans like another human can.

One thing is certain, though. A robot teacher is better than no teacher at all. In some parts of the world, there aren't enough teachers and 9~16 percent of children under the age of 14 don't go to school. That problem could be partly solved by robots because they can teach anywhere and won't get stressed, or tired, or move somewhere for an easier, higher-paid job.

Those negative aspects of teaching are something everyone agrees on. Teachers all over the world are leaving because it is a difficult job and they feel overworked. Perhaps the question is not "Will robots replace teachers?" but "How can robots help teachers?" Office workers can use software to do things like organizing and answering emails, arranging meetings and updating calendars. Teachers waste a lot of time doing non-teaching work, including more than 11 hours a week marking homework. If robots could cut the time teachers spend marking homework and writing reports, teachers would have more time and energy for the parts of the job humans do best.

1. What does the underlined word "diagnosing" in the first paragraph mean?

A．Curing.

B．Deciding.

C．Preventing.

D．Avoiding.

2. In Anthony Seldon's opinion, a robot teacher can ________.

A．transfer all information to the students	B．make teachers be his assistants in class
C．offer the students special information	D．take the place of real teachers in class

3. What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean?

A．A robot teacher is better than a human teacher.

B．A robot teacher can work continuously without any complaint.

C．A robot teacher doesn't necessarily be better than a human teacher.

D．A robot teacher can read students' ideas better than a human teacher.

4. How can robots help teaching in the future?

A．They can do all the teaching for the teachers.

B．They can transfer all the information to the students.

C．They can organize the teaching activities for teachers.

D．They can finish the boring and repeated work for the teachers.

【推荐3】As parents continue trying to figure out what to expect with the upcoming school year, some parents are considering alternative education options for their children. While homeschooling is a growing interest to some parents due to the risk of COVID-19, they may not have the resources or time for it.

This is where a method called micro-schooling comes into play. Kansas learning Academy and Preschool owner Sherry Staving who teaches traditional school topics has adopted micro-schooling, which allows parents to choose the curriculum（课程） they want their children to learn.

She said a few parents have asked her if she could homeschool their children in the fall because they have COVID-19 concerns. She's been working with a teacher in the community to put together a micro-schooling plan that she said is essentially a mix between homeschooling and private school.

With micro-schooling children would be out of a traditional classroom, but also not stuck at home. With the concept, a small group would meet at a home. With the method locally, Staving would monitor and facilitate the curriculum parents want for their children.

"I was researching micro-schooling and it is really a great concept because parents still have control over their kids' education," Stavig said. She believes the recent increase in interest in home-schooling results from fear of the unknown." People don't know what to do, so they're scared, worried, and nervous." Stavig said. "So I think that's why people are looking more towards home-schooling because they know what they can control."

With her role facilitating curriculum for micro-schooling, Stavig said she won't require masks but will have temperature checks and daily sanitation（卫生设备）. Students with COVID-19 symptoms won't be able to return without a doctor's note.

1. What can we learn about micro-schooling?

A．Parents can select the curriculum for kids.

B．Kids will learn in traditional classrooms in groups.

C．The concept has been poorly received recently.

D．The idea will replace traditional schools in the future.

2. What is Stavig's attitude towards micro-schooling?

A．Tolerant.	B．Unwilling.
C．Unconcerned.	D．Positive.

3. What are students required to do in micro-schools to ensure safety?

A．Wear masks.	B．Avoid studying together.
C．Take the temperature.	D．Avoid touching each other.

4. What is the author's purpose in writing the text?

A．To stress the importance of the curriculum.

B．To warn people of the risk of COVID-19.

C．To introduce a rising trend of learning.

D．To encourage parents to teach kids.

【推荐1】Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea. People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops. People had it sent from Holland. And even those people who could afford it did so only because of curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.
Tea remained very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.
At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea. Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added. She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was so famous a lady that people liked to copy everything she did, they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.
At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening. No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess （公爵夫人） found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o'clock stopped her getting “a sinking feeling” as she called it. She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so, tea-time was born.
1. The word “curiosity” in the first paragraph probably means ________.

A．好奇

B．臆测

C．迷恋

D．决心

2. Which of the following is true of tea-drinking in Britain?

A．The British people got expensive tea from India.

B．The habit of tea-drinking reached Britain from France.

C．The British people were much slower in getting the habit.

D．People in Britain began drinking tea one thousand years ago.

3. Some people cooked tea leaves because ______

A．most children liked to have them

B．they were very good vegetables

C．they didn’t know how to use them

D．sandwiches needed mixing with them

4. People in Britain like to drink tea with milk because of the influence of _______.

A．a famous French lady

B．people in Holland

C．the upper social class

D．the ancient Chinese

5. This passage mainly discusses _______.

A．how tea-time was born in history

B．the history of tea-drinking in Britain

C．the habit of drinking tea with milk in it

D．differences about tea-drinking Europe

【推荐2】The world economy has run into a brick wall. Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a potential hunger crisis in poor countries and an energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead. The result is a global food crisis. Wheat, corn and rice prices have more than doubled in the past two years. And oil prices have increased more than three times since the start of 2004. These food-price increases, combined with increasing energy costs, will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even affect political stability. Practical solutions to these problems do exist, but we’ll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally.

Here are three steps to ease the current food crisis and avoid the potential for a global crisis. The first is to promote the dramatic success of Malawi, a country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and seeds with high productivity. Malawi’s harvest doubled after just one year. An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere $10 per person annually in the rich world, or $10 billion altogether.

Second, the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of paying partly for the change of food into biofuels (生物燃料). The U.S. government gives farmers a taxpayer-financed payment of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol (乙醇) changed from corn. There may be a case for biofuels produced on lands that do not produce foods — tree crops, grasses and wood products — but there’s no case for the government to pay to put the world’s dinner into the gas tank.

Third, we urgently need to weather-proof the world’s crops as soon and as effectively as possible. For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond — which collects rainwater to be used in dry weather — can make the difference between a good harvest and a bad one. The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation Fund to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise.

1. An international fund based on the Malawi model would______.

A．cost each of the developed countries $10 billion per year

B．give poor farmers access to fertilizer and highly productive seeds

C．decrease the food prices as well as the energy prices

D．aim to double the harvest in southern African countries in a year

2. With the second step, the author expresses the idea that ______.

A．we should get alternative forms of fuel in any way

B．it is misleading to put tree crops into the gas tank

C．it is not wise to change food crops into gas

D．biofuels should be developed on a large scale

3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．The world has made a serious promise to build farm ponds.

B．A Climate Adaptation Fund has been established to help poor.

C．A rain-collecting pond is a simple safeguard against dry weather.

D．It makes a great difference whether we develop wood products or not.

4. In the passage, the author calls on us to______.

A．slow down but not to stop economy

B．act now so as to relieve the global food shortage

C．achieve economic growth and political stability

D．develop tree crops, grasses and wood products

【推荐3】Just 11 minutes of moderate- to-vigorous intensity aerobic (有氧的) activity per day could lower your risk of cancer, cardiovascular (心血管的) disease or premature death, a large new study has found.

Aerobic activities include walking, dancing, running, jogging, cycling and swimming. You can calculate the intensity level of an activity by your heart rate and how hard you re breathing as you move. Generally, being able to talk but not sing during an activity would make it moderate (中等的) intensity. Vigorous intensity is marked by the inability to carry on a conversation.

Higher levels of physical activity have been associated with lower rates of premature death and chronic disease, according to past research. But how the risk levels for these outcomes are affected by the amount of exercise someone gets has been more difficult to determine. To explore this impact, scientists largely from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom looked at data from 196 studies, amounting to more than 30 million adult participants who were followed for 10 years on average.

The study mainly focused on participants who had done the minimum recommended amount of 150 minutes of exercise per week, or 22 minutes per day. Compared with inactive participants, adults who had done 150 minutes of moderate- to-vigorous aerobic physical activity per week had a 31% lower risk of dying from any cause, a 29% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 15% lower risk of dying from cancer.

Furthermore, the study states even people who got just half the minimum recommended amount of physical activity benefited. Accumulating 75 minutes of moderate -intensity activity per week—about 11 minutes of activity per day—was associated with a 23% lower risk of early death. Getting active for 75 minutes on a weekly basis was also enough to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 17% and cancer by 7%.

The findings confirm the World Health Organization’s position that doing some physical activity is better than doing none, even if you don’t get the recommended amounts of exercise.

1. What can you do in a moderate-intensity aerobic activity?

A．Have a chat.	B．Break into song.
C．Calculate its influence.	D．Adjust your mind mode.

2. Which word can best describe the findings of the new study?

A．Subjective.

B．Unclear.

C．Debatable.

D．Convincing.

3. What is the smallest recommended amount of exercise on a daily basis?

A．150 minutes.

B．75 minutes.

C．22 minutes.

D．11 minutes.

4. What message does the author seem to convey in the text?

A．Higher levels of physical activity benefit people.

B．A little exercise is better than none.

C．Physical activities must be aerobic and enough.

D．The full recommended amount of exercise matters more.