【推荐1】If you have spent any time reading papers on teaching strategies in the past few years, you have probably noticed a strong backlash against drill & practice, in favor of “constructivist (建构主义的) activities” and “project-based learning”.

Memorizing facts, many people argue, is an outdated educational practice, since anyone could just Google a fact on demand or look it up on Wikipedia nowadays. They consider that we should focus all school activities on getting skills as opposed to knowledge.

However, learning by rote (memorization by repeating) is more important than you think. There are many cases in which having knowledge immediately on the tip of your tongue can have great social and professional value. For example, last night at a networking event, when I casually asked a Nigerian businessman how much of his business was conducted in English compared with that in his native Yoruba, he immediately became more engaged in our conversation. It was as if the simple fact that I knew that Yoruba was spoken in Nigeria won his trust, and therefore built up our relationship.

The same goes for professional settings. If I am a medical salesman talking to a doctor about a specific digestion drug, and he asks if it has any effect on the process of peristalsis, it will look quite unprofessional if I have to pull out my medical dictionary to look up the word. I need to memorize those facts so that I can access them immediately.

Of course, most constructivist educators will argue that on-the-job training and project-based learning are more effective at learning new concepts than rote memorization. The problem is that no single cost-effective constructivist activity will guarantee that you will be exposed to all the concepts you need, or that you will fully remember the facts that you are exposed to. If you actually want to gain a full range of knowledge about a given topic, the most guaranteed and efficient way is to study on purpose using the time-honored repeating practice －specifically confidence-based repetition.

1. What does the underlined word “backlash” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A．Outdated idea.	B．Negative reaction.
C．Educational standard.	D．Official support.

2. Why is the author’s communication with a Nigerian businessman mentioned?

A．To show the value of knowing about Yoruba.

B．To support his argument for learning by rote.

C．To introduce effective communication skills.

D．To prove the power of having a wide range of knowledge.

3. What does the author think about project-based learning?

A．It is of limited value in learning new concepts.

B．It is an efficient way to learn a new concept.

C．It should be combined with a full range of knowledge.

D．It will be replaced by the time-honored practice of repetition.

【推荐2】In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child’s acquisition of each new skill — the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself.

Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be especially strict in money matters. Others are severe over times of coming home at night or punctuality for meals. In general, parents’ demands and social values are as important as children’s own well-being. Therefore, parents also need to constantly observe the world and explore the unknown so as to give the children good personalized education in their growth.

As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching. To ban a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality. Also, parents should realize that “example is better than precept (训诫)”. If they are not sincere and do not practice what they say, their children may grow confused, and emotionally insecure when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled.

A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents’ principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment. Parents must pay more attention to their own behavior and language, passing on the right values and cognition to their children. In this way, children can grow up healthily on the right track.

1. What do parents usually do when their children are growing up?

A．Speed up their children’s learning.

B．Watch their children learn new skills.

C．Put their children into a state of isolation.

D．Make their children live on their own.

2. What’s right about parents’ being strict with their children?

A．Parents should not expect too much of them.

B．Parents should encourage them to read faster than others.

C．Parents should create as many learning opportunities as possible.

D．Parents should find a balance between being strict and leaving them alone.

3. The second paragraph mainly tells us that ______.

A．parents should be strict with their children

B．parents need to be strict with themselves

C．different parents treat their children differently

D．parents set strict limits on their children’s spending

4. In moral matters, parents should ______.

A．keep in line in words and deeds

B．demand that their children listen to them

C．know the difference between adults and children

D．consistently ensure the security of their children

【推荐3】A typical lion tamer(驯兽师) in people's mind is an entertainer holding a whip(鞭) and a chair. The whip gets all of the attention, but it's mostly for show. In reality, it's the chair that does the important work. When a lion tamer holds a chair in front of the lion's face, the lion tries to focus on all four legs of the chair at the same time. With its focus divided, the lion becomes confused and is unsure about what to do next. When faced with so many options, the lion chooses to freeze and wait instead of attacking the man holding the chair.

How often do you find yourself in the same position as the lion? How often do you have something you want to achieve (e.g. lose weight, start a business, travel more)—only to end up confused by all of the options in front of you and never make progress?

This upsets me to no end because while all the experts are busy debating about which option is best, the people who want to improve their lives are left confused by all of the conflicting information. The end result is that we feel like we can't focus or that we're focused on the wrong things, and so we take less action, make less progress, and stay the same when we could be improving.

It doesn't have to be that way. Anytime you find the world waving a chair in your face, remember this: all you need to do is focus on one thing. You just need to get started. Starting before you feel ready is one of the habits of successful people. If you have somewhere you want to go, something you want to accomplish, someone you want to become…take immediate action. If you're clear about where you want to go, the rest of the world will either help you get there or get out of the way.

1. Why does the lion tamer use a chair?

A．To get ready for a fight.	B．To show off his skills.
C．To trick the lion.	D．To entertain the audience.

2. In what way are people similar to a lion facing a chair?

A．They hold on to the wrong things.	B．They feel puzzled over choices.
C．They find it hard to make changes.	D．They have to do something for show.

3. What is the author's attitude towards the experts mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A．Appreciative.

B．Supportive.

C．Respectful.

D．Doubtful.

4. When the world is “waving a chair in your face”，you're advised to     ．

A．make a quick decision	B．break your old habits
C．wait for a better chance	D．ask for clear guidance

【推荐3】We have a strange and strong belief in the idea of perfection. Driven by our culture, we struggle for an unattainable ideal: If I have the perfect parents, perfect grades, perfect…, then I would be happy. We seek what we can’t have without remembering that we don’t actually need to be perfect. Imperfection allows us to be human.
Parents, teachers and other high-achieving peers will have us believe that we must be perfect if we wish to remain competitive. However, what job or school requires you to develop a cure for some form of cancer by the age of 18? Although these grades would be admirable achievements, are they worth losing sleep over? We feel like we need the perfect grades to get into the perfect college that will provide us with the perfect education necessary to obtain the perfect job. Making use of our thirst for perfection, the whole college and career industries have emerged claiming to help us reach our goals.
Truth is, you only need to be good enough to get into the conversation. It is what you do afterwards that sets you apart. Focus more on your passions. Don’t worry about anything secondary to your passions. You don’t become an expert at anything if you spent your time trying to succeed in everything you do. You only become an expert when you devote your time to that one project that truly brings you joy.
As members of this society, we have a responsibility to be excellent in what we do, not perfect. Although perfection can be a goal, it should not be the only goal. We only have 24 hours in a day and seven days in a week. Thus, we need to plan what we want to do and cut out the activities we cannot do.
With everything, though, make sure you’re doing enough. Pursuing your passions is not enough of a reason to completely give up on everything else. Try as hard as you can and let your future worry about itself. Worry about your task at hand and you will be successful in achieving your dreams. Most of all, remember that you’re going to be okay.
1. It is implied in Paragraph 1 that there is a culture where ________.

A．Students are driven to learn concepts

B．great importance is attached to perfection

C．imperfect people aren’t happy at all

D．perfect grades result from remembering facts

2. We can infer from the second paragraph that ________.

A．a perfect grade is worth losing sleep over

B．the whole college and career industries are perfect

C．some schools ask students to invent some medicine

D．someone is profiting from our search for perfection

3. According to the author, we should ________.

A．see becoming perfect as our responsibility

B．deal with what we hope to do first

C．set a goal of perfection in our life

D．worry about our future dreams

4. What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

A．How to be perfect

B．Being enough is enough

C．Finding your own passions

D．Giving up your secondary goals