On a summer afternoon, Ciara Whelan, a teacher at a New York, City elementary school, visits one of her students in the Bronx, Sapphira, who fell behind in her reading.
This home visit is the beginning of a reading program called Springboard Collaborative. Springboard runs after-school and summer programs with struggling readers. Once each week, a family member — mom, dad, grandma, an old sibling (兄弟姐妹) — attends an hour-long workshop to help learn and practice the approaches students are learning in class. “Parent engagement (参与) is the beating heart of our programs,” says founder Alejandro Gibes de Gac. “It’s the spirit in the cocktail.”
Sapphira’s Springboard program is held in a classroom at a charter school in Manhattan. In the classroom, Sapphira’s dad, sits with his daughter, helping her mark her place in the book. After a few minutes of reading together, Whelan tells parents to ask students to summarize what is happening every few pages, to check comprehension.
In the past seven years, Springboard has collected a great amount of data to prove its effectiveness. For example: In just five weeks, on average, 3 out of 4 students get to the next reading level or even further. The program also gives books to each child. Backpacks full of school supplies and tablets are offered as encouragement for completing the whole program.
Springboard plans to increase the size by spreading its model, with a goal of reaching 100,000 children in the next four years. Currently it’s running tests in different cities to see which parts of the program are necessary and important and which could be cut if a particular school lacks money for them. For example, the free tablet and backpack, it has found, don’t seem to make much difference in the program’s success. The key instead is the promise that parents make to their children.
1. What do the underlined words “Springboard Collaborative” in Para.2 refer to?| A．A program to involve parents in kids’ reading practice. |
| B．A school where students learn to improve their reading. |
| C．A plan to strengthen the relationship between kids and parents. |
| D．A summer camp that helps struggling students with their reading. |
| A．Teachers’ home visits. |
| B．Parents’ participation. |
| C．Children’s new reading habits. |
| D．Encouragement from the program. |
| A．It is running tests to see whether it is welcome. |
| B．It intends to build a new model and spread it. |
| C．Its effectiveness is proved by a large amount of data. |
| D．Students will be given backpacks once they join in it. |
| A．No Pains, No Gains |
| B．Reading Makes One’s Life Better |
| C．How to Change Children’s Future |
| D．One Hour a Week, a Step Up |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Speed-reading is a necessary skill in the Internet age. We skim over articles, e-mails and WeChat to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text. Surrounded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by word, line by line. But a new trend encourages people to enjoy reading slowly, listing benefits beyond the intelligent stimulation.
A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones. They sink into cozy chairs and read in silence for an hour. Unlike traditional book clubs, the point of the slow reading club isn’t exchanging ideas about a certain book, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment. According to the Journal, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement started by book lovers who miss the old-fashioned way of reading before the Internet and smartphones.
Slow readers, such as The Atlantic’s Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to sympathize. Another study published last year in science showed that reading novels slowly helps people understand other’s mental states and beliefs, a fundamental skill in building relationships.
Yet technology has made us less attentive readers. Screens have changed our reading patterns from the straight and information left-to-right sequence to a wild skimming and skipping pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text punctuated with links leads to weaker comprehension than reading plain text. The Internet may have made us stupider, says Patrick Kingsey from The Guardian. Because of the Internet, he says, we have become very good at collecting a wide range of interesting news, but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, reflect, and relate all these facts to each other.
Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted, straight pattern, in a quiet environment free of distractions. Aim for 30minutesa day, advises Kelly from The Atlantic. “You can squeeze in that half hour pretty easily if only during your free moments, you pick up a meaningful work of literature, ” Kelly said. “Reach for your e-reader, if you like. Kindles make books like War and Peace less heavy, not less substantive, and also ensure you’ll never lose your place. ”
1. The book club in Wellington mentioned in Paragraph 2 shows________.| A．the increasing number of club readers | B．the decline of electronic devices |
| C．the importance of exchanging ideas | D．the new trend of slow reading |
| A．the lack of reflection | B．the straight, left-to-right screen |
| C．a wide range of interesting news | D．a non-stop reading pattern |
| A．promotes the current technology advances |
| B．contributes to understanding among people |
| C．provides people with a quiet environment |
| D．cures the memory loss of elderly people |
| A．To call on us to read slowly. |
| B．To emphasize the benefit of Reading Clubs. |
| C．To tell us we are entering the Internet Age. |
| D．To highlight the influence of Speed Reading. |
【推荐2】Bring A New Story Home With You Today
Rhyme Rhythm Reason﹣More than Some of the Sum of My poems
Paul Drakeford
www．xlibris．com．au
Hardback： ＄27.59 Paperback： ＄13.79 E﹣book： ＄4.99
Here we have a few giggles and chuckles for those who remember the three Rs and wished there were something better． Have fun reading Paul Drakeford's Rhyme Rhythm Reason!
Atlantis﹣Insights from a Lost Civilization
Shirley Andrews
www．authorhouse．com
Hardback： ＄31.99 Paperback： ＄20.99 E﹣book：＄3.99
Shirley Andrews uncovers the living legacy in Atlantis： Insights from a Lost Civilization， a compelling new look at a legendary country once situated on the Atlantic Ridge．
Operation Wappen﹣A War That Never Was
Robert Maddock
www．xlibris．com
Hardback： ＄51.99 Paperback： ＄41.99 E﹣book： ＄3.99
A Story about CIA/MI6 Middle East 1957 military adventure to overthrow the Syrian Government a return of knights to the battlefield like Osama bin Laden． The author was an eyewitness．
Inbetweenness﹣﹣A Meditative Approach to Everyday Life
Sunnie D， Kidd/Jim Kidd
www．xlibris．com
Hardback： ＄29.99 Paperback： ＄19.99 E﹣book： ＄3.99
Sunnie D Kidd coined the term "Inbetweenness"． Inbetweennes is a shared resonating spiritual fie of movement and vibration， which is the root of all spiritual experiences and scientifie investigation．
Learning to Trust the Tiny Voice of God﹣Allowing Communication with the Holy Trinity and the Saints．
Billy Patty
www．xlibris．com
Hardback： ＄29.99 Paperback： ＄19.99 E﹣book： ＄13.99
This poetry book is for my darling wife sixty﹣nine years， my four children， grandchildren， great and great﹣great grandchildren． They have been my inspiration and my comfort in life in my old age．
1. Suppose you are a poem lover，you would prefer the works of．| A．Robert Maddock&Billy Patty |
| B．Paul Drakeford&Billy Patty |
| C．Paul Drakeford&Robert Maddock |
| D．Sunnie DKidd&Robert Maddock |
| A．Operation Wappen． |
| B．Atlantis． |
| C．Rhyme Rhythm Reason． |
| D．Betweenness． |
| A．All the books can be bought on the same website． |
| B．One can buy 3 books in hardback with＄70． |
| C．Operation Wappen is based on a true story． |
| D．Learning to Trust the Tiny Voice of God is intended for the authors husband． |
【推荐3】My love for libraries blossomed when I joined the public library. From the age of 8, I was allowed to walk from my home to the downtown library, housed above the police station. Once the librarian gave me my first membership card, I could enjoy a range of books, which started with Little House in the Big Woods. I was addicted instantly, and this love of libraries and reading would change my life, allowing me to one day create a safe space for high-school kids, too.
By the time I was in high school, I could read the authors that we were studying in class, including Charles Dickens, Mark Twain and Emily Bronte. During the summer months, I got caught up in Gone with the Wind.
When I studied English literature at university, I thought it was time to build my own library. For the next 40 years, I continued to collect books. Until one day, I realized that all my books had become a part of the house, like wallpaper.
Toward the end of my teaching career, I became a teacher-librarian at my old high school, where I had first learned English literature. This position restored my love and appreciation for libraries. I never forgot how wonderful it was to be surrounded by books. I had a generous budget for my classes, so I searched for novels that would interest my teenage audience and hopefully spark a love for books. Fantasy, science-fiction, graphic novels — I bought almost any type of book that my students wanted to read. I bought sofas and comfortable chairs, turning the library into an inclusive (包容的) public space, safe for everyone.
In doing so, I realized that the library isn’t just a place to do research. They are, in fact, places that offer an opportunity to engage with the past, present and future. All that is required is a tiny bit of curiosity. Libraries are places that should be full of life. They help us fit into the world, and their doors must be kept open to everyone — for free!
1. What inspired the author to set up a library for students?| A．Some well-known classics. |
| B．The suggestion of a librarian. |
| C．His affection for libraries and reading. |
| D．The book: Little House in the Big Woods. |
| A．In primary school. | B．In high school. |
| C．During university years. | D．After becoming a librarian. |
| A．What his career was like. | B．Where he stored his books. |
| C．Why school kids loved reading. | D．How he improved the school library. |
| A．More than just Books | B．Read with Curiosity |
| C．A Librarian’s Life | D．Build a Private Library |
【推荐1】April 15th is a tax(税) day for Americans. It is the last day to pay federal(联邦的) income taxes for the year before. Most taxpayers have enough income taxes collected all year long through their employers. So they do not owe much. In fact, most get some money back.
Income tax rates increase as income increases. People who earned more than three hundred nineteen thousand dollars last year had the highest rate, thirty-five percent. But there are different ways for people to reduce their income taxes.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to build federal taxes. State and local governments can also tax. But the idea of national taxes took time.
In 1790 Congress passed a tax on whiskey and other alcoholic drinks. Farmers in western Pennsylvania who produced alcohol refused to pay. They attacked officials and burned the home of a tax collector.
George Washington, America’s first president, gathered the army. The soldiers put down the so-called Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. It was one of the first times that the government used its power to make sure a federal law within a state.
At first, the United States government collected most of its money through tariffs(关税), which are taxes on foreign trade. Then, in the late 1800s, Congress began to tax the money that people earned through their jobs.
The Supreme Court was against the personal income tax as unconstitutional. So the States changed the Constitution. In 1930 they passed the Sixteenth Amendment(修正案). It gives Congress the power to collect taxes on personal incomes.
In 2004, personal income tax provided the government with thirty-seven percent of its money, and income tax on business provided six percent.
1. Which of the following taxes is NOT mentioned in the passage?| A．Taxes on business. | B．Taxes on incomes. |
| C．Taxes on alcohol making. | D．Taxes on house selling. |
| A．Because the Supreme Court asked them to do so. |
| B．Because they wanted to collect the personal income tax. |
| C．Because they wanted to limit the power of the Supreme Court. |
| D．Because they wanted to increase foreign trade tax rates. |
| A．Both the state and local governments in America have the right to tax. |
| B．Before 1800, most American government’s tax money came from taxes on alcoholic drinks. |
| C．Personal income tax has become an important tax in the States. |
| D．If you haven’t paid federal income taxes for 2008 before April 15, you may break tax laws. |
| A．It took a long time to realize the idea of national taxes. |
| B．Every year it takes a long time to collect national taxes. |
| C．The states were not sure whether they should collect national taxes. |
| D．For a long time people didn’t know what national taxes were. |
【推荐2】Best Science Books of 2017
At its heart, Science is about curiosity. So it stands to reason these books about science should make you examine your world more closely, and in doing so, give you a sense of wonder.
Big Chicken, by Maryn McKenna.
Investigative journalist Maryn McKenna uses the modern industrial chicken as a window into how antibiotics（抗生素）transformed, modern agriculture—for good and ill. She traces how animal antibiotics endanger human health, musing serious problems from antibiotic-resistant stomach infections to UTIs. Recognizing that Americans are going to continue to eat chicken no matter what, McKenna suggests a way in which factory farming rids itself of its dependence on antibiotics.
Why Time Flies, by Alan Burdick
New Yorker staff writer Alan Burdick examines the greatest gift humanity has ever known: time. Time, he writes, appears to exist in two distinct forms. One ls the standardized, objective kind found in clocks and watches; the other is our internal, biological sense of time, the one we measure in our cells, bodies and minds. But the closer he looks, the less clearer this distinction appears.
Paleoart, by Zoë Lescaze
Dinosaurs have long captured the imaginations of scientists and artists alike, and Paleoart brings those visions together in a blend of human knowledge and creativity.
These images not only show our changing understanding of dinosaurs, but also reflect the distinct artistic sensibilities of their time. Both artistic and educational, these pictures are certainly influential.
What It’s Like to Be a Dog, by Gregory Berns
Berns, a neuroscientist, trained dogs to sit in a machine: in order to look into the brains of conscious dogs for the first time. That pioneering work inspired him to dig deeper into the minds of other animals, from sea lions to the extinct thylacine（袋狼）, Berns says, “With their ability to think, choose and feel, dogs and other animals do not deserve the cruel treatment humans so often do to them.”
1. Which book has something to do with public health?| A．Why Time Flies. | B．Paleoart. |
| C．What It’s Like to Bea Dog. | D．Big Chicken. |
| A．Alan Burdick. | B．Zoë Lescaze. |
| C．Gregory Berns. | D．Maryn Mckenna. |
| A．Studying extinct animals. | B．Observing dog brains. |
| C．Fighting for animal rights. | D．Training dogs. |
As China rushes toward superpower status, America’s schools and government officials are responding to Hoffman’s opinion. Earlier this year Eush Holt of New Jersey introduced legialation(立法)calling for increased money of programs for less commonly taught languages, “For reasons of economics, culture and security, we should have much better facilities(设备)with Chinese languages and dialects,” he said. The State Department has pointed out Chinese is becoming a “critical language”, but the most recent data show that only 24,000 students in Grade 7 to Grade 12 study Chinese.
Still, the number is growing. In Chicago public schools, enrollment in Chinese classes has skyrocked from 5000 students in 2005 to nearly 35,000 students this year. In the Santa Clara County, California, enrollment has quadrupled during the same period. In 2007, when the College Board first introduces advanced-placement language exams in Chinese and Italian, 2,400 high school plan to offer AP Chinese---10 times the number of students that plan to offer AP Italian.
Much of the interest can be explained by China’s increasing competiviveness. “People are always trying to judge what languages are going to be useful for the future,” says Marty Abbot, the director of education at the National Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Stephanie Wong, a student At Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California, chose Chinese so that she could speak with her grandfather. Wong also predicted that Chinese will be important if she becomes a doctor. 80 percent of people in her hometown are Asians.
1. What does the first paragraph mainly discuss?
| A．Dulles High School offers a Chinese course |
| B．Jason and Kathey are the top students at Dulles School |
| C．Elizabeth Hoffman suggests her school offer a Chinese course |
| D．Elizebeth Hoffman takes the lead in learning Chinese |
| A．American government has pointed it out |
| B．Rush Holt introduced legislation calling for opening Chinese |
| C．China rushes toward superpower status |
| D．many students in the world choose to learn Chinese |
| A．The fact that Chinese is becoming a “critical language” |
| B．China’s increasing competitiveness in the world |
| C．The beautiful Chinese traditional culture |
| D．The population of people speaking Chinese |
| A．more money will be spent on facilities with Chinese languages |
| B．in America, more people speak Italian than Chinese |
| C．the number of enrollment in Chinese classes will be increasing forever |
| D．if a language is useful for the future it may become a critial language |
