It’s an unconventional setting. Children of varying ages are reading actively. Seated next to them are teenagers, many of them girls, staring at the Hindi alphabet(字母表)on the blackboard. In charge of this class are three young girls, not much older than their students. But when Tabassum, Tarannum and Rubina, no more than 22, start speaking, you know the difference. Their confidence takes you by surprise.
A little over 10 kilometres from Varanasi lies the village of Sajoi where illiteracy(文 盲)was quite common. It had blocked out modernity until recently, especially when it came to its women. Educating girls was considered pointless, and the possibility of women stepping out of their homes, unthinkable.
Things began to change in 2010 when Human Welfare Association (HWA), identified Sajoi for a planned intervention. HWA set up a centre in Sajoi to offer free education but the villagers needed to be convinced to join in. The organization needed volunteers who valued education. Tabassum, Tarannum and Rubina embraced the opportunity.
After completing their high school education, the girls set out on another important mission-persuading the locals to send their children to schools. “We went knocking at every door, talking to elders, “recalls Rubina. Some villagers asked them to mind their own business. “We didn’t let all this distract our attention from the main goal, ” Rubina says.
The girls honed their approach. They didn’t ask people to stop their children from working, but urged them to send them to schools for an hour or two. Slowly, children started trickling(缓 慢增加)in. Motivational Learning Centre, as the girls call it, is no replacement for school. It is there, in fact, that they create the hunger for knowledge. It also helps school-going children so they don’t lose interest and drop out.
Those who doubted the girls’ intentions now recommend the centre to others. The number of admissions to schools has steadily increased and the dropout rate in Sajoi has fallen.
1. How does the author start the text?| A．By describing a typical scene. |
| B．By comparing different views. |
| C．By analyzing certain reasons. |
| D．By providing background information. |
| A．Most families had a tight budget. |
| B．They were engaged in working. |
| C．The locals didn’t value education much. |
| D．The educational resources were insufficient. |
| A．Abandoned. |
| B．Explained. |
| C．Adopted. |
| D．Improved. |
| A．To explain the consequences of poor knowledge. |
| B．To show efforts to fight against illiteracy in India. |
| C．To reflect on the current educational situation in India. |
| D．To inform us of the urgent need for the youth to get educated. |
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【推荐1】A 2012 study coined the term “IKEA effect”, demonstrating that adults who successfully completed tasks valued the completed products more highly than comparable products they did not create themselves.
A new paper, authored by psychologist Lauren Marsh, reports an initial experiment in which 64 children aged 3 to 6 were given the opportunity to interact with two My “monsters” — one that they created themselves following instructions from a kit, and another that they merely held on to while playing a short game. Before creating or holding either monster, the experimenters had each child rate how much they liked each monster, either rating a monster identical to the monster about to be created, or rating the monster the child would go on to hold. These ratings were repeated after creating or holding a monster to assess how much each monster’s perceived value was affected by the previous interaction. If children value objects more highly just because they successfully created the objects — if kids show an IKEA effect—we’d expect kids’ ratings to increase more than for the monster they just held. And this is precisely what the researchers found, but only for the 5- and 6-year-olds. The 3- and 4-year-olds showed no such effect.
Across two subsequent studies, the researchers varied the features of the experiments, including whether creating the monster required lower or higher levels of effort, whether the created monster was owned by the child, and whether the finished monster would be displayed in public. These factors didn’t have any reliable effects on the 5- and 6-year-old participants’ ratings of how much they valued the monsters, even though the children, on average, showed an IKEA effect. This provides some evidence against the idea that these factors are what drives the IKEA effect, at least in young.
It’s always possible that effort, ownership, or signaled competence makes a difference, but the experiments didn’t measure the effects of these factors in an effective way. Marsh and colleagues have their own proposal: beginning around age 5, children come to value their own creations because they “become part of who we are, a concrete representation of self.”
1. What did the researchers have the children do during the initial experiment?| A．Complete a short game. | B．Follow instructions from a kit. |
| C．Choose their favourite one from two toys. | D．Express their fondness degree for the monsters. |
| A．To evaluate the results of the interactions. |
| B．To test if IKEA effect applies to young kids. |
| C．To check if IKEA effect boosts children’s creativity. |
| D．To gather data on the perceived value of the monsters. |
| A．Effort level contributes to children’ preference. |
| B．Public remarks have an impact on kids’ assessment. |
| C．Influence of different features is inconclusive in children. |
| D．External factors are undoubtedly the drivers of IKEA effect. |
| A．Realization of self-value. | B．Strong sense of competition. |
| C．Attachment to the creations. | D．Effective ways of measurement. |
【推荐2】Researchers studied data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, organised by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States and looked at the relationship between coupe of coffee drunk per day, and both total body fat percentage and abdominal or ‘trunk’ fat.
They found that women aged 20- 44 who drank two or three cups of coffee per day had the lowest levels of obesity, 3.4% lower than people who did not consume coffee. Among women aged between 45-69. those who drank four a more cups had an obesity percentage 4.1% lover.
Overall, the average total body fat percentage was 2.8% lower among women of all ages who drank two or three cups of coffee per day.
The findings were consistent whether the coffee consumed was caffeinated or decaffeinated and among smoker/non-smokers and those suffering from chronic diseases when compared to those in good health.
In men, the relationship was less significant although men aged 20-44 who drank two or three cups per day had 1.39% less total fat and 1.8% less trunk fat than those who did not consume coffee.
Around 7 million tons of coffee is consumed globally every year. Dr Lee Smith, Reader in Public Heath at Anglia Ruskin University and senior author of the study, said: “Our research suggests that there may be active compounds in coffee other than caffeine that manage weigh and which could potentially be used as anti-obesity compounds.”
“It could Le possible that coffee, or its effective ingredients could be integrated into a healthy diet strategy to reduce the burden of chronic conditions related to the obesity,” Dr Lee Smith added, “I is important o interpret the finding of this study in light of its limitations-the study was at a specific point in time so trends cannot be established. However, we don't believe that someone’s weight is likely to influence their coffee consumption.”
1. What in coffee mainly influences body fat according to Dr Lee Smith?| A．The caffeine. | B．The decaffeinated. |
| C．The effective compound. | D．The rich nutrition. |
| A．Coffee has less effect on men than women in fat according to the finding. |
| B．The women aged 20-44 like to drink two or three cups of coffee per day. |
| C．The researchers found that the coffee consumers preferred caffeinated coffee. |
| D．Trends will be established to limit people's weights by their coffee consumption. |
| A．A diary. | B．A guidebook. | C．A novel. | D．A magazine. |
| A．Chronic Diseases Related to the Obesity | B．Coffee Linked to Lower Body Fat |
| C．Coffee Related to Heart Disease | D．Study Discloses the Benefits of Coffee |
【推荐3】AIDS may be one of the most undesirable diseases in the world. Luckily, there is now hope for AIDS patients. According to a recent paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Chinese scientists have successfully used CRISPR technology-a method of gene editing-to treat a patient with HIV. While it may not have cured the patient fully, it still represents a huge step forward in fighting the disease.
The patient was a 27-year-old Chinese man who was diagnosed with both AIDS and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a type of blood cancer. Despite his bleak situation, doctors offered him a glimmer of hope: a bone marrow (骨髓) transplant to treat his cancer and an experimental treatment for his HIV.
They edited the DNA in bone marrow stem cells from a donor before transplanting the cells into the patient. Specifically, the treatment involved using the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to delete a gene known as CCRS, which encodes a protein that HIV uses to get inside human cells. Without the gene, HIV is unable to enter cells. Talking about the gene, lead scientist Deng Hongkui told CNN, “After being edited, the cells-and the blood cells they produce-have the ability to resist HIV infection.” Nineteen months after the treatment, the patient’s leukemia was in complete relief and donor cells without CCR5 remained, according to the research paper.
Though the transplant did not cure the man’s HIV, it still showed the effectiveness of gene-editing technology, as there was no indication of any unintended genetic alterations (改变) -a major concern with past gene therapy experiments.
Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in the United States, who was not involved in the study, praised the treatment. “They did a very innovative experiment, it was safe,” he told Live Science. “It should be viewed as a success.”
Deng believes gene-editing technology could “bring a new dawn” to blood-related diseases such as AIDS and sickle cell anemia. Thanks to this new technology, “the goal of a functional cure for AIDS is getting closer and closer,” he said.
1. How did the new treatment fight against HIV?| A．By preventing HIV from entering cells. | B．By changing the structure of HIV. |
| C．By removing a protein that HIV feeds on. | D．By identifying and killing HIV. |
| A．CCR5 and other genes in the patient’s cells were changed. |
| B．Some of the patient’s blood cells could resist HIV infection. |
| C．HIV could no longer get into the patient’s cells. |
| D．The donor cells without CCR5 disappeared finally. |
| A．It has provided an innovative way to cure AIDS patients. |
| B．It pointed out the problems of gene therapy for AIDS. |
| C．It’s the first experiment to use gene-editing technology to treat AIDS. |
| D．It could offer a safe treatment for blood-related diseases. |
【推荐1】Since young children went back to school across Sweden recently, many of their teachers have been putting a new emphasis on printed books, quiet reading time and handwriting practice, and devoting less time to tablets, independent online research and keyboarding skills.
The return to more traditional ways of learning is a response to politicians and experts questioning whether Sweden’s hyper-digitalized approach to education, including the introduction of tablets in nursery schools, had led to a decline in basic skills.
Sweden’s minister for schools, Lotta Edholm was one of the biggest critics of the all-out embrace of technology. “Sweden’s students need more textbooks,” Edholm said in March. “Physical books are important for student learning.” The minister announced in August that the government wanted to change the decision by the national agency for education to make digital devices compulsory in preschools. It plans to go further and to completely end digital learning for children under age six, the ministry has told the Associated Press.
Although Sweden’s students score above the European average for reading ability, an international assessment of fourth-grade reading levels, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), highlighted a decline among Sweden’s children between 2016 and 2021.
In comparison, Singapore — which topped the rankings — improved its PIRLS reading scores from 576 to 587 during the same period, and England’s average reading achievement score fell only slightly, from 559 in 2016 to 558 in 2021. An overuse of screens during school lessons may cause youngsters to fall behind in core subjects, education experts say. “There’s clear scientific evidence that digital tools impair rather than enhance student learning,” Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, a highly respected medical school focused on research, said in a statement in August on the country’s national digitalization strategy in education.
“We believe the focus should return to acquiring knowledge through printed textbooks and teacher expertise, rather than acquiring knowledge primarily from freely available digital sources that have not been checked for accuracy.” the school added.
1. Why do Swedish schools return to paper books?| A．To cater to parents’ increasing needs. |
| B．To help with children’s independent learning. |
| C．To overcome children’s addiction to digital tools. |
| D．To avoid possible decline in children’s basic skills. |
| A．Total acceptance. | B．Creative use. |
| C．Rapid development. | D．Serious addiction. |
| A．Teachers should acquire more knowledge. |
| B．Knowledge from digital tools may not be reliable. |
| C．Digital tools smooth out learning barriers for children. |
| D．The accessibility to digital sources should be improved. |
| A．Swedish Children’s Return to Paper | B．Problems with Children’s Education |
| C．Popularity of Digitalization in Sweden | D．Enhancement of Teaching Strategies in Sweden |
【推荐2】Personality is , to large extent, inherent (天生的). A-type parents usually bring about A-type offspring (产物). But the environment must also have a big effect, since if competition is important to the parents, it is likely to become a major factor in the lives of their children.
One place where children soak up A characteristics is school, which is, by its very nature, a highly competitive institution. Too many schools adopt the “win at all costs” moral standard and measure their success by sporting achievements. The current passion for making children compete against their classmates or against the clock produces a two-layer system, in which competitive A types seem in some way better than their B-type fellows. Being too keen to win can have dangerous consequences: remember that Pheidippides, the first marathon runner, dropped dead seconds after saying: “Rejoice, we conquer! ”.
By far the worst form of competition in school is the improper emphasis on examinations. It is a rare school that allows pupils to concentrate on those things they do well. The merits of competition by examination are somewhat questionable, but competition in the certain knowledge of failure is positively harmful.
Obviously, it is neither practical nor desirable that all A youngsters change into ‘B’s. The world needs types, and schools have an important duty to try to fit a child’s personality to his possible future employment. It is top management.
1. What affects the building of personality according to the passage?| A．inheritance, employment and examination. |
| B．inheritance, competition and environment. |
| C．competition, employment and questions. |
| D．environment, knowledge and examination. |
| A．abstract | B．accept |
| C．absorb | D．accomplish |
| A．express the positive attitude toward the examinations |
| B．express his approval for the competition |
| C．show that he was too keen to win the game |
| D．show the consequence of the severe competition |
| A．positive. | B．negative. |
| C．doubtful. | D．acceptable. |
| A．All students at schools should be made into competitive A types. |
| B．A child’s personality be considered according to his possible future job. |
| C．All students should be changed into B characteristics. |
| D．All kinds of schools should get rid of all examinations. |
【推荐3】When parents ask “What grade did you get?”, there is a common follow-up question: “So who got the highest grade?” Many educators select and publicly announce “the best student” in a class or school. Adults praise children for outperforming others. Sports tournaments award those who surpass others. The practice of making social comparisons is so common in daily life that the negative effects caused by social comparisons are usually ignored.
One well-known strategy to get rid of social comparisons is to provide children with participation awards, which means children get the same prize despite their performance. Such awards, however, may not abolish social comparisons. High-performing children may feel unjustly treated and look down on the latter group. More generally those who receive unwarranted(无正当理由的) rewards may come to believe they deserve to receive the recognition.
How, then, can we make children feel proud of themselves and motivate them without the unwanted side effects? A better approach is to use temporal comparisons-encouraging children to compare themselves with their past self rather than with others.
Researchers recently conducted a study, where 583 children were asked to do a reading-and-writing exercise designed to influence the kind of comparisons they would make: social comparisons or temporal comparisons. Results showed children who compared themselves with others said they wanted to be superior to such people, while those who compared themselves with their past self said they wanted to improve rather than be superior. Temporal comparisons changed children’s goals away from a desire for superiority and toward self-improvement.
What, then, can parents and teachers do with this knowledge? Parents and teachers can praise children’s improvement over time to let them know they are making progress. Also, teachers can create learning contexts that track children’s own progress over time, such as report cards that display their changes in learning and performance.
Of course, temporal comparisons are not a panacea; we should never push children too much to improve themselves. The road toward self-improvement is paved with struggles and setbacks. Rather than making children feel bad for those failures, we should encourage them to learn from their imperfect past self-and thus help youngsters become better than before.
1. What can we know about the strategy mentioned in paragraph 2?| A．It is in high-performing children’s favor. |
| B．It stresses the importance of teamwork. |
| C．It may make all the children more confident. |
| D．It may discourage high-performing children. |
| A．Children have a desire to feel proud of themselves. |
| B．Temporal comparisons make for self-improvement. |
| C．Children need to be exposed to various comparisons. |
| D．Social comparisons give children a sense of superiority. |
| A．Cure-all. | B．Routine. | C．Priority. | D．Benefit. |
| A．Failure can be avoided by equality. | B．Comparisons will lead to failure. |
| C．Failure is an opportunity to learn. | D．Comparisons are difficult to abolish. |
