When it comes to parenting, it can be hard to know which issues are important and which ones are not. According to parenting expert Anne Murphy, a family dinner matters. “Having a family dinner doesn’t only mean hours of sharing various kinds of food,” she said. “It means getting together as long as you can—even if it’s just 15 minutes for pizza. Or make it breakfast or lunch — whatever you can do.”
Never waste your valuable time on TV. Keep the conversation joyful — Murphy thinks it makes a difference. Studies have shown that teenagers whose families eat together are less likely to abuse drugs. They also have better grades and — perhaps most importantly — better relationships with their parents. “It brings more benefit to children than many after-school activities,” she added.
Homework has become a hot issue recently. According to a study, the amount of time kids spend on homework has increased dramatically.
“The point of homework is to make students continue to learn after school hours,” Murphy said. “However, giving too much homework runs the risk of turning kids off school and even worse — turning them off learning in all forms.” They will turn to other things, such as computer games, some of which are violent, or drinking for fun. Therefore, some experts came up with an idea, that is, kindergarteners and first graders get 10 minutes of homework. Second graders get 20 minutes, and so on.
Murphy offered tips to parents who think their children are getting too much homework. “Talk to other parents to see if they also think so, and then talk to the teacher,” she said. “Have a discussion about it, and let the teacher know that you want to work together on a solution.”
1. What do we know about homework from the passage?| A．The time spent on homework shouldn’t be over 10 minutes. |
| B．Too much homework may make students lose interest in studying. |
| C．Homework does not help children continue learning after school. |
| D．Parents should decide the amount of homework for their children. |
| A．children’s time spent on after-school activities is being reduced |
| B．computer games are making children increasingly violent |
| C．it is unnecessary for young children to do homework |
| D．some experts think it necessary to reduce children’s homework |
| A．What matters in parenting. |
| B．How to develop a close relationship with children. |
| C．Family education is important for children. |
| D．Parents say no to too much homework. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Olympiads(奥林匹克竞赛)are a kind of competitive exam to tap exceptional students with the best of potential,talent,and IQ.These exams are conducted to challenge and motivate the brightest students from around the world and to urge more and more children to take up a career in pure science.But why do most parents nowadays want their children to participate in Olympiads?
Participating in and winning any kind of competition is one of the best feelings in the world.Competitions award merit(优点),performance,excellence—quite literally,the best in a human being.Thus,it might be understandable that:a lot of pride is associated with a child qualifying at any of the Olympiad levels.Who doesn’t want to be the proud parent of a smart,intelligent young child?
It has also been claimed that Olympiads can act as a great morale booster(信心增强剂).Bangalore-based programmer of Olympiad Helper,Vikash Anil says,“Even when students don’t win,their confidence grows.”
However,there are a number of serious considerations parents are missing out on,which has impacts on children.They are being burdened with the pressure of performing well in these exams—a pressure that is often too high and unhealthy for their young minds and bodies.They are also being introduced to peer pressure and“competition”in a very negative and ugly light.
What’s worse,the age at which children are being forced to take these exams keep dropping with each passing year.Children as young as 5 or 6 years old are being sent away to tuitions(辅导)right after school gets over.Many educationists are condemning this,because the International Science Olympiads is for high school students only.
The claim that Olympiads actually make children“more confident”cannot be readily accepted.While a lot of good outcomes are possible from Olympiads,it is also true that all students will not react positively to“failing”at Olympiads.More students are going to come out feeling miserable for having failed the exam.
Being a parent in today’s dynamic,commercial and material world is not easy.It is indeed a pity if parents are chasing“recognition”,rather than“excellence”and“merit”for their children.There is no such thing as a“good”,or a“poor”child.Parents should realize this,embrace this,and empower themselves and their children with this.
As a parting thought I would like to leave this Einstein quote:“Everybody is a genius.But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree,it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
1. Why do most parents want their children to participate in Olympiads?| A．To prove their children’s potential and excellence. |
| B．To prepare their children for a pure science career. |
| C．To strengthen their children’s competitive awareness. |
| D．To make their children benefit from stress and failures. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Positive. | C．Disapproving. | D．Uninterested. |
| A．Olympiads:Are Children Relying on Tuitions Too Much |
| B．Olympiads:Are Children Starting at a Too Young Age |
| C．Olympiads:Are Parents Being Driven by Commercials |
| D．Olympiads:Are Parents Becoming Over-Ambitious |
【推荐2】Math and music are two entirely different fields of study, but there is a strong relevance between them. At some point, they tend to overlap, and it is common for people good at math to be good at music. It may seem illogical to compare the two, but there are more similarities between math and music than you would imagine.
Numbers can tell us more about music. Sounds strange but it’s true. Music is divided into sections that are called measures, where each measure has equal amounts of beats. This is comparable to mathematical divisions of time. Now, each piece of music will tell us how many beats there are in each measure. All the music notes have numerical connections and a number of beats. It is important to understand the value of fractions (分数) and notes to count the music correctly.
The biggest similarity between math and music in pattern. For example, music has repeating choruses while math uses patterns to explain the unknown. You can use different mathematical phenomena in music. These include geometry (几何学), signal processing, etc. In fact, research has shown that when music shows some mathematical structure, it tends to be more popular.
In addition to their shared elements, math and music can be taught using the principles of both. A student who enjoys math and music can benefit from both. For example, music can enhance cognition and reasoning skills. For instance, Einstein listened to music when solving math problems to increase clarity. Similarly, playing music can improve cognition, as it increases communication between the two brains.
Music is a gateway to many things, and until now, you probably didn’t realize that it’s just as demanding, analytical, logical and scientific as math. Something as simple as learning “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on the piano is actually setting your child up for bigger and better things; maybe they’ll pick up Pythagoras (毕达哥拉斯) in a flash, maybe they’ll be a genius in math, perhaps they’ll one day discover their own theory of relativity.
1. What does the author think about math and music?| A．Math and music are deeply intertwined. |
| B．Music is a totally different subject from math. |
| C．It sounds reasonable to compare math and music. |
| D．People expert at math all tend to be music lovers. |
| A．Measure is a piece of music. | B．Math helps in reading music. |
| C．Music sound appears strange. | D．Music beats equal to math numbers. |
| A．Patterns are common in both math and music. |
| B．Certain music skills are practised via choruses. |
| C．Music principle seems easier than mathematics. |
| D．Reasoning skills in math chiefly rely on music. |
| A．Musical involvement promotes to be a genius. |
| B．Music allows kids to combine math with piano. |
| C．Music offers kids potential success in mathematics. |
| D．Music may enhance the mathematics skills of all kids. |
【推荐3】I was watching a kid doing tricks on his skateboard. He was doing pretty well until he tried to skate down a set of steps and lost his balance. The skateboard went one way and he went the other. But, lying on the concrete, he still managed to keep his sense of humor. He looked at me, smiled and said, “Epic fail!”
The term “epic fail” isn’t proper grammatical English (we should use the noun form “failure”), but it is commonly used and perfectly acceptable. People use it to describe small embarrassments as well as serious mistakes. The kid on the skateboard suffered a small embarrassment. An example of a serious epic fail would be Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election. The only difference between the two was how they responded to their epic fails. The kid laughed at his embarrassment and got back on his skateboard. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, could not accept her epic fail but, instead, wrote a bitter book about it in which she blamed everyone but herself for the loss.
All of us can expect to have epic fails in our life. We might fail an exam or not win a prize in some competition. Later in life, we may not get the job we want or be as successful as we hoped we would be. But if we manage to keep our sense of humor and a positive attitude, we can overcome our epic fails. One embarrassing mistake or even a serious disappointment does not mean the end of the world.
Here’s a historical example of what I mean. Alfred the Great (849-899) was an English king in ancient Britain. At the time, his kingdom was being invaded by Vikings and Alfred suffered an epic fail when his army was defeated in a big battle. He managed to escape from the battlefield and found safety many miles away in the hut of a poor peasant woman. The woman didn’t know who he was and when she had to leave the hut to do some chores, she told Alfred to watch some wheat cakes that were cooking on the fire. Alfred, still thinking about his big epic fail, forgot about the cakes and they were burned. When the woman returned, she scolded Alfred, but he didn’t get angry. Her criticism, instead, seemed to help him put his situation into perspective.
Soon after, Alfred left the hut, gathered his scattered army and defeated the Vikings. Epic fails, big and small, can always be overcome with the right attitude.
1. According to the article, which of the following is NOT an epic fail?| A．Be defeated in a basketball match. |
| B．Slip when dancing in front of your friends. |
| C．Fail to win a prize in a competition. |
| D．Get blamed for your friend’s mistake. |
| A．She wrote a book analyzing her failure. |
| B．She laughed at her failure with a sense of humor. |
| C．She failed to recognize her responsibility in the failure. |
| D．She thought about how she could perform better in the next election. |
| A．All of us can encounter epic fail in our life. |
| B．We use the term “epic fail” to describe big mistakes only. |
| C．If we change our attitude, we may not suffer from epic fail |
| D．A serious embarrassment can be compared with the end of the world |
| A．even kings may encounter epic fails |
| B．it is easier for forgetful people to overcome epic fails |
| C．all epic fails can be overcome with the right attitude |
| D．criticism plays an important role in overcoming epic fails |
【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】The parenting styles of parents in the United States are often criticized. One type of parenting that is criticized is a helicopter parent. This kind of parents hover over their children like helicopters, which means these parents are always on top of their children.
While being an aware and involved parent is not a bad thing, helicopter parents take it to the extreme. The actions of helicopter parents actually hurt children, by not teaching them to be responsible for their actions. For example, a helicopter parent would call their adult college-age child to wake them up to go to class, when part of college is learning to be responsible and learning to manage your own time. Helicopter parents are also overly worried about their kids getting hurt. This means helicopter parents hold back their child's natural curiosity. Part of growing up means your kid has to get hurt, physically and emotionally. This is how lessons are learned. Instead, the kids of helicopter parents can grow up to be overly needy, dependent adults. Some people blame the rise of helicopter parenting on the rise of cell phones. Mobile phones make it easier for parents to track their kids all the time.
The opposite of the helicopter mom is the free-range mom. The free-range mom follows a slow parenting style, meaning she lets her kids explore the world at their own pace with little direction. The name free-range comes from the idea that kids should have the freedom to explore their world or range in a way that makes sense to them. This often means that free-range moms will not schedule activities like extra classes or play dates for their kids. Instead a free-range mom will just let her child play in a park. There is less of an emphasis on things like the latest toys.
1. Which word can best describe a helicopter parent?| A．Dependent. | B．Overprotective. | C．Demanding. | D．Involved. |
| A．Their children may not be responsible for their actions. |
| B．Their children will explore the world with little direction. |
| C．Growing up means getting hurt physically and emotionally. |
| D．Their children cannot get up on time for their college class. |
| A．The ability to track people. | B．The need to look after ones' kids. |
| C．The rise of mobile phones. | D．The lack of curiosity in youngsters. |
| A．Purchase the latest toys for their kids. |
| B．Put their children through extra classes. |
| C．Allow their children to explore the nature. |
| D．Avoid exposing their kids to painful lessons. |
【推荐3】Recess for Kids
Ask a group of kids about their favorite part of the school day and many will talk about something that happened at recess. Maybe they finally made it across the monkey bars (单杠). Maybe somebody kicked the ball over the fence. Maybe a fruit tree in a neighboring yard started to drop apples on the playground.
It’s true not just according to kids, but also to adults who study recess for kids. Whether they’re inventing a new game or sitting under a tree, kids need a break — or several of them — during the school day.
Why Kids Need Recess.
There's no debate that recess, or mainly referred to as physical activity, is good for kids.
You can’t have your brains go hours at a time and retain and store information in working memory.
How Much Recess Should Kids Get.
“Ideally, children should get four 15-minute recesses every day”, says Debbie Rhea, a professor from Texas Christian University, who advocates for outdoor play in schools.
In addition to simply providing enough time for recess, schools should teach skills that will make recess more successful. For instance, letting kids run fast will help them develop coordination.
| A．How to Make Recess Better. |
| B．Who should help kids recess. |
| C．You need time away to process it. |
| D．This recommendation has been widely accepted. |
| E．Any one of these things is a marker of a good recess. |
| F．Maybe running up the slide is not as unsafe as it looks. |
| G．We wouldn’t have kids sitting there for math or reading for long hours. |
