I am a strong believer that if a child is raised with approval, he learns to love himself and will be successful in his own way. Several weeks ago, I was doing homework with my son in the third grade and he kept standing up from his chair to go over the math lines. I kept asking him to sit down, telling him that he would concentrate better. He sat but seconds later, as if he didn’t even notice he was doing it, he got up again. I was getting frustrated (挫败的), but then it hit me. I started noticing his answers were much quicker and accurate when he stood up. Could he be more absorbed while standing up?
This made me start questioning myself and what I had been raised to believe. I was raised to believe that a quiet, calm child was a sure way to success. This child would have the willpower to study hard, get good grades and become someone important in life.
Now those same people perhaps come to realize that their kids are born with their own sets of DNA and personality qualities, and all you can do is loving and accepting them. As parents, throughout their growing years and beyond that, we need to be our kids’ best cheerleaders, guiding them and helping them find their way.
I have stopped asking my son to sit down and concentrate. Obviously, he is concentrating just in his own way and not mine. We need to learn to accept our kids’ ways of doing things. Some way may have worked for me but doesn’t mean we need to carry it through generations. There is nothing sweeter than being personal and unique. It makes us free and happy and that’s just the way I want my kids to live their own life.
1. Time and again the author got his son seated in order to make him________.| A．work fast | B．go polite | C．stay relaxed | D．keep attentive |
| A．his son’s doing better while standing up |
| B．his failure in keeping his son under control |
| C．his own experience as a school boy |
| D．his disappointment with his active child |
| A．correct their kids’ manners from the early ages |
| B．respect and trust their kids’ ways of behaviors |
| C．develop a good relationship with their children |
| D．guarantee their children’s freedom at home |
| A．Parental help with teens’ study | B．Adult influence on teen growth |
| C．Kids’ success in their own styles | D．Friendship between generations |
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【推荐1】My friend and I recently took an art class together through our town’s community education program. Our classmates were a mix of ages, stages of life, and experience with making art. We stood out in the class—not for our artistic talent, but for our consistent encouragement of ourselves, each other, and the group. It got me thinking how encouragement had become a routine.
It became something of a joke between the two of us to compliment(赞美) each other, offer a positive comment when another student showed his or her work, and generally chat around the table about how fun our project was going. But reflecting back, our positivist was anything but a joke. It was a bright light in my week, a space where I knew I could be surrounded with kindness, gentleness, and positivist.
Here’s the most special thing about it; my friend’s and my positive conversation wasn’t just encouraging, it was true. We didn’t go for cheap or false compliments like, “This painting should be in a museum!” Instead, we went for authentic(真实的) expressions of support and encouragement, like, “I love how you did that cloud!”
Over time, the class became something of a sacred space, because we had made a habit of using encouraging, supportive language. Sentence-starters like, “I like,” “I appreciate,” “I want to try”, kept us present, positive, and honest.
The encouragement also kept us engaged in the work of making art. I feel sure that I learned more—and practiced more at home—because the activity was shown in such consistently positive terms, grounded in a growth mindset, self-acceptance, and encouragement.
Having a friend to share an encouragement habit is fantastic, but you can practice it on your own as well. Compliment yourself in the mirror every morning. Keep a running “great work.” list of thing? you are doing well today. Trust in your ability to find something loving—and true-to comment today and every day.
1. What do we know about the author’s classmates?| A．They admired those talented in art. |
| B．They didn’t take art class seriously. |
| C．They were of the same artistic level. |
| D．They were on good terms in the class. |
| A．By showing false compliments to others. |
| B．By decorating their class as a museum. |
| C．By displaying abstract art works in the class. |
| D．By offering supportive language around them. |
| A．It made him hopeful and confident. |
| B．It needed to provide more practice. |
| C．It was cheap and easy to carry out. |
| D．It promoted his communication skills. |
| A．To introduce a community education program. |
| B．To call for good action to support those in need |
| C．To describe how to make encouragement a habit. |
| D．To comment on the power of authentic expressions. |
【推荐2】This was an ordinary day, nothing special. Mike was walking on the street when he returned to the shop on the corner. He stopped to look at the front row of shoes, and he felt happy to see that the pair of shoes he wanted very much was still there. He looked down at his old shoes, and he felt sorry for himself, because he wanted very much to own them for his coming birthday.
Sadly, the boy walked away, deep in thought — how to tell his mother about it. He knew very well his mother had very little money. He decided not to go home at once, because he looked sad and his mother would notice it. So he went to the park and sat on the grass. There he saw a boy moving a wheelchair with his hands. Mike looked at him and was surprised to see that the boy had no feet. He looked at his own feet. “It’s much better to be without shoes than without feet.” he thought. There was no reason for him to feel so sorry and sad. So he went away with smile, thinking that he was much luckier and happier.
1. How did Mike pass the shop on the street corner?| A．In a wheelchair. | B．By bike. |
| C．On foot. | D．By bus. |
| A．To buy the shoes. |
| B．To get something for his birthday. |
| C．To buy a present for his friend. |
| D．To look at the shoes he liked. |
| A．Because many nice shoes were sold there. |
| B．Because he didn’t want to make his mother worried. |
| C．Because he wanted to see his disabled friend. |
| D．Because he wanted to play there for a while. |
| A．Mike liked new shoes very much. |
| B．Mike had no feet. |
| C．Mike didn’t want to stay at home. |
| D．Mike loved his mother very much. |
No two people are the same. Sometimes friends don't get along well. That doesn't mean they no longer like each other. Most of the time they will go on being friends. Sometimes friends move away. Then we feel very sad. We miss them very much. But we can call them and write to them. It could be that we would never see them again. And we can make new friends. It is surprising to find out how much we like new people when we get to know them.
Families sometimes name their children after a close friend. Many places are named after men and women who have been friendly to people in a town. Some libraries are named this way. So are some schools. We think of these people when we go to these places. When we have friends, we will be very happy. Being happy helps us stay well. Or it could be just knowing that someone cares. If someone cares about us, we take better care of ourselves.
1. If we have no friends we feel _____.
| A．alone | B．lonely | C．happy | D．well |
| A．sometimes | B．always | C．never | D．no longer |
| A．they don’t miss each other |
| B．they don’t call each other |
| C．they no longer like each other |
| D．they have differences at times |
| A．friendly to | B．close to |
| C．named after | D．thinking of |
| A．that people are all friends |
| B．that people need friends |
| C．how to get to know friends |
| D．how to name a place |
【推荐1】In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet,despite the competition,my -year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest,a competition she won last year.
As a writer I know about winning contests,and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn't win the contest again? That's the strange thing about being a parent.
So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.
A revelation(启示)came last week when I asked her, " Don't you want to win again？" No," she replied," I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade. "
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously(自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall,I offered suggestions for characters,conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly "guided" by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.
Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade,I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting(借用)my daughter's experience.
While stepping back was difficult for me,it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps,putting myself far enough a way to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment， grow and find their own voices.
1. What do we learn from the first paragraph？| A．A lot of distractions compete for children's time nowadays. |
| B．Children do find lots of fun in many mindless activities. |
| C．Rebecca is much too occupied to enjoy her leisure time. |
| D．Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing. |
| A．She was constantly under pressure of writing more. |
| B．Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers. |
| C．She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer. |
| D．Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations. |
| A．She had won a prize in the previous contest. |
| B．She wanted to share her stories with readers. |
| C．She was sure of winning with her mother's help. |
| D．She believed she possessed real talent for writing. |
【推荐2】In Grade 3, we used to have a scavenger hunt(寻物游戏) at school. We gathered up chalks, pencils, stones and other little things. It was a close race. I was out of breath when I reached the clover (三叶草) area to search for the last, most hard-to-find thing: a four-leaf clover. I believed I would win. I had a trump card(王牌). The thing is that I have always been able to find four-leaf clovers. I just see them.
I spent my childhood collecting and putting four-leaf clovers into books at my mother's house. I started with her big cloth-and leather-wrapped books, like the complete works of Shakespeare. When running out of the delicate works, I began slipping those collected into anything I could find, like cookbooks. The same is true in my house today. Shake a book, and a clover will just appear.
Two years ago, while waiting at the airport, I found a four-leaf clover and put it into my passport. On the way home, my husband and I were upgraded to the business class. Friends owed our luck to the clover. I thought it was because a flight cancellation left us stuck for many nights and a customer service representative took pity on us.
People disagree about whether the luck lies in the finding or in the possession of a four-leaf clover. Some believe that the luck is lost if the clover is even shown to somebody else, while others think the luck doubles if it's given away. I believe that it is increased by sharing. I feel lucky to find the clovers so often, but I don't think they influence my life any more than it does to share anything a little special- that momentary closeness between you and a friend or a stranger, as you all lean in to wonder at a rare find.
Now I’m glad to share a recipe for quickly finding four-leaf clovers. I learned it from a friend when I was 30. She said, “Firstly, I love four-leaf clovers: their smell; their difference. Besides, do you remember those posters with dots? If you looked too hard, all you saw was the pattern. But if you let your eyes slip out of focus, scenes would appear. It’s the same with four-leaf clovers. Try slipping into a lazy, soft focus, skimming the clovers. Make your hand across clovers. Appreciate the ones with three leaves. And a four-leaf clover may come up.”
1. The author thought she would win the game because she_______.| A．tried much harder to find things than others. |
| B．had a recipe for quickly finding four-leaf clovers. |
| C．got confidence from her experience of finding four-leaf clovers. |
| D．had done much better in finding chalks, pencils and stones. |
| A．The luck from the clover. |
| B．The kindness of someone. |
| C．The thoughtfulness of her husband. |
| D．The extra payment for the tickets. |
| A．A four-leaf clover doesn’t influence luck any more. |
| B．Closeness brought by clovers really matters. |
| C．Clovers will influence one’s good luck a lot. |
| D．Good luck may double if you give clovers away; |
| A．Misfortunes never come alone. |
| B．Focusing one's mind is the most important to success. |
| C．To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting. |
| D．Appreciating the common things may give a surprise. |
【推荐3】Thanks to a rereading of Jane Austen’s fiction, I have experienced a rejuvenation (恢复) of spirit and energy that has transformed my life. Rereading for the sheer pleasure of Austen’s language and characters when I experienced some depression in my 60s initiated a process that became more serious as I continued to reread the novels in my 70s and became more and more curious about the relationship between reading, learning and the imagination.
Now I find that the processes of rereading, investigation and reflection have led me to the best time in my life. It raised issues in my mind about memory, truth telling and art. In weaving together these aspects of my own reading experiences, I discovered parts of myself that I had not previously explored.
On the one hand I felt removed sufficiently to evaluate the best and worst of times in my own life. And on the other hand, I became so deeply immersed in the reflective process that I surprisedly realized the longstanding dissatisfactions were evaporating around me.
Of course, to be worth rereading, novels must have the potential to yield new insights. For this reason, I have reread Austen’s same six novels many times. They have offered me the richness and complexity required to help me reassess where I am in my life, the quality of my relationships past and present, and the values at stake in my life choices.
When I read Pride and Prejudice at the age of 15, I read it as a domestic comedy. I loved the Bennet sisters because they were lively and, for all their bickering, they were having fun. Rereading the same novel in my 30s I put my attention elsewhere. I paid serious attention to whether I could reconcile (和解) myself to Charlotte Lucas !s view that happiness in marriage is a matter of chance.
At the age of 90, I reread, reflect and comfort myself with Elizabeth Bennet’s words, “till this moment I never knew myself’. This is the moment I have been waiting for.
1. Why did the writer begin to reread Jane Austen’s novel?| A．To deal with depression and seek joy. |
| B．To revive her love for literature. |
| C．To evaluate the process of rereading. |
| D．To dig deeper into literature study. |
| A．Books themed on life choices. | B．Books with attractive characters. |
| C．Books that inspire new thinking. | D．Books that recall the best moments of life. |
| A．By analyzing the novel from different aspects. |
| B．By comparing her reflections at different ages. |
| C．By quoting speeches from the main characters. |
| D．By describing the perspectives of different characters. |
| A．Every Jane Austen’s fiction deserves rereading. |
| B．Reading books does good to depressed people. |
| C．Rereading novels sharpens people’s reading skills. |
| D．Rereading great books is a rewarding experience. |
【推荐1】Each year, millions of children around the world are unable to go to school. To draw attention to this widespread problem, the United Nations (UN) is putting education first. Recently, the UN screened a documentary film (纪录片) called Back to School. The film is the second in a series of documentaries for the 12-year project “Time for School”.
These films follow seven children from seven different countries. This 12-year project began in 2003, when the children first started school. “This is something we could do to help the education crisis in the world,” said producer and writer Judy Katz. “Documentary film-makers can get deeply involved in a problem and do something about it.”
More than 100 million children will never set foot in schools, sixty percent of whom are girls. Cheryl Faye, head of the UN Girls Education Initiative, spoke about the many factors that prevent girls from getting an education. One problem is the long distance many children must travel to get to school. Also, girls in many cultures are traditionally expected to marry early and work to help their families. “We need to make a special effort for girls,” Faye said.
As part of the UN’s goals, the organization wants every single child to get at least an elementary education by 2015.
Students from Lawrence Middle School in New York were deeply moved after they saw the film. The seventh-grade class is raising money to help build a library on the outskirts (郊区) of Nairobi, Kenya, where Joab—a child in the documentary lives. The class teacher, Karen Weiner, and the class are known in their school as the “Kenya crew”. All the kids were really happy to support Joab and said they felt great about their fund-raising efforts. Like the seventh-graders at Lawrence Middle School, kids can work together to make a difference in places like Nairobi. By raising money for education, kids can help children on the other side of the world have a chance at a better, happier life.
1. What is the purpose of the UN screening a documentary film Back to School?| A．To raise funds for global education. |
| B．To show the achievements which have been made in the past few years. |
| C．To raise public awareness of the need for global education. |
| D．To encourage all the children to come back to school. |
| A．Because more than one half of the children who never go to school are girls. |
| B．Because more than 100 million girls will never go to school. |
| C．Because most of the girls are tired of going to school. |
| D．Because sixty percent of the children in the world are girls. |
| A．Long distance from school. | B．Helping work for the family. |
| C．Early marriage. | D．Being born weak. |
| A．American middle school students’ desire to go to Kenya. |
| B．The content of the documentary film Buck to School. |
| C．An example of being inspired to take action after seeing the film. |
| D．How students from Lawrence Middle School raise money for their education. |
The College Board says words on the new test will be related to usage. Students will be asked to tell the meaning of words according to the context of the reading passages. Nigerian student Peace Umoru is in her first year at Howard University. She says the rarely used words are the hardest part for international students. The new test will be easier because of the reform.
Eddie West is with the College Board. He says the new test will better predict a student’s performance in college. The changes are moving the test in a positive direction. The new SAT pays more attention to skills and abilities that students need to succeed. The addition of material about American historical documents could make the test harder for international students. After all, they live in different countries with different cultures. But it’s a good chance for them to understand the Declaration of Independence or Martin Luther King’s work, or anything else that might be tested.
Students from other countries, particularly those who did not grow up learning English, may feel it is more difficult. For them, the test is in a foreign language. But the College Board says it has formed a free, online educational service. Khan Academy will provide preparation material linked to the newly designed SAT.
1. What will be tested in the new SAT?
| A．All the different meanings of a word. |
| B．The rare usage of the common words. |
| C．The difficult words for foreign students. |
| D．The proper meaning of the words in the passages. |
| A．they are short of skills and abilities |
| B．they often perform badly in college |
| C．they know nothing about American history |
| D．they have different cultural backgrounds |
| A．How to prepare for the new SAT. |
| B．The SAT will change the entrance test in 2016. |
| C．Advice for foreign students on passing the SAT. |
| D．Tests for entrance to American colleges and universities. |
【推荐3】Cheating can happen in a lot of different ways. When people cheat, it's not fair to other people, like the kids who studied for the test or who were the true winners of a game.
Some people like the action of cheating mainly because it makes difficult things seem easy, like getting all the right answers on the test. But it doesn’t solve the problem of not knowing the knowledge and it won’t help on the next test—unless the person cheats again.
People lose respect for cheaters and think less of them. The cheaters themselves may feel bad because they know they are not really earning that good grade. And, if they get caught cheating, they will be in trouble at school, and maybe at home, too.
Some kids cheat because they’re lazy and they want to get good grades without spending the time studying. Other kids might feel like they can’t pass the test without cheating. Even when there seems to be a “good reason” for cheating, cheating isn’t a good idea.
If you were sick or upset about something the night before and couldn’t study, it would be better to talk with the teacher about this. And if you don't have enough time to study for a test because of swim practice, you need to talk with your parents about how to balance swimming and school.
A kid who thinks cheating is the only way to pass a test needs to talk with the teachers and parents so they can find some solutions together. Talking about these problems and working them out will feel better than cheating.
1. The author thinks that when kids cheat in class ________.| A．it is unfair to other people | B．it does harm to their health |
| C．teachers should laugh at them | D．teachers shouldn't stop them at once |
| A．the knowledge in the test is very difficult | B．they want to do better than the others |
| C．cheating can make hard things seem very easy | D．they have little time to study their lessons |
| A．cheating is popular among students | B．why kids cheat in the test |
| C．some kids can't pass the test without cheating | D．some kids don't spend the time studying |
| A．spend more time on school than on sports | B．find good solutions instead of cheating |
| C．try hard to become clever | D．ask their classmates for help |
