【推荐1】In 1953, when visiting his daughter’s maths class, the Harvard psychologist B.F. Skinner found every pupil learning the same topic in the same way at the same speed. Later, he built his first “teaching machine”, which let children tackle questions at their own pace. Since then, education technology (edtech) has repeated the cycle of hype and flop (炒作和失败), even as computers have reshaped almost every other part of life.

Softwares to “personalize” learning can help hundreds of millions of children stuck in miserable classes — but only if edtech supporters can resist the temptation to revive (使复苏) harmful ideas about how children learn. Alternatives have so far failed to teach so many children as efficiently as the conventional model of schooling, where classrooms, hierarchical year-groups, standardized curriculums and fixed timetables are still the typical pattern for most of the world’s nearly 1.5 billion schoolchildren. Under this pattern, too many do not reach their potential. That condition remained almost unchanged over the past 15 years, though billions have been spent on IT in schools during that period.

What really matters then? The answer is how edtech is used. One way it can help is through tailor- made instruction. Reformers think edtech can put individual attention within reach of all pupils. The other way edtech can aid learning is by making schools more productive. In California schools, instead of textbooks, pupils have “playlists”, which they use to access online lessons and take tests. The software assesses children’s progress, lightening teachers’ marking load and allowing them to focus on other tasks. A study suggested that children in early adopters of this model score better in tests than their peers at other schools.

Such innovation is welcome. But making the best of edtech means getting several things right. First, “personalized learning” must follow the evidence on how children learn. It must not be an excuse to revive the so-called “scientific” ideas such as “learning styles”: the theory that each child has a particular way of taking in information. This theory gave rise to government-sponsored schemes like Brain Gym, which claimed that some pupils should stretch or bend while doing sums. A less consequential falsehood is that technology means children do not need to learn facts or learn from a teacher — instead they can just use Google. Some educationalists go further, arguing that facts get in the way of skills such as creativity. Actually, the opposite is true. According to studies, most effective ways of boosting learning nearly all relied on the craft of a teacher.

Second, edtech must narrow, rather than widen, inequalities in education. Here there are grounds for optimism. Some of the pioneering schools are private ones in Silicon Valley. But many more are run by charter-school groups teaching mostly poor pupils, where laggards (成绩落后者) make the most progress relative to their peers in normal classes. A similar pattern can be observed outside America.

Third, the potential for edtech will be realized only if teachers embrace it. They are right to ask for evidence that products work. But skepticism should not turn into irrational opposition. Given what edtech promises today, closed-mindedness has no place in the classroom.

1. According to the passage, education technology can __________.

A．decrease teachers’ working load

B．help standardized curriculums

C．benefit personalized learning

D．be loved by schoolchildren

2. Which example best argues against the underlined sentence in Para. 4?

A．The students who are better at memorization tend to be less creative.

B．Schools with bans on phones have better results than high-tech ones.

C．Shakespeare was trained in grammar but he penned many great plays.

D．Lu Xun’s creativity was unlocked after he gave up studying medicine.

3. The author believes that edtech functions well only when it is________.

A．used to replace traditional teaching

B．limited in use among pupils

C．aimed at narrowing the wealth gap

D．in line with students’ learning styles

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To stress the importance of edtech.

B．To introduce the application of edtech.

C．To appeal for open-mindedness to edtech.

D．To discuss how to get the best out of edtech.

【推荐1】They had a dozen children, six boys and six girls, in seventeen years. One reason Dad had so many children was that he was confident anything he and Mother teamed upon was sure to be a success.

Our house at Montclair, New Jersey, was a sort of school for scientific management and the removal of wasted motions — or “motion study,” as Dad and Mother named it.

Dad took moving pictures of us children washing dishes, so that he could determine how we could reduce our motions and thus hurry through the task. Each child who wanted extra pocket money put forward an offer saying what he would do the job for. The lowest bidder got the contract(合约).

Dad put process and work charts in the bathrooms. Every child old enough to write — and Dad expected his children to start writing at a young age — was required to sign their names on the charts in the morning after he had brushed his teeth, taken a bath, combed his hair, and made his bed. At night, each child had to weigh himself, mark the figure on a graph, and sign the process charts again after he had done his homework, washed his hands and face, and brushed his teeth. Mother wanted to have a place on the charts for saying prayers, but Dad said as far as he was concerned prayers were voluntary.

It was strict management, all right. Yes, at home or on the job, Dad was always the efficiency expert. He buttoned his vest from the bottom up, instead of from the top down, because the bottom-to-top process took him only three seconds, while the top-to-bottom took seven. He even used two shaving brushes to make his face smooth enough, because he found that by so doing he could cut seventeen seconds off his shaving time. For a while he tried shaving with two razors, but he finally gave that up.

“I can save forty-four seconds,” he complained, “but I wasted two minutes this morning putting this bandage on my throat.” It wasn’t the injured throat that really bothered him. It was the two minutes.

1. Why was the author’s house considered a sort of school?

A．It had a team of twelve children there.

B．The children were taught how to work well in it.

C．The parents could teach their children better at home.

D．The parents could have the children’s daily activities recorded.

2. What is the purpose of signing the charts?

A．To help to do things efficiently.	B．To manage the big family effectively.
C．To look after the children better.	D．To remind the children to obey the rules.

3. What did the father complain about one morning?

A．He should have given up shaving.	B．His bleeding throat bothered him.
C．He couldn’t shave with two razors.	D．He failed to cut short his shaving time.

4. We can we infer from the text?

A．The kids had to bid for everything they wanted.

B．The author took pride in his father’s management.

C．The couple were always troubled by their children.

D．The father’s work was to teach the children at home.

【推荐2】Many adults see rainy days as perfect for relaxing and curling up with a good book or a favorite movie.     1     They want to run, play, and release their pent-up energy. The situation isn’t hopeless, though. There are many rainy day activities that are perfect for children of all ages.

As soon as kids begin to feel frustrated from being trapped in the house, they will become destructive, and the kitchen table and chairs will become jungle gyms. In this case, help them to release their energy in a productive manner. Try turning the music loud and dancing.    2    

Rainy days often lead to a desire for sweet treats, so make baking one of kids’ favorite rainy day activities. Grab the kids and make some cookies, cakes or pies. Allow the kids to do most of the work, except for handling sharp objects or touching the stove or oven.    3     They will also be content with a stomach full of warm cookies and milk.

    4    These give the kids a chance to develop their imagination and improve their fine motor skills. Set the kids up in an area of the house that is easily cleaned up. Allow them to explore their creativity.

Playing dress-up is one of kids’ favorite rainy day activities. Pull out some clothes that aren’t worn often and have the kids dress up.    5     If a video camera is handy, record it and let the kids watch it with a bag of popcorn.

A．Try putting together a game of mud football.

B．Rainy day activities often include art projects.

C．Make it even more exciting by putting on plays.

D．On the other hand,many kids see rainy days as boring

E．Rain won’t hurt the kids,and can be a nice change of pace.

F．After their energy is released,the kids can do quiet rainy day activities.

G．The kids will be very proud of themselves for completing such an activity.

【推荐3】Chinese culture values family bonds (纽带) very much. Family members don’t just gather during the holidays, in fact they often live under one roof all year round.

Different cultures have different family values.     1    

In most East Asian cultures, extended families (大家庭) are common.     2     According to the Atlantic, 90 percent of children in Shanghai and 70 percent of children in Beijing were cared for by their grandparents. Chinese people believe that “a grandparent is a treasure to their family”.

In many Western countries, most families are nuclear families (小家庭). These are only made up of children and their parents.

Additionally, the duties parents have toward their children can also differ.

    3     It’s normal for parents to pay for their children’s college, help them find a job, or buy them an apartment. Chinese adults also follow their parents’ opinions when making major life decisions, more often than not.

In most Western countries, however, kids usually move out of the house after they turn 18.     4     Also, if they choose to keep living with their parents after becoming an adult, it can be seen by some as a failure on their part.

While the East cares more about close family bonds, the West values privacy and independence.     5     Families will always be a source of love, warmth, and care for people around the world.

A．But in the end, home is best — east or west.

B．Nuclear families are the most common type in China.

C．Both Easterners and Westerners value quality family time.

D．Families in the east and west are very different from each other.

E．These families have three or even four generations living together.

F．In China, many parents look after their children all the way into adulthood.

G．Many college students often work part-time in order to pay for tuition and rent.