I went to Yuanhe Middle School in Xihaigu, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, a place that used to be one of the poorest regions in China, to participate in an English class with village children.
Most kids in the school come from poor village homes and are “left behind” children — kids whose parents work in the cities to make a better living. After class, we chatted a lot, and they wondered about everything, using “outside world” as a term to describe the wider globe for many times.
Taking care of rural children is essential. The school offers boarding services and free breakfast and lunch to the students, who can also video chat with their parents daily. To better care for the village children, the school provides outdoor hiking, technology, art, and foreign language programs to help them understand the outside world. After all, high-quality education to disadvantaged village children is the key to poverty-alleviation (扶贫) efforts.
During my trip in Xihaigu, I also visited Ningxia Normal University, where over 70% of its students major in education.
In 2013, local and central governments launched public-funded programs to recruit students interested in becoming teachers in Ningxia’s rural villages and districts. By 2023, 3,500 students were enrolled in the program, many of whom came from disadvantaged village households in Xihaigu.
I had the opportunity to speak with Yang, a public-funded student from the once-poor Xihaigu region. After finishing school, he planned to stay in the Xihaigu area as a teacher to teach the kids knowledge.
Yang told me that knowledge is the key to leading a better life as well as understanding the world. A lack of knowledge is one of the main factors of being poor. Money could help the poor for a while but not once for all. He hopes that by sharing knowledge with the kids in his hometown, he can help them broaden their horizons and develop an objective perspective on the world. He envisions a future where these children can use their knowledge to make a better life, stop people’s stereotypes (固有印象) about China and share Xihaigu’s stories with the rest of the world.
1. Why did the kids repeatedly mention “outside world”?| A．Out of curiosity about the unknown world. |
| B．With the hope of changing the world outside. |
| C．To show their experiences about the wider globe. |
| D．For lack of confidence towards their inner world. |
| A．The key to poverty-alleviation efforts. |
| B．The aid to the kids on life and education. |
| C．The teaching conditions of the school. |
| D．The high-quality education of the school. |
| A．Students in this university can be free of charge. |
| B．The authorities support Ningxia’s rural areas by stressing education. |
| C．The public-funded programs target at the students from poor regions. |
| D．Money is less important than knowledge for the people in Xihaigu’s villages. |
| A．Learn and live. | B．Sharp tools make good work. |
| C．Hang on to your dreams. | D．Poverty-alleviation starts with education. |
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【推荐1】Two days before I had a heart attack, I’d been leading an expedition (探险). I was 37, and active. Even when I got to hospital, I hardly believed I was having a heart attack, but I was rushed into an operating room.
When I came out of hospital three days later, I could barely walk and was put into cardiac rehab (心脏康复) with a group of 85-year-olds. But I believed I needed something else to heal (治愈) me. As an outdoors guy who could make stone tools and live off the land, I knew that was where I needed to be. And so, after several treatments, I thought, “I’m out of here!” and went to live in a cave, near where I could hunt animals and drink from streams.
I spent about six months changing between a traditional life and living in the Colorado wilderness. I didn’t want to be away from my family for too long, so I would come back often to connect with them.
I was becoming part of the pattern of life that existed in the wild, understanding the sounds and the smells. You can choose to fight it, or to try to control it, but when you accept it, you reach a deeper understanding of who you are and what you’re doing out there. The day of my heart attack changed my life, because it was a reawakening. Knowing that eventually one day you will die, you need to live the life that you want, find the value.
For all the time I still spend in the wilderness, social media has actually become a big part of my life. Before my heart attack, I was never on it, but, afterwards, people encouraged me to start a YouTube channel sharing my skills. Now I’ve written books, done reality shows and consulted for movies. I’ve embraced this element of modern life, and hope to fuel people’s curiosity about the natural world.
Many of us accept life just the way it is, but there are some who want something different. Luckily, I am the latter one.
1. Why did the author go to live in a cave?| A．To heal himself. | B．To avoid the old people. |
| C．To lead an expedition. | D．To practice survival skills. |
| A．Living the life you want. | B．Accepting life as it is. |
| C．Fighting for an easy life. | D．Bringing life under control. |
| A．To report the process of his recovery. | B．To share outdoor survival skills. |
| C．To kill time while in the wilderness. | D．To fuel curiosity about modern life. |
| A．A cave that impressed me | B．A strong desire for modern life |
| C．A moment that changed me | D．A new understanding of the wild |
I called her Goldie. If I had known what was going to happen，I would have given her a more creative name. She was so unsettled during those first few days. She hardly ate anything and had such an air of sadness about her. There was nothing I could do to make her happy, it seemed. Heaven knows what had happened to her at her previous owner's. But eventually at the end of the first week she calmed down. Always by my side, whether we were out on one of our long walks or sitting by the fire.
That's why it was such a shock when she pulled away from me one day when we were out for a walk. We were a long way from home, when she started barking and getting very restless. Eventually I couldn't hold her any longer and she raced off down the road towards a farmhouse in the distance as fast as she could.
By the time I reached the farm I was very tired and upset with Goldie. But when I saw her licking (舔) the four puppies (幼犬) I started to feel sympathy towards them. "We didn't know what had happened to her," said the woman at the door. "I took her for a walk one day, soon after the puppies were born, and she just disappeared." "She must have tried to come back to them and got lost," added a boy from behind her. '
I must admit I do miss Goldie, but I've got Nugget now, and she looks just like her mother. And I've learnt a good lesson: not to judge people.
1. In her first few days at the author's house, Goldie .
| A．felt worried | B．was angry |
| C．ate a little | D．sat by the fire |
| A．saw her puppies |
| B．heard familiar barking |
| C．wanted to leave the author |
| D．found her way to her old home |
| A．time | B．effect |
| C．importance | D．Complexity |
ALJAY’S NEW SMILE
Anita is a mother who clearly adores her son. From the moment she found out that she was to give birth to a son with a cleft (唇裂), she protected him, loved him, and dreamed of the day his lip would be healed.
Anita lives in a small village about two hours from Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines. She already had six children when they found out she would have Aljay, her seventh.
When the doctor performed an ultrasound (超声波扫描检查) in Anita’s seventh month of pregnancy (妊娠期), he saw that her unborn child had a cleft. “He told me to get rid of him” Anita said, tears pouring down her cheeks. “I told him that you don’t just give birth and then give it up. I told him I want this child.”
When Anita showed her new baby to her neighbors, they were horrified. “Your son looks like a monster.” they told Anita, “Get rid of him.” In many places around the world there is widespread and severe social stigma (耻辱) associated with cleft conditions.
Hearing her son being ridiculed (嘲笑) was not the worst of it. “When I tried to feed him, the milk came out of his nose. I was worried that he could die.”
Aljay survived and loved school, but the pain he endured from the other children was hard to bear. They teased him, laughed at him, and called him a monster.
When the teasing became too much, Anita would take Aljay to the cornfields so he was hidden from view and nobody could tease him anymore.
When the family heard that Operation Smile was coming to Cagayande Oro, they began saving money to afford transport to get to the city. At the medical mission Anita finally received the news she was waiting for: Aljay was healthy enough to receive surgery. After just over 45 minutes his lip was repaired and his life was transformed.
Today Aljay is a happy and cheerful boy who loves going to school and playing with other children.
1. How did Anita treat her son with a cleft?2. What was Anita’s response when hearing what the doctor said?
3. What did the neighbors think of the new baby?
4. Why did Anita hide Aljay in the cornfield?
5. Why is Aljay a happy and cheerful boy today?
【推荐1】An economist, Adam Smith, famously wrote that “it is not from the benevolence (慈善) of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest.” Like Smith, many economists today believe one’s self-interest is what drives competition and growth in market economies. Yet, in an increasingly interconnected society, it is even more crucial to have cooperative skills. Thus we should encourage cooperation to better prepare children for the future.
Firstly, cooperation is an especially prized soft skill in the present age. As a study proves, soft skills such as good communication and empathy (共情) indicate outstanding employees as compared to technical skills or knowledge. In contrast, extremely competitive and individualistic behavior may damage social relations in the community of co-workers. Even the most competent employee may fail to pursue his goals effectively without others’ help.
Moreover, encouraging cooperation boost children’s self-respect that better prepares them for the competitive world. Many modern societies are consumed by a crazy drive for success and the pressure to perform has infiltrated both classrooms and offices, causing higher rates of anxiety and depression among people. Teamwork can help an individual realize each has his or her own unique abilities and that another person’s strengths don’t discount his or her talents. Thus, cooperation can confirm children’s self-worth by correcting the insight that winning or paper achievement is the only measure of success.
However, critics may claim adapting to competition should be given priority in education and parenting. To achieve one’s ambitions, one has to actively fight for opportunities and distinguish oneself from others. Nevertheless, since passion can already stimulate children to fulfill their ambitions, the need to encourage competition may be at the end of the day. As much as external competition can drive people to pursue excellence, internal motivation is at least equally or even more essential, and cooperation plays an instrumental role in helping one uncover one’s motivations.
1. What can be inferred from Adam Smith’s words?| A．Our society is increasingly interconnected. |
| B．Our dinner is made out of the regards to markets. |
| C．Self-interest pushes the development of economies. |
| D．The butcher, the brewer or the baker is not sympathetic. |
| A．Brightened. | B．Decorated. | C．Defended. | D．Entered. |
| A．Paper achievement is the only measure of success. |
| B．One’s ambitions can be achieved through cooperation. |
| C．Competition is not necessary for people to pursue excellence. |
| D．Actively fighting for distinguishing oneself should be prioritized. |
| A．To introduce the advantages of cooperation. |
| B．To compare cooperation with competition. |
| C．To suggest enhancing competitive skills. |
| D．To advocate teaching children to cooperate. |
But now 400 organizations in the UK, from playgroups to the National Health Service, are encouraging children to have some “wild time”. They want kids to swap at least 30 minutes of watching TV or playing computer games for time playing outside. Activities such as building dens, climbing trees, rummaging for conkers and playing hide and seek are just some of the things kids can do. Even if they live in a city, they can go on adventures in the garden or the park.
Children often need a helping hand from mom and dad. They need to be shown what to do and where to go. Andy Simpson from National Health Service says, “We want parents to see what this magical wonder product does for their kids’ development, independence and creativity, by giving wild time a go”.
So despite the complicated world that young people grow up in now, it seems that going back to basics and experiencing “nature’s playground” is what modern children need. David Bond from Project Wild Thing says, “We need to make more space for wild time in children’s daily routine, freeing this generation of kids to have the sort of experiences that many of us took for granted”.
This might sound a bit old fashioned to you or maybe, like me, it’s made you think about sticking on your boots, getting outdoors and reliving your childhood. There is no age limit on enjoying yourself!
1. What is the best title of the text?
| A．Wild time for children |
| B．Benefits of wild time |
| C．More space for children |
| D．Adventures of children |
| A．building dens |
| B．climbing trees |
| C．playing hide and seek |
| D．watching TV |
| A．wild time is hard to design |
| B．wild time is beneficial to children |
| C．parents know the importance of wild time |
| D．parents like keeping their children indoors. |
【推荐3】The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)—a study of the test scores of 15-year-olds across 79 countries—showed that students in England performed significantly better in maths than 2015. PISA is conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) every three years, and assesses the performance of 15-year-olds mainly in reading, maths and science.
In England, the Government has prioritized（优先）climbing up the league tables in recent years. The latest tests were carried out last year, and showed that England was ranked 17 in the table for maths, up from 26 in 2015. Pupils in England also outperformed the OECD average in reading and science. On student well-being, 53 percent of 15-year-olds across the UK reported that they are satisfied with their lives—well below the 67 percent average across the OECD.
Taking the UK as a whole, while there was only a statistically significant improvement in maths, the country still improved its position relative to other countries across all three of the subjects tested by PISA. In reading, the UK was 14th, up from 22nd three years ago. In science the UK was 14th, up from 15th, and in maths the UK rose to 18th from 27th.
Across the rest of the league tables, East Asian countries like China and Singapore continued to be far superior. Today’s results also showed that Estonia outperformed all the major European economies.
However, Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, cautioned against concluding too much from the findings. There are many educational and non-educational factors which affect performance and it is not easy to find how these have impacted on young people’s attainment in a set of tests. What is worrying, however, is that this analysis shows that fewer students in the UK are satisfied with their lives than the OECD average. It is clear that many young people feel under great pressure in a society in which the risks often seem very high to them in terms of achieving their goals.
1. Which aspect of England is under the average of the OECD?| A．Reading. | B．Science. |
| C．Well-being. | D．Maths. |
| A．The UK did worse than before. |
| B．The UK progressed a little in PISA. |
| C．The UK hasn’t made any improvement. |
| D．The UK pulled well ahead of the rest countries. |
| A．China. | B．Estonia. | C．The UK. | D．England. |
| A．The PISA results are unbelievable for educators. |
| B．Students in the UK are in need of more practice. |
| C．Education quality can’t be fully reflected only by PISA. |
| D．Young people take more risks of achieving their goals. |
