For years, psychologists（心理学家） have been against giving children prizes or money for their performance in school. “Outwards” prizes, they say, can undermine the joy of learning for its own good and can even lead to cheating.
But many economists(经济学家) and business people disagree, and their opinions often become popular in the educational marketplace. Prize programs that pay students are underway in many cities. In some places, students can bring home hundreds of dollars for, say, taking an Advanced Placement course and having high grades in the exams.
“Whether such efforts work continues to be a debate(争议) ,” said Barbara Marian, an assistant professor of education at Pennsylvania State. She is against using prizes as encouragement. Among parents, it often leads to very hot discussion. And in public education, a new focus on school reform(改革)pushes researchers on both sides of the debate to make more efforts to get data(数据) that may provide information on when and where prizes work.
“We have to get beyond our biases（偏见）,” said Roland Fryer, an economist at Harvard University who is planning and testing several prize programs. “Luckily, the scientific method allows us to examine most of those biases and let the data do the talking.” In the cash programs being studied, Roland Fryer and other economists compare the school performance of groups of students who are paid and students who are not. In the study, they find that the students who are prized get higher grades on the SAT and go to better colleges than those who are not.
However, many psychologists believe that early data can be one-sided. Research suggests that prizes may work in the short term but have bad influences in the long term.
“Are they highly interested in what they are doing? Or does it feel like hard work? The same prize program might have different influences on different kinds of students,” said Kirabo Jackson, a famous psychologist at Cornell University. “The higher the prize is, the more harmful the result might be.”
1. The underlined word “undermine” in Paragraph l most probably means “______”.| A．understand | B．examine | C．kill | D．protect |
| A．the students’ parents welcome prize programs |
| B．prize programs are getting popular in many cities |
| C．the government provides money for prize programs |
| D．all the education researchers support prize programs |
| A．have more scientific methods | B．like to discuss with other students |
| C．always cheat in examinations | D．have better performance at school |
| A．how to use prizes to encourage the students |
| B．different opinions on giving students prizes |
| C．how to make students study hard in schools |
| D．bad results caused by some prize programs |
| A．He doesn’t mention it. | B．He thinks they are harmful. |
| C．He thinks they are great. | D．He doesn’t care about them. |
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【推荐1】“To raise snails(蜗牛) well, you need to spray(喷) water to the container(容器) every morning and evening, change soil every two weeks, and feed them with vegetables and sweet fruits,” said Sun Youxiang after raising snails for one year. He is a fourth grade primary school student in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. From three white jade snails at the very beginning to more than sixty snails of four generations now, he has done a great job for his science class.
Watching the reproduction( 繁 殖 ) of animals is an uncommon experience for kids. Their creativity, patience and respect for life will be developed as they learn to take care of animals on their own. Sun’s teacher said the job served as a good example of life education. Practice is a necessary step in learning and it will benefit the kids for a life time.
Life education allows kids to know how to live with nature and creatures in a friendly way. Starting from this year, science will become an important subject as Chinese and math in primary schools in order to improve students’ knowledge about the things around us. Because of curiosity(好奇心), more kids will be willing to watch and think through practising. It will add to our knowledge of the world in the long run.
1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about Sun Youxiang?| A．He is good at raising snails. |
| B．He makes a lot of friends by raising snails. |
| C．Raising snails is an interesting experience for him. |
| D．He becomes creative and patient through taking care of snails. |
| A．Be aware of. | B．Be harmful for. | C．Be good for. | D．Be popular with. |
| A．Nature and creatures are friendly to kids. |
| B．Life education can make kids more friendly. |
| C．Life education tells kids how to make friends. |
| D．Life education tells kids how to get on well with nature and creatures. |
| A．How to raise snails | B．Patience, the key to success |
| C．The importance of life education | D．How to think through practising |
【推荐2】English words don’t stay the same. People need new words for new ideas and new inventions. Different words come into use, or old words are used in a new way.
English can be changed by borrowing words from other languages. The word＂tomato＂was borrowed from Mexico and＂tea＂came from China and so on. Now new space and science words are being borrowed from other countries, too. New words can be formed by adding two words together.＂countryside＂and＂earthquake＂are made up of two parts. Sometimes new words are shorter forms of old words. The word＂photo＂ was made from＂photograph＂by cutting off the end of the longer word.＂Plane＂was made by cutting off the front part of＂airplane＂. The names of people and products can become new words, too. Our＂sandwich＂was named after a man called Sandwich and＂sellotape＂(透明胶带) was a name given by the company that first made the product.
1. New English words are needed because _________.| A．people use old words in a new way |
| B．the old words are not enough |
| C．new ideas and new inventions appear all the time |
| A．Tomato. | B．Sandwich. | C．Countryside. |
| A．Tea. | B．Earthquake. | C．Airplane. |
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. |
| A．that the English language is always changing |
| B．how people name new products and inventions |
| C．how people use old words in a new way |
【推荐3】This September, you may have noticed a few new textbooks at school. New Chinese language textbooks appeared on the desks of first-year primary and junior high school students across the country.
Written by the Ministry of Education, the New textbooks will replace older version (版本) used before. The new version focus more on ancient Chinese literature, according to Xinhua.The change is part of the efforts from the Ministry of Education to improve students’ knowledge of traditional Chinese culture. Textbooks for three-year junior high schools have more traditional Chinese articles, 132 in total. They make up 51.7 percent of all the texts.
The articles were chosen from classic proses (散文)，essays (论文)，historical records and poems dating back to the Han, Tang and Song dynasties. There are also more than 30 articles about revolutionary history for junior high school students, such as Chairman Mao Zedong’s well-known piece Serve the People. The new textbooks are well received. Although the topics are serious, the texts are presented with lively illustrations which make them easy to understand.
“They are very lovely and favored by both teachers and students,” Du Bai, a Chinese teacher at No.2 Fruit Lake Primary School in Hubei, told Xinhua. Li Jie, a professor of Chinese language and literature at China University of Communication, couldn’t agree more with the change. “Learning some ancient literature will help junior high school students enjoy the beauty of traditional Chinese culture and prepare them to gain further knowledge of the field”, he told China Daily.
1. According to the first paragraph, what is new for first-year primary and junior students?| A．Desks and chairs. | B．School uniforms. | C．Chinese language textbooks. | D．Math textbooks. |
| A．traditional Chinese culture | B．world history | C．western poems and articles | D．Chinese music |
| A．地图 | B．插图 | C．挂图 | D．图书 |
| A．They are too traditional. | B．They are lovely. | C．They are quite unique. | D．They are so useful. |
| A．the new textbooks aim to improve students’ knowledge of traditional Chinese culture. |
| B．articles about history make up half of all the texts in the new textbooks. |
| C．schools now focus more on students’ learning ability. |
| D．students don’t have to enjoy the beauty of modern Chinese culture. |
In the 1800s, people began hunting whales in large numbers for their meat, bones, skin and blubber（脂）. Before electricity, many people used oil lamps for light. Whale blubber could be turned into lamp oil.
During the 1930-1931 whaling season, as many as 29,000 blue whales were hunted. Scientists believe humans killed 350,000 blue whales during the years.
In 1966, the International Whaling Commission forbade the hunting of blue whales. However, some people went on hunting them. As whaling equipment and ships improved, many more blue whales were killed.
Scientists are not sure of the exact population of blue whales today. They think it is between 10,000 and 25,000. It is clear that the number of blue whales is quite small.
Now blue whales are protected from whaling, but they still face other problems. Blue whales are sometimes hit by large ships. Some of them die from the accidents caused by these ships. They also cut their skin and become sick in fishing gear（渔具） that is left behind in the ocean.
Climate change also affects whales. The world’s oceans are growing warmer. The krill（鳞虾）that blue whales rely on as food can live only in cool water. With less krill in the ocean, blue whales will have less to eat.
1. The passage may come from the ________ column（专栏）of magazine.| A．Nature | B．History | C．Medicine | D．Tradition |
| A．allowed | B．stopped | C．accepted | D．suggested |
| A．lists numbers | B．draws pictures | C．gives examples | D．asks questions |
| A．show body parts of blue whales | B．sell whaling equipment and ships |
| C．call on people to protect blue whales | D．change the history of whale hunting |
★How to sit: You should sit up straight in your chair. It is not a good idea to lean(倾斜)forwards or backwards. When you eat, you should not lean towards the plate, but bring the knife, fork or spoon towards you. At the same time, do not out your elbows on the table, nor reach over someone’s plate for something.
★Using your fingers: English people normally don’t pick food up with their fingers when they are eating main courses. If you are not sure, the safest is to use your knife or fork. There are, however, some foods that are usually eaten with fingers. They include sandwiches, burgers, crisps and fruit.
★Your mouth: It is not polite to talk with your mouth full of food, or to eat with your mouth open. And if possible, do not make any noises. Never lick(舔)your plate after eating.
★How much to eat: It is polite to eat the food that you have been offered, so a clear plate is a good plate. It shows that you enjoyed the food. If you can’t finish everything and need to leave a little, that’s also okay. You could say something like “That was very nice, thank you, but I’m just too full to eat another bite.”
1. How should you sit when you are eating in England?
| A．You should lean backwards. |
| B．You should lean forwards. |
| C．You should sit up straight in your chair. |
| A．Beef. | B．Pizza. | C．Juice. |
| A．Reach over someone’s plate for something. |
| B．Lick your plate after eating. |
| C．Eat an orange with fingers. |
| A．Eating with the mouth closed is a good manner. |
| B．We mustn’t leave anything on the plate any time. |
| C．Saying sorry means we are full. |
| A．The differences between England and China. |
| B．Good table manners in England. |
| C．The importance of table manners. |
【推荐3】There are many things we need to know that we can not learn at school. For example, if we want to use our money wisely, we need to shop carefully. We need to know how to compare the prices of the things in different shops. We need to be able to compare the quality (质量) of different brands (品牌). We need to know how to make choices (选择) when we shop. Knowing how to make such choices is a life skill, and we need the skill if we want to live useful and happy lives. Some of the choices are small. For example, will I take an apple or a pear for lunch? Will I go to school by bus or on foot? Will I wear the red T-shirt or the blue one to the movies? Other choices are more important. For example, will I eat healthy food for lunch or will I eat junk food because it is tastier? Will I work hard in all my classes or will I only work hard in the classes I enjoy? We make choices like these every day.
We have to realize that the choices we make can influence the rest of our lives. Just as importantly, our choices can also influence other people. The next time you decide to waste time in class, play a joke on someone or talk loudly at the movies, think about this: Who else does your choice influence?
1. According to the passage, we can learn ________ at school.| A．all the useful things | B．all the things we need to know |
| C．something we need to know | D．those things that are useless in daily life |
| A．To shop carefully, we need to compare the prices of the things in different shops. |
| B．To shop carefully, we need to compare the quality of different brands. |
| C．To shop carefully, we need to buy the cheapest things. |
| D．To shop carefully, we need to know how to make choices when we shop. |
| A．useful and happy | B．careful and happy |
| C．useful and rich | D．rich and happy |
| A．only others | B．our family | C．our friends | D．ourselves and others |
| A．Ask others for advice. | B．Ask for others’ permission (允许). |
| C．Check it on the Internet. | D．Think about the influence it will bring to others. |
