Do you love cooking, gardening or cleaning around the house? Doing housework will boost (增强) your brainpower, according to new study made by an Australian university.
The study shows that older children are more likely to do housework than younger ones and girls do more housework than boys. For example, only 49% of boys but 70% of girls make their own bed. Doing the dishes is a job for 55% of children, including 50% of boys and 61% of girls. Only 34% of five to seven-year-olds do this task, and 64% of those aged 11 to 13 do it.
“Children who cook a family meal or care for plants in the garden regularly may do better in other aspects (方面) of life-like schoolwork or problem solving,” said Deanna Tepper, the lead researcher.
Ms. Tepper said making a meal or cooking for others was connected to a better memory and the ability to think before acting. “These skills usually begin to develop in early childhood and continue in late adolescence (青春期) and early adulthood,” she said.
Doing housework also makes you responsible for your family. It’ll help you make decisions and build confidence and patience.
These life skills should be learnt from an early age. Now you are not a little girl or a little boy anymore. It is time for you to learn to be independent.
1. How many children help do the dishes according to the study?| A．Only 49%. | B．Only 50%. | C．About 55%. | D．About 61%. |
| A．Being responsible for your friends. | B．Being confidence. |
| C．Being friendly. | D．Being healthy. |
| A．Older children aren’t more likely to do housework than younger ones. |
| B．Doing housework has nothing to do with memory. |
| C．Doing housework makes someone responsible for his schoolwork. |
| D．Children should learn to do housework from an early age. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Many parents make their children do chores around the house. For some families, teaching children what to do and how to do chores is easy. But in other families, getting children to do some housework can be a very big problem.
It is a good idea for parents to teach their children at an early age that all family members must work together to make the house clean, and that each person must do his or her share (份） of the work. We can do this by starting a plan of chores and responsibilities when children are young.
Chores are good for children even very young ones. Doing chores teaches children many important skills (技能） such as working together and being responsible. Jobs also teach children what is fair (公平的） and to do things for others. The skills and values ( 价值） from doing chores will do good to children all their lives.
1. The first paragraph tells us ________.| A．it’s easy to teach children to do chores |
| B．all of the children think doing chores is difficult |
| C．it is different in teaching children to do chores among different families |
| A．杂事 | B．琐事 | C．责任 |
| A．young children | B．all family members | C．each person |
| A．It’s a small thing to teach children to do chores. |
| B．Only the children who do chores know what is fair. |
| C．Some children like to do chores but some don’t. |
| A．be good at | B．be good for | C．be good with |
【推荐2】The final exams are the most important assessment (评估) throughout the whole term in Canada. It usually takes up 20 to 30 percent of one’s marks. But doing bad on the finals doesn’t mean that one can’t have an acceptable final score, as it includes other marks as well, such as unit tests, projects and presentations.
Different from those in China, exams in Canada don’t last all day. Students just come to school when they have exams. For example, if you have an exam on Monday morning and one on Tuesday morning, you can have a break between the different exams to have time to relax or study.
For most science subjects, there will be at least one week for students to review their studies---teachers often finish the lessons one week before the exams. But when it comes to liberal arts (人文科学) subjects, things are a bit different. For every liberal arts class, students need to produce a project before the finals. The projects usually last one or two weeks and require students to mix up all the knowledge they’ve learned during the term. When I was in Grade 10, the project for my English was to find the similarities between the novels we’d studied that year and present them in a visually(视觉的) creative way, such as by making a poster. These projects usually take up 5 to 10 percent of a student’s final marks.
Some think that the projects are nothing but a distraction (分心的事) that wastes your time before finals, but I believe they’re a great way to review everything and add some fun to our busy lives.
1. The underlined phrases “take up” in Paragraph 1 may mean “________” in Chinese.| A．带走 | B．占据 | C．取消 | D．取下 |
| A．A poster. | B．A video. | C．A presentation with pictures. | D．Both A B and C. |
| A．in Canada the students have at least 2 weeks to review the lessons |
| B．students need to use all the knowledge they have learned to finish a project |
| C．for science subjects students don’t have any exams |
| D．the projects waste the students’ time before the finals |
| A．Doubtful (怀疑的). | B．Unimportant. | C．Helpless. | D．Useful and fun. |
| A．The final exams usually take up 5% to 10% of a student’s marks. |
| B．Students in Canada usually have a full day’s exams. |
| C．The projects usually take up 10% to 15% of a student’s marks. |
| D．The students’ final score includes final exams, unit tests, projects and presentations. |
【推荐3】Think about what is happening in many families: kids come home, throw away their schoolbags, jump onto the sofa, get lost in the world of the small screen and become couch potatoes. Kids are crazy about screens and games, suffer from shortsightedness and become lazy thinkers. Now, parents need to take responsibility for family education to help shape the future for their children.
On Jan l, the Law on Family Education Promotion（《家庭教育促进法》））, the first of its kind in China, came into effect. It was passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Oct 23, 2021. The law says that parents or other guardians of minors（未成年人的监护人）should be responsible for family education. They are encouraged to educate their children properly-- morally（道德上）, physically and psychologically（心理上）.
According to the law, parents and guardians mustn’t place too much pressure（压力）on their children. Parents and guardians should carefully organize time for minors to study, rest, play and exercise, and make sure minors don’t become addicted to the Internet,
The law also says that parents or other guardians should not use violence（暴力） to control their children. They should not discriminate（歧视）against youth according to their gender or physical condition. For example, some parents might value boys more than girls or discriminate against disabled children.
The law also gives special mention to stay-at-home children in the countryside. They may be left alone while their parents go to work in cities. It asks local governments to keep a close eye on such families, and help the parents get jobs locally so that they can be responsible for their children’s education.
"Family education is very important for the future of the country, " says Sun Hongyan, head of youth and children research at the China Youth and Children Research Center. "Now, with the introduction of the new law, family education is no longer just a family matter but a state affair （事务）. "
When parents fail to educate their children properly, they might be breaking the law. Although punishment and detention（拘留）for parents were dropped from the final version of the law, they will be given a warning.
1. What does the first paragraph try to show?| A．Family education is not a problem in China. |
| B．Parents should be children’s direct guardians. |
| C．It’s terrible for children to be crazy about games. |
| D．The facts make it necessary to carry out the law. |
a. Parents shouldn’t beat their children.
b. Parents shouldn’t get addicted to the Internet.
c. Parents shouldn’t organize time for minors to relax.
d. Parents shouldn’t treat their daughters or sons differently.
e. Parents shouldn’t place too much pressure on their children.
| A．abc | B．abd | C．ade | D．ace |
| A．offer jobs for local workers in local areas |
| B．help local children left alone go to school |
| C．ask local workers to take their children with them |
| D．stop local workers from leaving their home town |
| A．They may be warned. | B．They may get arrested. |
| C．They may get punished. | D．They may be separated. |
【推荐1】Do you know the flea market (跳蚤市场)? It’s a street market where people sell second-hand things. These can be anything from clothes and shoes to chairs (椅子) and beds.
We don’t know ________. It is said that (据说) these second-hand things attract (吸引) fleas. So people call the market “flea market”.
There are many great flea markets in the world. Do you know Old Spitalfieds Market in London? It has been open (已经开放) for over 350 years. We can buy all the things at very good prices there. It attracts about 70 000 visitors (游客) one week.
You need to have a good eye when you go to a flea market. Because some things are really nice, but others are not. And it is good if you know what you want to buy before you go, or you may go home with many old things and you don’t need them at all.
根据短文内容，选择正确答案。
1. What can we find at a flea market?
| A．A new chair. | B．A big hamburger. |
| C．A second-hand bed. | D．A beautiful flea. |
| A．why there are so many fleas | B．how the second-hand things are |
| C．what people do at the flea market | D．where the name “flea market” is from |
| A．It is very small and new. | B．It is very big and wide (宽的). |
| C．It has been open for more than 350 years. | D．It attracts 70 000 visitors every year. |
| A．the flea market is not good | B．all the things are nice at the flea market |
| C．we can buy all the things at the flea market | D．we should have a good eye when we buy things |
| A．What flea markets are. | B．Where flea markets are. |
| C．When flea markets are open. | D．How flea markets come. |
【推荐2】When you spend three weeks reading a book, and a month later somebody asks you about it and you can’t remember a thing you read. What’s your feeling? Does it make you wonder why you wasted time on it?
There are some effective (有效的) ways to learn. And when I say “to learn effectively”, what I mean is to not just build up knowledge, but to learn to use it effectively. Something is not truly learned until it changes you in some way.
♦ Try to connect something with your memory.
Mentor Box is my favourite online book club. It will send you books to read and study materials related (关联) to them. The materials can help you put what you’ve learnt into good use and make you remember things quickly. You can also do this on your own. When you come across something interesting in a book, write down its connections with something in your life—how it explains something, and how you can use it to deal with problems.
♦ Read in a right way.
People believe they have to read everything line by line. It is not true. When you buy a book, you’re not buying the words, you’re buying the useful ideas. The point of a book is to get the information that is important to you, not to finish it or to understand every word. What matters is the key idea. Once you’ve received the idea, there’s no reason to force yourself to sit there and read the rest.
♦ Ask the right questions.
Everything you read should be questioned. You can question the writer’s ideas, whether they’re explaining information correctly. When reading something you agree with, you can ask yourself, “Is it possible that this could be wrong?” Asking the right questions will decide the depth (深度) of your knowledge and understanding, not the ability to remember a lot of facts and numbers.
1. According to the writer, effective learning ________.| A．requires you to spend a long time reading a book |
| B．just means your ability to build up knowledge |
| C．happens when knowledge changes you in some way |
| D．is the main goal of the courses you spend money on |
| A．Reading books in a right way. | B．Buying a book means buying the words. |
| C．Getting the information that is important. | D．Reading everything line by line. |
| A．We should train our ability to remember everything we read. |
| B．Reading without thinking is not a good reading habit. |
| C．A good reader never asks questions while reading. |
| D．We should raise questions only when we disagree with the writer. |
| A．To show how necessary asking questions while reading is. |
| B．To remind readers of the importance of reading books. |
| C．To give readers suggestions on how to learn effectively. |
| D．To advice readers to join in online book clubs like Mentor Box. |
For nature lovers, there will soon be new places to visit. China has announced the list of its first five national parks.
National parks are large areas of public land. They are designed for the protection of ecosystems. They give a safe home to local plants and animals. They help keep the air and water clean.
The five parks’ protected land area is 230, 000 square kilometers, covering nearly 30 percent of the key wildlife species(物种) in China. Each park has distinct features(鲜明的特征).
For example, Three-River-Source National Park, located(位于) on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is the largest national park in China. Covering 190, 700 square kilometers, it is about 14 times the area of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. It is home to the sources(源头) of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers. People call it “China’s water tower” .
Giant Panda National Park, on the other hand, connects panda habitats(栖息地) in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu. There are more than 1, 600 wild giant pandas inside the park, accounting for(数量上占) more than 70 percent of the pandas in China.
China hopes the national parks will benefit the public. Nature observation(观察) activities will be held to help travelers learn about animals and plants. Local people living in the parks can also run eco-friendly businesses. In Three-River-Source National Park, more than 17 thousand local herdamen(牧民) have found jobs, such as park rangers(护林员) since 2016. Their yearly household incomes(年收入) have increased by an average of 21, 600 yuan.
A win-win situation has been realized between the ecological(生态的) protection of these areas and development.
1. What do you know about National parks from the passage?| A．They are good for the natural environment. |
| B．They are large areas of private land. |
| C．They give a safe home to plants and animals all over China. |
| D．They are designed for the protection of only animals. |
| A．covers 230, 000 square kilometers |
| B．is on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
| C．is about 13 times the area of Yellowstone National Park in the United States |
| D．is home to the sources of the Yangtze, Yellow and Zhu rivers |
| A．is in Sichuan | B．covers 190, 700 square kilometers |
| C．has over 1, 600 wild giant pandas inside the park | D．has more than 60% wild giant pandas in China |
| A．how the national parks benefit the public | B．how to reach a win-win situation |
| C．Three-River-Source National Park | D．National parks and their advantages |
