When children are faced with problems, they may not be able to deal with them. Children need to learn how to solve problems. You can help them to learn it. The best way is to take the time to talk about problems as they happen. Of course, this is not easy to do. Problems have a way of bursting upon (突然发生) someone at the worst time. But even if the time is not the best, you should try to help.
There are many things you can do to help children learn problem-solving skills. One of the good ways is to find out what made the problem happen. This is a skill that children won’t learn without help. A child may knock over a glass of milk at the dinner table, but he may not realize that the glass was too close to the edge. You can show the child what the problem is. Then it can be solved.
The next step for children is to learn how to solve the problem alone. This step takes courage. Some of them are so afraid of being wrong that they cannot solve problems. You can help them by talking about some possible answers. You and the child can decide which answer is the best. Let the children try it out. Now the children will see that problems can be solved, and you can praise them for choosing a good answer.
Another step to problem-solving is to help children see the laws of cause and effect (因果规律). If a glass is knocked over, it will fall and break. If children might like to write on the wall, the pencil always leaves a mark. Soon the children will see the link(链接) between cause and effect, and then they are on the road to growth. When children see someone else knock over a glass, they now know that it will break. When they see writings on the wall, they can tell how it got there.
The ability to solve problems is not easy for children to learn. It is not easy for adults either. It takes patience for you, and it takes practice for the child. But problem-solving can be taught. All you need is time and effort.
1. Children should learn to deal with problems.2. When problems happen, you needn’t help them. They should deal with them by themselves at first.
3. We should help children to learn problem-solving skills.
4. We should help children find out what made the problem happen.
5. Children should learn to solve problems alone without any help.
6. Another step to problem-solving is we should help children see the laws of cause and effect.
7. This passage is mainly to tell how to help children to deal with problems when they face them.
2 . “Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”
This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD(公元) 53 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?
Picture this. You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave up feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live simpler lives.
One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10 and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave(微波炉), computer or mobile phones.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy(赶时髦的), beer-drinking granny”, to one who cooked things.
根据短文内容，选择正确答案。
1. The writer uses the quote(引号) at the beginning of the story to ________.
| A．tell us a truth about our lives |
| B．tell us what life was like long time ago |
| C．point out what causes such a thing to happen |
| D．point out some problems we will meet in the life |
| A．have speeded up our lives | B．have improved the quality of our lives |
| C．may make people feel very happy | D．may bring people some trouble |
| A．they loved to live simple lives |
| B．they wanted to know how people lived without modern inventions |
| C．they were troubled by modern inventions |
| D．living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them |
| A．People who live far away from noisy cities often seem to be happier. |
| B．An unknown Roman was sure that the quality of life would get better. |
| C．The family had some changes when they lived in a 1940s house. |
| D．With the improvement of our lives, we often feel stressed and tired. |
| A．problems with technology |
| B．improvements of our lives with technology |
| C．changes happening to technology |
| D．the importance of technology |
3 . The best way of learning a language is using it. The best way of learning English is talking in English as much as possible. Sometimes you’ll get your words mixed up and people will not understand you. Sometimes people will say things too quickly and you can’t understand them. But if you keep your sense of humor（幽默）, you can always have a good laugh at the mistakes you make. Don’t be unhappy if people seem to be laughing at your mistakes. It’s better for people to laugh at your mistakes than to be angry with you, because they don’t understand what you are saying. The most important thing for learning English is: “Don’t be afraid of making mistakes because everyone makes mistakes.”
1. The writer thinks that the best way to learn a language is________.| A．writing | B．listening | C．using it |
| A．Be careful not to make any mistakes. |
| B．Speak English as much as you can. |
| C．Laugh more often. |
| A．not care | B．be happy | C．feel worried |
| A．keep quiet | B．keep your sense of humor | C．get angry |
| A．people never make mistakes |
| B．few people make mistakes |
| C．there is no one who doesn’t make mistakes |
Kevin Durant is one of the best basketball players in the world. He is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player.
Kevin grew up in Washington, D.C. His father left his family when he was very young. So his mother had to take care of him by herself. They moved from place to place. And because he was very tall, Kevin was different in other people’s eyes. Sometimes, his classmates even made fun of him.
The life was tough, but there was always a lot of love and support in his family. His mom wrote a card on Kevin’s bed: “Always believe that anything is possible.”
Kevin liked basketball. When he was about 10 years old, he told his mom that he dreamed of being an NBA player. His mother did everything she could to help him. Kevin worked very hard and practiced playing basketball for 8 hours a day!
But it was not just hard work that made him become a famous man. From his mother, he also learned to always be kind. Kevin got so much success in playing basketball. And he also spends a lot of his time in giving back. His foundation (基金会) is to help homeless people, build basketball fields in poor places and help poor children return to school.
1. When Kevin was young, __________.| A．his father took care of him | B．he moved to Washington, D.C |
| C．his life was relaxing | D．his classmates didn’t like him |
| A．hard | B．interesting | C．free | D．exciting |
| A．Play basketball | B．Be kind | C．Train himself | D．Believe his classmates |
| A．Successful and kind. | B．Hard-working and busy. | C．Quiet and friendly. | D．Rich and funny. |
| A．Kevin Durant’s family. | B．How to be a NBA player. | C．A famous basketball player. | D．A good mother. |
5 . A city without cars would be very strange, right? But Venice is such a city.
Venice is in the northeast of Italy. It wasn't built on land like Beijing or Shanghai, but on more than 110 islands. Seawater is everywhere around the city.
Even so, travel isn't difficult. The water ways have always been the best way to get around. There are 177 canals and more than 400 bridges that can guide you to where you want to go. People in Venice move from place to place by boat. They like to enjoy the scenery and cool summer nights while taking boat trips. They can talk to other people as they go along.
Venice grew out of small islands in saltwater lakes when some Italians escaped from a war over 1,500 years ago, and built homes there.
Water makes the city special, but it is also a big problem. Sometimes tourists will have such strange experiences. One moment they walk across the Rialto Bridge, and there's nothing special. But when they come back to the bridge an hour later, it's underwater and everyone is wearing rain shoes.
Once, people used too much underground water. This made the city get lower little by little. Now the city has gone down by about 23 centimetres. Another problem is the rising seawater. The temperature has risen over the years. This has made the ice of the Arctic Ocean(北冰洋) melt(融化) .
Every year, high water hits the city in autumn and winter. When a lot of water comes, more than half of the city is underwater.
Scientists are trying different ways to stop the city from getting even lower. The Italian government has asked some of Italy's biggest companies to build the MOST project, which is planned to be built under the seawater to stop the rising water. Anyway, this project is helping solve the problem.
1. According to the passage, Venice is ________ of Italy.| A．in the northeast | B．in the west | C．in the southwest | D．in the south |
| A．Taxis and cars | B．The waterways | C．The bridges | D．Boats and rain shoes |
| A．changed into | B．used to be | C．became | D．developed from |
| A．The higher temperature. | B．Overused underground water. |
| C．Too many waterways. | D．The rising seawater. |
| A．the waterways and bridges | B．the MOST project and problems |
| C．the specials and problems | D．the history and scenery |
6 . Nyan is a fifteen-year-old boy from India. When he was 4, he began to take a strong interest in helping ORBIS raise money. He wants to help blind children in India see their families and friends.
Nyan's thirteen-year-old sister, Lehka, also wants to help. They have made it a family project to raise enough money to build an eye care center in India. The center will train doctors from poor areas to provide better care for children in the village.
In 2006, for his birthday, Nyan asked his friends to donate to ORBIS instead of bringing presents to his party. He collected $145.
Nyan and Lehka then visited ORBIS in New York and learned about their plan to build 50 eye care centers for children in India by 2012. On World Sight Day, October 11, 2007, Nyan and Lehka began their "Kids for Sight" campaign, to tell children about taking care of their eyes and ask them to join them to help other children.
For their birthdays, Nyan and Lehka again collected $530 and donated it to ORBIS. Nyan says, "No matter who you give to, it will only make the world a better place."
1. Which country does Nyan come from?| A．India. | B．China. | C．America. | D．Japan. |
| A．$675 | B．$1.5 million | C．$145 | D．$530 |
| A．ORBIS. | B．The American government. | C．Nyan and his family. | D．The India government. |
| A．Shy | B．Helpful | C．Funny | D．Careful |
| A．"Kids for sight" Campaign | B．Celebrate your birthday with charity |
| C．How Nyan and Lehka helped blind children | D．ORBIS —an international charity |
7 . Recently, my husband and I had the chance to do something good for two people who were complete strangers to us. It made us feel so good to be able to do it that I thought I should share.
We were traveling to Thailand on New Year's Day with our family. Since I travel a lot for work, we have had enough flying miles to become the VIP(very important person) of the flight to enjoy first class(头等舱) seats.
As we were sitting in the very first two seats in the first row of first class waiting for the plane to take off, I heard one of the flight attendants(航班服务员) telling the others that there was a young couple sitting in the back of the plane that had just been married several days before and were going on their honeymoon(蜜月). They had ordered their flight eight months before but, for some reason, had not been able to get seats together. No one else on the plane wanted to move and the bride(新娘) was in tears.
I turned to my husband and told him what I heard. We agreed without thinking twice and I called the flight attendant over to tell her that we would be happy to give up our seats for this young couple. The flight attendant seemed shocked and amazed and said,"Really? Are you sure?" We said, "Sure!"
So, we moved to the back of the plane. I was in a middle seat in the back part and my husband, who is 63, in the window seat of the last row of the plane.
The flight attendants were very thankful for what we had done and cared for us carefully even though we were no longer sitting in first class, and we both made friends with the people sitting around us and had a great flight. I had to go back to the front of the plane to get a forgotten object back during the flight and noticed that the young couple were sitting very close together, happily sipping champagne(品尝香槟).
It really made my New Year to get on to such a wonderful start!
1. When did the writer travel to Thailand?| A．On the first day of April. | B．On the first day of January. |
| C．On the first day of March. | D．On the first day of February. |
| A．Because she was old. | B．Because she was sick. |
| C．Because she often traveled. | D．Because she had much money. |
| A．In the first row. | B．In a middle seat. | C．In the last row. | D．In the window seat. |
| A．A young couple gave their seats to the old. | B．The flight attendants helped the old couple. |
| C．All the passengers helped the young couple. | D．An old couple offered their seats to the strangers. |
8 . Chinatown is the name given to an area in the middle of London. It is a large Chinese community with a lot of Chinese restaurants, supermarkets and shops.
In the 1950s, it was a poor area and everything was very cheap. At the same time, the world rice market changed and thousands of farm workers in Hong Kong lost their jobs. They began arriving in London to look for work. They found jobs in the restaurants in this area.
These restaurant workers often worked 17 hours a day and had no time to learn English. As more Chinese arrived, more shops and businesses grew up. Wives came and joined their husbands and children came and joined their fathers. The community grew, and Chinatown was born.
In the 1970s and 1980s, British-born Chinese started to have a better education and this brought economic (经济的)success to the area. Many families moved out of Chinatown, and there was more space for businesses. Chinatown soon became a popular place for tourists.
Now everyone knows about London’s Chinatown. During the Chinese New Year, the streets are seen with flags and thousands of Chinese go into the streets. For most of the year, though, Londoners and tourists go there mainly for the food in the Chinese restaurants. The best restaurants are the ones where the Chinese eat.
1. From the text, we know that ________.| A．the first Chinese in Chinatown were mainly from Hong Kong |
| B．many factory workers in Hong Kong lost their jobs in the 1950s |
| C．there were many restaurants in the middle of England in the 1950s |
| A．in hospitals | B．in churches | C．in restaurants |
| A．didn’t have time | B．couldn’t pay for the course | C．found it too difficult |
| A．At the beginning of the 1990s. |
| B．When the Chinese community was born. |
| C．Twenty to thirty years later after their parents’ arrival. |
| A．To introduce the history of Chinatown in London. |
| B．To introduce some popular Chinese restaurants in London. |
| C．To tell us the reason why people in Hong Kong moved to London. |
9 . Artificial intelligence(人工智能), or AI in short, is the science of giving computers and machines ability to think and work like humans. AI scientists and engineers have made a lot of cool technologies.
AI is rapidly catching up with the human ability to read faces. As a result, facial recognition(识别) is used a lot in the world. Chinese police use this technology to identify criminals(罪犯). Once they caught a criminal when he attended a concert. It also checks the ID of ride-hailing(网约车) drivers and lets people pay for things with a smile.
AI is also used in self-driving cars, which are believed to be the future of driving. Most drivers may wave or nod at passers-by to let them cross the street, but self-driving cars don't have this ability. Carmakers are testing a light signal system to help them "speak" to humans. The system can show what self-driving cars will do. For example, if a driverless car is yielding(让路), it will flash two white lights side to side. A rapidly flashing light tells passers-by that the car is about to speed up.
Service Robots also show you how powerful AI is. Imagine this—you come back home from school and your robot housekeeper is waiting for you at the door. After dinner, he teaches you to play the piano, just like a real music teacher. Such thoughts will soon happen in the real world. In the future, more and more service robots will become good home helpers.
AI is so powerful that it can help human beings and even replace us in many jobs.
1. What does the underlined word "identify" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．To let somebody know his mistakes. | B．To come to realize and tell who is who. |
| C．To take somebody to the police station. | D．To inform somebody of something important. |
| A．Driving cars. | B．Making people smile. |
| C．Calling the police. | D．Checking people's information. |
| A．Service Robots at school. | B．Robots as ride-hailing drivers. |
| C．Facial recognition for payment. | D．Light signals for self-driving cars. |
| A．People use AI in many different ways. | B．AI will take the place of human beings in all jobs. |
| C．Self-driving cars will be able to talk like humans. | D．A criminal was caught for inventing facial recognition. |
10 . A group of reporters asked a group of 4-to-8-year-old children this question, “What does love mean?” The answers were surprising. The children would answer like they did below.
Rebecca–age 8
“When my grandmother hurt her knees, she couldn't bend (弯腰) over and paint her toenails (脚趾甲) any more. So my grandfather would do it for her all the time, even when his hands hurt, too. That’s love.”
Samantha–age 6
“Love is when someone hurts you, and you get so mad but you don't shout at her because you know it would hurt her feelings.”
Terry–age 4
“Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.”
Bethany–age 4
“I let my big sister pick on (捉弄) me because my mum says she only picks on me because she loves me.So I pick on my baby sister because I love her.”
Lauren–age 4
“I know my elder sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new clothes.”
Elaine–age 5
“Love is when Mummy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.”
Clear–age 5
“My mummy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.”
Jessica–age 8
“You really shouldn't say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.”
1. The passage mainly tells us about ________.
| A．what “life” means to children |
| B．what “family” means to children |
| C．what “friendship” means to children |
| D．what “love” means to children |
| A．Clear. | B．Elaine. |
| C．Rebecca. | D．Lauren. |
| A．Rebecca’s grandmother ever couldn’t bend over. |
| B．Bethany wants to be picked on by any other person. |
| C．If Samantha becomes angry, she will not shout at others. |
| D．Lauren prefers to wear her sister’s old clothes. |
| A．Too much love is no love. |
| B．You should say love more often. |
| C．You mean what you think. |
| D．Say love more often if you have it. |
| A．Love is the care between husband and wife. |
| B．Love is a rest when you are tired. |
| C．Love is what cheers you up when you are tired. |
| D．Love is a kiss from parents. |
