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 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 pseudoscientific 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．facilitate personalized learning |
| C．help standardize curriculums |
| D．be loved by schoolchildren |
| 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. |
| A．at the service of teaching |
| B．limited in use among pupils |
| C．aimed at narrowing the wealth gap |
| D．in line with students’ learning styles |
| A．To stress the importance of edtech. |
| B．To introduce the application of edtech. |
| C．To discuss how to get the best out of edtech. |
| D．To appeal for more open-mindedness to edtech. |
When Ruth was sixty-eight years old, she visited her daughter Judy and teenage granddaughter Marcy in California. They headed for their cabin, moving forty miles up and down the mountains in their car,along a narrow one-lane road that wound terrifyingly close to cliffs (悬崖).
After dinner, Marcy announced the water tank was low and that she would drive the car down to the pump and get water. Ruth was nervous about her young granddaughter driving down the narrow road by herself, but Judy reminded her that Marcy had been driving vehicles up there roads for many years
“Just be careful, Marcy”, her mother warned. “They’ve had a drought up here and the road along the cliff is pretty shaky. Be sure to hug the mountain side.”
Ruth and Judy watched Marcy from the big window where they could see the road winding down the mountainside. Fifteen minutes later, Judy was still watching when suddenly she screamed,”Oh no! She went over the cliff, Momma! The car and Marcy--they went over! We have to help her!Come on!”
Judy took off running desperately. Grabbing a three-foot-long walking stick against the cabin door, Ruth ran behind her, but Judy was quickly out of sight after the first turn in the road. Breathing hard, Ruth ran on and on, trying to catch up with her daughter. It was getting harder and harder to see anything at dusk.
Suddenly she stopped, not knowing where she was.”Marcy!Judy!”she shouted.
A faint voice .”Momma!”It was Judy.
Ruth screamed into the darkness “Judy,where are you?” Off to her right and down the cliff she heard, “Down here,Mother!Don’t come near the edge! I slipped on loose rocks and fell over. I’m down about ten feet.”
“Oh dear! Judy, what can I do?”
“Just stay back, Momma!”
Facing the situation, Ruth felt her heart was pounding, and chest pains almost took her breath away. She started to sob, totally at a loss what to do.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右：
2. 请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
At that moment, Ruth glimpsed at the walking stick, an idea striking her.
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Ruth held her close and said anxiously. “Judy. We have to get help for Marcy!”
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3 . Babies are surrounded by human language, always listening and processing. Eventually, they put sounds together to produce a “Daddy” or a “Mama”. But what still confuses neuroscientists is exactly how the brain works to put it all together.
To figure it out, a team of researchers turned to a frequent stand-in (代替) for babies when it comes to language learning: the song-learning zebra finch. “We’ve known songbirds learn their song by first forming a memory of their father’s song or another adult’s song. Then they use that memory to guide their song learning,” said Neuroscientist Todd Roberts. “It’s been a long-term goal of the field to figure out how or where in the brain this memory is. This type of imitative learning that birds do is very similar to the type of learning that we engage in regularly—particularly when we’re young, we use it to guide our speech learning.”
Roberts and his team had a feeling that the interface (交叉区域) between sensory areas and motor areas in the brain was critical for this process, and they focused on a group of brain cells called the NIf.
“In order to prove that we could identify these circuits, we thought if we could implant a false memory.” First, they used a virus to cause the neurons (神经元) in the birds’ NIf to become sensitive to light. Then, using a tiny electrode as a flashlight, they activated (激活) the neurons. The length of each pulse of light corresponded with the amount of time the neurons would fire. And the birds’ brains interpreted that time period as the length of each note.
Soon enough, the birds began to practice the notes they had learned, even though they never really heard the sounds. Amazingly, the birds produced them in the correct social situations. The researchers say this is the first time anybody has found exactly a part of the brain necessary for generating the sorts of memories needed to copy sounds.
“This line of research is going to help us identify where in the brain we encode memories of relevant social experiences that we use to guide learning. We know that there are several neurodevelopmental disorders in people that have really far-reaching effects on this type of learning.”
1. The zebra finch is researched because its song-learning mode ________.| A．decides whether it will sing songs |
| B．helps it to say “Daddy” or “Mama” |
| C．is like the way babies learn speech |
| D．reflects its talent for imitating its father’s song |
| A．The interface in the brain. |
| B．Guidance from adults. |
| C．Imitative learning type like birds’. |
| D．The way of regular learning. |
| A．Scientists activated some neurons by using an electrode. |
| B．A bird only sings what it heard before. |
| C．The brain produces tiny electrodes. |
| D．Birds are sensitive to light. |
| A．A change in our way of listening and processing. |
| B．A chance to have relevant social experiences. |
| C．A better knowledge of the secrets of learning. |
| D．Identification of neurodevelopmental disorders. |
4 . Albert Einstein’s 1915 masterpiece “The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity” is the first and still the best introduction to the subject, and I recommend it as such to students. But it probably wouldn’t be publishable in a scientific journal today.
Why not? After all, it would pass with flying colours the tests of correctness and significance. And while popular belief holds that the paper was incomprehensible to its first readers, in fact many papers in theoretical physics are much more difficult.
As the physicist Richard Feynman wrote, “There was a time when the newspapers said that only 12 men understood the theory of relativity. I do believe there might have been a time when only one man did, because he was the only guy who caught on, before he wrote his paper. But after people read the paper a lot understood the theory of relativity in some way or other, certainly more than 12.”
No, the problem is its style. It starts with a leisurely philosophical discussion of space and time and then continues with an exposition of known mathematics. Those two sections, which would be considered extraneous today, take up half the paper. Worse, there are zero citations of previous scientists’ work, nor are there any graphics. Those features might make a paper not even get past the first editors.
A similar process of professionalization has transformed other parts of the scientific landscape. Requests for research time at major observatories or national laboratories are more rigidly structured. And anything involving work with human subjects, or putting instruments in space, involves piles of paperwork.
We see it also in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Nobel Prize of high school science competitions. In the early decades of its 78-year history, the winning projects were usually the sort of clever but naive, amateurish efforts one might expect of talented beginners working on their own. Today, polished work coming out of internships(实习) at established laboratories is the norm.
These professionalizing tendencies are a natural consequence of the explosive growth of modern science. Standardization and system make it easier to manage the rapid flow of papers, applications and people. But there are serious downsides. A lot of unproductive effort goes into jumping through bureaucratic hoops(繁文缛节), and outsiders face entry barriers at every turn.
Of course, Einstein would have found his way to meeting modern standards and publishing his results. Its scientific core wouldn’t have changed, but the paper might not be the same taste to read.
1. According to Richard Feynman, Einstein’s 1915 paper ________.| A．was a classic in theoretical physics |
| B．turned out to be comprehensible |
| C．needed further improvement |
| D．attracted few professionals |
| A．Unrealistic. | B．Irrelevant. |
| C．Unattractive. | D．Imprecise. |
| A．The application of research findings. |
| B．The principle of scientific research. |
| C．The selection of young talents. |
| D．The evaluation of laboratories. |
| A．What makes Einstein great? |
| B．Will science be professionalized? |
| C．Could Einstein get published today? |
| D．How will modern science make advances? |
The story between Mr. Jordan and me was the most amazing story I wanted to share. Mr. Jordan was one of the teachers who I would never forget.
When I was young at school, I loved talking, a characteristic not always appreciated by Mr. Jordan, my 10-grade English teacher.
Mr. Jordan was a teacher whom no one liked because he was too strict. He stood about 5-foot-five, was very thin and wore his hair pulled back in a way that gave him a horsy look. He wore those half-circular reading glasses. Whenever he got upset, he would lower his head and look at you over the top of his glasses.
One day in his class I was busy talking. I didn’t realize he had stopped teaching and staring straight at me. “Sam, I would like to see you after school.”
Later Mr. Jordan explained in a low, but very firm voice that showed he expected me to listen when he was talking. For punishment he told me to write a thousand-word essay on education and its effect on the society. He wanted it in by the following Wednesday.
Well, I met my deadline. I was confident. It was a good paper. And I expected a sign of approval from him. The next day in class, however, he was looking at me over his glasses. He called me forward and returned my paper. “Go back and rewrite，” he said. “Remember, each paragraph is supported to begin with a topic sentence.” When he gave my paper back a second time, he corrected the grammar. The third time, the spelling. The fourth time, it was punctuation. The fifth, it wasn’t neat enough. I was sick!
The sixth time, I rewrote the whole paper slowly in ink, leaving generous space. When he saw it, he removed his glasses and smiled. He firmly accepted the paper. After that, I put the whole thing out of my mind.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
Paragraph 1:
One day after two weeks, Mr. Jordan came into the class and said，
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Paragraph 2:
I was amazed, thrilled and grateful.
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Early one weekend morning, I was sleeping like a log when the telephone rang. When I answered I heard my Grandma’s voice “Hey, sweetheart. I have missed you so much lately. Why don’t you come to the countryside and enjoy some fine views?” she asked. “Dad, Grandma is inviting us to her home,” I shouted to my father who was busy in the kitchen. “Fine with me,” he responded in a casual tone. After a quick breakfast, we drove to Grandma’s.
Once we arrived, we were both thrilled by the breathtaking landscape. The plum trees in the backyard were ripe with fruit, while millions of wildflowers colored the valley. Grandma prepared delicious lunch including her special homemade apple jam, which was my favorite. Seeing my greedy eyes, grandma said “Take some when you leave, and I’ve got plenty stored in the cellar (地窖) .” Talking and laughing, we didn’t even notice that it was late in the afternoon, though somewhat cooler than it had been that morning. Grandma suggested that we take her homemade wooden boat for a tour along the nearby river.
Seated in the boat, looking up at the sky, I felt like the clouds were greeting us cheerfully from above. In the vast fields, the golden trees were like brides in the sun. The breeze skimmed over the surface of the field, carrying the sweet smell of the flowers. It was like a picture painted by one of the Dutch masters. “It is so nice to spend some quality time with family,” Dad murmured. “It feels like we’re on an adventure,” I added. “It’s been so much fun!”
While we were admiring the splendid setting around us, the weather started getting hot and humid again. At first, we ignored this change, but when dad looked up at the sky, he saw dark, low clouds were approaching us. Then a fierce gale (大风) sprang up. Lightning flashed within the black clouds, followed by a roar of thunder. “Row!” Dad shouted, trembling, “A tornado (龙卷风) is coming!”
There was no time to think. We rowed as fast as we could.
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Grandma opened the door for us.
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China plans to complete the construction of a space station and have
“The main goal of the construction or the space station is to enable China to become a country
The space station will be built as China’s main platform for space science research
Lon was chasing his runaway horse when a goose went under his feet. And he fell into a thornbush (荆棘丛). “Why do I have such bad luck?”
Things never seemed to go Lon’s way. If there was a bee about, he was stung.
And if his horse ran away, it would run straight through a thornbush. Still, even bad luck might turn good if he could catch that goose for dinner.
He scanned the bushes, and found a nest with an egg. Just an egg, but even one egg might make a small meal.
He picked it up, but dropped it in surprise. The egg was unusually heavy, and it gleamed (发光) in the sunlight. It was made of gold!
Lon sighed. He’d nearly stepped on a goose that lays golden eggs. If he had captured the goose, he would have had golden egg after golden egg.
Then a thought exploded in his mind.
Perhaps he could take the egg and get it to hatch, and the new goose would lay golden eggs just as its mother did.
Lon smiled. His luck seemed to be changing.
Once home, Lon placed the egg into a bed of cotton next to the hearth. He turned it every hour for several days.
One morning, he heard a faint chk-chk-chk. A small golden beak poked its way through the shell.
It was an ugly little thing, but Lon didn’t care. All that mattered was the golden eggs it would soon lay.
The gosling demanded food. Lon happily kept its beak filled. He named the bird Goly and became fond of it, even though it was soon better fed than he was. Lon talked to his goose and taught it to play checkers (国际跳棋).
Time passed as Lon waited for the first golden egg. Goldy had grown quite fat, but there were no eggs. Lon finally took the goose to a farmer to see what the problem was.
The farmer took a closer look and laughed. “You’ll never get eggs from this goose. It’s a boy goose!
I might as well roast you for dinner,” Lon said. “At least then I’ll get a meal for all my work!”
注意:
1. 所续写短文的词数应为 150 左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Alarmed，Goldy popped out of Lon’s arm and escaped into the forest.
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One morning, Lon awoke to Goldy’s familiar honking outside.
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Jenny was a brighteyed，pretty fiveyearold girl. One day when she and her mother were checking out at the grocery store，Jenny saw a plastic pearl necklace priced at $2. 50. How she wanted that necklace，and when she asked her mother if she would buy it for her，her mother said，“Well，it is a pretty necklace，but it costs an awful lot of money. After all，I’ll buy you the necklace，and when we get home we can make up a list of chores that you can do to pay for the necklace. And don’t forget that for your birthday，Grandma just might give you a whole dollar bill，too. Okay？” Jenny agreed，and her mother bought the pearl necklace for her.
Jenny worked on her chores very hard every day，and sure enough，her grandma gave her a brandnew dollar bill for her birthday. Soon Jenny had paid off the pearls. How Jenny loved those pearls！She wore them everywhere to kindergarten，bed and when she went out with her mother to run errands (差事)．The only time she didn’t wear them was in the shower. Her mother had told her that they would turn her neck green!
Jenny had a very loving Daddy. When Jenny went to bed，he would get up from his favorite chair every night and read Jenny her favorite story.
One night when he finished the story，he said，“Jenny，do you love me？”
“Oh yes，Daddy，you know I love you，” the little girl said.
“Well，then，give me your pearls. ”
“Oh！Daddy，not my pearls！” Jenny refused. “But you can have Rosy，my favorite doll. Remember her? You gave her to me last year for my birthday. And you can have her tea party outfit，too. Okay？”
“Oh no，darling，that’s okay. ” Her father brushed her cheek with a kiss. “Good night，little one. ”
注意：
1．所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2．至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3．续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4．续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：
A week later，her father once again asked Jenny after her story.
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Paragraph 2：
Several days later，when Jenny’s father came in to read her a story as usual，he was surprised to find
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Sophia frowned as she helped her mother and father set out the cooking supplies in the shiny steel kitchen. Her family had just moved here from San Francisco,having bought a small restaurant, which was set to open in the next few days.
“Moving here was a dumb idea," Sophia grumbled,mostly to herself. The girl had been joyless about the move, but her parents had made the decision and were now too busy getting ready for the grand opening to listen to her complaints.
The first few days at her new school hadn't been easy,either. She found it hard to talk to people she didn't know, and it seemed like the students hadn't even noticed her. Sophia sighed and got back to washing dishes.
On the day of the grand opening,Sophia' s parents were all smiling,welcoming customers into the restaurant, brightly decorated in gold and red. Even Sophia was in a good mood as she rushed around,seating guests,handing out menus,and pouring tall glasses of water. This was a big day for her family.
At one of the tables sat a family with two daughters who were about Sophia' s age. As she filled their glasses,Sophia realized the twins were in her class,Emily and Jenny. Sophia ducked her head down so her long hair covered her face,and she turned away from the table.
Sophia' s mother found her soon after, in the kitchen loading the dishwasher.
“Honey, what are you doing back here? We need you out front with the customers. ”
“Mom, I don't want to be out there. There are kids from school!”
“So?” her mother asked.“That's good! Go take them some fortune cookies and say hello!”She clucked her tongue disapprovingly at Sophia and disappeared out of the kitchen.
Sophia frowned. She grabbed a handful of fortune cookies that they gave out after every meal,but first she tore open a wrapper and cracked a cookie open for herself. She popped a sweet, crunchy piece in her mouth, and absently read the fortune paper it held.
“Many friends are found with a single smile,” it read.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Sophia sighed. She put a handful of cookies into a small tray and left the kitchen.
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Sophia blushed and nodded. This girl knew her name?
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