1 . The “reading wars,” one of the most confusing and disabling conflicts in the history of education, went on heatedly in the 1980s and then peace came. Advocates of phonics (learning by being taught the sound of each letter group) seemed to defeat advocates of whole language (learning by using cues like context and being exposed to much good literature).
Recent events suggest the conflict of complicated concepts is far from over. Teachers, parents and experts appear to agree that phonics is crucial, but what is going on in classrooms is not in agreement with what research studies say is required, which has aroused a national debate over the meaning of the word “phonics.”
Lucy M. Calkins, a professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College and a much-respected expert on how to teach reading, has drawn attention with an eight-page essay. Here is part of her argument: “The important thing is to teach kids that they needn’t freeze when they come to a hard word, nor skip past it. The important thing is to teach them that they have resources to draw upon, and to use those resources to develop endurance.”
To Calkins’s critics, it is cruel and wasteful to encourage 6-year-olds to look for clues if they don’t immediately know the correct sounds. They should work on decoding — knowing the pronunciation of every letter group — until they master it, say the critics, backed by much research.
Calkins’s approach “is a slow, unreliable way to read words and an inefficient way to develop word recognition skill,” Mark S. Seidenberg, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin, said in a blog post. “Dr. Calkins treats word recognition as a reasoning problem — like solving a puzzle. She is committed to the educational principle that children learn best by discovering how systems work rather than being told.”
Many others share his view. “Children should learn to decode — i.e., go from print on the page to words in the mind — not by clever guesswork and inference, but by learning to decode,” Daniel Willingham, a psychologist at the University of Virginia, told me. He said the inferences Calkins applauds are “cognitively (认知地) demanding, and readers don’t have much endurance for it. … It disturbs the flow of what you’re reading, and doing a lot of it gets frustrating.”
Yet a recent survey found that only 22 percent of 670 early-reading teachers are using the approach of phonics and what they mean by phonics is often no more than marking up a worksheet.
Both sides agree that children need to acquire the vocabulary and background information that gives meaning to words. But first, they have to pronounce them correctly to connect the words they have learned to speak.
Calkins said in her essay: “Much of what the phonics people are saying is praiseworthy,” but it would be a mistake to teach phonics “at the expense of reading and writing.”
The two sides appear to agree with her on that.
1. Critics of phonics hold the opinion that ________.| A．children should be taught to use context |
| B．teaching phonics is both boring and useless |
| C．kids acquire vocabulary in hearing letter groups |
| D．pronunciation has nothing to do with meaning of words |
| A．Tell me and I will forget; show me and I will remember. |
| B．Skilled reading is fast and automatic but not deliberative. |
| C．Word recognition skill should be developed in problem reasoning. |
| D．Learning to make reasonable inferences is also a way of decoding. |
| A．phonics approach has been proved to be successful |
| B．children don’t shy away from difficulties in reading |
| C．the two reading approaches might integrate with each other |
| D．reading and writing are much more important than phonics |
| A．An everlasting reading war among critics |
| B．From print on the page to words in the mind |
| C．A battle restarts between phonics, whole language |
| D．Decoding and inferring confuse early-reading teachers |
2 . There aren’t enough resources to identify and cure the factors that are causing populations of animals around the world to decline. Artificial intelligence might have the power to change that.
When an endangered seabird hits a power line, it
His team recorded 600 hours of audio and sent the recordings to Preservation Metrics, a company that assists preservation efforts with AI
In science fiction stories such as The Matrix, AI-powered machines take over the world and end life on the planet as we know it. But
By many
Humans,
In large national parks and wildlife reserves,
We still face many challenges to
| A．makes a sound | B．catches fire | C．keeps the distance | D．takes chances |
| A．affected | B．preserved | C．recorded | D．attracted |
| A．unlawfully | B．instantly | C．frequently | D．deliberately |
| A．fiction | B．significance | C．factors | D．resources |
| A．deceiving | B．doubtful | C．desirable | D．disturbing |
| A．Engaged in | B．Qualified for | C．Armed with | D．Exposed to |
| A．in addition | B．in reality | C．in return | D．in fact |
| A．measures | B．programs | C．services | D．species |
| A．biodiversity | B．production | C．population | D．economy |
| A．distribute | B．pool | C．lack | D．exploit |
| A．meanwhile | B．however | C．otherwise | D．besides |
| A．big-game | B．professional | C．local | D．illegal |
| A．impossible | B．dangerous | C．urgent | D．thankless |
| A．disproved | B．explained | C．predicted | D．ignored |
| A．estimate | B．reverse | C．experience | D．sustain |
When Mom said we had to give away Sam, I didn’t say a word. I just picked up Sam and walked out to the shed (棚) that used to be Dad’s workshop. What Mom said to me wasn’t a surprise. I saw it would come.
My name is Nathan. Sam was my cat. Not long before Dad died, he found Sam behind his store. No one wanted a little cat, so Dad brought him home. Sam was black, with wise eyes and big ears. But what most people noticed was his big white feet.
“Meow?” Sam knew I was upset. I wondered if I could explain to Sam about Anna. She’s my younger stepsister (继妹), and if it weren’t for her, I could keep Sam. But I didn’t explain, and Sam couldn’t understand his situation. He liked to run up and down in the shed’s dusty sunlight.
No one used the shed now except our elder neighbors, Mr. Sims and Mr. Irvin. They made wind chimes (风铃) to sell at the market. Dad used to help them. I grew up loving the sounds that filled our shed. Mom said people loved those chimes because their music was mixed with laughter.
I wondered how things were going to change now that I had a stepsister. Last week we had to take Anna to the hospital quickly. She couldn’t breathe. Mom thought it was because Sam slept in her room. Anna was allergic (过敏的) to cats. Mom told me that Sam had to be sent away. She asked me who was more important, Sam or Anna. I couldn’t answer.
“Isn’t there anything else we can do?” I asked. I looked at Sam. Sam was playing with things left over from the wind chimes. When he hit metal against metal, it rang loudly. Sam was happy. But I wasn’t.
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。
Then, I remembered Anna on the way to the hospital and her face frightened and pale.
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In the end, our neighbors Mr. Sims and Mr. Irvin took in Sam, so Sam got two homes.
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My writing career began quite accidentally. It was all because of my friend Henry.
Born into a poor family, Henry had no chance to attend school. He couldn’t read but he liked my reading for him greatly. One day I played a little trick on Henry. I was reading him a story from my textbook. Suddenly I moved away from the story and made up my own, pretending to turn pages regularly. Henry, of course, had no idea at all. Upon finishing the story, Henry began to clap.
“That was the best story you’ve read me in a long time,” he said, still clapping.
I laughed. “Really?”
“It was great. Will you read me more of it tomorrow?”
“Fascinating,” I thought, feeling like a man who discovered a buried treasure in his own backyard. That same night, I tried writing my first short story. It was a story about a man who found a magic cup. If he cried into the cup, his tears turned into pearls (珍珠), but he was a happy man and rarely cried. So he managed to find ways to make himself sad. The story ended with the man sitting on a mountain of pearls, unable to feel happy any longer.
The next day, I ran to Henry after school, asking him to hear the story and told him I wrote it last night. Henry was totally absorbed in it, his face shifting as the story developed.
“Some day, you will be a great writer,” Henry said. “And your stories will be read all over the world. But can I ask a question? Why didn’t the man just eat some onions to make himself cry to get pearls?” I was shocked because I never expected Henry could be helpful to my writing. I rewrote it and with Henry’s encouragement, I sent it to a magazine. To my surprise, it was published and sold well.
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。
Whenever I finished a new story, I would turn to Henry.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I decided to use the money to help Henry.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . Beating Burnout and Compassion Fatigue in the New Year
This year has continued to bring many of us closer to the pain, suffering and exhaustion of those experiencing burnout and compassion fatigue (疲倦). There is no doubt that 2021 has been filled with additional challenges.
The data is clearly showing that our workforce shares feelings of burnout. A recent Gallup report indicated that 67% of us feel burned out either some or most of the time. At an organizational level, Hogan reports that burned out employees are 18% less productive and 2.6 times more likely to be actively seeking a different job.
Fatigue and burnout arise not when we fail to get sufficient rest but when we fail to appreciate the moments of purpose and joy in our lives.
There are a few myths around burnout and compassion fatigue:
Myth 1: Burnout is an individual's problem.
Many people believe that burnout is about an individual who needs to “figure it out”.
Myth 2:
Surprisingly, the individuals most likely to experience burnout are committed employees and leaders who love their job and are highly engaged. These top performers are the people you are most likely to lose.
Myth 3: People who experience burnout are just less resilient.
Research shows a correlation between higher levels of resilience (复原力) and lower levels of burnout.
If 2021 has taught us anything, it is that we cannot separate burnout from our emotions, whether they may be fear, anger, shame or guilt.
| A．While fatigue is more sudden and results from carrying the pain and suffering of others, what we experience is similar. |
| B．Burnout results from lack of responsibility. |
| C．Burnout hurts individuals' enthusiasm and passion. |
| D．At this point, burnout and compassion fatigue has expanded into many aspects of our lives. |
| E．But burnout occurs at different levels and is the result from challenges to individuals, teams and organizations. |
| F．At one point, people believed resilience was established by “sucking it up”, or “just staying positive”. |
| G．And the path forward requires us to deepen the relationship with feelings of joy, passion, pride and fulfillment. |
6 . HANDSTITCHED WORLDS: THE CARTOGRAPHY OF QUILTS
Quilts (床罩) are a narrative art; with themes that are political, spiritual, communal, or commemorative, they are infused with history and memory, mapping out intimate stories and legacies through a handcrafted language of design. Handstitched Worlds: The Cartography of Quilts is an invitation to read quilts as maps, tracing the paths of individual histories that illuminate larger historic events and cultural trends.
Spanning the nineteenth to twenty-first centuries, this insightful and engaging exhibition brings together 18 quilts from the collection of the American Folk Art Museum, New York, representing a range of materials, motifs, and techniques from traditional early-American quilts to more contemporary sculptural assemblages. The quilts in Handstitched Worlds show us how this too-often overlooked medium balances creativity with tradition, individuality with collective zeitgeist. Like a road map, these unique works offer a path to a deeper understanding of the American cultural fabric.
Number of Works:18 quilts
Organized by: American Folk Art Museum, New York
Approximate size:175-200 linear feet
Security: Moderate security
Participation Fee: Please inquire
Shipping: IA&A makes all arrangements; exhibitors pay outgoing shipping costs within the contiguous U.S.
Booking Period:12 weeks
Tour: June 2021—August2024
Contact: TravelingExhibitions@ArtsandArtists.org
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI
June 12, 2021—August 29, 2021
Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma, WA
September 17, 2021—January 23, 2022
Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT
February 19, 2022—May 14, 2022
Fort Wayne Muesum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN
June 18, 2022—September 11, 2022
AVAILABLE
October 2022—January 2023
Dane G. Hansen Memorial Museum, Logan, KS
February 17,2023—May 14, 2023
AVAILABLE
June 2023—December 2023
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, MS
January 30, 2024—April 21, 2024
AVAILABLE
May 2024—August 2024
All tour dates can be customized to meet your scheduling needs. Please contact Traveling Exhibitions @ Artsand Artists.org for more information.
1. What is the purpose of the exhibition of Handstitched Worlds: The Cartography of Quilts?| A．To promote creativity and individuality thorough the engaging exhibition. |
| B．To provide an opportunity for visitors to learn to make quilts stitch by stitch. |
| C．To give visitors an insight into the history and culture of America in specific periods. |
| D．To enrich the understanding of the American culture by a tour visit to museums across America. |
| A．The exhibition is free both for the exhibitors and for the visitors. |
| B．Exhibitors that are interested can choose whatever dates they want. |
| C．The artistic and historic value of handstitched quilts used to be neglected. |
| D．Exhibitors that are interested can book the exhibition 12 weeks in advance. |
| A．exhibitors | B．visitors | C．artists | D．historians |
Human memory is notoriously (众所周知地) unreliable. Even people with the sharpest facial recognition skills can only remember so much.
It’s tough to quantify how good a person is
Machines aren’t limited this way. Give the right computer a massive database of faces, and it can process what it sees – then recognize a face it
The thing is, machines still have limitations when it comes to facial recognition. And scientists are only just beginning to understand what those constraints are.
As the databases grew, machine accuracy dipped across the board. Algorithms
Machines also had difficulty adjusting for people who look a lot alike –either doppelgangers (长相极相似的人), whom the machine would have trouble
My grandparents’ house is in Rosewood and they have a small house with a lovely garden. “Grandpa has gone to visit his brother and Grandma is staying alone at home,” I said to my friends Melissa and Rocky, both of whom were more than willing to go to give her a surprise. After we got ready, Dad drove us there.
When we arrived, my grandma was so surprised and happy. She gave me a big hug. “Won’t you introduce me to your friends?” said Grandma.
My friends were introduced and Grandma gave them each a warm hug. Dad stayed for a while and left for his own work. Then we enjoyed talking and playing in the garden. Lunch was served. Grandma prepared a tasty meal of vegetable soup chicken sandwiches and strawberry ice cream for us. After lunch, we sat in the garden in a semicircle facing Grandma, and listened to her telling interesting stories
We were interrupted by a sudden and urgent knock on the door. I jumped up to open the door. It was Janet, Grandma’s neighbor.
“Mrs. White, my daughter Eva went to walk our dog Bruno, and hasn’t returned home yet. She always comes back in ten minutes or so. I’m very worried that something has happened to her. She usually walks on the main street outside our home but I can’t see her anywhere. I called out her name, but there was no answer. I have hurt my foot and can hardly walk, so I want to ask you for help,” said Janet.
“Aunty Janet, please don’t worry. My friends and I will go and look for Eva. I’m sure we will find her soon,” I said.
Grandma stayed with Janet and looked after her. We left the garden immediately to search for Eva and Bruno. We called Eva’s name and looked everywhere but couldn’t find her. I thought we would have to go back in vain.
Paragraph 1:
We were about to head home when we heard low and weak sounds nearby.
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Paragraph 2:
We pulled up Bruno and then Eva.
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Kilimandjaro was a popular place for soccer fans who went to watch Middlesbrough F.C. play over the weekend to eat after the game. Waka Waka Chicken was one of the restaurant’s signature dishes.
Everything seemed normal for the owner of the restaurant, Apollo, who always values the virtue of honesty, and his waiters. Customers were flocking in, and service was running smoothly that day. Apollo, to be honest, wasn’t even there. He was having a good time with his family, completely unaware of what was going on in his restaurant. He had no idea that something unexpected was about to happen and that he’d be getting a rather awkward phone call from the waiter.
At about 11：00 a. m, three guys walked in, clearly interested in sitting down and eating some food. There’s a good chance they came from out of town and were fans of the away team. At the very least, the staff could detect a difference in their accents. It wasn’t long before they were attended to by a waiter who took their orders. After that, everything appeared to be going well…The three friends were glad they had chosen Kilimandjaro. Waka Waka Chicken with cheese was enjoyed by them. From their expression, the staff could tell these three guys were very satisfied with the food.
About one hour later, the three friends were prepared to pay for their meals. The total cost of the food was £35. They reached for their credit cards and handed them over as the waiter approached their table. However, they were shocked when the waiter informed them that they could only pay in cash. None of them carried cash with them. At this time, the waiter was asked to go to another table to take orders. Realizing the last train back home was to depart in an hour, the three friends had other ideas…
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。
On returning, the waiter was surprised the three guys had gone without paying.
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Two weeks later，Apollo received an unexpected letter with £35 attached．
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Cold wind swept through the weathered coats of five-year-old Rebecca and her mother as they searched their small yard for the source of a faint quack (鸭叫). “Over here, mommy,” Rebecca pointed under a bush.
The source of this noise was a small skinny brown wild duck that was limping (跛行) around on only one good foot. They got down on their knees in the freezing cold，and cornered the duck against an old wooden fence. Rebecca’s mom gently grabbed the helpless duck. It put up little resistance since it was tired and hungry.
They took it inside the small wooden house. Rebecca’s mom looked closer at the homeless creature. One of its legs was injured. It was in pretty bad shape. “ Maybe we should take it to the animal clinic.” Rebecca said.
“But Rebecca, the clinic is probably closed now, being it’s Christmas Eve.” And in the back of her mind, she thought to herself, “I don’t know if we can afford an expensive bill right now.”
But looking at the poor little duck that seemed like it was near the end of its rope, Rebecca’s mom decided to try their luck. They wrapped the weak duck in an old worn towel. Its neck extended out and down from the towel. They walked out into the icy cold evening, with the sun just setting below the horizon. As they walked down the street, the duck made a faint “quaaaack” in desperation. The evening grew darker and colder by the moment.
After a couple of blocks, they noticed a white sign up ahead with black letters ‘Animal Clinic’. But their hopes were dashed (破灭) as they stared at a darkened storefront and a ‘Closed’ sign.
“What do we do now?” she thought to herself, both cold and tired.
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。
Suddenly Rebecca noticed there was light inside.
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“Thank you. But how much do we owe you?” Rebecca’s mom asked.
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