1 . Since young children went back to school across Sweden recently, many of their teachers have been putting a new emphasis on printed books, quiet reading time and handwriting practice, and devoting less time to tablets, independent online research and keyboarding skills.
The return to more traditional ways of learning is a response to politicians and experts questioning whether Sweden’s hyper-digitalized approach to education, including the introduction of tablets in nursery schools, had led to a decline in basic skills.
Sweden’s minister for schools, Lotta Edholm was one of the biggest critics of the all-out embrace of technology. “Sweden’s students need more textbooks,” Edholm said in March. “Physical books are important for student learning.” The minister announced in August that the government wanted to change the decision by the national agency for education to make digital devices compulsory in preschools. It plans to go further and to completely end digital learning for children under age six, the ministry has told the Associated Press.
Although Sweden’s students score above the European average for reading ability, an international assessment of fourth-grade reading levels, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), highlighted a decline among Sweden’s children between 2016 and 2021.
In comparison, Singapore — which topped the rankings — improved its PIRLS reading scores from 576 to 587 during the same period, and England’s average reading achievement score fell only slightly, from 559 in 2016 to 558 in 2021. An overuse of screens during school lessons may cause youngsters to fall behind in core subjects, education experts say. “There’s clear scientific evidence that digital tools impair rather than enhance student learning,” Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, a highly respected medical school focused on research, said in a statement in August on the country’s national digitalization strategy in education.
“We believe the focus should return to acquiring knowledge through printed textbooks and teacher expertise, rather than acquiring knowledge primarily from freely available digital sources that have not been checked for accuracy.” the school added.
1. Why do Swedish schools return to paper books?| A．To cater to parents’ increasing needs. |
| B．To help with children’s independent learning. |
| C．To overcome children’s addiction to digital tools. |
| D．To avoid possible decline in children’s basic skills. |
| A．Total acceptance. | B．Creative use. |
| C．Rapid development. | D．Serious addiction. |
| A．Teachers should acquire more knowledge. |
| B．Knowledge from digital tools may not be reliable. |
| C．Digital tools smooth out learning barriers for children. |
| D．The accessibility to digital sources should be improved. |
| A．Swedish Children’s Return to Paper | B．Problems with Children’s Education |
| C．Popularity of Digitalization in Sweden | D．Enhancement of Teaching Strategies in Sweden |
Khan Lab School is bringing back the one-room model to teach young students in Mountain View, California. The school is
Students aged 5 to 15 attend the experimental Khan Lab School. It has no grade levels and no homework. The students are in school from 8:30 in the morning until 6:00 in the afternoon. And, the school is open all year long, with small
The school is the idea of Salman Khan, the founder of Khan Academy. Khan Academy is
Khan
The one-room model lets the older students help younger students,
Khan said students also learn the study material at their own speed through videos. At last, they get more attention through one-on-one discussions with teachers. They also learn by
When I was a child, I was particular about food. It was Aunt Nelda that changed my habit of being a picky eater.
As far as I could remember, on a Friday night, when Dad and I arrived at Aunt Nelda’s house at dinner time, she prepared a big meal for us. Though the dishes smelled delicious, I didn’t feel like eating some of them. I took several bites of the sandwich and then laid it aside. Dad wanted to kick me under the table to remind me to finish all the food, but drawers (抽屉) between us protected me.
Looking at those drawers, I had a good idea. When Dad got up to refill his soup bowl, I pulled the bottom drawer open. It was full of cloth napkins (布餐巾). I put my sandwich under them and shut the drawer quickly. A plan for my rest food at Aunt Nelda’s emerged.
The next morning, I did the same to the food which I hated to eat. When Aunt Nelda saw my empty bowl, she gave me some sweets and said, “Good job, Jodi. You like my cooking just as much as your father.”
On Sunday, the food under the napkins continued growing, but somehow more slowly. Aunt Nelda was actually a pretty good cook. At noon, her children were coming for lunch. I offered to help set the table.
“Jodi, get the cloth napkins out of the bottom drawer,” she said. My heart began to beat fast. It was not because of the bottom drawer or the cloth napkins, but because of the left food.
“No, let’s use these!” I said, grabbing a handful of paper napkins. Aunt Nelda reached for the drawer. “My children prefer cloth napkins!” she said. I held my breath, waiting for the horrible scene. However, I couldn’t believe that she handed me some neat napkins.
“I’ve already cleaned them up,” she said. “It was so strange that there was much food under the napkins. I hadn’t seen mice for years! Guess what? They were back again. A long time ago, they made a nest and carried the food all over the house.”
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。
Aunt Nelda’s words made me feel relieved but ashamed.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Hearing what I said, Aunt Nelda opened her mouth wide.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . In the United States and other countries, schoolchildren have long learned from one kind of world map. It is called the Mercator projection. This version of map is more than 450 years old. Gerardus Mercator, a European mapmaker, designed it for the purpose of helping sailors and ships on the high seas.
But map experts say the Mercator projection should not be used in schools. They say it does not correctly show the sizes of countries and continents. For example, Mercator maps make Greenland appear bigger than China. In fact, China is about four times larger than Greenland.
Now, school officials in Massachusetts are replacing the Mercator map with the Peters projection. German historian Arno Peters worked on the projection in the 1970s. Peters’ aim was to fix Mercator’s problems with sizes.
Seeing a Peters map for the first time can be a strange experience. Land masses may look stretched (拉伸的) compared to how they look on the Mercator s and some other world maps.
Every map has its purpose. At first, the main purpose of Gerardus Mercator’s map was to help sailors get across the open seas without getting lost. When the Mercator map is used for other purposes than navigating (航行), such as on classroom walls as a representation of the real world, that’s like using a telephone to brush your teeth. The aim of the Peters projection was to show all countries, all regions, all continents, at their own actual sizes.
The Mercator and Peters projections are just two of many kinds of world maps that may hang in school classrooms. Many public schools in China, for example, use a map that shows East Asia near the center. It is human nature to view one’s own place near the center of the world. Mercator himself put Germany—his adopted homeland—near the middle of his map.
Maps are powerful tools. And the map from which students learn about the world can make a big difference in their understanding of others.
1. Why is the Mercator projection said to be unfit for school use?| A．It was designed too long ago. | B．It can’t provide exact information. |
| C．It doesn’t suit the changing world. | D．It only shows the position of the seas. |
| A．To correct the mistakes in the Mercator map. | B．To help students learn about geography. |
| C．To take the place of the Mercator map. | D．To compete with the Mercator map. |
| A．Different characters of their makers. | B．Different realization of the world. |
| C．Their different purposes. | D．Their different times. |
| A．They should put one’s country in the center. | B．They should be the most advanced ones. |
| C．They are the most important materials. | D．They have a great effect on students. |
5 . Many people in the UK have poor mathematical skills. Dr.Richard Pike, a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said that mathematics questions in entrance tests to British universities were much too simple.
About two thirds of British universities now offer special courses in mathematics to new students. The courses are necessary because new students do not know enough mathematics when they leave high school. A university teacher said that there was a serious risk that there would not be enough scientists and engineers coming out of British universities in the future.
New university students are bad at mathematics. So are a lot of other people in Britain. A survey found that 7 million people in England were bad at mathematics. It is necessary to help people improve their math skills, which are important in lots of ways.
One problem is that many students do not want to study math because they think it is a difficult subject. They want to have high grades in their A levels. High A level grades are necessary in order to go to university. This is one reason why students do not choose to study mathematics at A level. Sometimes schools also prefer students to study easier subjects instead of mathematics. A school will have a better reputation if more students pass A level exams.
Another problem is that some educated people think mathematics is not important. They think it is not a creative subject. This way of thinking is very dangerous. When people do not understand mathematics, they are not able to make proper judgments about important questions. Nowadays, a lot of people use the Internet to find the answers to scientific questions. But they don’t understand science. They cannot judge the value of the information which they find. People will become very ignorant if they don’t study mathematics and science.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．Mathematics problems in the UK. | B．Simple exams for British students. |
| C．Unscientific course structure in the UK. | D．Problems for British high school students. |
| A．students hope to learn more about mathematic skills |
| B．students’ parents want them to continue math study |
| C．students do not learn enough mathematics in high school |
| D．students are expected to become scientists or engineers |
| A．students think mathematics is not important |
| B．schools ask all students to pass A level exams |
| C．schools encourage students to study mathematics |
| D．students are afraid to study mathematics at A level |
| A．They can’t make any achievements in some creative work. |
| B．They can’t make correct decisions on some important issues. |
| C．They can properly use the Internet to look for information. |
| D．They can gain the respect of students who are bad at math. |
6 . Have your ever imagined a robot doing homework for you? This has become a reality due to the coming of ChatGPT. But teachers at UK universities have been asked to rethink about the way to assess (评价) their courses because students are already using a powerful new AI tool capable of producing high-quality essays (论文).
ChatGPT, the latest chat robot, has only been publicly available for weeks, but has already caused concerns about the possibility of academic (学术的) dishonesty and questions about the acceptability of the essay as a future form of assessment. Working groups have been set up in university departments to meet this challenge.
Experts admit feeling both excited and alarmed. Dr Thomas Lancaster, a computer scientist working at Imperial College London, best known for his research into academic honesty, said ChatGPT was in many ways a game changer. He explains, “It’s certainly a major turning point in education where universities have to make big changes. They have to adapt sooner rather than later.”
There are signs of Australian universities to have a return to greater use of in-person exams to try to protect the fairness of assessment. Lancaster said, however, a total return to exams was not the answer, suggesting instead the use of giving a formal talk to enable students to show their understanding of a subject.
Michael Webb, director of technology and analytics at Jisc, which provides network and IT services to higher education, agreed. He said, “The immediate reaction might be to avoid these tools in order to stop students cheating, but that’s not advisable. We should not simply regard them as spelling or grammar checkers, but technology that can make everyone’s life easier.”
“We don’t need to go back to in-person exams: This is a great opportunity for the schools to explore new assessment methods that measure learners on critical thinking, problem-solving and reasoning skills rather than essay-writing abilities.”
1. Why do the UK teachers have to rethink about the way of assessment?| A．Because their students fail in producing quality essays. |
| B．Because ChatGPT doesn’t do well in academic assessment. |
| C．Because essays will not be accepted as a future form of assessment. |
| D．Because ChatGPT increases the possibility of academic dishonesty. |
| A．Changing the way ChatGPT works. |
| B．Testing students with spoken reports. |
| C．Doing research on academic honesty. |
| D．Returning to previous in-person exams. |
| A．He is concerned about the way students use ChatGPT. |
| B．He advises students not to use ChatGPT in writing essays. |
| C．He is impressed with ChatGPT’s grammar checking function. |
| D．He expects schools to explore better ways to assess students fully. |
| A．A big advance in AI technology. |
| B．A problem facing college educators. |
| C．A challenge to academic assessment from ChatGPT. |
| D．ChatGPT as an effective tool for academic assessment. |
7 . College students usually hear the praises of education. We have all become used to believing that a college education is always a guarantee of an easier life. I was nine years old when my fourth-grade teacher presented me with a task, to write down all of the things I wanted in my life. I filled my paper with things like: own a big house and have servants; be rich and have a good job. The next day my teacher handed back my paper and in red ink she wrote: “GO TO COLLEGE.” For a long time, I believed that once I got a college education, BAM! Life would be easier.
However, education cannot promise all wishes, dreams, and desires. Society must reject (拒绝接受) the foolish idea that a college education’s main purpose is to satisfy our desires and secure success. Like most challenging things, education is a gamble (赌博) in which results depend entirely on people’s ability to look past their wants to see the realism and reason behind their wants.
For example, my first year of college, I took a sociology (社会学) class. In class, we were taught that Third World countries were poor. We learned that our quality of life would be almost impossible for an average person in those countries. I began to examine my own desire to be rich. To always go after money felt selfish when knowing others had none at all. Learning about other society’s economic situations forced me to look beyond what I wanted.
Through the process of education, everything once desired is tested. Wanting something no longer is enough; it’s more important to examine why we want it and whether we really want it. When my desire for money changed, everything changed. I stopped longing for money-driven careers and stopped valuing the people who had them. I began to examine the things I bought and my reason for wanting them.
Education is a tool to be used to develop and advance our desires, so we can discover the things that are truly important in life. Education is a source to improve our society to see beyond the superficial (表面的) attractions and the “quick fixes”, leaving the belief of an effortless life behind in order to desire a meaningful one.
1. What does the underlined word “guarantee” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Promise. | B．Process. | C．Attraction. | D．Dream. |
| A．the author was a bad-working student |
| B．the author should set more realistic goals |
| C．college students were leading an easy life |
| D．a college education was the key to the author’s dreams |
| A．To share her leaning experiences with readers. |
| B．To support her new understanding about education. |
| C．To express her pity on people in Third World. |
| D．To stress the importance of taking a sociology course. |
| A．College education is a key to an effortless life. |
| B．College education offers solutions to social problems. |
| C．College education tests and guides our life desires. |
| D．College education turns young people into gamblers. |
8 . Children are naturally curious beings, but getting them to study something they aren’t interested in can be a difficult task. Teachers often find themselves trying to reward in the
Natural curiosity is sometimes referred to as “internal motivation”. Studies have found that children who see learning as
External motivation, things like rewards and punishment, does have its
According to some experts, the key is to
So it seems that the most
| A．form | B．name | C．order | D．right |
| A．examples | B．answers | C．experiments | D．thoughts |
| A．frustrating | B．ordinary | C．overwhelming | D．fun |
| A．ashamed of | B．annoyed with | C．grateful for | D．passionate about |
| A．causes | B．outputs | C．uses | D．principles |
| A．acknowledged | B．restricted | C．challenged | D．treated |
| A．discussion | B．creativity | C．interest | D．demand |
| A．allow | B．pass | C．sense | D．monitor |
| A．social | B．strong | C．frank | D．free |
| A．affected | B．explained | C．analyzed | D．met |
| A．test | B．build | C．admit | D．refresh |
| A．visually | B．slightly | C．exactly | D．originally |
| A．effective | B．humble | C．private | D．traditional |
| A．end up | B．come from | C．commit to | D．set off |
| A．level | B．choice | C．judge | D．doubt |
9 . Definitions of adult learning vary, but it is usually defined as all forms of learning undertaken by adults after having left initial education and training, however far this process may have gone.
Education and training are important factors for achieving the strategy objectives of raising economic growth, competitiveness and social inclusion. However, with some exceptions, the process of implementing education and training remains weak. Most education and training systems are still largely focused on the education and training of young people and limited progress has been made in changing systems to mirror the need for learning throughout the lifespan.
An additional 4 million adults would need to participate in lifelong learning. Recent research confirms the importance of investing in adult learning. The research on adults indicates that those who engage in learning are healthier, with a consequent reduction in healthcare costs.
The big economic challenge in Europe is to raise its growth and employment performance while preserving social cohesion(凝聚力). The rapid progress in other regions of the world shows the importance of creative, advanced and quality education and training as key factors of economic competitiveness. General levels of competence must increase, both to meet the needs of the labour market and to allow citizens to function well in today's society.
Europe is facing big demographic(人口的) changes that will have a major impact on society and on the economy and consequently on education and training provision and needs. Over the next 30 years, the number of younger Europeans will fall by 15%. One in three Europeans will be over 60 years old, and about one in ten will be over 80.
Given the challenges identified above, raising the overall level of skills of the adult population by offering more and better learning opportunities throughout adult life is important for both efficiency and equity reasons. Not only does lifelong learning help make adults more efficient workers and more active citizens, it also contributes to their personal well-being.
1. Which can replace the underlined word “implementing” in paragraph 2?| A．Carrying out. |
| B．Taking in. |
| C．Knowing about. |
| D．Looking over. |
| A．Adults have reduced healthcare costs. |
| B．Learning is good for adults’ health. |
| C．Few adults need to receive learning. |
| D．More research will focus on learning. |
| A．Europeans are not healthy. |
| B．Many old Europeans have died. |
| C．The European population is aging. |
| D．Young Europeans are out of work. |
| A．Lifelong learning is essential. |
| B．Raising adult population is significant. |
| C．We should help more efficient workers. |
| D．Work contributes to personal well-being. |
写作要点：1. 提出倡议的背景；2. 倡议的内容；3. 提出呼吁。
参考词汇：all-round talents全能型人才
注意：1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 适当加入细节，使内容充实、行文连贯；
3. 请按如下格式作答。
To Be an All-round Student
Dear boys and girls,_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The English Club
