1 . This Is How Scandinavia Got Great
Almost everybody admires the Nordic model. Countries like Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland have high economic productivity, high social equality, high social trust and high levels of personal happiness.
Nordic nations were ethnically homogeneous(同质的) in 1800, when they were dirt poor. Their economic growth took off just after 1870, way before their welfare states were established.
The 19th-century Nordic elites did something we haven’t been able to do in our country recently. They realized that if their countries were to prosper they had to create truly successful “folk schools” for the least educated among them. They realized that they were going to have to make lifelong learning a part of the natural fabric of society.
Today, Americans often think of schooling as the transmission of specialized skill sets — the student can read, do math and recite the facts of biology.
The Nordic educators worked hard to cultivate each student’s sense of connection to the nation. Before the 19th century, most Europeans identified themselves in local and not national terms.
That educational push seems to have had a lasting influence on the culture. Whether in Stockholm or Minneapolis, Scandinavians have a tendency to joke about the way their sense of responsibility is always nagging at them. They have the lowest rates of corruption in the world. They have a distinctive sense of the relationship between personal freedom and communal responsibility.
| A．Bildung is the way that the individual matures and takes upon him or herself ever bigger academic responsibility. |
| B．What really launched the Nordic nations was generations of phenomenal educational policy. |
| C．Bildung is designed to change the way students see the world. |
| D．But the Nordic curriculum conveyed to students a pride in, say, their Danish history, folklore and heritage. |
| E．They look at education differently than we do. |
| F．The Nordic educators also worked hard to develop the student’s internal awareness. |
2 . In American culture, I am noticing a lack of respect, especially among children. This should be treated
In 1995, I spent a couple of months in Kenya where I lived with a pastor’s family. This pastor was a part of the Maasai tribes that have some unique customs. One of them is the
In my early 20’s, I worked at a children’s home in South Carolina where the children from 4 to 19 years old were taught to respect their elders. They
Immanuel Kant expressed two
| A．passionately | B．steadily | C．publicly | D．alarmingly |
| A．challenging | B．faking | C．piloting | D．abandoning |
| A．assistance | B．greeting | C．blessing | D．guarantee |
| A．come forward | B．drop by | C．show off | D．fall down |
| A．pretend | B．suspect | C．determine | D．acknowledge |
| A．located | B．ranked | C．addressed | D．defied |
| A．delight | B．delay | C．decline | D．distress |
| A．gesture | B．secret | C．behavior | D．authority |
| A．peers | B．enemies | C．guards | D．owners |
| A．controversial | B．accepted | C．foreign | D．equivalent |
| A．twisting | B．imposing | C．banning | D．sparing |
| A．reason | B．solution | C．harmony | D．consciousness |
| A．similarity | B．response | C．obedience | D．approach |
| A．environmental | B．external | C．voluntary | D．flexible |
| A．luxuries | B．glories | C．instruments | D．models |
| A. thread B. illustrate C. breaks D. films E. engage F. second G. favored H. constantly I. embracing J. considerably K. certified |
Learning for a Distracted Generation
Today's students have a problem, and it is not the one written on the board. They were born into a world where algorithms (算法) keep them clicking, scrolling and swiping at a rapid pace. Technology, smartphones, social media, and immediate access to the internet are hurting their ability to focus and changing the way they think.
Now teachers have a problem too. They find it particularly exhausting to ask students to read complex or long texts without taking regular
A common
A 2018 study from educational publisher Pearson found that students aged between 10 and 24 tend to stay away from physical books. They prefer video as a source of information
Still, while those educators are
Digital natives will continue to eagerly adopt new media. Teachers have no choice but to adapt. They are making an effort not only to ensure that students take advantage of new technologies, but to teach students valuable skills that can help them succeed in a world
近年来，随着我国经济和社会建设的高速发展，教育的发展也达到了一个空前的水平，但区域的教育不公平受到人们的关注。请你谈谈造成这一问题的原因及解决的措施。
Students in the United States are assigned to classes for different goals. Those in the more advantaged tracks and programs not only encounter more curricular material; they are also typically asked to learn the material differently. They have opportunities to think, investigate, and create. They are challenged to explore. In Keeping Track, Jeannie Oakes describes the way in which teachers differently frame their work for students in different tracks.
Teachers of high-track classes describe their class goals in terms of higher-order thinking and independent learning, for example: “Logical thought process”; “Scientific reasoning and logic”. Students’ view of what they learned in class reflect these goals. High-track students said they learned: “To understand concepts and ideas and to experiment with them, and to work independently”; “How to express myself through writing and compose my thoughts in a logical manner and express my creativity.”
Conversely, in low-track classes, teachers described few academic goals for their students and none related to thinking logically, critically or independently. They often focused on low-level skills, for example: “Better use of time”; “Punctuality and self-discipline”; “Good work habits”. And low-track students said they had learned how to: “Behave in class”; “How to shut up”; “How to listen and follow the directions of the teacher.”
This phenomenon is widespread. In his research in New York City, Jonathan Kozol described how, within integrated schools, minority children were disproportionately assigned to special education class that occupy small corners and split classrooms, while gifted and talented classrooms occupied the most splendid spaces filled with books and computers, where they learned, in the children’s words, “logical thinking,” and “problem solving”. Students were recommended for these classes by their teachers and parents as well as by their test scores. Kozol wrote in his notes,“Six girls, four boys, nine white, one Chinese. I am glad they have this class. But what about the others? Aren’t there ten black children in the school who could enjoy this also?”
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6 . There was a time when both literature and the study of literature came under the delightful belles lettres-beautiful letters. When the phrase was introduced in the 18th century, literature was considered, at its best, beautiful. Devotees tried to reproduce that beauty in their response to it.
Modernism was a turning point, when literature became more alienated and combative (好斗的) with respect to society. American literature, with its powerful, democratic associations, contributed to the change. Belles lettres seemed too elitist to describe early-20th century writing. The superiority of belles lettres was further undermined by the rise of science as civilization's potential savior. Science was necessary to defend democracy, first during World War II and then during the Cold War. Now, it is the means of moving ahead in a competitive, technological society. Who has time for beauty when there is serious work to be done?
The death knell (丧钟) for belles lettres came with a 1959 lecture by the scientist and novelist C.P. Snow, “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.”Snow seemed to call for cooperation between science and the humanities, but he was really criticizing the scientific illiteracy of writers and critics who, unlike him, didn't happen to be scientists as well. The problem is that science and the humanities are inherently incommensurate fields. Science builds on its discoveries. It moves forward, so that the past is the literal foundation for the present and future. Literature does not move forward in this way. One need not read Shakespeare to write a play or a poem. By the same token Shakespeare is as relevant today as he was when he wrote.
The simple truth that progress is central to science but not to the humanities is difficult to grasp for people who seek improvement in every walk of life. It fuels the drive to make the humanities scientific-through the use of technical jargon (术语) , general theories about social texts, and quantitative tools to analyze word choice, sentence structure and other aspects of literature.
When the humanities give up their mission and seek shelter from progress, they become dangerous companion to ideological agendas. Students come to feel there is a definitive, “virtuous”reading of an event or a text; they criticize great authors of the past based on the standards of the present. They create a climate that arouses opposition from those who feel excluded or offended by such thinking but who lack the humanistic training to do more than fight back.
We need to be skeptical of beauty and its relationship to truth, but we also need to see truth as beautiful, and to look with skepticism upon the products of a culture that speak to us in ugly, pseudoscientific (伪科学的) ways.
1. In the author's opinion, which of the following statements might C. P. Snow agree with?| A．Cooperation determines the progress of civilization. |
| B．We don't actually need literature and art. |
| C．We need the humanities as much as science. |
| D．A writer who doesn't know science is undesirable. |
| A．unable to affect and promote each other. |
| B．unable to be judged by the same standard. |
| C．related and unable to be totally separated. |
| D．mutually exclusive and independent. |
| A．To promote civilization of the past. | B．To encourage openness and tolerance. |
| C．To cultivate the skeptical mind. | D．To create a climate without criticism. |
| A．Call for due attention to the humanities. |
| B．Regret about the death of belles Jetties. |
| C．Challenge to the cooperation between art and science. |
| D．Criticism on progressives' control of the humanities. |
7 . A Need to Close the Digital Gender Gap
One of the most efficient ways to promote peace and jump-start flagging economies is to empower girls and invest in their education. Today, girls’ lack of access to basic education is
Since 2013 the global gender gap in male and female access to the Internet has actually increased from 11 to 12 percent.
There are many causes for the digital gender gap. They include girls’ obvious
According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development, an independent, non-profit and non-governmental research organization, the gender digital gap is a major
In the words of USAID Senior Gender Coordinator Michelle Bekkering, “A girl’s future should be
| A．improved | B．eliminated | C．worsened | D．resulted |
| A．considerately | B．increasingly | C．only | D．technically |
| A．access | B．approach | C．evaluate | D．promote |
| A．However | B．Worse | C．And | D．Strangely |
| A．possible | B．probable | C．likely | D．feasible |
| A．gap | B．difference | C．data | D．shortage |
| A．digital | B．technical | C．mathematical | D．practical |
| A．restriction | B．exclusion | C．independence | D．division |
| A．implements | B．devices | C．products | D．experts |
| A．research | B．criticism | C．discrimination | D．distinction |
| A．encouraged | B．prevented | C．denied | D．disappointed |
| A．deadlock | B．concern | C．prevention | D．barrier |
| A．With | B．Without | C．Through | D．Despite |
| A．faint | B．lost | C．missed | D．rapid |
| A．defined | B．confined | C．designed | D．outlined |
Praising Kids
Parents praise their kids whenever they do anything that seems to be something remarkable. Jenn Berman, PhD, a family therapist says, “We’ve gone to the opposite extreme of a few decades ago when parents tended to be stricter.” Parents have come to believe that by giving kids heaping portions of praise, they improve their self-esteem and confidence.
So what is the right amount of praise?
Your son may not be the best basketball player on his team, Donahue says. But if he’s out there every day, shooting baskets, running drills, and playing hard, you should praise his effort regardless of whether his team wins or loses because it’s above and beyond the norm. Praising the effort and not the outcome can also mean recognizing your child when he has worked hard to clean the yard, cook dinner, or complete a history assignment, Donahue adds.
| A．Kids know when your praise is sincere and when it’s not. |
| B．Still, don’t go too far in the other direction. |
| C．But in fact, it may be just the opposite. |
| D．Experts say that the quality of praise is more important than the quantity. |
| E．Children develop a sense of competence by seeing the consequences of their actions, not by being told about the consequences of their actions. |
| F．But whatever it is, praise should be given on a case-by-case basis and be proportionate to the amount of effort your child put into it. |
9 . Chinese Ministry of Education (教育部) is changing its traditional policy of encouraging schools to give special admission (入学) opportunities to those students with special talents in sports, music and art, even though their grades didn’t reach the standard.
The policy was flawed because some parents expose their not-so-talented child to plenty of expensive and demanding training courses in order to improve their child’s slim chances of approaching a good school. And then there was the problem of corruption (贪污腐败), which means some local officials selling the talent certificates (证书) and medals to those ambitious parents. According to a press conference held by the Ministry of Education in March, 2018, the “special talent” policy is expected to be completely called off by 2020.
Although the policy is ending, it should not imply that students should give up developing their talents and interests. These extracurricular (课外的) activities may not have a direct effect on academic performance, but they are ways for students to begin building a “talent stack” that will help them in their future careers.
The idea of a “talent stack” comes from the American cartoonist Scott Adams. According to Adams, people shouldn’t focus on the goal of becoming the best at something because very few people are actually the best. There are not many Michael Jordans or Albert Einsteins. Instead, people should cultivate a variety of skills that work well together.
Jack Ma (马云) is a typical example of what Adams is talking about. Ma liked English and became an English teacher. He learned some business skills by operating an English language training school. He also had an interest in computers. On a visit to the United States, he discovered the internet and the way it was being used to buy and sell things. Although Ma wasn’t the best English speaker or a computer expert, he was able to “stack” them —to put them together—to learn about internet trading and then start Alibaba, the world’s largest online trading website.
Although you may not realize it, you have already begun building your talent stack by learning English. If you have other interests like art and sports, you should continue to develop them. They will add to your talent stack and give you an advantage in the job market. Your unique set of skills, even if you may not be the best at any of them, may also lead you into new careers you may not have previously considered. Having a talent may no longer give students a shortcut in getting into a good school, but developing that talent will have long-term benefits as part of your “talent stack.”
1. What does the word “flawed” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．perfect. | B．complicated. | C．imperfect. | D．pointless. |
| A．It was carried out by an American cartoonist. |
| B．Michael Jordan and Albert Einstein has one of the best talent stacks in the world. |
| C．Studying a foreign language is an effective way to build one’s “talent stack”. |
| D．The power of talent stacks may be beyond your imagination. |
| A．To prove that Jack Ma is good at running a business. |
| B．To show that one’s “talent stack” has nothing to do with his academic performance. |
| C．To tell the readers that mastering English is the most efficient means to build one’s “talent stack”. |
| D．To point out that “talent stack” can helps a person take advantage of benefits from different professional fields. |
| A．Students with special talents will have fewer opportunities to study in good schools in two years. |
| B．Having talents and interests doesn’t help a student’s academic performance at all. |
| C．Developing a talent in sports, music or art is certain to cost a lot of money. |
| D．The author holds a negative attitude towards the newly-launched policy. |
10 . There are few more sobering online activities than entering data college-tuition calculators and gasping as the Web spits back a six-figure sum. But economists say families about to go into debt to fund four years of partying, as well as studying, can comfort themselves with the knowledge that college is an investment that, unlike many bank stocks, should yield huge dividends.
A 2008 study by two Harvard economists notes that the “labor-market premium to skill”— to the amount college graduates earned—decreased for much of the 20th century, but he come back with a vengeance since the 1980s. In 2005, the typical full-time year-round U. S. worker with a four-year college degree earned $50,900, 62% more than $31,500 earned by a worker with only a high-school diploma.
There’s no question that going to college is a smart economic choice. But a look at the strange variations in tuition reveals that the choice about which college to attend doesn’t come down merely to dollars and cents. Does going to Columbia University (tuition, room and board $49,260 in 2007-2008) yield a 40% greater return than attending the University of Colorado at Boulder as an out-of-state student ($35,542)? Probably not. does being an out-of-state student at the University of Colorado at Boulder yield twice the amount of income as being an in-state student ($17,380) there? Not likely.
No, in this consumerist age, most buyers aren’t evaluating college as an investment, but rather as a consumer product —like a car or clothes or a house. And with such purchases, price is only one of many crucial factors to consider.
As with automobiles, consumers in today’s college marketplace have vast choices, and people search for the one that gives them the most comfort and satisfaction in line with their budgets. This accounts for the willingness of people to pay more for different types of experiences (such as attending a private liberal - arts college or going to an out-of-state public school that has a great marine - biology program). And just as two auto purchasers might spend an equal amount of money on very different cars, college students (or, more accurately, their parents) often show a willingness to pay essentially the same price for vastly different products. So which is it? Is college an investment product like a stock or a consumer product like a car? In keeping with automotive world’s hottest consumer trend, maybe it’s best to characterize it as a hybrid; an expensive sunburned product that, over time, will pay rich dividends.
1. What’s the opinion of economists about going to college?| A．Huge amounts of money is being wasted on campus socializing. |
| B．It doesn’t pay to run into debt to receive a college education. |
| C．College education is rewarding in spite of the shocking costs. |
| D．Going to college doesn’t necessarily bring the expected returns. |
| A．enrollment kept decreasing in virtually all American colleges and universities |
| B．the labor market preferred high-school to college graduates |
| C．competition for university admissions was far more fierce than today |
| D．the gap between the earnings of college and high-school graduates narrowed |
| A．save more on tuition | B．receive a better education |
| C．take more liberal-arts courses | D．avoid traveling long distances |
| A．Their employment prospects after graduation. | B．A satisfying experience within their budgets . |
| C．Its facilities and learning environment. | D．Its ranking among similar institutions. |
