1 . The end of a semester can be a challenging time for students. Kids from elementary school through high school are already stressed after more than a year of C0VID-19 disrupted learning. Pressing through the last few weeks of a semester can be discouraging, especially for older students with demanding final projects and exams.
“Parents’ fears about their kids are so often not about the present but the future — a fear that kids who are struggling will get stuck there. But kids rarely stay stuck, in part because they too want their lives to work out,” says Ned Johnson, a test preparation expert. When children show signs of stress, parents should respond by focusing on mental health, not achievement or grades.
Families can create a sense of safety for children by establishing routines for the day and week, especially those that emphasize connection, such as family dinnertime and a bedtime chat. Parents should meet kids with empathy and listening, instead of trying to solve their problems. For example, we can normalize family conversation about the ups and downs of the day. As Madeline Levine, a psychologist, put it: let your children “borrow your calm”.
In addition, peer support programs can also play an important role in teaching skills for stress management and wellness. “Teens will talk to other teens, especially when they feel they are in a brave space built on trust,” Katie Hurley, a psychotherapist says.
Some children may arrive at the finish line exhausted and needing sleep. Or perhaps they are eager to celebrate the holidays with all the usual fanfare. Honor your child’s wishes and plan to create the break that fits your family’s needs. McKenna Reitz, a mom from Toledo, Ohio, plans for her daughters Karsen, 9, and Maddox, 6, to enjoy time off with family and friends. Her holiday plan apparently reflects that. “It is the most important thing they need right now,” she says. “Our children need to know that they are not alone.”
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?| A．Children are struggling in study in the present situation. |
| B．Children’s focusing on grades makes them stay stuck in learning. |
| C．Parents stay stuck in making their children live to work out. |
| D．Parents’ fear about children getting stuck in study is unnecessary. |
| A．To ask parents to stay calm before their kids. |
| B．To show the necessity of talking to kids before tests. |
| C．To make parents let go of their kids during COVID-19. |
| D．To stress the importance of the help from the experts. |
| A．Staying with kids in holidays. | B．Respecting the needs of kids. |
| C．Helping kids celebrate holidays. | D．Keeping exhausted kids happy. |
| A．Parents should help kids to prepare their tests. |
| B．Parents should keep a closer eyes on kids study. |
| C．Parents should connect their kids more with nature. |
| D．Parents should let kids take a break from school stress. |
2 . People who possess high self-esteem are able to commit better and produce a greater bond in relationships with others. Dr. Douglas feels that most people do not value themselves, but with love and self-respect anyone can be above normality and grasp success with the family, the office, or others.
We have become too reliant on intelligence, beauty, and money for our own self-esteem. The loss of esteem reduces the will and ability to set and reach goals. In a series of readings Douglas teaches how to avoid negative statements, how to change them into self-facing behavior, and how to take charge of your mental attitude. Where other motivational and self-help works stop with the theoretical plan for success, Douglas takes everyday examples and puts them into his books. From raising children who believe in themselves to using self-esteem to help bridge the gap in the workplace, he gives readers concrete solutions to the problems that might ruin their interpersonal relations.
Self-esteem building comes from filling your thoughts with positive affirmations (肯定) and learning to react to failures with motivation instead of self-destruction. These lessons are valuable for anyone who feels that life is even slightly out of control. People who feel they have adequate esteem can learn to use it to make their success grander, faster, and more beneficial for others. Douglas approaches this process of self-development as a means of more than creating good things for the individual but also for setting up keys for influencing good things for others.
For more than thirty years, Dr. Douglas has addressed more than two million people on topics from time management to speaking effectively to raising drug-free children. He is the author of fifteen books, including How to Make a Habit of Succeeding.
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 1?| A．Most people behave well enough. | B．Self-respect means being above normality. |
| C．Self-esteem matters much. | D．Committing better equals greater success. |
| A．To be reliant on self-esteem. | B．To set and reach goals. |
| C．To avoid negative thoughts. | D．To offer concrete solutions. |
| A．Learn to be positive. | B．Face it unmotivatedly. |
| C．Admit self-destruction. | D．Ask for help. |
| A．Influencing the individual. | B．Influencing more people. |
| C．Gaining more benefits. | D．Speaking more effectively. |
3 . Students leave college without graduating for a variety of reasons. Berklee Online’s Degree Completion program offers them a road back.
When A. David Ucci left Berklee College of Music in 1994, he was six credits shy of graduating. But the music production and engineering student was offered an opportunity he couldn’t miss: an assistant engineering position at the Hit Factory, which got 41 Grammy nominations (提名) that year. The decision was hard to make. Ucci would be leaving school, and he was also leaving behind a small production company he had formed with other Berklee students. Nevertheless, he left.
Berklee doesn’t want its students to regret anything. That’s why it offers something specifically for students like Ucci: Degree Completion. In the program, Berklee staff work closely with former students to create an individually tailored path to graduation.
Online classes are designed to allow a high level of engagement (参与) between teachers and students. Professor Kenn Brass offers internet “office hours” three times a week. Brass says he “pushes the envelope” for his students “every chance I get.” He knows from personal experience that college isn’t always a straight line from start to finish; it took him seven years to earn his bachelor’s degree from Governors State University.
For Ucci, not having a degree didn’t seem like a problem for a while. However, after he worked his way up to general manager of Guitar Center’s flagship store, he began to find it difficult to advance.
After Ucci graduated in 2019, he left Guitar Center for a director of sales position at a wine chain, a position he wouldn’t have even been qualified for without an undergraduate degree. Finishing his degree means his career options are no longer limited by a decision he made to follow his dreams more than 25 years ago.
“Education should be a lifelong effort,” says Carin Nuernberg, Berklee’s vice president of academic strategy. “I’m really proud of the fact that we’re helping students figure out that path to completion.”
1. Why did Ucci drop out of Berklee?| A．He didn’t have enough credits. | B．He obtained a good job. |
| C．He was nominated for a Grammy. | D．He founded a company. |
| A．Appreciative. | B．Casual. |
| C．Caring. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．His career development. | B．His perfect sales skills. |
| C．His engagement in engineering. | D．His devotion to education. |
| A．To advocate learning online. | B．To share the experience of Ucci. |
| C．To introduce an online program. | D．To stress the importance of a degree. |
4 . I’d like to talk about my first teaching experience. It was in the fall of 2010—I had to teach integral calculus (积分学). I had taught before but it was always 2-3 students at a time. I had no experience of classroom teaching. So I had butterflies in my stomach.
Anyway, the appointed hour came and I had no choice but to go on. I introduced myself, asked each one of them to do a brief introduction and got down to business. Fortunately, it was a worksheet session, so I didn’t have to do much. The students were well prepared—most of them had done AP calculus. The first day was a success.
As the quarter went by, I found the work more and more easygoing. So I was lax and stopped preparing the homework problems beforehand. How wrong I was!
One day we were doing surfaces of revolution. I used to do them in a more different way than it was taught in the text. I tried to do the first problem but it wasn’t just a piece of cake—I had to step back and think for five minutes before the solution came to me. To the credit of my students, no one showed any sign of impatience in the meantime. I was feeling doubly uncomfortable because it was a day of observation by the school leaders.
The next class I tried to give some additional resources on advanced materials, especially to students who would stay after the class or come to my office hours.
My evaluations were mixed. Two major complaints were about my accent and my handwriting on the board.
I learned a lot about teaching after this course. In my view, teaching is like a performing art. No amount of reading or attending workshops will prepare you for the challenge. You only get better with practice.
1. What made the author feel uneasy at first?| A．Teaching a difficult subject. | B．Lack of teaching experience. |
| C．Missing the appointed hour. | D．Failure of choosing a topic. |
| A．Careless. | B．Tense. | C．Annoyed. | D．Amused. |
| A．Because he delayed doing surfaces of revolution. |
| B．Because the students showed no sign of interaction. |
| C．Because he was stuck in his class watched by leaders. |
| D．Because the leaders blamed him for his performance. |
| A．Do as the Romans do. | B．Well begun is half done. |
| C．It never rains, but it pours. | D．Practice holds the key to progress. |
5 . Mothers who angrily tell off their children when they step out of line may be making behavior problems worse, according to a study. The study by the London School of Economics (LSE) found that too much shouting and giving severe punishments were producing an opposite result. Ignoring naughty children also appeared to lead to a decrease in discipline standards.
Researchers said that “reasoning with children” was more likely to have a positive impact on their behavior at a young age. But the study warned that it was difficult to determine a direct link between one parenting style and its outcomes because of the effect of other causes.
The latest study was based on an analysis of almost 19, 000 children. Data was collected from parents just before their children’s first birthdays, and then when they turned three, five and seven. The study, led by Dr Laure De Preux, assessed the impact of various parenting styles on children.
Researchers said,“Particularly excessive (过度的) shouting, punishing or ignoring a naughty child increases his behavior problems, and only reasoning doesn’t negatively impact the child’s behavior.”
But the study also showed that a large number of other things such as economic conditions also impacted on children’s development. The result suggested that wealthier families were able to create a whole environment that clearly benefited the child beyond simple effect of parenting. It said children in poor households in particular were affected by their mother’s parenting styles.
“In this group, behavior problems are reduced when mothers read to the naughty children, and increased when mothers shout at them, take treats away, or ignore them,” it said.
It is the latest in a line of recent studies to assess the link between parenting and children’s behavior.
Two years ago, a report commissioned (委托) by the Department for Education found that severe and inconsistent discipline in the home was bringing up a generation of young children with anger management problems, poor attention and low levels of learning ability.
1. The underlined part “ step out of line” in Paragraph 1 probably means _____.| A．lose confidence | B．behave badly |
| C．become excited | D．achieve success |
| A．Punishing them lightly. | B．Talking with them reasonably. |
| C．Ignoring them once in a while. | D．Exercising strict discipline over them. |
| A．How mothers looked at their parenting role. |
| B．Why many children had behavior problems. |
| C．How parenting styles affected children's development. |
| D．Why parents gave their children severe punishments. |
| A．Its findings go against those of the LSE’s study. |
| B．Its subject is similar to that of the LSE’s study. |
| C．It shows the benefits of strict discipline. |
| D．It has discovered new problems of children |
It is difficult for parents of nearly every family to teach their children to be responsible
If you give your children the impression that they can never do anything quite right, then they will regard
My daughter Carla’s fifth grade teacher made every child in her class feel special. When students received less than a perfect test score, she would point out
You can use the same technique when you evaluate your child’s work at home. Don't always scold and give lots of praise instead. Talk about what he
Learning is a process of trying and failing and trying and succeeding. If you teach your children not to fear a mistake of
7 . Today's world is not an easy adjustment for young adults. Key skill set for success is persistence (毅力), a characteristic that researchers say is heavily influenced by fathers. Researchers from Brigham Young University discovered that fathers are in a unique position to help their adolescent children learn persistence.
BYU professors Laura Padilla-Walker and Randal Day arrived at these findings after following 325 American families over several years. And over time，the persistence gained through fathers led to higher achievement in school.
"There are relatively few studies that stress the unique role of fathers，"Padilla-Walker said. "This research also helps to prove that characteristics such as persistence-which can be taught-are key to a child's life success.”
Researchers determined that dads need to practice an "authoritative" parenting style. Authoritative parenting is not authoritarian:rigid，demanding or controlling. Rather，an authoritative parenting style includes some of the following characteristics:children feel warmth and love from their father；responsibility and the reasons behind rules are stressed children are given an appropriate level of autonomy(自主权).
In the study，about 52 percent of the dads exhibited above-average levels of authoritative parenting. A key finding is that over time，children raised by an authoritative father were significantly more likely to develop persistence，which leads to better outcomes in school.
This particular study examined 11 to 14-year-olds living in two-parent homes. Yet the researchers suggest that single parents still may play a role in teaching the benefits of persistence，which is an avenue of future research.
1. What is special about the BYU professors' study?| A．It centered on fathers' role in parenting. |
| B．It was based on a number of large families. |
| C．It analyzed different kinds of parenting styles. |
| D．It aimed to improve kids' achievement in school. |
| A．Ignore their demands. | B．Make decisions for them. |
| C．Control their behaviors. | D．Explain the rules to them. |
| A．Single parents. |
| B．Children aged from 11 to 14. |
| C．Authoritarian fathers. |
| D．Mothers in two-parent homes. |
| A．Three Characteristics of Authoritative Fathers. |
| B．Key Skills for Young Adults to Succeed in Future. |
| C．Children Tend to Learn Determination from Father. |
| D．Family Relationship Influences School Performance. |
8 . Much has been made about the need for teachers to develop healthy relationships with the parents of their students. Similarly, headmasters who hold the opportunity to build the relationships with parents will find it to be a worthwhile investment (投资).
As is known, headmasters spend much time on after-school activities.
One simple strategy for building relationships with parents is to call 5-10 parents each week and ask them a sum of questions about the school, their children’s teachers, etc. Parents will love that you took the time to ask them their opinion.
Finally, schools are almost always forming committees on different school-related topics. These committees should not be limited to school personnel. Inviting parents and students to serve on a committee brings a different viewpoint that can be beneficial for everyone.
| A．Another strategy is a parent’s lunch. |
| B．Parents may not always agree with your decisions. |
| C．Parents get to be a part of the inner workings of the school. |
| D．This is a great opportunity to build informal relationships with parents. |
| E．The relationship between headmaster and parents are more distant. |
| F．They see you in part as the person who really likes their kids. |
| G．Adopting these strategies can really strengthen relationships with parents. |
Is early childhood education really necessary? Early childhood education primarily pays great attention to learning through playing to develop the child's physical, sensory, communicational and social development. Early childhood education has become a concern of the government, who pushes poor children to be formally trained before they are old enough for kindergarten.
There are good reasons for the government to push early childhood education. Studies have shown that orphaned (成为孤儿)children who did not receive good care and education become developmentally delayed causing failure in school, and even in life. Further studies show that poor children who take part in Head Start programs are more prepared for school, with much less possibility of ending up in Special Education classes, receiving public help or going to prison.
There are also negative parts to put a child in formal education programs too early. Time Magazine online explains that "the younger the child，the less his chances of catching up with first grade work. " I have personally witnessed (见证)many children of my generation who went to Head Start programs become frustrated and bored with school before they finished high school.
Actually, while early formal education of poor children does show great gains in the early primary years, studies also show that this head start is really a "false start", as the gains are lost in middle and high school years. It seems that environment is a bigger factor on life's success than early education. Head Start programs have not achieved its original goal in closing the achievement gap (差距) in poor and middle school children. Perhaps it is time to find other ways to close that gap.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10 . Reducing class size has traditionally been seen as an important way to improve a student’s educational experience. Many often believe that smaller classes would permit teachers to give more personal attention to their students.
But one recent study suggests there's not much research-based evidence to support this idea. The research was collected by a team from Denmark's Danish Center for Social Science Research.
The study notes that one of the main problems with reducing class size is that it can have very high costs.
The new study began by examining 127 studies on classroom size. Its goal was to examine the major research studies already completed on the subject.
The researchers concluded that there's some evidence to suggest that reducing class size may lead to some improvement in a student 's reading achievement.
| A．But they said the effect is very small |
| B．For mathematics achievement, the result was 49 percent |
| C．This can theoretically lead to improved academic results for students |
| D．Many public opinion studies have shown teachers favor smaller class sizes |
| E．The effects of larger class size can stay long after the students complete their education |
| F．Increasing class size is one of the most common ways school systems control education spending |
| G．They especially centered on those trying to measure if smaller class size led to greater academic success |
