1 . The question of what children learn, and how they should learn, is continually being debated and redebated. Nobody dares any longer to defend the old system, the learning of lessons parrotfashion, the grammarwithawhip system, which was good enough for our grandparents.The theories of modern psychology have stepped in to argue that we must understand the needs of children. Children are not just small adults; they are children who must be respected as much.
Well, you may say, this is as it should be, a good idea.But think further.What happens? “Education” becomes the responsibility not of teachers，but of psychologists.What happens then? Teachers worry too much about the psychological implications of their lessons, and forget about the subjects themselves. If a child dislikes a lesson, the teacher feels that it is his fault, not the child’s. So teachers worry whether history is “relevant” to modern young children. And do they dare to recount stories about violence? Or will this make the children themselves violent? Can they tell their classes about children of different races, or will this encourage racial hatred? Why teach children to write grammatical sentences? Verbal expression is better. Sums? Arithmetic? No, reallife mathematical situations are more understandable.
You see, you can go too far. Influenced by educational theorists, who have nothing better to do than to write books about their ideas, teachers leave their teachertraining colleges filled with grand, psychological ideas about children and their needs.They make elaborate (精心的), sophisticated (复杂的) preparations and try out their “modern methods” on the longsuffering children. Since one “modern method” rapidly replaces another, the poor kids will have had a good bellyful by the time they leave school. Frequently the modern methods are so sophisticated that they fail to be understood by the teachers, let alone the children; even more often, the relaxed discipline so essential for the “informal” feelings the class must have, prevents all but a handful of children from learning anything.
1. People do not dare to defend the old system mainly because under the old system________.| A．too much grammar was taught to children |
| B．children were spoiled |
| C．children were treated as grownups |
| D．children were made to learn passively |
| A．Children must be understood and respected. |
| B．Children are small adults and know what they need. |
| C．Children are better off without learning lessons. |
| D．Education of children is the responsibility of psychologists. |
| A．They find that the children dislike the lessons. |
| B．They tend to blame students for their failure. |
| C．They do not pay enough attention to the actual lessons. |
| D．They no longer want to teach children history. |
| A．it is better to use verbal expression only |
| B．words are said out of natural feelings only |
| C．talking freely and naturally without sentences is a better form of expression |
| D．it is felt that formal grammar rules might cause unnatural expressions |
| A．neither teachers nor pupils |
| B．only a handful of teachers and pupils |
| C．the more sophisticated teachers |
| D．everyone who enjoys the relaxed discipline of the informal classes |
2 . Recently, online high schools in America have caused a debate about whether or not taxpayers’ money should be used to support online education. Online schools receive the same amount of funding as all other public schools, even though they don’t have to pay for rent or school equipment. States should use their educational funds to improve education at real schools, not to support online programs.
Some students only use online classes to supplement（补充）their school work. They benefit from the social experience of a traditional high school, while still taking online courses.
However, about 90 thousand students in America receive their education only from online schools. 50 thousand of these students take courses at Florida Virtual School, the largest online school in the country. While this method of schooling helps students who live in remote regions, most school systems are upset that they are losing more students each year to these online programs.
Although online learning allows children to work at their own pace, these online schools have only one teacher per several hundred students. Often, teachers can’t give struggling students the help they need as they are unable to talk face-to-face with them, to find exactly what they’re having difficulty with.
Additionally, even though online schooling accommodates（顾及）students who live in more remote states, students in online programs may suffer in social situations because they will not learn valuable communication skills from their schooling. Similar to students who are home schooled, those who take only online classes won’t learn social etiquette（礼节）, and will be treated differently by their peers.
Online schooling might be useful for places where there are not enough students for a real school, such as agricultural regions, but states should only spend taxpayers’ money on online schools in extreme cases.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．Whether students should study at online schools. |
| B．Whether online schools should be allowed to exist. |
| C．Whether taxpayers should pay for online schools. |
| D．Whether traditional schools should be replaced. |
| A．is helpful to students living in remote regions |
| B．allows students to work together |
| C．makes it possible for students to get immediate help |
| D．develops students’ critical thinking |
| A．might lose interest in learning |
| B．would play online games |
| C．could not receive teachers’ help |
| D．could not become fully developed |
| A．Taxpayers should not pay for online schools at all. |
| B．Taxpayers should pay more for online schools than real schools. |
| C．Taxpayers’ money should be spent on online schools conditionally. |
| D．Taxpayers should support online schools in different ways. |
3 . A long-term American study shows the importance of early education for poor children. The study is known as the Abecedarian (初步的) Project. It involved more than one-hundred young children from poor families in North Carolina.
Half of the children attended an all-day program at a high-quality childcare center. The center offered educational, health and social programs. Children took part in games and activities to increase their thinking and language skills and social and emotional development. The program also included health foods for the children.
The children attended the program from when they were a few weeks old until the age of five years. The other group of children did not attend the childcare center. After the age of five, both groups attended public school.
Researchers compared the two groups of children. When they were babies, both groups had similar results in tests for mental and physical skills. However, from the age of eighteen months, the children in the educational child care program did much better in tests.
The researchers tested the children again when they were twelve and fifteen years old. The tests found that the children who had been in the childcare center continued to have higher average test results. These children did much better on tests of reading and mathematics.
A few years ago, organizers of the Abecedarian Project tested the students again. At the time, each student was twenty-one years old. They were tested for thinking and educational ability, employment, parenting and social skills. The researchers found that the young adults who had the early education still did better in reading and mathematics tests. They were more than two times as likely to go to college or to have completed college. In addition, the children who received early education were older on average, when their first child was born.
The study offers more evidence that learning during the first months and years of life is important for all later development.
The researchers of the Abecedarian Project believe their study shows a need for lawmakers to spend money on public early education. They believe these kinds of programs could reduce the number of children who do not complete school and are unemployed.
1. The Abecedarian Project has lasted ______.| A．almost one year | B．about five years | C．more than 20 years | D．no more than 15 years |
| A．They were more likely to go to college. | B．They had children earlier． |
| C．They had the same results in tests. | D．They are less sociable． |
| A．involves children from rich families |
| B．doesn’t provide food for children |
| C．offers foreign teachers to help improve children’s language skills |
| D．studies the importance of an early education for poor children |
| A．How important early education is for poor children. |
| B．What the children learned at the child-care center. |
| C．How many children are involved in the Abecedarian Project. |
| D．Whether lawmakers will spend money on public early education. |
4 . Once a child reaches their teenage years, many parents may think it is too late to help them change a negative attitude. This is not the case, and while it may take longer, it is possible to help your child develop a positive attitude. Having a positive attitude is important to a teenager’s happiness and success.
Judge your own attitude.
Teach your teen to aim high, while showing her how to acknowledge her limitations.
Try to praise your teenager when he deserves it. Show him you value him and recognize when he makes positive choices.
| A．Teach them how to self-talk. |
| B．A child’s attitude is a learned behavior. |
| C．Avoid unkind blames to affect your teen’s attitude. |
| D．A negative attitude can result in them feeling upset. |
| E．There is no problem having reasonable dreams. |
| F．Most teenagers will appreciate their parent’s praise. |
| G．Encourage him to take up new hobbies or interests. |
5 . The setting was a packed gymnasium just before the start of a game against another school. There were five girls who were members of the Danville High School basketball team-all of them starters. They were not in uniform to play that night and would not be on the team for the rest of this season. They were there to admit their breaking of team rules. They were there to support their coach’s decision to take them off the team. They were there to let the town know there was a problem in their little community that needed to be addressed. And they did it with sincere regret rather than defensiveness.
While the school had been out for the New Year’s holiday, the five girls had gone to the party with several of their friends. There was alcohol there. And they all drank some.
Coach Rainville has a zero tolerance rule on drugs and alcohol for her members though it was a hard decision to make. When classes resumed and accounts of holiday parties were shared, rumors about the five girls began closing in on them. The coach said she couldn’t back down on her rules. And the players-two junior students and senior students-agreed. That night in the gym was part of their public support of the coach’s decision.
“We hope you will understand that we are not bad kids. What we did was definitely not worth it. We hope this event will make everyone realize that there is a big drug and alcohol problem in our community,” one of the senior students said, “And if you work with us to try to solve this problem, you will help us feel that we have not been thrown off our basketball team for nothing.” The five left the floor to deafening applause.
The team may not win another game this year. But they’ve learnt something about personal responsibility, the effect of one’s action on others, and honesty that will serve them well throughout life.
1. It can be inferred from the passage that five girls who were kicked off the team were_.| A．very good players on the team |
| B．addicted to alcohol and drugs |
| C．three junior students and two senior students |
| D．scolded by their parents for drinking alcohol |
| A．They didn’t fight for Danville High School any more. |
| B．They all gave speeches to apologize in the local press. |
| C．They admitted their mistake in public in the gymnasium. |
| D．They would never drink any alcohol throughout their life. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Strict. |
| C．Stubborn. | D．Cruel. |
| A．Growing up with pain | B．A bad mistake |
| C．Team rules are everything | D．Basketball girls in high school |
6 . The other day, BBC broadcast its documentary(纪录片) ＂Are Our Kids Tough Enough? — Chinese School＂， in which the British and Chinese teaching styles competed against each other, with both sides tested after four weeks to see who comes out on top.
In this unique experiment, five Chinese teachers took over a British classroom with 50 teenagers aged 13 and 14 in a British school for one month and taught them in a typical Chinese way: no talking, no questions and experiencing the severe classroom discipline within an extended school－hour from 7 a．m. to 7 p．m. In the meantime, another group of students were guided in the British teaching style: free talking, free questioning, thinking for themselves and relaxing learning atmosphere.
At the end of the documentary, all the pupils took part in the same exams in a few subjects. Next is the result.
Mathematics | Chinese | Science | |
Chinese style | 67.74 | 46.88 | 58.33 |
British style | 54.84 | 36.46 | 50 |
Faced with the result, many netizens in Britain made a strong suggestion to their Education Minister that Britain should learn from China and adopt China’s educational style.
【写作内容】
假设英国教育部长正在向中国学生征询对上述建议的看法，请你给他写封信表达你的看法。
1. 用约30个单词完成上文的概要。
2. 用约120个单词发表你的观点，你应该
(1) 阐述你对＂英国教育该不该采用中国方式＂的看法；
(2) 用2～3个理由或论据支撑你的观点。
【写作要求】
1. 写作时不能直接引用原文语句。
2. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。
【评分标准】
内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
Dear Minister，
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your sincerely，
A Chinese senior student
7 . International students seeking a medical degree in the United States face serious difficulties.
First, there is often a language barrier. Students from non-English speaking countries could have a hard time understanding their work or communicating with professors.
Also, a medical education is very costly. First, students must complete an undergraduate degree (本科学历). Then, most medical schools require at least four years of study. After medical school, students do at least three more years of training in their specific medical fields. They do receive some pay for this work.
In addition, many medical programs at public universities in the U.S. do not accept international students. And private universities have fewer openings, creating a great deal of competition.
However, receiving a medical education in the U.S. is not impossible. Fatima Ismail is proof. The 32-year-old from Dubai says she knew she wanted to be a doctor at a very early age.
“I was always fascinated by the brain and how it functions. And I love working with children. There is a huge population of children with developmental disabilities that are not taken care of very well in Middle East in general and my home country, in particular.”
So, Ismail completed medical school in her home country. Then, she applied to a residency (住院实习) program at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Ismail spent time as an exchange student at Johns Hopkins during her time in medical school.
She says many of her fellow students applied to more than 10 or even 20 different programs.
“It’s a very competitive process. Being an international medical school graduate you ... have less chances to be accepted because the priority would be for the U.S. graduates. Having said that, it’s not impossible. All that you need to do is, basically, early planning...”
Planning is highly important for foreign students seeking admission to U.S. medical schools. Paul White is the director for medical school admissions at Johns Hopkins. He says some schools do accept students with undergraduate degrees from their home countries. But most, he says, require U.S. study.
“So we say we want to see at least one year of additional coursework in any area in the U.S. just so we can see the kinds of courses they are capable of taking and how well they may perform in those courses. And there’s no question that if they do well in the U.S., and they do well on the medical college’s admissions test, then they’ll be eligible (合格的) for admission...”
1. Fatima Ismail is cited as an example to ________.| A．show the possibility of being accepted as a medical major in the U.S. |
| B．discourage students from applying for medical schools in the U.S. |
| C．share with readers her enthusiasm for medical education |
| D．show her terrible living conditions in her own county |
| A．One’s money status. | B．A strong character. |
| C．Early planning. | D．More applications. |
| A．To prepare applicants for medical college admission test. |
| B．To test applicants’ competence as a medical major. |
| C．To urge applicants to apply for residency program. |
| D．To relieve the pressure of international students. |
8 . The computer keyboard helped kill shorthand—a system of rapid handwriting, and now it’s threatening to finish off handwriting as a whole. When handwritten essays were introduced on the SAT exams for the class of 2012, just 15% of the most1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive(手写体). The rest? Block letters.
And those college hopefuls are just the first edge of a wave of US students who no longer get much handwriting instructions in the primary grades, frequently 10 minutes a day or less. As a result, more and more students struggle to read and write cursive.
There are those who say the culture is at a crossing, turning from the written word to the typed one. If handwriting becomes a lost form of communication, does it matter?
It was at University Virginia that researchers recently discovered a previously unknown poem by Robert, written in his unique script. Handwritten documents are more valuable to researchers, historians say, because their authenticity can be confirmed. Students also find them more fascinating.
The loss of handwriting also may be a cognitive(认知的) opportunity missed. Several academic studies have found that good handwriting skills at a young age can help children express their thoughts better—a lifelong benefit.
It doesn’t take much to teach better handwriting skills. At some schools in Prince George’s County, elementary school students use a program called Handwriting Without Tears for 15 minutes a day. They learn the correct formation of manuscript (手写的)letters through second grade, and cursive letters in third grade.
1. A poem by Robert mentioned in the passage is used to ____________.| A．prove how valuable handwriting is | B．explain what a famous poet he is |
| C．show how unique his poem is | D．stress how fascinating the documents are |
| A．Kindergarten. | B．Primary school. |
| C．High school. | D．College. |
| A．the school are responsible for the loss of handwriting |
| B．the loss of handwriting is a cognitive opportunity missed |
| C．the culture is turning from the written word to the typed one |
| D．it doesn’t take much to teach better handwriting skills |
| A．Pessimistic | B．Sceptical |
| C．Critical. | D．Supportive |
9 . The question of what children learn, and how they should learn it, is continually being debated and redebated. Nobody dares any longer to defend the old system, the parrot-fashion (way of learning by repeating what others say) of learning lessons, the grammar-with-a-whip(鞭子) system, which was good enough for our grandparents. The theories of modern psychology have stepped in to argue that we must understand the needs of our children. Children are not just small adults; they are children who must be respected as such.
Well, you may say, this is as it should be, and a good idea. But think further. What happens? “Education” becomes the responsibility not of teachers, but of psychologists. What happens then? Teachers worry too much about the psychological implications (暗示) of their lessons, and forget about the subjects themselves. If a child dislikes a lesson, the teacher feels that it is his fault, not the child’s. So teachers worry whether history is “relevant” to modern young children. And do they dare to recount stories about violent battles? Or will this make the children themselves violent? Can they tell their classes about children of different races, or will this encourage racial hatred? Why teach children to write grammatical sentences? Oral expression is better. Sums? Arithmetic? No; real-life mathematical situations are more understandable.
You see, you can go too far. Influenced by educational theorists, who have nothing better to do than write books about their ideas, teachers leave their teaching-training colleges filled with grand, psychological ideas about children and their needs. They make complicated preparations and try out their “modern methods” on the long-suffering children. Since one “modern method” rapidly replaces another, the poor kids will have well been fed up by the time they leave school. Frequently the modern methods are so complicated that they fail to be understood by the teachers, let alone the children; even more often, the relaxed discipline so necessary for the “informal” feeling the class must have, prevents all but a handful of children from learning anything.
1. Under the old system, children were .| A．made to learn passively |
| B．spoiled by their parents |
| C．treated as adults |
| D．were forced to become parrots |
| A．children must be understood and respected |
| B．children are small adults and they know what they need |
| C．children are better off without learning lessons |
| D．education of children is the responsibility of psychologists |
| A．They find that children dislike the lessons. |
| B．They tend to blame students for their failure in teaching. |
| C．They don’t pay enough attention to students’ actual lessons. |
| D．They no longer want to teach children history. |
| A．Children will learn well in a relaxed classroom atmosphere. |
| B．Only a few children will actually learn when there is no discipline. |
| C．Relaxed discipline is necessary for children to develop. |
| D．No children will learn anything without strict discipline. |
| A．Uninterested. | B．Tolerant. |
| C．Satisfied. | D．Critical. |
The training program also offers many other kinds of lectures from Qigong and Tai Chi to yoga and Latin jam dance. There are a lot of exercise programs including playing cards and physical exercises where many people just relax and spend some time together.
Myra Stafford is 73 years old. She signed up for the class to learn how to use her iPad. She is learning quickly with the help of the young and she enjoys learning from them. She says she is more confident today than she was before. Working with young people makes her feel wonderful because they don’t make her feel that she is old or dumb.
Eleven-year-old Zhion Perekins is a teacher of the technology class. He says some of the older adults know nothing about high-technology devices and they are very anxious, so patience is very important when working with them.
He gains more than just social skills from teaching older residents. He has learned a lot on how to communicate with people. He used to be a shy person, but now he has become outgoing.
There is a huge growing population over 60. The training program offers an opportunity for the old people to buy products online using high-technology devices. As senior citizens get more excited about what they want to buy, it is likely that they will go into the market and buy it, so that could lead to an increase in economy.
1. Who usually act as the teachers in the 50 Plus Center?
| A．The young. | B．Adults over 50. |
| C．The older people. | D．High-technology devices. |
| A．It teaches the students social skills. |
| B．There are a variety of activities for students. |
| C．People have to pay for attending the classes. |
| D．It is popular with both the young and the old. |
| A．Myra Stafford is not satisfied with the classes. |
| B．The training program may do good to economy. |
| C．Myra Stafford is too old to learn technology well. |
| D．More and more senior citizens will attend the classes. |
| A．A program called the 50 Plus Center |
| B．Teens teach the old about high-technology |
| C．How to help the senior citizens shop online |
| D．The old learn to use high-technology devices |
