1. What is the main topic of the talk?
A.Different educational systems around the world. |
B.The disadvantages of much homework. |
C.Children’s mental health. |
A.2nd grade. | B.3rd grade. | C.4th grade. |
A.Canada. | B.Finland. | C.The US. |
A.The school should give children no homework. |
B.The school should improve kids’ performance. |
C.The school should work with parents. |
2 . As young children went back to school across Sweden last month, many of their teachers were 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 experts’ doubt on the country’s over-digitalized approach to education, which has even introduced tablets into kindergartens. They are worried that it has already led to a decline in basic skills.
The rapid adoption of digital learning tools has also drawn concern from a United Nations’ education agency. In a report published last month, the agency issued an urgent call for appropriate use of technology in education. The report urges countries to speed up Internet connections at schools, but at the same time warns that technology in education should be used in a way so that it never replaces in-person, teacher-led instruction and supports the shared objective of quality education for all.
However, online instruction is a hotly debated subject across Europe and other parts of the West. Germany has been famously slow in moving information of all kinds online, including education. Many students can complete their schooling without any kind of required digital instruction, such as coding. Most parents worry their children may not be able to compete in the job market with technologically better-trained young people from other countries. “If we don’t manage to make education digital, then we will no longer be a competitive country in 20 years,” said Sascha Lobo, one of the parents interviewed last year.
However, not all teachers are convinced that Sweden’s back-to-basics push is in the best interest for students. “Technology is just one part of a really complex network of factors in education,” said Catarina Branelius, a third grade teacher in the Swedish capital, Stockholm. “I use tablets in math, but I don’t use tablets for writing text. Students under age 10 need time and practice and exercise in handwriting… before you introduce them to write on a tablet.”
1. What did Sweden stress before this new school year?A.Printed books. | B.Handwriting practice. | C.Quiet reading time. | D.Independent online research. |
A.Textbook-centered. | B.Balanced. | C.Over-digitalized. | D.Traditional. |
A.Students in Germany do not heavily rely on computers. | B.The German government is pushing for online instruction. |
C.German parents are happy with their children’s education. | D.Teachers in Germany are ready to make education digital. |
A.Favorable. | B.Unclear. | C.Doubtful. | D.Unconcerned. |
3 . Waking up at the crack of dawn and going for a run might feel awful when you start trying to make it a habit. Weaving a significant new activity such as this into your regular routine obviously takes determination and time.
One popular idea suggests that it takes 21 days to solidify a habit. People tend to feel extra motivated to start a new habit or kick an old one.
Everyone has a unique habit-building timeline.
The researchers also suggested that habit formation depends on the effort that a person puts into practicing an activity and on the presence of environmental cues that would remind them to carry out the behavior.
A.The type of activity is also a factor. |
B.The strategies of activity impact the way. |
C.People want to form a habit of exercising regularly. |
D.But how much time is really needed to make that habit stick? |
E.It might sound easily reachable to make a resolution on New Year’s Day. |
F.By comparison, it took half a year for people to develop an exercise habit. |
G.However long it is for any individual, repetition is the key to making it work. |
4 . “What do you mean by this phrase? It’s incorrect and adds nothing to the sentence. Omit (省略).” Professor Jones’s critical feedback on my paper hurt me when I first read it. I scanned his comments for a “Good job!” or “I love this idea,” but they were nowhere to be found.
Everyone likes warmth and encouragement, but purely positive affirmations (肯定) don’t communicate what can be improved. Research conducted on Character Lab Research Network finds that direct, useful feedback requiring students to revise their own work is more effective. For Professor Jones, this looked like a note at the end of another paper: “I’m sure things will improve as the term and year wear on.” However, feedback that does the work for a student—correcting a misspelled word, rewriting a sentence—can signal a teacher’s low expectations.
When kids see comments that suggest what needs to be changed, they come to realize they can do things on their own and become more independent learners. As a bonus, this kind of feedback lets students know that their teacher believes in them.
As for me, I was benedictory for Professor Jones’s pointed criticism which let me know that he took me seriously. He was expecting me to do better, and the detailed comments scrawled (潦草地写) on every page gave me the tools to improve. Teachers can add affirmations to their feedback as long as it’s not the only thing they’re doing.
Don’t confuse warmth with promoting a growth mindset. Being nice isn’t the same as showing someone you believe they can improve. So give detailed feedback that sets young people up to take charge of their own learning. For example, instead of rewriting a sentence, say: “This is a run-on sentence. Try reading it out loud and add punctuation in places where you naturally take a breath.” Ask worth-exploring questions that inspire students to think about their approach, then let them revise on their own. When it comes to writing, the easiest path isn’t always the best one.
1. How did the author initially feel about Professor Jones’s feedback?A.Happy and motivated. | B.Upset and disappointed. |
C.Indifferent and unconcerned. | D.Confident and encouraged. |
A.It should be brief and to the point. | B.It should be warm and encouraging. |
C.It should be written at the end of the paper. | D.It should be up to students to fix their own work. |
A.Responsible. | B.Generous. | C.Regretful. | D.Grateful. |
A.Give students general praise. | B.Rewrite sentences for students. |
C.Provide students critical support. | D.Show students corrected assignments. |
5 . 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 |
6 . Schools need to give students all the tools they need to navigate the world when they graduate. Besides teaching the basics of reading, writing, and arithmatic, teaching about mindfullness, and mental health are important life skills for young people to have. The state of Florida agrees.
Now, public schools in Florida have been required to teach five or more hours about mental health for students in grades 6-12. This new directive was approved by the Florida Board of Education in July and is being carried out as a potential lifesaver.
The new curriculum requires students to learn about the symptoms of mental illness and where to find help if they are feeling depressed or have other issues and even teaches the adolescents how to help their friends and classmates if they see them struggling.
“We know that 50 percent of all mental illness cases begin by age 14, so we are being active in our commitment to provide our kids with the necessary tools to see them through their successes and challenges. Providing mental health instruction is another important step forward in supporting our families,” Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said.
Florida is the third state, following New York and Virginia in 2020, to pass laws that require mental health education in schools. According to CNN, the New York law updated the health curriculum to include mental health for elementary, middle and high school students. The Virginia law required that mental health education be provided for 9th and 10th graders.
These three states in the US are taking bold steps to help youth deal with the intricacy of life as they grow from adolescents into adults. It is a confusing world they face and giving them the tools to navigate it safely is essential. Mental health is something that should be taught in schools in all the US and across the globe.
1. What can the new curriculum bring students?A.Basic professional skills. | B.The ability to use language. |
C.Emotional management skills. | D.Diagnosis of physical diseases. |
A.The effect of mental illness cases. |
B.The content of the health curriculum. |
C.The step of mental health instruction. |
D.The importance of mental health education. |
A.Complexity. | B.Purpose. | C.Contribution. | D.Significance. |
A.A technology report. | B.A natural science magazine. |
C.An educational website. | D.A government document. |
7 . In a crowded migrant (移民) camp in Tijuana, Mexico, a three-year-old girl wandered
It was December 2018, a time when the US-Mexico border was seeing migrants from Central America
Back at home, Rebellón gathered a group of volunteer
Rebellón has received numerous
A.leisurely | B.alone | C.freely | D.abroad |
A.tended | B.recognized | C.invited | D.noticed |
A.relief | B.health | C.business | D.education |
A.fighting | B.preventing | C.escaping | D.worsening |
A.side | B.place | C.hand | D.heart |
A.determined | B.annoyed | C.disappointed | D.panicked |
A.line up | B.make up | C.stand up | D.look up |
A.soldiers | B.doctors | C.writers | D.teachers |
A.expenses | B.savings | C.bills | D.charges |
A.integrated | B.forced | C.transformed | D.translated |
A.Limited | B.Funded | C.Motivated | D.Influenced |
A.create | B.adjust | C.reject | D.follow |
A.special | B.strange | C.common | D.major |
A.opportunities | B.honours | C.blessings | D.messages |
A.display | B.possess | C.maintain | D.expand |
A “White Box” Digital Transition Model for Education
Liu Xinsheng, a student in a rural school in Zibo, Shandong province,
Technology enhances education and
The AI-enabled rural education in Linzi district is just an example of how Zibo is
Sun Yingtao, head of the Zibo Bureau of Education, said that
A.Teacher and parent. | B.Professor and student. | C.Classmates. |
10 . Ask any parents of young children whether they’ve ever felt overwhelmed (不堪重负的), and the answer will probably be — yes. Even in the most relaxed households there can be days when things seem to be out of control, leaving parents exhausted and annoyed. Kids often don’t have an off button or a quiet voice.
Common as this feeling is, there’s a personality trait (特点) that can make everyday family life more overwhelming for some parents. Roughly 20%-30% of the population are classed as being a highly sensitive person, according to a 2018 research. People who have it may find it hard to cope with bright lights and loud noise, and feel very stressful. It can also involve a stronger understanding of other people’s feelings — empathy (同情).
According to the psychologists, being highly sensitive is not a disorder but a personality trait — a way of responding to one’s environment. “Generally, highly sensitive people tend to react particularly strongly to sensory stimulation. They have stronger consciousness. They come to realize more details,” says Michael Pluess, a psychologist specializing in the study. “They will pick up on the moods of other people, have higher empathy, process things more deeply and pick up more about the environment. Deeply affected by what they see and feel, highly sensitive people are also easily overstimulated.”
The challenges highly sensitive parents face — including stress and overstimulation in a messy environment — can affect “high quality parenting”. In the early stages of parenthood, such parents report greater stress and find parenting more difficult than other parents do.
Fortunately, though, the trait also comes with certain advantages. Recent evidence suggests that while highly sensitive parents initially experienced high levels of stress, they showed improved parenting styles by the time their babies were nine months old. In the short term, sensitive people are more easily overwhelmed with change, but when it comes to parenting, highly sensitive parents have the potential to be exceptional. They can understand their children and respond to their needs quickly and appropriately.
Since parental overwhelm can affect anyone, whether highly sensitive or not, some of the coping strategies for highly sensitive people could benefit all parents.
1. What does the author imply in the first paragraph?A.The life of young parents is colorful. |
B.The kids are unhappy for lack of love. |
C.Young kids are often tough to deal with. |
D.It is easy to get everything under control. |
A.They possess no good insight. |
B.It is hard to overstimulate them. |
C.They better understand the environment. |
D.It is common for them to overlook details. |
A.Deeply rooted. | B.Extremely harmful. |
C.Greatly unstable. | D.Potentially beneficial. |
A.Outcomes of coping strategies. |
B.Tips for highly sensitive parents. |
C.Responses to the concern about parenting. |
D.Evaluation of overwhelmed parents’ impact. |