1 . So few adults can remember the details of their own preschool or kindergarten years, it can be hard to appreciate just how much the early-education landscape has been transformed over the past two decades. The changes are not restricted to the physical environment of classrooms. Teaching methods and curricula have changed too. Much greater parts of the day are now spent on what’s called “seatwork”(a term that probably doesn’t need any explanation) and direct instruction, formerly used mainly in the older grades, in which a teacher carefully controls the content and pacing of what a child is supposed to learn.
One study, titled “Is Kindergarten the New First Grade?” compared kindergarten teachers’ attitudes nationwide in 1998 and 2010 and found that the percentage of teachers expecting children to know how to read by the end of the year had risen from 30 to 80 percent. The researchers also reported more time spent with workbooks and worksheets, and less time devoted to music and art. Kindergarten is indeed the new first grade, the authors concluded. In turn, children who would once have used the kindergarten year as a gentle transition into school are in some cases being held back before they’ve had a chance to start.
Until recently, school-readiness skills weren’t high on anyone’s agenda, nor was the idea that the youngest learners might be disqualified from moving on to the next stage. But now that kindergarten serves as a gatekeeper, not a welcome mat, to elementary school, concerns about school preparedness kick in earlier and earlier. A child who’s supposed to read by the end of kindergarten had better be getting ready in preschool. As a result, expectations that may arguably have been reasonable for 5- and 6-year-olds, such as being able to sit at a desk and complete a task using pencil and paper, are now directed at even younger children, who Jack the motor skills and attention span to be successful.
Preschool classrooms have become increasingly difficult spaces, with teachers asking pre-schoolers to finish their “work” before they can go play. And yet, even as pre-schoolers are learning more pre-academic skills at earlier ages, I’ve heard many teachers say that they seem somehow less curious and less engaged than the kids of earlier generations. More children today seem to lack the language skills needed to retell a simple story or to use basic connecting words and prepositions. They can’t make a conceptual analogy between, say, the veins(纹理) on a leaf and the veins in their own hands.
That’s right. The same educational policies that are publishing academic goals down to ever earlier levels seem to be contributing to the fact that young children are gaining fewer skills, not more.
1. What can be inferred from the sentence “Kindergarten is indeed the new first grade”?| A．Kindergarten is going to replace the first grade in the future. |
| B．Kindergarten kids are asked to learn what first-graders learn. |
| C．Today’s kindergarten kids are smarter than first graders in the past. |
| D．Some kids choose to skip kindergarten to go to the first grade directly. |
| A．might not be able to go to the kindergarten |
| B．are worried about their school-readiness skills |
| C．are not allowed to move on to elementary school |
| D．think of the kindergarten year as a gentle transition |
| A．Pre-schoolers need to be academically prepared. |
| B．Preschool teachers are not as kind as they used to be. |
| C．Today’s preschool education doesn’t prove successful. |
| D．Children pick up their first language later than before. |
| A．What Preschool Kids Should Be Taught |
| B．How the New Preschool Is Damaging Kids |
| C．Why We Should Take Preschoolers Seriously |
| D．Who Is to Blame for Preschoolers’ Lack of Skills |
2 . It’s important for you teenagers to know how to save money. You know that the money you save can be for rainy days and be used to pay through your college education. If you think it’s a difficult task and don’t know how to do it, please do as the followings.
My dad always tells me that if one doesn’t respect money, it will never respect you. Hence, it’s important that you keep a record of your daily expenses. Make it a habit to write down all that you have spent. And when you find out the total expenses at the end of the month, you will realize what you have spent more money in doing.
Open a savings account
Opening a savings account is a better way to save money. You can set a goal; say (for example), the money is for a new notebook or for college, and then save, until you have enough money to buy a notebook or until you go to college.
Do not carry much cash
Do you have the habit of not leaving a store without buying anything? The only way to stop that is carrying less money around with you. Go to the store with the minimum amount of money, which will not even help you buy a drink.
Save the changes
Save the changes that you get back. If you have gone to a shop to buy something and get back some changes, then do not spend them.
Follow these tips above, and thus you can save a lot of money. And surely, they’ll help you to be more responsible in your life.
| A．Keep a record of your daily expenses |
| B．In a few days, you’ll get rid of this habit |
| C．Instead, you can save them in your piggy bank |
| D．By that time, you will realize the importance of saving money |
| E．Saving money builds your financial power and personal freedom |
| F．Next month, you will automatically try and save more in that part |
| G．Nowadays in the developed and developing countries, people are all working for the sake of earning money |
1. 简述图画内容;
2. 介绍你对图画主题的理解;
3. 结合生活实际谈谈你的感想。
要求：1. 100字左右;
2. 可适当增加细节，使行文连贯。
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. 你对美育的理解;
2. 你校美育开展情况;
3. 欢迎他来你校实地考察。
注意：
1. 词数100左右;
2. 短文的开头已为你写好。
3. 参考词汇：美育：aesthetic education 实地考察：on-site inspection
Dear Jack,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
5 . Turning soil, pulling weeds, and harvesting cabbage sound like tough work for middle and high school kids. And at first it is, says Abby Jaramillo, who with another teacher started Urban Sprouts, a school garden program at four low-income schools. The program aims to help students develop science skills, environmental awareness, and healthy lifestyles.
Jaramillo’s students live in neighborhoods where fresh food and green space are not easy to find and fast food restaurants outnumber grocery stores. “The kids literally come to school with bags of snacks and large bottles of soft drinks,” she says. “They come to us thinking vegetables are awful, dirt is awful, insects are awful.” Though some are initially scared of the insects and turned off by the dirt, most are eager to try something new.
Urban Sprouts’ classes, at two middle schools and two high schools, include hands-on experiments such as soil testing, flower-and-seed dissection, tastings of fresh or dried produce, and work in the garden. Several times a year, students cook the vegetables they grow, and they occasionally make salads for their entire schools.
Program evaluations show that kids eat more vegetables as a result of the classes. “We have students who say they went home and talked to their parents and now they’re eating differently,” Jaramillo says.
She adds that the program’s benefits go beyond nutrition. Some students get so interested in gardening that they bring home seeds to start their own vegetable gardens. Besides, working in the garden seems to have a calming effect on Jaramillo’s special education students, many of whom have emotional control issues. “They get outside,” she says, “and they feel successful.”
1. What do we know about Abby Jaramillo?| A．She used to be a health worker. | B．She grew up in a low-income family. |
| C．She owns a fast food restaurant. | D．She is an initiator of Urban Sprouts. |
| A．The kids’ parents distrusted her. | B．Students had little time for her classes. |
| C．Some kids disliked garden work. | D．There was no space for school gardens. |
| A．Far-reaching. | B．Predictable. |
| C．Short-lived. | D．Unidentifiable. |
| A．Rescuing School Gardens | B．Experiencing Country Life |
| C．Growing Vegetable Lovers | D．Changing Local Landscape |
6 . Traditional public schools assign a child to a given school based on his family’s place of residence. As Coleman pointed out, residential assignment promotes division between schools by family background. It creates motivation for families to move to the “good” school districts. Under this system, schools cannot serve as the equal-opportunity engines of our society.
The most promising social policy for fighting the effects of family background, then, could well be the expansion of programs — small schools of choice. These programs allow families to choose schools without regard to their neighborhood of residence. An analysis of more than 100 schools of choice in New York City between 2019 and 2020 might tell us something. It witnessed 9.5 percent increase in the graduation rate of a group of educationally and economically disadvantaged students, at no extra cost to the city.
Small schools of choice might also build the social relationship that Coleman considered crucial for student success. First, small schools are well positioned to build a strong school culture. Helping students to cultivate networks of social relationships better equips them to handle life’s challenges. While schools may not be able to compensate fully for the negative effects of an unstable family, a strong school culture can transform the “social ecology” of a disadvantaged child.
Small schools of choice also encourage a voluntary community that comes together over strong ties and shared values. Typically, schools of choice feature a clearly defined mission and set of core values, which may come from religious traditions and beliefs. The Notre Dame ACE Academy schools, for instance, strive for the twin goals of preparing students for college and for heaven. A focused mission also helps school administrators attract like-minded teachers. A warm teaching staff can be particularly beneficial for children from unstable homes. Exposure to well-functioning adult role models at school might promote well-being and positive emotional development.
1. What might be the effect of residential assignment?| A．The school system might become fair. |
| B．Families prefer good living environment. |
| C．Schools will be the equal-opportunity engines. |
| D．Houses in good school districts might be favored. |
| A．Students from an honored family. |
| B．Students with a strong sense of culture. |
| C．Students with economical disadvantage. |
| D．Students from a noble place of residence. |
| A．To prove effect of religious traditions. |
| B．To display the benefit of a warm staff. |
| C．To promote well-being of adults. |
| D．To attract like-minded teachers. |
| A．Small Schools of Choice | B．Schools over Shared Values |
| C．Effects of Family Background | D．Ways to Improve Education |
7 . The research by OECD that was analyzing the homework of 15-year-old school kids has shown that Italian children are busy with homework as they have to spend over 9 hours on it weekly. The other countries where children have to work over 6 hours on their tasks are Ireland, Poland, the USA and Australia.
Additional practice
It teaches students responsibility
When students only visit classes they have no idea how difficult it is for teachers to prepare for the lessons and may behave badly.
It teaches important life skills
When we say that students do their homework we add many meanings in this phrase. Pupils learn to manage time effectively, set priorities, and improve self-discipline.
If teenagers would have too much time for leisure activities, the possibility that they will be involved in some illegal or criminal issues rises greatly. Being busy with tasks they do not waste their time and spend it with the unmatched benefit.
| A．It keeps students busy. |
| B．It enriches students’ knowledge. |
| C．Therefore, it’s high time that homework should be banned. |
| D．Not all the information is grasped by students at the lessons. |
| E．That is a good preparation for future career and meeting deadlines set by bosses. |
| F．At the same time, each person realizes that homework is extremely important in studying. |
| G．When they are given assignments on a regular basis, they raise responsibility, punctuality (守时), and performing. |
8 . When Jason Arday was aged three he was diagnosed with
Arday has always wanted to help people. As a child he remembers
Supported by his college
When Arday told Sandri that he wanted to
Sandri was right, and now Arday is a
| A．symptom | B．phenomenon | C．autism | D．disease |
| A．affect | B．lead | C．reflect | D．change |
| A．paint | B．play | C．rest | D．read |
| A．oldest | B．smallest | C．youngest | D．biggest |
| A．linking | B．thinking | C．living | D．saying |
| A．then | B．soon | C．though | D．also |
| A．director | B．manager | C．president | D．tutor |
| A．master | B．degree | C．rank | D．position |
| A．worked | B．toured | C．visited | D．inspected |
| A．why | B．where | C．how | D．when |
| A．encouragement | B．movement | C．discouragement | D．engagement |
| A．abandon | B．interrupt | C．defend | D．continue |
| A．work on | B．depend on | C．take on | D．rely on |
| A．student | B．doctor | C．assistant | D．professor |
| A．taking | B．doing | C．giving | D．driving |
While engagement has never been more challenging for schools to achieve, it’s also
10 . My daughter was a shy child, not a joiner. My memories of her early years involve me gently urging her to try
Two years later, a new teacher
The decision troubled me for
I was shocked. Had I misread the situation? Did I keep my daughter from working it out on her own terms? I shared my
“If your child is
| A．club | B．society | C．group | D．class |
| A．sadness | B．disappointment | C．impatience | D．pride |
| A．took over | B．took in | C．took after | D．took back |
| A．satisfied | B．annoyed | C．amazed | D．puzzled |
| A．touched | B．invited | C．concerned | D．inspired |
| A．So | B．Even | C．But | D．Ever |
| A．hours | B．days | C．months | D．years |
| A．declined | B．accepted | C．yelled | D．agreed |
| A．seldom | B．often | C．sometimes | D．never |
| A．happiness | B．worries | C．sorrows | D．regrets |
| A．As | B．Since | C．Whenever | D．Before |
| A．myself | B．herself | C．himself | D．themselves |
| A．talents | B．ideas | C．marks | D．actions |
| A．Since | B．If | C．While | D．Although |
| A．suggestion | B．rule | C．explanation | D．advice |
| A．turned up | B．put up | C．picked up | D．took up |
| A．founded | B．organized | C．created | D．joined |
| A．All | B．Some | C．None | D．Both |
| A．leaving | B．heading | C．staying | D．returning |
| A．watching | B．pulling | C．pushing | D．helping |
