1 . Much of the public debate around early childhood education comes down to which matters more： academics or play. That's a false dilemma. Play is really the way that young children learn and guided play is the key. It's a way that they experience the world, and it helps them learn more deeply.
We should be concerned that the“skill and drill”approach to teaching academics is most frequently used in classrooms serving at-risk preschoolers, in an attempt to close the gap on school readiness. Unfortunately, these teaching methods can turn young kids off to school and introduces the possibility of shame and anxiety. 46 Skill and drill” doesn't teach kids the curiosity and critical (批判的）thinking skills that they need to develop in early childhood.
However, pure free play—an approach advocated more frequently by wealthier groups—also misses the mark. “I hear a lot about just ‘free play classrooms’. ” But Suzanne Bouffard, an education researcher, said if it only involves setting out materials and not thinking about learning goals, there’s a real missed opportunity. For example, she said, researchers have found that children used more complex language about building activities when they had a goal in mind.
What effective preschools aim for is “guided play”，in which adults create a purposeful play environment that encourages students to explore，For example, in setting up blocks, a teacher might put up pictures of buildings to inspire kids. They may ask students, “What are you doing?” and gently push kids’ thinking by offering new information.
Of course, the ability to find this balance rests with teachers. Good teachers make it look really easy，That's why it's really important that we invest(投入）in teachers and give them the training to guide play without overly controlling it and to encourage kids to develop an understanding of letters and numbers without “skill and drill”.
1. Which of the following matters most in early childhood education?| A．Having guided play. | B．Learning after play. |
| C．Seeing the world. | D．Studying academic courses. |
| A．It works best for preschoolers. |
| B．It helps develop kids’ curiosity. |
| C．It limits kids’ development. |
| D．It bridges the gap on school readiness. |
| A．Meets learning goals. | B．Loses points in exams. |
| C．Troubles the classroom. | D．Fails to achieve the goal. |
| A．To encourage the kids to copy. |
| B．To offer extra information. |
| C．To share the teaching purpose with the kids. |
| D．To inspire the kids to explore. |
2 . 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. |
3 . Confidence in Maths, Confidence for Life.
Changing Lives Through Maths!
Mathnasium of North Oxford, your neighbourhood maths-only learning centre!
We help children aged 13-18 understand maths in a special way. Our way of teaching children maths, the Mathnasium Method, has changed the way students learn maths for over a decade across 800 + centres worldwide:
• We know how to teach your child maths.
Our specially trained maths teachers will teach your child how to understand maths in a special setting — our unique approach enables us to effectively explain maths concepts (概念) well and lend a helping hand to every student. Our teachers create a caring, encouraging environment that helps your child “catch up, keep up and get ahead” in their maths learning.
• We find exactly your child’s learning needs, meet them where they are and take them where they need to go.
At Mathnasium we use our unique assessment process (评估过程) to determine exactly what each child knows and what they need to learn. Next, we design an individual (单独的) learning plan for each student. It doesn’t stop there — our teachers continually check progress along the way to make sure students truly understand the concepts we’ve taught. Students learn maths at their own speed and according to their own level. They will see obvious changes in attitude, confidence and school progress.
About Our Centre
Since its opening on 8 September this year, Mathnasium of North Oxford has been offering maths instruction and homework help to students in the community. You can find us at 18 South Parade, Summertown, North Oxford 0X2 7JL
Call at 01865 855968 or e-mail to mathnasium. co. uk.
Hours of Instruction
Weekdays: 3 : 30PM-7 : 30PM
Weekends: 9 : 00AM-5 : 00PM
Click (点击)here to find out if Mathnasium is right for your child.
1. Whom does Mathnasium of North Oxford teach maths?| A．Teenagers. | B．Adults. | C．Babies. | D．Graduates. |
| A．Its large-sized classes. | B．Its location. |
| C．Its individual teaching. | D．Its school environment. |
| A．Mondays | B．Tuesdays | C．Thursdays | D．Saturdays |
| A．In the newspaper. | B．On the poster. | C．On the Internet. | D．Over the radio. |
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.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. What’s the discussion about?
| A．Children’s independence. |
| B．Teachers’ medical treatment. |
| C．Parents' accompanying(陪伴)their children at school. |
| A．About 30%. | B．About 50%. | C．About 70%. |
| A．Set up goals. | B．Do the housework. | C．Finish their homework. |
| A．Neither. | B．The first one. | C．The second one. |
(1) women are helped more than men;
(2) men help more than women;
(3) attractive women are helped more than unattractive women.
Other factors relate to the number of people in the area, whether the person is thought to be in trouble through their own fault, and whether a person sees himself as being able to help.
According to Adrian Furnham, Professor of University College, London, there are three reasons why we tend to stand by doing nothing:
(1) “Shifting of responsibility”— the more people there are, the less likely help is to be given. Each person excuses himself by thinking someone else will help, so that the more “other people’ there are, the greater the total shifting of responsibility.
(2) “Fear of making a mistake” — situations are often not clear. People think that those involved in an accident may know each other or it may be a joke, so a fear of embarrassment makes them keep themselves to themselves.
(3) “Fear of the consequences if attention is turned on you, and the person is violent.”
Laurie Taylor, Professor of Sociology at London University, says: “In the experiments I’ve seen on intervention (介入), much depends on the neighborhood or setting. There is a silence on public transport which is hard to break. We are embarrassed to draw attention to something that is happening, while in a football match, people get involved, and a fight would easily follow.”
Psychotherapist Alan Dupuy identifies the importance of the individual: “The British as a whole have some difficulty intervening, but there are exceptional individuals in every group who are prepared to intervene, regardless of their own safety: These would be people with a strong moral code or religious ideals.”
1. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?| A．Pretty women are more likely to be helped. |
| B．People on a bus are more likely to stop a crime. |
| C．Religious people are more likely to look on. |
| D．Criminals are more likely to harm women. |
| A．Sex. | B．Nationality. | C．Profession. | D．Setting. |
| A．When one is in trouble, people think it’s his own fault. |
| B．In a football match, people get involved in a fight. |
| C．Seeing a murder, people feel sorry that it should have happened. |
| D．On hearing a cry for help, people keep themselves to themselves. |
| A．to explain why bystanders behave as they do |
| B．to urge people to stand out when in need |
| C．to criticize the selfishness of bystanders |
| D．to analyze the weakness of human nature |
