1 . During my freshman year at Brooklyn College, credit card companies were eager to earn the business of students.
Poor credit
To make the class as
We, educators, can help young people
Financial literacy shouldn’t be optional because it puts those without it at a significant
A.Attracted | B.Sponsored | C.Required | D.Dominated |
A.conditions | B.benefits | C.consequences | D.processes |
A.Displaying | B.Maintaining | C.Abandoning | D.Lacking |
A.However | B.Therefore | C.Otherwise | D.Instead |
A.secure | B.guarantee | C.request | D.settle |
A.turned | B.guided | C.followed | D.tricked |
A.independence | B.responsibility | C.achievement | D.identity |
A.touching | B.surprising | C.engaging | D.inspiring |
A.words | B.titles | C.courses | D.topics |
A.posing | B.considering | C.examining | D.tackling |
A.search for | B.pay for | C.prepare for | D.care for |
A.questions | B.paths | C.examples | D.resources |
A.easier | B.cheaper | C.safer | D.stricter |
A.distance | B.disadvantage | C.point | D.corner |
A.duties | B.abilities | C.ambitions | D.experiences |
2 . The latest bad but unsurprising news on education is that reading and writing scores on the SAT have once again declined. The language competence of our high schoolers fell steeply in the 1970s and has never recovered. This is very worrisome, because the best single measure of the overall quality of our primary and secondary schools is the average verbal(语言的) score of 17-year-olds. This score correlates with the ability to learn new things readily, to communicate with others and to secure a job. It also predicts future income.
The most credible analyses have shown that the chief causes are vast curricular changes, especially in the critical early grades. In the decades before the Great Verbal Decline, a content-rich elementary school experience evolved into a content-light, skills-based, test-centered approach. Cognitive psychologists agree that early childhood language learning (ages 2 to 10) is critical to later verbal competence, not just because of the remarkable linguistic plasticity of young minds, but also because of the so-called Matthew Effect.
The name comes from a passage in the Bible: “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” Those who are language-poor in early childhood get relatively poorer, and fall further behind, while the verbally rich get richer.
The origin of this cruel truth lies in the nature of word learning. The more words you already know, the faster you acquire new words. This sounds like an invitation to vocabulary study for babies, but that’s been tried and it’s not effective. Most of the word meanings we know are acquired indirectly, by intuitively(凭直觉的) guessing new meanings as we understand the main idea of what we are hearing or reading. The Matthew Effect in language can be restated this way: “To those who understand the main idea shall be given new word meanings, but to those who do not there shall follow boredom and frustration.”
Clearly the key is to make sure that from kindergarten on, every student, from the start, understands the main idea of what is heard or read. If preschoolers and kindergartners are offered substantial and coherent lessons concerning the human and natural worlds, then the results show up five years or so later in significantly improved verbal scores. By staying on a subject long enough to make all young children familiar with it (say, two weeks or so), the main idea becomes understood by all and word learning speeds up. This is especially important for low-income children, who come to school with smaller vocabularies and rely on school to pass on the knowledge base children from rich families take for granted.
Current reform strategies focus on testing, improving teacher quality, and other changes. Attention to these structural issues has led to improvements in the best public schools. But it is not enough.
1. The drop in verbal scores on the SAT is worrisome because ________.A.it will lead to a short supply of talents in the labor market |
B.it reveals young people’s negative attitude towards verbal study |
C.it shows the schools’ inability to meet the national requirements |
D.students’ reading and writing ability affects their future development |
A.Children’s lack of language learning ability. |
B.Fewer courses on reading and writing in school. |
C.The shift of curricular focus from content to skills. |
D.Heavy pressure that numerous tests have resulted in. |
A.children should be trained to understand the content |
B.teachers should focus on one topic in language teaching |
C.children’s family background determines their verbal ability |
D.teachers should make everything understandable for students |
A.Mathew Effect in Language Learning |
B.How to Stop the Drop in Verbal Scores |
C.Try to Understand the Main Idea |
D.Don’t Overestimate Your Verbal Scores |
1.名言阐述:
2.推介理由。
注意:
1.写作词数应为 80左右:
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的对应位置作答。
Dear editor,
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Yours,
Li Hua
4 . Parenting styles have changed over the years in response to the rapid changes in the world. Whether it is tapping technology or applying the best parenting practices to meet a parenting need, parents nowadays generally invest more time in finding out how best to raise their children.
Modern parents often look to the internet and social media for parenting advice. The availability of resources has helped modern parents engage more in their children’s development, both academically and emotionally. Modern parents are also more eager to find out effective parenting methods to help them raise disciplined and confident children.
A modern parenting style that has emerged is helicopter parenting, where parents are much too focused on their children. They help children with tasks they’re capable of doing on their own, like selecting activities and friends for them, or calling their teachers about homework matters. Such a parenting style can hold back the development of the children’s ability to handle responsibilities independently. Children might be ill-equipped with life skills such as doing laundry (洗衣),clearing their plates or coping with their schoolwork. Always protecting children from failures may also prevent them developing adaptability and acquiring skills like problem-solving.
On the other hand, parents in the past tended to monitor less. Children were given more control over how to manage their schoolwork and choose their friends. Domestic helpers were also not the norm then, hence children of the past were often expected to shoulder the responsibilities of caring for younger brothers and sisters and managing housework. Living in the pre-internet age, parents were less informed about different parenting methods, and their parenting styles were guided more by their personalities, common sense and friendly advice from the extended family and neighbors, rather than by social media influences or parenting websites.
There is no one right way to raise a child. Each child is unique and should be raised differently by parents who are present but not wandering, who are supportive but not controlling, and who protect but not care too much.
1. What does the underlined word “tapping” mean in paragraph 1?A.Employing. |
B.Tracking. |
C.Monitoring. |
D.Identifying. |
A.Flexible. |
B.Efficient. |
C.Conventional. |
D.Overinvolved. |
A.They educated kids in a rigid way. |
B.They overestimated their kids’ independence. |
C.They afforded kids more space for self-growth. |
D.They tended to stay away from social activities. |
A.How to raise all-round children. |
B.How to enhance parent-child bonds. |
C.How parenting modes have shifted over the years. |
D.How information technology boosts people’s lifestyles. |
5 . Parents often think that their kids should be good at studies and do well in sports. That’s usually the case because parents feel that could get their children admission to top colleges. However, Melissa and Mark Wimmer think differently.
Their 14-year-old son, Mike, is a prodigy. He is a member of Mensa, which is the world’s top IQ club. He completed his high school, associate’s and bachelor’s degrees all in three years. That’s not all. He also ran two tech companies, founded a third one that works towards controlling the population of lionfish, an invasive (入侵的) species.
But the parents are proud that they were able to help Mike with his social skills along with his intellectual skills. Melissa told CNBC that people expected “Young Sheldon” before they met her son. Young Sheldon is a television show about a child talent who is an indoor man and lacks social skills. “But once they talk to Mike, they understand that he’s just a normal 14-year-old that happens to be able to do amazing things,” said Melissa.
Mark and Melissa got to know about their child’s intelligence when he entered preschool. A child psychologist told them that their son would need a different course to support his fast-track development. Many parents aren’t comfortable with putting their children with 18-year-olds, but Mike’s parents saw the value in letting their child go through it. “I wanted him to be social and be able to deal with all the different personalities in the classrooms with older children,” said Melissa.
The parents shared that they were able to do this by letting Mike find his own voice and put it to use. “We let him order food when he’s 3 or 4 from the waiter or waitress and introduce himself to people. Those kinds of things are done to encourage him to engage with everyone else and be more comfortable talking to others outside of our environment,” said Melissa.
Thanks to his parents, Mike has learned to get along with young and old alike.
1. What do the underlined words “a prodigy” in paragraph 2 refer to?A.A gifted person. | B.A famous student. |
C.A brilliant biologist. | D.A successful businessman. |
A.He likes to make friends. | B.He is a well-rounded man. |
C.He is a popular child actor. | D.He is poor at dealing with people. |
A.Through a recommendation from a child psychologist. |
B.Through observing Mike’s behavior in preschool. |
C.Through participating in a special educational program. |
D.Through the information provided by Mike’s school teachers. |
A.Teach him some communication rules. | B.Encourage him to speak in class. |
C.Place him in social situations. | D.Let him go to school alone. |
6 . A baby born today will be thirty-something in 2050. If all goes well, that baby will still be around in 2100, and might even be an active citizen of the 22nd century. What should we teach that baby to help them survive and flourish in the world of 2050 and beyond? What kind of skills will they need in order to get a job, understand what is happening around them, and navigate their tough life?
At present, too many schools across the world focus on providing pupils with a set of predetermined skills, such as writing computer code in C++ and conversing in Chinese. Yet since we have no idea how the world and the job market will look in 2050, we don’t really know what particular skills people will need. We might invest a lot of effort in teaching kids how to write in C++ or to speak Chinese, only to discover sooner or later that AI will have been able to code software far better than humans, and that a new translation app will have enabled you to conduct a conversation in almost flawless Mandarin, Cantonese or Hakka, even though you only know how to say ni hao.
So what should we be teaching? Many experts argue that schools should downplay technical skills and emphasize general-purpose life skills: the ability to deal with change, to learn new things, and to preserve your mental balance in unfamiliar situations. In order to keep up with the world of 2050, you will above all need to reinvent yourself again and again.
To succeed in such a demanding task, you will need to work very hard on getting to know your operating system better—to know what you are and what you want from life. This is, of course, the oldest advice in the book: know thyself. This advice was never more urgent than in the mid-21st century, because unlike in the days of Laozi or Socrates, now you have serious competition. Coca-Cola, Amazon and Facebook are all racing to hack you.
Right now, the algorithms (算法) are watching where you go, what you buy, and who you meet. Soon they will monitor all your steps, breaths and heartbeats. They are relying on big data and machine learning to get to know you better and better. And once these algorithms know you better than you know yourself, they could control and manipulate (操纵) you. In the end, authority will shift to them.
Of course, you might be perfectly happy giving up all authority to the algorithms and trusting them to make decisions for you and for the rest of the world. If, however, you want to maintain some control over your personal existence and over the future of life in general, you have to run faster than the algorithms. To run fast, don’t take much luggage with you. Leave all your illusions (幻想) behind. They are very heavy.
1. What does the underlined word “downplay” in paragraph 3 most probably mean?A.Give too much emphasis on something. |
B.Make people think that something is less important. |
C.Offer your reasons why something is right or wrong. |
D.Decide something in advance so that it does not happen. |
A.imagination | B.adaptability | C.self-discipline | D.a good sense of balance |
A.if we don’t, algorithms will hack all our devices. |
B.it is an essential skill for us to succeed in the world of 2050. |
C.we need to learn how algorithms work and make full use of them. |
D.we need to outrun algorithms to keep some control over our personal life. |
A.the importance of knowing yourself |
B.the threats and dangers of technology |
C.what kind of skills we might need in the future |
D.some potential benefits algorithms would bring to humankind |
7 . Our lives are full of habits. Unfortunately a great many of them are bad habits. One way to break these bad habits is to fill our lives with good habits. Most people decide one day that they need to make changes to their lives and then they go all out to make big sweeping changes. This may work for them for the first few days, but then they get burned out.
This approach can work for just about anything. If you are exercising for half an hour every day and you want to increase that time to one hour then add a minute every day. After one month you will have reached your goal with very little resistance from your body and mind.
This method of change is gentle, but very powerful. Think of everything you can accomplish if you just continuously improve a little at a time. The change itself creates the momentum (动力) you need to keep going.
A.The key is to change a little bit at a time. |
B.Keeping on exercising can build up strength. |
C.It may take longer, but with this approach you are likely to succeed. |
D.Nothing will happen if you are not determined to achieve your goal. |
E.Pretty soon they are back to their old habits and nothing has changed. |
F.Changing slowly removes the greatest barrier we have to change: fear. |
G.Soon you will find yourself reaching your goals with almost no pain involved. |
8 . Children are naturally curious beings, but getting them to study something they aren’t interested in can be a difficult task. Teachers often find themselves trying to reward in the
Natural curiosity is sometimes referred to as “internal motivation”. Studies have found that children who see learning as
External motivation, things like rewards and punishment, does have its
According to some experts, the key is to
So it seems that the most
A.form | B.name | C.order | D.right |
A.examples | B.answers | C.experiments | D.thoughts |
A.frustrating | B.ordinary | C.overwhelming | D.fun |
A.ashamed of | B.annoyed with | C.grateful for | D.passionate about |
A.causes | B.outputs | C.uses | D.principles |
A.acknowledged | B.restricted | C.challenged | D.treated |
A.discussion | B.creativity | C.interest | D.demand |
A.allow | B.pass | C.sense | D.monitor |
A.social | B.strong | C.frank | D.free |
A.affected | B.explained | C.analyzed | D.met |
A.test | B.build | C.admit | D.refresh |
A.visually | B.slightly | C.exactly | D.originally |
A.effective | B.humble | C.private | D.traditional |
A.end up | B.come from | C.commit to | D.set off |
A.level | B.choice | C.judge | D.doubt |
9 . One morning, my four-year-old daughter and I were getting ready to leave the house when she suddenly yelled “Idiot!” right at me. As I processed the word, I noticed she was upset. Tears streamed down her face as she half whispered and half yelled “you are an IDIOT Mama.” Total silence followed as we looked at each other. We were staring at each other for so long, and I nearly forgot to breathe out, and in again. Idiot. How could my daughter call me an idiot?
There are many behaviors that really push parents’ buttons. Disrespectful, rude words tend to top the list. The wrong response to such rude remarks is often a serious warning. But I didn’t offer any serious remarks.
I realized that my daughter’s intention wasn’t to disrespect me. She was expressing the disconnection. And punishment doesn’t solve disconnection. It creates more of it. Her choice of word said it all. She was annoyed. She sensed the stress. I needed to hear her. I was being careless. I was the one being rude to her.
So, why punish our children when they need guidance? We must know the words we use matter, and become our children’s words too. The words include those we use to handle emotional overload. Idiot is a word I regretfully must admit to using when I’m extremely annoyed. Not at my children, but yes, they have heard me say it. So, instead of punishing my daughter for misbehavior, I chose to focus on her real message: Idiot means that “Mom, you are stressing me out!”.
No blame. No punishment for honest feelings. No criticizing her choice of words. Just focus on our relationship. I admitted my ignoring her, and we hugged and kissed each other. I walked into her play school with interest and was ready to see all her current projects.
Don’t be afraid to focus on your relationship, to show kindness, and to model forgiveness. Don’t be afraid to look beyond misbehavior, find the true message and trust the power of connection.
1. After hearing her daughter’s words, the author ________.A.lost her temper | B.gave her a warning |
C.couldn’t believe it | D.had a talk with her |
A.Cheer parents up. | B.Make parents annoyed. |
C.Follow parents’ advice. | D.Distract parents’ attention. |
A.calm and considerate | B.brave and tolerant |
C.sensitive but overprotective | D.intelligent but bad-tempered |
A.To settle conflicts between parents and children. |
B.To explain why children disrespect their parents. |
C.To encourage readers to express their true feelings. |
D.To suggest a positive response to children’s misbehavior. |
1. 陈述观点;
2. 分享经验;
3. 提出倡议。
注意:
1. 写作词数应为80左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
More Housework, Less Pressure
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