Put simply,
You need to make a
2 . When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as main entertainment, but certainly not an education priority (优先). This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception (感知) that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotional meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other. They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, and our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebration, the meaning and value of peace and love. So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.
1. According to Paragraph 1, students ______.| A．regard music as a way of entertainment |
| B．disagree with their parents on education |
| C．view music as an overlooked subject |
| D．prefer the arts to science |
| A．compare it with rock music |
| B．show music reflects a society |
| C．introduce American musical tradition |
| D．prove music influences people’s lifestyles |
| A．approach the world from different angles |
| B．explore different phenomena of the world |
| C．express people’s feeling in different ways |
| D．explain what it means to be human differently |
| A．Music education is more necessary. |
| B．Music should be of top education priority. |
| C．Music is an effective communication tool. |
| D．Music education makes students more imaginative. |
Homeschooling is a movement around the country and the world, in which parents educate their children at home instead of sending them to a
The homeschooling movement
Legal
In almost all areas of the country, parents don't need an education degree to homeschool. Those with young children can begin a home education program when their children turn school age.
4 . Disappointment is a natural human emotion that occurs after a failure. For our young children, this failure can look like not getting the toy they wanted, not being invited to a classmate’s birthday party or losing their favourite stuffed animal.
It is essential for children’s mental health, well-being and overall development that they experience how to deal with disappointment well. But this can be difficult for parents to handle, particularly around holidays that have grown to involve gift-giving and expectations.
North American culture often mistakenly links love and happiness with material goods such as toys; the Santa story promises magical wish fulfillment. This can cause conflict for parents when children do not get the “right” gift.
On holidays, there’s social and personal pressure to provide happiness and joy to children through material objects, which can be confused with providing the necessities. For parents who do not have the resources to provide the perfect or desired gift, this can cause additional stress, shame, guilt and fear around disappointment. Parents may feel as though they have let down their child and that they have impacted the child’s experience or memory of their “special day”.
This is especially true if the child has difficulty with or is learning to regulate emotions and expresses disappointment through tantrums (发怒) or sulking (生闷气). These behaviours can affect parents profoundly, often leading them to feel badly about themselves or that the child does not love them.
Changing our focus from giving rather than receiving can help our children develop and appreciate the strength in gratitude. Research has linked gratitude to significant health and wellness benefits such as improving self-esteem, improving sleep and developing empathy.
The other thing to know is that although disappointment feels awful, it is a part of life and is actually a positive and healthy emotion that’s central to children’s emotional, cognitive and social development throughout their lives.
1. Why is it difficult for parent to handle disappointment on Christmas?| A．It is connected with children’s overall development. |
| B．It is the custom to give gifts or show expectations. |
| C．Children are easy to have tantrums or sulking. |
| D．Children often expect too much of their parents. |
| A．Positive. | B．Concerned. | C．Interested. | D．Supportive. |
| A．It can avoid disappointment in life. |
| B．It can help children’s academic development. |
| C．It is a necessary part of one’s life. |
| D．lt helps children realize the benefits of being grateful. |
| A．What Christmas Can Teach Kids about Disappointment |
| B．How We Can Meet Our Children’s Expectations Best |
| C．What Harm Disappointment Does to Most Children |
| D．What Are the Rights to Give to Your Children on Christmas |
1. What did the speaker’s father do to help the villagers?
| A．He taught their children | B．He opened a night school. | C．He invited teachers to the village. |
| A．40%. | B．50%. | C．60%. |
| A．All children can go to school. | B．All women can go to school. | C．All villagers can go to school. |
| A．Father’s dream. | B．Education in China. | C．Women’s life in China. |
6 . I often wonder how people can get so angry,so deep in their own belief that they become deaf to anything that may differ from their beliefs.I’ve often been told that I’m too open-minded,listening to others'viewpoints so openly that they become my own.Maybe that comes from my practice of actively listening to others.It means that I do really hear them instead of responding only out of politeness.Maybe it's because I was brought up by parents who didn’t necessarily speak to me about respecting others but modeled it for me through their own actions.They treated everyone equally,from what I remember,never looking down upon others because they were different from us.
As I raise my daughters,I try my best to show them love and understanding in all situations. When they misbehave, talk back, or break the rules,I'll lovingly analyze the reasons behind their behaviour.I'll be tolerant(宽容的)towards their differing opinions and become open and curious about their ideas.And I'll be mindful of how I treat and speak to others,showing equal respect to everyone.
My expectation is that if I show my daughters unconditional love and acceptance,they’ll learn to show the same love to others.I hope that they will not see difference as a threat,but as a way to add richness to their very existence.It's beautiful to live in a world filled with so many differences.
So,as I write this,welcoming my second daughter to my family,I'm fully aware that change begins with how I act and what decisions I make.Every generation carries its own set of problems.All we have control over is how we respond to those problems.This is what I will teach my girls:how to control their own emotional world;how to hold onto love as well as their beliefs and values;how to remember that hate and anger are never the answer and that tolerance and love will always take them further in life.
1. The author seems different from other people in terms of_______________.| A．her deep understanding of belief | B．her reaction to different opinions |
| C．her negative views on social politeness | D．her confusing attitude towards her parents |
| A．Encourage them to have different opinions. |
| B．Teach them some useful conversation skills. |
| C．Punish them heavily for their bad behaviors. |
| D．Set them an example of love and acceptance. |
| A．Love me,love my dog. | B．Nothing seek,nothing find. |
| C．Don't put the cart before the horse. | D．Music with different tones sounds beautiful. |
| A．The art of social communication | B．The importance of love and tolerance |
| C．The ways to effectively listen to others | D．The positive attitude towards hate and anger |
The Yosufs' house is unlike any other house. In the sitting room, instead of a television there is a blackboard on the wall. For two hours every day Mr Yosuf writes complex mathematical problems on the board. His daughter, Zuleika, copies them into an exercise book and solves them.
Zuleika is special. She's five years old, but, instead of watching cartoons, or playing computer games, her favorite pastimes(消遣) are solving problems and reading books. She already spends hours every day in a university library. Next year, Zuleika will become Britain's youngest "A" level student.
Not surprisingly, the Yosufs are a very clever family. Zuleika's two sisters and brother, aged 16, 14 and 12 are also good at maths and are already at university. Her father, who specializes in maths research, has taught them all. "Zuleika is very competitive, " says her father, "She sees her brother and sisters working every day and she can't wait to catch up with them. I remember teaching the others maths when they were eight. Zuleika solves the same problems now, although she took up maths much earlier. We could see she was interested in numbers at a much younger age.
So what is the secret of their success? When their first child arrived, Mr Yosuf and his wife made up their minds to teach all of their children at home. They say that home teaching combined with love and understanding has helped their children to succeed. "We'll be patient and supportive, and they take pride in what they do, " says Mr Yosuf. "Maybe Zuleika has a natural talent for maths, but I believe given the right surroundings, any child could do well."
One thing all child prodigies(神童) have in common is a complete love of their subject. They spend many more hours working at it than the average child, and this extra effort is reflected in their achievements. It is not necessary to be extremely talented to be a child prodigy, but you do have to have a lot of motivation.
1. What does Mr. Yosuf use the blackboard for? (No more than 15 words)2. What is the main idea of Paragraph 2? (No more than 10 words)
3. What does the underlined word "surroundings" in paragraph 4 probably mean? (1 word)
4. What do all child prodigies have in common according to the text? (No more than 10 words)
5. What do you think of studying at home? Give your reasons. (No more than 20 words)
Bill Gates and his wife have been quite deliberate about the model they’ve used to raise their three kids,
One of the greatest
The model pushes parents to focus on asking questions of their kids and getting them thinking about how to solve their own problems, instead of
Gates says the “Love and Logic” method is a far cry from the way he grew up, but he knew he wanted to do things
9 . Erin and Caleb Funk now live in Toledo, Ohio, and have a 16-year-old son, a senior in high school, who has already registered in a vocational（职业的）school for this school year. The idea that their son might attend a vocational school worried the Funks at first.
“Vocational schools seemed to be reserved for people who weren’t making it in ‘real’ schools, so we weren’t completely sure whether we should support our son attending one,” Erin says.
Both Erin and Caleb worked hard to be the first in their families to obtain college degrees, and wanted the same opportunity for their three children. After touring the video- production-design program at Penta Career Center, though, they could see the draw for their son. Despite their initial worries, after learning more about the program and seeing how excited their son was about it, they threw their support behind his decision.
But not everyone in the Funks’ lives understands this decision. Erin says, “When I mentioned it to a friend recently that my eldest had decided to go to the vocational-technical school in our city, her first reaction was, ‘Oh, is he having problems at school？’ There is an attitude out there that the only reason you would go to a vo-tech is that you have some kind of problem at a traditional school.”
But their son has a 3. 95 GPA, a very good score. He was simply more interested in the program at Penta Career Center. He just doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.
The Funks are not alone in their misunderstandings and misgivings about the idea of vocational and technical education. Negative（负面的）attitudes and parental worries are still there even in the face of the promising future for these middle-skill students.
“It is considered a second choice, second-class. We really need to change how people see vocational and technical education,” said Patricia Hsieh, the president of Penta Career Center in Toledo, Ohio.
1. What can we learn about the funks？| A．They want their children to receive technical education. |
| B．They come from rich and well-educated families. |
| C．They decided to support their son’s decision eventually. |
| D．They felt ashamed of their son’s choice at first. |
| A．Worries. | B．Shames. | C．Mistakes. | D．Refusals. |
| A．it provides less interesting curricular | B．it can only get second-class students |
| C．it mainly focuses on middle-skill training | D．it is more sensitive to job market changes |
| A．Should We Support Our Children’s Choice of Vo-tech? |
| B．Negative Attitudes to Technical Education. |
| C．Better Job Market for Vocational Students. |
| D．Is Vocational Education a New Trend? |
10 . Nothing succeeds like success，as every parent of a straight A student knows，but trying to stress academic excellence by telling your child“You're so smart！”may be counterproductive．Why？According to a 2017 study，children who think their intelligence is fixed are less likely to pay attention to and bounce back(重整旗鼓) from mistakes than children who think intelligence can grow and change.
In the study，researchers looked at 123 children. The team assessed the children to determine whether they had a“growth mindset”(believing that you can work harder to get smarter)，or a“fixed mindset”(believing that your intelligence is unable to change)．They then asked the children to complete a fast-paced computer accuracy task while their brain activity was recorded. During the recording，researchers noted that brain activity stopped within a half second after making a mistake，as children became aware of their mistake and paid closer attention to what went wrong. The larger the brain response was，the more the child focused on the mistake. Based on the data，they concluded that children with a“growth mindset”were much more likely to have a larger brain response after making a mistake. While children with a “fixed mindset” were able to “bounce back”，only if they gave their full attention to the mistake.
For parents，the lessons are clear：Don't pay your children compliments that suggest that intelligence is fixed. If your children hands you an A＋ score，don't say，“You're so smart！”Instead，say，“Wow，that studying really paid off！”or“You clearly mastered this material—way to go！”Note the effort，not the intelligence.
Besides，many parents shy away from addressing their children's mistakes，telling them“It's OK. You'll get it the next time”without offering them the chances to figure out what goes wrong. Instead，it's better to reassure your children that mistakes happen，and work to figure out where and how they make the mistake.
1. Which of the following best explains “counterproductive” underlined in Paragraph 1?| A．Opposite. | B．Competitive. |
| C．Successful. | D．Unknown. |
| A．They made fewer mistakes. |
| B．They tried to avoid mistakes. |
| C．They had a smaller brain response. |
| D．They focused more on the mistake. |
| A．Overstressing the intelligence. |
| B．Paying children compliments. |
| C．Addressing children's mistakes. |
| D．Offering chances to find mistakes. |
| A．You are so careless. |
| B．Your studying paid off. |
| C．You'll get it the next time. |
| D．Let's find out how you made it. |
