A great many parents send their children to pre-schools --- educational programs for children under the age of five. It has been said that this is the time period when the brain does over fifty percent of its growing. This could mean that the learning process should be introduced during these years.
However, the views that different societies hold regarding the purpose of early childhood education are not same. Whereas Chinese parents tend to see preschools primarily as a way of giving children a good start academically, parents in the United States regard the primary purpose of preschools as making children more independent and self-reliant. Preschools can operate under a guiding philosophy of play-based or academic learning. Play-based programs are guided by the central belief that children learn best through play. Play is thought to build children’s interest and love of learning. Academic programs emphasize reading, math and science, and use structured, teacher-directed activities to promote foundational skills in these areas. In the United States, the best-known program designed to promote future academic success is Head Start. The program, which stresses parental involvement, was designed to serve the “whole child”, including children’s physical health, self-confidence, social responsibility, and social and emotional development.
A recent evaluation suggests that preschoolers who participate in Head Start are less likely to repeat grades, and more likely to complete school in future. Furthermore, graduates of Head Start programs show higher academic performance at the end of high school, although the gains are modest. In addition, results from other types of preschool readiness programs indicate that for every dollar spent on the program, taxpayers saved seven dollars by the time the graduates reached the age of 27.
Not everyone agrees that programs that seek to enhance academic skills during the preschool years are a good thing. In fact, according to developmental psychologist David Elkind, United States society tends to push children so rapidly that they begin to feel stress and pressure at a young age. Elkind argues that academic success is largely dependent upon factors such as inherited abilities and a child’s rate of maturation, which parents can do nothing about. Consequently, children of a particular age cannot be expected to master educational material without taking into account their current level of cognitive(认知的) development. In short, children require development appropriate educational practice, which is education that is based on both typical development and the unique characteristics of a given child.
| Early Childhood Education | |
| Reasons for attending preschools | •The •Parents’ expectations of preschools |
| •Some programs •Parents are | |
| Benefits of attending preschools | •Graduates are more •Graduates may achieve higher grades at high school. •It can be |
| •Children feel pressured at a young age. •Factors determining academic success are beyond parents’ •Early childhood education must be | |
2 . Editor’s note: Believe it or not, children’s homework is making their parents ill. One parent suffered a heart attack because of the stress of helping their child with homework, according to a post on Sina Weibo. Who is to blame for the parent’s heart attack?
Li Haonan,16:
I think the student should be responsible for this tragedy. As we students grow older, we should be more independent than we used to be. We can take good care of ourselves. Doing homework with the help of our parents sounds unreasonable. It’s obvious that we can finish it alone. So it’s the student’s dependence that leads to such a sad story.
WangKerui,16:
In my opinion, there’s a connection between this sad incident and school. Homework gives students a chance to examine the knowledge they’ve got. However, school always gives us tons of homework at once. If we have problems, we will turn to our parents for help. When our parents are very busy, they will get angry.
Zhou Xueyao,17:
I think parents themselves are to blame. They always put great pressure on their children, which has bad effects on both parents and children. They should take it easy and let their children do their homework by themselves.
【写作内容】
1. 用约 30 个单词概述上文中的主要内容；
2. 分析引起那位家长心脏不适的原因可能会是什么；
3. 谈谈你对这一现象的看法, 并提出解决方法。
【写作要求】
1. 写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；
2. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
【评分标准】
内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
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3 . Not long ago I saw the following headline: “An anti-homework trend（趋势）goes global”. The reasoning: It stresses children out and it steals “precious family time”.
Hmm… I wonder. As a teacher, one of the problems I often come across is that students attach far too little importance to their studies, resulting in bad or incomplete work. I also wonder about the “precious family time”. If homework were abolished（废除）, would the time freed up be used for reading poetry aloud at the dinner table or having heart-to-heart discussion about the social and political landscape（局面）? In the age of the Internet and games such as Candy Crush Saga, which have absorbed the time and interest of otherwise intelligent adults, I am doubtful.
When I was a kid, homework actually created precious family time. I still remember, after supper, clearing the table and replacing the dishes with my schoolbooks. And then, in swing shifts, my working-class parents would sit down with me and, to the best of their abilities, help me when and where they could.
I have often thought that the homework question could be dealt with if one thought of homework in terms of learning to play a musical instrument. For me, this was the clarinet（单簧管）, which I began learning to play at age 9. Every week I took a 30-minute lesson from an old Polish man, Mr. Markiewicz. “Practice an hour a day, and you’ll be playing the clarinet before you know it.” Because my motivation was strong, I did practice an hour a day, and I did learn it in a reasonable amount of time.
Let’s get rid of homework, but only the word “homework”, and replace it with “practice”. As a teacher, it’s all I ask: that my students listen up in the class and then go home to practice, so that when they return to me to show how much they understand, I—and their parents—can be proud of them.
1. What might happen in the house with no homework according to the author?| A．Students will play games. |
| B．Students will develop new interest. |
| C．There will be more precious family time. |
| D．There will be more arguments among the family. |
| A．Mourn his precious family time’s passing. |
| B．Show the powerful parental forces. |
| C．Prove the advantage of homework. |
| D．Describe his uneasy life as a student. |
| A．Get rid of it. | B．Don’t see it as a load（负担）. |
| C．Take great pride in it. | D．Improve their motivation（动机）for it. |
| A．Why to value the family time. |
| B．An anti-homework trend begins. |
| C．How to solve the homework problem. |
| D．Developing hobbies can replace homework. |
4 . According to a survey, in Washington, DC, only 69 percent of public school students graduate from high school on time. Many factors influence that low rate. One of the most important ones is whether the people around the students expect them to succeed.
So, for the past 40 years,a DC organization has stepped in to give around 10,000 students the support and positive environment they need to thrive. This organization, called Higher Achievement, provides students with a welcoming space, help with class work, and caring teachers. More than 95 percent of students who complete Higher Achievement graduate from high school on time.
Katherine Roboff is the group's executive director in the DC area. She gives several reasons for the group’s success. One is timing. Higher Achievement does not work with students who are already in high school. It works with students in middle school. They start High Achievement at fifth or sixth grade-in the US, that is usually age 11 or 12.
Robolf says research shows that if students are doing well academically in eighth grade---around age 13---they will have a greater chance of graduating from high school and going to college. In other words, what happens in middle school has a huge effect.The years between ages 10 and 13 may affect a student's future more than anything that happens academically in high school.
Roboff explains that students participate in Higher Achievement after school and during the summer，when public schools take a break of about two months.High Achievement students do homework, have community meetings, and work one-on-one with a mentor（导师）.
The purpose of the programme is to help them use those after school and summer hours to become better prepared academically and to develop their leadership skills and confidence so that by the time they get into eighth grade they are ready to get into some of the top high school.”
1. What can we infer from the second paragraph?| A．Higher Achievement works with college students. |
| B．Many students have doubts about the organization. |
| C．Higher Achievement has spread throughout the Us. |
| D．Higher Achievement has helped many high school students. |
| A．they are certain to go to college |
| B．they are to succeed when they grow up |
| C．they are more likely to finish high school on time |
| D．they don't need any help in their studies |
| A．become naughty | B．improve themselves |
| C．earn more money | D．help others |
| A．public schools never offer positive environment |
| B．Higher Achievement only helps the students in the eighth grade |
| C．how Higher Achievement helps those students |
| D．Higher Achievement only helps those who have good skills. |
5 . Every time the results of the international PISA test are released, the United States gets another opportunity to whip itself for students’ unsatisfying performance.
PISA is the Program for International Student Assessment, a test administered to students in 79 countries around the world. It allows critics on both sides of the school-reform debate to peer at the results of other nations, compare them to the U.S. outcomes and find examples that appear to confirm their own beliefs about why our 15-year-olds are not at the best in science, math and reading. Those opposed to standardized testing and accountability measures look at Finland’s high scores and point out that in that country, there are no mandatory standardized tests until the end of senior year of high school. Children are encouraged to play more. Their school days are shorter and no one attempts to hold teachers accountable according to a rigid set of rules. The students are given very little homework. The nation’s scores and ranking have slid over the past decade, but it still consistently outshines the U.S.
Meanwhile, fans of more regular testing are likely to hold up Singapore and South Korea as models. Singapore’s curriculum is highly scripted and pretty much the same across the nation — something that the Obama administration hoped to achieve through its Common Core curriculum. Teachers continually prepare students for hard tests and depend heavily on worksheets and drills. South Korean families depend heavily on private tutoring to help their children perform well on high-stakes tests. Students in these two countries also outperform American students on the PISA test.
But if Finland, Singapore and South Korea are all doing better than America, that suggests there may be a factor at play other than how students are taught. And indeed there is something that all three of these nations, and every other country that outranks America on the PISA test, have in common: lower rates of child poverty. “Socio-economically disadvantaged students across OECD countries are almost three times more likely than advantaged students not to attain the baseline level of proficiency (能力) in science,” PISA reported in a 2018 paper.
Though America is by most measures a wealthy country, it is one with many poor people. A 2017 UNICEF report looked at the relative child poverty rates of 41 well-off nations. America ranked seventh from the bottom.
“Because in every country, students at the bottom of the social class distribution perform worse than students higher in that distribution, U.S. average performance appears to be relatively low partly because we have so many more test takers from the bottom of the social class distribution,” A 2013 study by Stanford University researchers concluded.
There’s no getting around it: This is a shameful situation in a developed, wealthy nation. When poverty equates to lower academic performance, people pass that poverty from one generation to the next. Until they are willing to face that problem and take bold measures against it, the nation’s rankings will always be limited.
For various reasons, PISA results aren’t the ultimate measure of how well a nation’s schools are doing. But when it comes to measuring the effects of income inequality, PISA offers a powerful lesson for the United States: If they want a better educated population, they cannot ignore their culpability in allowing so many children to grow up in poverty.
1. We can learn from the passage that PISA is a test______.| A．administered to all the students around the world |
| B．reflecting students’ ability in science, math and reading |
| C．causing criticism from the educational authorities in the US |
| D．held by the United Nations annually for 15-year-old students |
| A．The US government has taken measures to handle poverty issues. |
| B．Scores of students from Finland in PISA have improved in recent years |
| C．The case in Singapore is used as opposition against standardized testing |
| D．For students in South Korea, the help from teachers in schools is not enough |
| A．The 2013 study by Stanford University researchers. |
| B．There are many test takers from lower class in the US. |
| C．The US ranked the seventh among 41 well-off countries. |
| D．The US average performance is poorer than other countries. |
| A．To present different opinions of the school-reform debate in the US. |
| B．To argue poverty contributes to the low ranking of the US in PISA. |
| C．To illustrate that the US students performed poorly academically. |
| D．To compare the education systems in the US and other countries |
The benefits of having a higher education are manifold (多样的) and range from financial to cultural and from common benefits to some unexpected surprises, below you will find a number of reasons which will help to serve as justification for a higher education.
For many high school students, it is hard to imagine what the long-term benefits of a college education might be. College is demanding; the work seems challenging, and meeting all new people seems overwhelming. However, what most young people do not realize is that there is a high likelihood at college that you will find new friends with similar interests and values. You may find yourself developing new interests by getting along with those who have completely different life experiences. An opportunity to get to know your professors can also be counted one of the benefits of having a college education. These intellectuals can be counted on to welcome questions and discussion from students. Therefore, one of the key benefits of a college education is the social bonds created and developed during this unique time in a person’s life.
Besides, the fact that you’ll be building a career for the rest of your life is reason enough to make time for a college education. Indeed, a clear benefit of a college education is that not only will it give you time to better know your likes and dislikes before entering the labor force, it will also enhance the likelihood of a more successful career for you. Many young people are uncertain about a career path at the start of college. This is a time of exploration, and taking the time to explore a variety of college majors is time well spent.
One more justification for higher education could be that it is the best way to enhance yourself in an all-round way. Getting a good education may be the most important price you can pay for your personal advancement, because perhaps more than anything else, what you do with that huge gray material between your ears will determine your future. You never know where your talent could reach. So higher education can provide you with the chance to realize your personal value.
Therefore, never undervalue the benefits of entering a higher education, which surely will bring you something beyond expectation.
原因：1.家庭贫穷，供不起儿童上学，他们不得不在家赚钱养家。
2.部分家长认为女孩上学无用，不愿让她们上学。
3.部分儿童对功课不感兴趣，不愿上学。
看法：1.每个儿童包括女孩都应有受教育的机会。
2.全社会都应重视儿童教育，他们对国家的未来将起到重要的作用。
要求：1.不要逐字逐句翻译。 2.语句要连贯通顺。 3.字数在100个左右。
参考词汇： 失学 out of school 负担得起，提供 afford
养家 support/keep the family
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8 . Parents can begin good organization (条理) habits with preschool-age kids, Experts recommend asking them to do small, simple actions on a regular basis with the help of parents. Maybe they open their bags and bring their lunch bag to the kitchen, or take their shoes off at the door and put them in a nearby closet. These won’t save parents much time but they will help develop good habits.
When kids enter primary school, they should be ready for more responsibility. This is the time to teach them about daily routines, and help them take control over theirs. Parents and children might sit down together and make a list of everything that needs to be done to get out of the house in the morning, or get ready for bed at night. Together, parents should figure out how long each activity takes, and when the best time to do them is. Some of the kids might want to get their bags ready and pick out their clothes the night before.
It’s also wise to create a firm schedule for homework. When do kids do their homework? How long do they need? Where do they do it? Where will the homework go once it is done? Figure them out and stick to the schedule as much as possible.
Parents should print up these task lists and help kids finish them step by step. Kids might even check them off each morning or evening. Also, make sure there are clocks in the rooms in which these tasks will take place. Time management is an important part of learning organization, but it can’t be done if kids don’t know what time it is.
Organization gives kids the chance to make it possible to focus on a task and complete it. Kids tend to be more motivated to learn organization skills if they see organization as a challenge to overcome, rather than a fault to repair.
1. Why are kids advised to do small and simple actions?| A．To save parents time. |
| B．To join a school organization. |
| C．To help kids form good habits. |
| D．To form a good relationship with others. |
| A．Offer some suggestions only. |
| B．Finish the daily tasks for kids. |
| C．Assist kids in finishing the daily tasks. |
| D．Let the kid finish the daily tasks alone. |
| A．It is a fault to repair. | B．It is nothing special. |
| C．It is easy to achieve. | D．It is a helpful skill. |
9 . In 1968 Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson set an intelligence test for a class of primary school children at "Oak School" (an invented name) in San Francisco. The teachers were told that the intelligence test bad two purposes. Firstly, it would measure the IQ of the children and secondly it would predict 20% of students who, no matter what their performance to date was like, would be likely to make the most progress during the next school year. The teachers were then told who the predicted top improvers would be.
At the end of the school year, eight months later, the intelligence test was carried out again and, perhaps not surprisingly, the results showed that the 20% of children who had been predicted to improve the most, did in fact do so. They showed, on average, an increase of 12 IQ points on the test, compared with an increase of only 8 points for the other children.
But the fact is that no results of any test were used to predict who would be the top performers. Instead, the lucky children who the teachers were told would be the top improvers were given this label as a matter of chance. This study shows that the label that you are given, and your interaction(互动) with others who notice that label, can have a big influence on the results that you achieve. This phenomenon(现象)has been called the Rosenthal effect. It is also known as the Pygmalion effect, related most famously to the George Bernard Show play Pygmalion , which shows the effect that two men have in changing an untidy flower girl into a well-spoken lady.
For ethical (道德的)reasons the researchers at "Oak School!" only concentrated on trying to produce positive results in the children's performance. However, it is worth asking yourself what the effects on 20% of students considered least likely to improve in the following school year might have been. A frightening thought.
1. What did the study find about the predicted top performers at the end of the school year?| A．They showed more interest in tests. | B．They really made the most progress. |
| C．They became less confident than before. | D．They were as intelligent as the other children. |
| A．According to the teachers' judgement. | B．Based on the test results. |
| C．By chance. | D．Openly. |
| A．They might be willing to accept positive results. |
| B．They would likely have frightening thoughts. |
| C．They would likely make the least progress. |
| D．They might work much harder than before. |
| A．The Rosenthal effect | B．A play by Bernard Shaw. |
| C．A school in San Francisco. | D．The labels given to children. |
10 . Many parents, teachers, and politicians assert that preschool is the best way to prepare children to learn. There is no real agreement, however, about how this
For some, early childhood education
Other people cite research showing that children are ready to
Is there proof that an academic curriculum in preschool will lead to academic success? Studies have not been
In the short term, evidence suggests that middle-class children who attend preschool are
Children living in
The idea of public preschools raises many issues. Providing Head Start for all children would be a
| A．preparation | B．claim | C．performance | D．direction |
| A．comes to | B．appeals to | C．turns to | D．relates to |
| A．attendance | B．discovery | C．relaxation | D．amusement |
| A．positive | B．aggressive | C．strange | D．normal |
| A．competition | B．loneliness | C．discipline | D．independence |
| A．policy | B．plan | C．approach | D．drive |
| A．publicize | B．absorb | C．define | D．reject |
| A．introduction | B．devotion | C．entrance | D．contribution |
| A．available | B．descriptive | C．conclusive | D．convincing |
| A．equal to | B．distinguished from | C．inferior to | D．ahead of |
| A．However | B．Therefore | C．Moreover | D．Otherwise |
| A．widens | B．narrows | C．disappears | D．exists |
| A．trouble | B．despair | C．poverty | D．danger |
| A．documented | B．tracked | C．involved | D．accompanied |
| A．mental | B．emotional | C．psychological | D．financial |
