2 . High school students who take music courses score significantly better on math, science and English exams than their non-musical peers, according to a new study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology.

School administrators needing to cut budgets often look first to music courses, because the general belief is that students who devote time to music rather than math, science and English, will_______ in those disciplines.

“Our research proved this belief _________   and found the more the students engage with music, the better they do in those subjects,” said UBC (University of British Columbia) education professor and the study’s principal investigator, Peter Gouzouasis. “The students who learned to play a musical instrument in elementary and_______ playing in high school not only score significantly higher, but were about one academic year ahead of their non-music peers with regard to their English, mathematics and science skills, as measured by their exam grades, _______   their socioeconomic background, race, previous learning in mathematics and English, and gender.”

Gouzouasis and his team _________   data from all students in public schools in British Columbia who finished Grade 12 between 2012 and 2015. The data ___________, made up of more than 112,000 students, included those who completed at least one standardized exam for math, science and English. Students who studied at least one instrumental music course in the regular curriculum counted as students_______   music.

The researchers found the _______ relationships between music education and academic achievement were       more pronounced for those who took instrumental music rather than vocal (发声的) music. The findings suggest skills learned in instrumental music_________ very broadly to the students’ learning in school.

“Learning to play a musical instrument and playing in a band is very________,” said the study’s co-investigator Martin Guhn, an assistant professor in UBC’s school of population and public health. “A student has to learn to read musical notes, develop eye-hand-mind coordination ( 协 调 ), develop keen listening skills, develop________   skills for playing in a band and develop discipline to practice. All those learning experiences, and more, play a role in________ the learner’s cognitive capacities (认知能力), executive functions, and motivation to learn in school.”

The researchers hope that their findings will be brought to the________ of students, parents, teachers and administrative decision-makers in education, as many school districts over the years have emphasized mathematics and literacy________ other   areas   of   learning,   particularly   music.   “However,   the   amusing   aspect   is   that________ education can be the very thing that improves all-around academic achievement,” said Gouzouasis.

1.

A．overbalance

B．underperform

C．overwork

D．underplay

2.

A．fantastic

B．strategic

C．embarrassing

D．wrong

3.

A．resisted

B．delayed

C．deserted

D．continued

4.

A．thanks to

B．in contrast to

C．regardless of

D．by means of

5.

A．examined

B．published

C．stored

D．exchanged

6.

A．report

B．sample

C．analysis

D．center

7.

A．taking

B．composing

C．sharing

D．performing

8.

A．casual

B．symbolic

C．predictive

D．changeable

9.

A．transfer

B．decline

C．attach

D．limit

10.

A．attractive

B．distinct

C．independent

D．demanding

11.

A．life

B．literacy

C．team

D．survival

12.

A．altering

B．enhancing

C．distracting

D．labeling

13.

A．attention

B．question

C．edge

D．glory

14.

A．in terms of

B．as a result of

C．in case of

D．at the cost of

15.

A．health

B．music

C．science

D．school

3 . Directions: Write an English composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
假设你是中华中学的高三学生李方，你的表弟Rob是美国华裔，生在长在美国，今年也将高中毕业，最近在考虑留在美国读大学还是到中国来读大学。前几天他写了封电子邮件给你，询问你的意见。给Rob回一封邮件，在邮件中你必须：
1.就他该留在美国读大学还是到中国来读大学表达你的意见；
2.比较两种选择，陈述你的理由。
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . The Companies Doing the Most to Make Their Employees Happier

Fat paychecks, light workloads, and endless vacation days don’t necessarily add to happy employee. In fact, the happiest employees in the U. S. owe their happiness to first-rate employee motivations, sufficient benefits, career advancement programs, and great work-life balance. The companies that have been the most devoted to cultivating and advancing these things in the past year have seen employee happiness _____ .

The jobs site CareerBliss.com just announced the winners of this year’s “Leap Awards,” which honor the companies that have made the biggest leaps to improve employee happiness year-over-year. CareerBliss evaluated more than 250,000 company reviews and ratings it received from _____nationwide to determined the top 50 deserving companies. To_______the list, each company had to have at least 50 reviews.

“The Leap Awards are important because they highlight _____ in our workforce,” says CareerBliss’s chief executive, Heidi Golledge. CaareerBliss asked the respondents to evaluate the key factors that ______work happiness, including work-life balance, one’s relationship with the boss and co-workers, the work environment, job resources, salary, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks, and job _____ .

Each respondent valued each of these things on a 1-to-5 scale, and indicated how important each was to their overall happiness at work. These numbers were______to find an average rating of overall employee happiness for each company. These averages were compared to last year’s numbers to find which companies had ______the most.

“Every employer who receives a Leap Award should ______their workplace happiness initiatives,” says Golledge. “Even though we are coming out of a difficult time, it is _____to see companies putting their efforts into providing a great environment for their employees. These efforts in workplace happiness will ensure that their employees will be around for years to come, as happiness breeds _____ .”

“We find each year that work-life balance is a key factor in determining employee happiness,” says Golledge. “Employee want to know that they can balance their career with their family and personal life. Often this______ over things like salary. Having programs that allow managers to offer employees flexibility can be a key factor in creating a happy work environment. ______, we see career advancement programs have a big impact on overall employee happiness. Often employees would rather take a job for a ______salary, if the company provides a comprehensive program which will help grow their career. Employees want to learn, develop and sustain a successful career path.”

Workplace happiness is the core of Career Bliss’ mission, Miller says“An individual’s happiness at work will create happiness throughout all areas of their life, and ______a company with a happy, motivated workforce will see exceptional results in its products and services.”

1.

A．soar

B．change

C．cease

D．disappear

2.

A．netizens

B．administrators

C．candidates

D．employees

3.

A．make up

B．quality for

C．count on

D．refer to

4.

A．change

B．power

C．duty

D．variety

5.

A．lay in

B．resulted from

C．focused on

D．contributed to

6.

A．analysis

B．vacancy

C．flexibility

D．responsibility

7.

A．applied

B．combined

C．compared

D．remembered

8.

A．benefited

B．improved

C．changed

D．produced

9.

A．approve of

B．account for

C．take pride in

D．get used to

10.

A．good

B．easy

C．impossible

D．interesting

11.

A．profit

B．honesty

C．creativity

D．loyalty

12.

A．turns

B．runs

C．advantages

D．skips

13.

A．However

B．Otherwise

C．Besides

D．Instead

14.

A．lower

B．fair

C．regular

D．similar

15.

A．obviously

B．frankly

C．fortunately

D．similarly