A. inky B. ashore C. facility D. worldwide E. female F. conclusions G. double H. confused I. Talk J. preservation K. typically |
Several deep-sea fish have been mysteriously washed up on California’s beaches this year, leaving marine biologists
The latest Pacific football fish to be washed
The fish is black, almost spherical in shape and has sharp teeth. It has a strange external body sticking out from its head with multiple branches, used to attract prey in the
The fish found on Swami’s Beach is a mature
Pacific football fish are very rarely seen considering that they are
Despite the fact that the fish are rarely seen, three of them have been washed up on California’s beaches this year —including one that was spotted last month at Black’s Beach, north of San Diego. The three sightings this year
Despite the series of recent sightings, experts said, it’s hard to jump to any
假设你的朋友John作为交换生要来一所中学学习一年。现在有两个家庭可为他提供住宿。John对如何选择犹豫不决，想听听你的建议。请根据以下住宿家庭信息，写一封email给John，说说你推荐哪个家庭，并简要谈谈这样推荐的理由。
| 王先生家庭 | 李先生家庭 | |
| 家庭成员 | 一对中年夫妇；一个17岁的男孩 | 一对退休夫妇 |
| 住宿条件 | 提供一个带独立卫生间的房间 | 提供一个无独立卫生间房间 |
| 伙食 | 周一至周六提供早餐和晚餐，周日不提供餐饮 | 周一至周五提供早餐和晚餐；周六和周日提供三餐 |
| 距学校距离 | 地铁大约一小时车程 | 步行到学校大约10分钟 |
Not setting homework can be impossible in certain situations. There are many arguments for homework, and most teachers would agree with many of the following: homework is a perfect opportunity to review what was done with the teacher, and rethink and develop that initial input; homework offers a moment for students to work as individuals and develop self-governance outside the classroom; students and parents expect homework to be set and graded. Nevertheless, the drawbacks homework may have are often overlooked.
There are two key issues which need to be raised when dealing with the concept of homework. Firstly, there is the question of home. Often homework is not done at home at all, but at a friend’s house, on the way back home or to class. Additionally, for it to be done effectively at home, homework often requires adults’ involvement. Parents aren’t always available, for some very valid reasons, and a tutor’s ability to aid and guide may be limited in many ways. The implications are unsettling: if homework is crucial to success in class, some children have an automatic disability.
If the idea of “home” can be problematic, so can the concept of “work”. Very often there is so much to do. Demand on their time means homework is usually something to get out of the way as fast as possible. It is not always seen as useful time spent strengthening what is done in class but, rather, as something quickly finished. It might be correct or not, copied from a friend or cut and pasted from the Internet, but the important thing is that a teacher sees the exercise completed and, as a result, the task achieved: how much effort went into that result is not always appreciated or easy to evaluate and, even when work clearly falls below standard, and the mere fact of its having been done is often good enough. Teacher and students are happy because everyone has officially fulfilled their commitment.
The ideal that students go home, review what they did with their teacher, use the great resources to put everything they have learnt in class into practice, doesn’t often happen with some students.
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Book 1
In Factfulness, Professor Hans Roslingasks simple questions like ‘How many girls finish school?’ and ‘What percentage of the world’s population is poor?’ It turns out that the majority of us get the answers to these questions completely wrong. Why does this happen? Factfulness sets out to explain why, showing that there are several instincts humans have that distort (扭曲) our perspective. Yes, there are real concerns. But we should adopt a mindset of factfulness – only carrying opinions that are supported by strong facts. This book focuses on our instinctive biases (偏见), offering practical advice to help us see the good as well as the bad in the world.
Book 2
Are things getting worse every day? Is progress an impossible goal? In Enlightenment Now, Steven Pinker looks at the big picture of human progress and finds good news. We are living longer, healthier, freer and happier lives. Pinker asks us to stop paying so much attention to negative headlines and news that declares the end of the world. Instead, he shows us some carefully selected data. In 75 surprising graphs, we see that safety, peace, knowledge and health are getting better all over the world. Economic inequality, he claims, is not really a problem, because it is not actually that important for human well-being.
Book 3
For more than two hundred years those who hold negative thoughts have been winning the public debate. They tell us that things are getting worse. But as a matter of fact, life is getting better. Income, food availability and lifespan are rising; disease, violence and child mortality are falling. Best-selling author Matt Ridley doesn’t only explain how things are getting better; he gives us reasons why as well. He shows us how human culture evolves in a positive direction thanks to the exchange of ideas and specialization. This bold book looks at the entirety of human history – from the Stone Age to the 21st century – and changes the concept that it’s all going downhill.
Book 4
The majority of people believe that developing countries are in a terrible situation: suffering from incredible poverty and wars. The reality is that a great transformation is occurring. Over the past 20 years, more than 700 million people have increased their income and come out of poverty. This is happening across developing countries around the world. The end of the Cold War, the development of new technologies and brave new leadership have helped to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people in poor countries. In his book The Great Surge, Stevens Radelet describes how all of this is happening and, more importantly, it shows us how we can speed up the process.
1. What is the common feature of the four books?| A．They focus on the present situations concerning developing countries. |
| B．They emphasize the importance of dealing with problems in poor countries. |
| C．They try to direct readers to a positive path in terms of human development. |
| D．They appeal to show more sympathy and understanding for poor countries. |
| A．Hans Roslingasks | B．Steven Pinker |
| C．Matt Ridley | D．Stevens Radelet |
| A．The Rational Optimist | B．Human History: Where Are We |
| C．A Public Debate | D．Out of Poverty: What and How |
