Is early childhood education really necessary? Early childhood education mainly focuses on learning through playing to develop the child’s physical, sensory (感官的), communicational and social development. Early childhood education has become a concern of the government, who pushes poor children to be formally trained before they are old enough for kindergarten.
There are good reasons for the government to push early childhood education. Studies have shown that orphans (孤儿) who did not receive good care and education become developmentally delayed, causing failure in school, and even in life. Further studies show that poor children who take part in Head Start programs are more prepared for school, less likely to end up in Special Education classes, and are less likely to receive public help or go to prison.
There are also negative parts to putting a child in formal education programs too early. Time Magazine online explains that “the younger the child, the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work.” I have personally seen many children of my generation who went to Head Start programs become discouraged and bored with school before they finished high school. Yet parents have been sure that the earlier the child starts school, the better he or she is, so they push to start children earlier.
Actually while early formal education of poor children does show great gains in the early elementary years, studies also show that this head start is really a “false start”, as the gains are lost in middle and high school years. It seems that environment is a bigger factor (因素) on life’s success than early education. Head Start programs have not achieved its original goal in closing the achievement gap (差距) in poor and middle school children. Perhaps it is time to find other ways to close that gap.
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If there was one thing you could make parents understand about kids, what would it be? That is one of the questions TFK and KidsHealth. org recently asked in an anonymous(匿名的) survey conducted online. More than 8,000 kids answered. “We just want to spend time with you,” said a 12-year-old child. “At 13, you can’t treat me like I’m 6,” another kid said. An 11-year-old child wrote, “Being a kid is a lot harder than it looks.” The kids who took our survey made it clear that they want to feel close to the important people in their life—their mum, dad and other caring adults. But their answers also show that it is not always easy to deal with these close relationships.
Many kids—two out of three—said they get along pretty well or very well with their parents. About four out of five kids told us that they have fun with their parents. But that doesn’t mean they never disagree. In fact, most kids reported arguing with their parents, at least sometimes. “It’s absolutely normal to disagree and argue,” says D’Arcy Lyness, a child psychologist. “But it’s also important to learn how to do so respectfully.” About half of the kids said they are doing that. When they disagree with their parents, they say they discuss issues calmly.
But two out of five kids said arguments tend to involve yelling at each other. Lyness points out that shouting never helps. “Speak up, and let your parents know your ideas and your opinions,” she advises. “But be patient. Don’t use a raised, angry voice.”
Kids made it clear that they would rather avoid conflict altogether. Not surprisingly, three out of four kids admitted lying at times. Many said they lie to avoid getting in trouble or disappointing their parents. According to Lyness, lying isn’t just wrong. It can actually get negative results. Telling the truth builds trust. “When parents can trust you, they are more likely to give you more freedom and more privileges,” she says.
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A 15yearold boy planned to put a ball covered with petrol into his mouth and set it on fire. He would film the dangerous action and put it on YouTube. And, he hoped to become famous on the Internet. But things didn't go the way he imagined. His clothing caught fire, and he was rushed to the hospital with serious burns on his body.
YouTube hosts millions of videos of people attempting dangerous actions. Many of them are by kids and young adults. Some experts say that by hosting these videos, YouTube encourages young viewers to take deadly risks. Research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that more than 180，000 Americans die from accidental injuries each year. That's one person every three minutes. More than 14，000 of those killed are kids under the age of 19. Is YouTube to blame?
People have always found it interesting to watch others try risky things. Audiences are mad about these kinds of things. Some of the earliest Greek comedies had characters followed by wild animals and knocking into walls. Now, in the age of the Internet, anyone with a camera and a YouTube account can create this kind of “fun”. Many viewers, especially teenagers, are influenced by what they see and want to try it themselves. “YouTube has taken the playing in the neighborhood to a worldwide level，” says Clair Mellenthin, a researcher from the Centers.
Supporters of YouTube argue that it isn't YouTube's responsibility to examine its content. “Parents should be the ones to make sure that kids are behaving safely，” they say. In fact, YouTube has a rule on content. For example, dangerous activities that have a risk of serious physical harm or death are not allowed. Staff of YouTube, carefully watch the website 24 hours a day, looking for videos that are against their rules. But is this enough?
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Excited screams of joy，the sounds of two happy little girls playing in the sand，rang across the beach. But I walked along，barely aware of it. I'd come to this remote beach on my sailboat，a place to escape. My wife and I had recently separated，our marriage in trouble. I worried about my two boys，just six and eight. It seemed like forever since I'd heard them laugh. But I didn't know what to do to make things better.
“Help！Help！”The girls shouted. I'd meant to tell them to stay away from the dangerous water. Now one of them was in the ocean，beyond the surf line. I could just hear her screams over the waves. Any second now she'd be swept away. I ran across the sand as fast as I could. The other girl was at the edge of the surf line，yelling.
“Wait！Stop！Don't go any farther！”I charged into the waves and was reaching for her when a wall of water dashed over us. For half a second I saw her disappear under another big wave. I'm a strong swimmer, but I could feel the wave pulling me hard. I swam to her and seized her, her little body shaking, trembling. But where is the other girl? I saw a waving arm. A head broke the surface, not far away. The arms of the girl I'd rescued were wrapped desperately around my neck. She was breathing with sobs. “Let go of my neck. I need you on my back. Hold my shoulders so I can swim to your friend. ”
She loosed her hands and I shifted her to my back. “She's my sister, Sarah, and I am Lillian,” she said. For a moment I thought of my boys. How much they loved each other. How much I loved them.
I looked across the water and saw a small head after a big wave. I quickened my swimming，fighting for each breath. Tiny arms pressed against my shoulder. I reached out and held the second little girl. She was in total tiredness，taking deep breaths，crying quietly.
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：
I swam hard with the two girls and looked toward shore，but I couldn’t see anyone.
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Paragraph 2:
“Mommy!” The loud cry wakened my consciousness,
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Advertising plays a major role in the competitive business world. Many industries take advantage of the power of advertising to attract or to win customers away from their business competitors. The influence of advertising is so huge that it causes many people to buy things that they don't want at the start.
Advertising encourages people to buy things they don't want through misleading ideas. Advertising is proven to be a successful tool to stress the features of their product to the public even though it's regarded undesirable such as cigarettes，drugs，alcohol and so on. For example，Dunhill，a cigarette company which sponsors many football teams，seems to be promoting cigarettes to the public. Without the sponsorship，the company will be less known to the public，resulting in fewer sales of cigarettes.
Besides that，advertising has a large influence on the decisions made by the people in their everyday life. Many businesses use advertising as a form of promoting to create awareness about their product in the market. For instance，in a fast food industry，the introduction of a new flavor of burger needs advertising to reach the public while the other burgers require advertising to increase sales. Children，especially，are easily influenced by advertisements and will have the desire to dine at fast food restaurants after that. Although fast food is bad for health，it has successfully become appealing to the public through advertising.
However, advertising plays a part in helping customers to compare a product in terms of price, quality, reliability and so on. Without advertising, it will be very difficult for customers to judge the worthiness of a product. For example, advertisements published by various companies have given the customers the opportunity to choose wisely when they are purchasing an item. Without the power of advertising, customers will be stuck to a brand which may not offer the best choice.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Look inside any family home in the evening, and you might see a typical enough scene: Mom and Dad, each on their own laptop or tablet, streaming movies, catching up on work or maybe answering emails on their smartphones. Meanwhile, one child is chatting online with one school friend while texting another. The other is playing a video game with a friend on the other side of the city at the same time. Each member of the family is totally absorbed in his or her own piece of technology.
According to some experts, the effect of technology on human relationships is worrying as technology becomes a substitute for face-to-face human relationships. It appears to be the case that many people would much rather spend time with their electronic gadgets(电子产品) than with one another. Young people say it is difficult to get their parents’ attention and they have to compete with smartphones, tablets and other technology.
However, a report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project offers a more helpful and encouraging view, suggesting that far from replacing human contact, technology can actually better family relationships. Just over half of the 2,253 people surveyed agreed that technology had enabled them to increase their contact with distant family members and 47 percent said it had improved the communication with the people they lived with. Moreover, even the closest members of families need time away from each other at some point to seek their own interests. Family members who might otherwise have sat in separate rooms can now be in the same one while still occupying a different mental space.
Look back at our typical family scene above. Is it any different from four people reading their own books? Or is it driving families apart? Where technology will lead us remains to be seen. Yet there is no need to worry. As a matter of fact how it affects our family relationships depends on our attitude toward technology.
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It is a common sight on campus or in the streets: a young person rides by on an electric scooter, traveling quickly and proudly. But Beijing’s traffic authorities have said that starting on Sept.5, people who are caught riding electric scooters on public roads or bicycle lanes will be fined 10 yuan. They will also be given a warning not to use the vehicles on public roads again.
The announcement was made after traffic police in Shanghai started a campaign to get electric scooters off public roads, with police officers stopping riders because the scooters could cause traffic problems.
The Beijing Consumer Association said it had tested more than 20 electric scooters of different brands recently and found that most had substandard brakes. It added that 16 of the tested scooters could go faster than the maximum 20 km per hour set for electric bikes. According to the traffic police, people who ride electric scooters at certain speeds can easily bump into the vehicles in the vehicle lane and hurt people who walk in the bicycle lanes.
But seeing the benefits that electric scooters have brought to young people, experts are worried that the ban may take effect slowly.
Electric scooters are a great answer to the ‘last mile problem’ of getting from a public transport station to one’s home. They’re light enough to throw over your shoulder. They’re easy to ride just about anywhere and don’t need a lot of physical effort. The scooter can travel 25 km on one charge. It’s convenient and easy to control.
They are also good for environment. Unlike cars and buses, electric scooters produce no carbon dioxide, need no fuel and make almost no noise.
For many young people, they use them to copy cool celebrities they have seen in videos.
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Alexis, 17, sat quietly in the passenger seat of her dad’s car. She let her eyes lazily scan the landscape for wildlife. Then a deer came into view about 200 yards in front of them. “ Dad, there’s a deer there!” Alexis said, rolling down the window for a better look. It was a male deer with sharp antlers （鹿角） on each side of its head.
As the car moved closer, Alexis saw that the deer’s head was bent toward the ground. Then she heard a scream and saw an arm fly up near the deer’s head. Alexis realized the deer was attacking a woman. Sue, a 44-year-olcI mother, had been out for her morning run. The deer followed her and edged （缓慢移动） closer. “ I knew I was in trouble,” says Sue. She went to pick up a stick for self-defense, and the deer attacked her. It lifted her with its antlers and threw her into the air. Sue felt blood flow down her leg. Within seconds, the deer had pushed her off the road.
When Alexis and her father pulled up, the deer was throwing Sue like a doll. Alexis looked into the woman’s terrified eyes, and before her father had even stopped the car, the teenager jumped quickly out of the car and ran toward the deer. She was kicking and hitting it to get its attention. Then Michael, her father, who had followed his daughter, pushed the deer away from the woman.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：
Alexis immediately helped Sue into the car. ______
Paragraph 2 ：
Then she heard her father shout loudly. ______
| 不文明行为 | 你的看法 |
| 随地吐痰 乱扔垃圾 大声喧哗 …… | 尊重外国文化 爱护环境 维护中国人的形象 …… |
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：乱扔（垃圾）litter；吐痰spit；形象image
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Over the past few years, there has been a big increase in the number of people sharing information online. In this article we will learn about some positive factors for people to share information online.
We often share information with our friends in the office or at home to educate, entertain or pleasantly surprise them. In this way we can connect with others. This is also true while sharing information online. If you look at the Facebook wall posts of your friends, you will realize that most of their updates are usually famous quotes, entertaining videos, inspirational images, funny jokes, etc. 94% of those who responded to a survey by the New York Times said they put a lot of thought into how the content they are sharing will be beneficial to others.
A lot of people share information online to represent their true self to the outside world. Some people, especially those who are shy and not comfortable talking about their areas of interest in the presence of others, find it extremely convenient to share that information online with like-minded individuals.
78% of the respondents in the study of The New York Times said they shared information online because it helps them develop better relationships. Today, a lot of people do not have the time to meet each other in person and the Internet has become a great substitute. A lot of people now “meet” each other online, rather than in conventional places like restaurants and pubs.
Lastly, when we share our thoughts online, we are actively engaging with the vast community of people who are a part of the World Wide Web. Sharing information will make a difference to the viewpoint of others, or add to their understanding about the world.
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