1 . Reading instruction in the classroom is a key concern for all teachers and there are many ways to go about it. However, is our determination to achieve excellence in reading skills in our children killing their love and enjoyment of a good book?
In my work with parents, I am frequently asked the best ways to encourage reluctant readers to be engaged with books. Parents report that their children return home from school with no inclination to pick up a book and read.
Any eager reader will gladly talk about the joy with a good book to read away the hours on a cold, rainy afternoon. Reading a good book is one of life’s greatest pleasures. We need to share these experiences with our children in order to assist them in developing into strong readers. But the use of boring, mass-produced home reading texts in children’s early years at school can be seen as the beginning of this negative cycle.
As children progress through their schooling life, there are many other instances of learning reading skills that don’t help reading development. Frequently, teachers feel the pressure to give their students “just enough” in terms of reading strategies to be able to achieve the test, which leaves little time to focus on reading for pleasure.
Kelly Gallagher, a high school teacher, outlines the term “Readicide” in his book. He says it’s: the systematic killing of the love of reading, often worsened by foolish, boring practices found in schools.
Recent research shows that many teachers tend to follow the traditional literacy practices that they have experienced in their own education, which can often have negative intentions for their students.
While teaching children key concepts for analyzing and evaluating texts is important, the manner in which it is done and time that is spent on this can lead to unexpected results. Schools aren’t to blame when it comes to not arresting students’ lack of interest in reading, but they have an important role to play in fostering reading enjoyment.
1. What does the underlined word “inclination” mean?| A．Energy | B．Task |
| C．Intention | D．Requirement |
| A．To develop reading habits | B．To read for pleasure |
| C．To learn reading skills | D．To kill a love for books |
| A．focus on teaching reading strategies |
| B．ignore key concepts for analyzing texts |
| C．are to blame for students’ poor reading |
| D．fail to follow the traditional reading practices |
| A．Reading books is to experience pleasure |
| B．Learning to love books is even more important |
| C．Teaching reading helps reluctant readers |
| D．Getting pleasure from books makes capable readers |
He immediately asked
3 . Did you ever have to say “no” to somebody? Such as a classmate who asks to go to lunch with you? New research suggests that, at least socially, a rejection (拒绝) should not include an apology. In other words, saying you are sorry does not make the person being rejected feel any better. In fact, it might make the rejected person feel worse. That is surprising. Many people consider it to be good manners to say they are sorry when they turn down a request.
Gili Freedman is doing some related research at Dartmouth College. For her research, she asked over 1,000 people to respond to different examples of social rejection. In one example, the researchers asked people for their reaction (反应）after a person named Taylor asked to join a co-worker who went out to lunch every Friday. And Taylor was told “no”. But in some cases, the person rejecting Taylor offered an apology. In other cases, the people doing the rejection did not say they were sorry. People were asked how they would feel if they were being turned down, just as Taylor was. Most said they would be more hurt by a rejection with an apology than a rejection without an apology.
Freedman said the reason is that apologies make people feel like they need to say that the rejection was okay— even when they felt like it was not okay. Rejection without an apology lets them express their feelings of disappointment, hurt or anger more easily. Freedman also said that an apology often makes the person doing the rejection feel better—even as it makes the person being rejected feel worse.
Her research deals only with social communication. A business situation might be very different. “If a manager rejects a job interviewee or a boss must tell an employee that he or she is being fired from a job,” Freedman said, “reactions to apologies may be different.”
1. Why do people say they are sorry when they express rejection?| A．Because they think it is more polite. |
| B．Because they think it helps them express their dislike better. |
| C．Because they think apologies are the basis of communication. |
| D．Because they think it sounds more comfortable for the listener. |
| A．rejected others without an apology |
| B．offered an apology when rejecting others |
| C．would be more hurt by a rejection with an apology |
| D．were asked to answer the question in different situations |
| A．It makes the rejection more acceptable. |
| B．It makes a good impression on the listener. |
| C．It makes the communication more pleasant. |
| D．It makes the person doing the rejecting feel better. |
| A．The effect of an apology during a rejection. |
| B．Gili Freedman’s research on business situations. |
| C．A rejection with an apology in a business situation. |
| D．The difference between a social situation and a business one. |
The Teacher-Student Relationship
A good teacher-student relationship will make learning enjoyable and interesting for the students.
To set up a good teacher-student relationship, a teacher’s
As for the students, they must always respect their teachers. Students should be eager to learn as well as willing
Above all, both students and teachers have to focus on
5 . Bacteria are an annoying problem for astronauts. The microorganisms(微生物) from our bodies grow uncontrollably on surfaces of the International Space Station, so astronauts spend hours cleaning them up each week. How is NASA overcoming this very tiny big problem? It’s turning to a bunch of high school kids. But not just any kids. It is depending on NASA HUNCH high school classrooms, like the one science teachers Gene Gordon and Donna Himmelberg lead at Fairport High School in Fairport, New York.
HUNCH is designed to connect high school classrooms with NASA engineers. For the past two years, Gordon’s students have been studying ways to kill bacteria in zero gravity, and they think they’re close to a solution(解决方案). “We don’t give the students any breaks. They have to do it just like NASA engineers,” says Florence Gold, a project manager.
“There are no tests,” Gordon says. “There is no graded homework. There almost are no grades, other than ‘Are you working towards your goal?’ Basically, it’s ‘I’ve got to produce this product and then, at the end of year, present it to NASA.’ Engineers come and really do an in-person review, and...it’s not a very nice thing at times. It’s a hard business review of your product.”
Gordon says the HUNCH program has an impact(影响) on college admissions and practical life skills. “These kids are so absorbed in their studies that I just sit back. I don’t teach.” And that annoying bacteria? Gordon says his students are emailing daily with NASA engineers about the problem, readying a workable solution to test in space.
1. What do we know about the bacteria in the International Space Station?| A．They are hard to get rid of. | B．They lead to air pollution. |
| C．They appear in different forms. | D．They damage the instruments. |
| A．To strengthen teacher-student relationships. |
| B．To sharpen students’ communication skills. |
| C．To allow students to experience zero gravity. |
| D．To link space technology with school education. |
| A．Check their product. | B．Guide project designs. |
| C．Adjust work schedules. | D．Grade their homework. |
| A．NASA: The Home of Astronauts |
| B．Space: The Final Homework Frontier |
| C．Nature: An Outdoor Classroom |
| D．HUNCH: A College Admission Reform |
6 . For those who may not be familiar, there is no such thing as a bicycle grants(补助金). As a matter of fact, there are a number of organizations and programs offering bicycle grants to bicyclers all over the world. Now of course, you can't simply receive money, because you want to buy a new mountain bike. Usually, those awarded grants are working on improving the quality of life. People are excited about the bicycle grants. This type of influence and achievement is gaining the attention of various companies that want to help by providing the necessary funding.
Eastman Kodak Company
Kodak has developed a fund called the “ Kodak American Greenways Awards". They are cooperating with the National geographic Society and the Conservation fund. Each year, they present grants as high as $2,500. The“seed” grant award is awarded to organizations that focus on improving blueways, greenways, natural areas, and trails.
US Government
The government has developed their only program for bicycle riders, called " The US Department of transportation's Recreational Trails Program". The government’s program is primarily focused on funding trail projects. The benefits of the fund is recreation, which includes bicycling, hiking, in-line skating, snowmobiling, all-terrain(地面)vehicle riding, and so forth. The great addition to the fund is that they distribute the funding to all the states. This means that everybody has the opportunity of receiving bicycle grants.
Bikes Belong Coalition
The Bikes Belong Coalition makes putting more people on bicycles their priority. They advocate for a better environment, recreation, sports, and better health, by way of bicycling. At the same time, they provide funding for supporting projects and bicycle facilities. Some of the projects they accept are paved lanes and bike paths. Applications for their grants can be submitted by either a facility class or a supporting class. Also, Bikes Belong Coalition are not quick to award bicycle grants to those who have been awarded in the past 3 years. This is partially due to their limited amount of funding
1. What's the main purpose of the bicycle grants?| A．To encourage a healthy lifestyle. | B．To make bicycles more popular. |
| C．To advertise their companies. | D．To give money to bicyclers directly. |
| A．Organizations. | B．Riders. | C．States. | D．Supporters. |
| A．To explain the reason for the latest bicycle grants. |
| B．To attract more bicycle riders around the country. |
| C．To organize a big event of bicycling across the country. |
| D．To introduce some organizations of the bicycle grants. |
7 . However, the
8 . The sun rises above the Artic Ocean (北冰洋). Across the frozen sea, a white bear moves slowly.
The bear stops and sways (摇晃) his head from side to side. There is nothing to see but endless ice and red sky. Then his powerful nose senses what his eyes cannot: a beluga whale is nearby.
The bear follows the smell and spots a large hole in the ice where a small white whale is swimming. He silently walks towards the hole, then stops, standing still. The whale does not see the bear, whose white fur makes him appear invisible (看不见的) against the ice.
Finally, the whale swims close to where the bear is waiting. With terrifying speed, the bear comes to life and moves towards the whale. In a moment it is over, and the bear eats his first meal in nearly a week.
Polar bears rule the frozen sea, but their ancestors weren’t always built for ice and snow. The first Arctic bears were brown bears, a species that includes grizzly bears. They came to the icy north over a hundred thousand years ago.
No one knows for sure why these bears traveled to such a cold place. Scientists think they might have wandered north looking for food. Maybe they became trapped by glaciers and couldn’t leave. Whatever the reason, the bears never should have survived.
But they did. They got used to their new environment. Their bodies changed. Their behavior changed, too. Eventually, the bears developed into an entirely new species: the polar bear. You can see some of the characteristics that polar bears developed to survive.
Sadly, these characteristics may now threaten the polar bear’s survival. As sea ice melts due to global warming, polar bears are frequently forced to come ashore (在岸上). They are poor hunters on land, which means they often go a long time between meals. The polar bear, king of the Arctic, is now classified as a threatened species.
Although the future of the polar bear is unknown, the tale of two bears continues. As temperatures rise, grizzly bears have been spotted moving north into polar bear territory (领地). These long-lost cousins, once forced apart by nature, are coming back together again.
1. What can be inferred about the white bear mentioned in the first four paragraphs?| A．It is noisy. | B．it is smelly. | C．It is starving. | D．It has good eyesight. |
| A．They are threatened by other animals. |
| B．They are losing their hunting ground. |
| C．They are spending little time on land. |
| D．They have difficulty reaching the shore. |
| A．The climate change |
| B．The polar bear’s favorite meal |
| C．The dark past of the polar bear |
| D．The mysteries of the Arctic Ocean |
9 . The Internet plays a big part in human life. We use it for work and pleasure. We use it to learn a new language. We find advice on it. We use it to connect with family and friends. We use it to stay in touch with events we care about. The list goes on and on.
As far as the Internet being a part of our lives. - Well,that train has left the station. This expression means there is no going back to an Internet-free life. But can using the Internet too much be bad for our health? It might be, say researchers. A new study finds that heavy Internet use may be connected to high blood pressure (血压) in a young group: teenagers.
The study results show that teens who spend at least 14 hours a week only may cause high blood pressure, which makes your heart and blood vessels (血管) work too hard. Over time, this extra pressure increases your risk of a heart attack. High blood pressure can also cause heart and other diseases.
The Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan did the study. 335 young people, from 14 to 17 years old, took part in it. 134 0f the teens were described as "heavy Internet users". And researchers found that out of these 134 teens, 26 had high blood pressure. The researchers say the study is the first to connect heavy web use with high blood pressure.
The lead researcher is Andrea CassidyBushrow. She said, "Using the Internet is part of our daily life, but it shouldn't ruin us. " Ms. Cassidy-Bushrow adds that it is important for teens to take regular breaks from their computers or smartphones and do some kind of physical activity. She also suggests that parents shouldn't let their children use the Internet for more than two hours a day, five days a week.
1. What does the underlined sentence "that train has left the station. " mean in paragraph 2?| A．the train has stopped at the wrong station. |
| B．there is something wrong with the station. |
| C．the train has changed its course. |
| D．life without the Internet is nowhere to be found. |
| A．The advantages of Internet use. | B．The disadvantages of Internet use. |
| C．The harm of high blood pressure. | D．Ways to prevent high blood pressure. |
| A．teenagers shouldn't use the Internet |
| B．the Internet will ruin human life in the future |
| C．regular breaks are necessary when using the Internet |
| D．smartphones are more harmful than computers |
| A．Heavy Internet users are mostly teenagers. |
| B．How to prevent teenagers from the Internet. |
| C．Every coin has two sides - so does the Internet. |
| D．Too much Internet use may be bad for teenagers. |
10 . Snake dishes have become popular in recent years. Snakes meat in
According to a survey, about 1000 tons of snakes are eaten every year in China and sometimes as
These figures warn us that if no action is taken,
So let's start not to eat snakes any more because “to protect the snake is to protect
