1 . More students than ever before are taking a gap year (间隔年) before going to university. It used to be called the “year off” between school and university. The gap-year phenomenon originated (起源) with the months left over to Oxbridge applicants between entrance exams in November and the start of the next academic year.
This year, 25,310 students who have accepted places in higher education institutions have put off their entry until next year, according to statistics on university entrance provided by the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS).
That is a record 14.7% increase in the number of students taking a gap year. Tony Higgins from UCAS said that the statistics are good news for everyone in higher education. “Students who take a well-planned year out are more likely to be satisfied with, and complete, their chosen course. Students who take a gap year are often more mature and responsible.” he said.
But not everyone is happy. Owain James, the president of the National Union of Students (NUS), argued that the increase is evidence of student hardship—young people are being forced into earning money before finishing their education. “New students are now aware that they are likely to leave university up to £ 15,000 in debt. It is not surprising that more and more students are taking a gap year to earn money to support their study for the degree. NUS statistics show that over 40% of students are forced to work during term time and the figure increases to 90% during vacation periods,” he said.
1. What do we learn about the gap year from the text?| A．It is flexible in length. | B．It is a time for relaxation. |
| C．It is increasingly popular. | D．It is required by universities. |
| A．are better prepared for college studies |
| B．know a lot more about their future jobs |
| C．are more likely to leave university in debt |
| D．have a better chance to enter top universities |
| A．He’s puzzled. | B．He’s worried. |
| C．He’s surprised. | D．He’s annoyed. |
| A．Attend additional courses. | B．Make plans for the new term. |
| C．Earn money for their education. | D．Prepare for their graduate studies. |
2 . Kids with Special Needs
Kids with special needs refer to any kid who might need extra help because of medical, emotional, or learning problems. For example, disabled kids need wheelchairs. They not only need the equipment that helps them get around, but they might need to have ramps(斜坡) or elevators available.
Kids with an illness would have special needs, too.
Other kids also can be a big help. How? By being a friend. Kids who use a wheelchair or have lots of health problems want friends just as you do. But meeting people and making friends can be difficult.
| A．Some kids might laugh at or make fun of them. |
| B．They also might need to get a special bus to school. |
| C．Life can be challenging for a kid with special needs. |
| D．It’s good manners to try to offer help to kids with special needs. |
| E．Also try to be helpful if you know someone with special needs. |
| F．Kids with special needs usually live a harder life than normal kids. |
| G．They might need medicine or other help as they go about their daily activities. |
Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to(料理), and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration card(住宿登记卡) to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.
The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate(价钱). From then on, they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly(相应地).
With so many loopholes(漏洞) in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.
In a society of such high moral practice, what need is there for people to be on guard against others?
1. While taking a taxi in Finland, _____.
| A．a passenger can go anywhere without having to pay the driver |
| B．a passenger pays two US dollars for a taxi ride |
| C．a passenger can never be refused by the taxi driver wherever he wants to go |
| D．a passenger needs to provide good faith demonstration (证明) before leaving without paying |
| A．are mostly poorly managed |
| B．provide meals for any diners |
| C．provide free wine and charge for food |
| D．provide meal for only those who live in the hotels |
| A．The workers in Finland are paid by the hour. |
| B．The workers are always honest with their working hours. |
| C．The workers and their bosses will make an agreement in advance about the pay. |
| D．The bosses in Finland are too busy to check the working hours of their employees. |
| A．people who are dishonest |
| B．people who often have meals in big hotels |
| C．people who often take taxis |
| D．people who are worthy of trust |
Pros
They can get in touch when necessary. The main benefit of having a phone is that your child can get in touch with you whenever you need to.
They can call ring the emergency services if necessary. If your child is in immediate danger, they can use their phones to call not only you but the emergency services. This is of great benefit and could potentially save your child’s life.
Cons
The latest smartphones can almost double as a computer. It means they offer far more of a distraction to kids than they used to.
Mobile phones could interrupt lessons. Many children, even through they are asked to do so, forget to turn off their phones during lessons and their phones may make sounds.
| A．Mobile phones can be turned off or on to silent. |
| B．Children use ordinary phones instead of smartphones. |
| C．This allows you to feel they are safe and easy to reach. |
| D．Without mobile phones, campus life would be less colourful. |
| E．They have some other functions—a calculator and the ability to save notes. |
| F．This not only annoys other pupils but also prevent them from learning well. |
| G．Nowadays, children can not only text and make calls with their mobiles, they can also play games, surf the Internet and listen to music. |
“Examine the extended family, and you’ll probably find a bossy grandparent, aunt, uncle or cousin in every generation. It’s an inheritable trait.” says Russell Barkley, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. Other children who may not be particularly bossy can gradually gain dominance（支配地位）when they sense their parents are weak, hesitant, or in disagreement with each other.
Whether it’s inborn nature or developed character at work, too much control in the hands of the young isn’t healthy for children or the family. Fear is at the root of a lot of bossy behavior, says family psychologist John Taylor. Children, he says in his book From Defiance to Cooperation, “have secret feelings of weakness” and “a desire to feel safe.” It’s the parents’ role to provide that protection.
When a “boss child” doesn’t learn limits at home, the stage is set for a host of troubles outside the family. The overly willful and unbending child may have trouble obeying teachers or coaches, for example, or trouble keeping friends. It can be pretty lonely as the top dog if no one likes your bossy ways.
“I see more and more parents giving up their power,” says Barkley, who has studied bossy behavior for more than 30 years. “They bend too far because they don’t want to be as strict as their own parents were. But they also fell less confident about their parenting skills. Their kids, in turn, feel more anxious.”
1. Bossy children like Stephen Jackson __________.
| A．make good decisions | B．show self-centeredness |
| C．lack care from others | D．have little sense of fear |
| A．should give more power to their children |
| B．should be strict with their children |
| C．should not be so anxious about their children |
| D．should not set limits for their children |
| A．relaxed | B．skillful |
| C．hesitant | D．lonely |
| A．How bossy behavior can be controlled. |
| B．How we can get along with bossy children. |
| C．What leads to children’s bossy behavior. |
| D．What effect bossy behavior brings about. |
6 . Japanese students work very hard but many are unhappy. They feel heavy pressures from their parents. Most students are always told by their parents to study harder and better so that they can have a wonderful life in the future. Though this may be a good idea for those very bright students, it can have terrible results for many students who are not gifted (有天赋的) enough. Many of them have tried very hard at school but have failed in the exams and have their parents lose hope. Such students felt that they are hated by everyone else they meet and they don’t want to go to school any longer. They become dropouts.
It is surprising that though most Japanese parents are worried about their children, they do not help them in any way. Many parents feel that they are not able to help their children and that it is the teachers’ work to help their children. To make matters worse, a lot of parents send their children to those schools opening in the evenings and on weekends — they only help the students to pass the exams and never teach them any real sense of the world.
Many Japanese schools usually have rules about everything from the students’ hair to their clothes and things in their school bags. Child psychologists (心理学家) now think that such strict rules are harmful to the feelings of the students. Almost 40% of the students said that no one had taught them how to get on with others, how to tell right from wrong and how to show love and care for others, even for their parents.
1. “Dropouts” are those who _______.| A．make troubles in and out of schools |
| B．go about or stay home instead of being at school |
| C．try hard but always fail in the exams |
| D．lose hope and give up some of their subjects |
| A．how to study well |
| B．how to get on with others |
| C．to show love and care for others |
| D．All above |
| A．The Trouble in Japanese Schools |
| B．The Problems of Japanese Students |
| C．Education in Japan |
| D．The Pressures on the Students in Japan |
Many techniques can be used to manage school phobia. But research suggests that much more effective treatment is required for school phobia to prevent problems developing in later life. Children with this condition usually benefit from seeing a psychologist or doctor.
Changes at home can include supportive language from parents, along with support like assistance with homework. If a child lacks confidence, parents may encourage the child to take up new hobbies.
| A．It will help children to feel good about themselves. |
| B．But a child with phobia refuses to accept adults’ support. |
| C．A child with school phobia usually refuses to go to school. |
| D．Adjustments can be made at home and in the classroom to help. |
| E．This common phobia is associated with a wide variety of causes. |
| F．The most effective treatment is to help the child have a sense of success. |
| G．And the assistance can help parents and school officials support the child. |
There has always been a gap between generations, but more people talk about it now. Old Mr. Ellis thinks he understands what has happened.
“When I was a boy, I thought the world was a beautiful place. My life was very pleasant. But when I was older, I learned about people who were treated badly and people who didn’t have enough to eat. I wanted to help them, and I married a girl who wanted to help them, too. We went to meetings and talked a lot, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. ”
“Our children grew up in a world at war. They didn’t know when the fighting would stop. They wanted their children to have nice clothes and toys. They didn’t want to think about the future. They thought nothing could be done about it.”
“Now I have grandchildren, and they have their own ideas. They are trying to make the world better. They are trying to help other people. They’re making people listen to them. I am proud of their generation.”
1. The wise man mentioned in the text told people to bury him on his face so that when everything is turned upside down he will _____.
| A．lie on his stomach | B．lie on his back |
| C．stand quietly | D．sit in peace |
| A．Mr. Ellis’ generation |
| B．His children’s generation |
| C．His grandchildren’s generation |
| D．None of the above. |
| A．Mr. Ellis’ generation. |
| B．His children’s generation. |
| C．His grandchildren’s generation. |
| D．None of the above. |
| A．Unacceptable. | B．Awful. |
| C．Funny. | D．Common. |
A study suggests that, by giving you access to emails at all times, the all-singing, all-dancing mobile phone adds as much as two hours to your working day. Researchers found that Britons work an additional 460 hours a year on average as they are able to respond to emails on their mobiles.
The study by technology retailer Pixmania reveals the average UK working day is between 9 and 10 hours, but a further two hours is spent responding to or sending work emails, or making work calls. More than 90 percent of office workers have email-enabled phones, with a third accessing them more than 20 times a day. Almost one in ten admits spending up to three hours outside their normal working day checking work emails. Some workers confess(承认) they are on call almost 24 hours a day, with nine out of ten saying they make work emails and calls outside their normal working hours. The average time for first checking emails is between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., with more than a third checking their first emails in this period, and a quarter checking them between 11 p.m. and midnight.
Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of Pixmania, said, “The ability to access literally millions of apps, keep in contact via social networks and take photos and video as well as text and call has made smartphones invaluable for many people. However, there are drawbacks. Many companies expect their employees to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and smartphones mean that people literally cannot get away from work. The more constantly in contact we become , the more is expected of us in a work capacity(容量).”
1. What can we conclude from the text?
| A．All that glitters is not gold. |
| B．It never rains but pours. |
| C．Every coins has two sides. |
| D．It’s no good crying over spilt milk. |
| A．calling | B．reaching | C．getting | D．using |
| A．The average UK working time is between nine and twelve hours. |
| B．Nine- tenths spent over three hours checking work emails. |
| C．One-fourth check their first mail between 11 p.m. and midnight. |
| D．The average time for first checking emails is between 6 a.m. and 8 .am .. |
| A．Workaholics like smartphones. |
| B．Smartphones bring about extra work. |
| C．Smartphones make our life easier. |
| D．Employers don’t like smartphones. |
10 . The jobs of the future have not yet been invented.
Your children need to be deeply curious.
True creativity is the ability to take something existing and create something new from it.
Understanding how others feel can be a challenge for kids. We know what’s going on inside our own head, but what about others? Being able to read people helps kids from misreading a situation and jumping to false conclusions.
| A．Encourage kids to cook with you. |
| B．And we can’t forget science education. |
| C．We can give kids chances to think about materials in new ways. |
| D．So how can we help our kids prepare for jobs that don’t yet exist? |
| E．Gardening is another great activity for helping kids develop this skill. |
| F．We can do this in real life or ask questions about characters in stories. |
| G．Being able to communicate ideas in a meaningful way is a valuable skill. |
