1 . How to Choose Extracurricular Activities
From sports to clubs to outside organizations, there are many activities to take part in outside the classroom.
Think about your interests and know your advantages. Before you start considering specific(具体的)activities, take a step back. Think about what excites you and find your passions(热情).
Find out what activities are available(可用的)and look into each one.
| A．Think about skills you want to develop. |
| B．This can make choosing one a little difficult. |
| C．Use your freshman year to explore your choices. |
| D．In this way, you will have a better idea of what to expect. |
| E．Also make sure that their culture is a good match for your own personality. |
| F．Use those to decide on activities that will keep you interested for a long time. |
| G．Search your school’s website for a complete list of all the activities it provides. |
2 . Lisa walked into the chorus room with a smile on her face. The class was auditioning (试演) for parts in the holiday musical. Lisa loved to sing and this was her chance to get one of the lead roles.
Mr. Beckman passed out lyrics for the auditions. Lisa could hardly wait to sing quietly to herself. Mr. Beckman tapped his baton on the music stand at the front of the room. “I know you’re all excited to audition, but before we do I have an announcement. This year will witness a very special performance by a select number of students,” Mr. Beckman said. Lisa squeezed the sheet music in her hands. Maybe it was a chance to be featured as one of the best singers.
“These individuals will be dressed in distinctive costumes and will set the stage for the rest of the show,” Mr. Beckman continued. “Brandon, Adriana, Tina, and Lisa, would you come up front please?” “Yes!” Lisa yelled, rushing to the front of the room.
Mr. Beckman removed a costume from the supply closet, “You four will be our wooden soldiers!” Lisa stared at the strange clothes. “No one is going to recognize us wearing those!” “Don’t worry, Lisa. Your names will be listed in the program under Wooden Soldiers.” Mr. Beckman said.
“But even my own parents won’t be able to tell which soldier is me!” “This is a very special honor,” Mr. Beckman said, “Lisa, I selected the top students in the class to open the show for us. You’ll need to learn a special march and dance, but if you don’t want to be a soldier, I can assign the part to someone else.” Lisa saw a few of her classmates’ eyes widen at the thought of taking her place. Maybe being a soldier was a good thing since Mr. Beckman had chosen her, and she wasn’t going to let him down. “Can we start practicing our march?” Lisa asked.
1. Why was Lisa in the chorus room?| A．She was watching the audition for the holiday musical. |
| B．She wanted to audition for a part in the school musical. |
| C．She wanted to convince Mr. Beckman that she was qualified to be a soldier. |
| D．She was attending her music class in her school. |
| A．He wanted everyone to get involved in the audition. |
| B．He wanted people to volunteer to be a soldier. |
| C．He was trying to get the attention of the class. |
| D．He was having troubling holding on to the baton. |
| A．She was unwilling to be recognized by parents. |
| B．She expected to be replaced by others. |
| C．She complained about being a soldier. |
| D．She thought it a great honor to be a soldier. |
3 . Not all lessons can be learnt in a classroom environment. Overall development of students demands that they get the opportunity to participate in after-class activities in school.
In some schools, participating in these activities is made compulsory while some keep it voluntary for students. There is a common mistaken belief that these events are not as important as regular learning.
Just as classrooms have different subjects to teach students, after class activities in school also give them a chance to explore new kinds of art and sports.
Participating in after-class activities in school requires the students to commit to them for some time. Through this they learn the concept of long-term commitment.
| A．This gives them required discipline. |
| B．It directs their attention in the wrong direction. |
| C．Active participation will help to raise self-respect. |
| D．This helps them understand where their interest lies. |
| E．Students can learn to manage their time and priorities. |
| F．This is why some top schools aim for a perfect balance. |
| G．Contrarily, they develop qualities in students like team spirit. |
4 . I am a part of the Windward Robotics team known as the Omnicats, one of the many clubs offered at my school, My eight teammates and I started out by watching the robotics qualifiers (资格赛) and finals of Chinese teams. We used these robotics videos for inspiration and drew up mind maps of what our team wanted to do.
We meet every day for two hours after school in order to build our robots. Typically, adults oversee what students are building, but my school lets teens take control. It leaves room for more errors, but we’re prouder of our final product.
Before our first real match, a practice one was offered at the actual site. My sub-team had been further along than other teams but quickly fell behind,’ When that big day arrived, I immediately felt my teammates’ nervousness. Our first match was in three minutes. All of us glanced around at each other, anxious and nervous. Our robot was still sitting in a box. Two of our teammates rushed to take the robot for an official examination as the rest of us discussed our strategy.
Our team captain explained that we all should try driving the robot now, while it was early in the season. She gave me the remote. I had only driven for a limited amount of time in practice so I was extremely nervous. Our autonomous code (自动代码) began to run almost immediately after our short discussion. Despite all the drama, we ended up winning the match. Not too bad for the first match! I was so proud. I did not enjoy the pressure of driving but liked building the, robot behind the scenes instead.
We have transferred to a different type of robotics at the end of the season, which involves the whole team designing one giant robot with large tools. I am a part of the electrical team now, so I make sure the motherboard (母板) can supply the robot’s energy needs. We have all enjoyed the rest of the season and learned that robotics is never dull!
1. What does the underlined word in paragraph 2 mean?| A．inspect | B．revise | C．overlook | D．request |
| A．Because they didn’t prepare for it at all. . |
| B．Because it was really too difficult for them. |
| C．Because they didn’t know what the match would be like. |
| D．Because they didn’t make full preparations before the match. |
| A．It was tiring but exciting. |
| B．It was stressful but wonderful. |
| C．It was terrible but delightful. |
| D．It was boring but rewarding. |
| A．Robotics Is Never Dull |
| B．Teamwork for Robots |
| C．A Girl Who Loves Robots |
| D．My First Robotics Match |
5 . One afternoon last week, I saw three tearful children from my son’s school being comforted by teachers. That morning, my 11-year-old son had stomach pains, retching (干呕) into a bowl. Talking to other mothers later, I heard about other children with stomachache or difficult sleeping the night before.
What caused so much pain? Sports day. Sports day might be necessary at a highly-competitive independent school, but not at a village primary school. For the children who can fly like the wind, sports day cause no problem. For those who are overweight or just not good at sport, it is nightmare (噩梦). Even for those who enjoy running but fall halfway down the track in front of the entire school and their parents, it can prove a disease.
Why do we put our children through this annual suffering? Some may say competition is character building; or it’s taking part, not winning, that’s important; or that’s a tradition of school life. I just felt great pity for those children in tears or in pain.
Team games at the end of sports day produced some close races, wild enthusiasm, lots of shouting — and were fun to watch. More importantly, the children who were not so fast or quick at passing the ball were hidden a little from everyone’s eyes. Some of them also had the thrill of being on the winning side.
I wish that sports day could be abandoned and replaced with some other less competitive event. Perhaps an afternoon of team games, with a few races for those who want them, would be less stressful for the children and a lot more fun to watch.
1. What can we learn about the author’s son from Paragraph 1?| A．He talked with some mothers. | B．He comforted his classmates. |
| C．He had difficulty in sleeping. | D．He suffered from stomachache. |
| A．this is an independent school | B．it is a tradition of the school |
| C．it helps children lose weight | D．children enjoy watching sports |
| A．Critical. | B．Neutral. | C．Positive. | D．Ambiguous. |
6 . Information on school visits to Kew Gardens
Enjoy yourselves in a wonderland of science with over 50,000 living plants and a variety of educational events or amusing activities. Here is essential information about planning a school visit to Kew.
Educational course prices
You can plan a self-led visit or book one of our educational courses. Students will take part in the educational courses in groups of 15. Prices vary according to different situations.
EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) to Key Stage 4:
45-minute course: 35/group 90-minute course: 70/group
Key Stage 5:
Half day (one course): 80/group Full day (two courses): 160/group
Teachers and adults:
Up to required key stage proportions (比例): Free
Adults needed for 1:1 special educational needs support: Free
Adults above the required proportions: 11/person
The payment will due within 28 calendar days of making the booking.
Health and safety
Required supervising (监护) adult-student proportions:
Key Stage 1: 1:5 Key Stage 2: 1:8
Key stage 3: 1:10 Key Stage 4: 1:12
Key Stage 5: 1:12
The group sizes should be controlled if you are visiting potentially busy areas such as the glasshouse and other attractions. The maximum number of students visiting the glasshouses is 15 per group and each group to Kew shops should include no more than 10 students.
If there is an emergency, please contact the nearest Kew staff member or call Constabulary on 0208 32 3333 for direct and quick support. Please do not call 999.
Planning your visit
Your tickets and two planning passes will be sent to you upon receipt of your payment. You can complete your risk assessment with the passes, ensure you bring your tickets and the receipt document and show them to the staff members at the gate on the day of your visit.
Recommended timings
The Kew Gardens opens at 10 am. You are recommended to spend at least three to five hours on your visit. The closing time varies throughout the year. But the earliest is 3:30 pm. We have a fixed schedule for educational courses, which is from 10:30 am to 2:20 pm.
1. How much should a group of 15 Key Stage I students and 4 teachers pay for a 45-minute course?| A．35 | B．46 | C．57 | D．81 |
| A．Check the risk assessment. |
| B．Call 999 immediately. |
| C．Ask adults or teachers for help. |
| D．Seek help from the staff member nearby. |
| A．To introduce Kew Gardens. |
| B．To give tips on visiting Kew Gardens. |
| C．To attract potential visitors to Kew Gardens. |
| D．To inform coming activities in Kew Gardens. |
7 . For many years, school children in the US have been taken on “field trips” to cultural institutions such as museums of art. Educators arrange them in the belief that schools exist not only to teach economically useful skills, but also to produce civilized young people who appreciate the art and culture. While there are parents who will take their children to cultural places in their free time, there are plenty of other children who will never have this kind of opportunity unless schools offer it. So you could say that taking school students on field trips is a means of giving everyone equal access to their cultural heritage.
However, the attitude towards field trips in recent years is changing, with the number of tours organized for school groups falling significantly in museums all around the country. The most obvious reason is the issue of finance. Because there are increasing demands on their funds, after all, computers and sports facilities aren’t cheap, schools are forced to make a difficult choice about how to spend the limited money they have. Faced with this dilemma, field trips are an obvious thing to cut since they are seen by many as too expensive.
Additionally, the nature of these field days is also changing. Schools increasingly use trips to amusement parks or sporting events as a treat for students rather than an opportunity for cultural learning. This shift could have a basis in generational differences between teachers’ reasons for organizing days out of school. A recent survey conducted among 500 Arkansas teachers showed that older teachers were significantly more likely to take the primary purpose of a field trip as a learning experience than younger teachers, who view it as fun.
Some evidence shows the trend of fewer trips may have a negative effect on children’s development. A research led by Jay Greene at Arkansas University found that students who received a tour of an art museum greatly improved their knowledge of and the ability to think critically about art. They also display stronger historical interest and were more likely to visit cultural places in the future. The researchers warm that if schools cut field trips or switch to less educational destinations, valuable opportunities to broaden and enrich children’s learning experiences are lost.
1. What is the original purpose of field trips to cultural institutions?| A．To teach students useful skills in economics. |
| B．To encourage parents to take their children there. |
| C．To educate students to preserve cultural heritage. |
| D．To make art culture accessible to every student. |
| A．The decrease in school funds. |
| B．The lack of school funds. |
| C．Students’ demand for fun. |
| D．Teachers’ generational differences. |
| A．The switch from old generations to young generations. |
| B．The switch from sporting events to cultural experiences. |
| C．The change from an opportunity for learning to a treat for entertainment. |
| D．The change from educational destinations to unique attractions. |
| A．Students are rewarded with more cultural awareness. |
| B．Amusement parks enrich children’s learning experiences. |
| C．Cutting field trips is critical to the future of the museum. |
| D．Field trips ensure better future academic performance. |
8 . Chances are that today’s college graduates will get jobs not directly connected to their majors. A 2014 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that only 27 percent of graduates from four-year colleges were working in jobs connected to their college majors. North Carolina State University is trying to help students face the likelihood that their future jobs will not connect directly to their majors.
North Carolina State University Dean Jeff Braden shares a laugh with students after a class. This fall, the university is offering two days of workshops to help 30 juniors and seniors “design their lives.” School officials were inspired by a popular class at the Design School at Stanford University in California. The Stanford class helps students prepare for the future. Among other things, the Stanford professors say they provide “ideas for what the world needs more of.”
At North Carolina State, three college deans(院长) will teach the workshops. All offer expertise in different fields – Jeff Braden in humanities, Annette Ranft in business management, and Mark Hoverstein in design.
As to advice to students about where the jobs will be, Braden suggests looking toward work that cannot be done by machines or computers. He also suggests jobs that deal with questions that are a “little fuzzy”. Finding solutions to problems is not always clear, and there is more than one possible answer.
Ranft, the North Carolina State management dean, said students should also think beyond their first jobs after college. She hopes students will look toward “lifelong professional goals.” Unlike their grandparents, today’s college graduates are not likely to stay in a job for their entire lives, or even more than five years. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median number of years that workers stay on a job was 4.2 years in January 2016. That was down from 4.6 years in 2014. “The days of someone working at the same job for his or her entire life are over,” Braden said.
1. Why does the North Carolina State University set up the workshops?| A．Thirty students are worried about their future jobs. |
| B．College students have trouble finding jobs nowadays. |
| C．College students can’t get jobs related to their majors. |
| D．Some college deans offer to teach the workshops. |
| A．It provides ideas about business management. |
| B．It is a popular class in North Carolina State University. |
| C．It doesn’t help students make preparations for the future. |
| D．It inspires the school officials of North Carolina State University. |
| A．Confusing | B．Reasonable | C．Boring | D．Unique. |
| A．seek jobs done by robots and machines. |
| B．consider career planning in the long run. |
| C．stay on a particular job as long as possible. |
| D．think twice about their first jobs after college. |
9 . Proms (高中舞会) are big news in Britain these days. They are often held in June or July, around the end of exam time or the end of term. The idea is to have fun with your school friends and celebrate your time and achievements at school.
Clothes and beauty
Young people like to dress up for their prom. For the special night lots of girls swap their uniform for an elegant evening dress and high heels and boys dress up in a suit with a tie and smart shoes.
The right hairstyle and make-up are important too. Some beauty salons offer a special “prom dear” which includes hair, make-up, eyelashes, nails and a spray tan (晒黑喷雾).
Cars
If the budget is not a problem, some will hire a sports car. Other young people like to travel by truck or in large 4x4 vehicles.
Money
The school prom is big business. According to a recent report the average prom costs parents over ￡200 per teenager. The cost can include dinner, new clothes, shoes, a visit to the hairdressers, a spray tan and probably car hire.
An American tradition
| A．A tan is fashionable with both boys and girls. |
| B．The party can start on the way to the dinner or dance. |
| C．Parents particularly like to do the “deal” in a formal way. |
| D．Some pupils also have a school prom when they finish primary school. |
| E．Not all families have money to spend on their teenager's prom of course. |
| F．Frankly speaking, the modern British school prom is not popular with some parents. |
| G．The school can organize the prom or they can pay a professional organization to arrange it. |
Most of us get some exercise walking or riding our bikes to school, but just that is not enough. Why not get into shape by playing the most popular sport in the world-soccer?
Two weeks ago, Mr Goldstein, the physical education teacher, posted a notice about an exciting new soccer club (for Grades 10-12). To join, all you have to do is sign your name and be at school for the fun of it on Saturday mornings. You'll make new friends and share information about famous teams and players.
Mr Goldstein will teach, so you'll learn basic skills and new techniques to improve your game. That's good news because soccer is a game you can love three seasons a year. The only time you can't play is when there is snow.
However, it is hard to believe that only nineteen people signed up for the new club. Maybe kids don't want to give up their Saturday mornings. But if you think about how we spend Saturday mornings now, soccer looks good. Doing housework and watching TV are not as much fun as playing soccer with friends. If you didn't sign up because you've never played soccer before, don't worry. Beginners are welcome and Mr Goldstein will give you more help.
Just act now! The equipment is cheap. All you have to bring is your feet.
The Students' Union
1. According to the passage, which of the following is true?| A．The club was first set up only for beginners. |
| B．The club was probably started two weeks ago. |
| C．The club is very popular with the kids in the school. |
| D．Soccer is a game that people can love all year around. |
| A．Making new friends. |
| B．Spending Saturday mornings watching TV. |
| C．Getting information about famous teams and players. |
| D．Learning basic skills and new techniques to improve your soccer game. |
| A．talk about the benefits of playing soccer |
| B．advise the students to take more exercise |
| C．encourage the students to join a soccer club |
| D．talk about how to be an excellent soccer player |
