1 . It’s time to go back to high school. Students are excited about the new beginning. But for many kids, the first day is more about friends than classes, and maybe with good reason. On that day, the teacher takes attendance, hands out books, and describes the teaching plan. If a student hears the same things in seven classes, you can’t blame (责备) them for thinking it’s going to be another long year. When the high schoolers’parents ask what they did in school, it’s pretty likely that the answer will be “Nothing.”
It doesn’t have to be this way. Last January, Jessica Johnson and Charlotte Jenkins, two ninth-grade physics teachers, suggested a school-wide movement called Make My Day to improve the first day of classes, and many teachers have changed their plan for the first class of a new term because of this.
One English teacher asks students to write 77 words about what they want to get out of her class. Then she reads their responses (回答) out loud. She keeps the responses until the last day of the school year when she hands them back to students so they can see if they achieved what they wanted. After encouraging kids with a year-long game, she begins the English course.
On the first day of science, a teacher gives students 30 minutes to build something to improve people’s lives. A history teacher organizes a debate on whether Swiss cheese is better than cheddar. In math class, another teacher puts students in groups of three, and gives them six minutes to come up with as many answers as possible to the question, “What is math good for?”
The new class activities are part of our school wide movement to improve the first day of classes. Many teachers choose to use creative ways to encourage kids from day one. And all students seem to enjoy the changes. Quite a few parents told me that their kids said, “I think English (or math or biology or Spanish) is going to be great!”
1. Which best describes the class on the first day of school in Paragraph 1?| A．A bit strange. | B．Too boring. | C．Really wonderful. | D．Quite challenging. |
| A．It was a city-wide movement. | B．It has been done for many years. |
| C．It was the idea of two P. E. teachers | D．It was attended by the whole school. |
| A．If their expectations have been realized. | B．If their writing skills have improved. |
| C．If they can understand the 77 words. | D．If the teacher likes their responses. |
| A．All ask students to work in groups. | B．All choose to do something exciting. |
| C．All hold discussions on teaching plans. | D．All try to improve students’creativity. |
| A．She shows little interest in it. | B．She feels surprised at it. |
| C．She is worried about it. | D．She supports it. |
2 . On a school trip to New York, our school had us wear name tags (牌) with our school name on it. Since all the attractions we visited were popular with school groups, the tags let the teachers know we should be with our group. If any of us separated from the group, teachers would quickly call us back.
Some students had tried to hide or throw away their name tags to avoid this, so our head teacher—a very strict lady—said that anyone found without the name tag would have to spend the rest of the trip staying with her at all times and then have a month’s worth of lockdown (禁闭) when we got back.
While we were all on a ferry (渡船), we were allowed to go around. While playing with friends, I didn’t realize it was my name tag until it was too far to reach. I started to freak out at once. I had never got into trouble at school before or had even a single punishment, and I would possibly face a month’s worth of them! After thinking for a moment, I finally decided to just tell the head teacher what had happened.
I went to the head teacher and explained very nervously to her. Instead of shouting at me, she took out another name tag and handed it to me. She said, “I have prepared several more name tags in case something unexpected happens.” Then she smiled at me, “Did you think you would get lockdown? Don’t worry, and that’s just for the trouble-makers in order to stop them losing it on purpose. I believe you’re a good kid. Don’t be worried about this. But be careful later.” When I heard these words, tears came to my eyes. What a kind teacher she is!
1. Why did the school ask us to wear name tags?| A．To avoid being separated. | B．To visit the attractions freely. |
| C．To make us popular. | D．To attract the classmates’ eyes. |
| A．Be happy. | B．Be anxious. |
| C．Be silent. | D．Be excited. |
| A．She knew he was not a trouble-maker. |
| B．She disliked him very much. |
| C．She was unfair in fact. |
| D．She thought he was the best kid. |
| A．Strict but impolite. | B．Brave but unfriendly. |
| C．Strict and patient. | D．Brave and honest. |
3 . The bell rang. Jada sighed, slowly moved from the lockers where she had been leaning, and headed down the hall to her chemistry class. Honors Chemistry! Jada couldn't believe that her mom was making her take the class because Jada's counselor had said that she had real talent in science.
Jada had to admit that she liked science and that last year's class was a breeze, but come on, Honors Chemistry? She wouldn’t know anyone in the class，and they probably wouldn't know anyone like her.
The good thing about being late is that it shortened the period a bit. The bad thing is that it made her seem like she was making a grand entrance. To make matters worse, the only two seats left in class were at the lab table at the very front of the room.
Jada held her breath and walked in. Everyone's eyes were on her. She just knew it. They were staring at her coal black hair (freshly dyed), her black lipstick, her black fingernail polish, and her thrift-store black leather jacket. All she saw were polo shirts and khaki pants.
This can’t get any worse, Jada thought. But at least she didn't get shouted at by the teacher. He was too busy talking to a new kid, a HUGE new kid, who had to weigh at least 250 pounds. A football player, probably. She hated football players. They thought they were so great. That group of jocks that hung out by the cafeteria always made fun of her.
The new kid made his way over to her table with his head down. He had to squeeze into the seat, and his legs wouldn't fit under the lab table. He shot Jada a glance and turned red.
Mr. Martin, the teacher, began class with this announcement: "Okay, everyone. I know most of you know each other from last year's Honors Physical Science class." Jada sighed loudly."But just take a minute and introduce yourself to the person sitting at your table. You'll be partners. You'll be working closely together all year."
Jada rolled her eyes and stared straight ahead. Then she heard a surprisingly soft voice from next to her. "Hi, I'm Robert. I'm new here."...
1. What can you learn about Jada from the first two paragraphs?| A．She found she didn't like science as she thought. |
| B．She was angry that her mother made her go to school. |
| C．She wasn't willing to take the Honors Chemistry class. |
| D．She thought this year's chemistry class would be a breeze, |
| A．reveal how different she was from her classmates |
| B．explain why she was late for school that morning |
| C．imply that she felt sorry for making a grand entrance |
| D．give readers a general impression of science students |
| A．the new kid | B．football players |
| C．Jada's teacher | D．Jada's classmates |
| A．He was shy. | B．He was rude. |
| C．He liked sports. | D．He looked sad. |
4 . History Fair Competition
Understanding history is vital to understanding ourselves as a people and as a nation. History is much more than the study of dusty old objects and events long past. It is an essential part of who we are today and who we will become. Thornton Middle School History Fair Competition makes understanding history exciting, engaging, and fun!
This Year’s Theme
All participants must address how communication or transportation technology has promoted the quality of life for Americans throughout history. To many people, technology means computers, hand-held devices, or vehicles that travel to distant planets. However, technology is also the application of scientific knowledge to solve a problem, touching lives in countless ways.
Individuals or groups may enter one of the following categories:
· Performance
· Documentary
· Essay Writing
Category Requirements
Performance: A dramatic presentation of the topic no more than 10 minutes long. If special clothes are used, they should truly represent a given period.
Documentary: A visual presentation (such as a video, slide show, or computer project) no more than 10 minutes long. A desktop computer, screen, projector, and loudspeakers will be available. Students must provide their presentations on CDs before Friday, March 23.
Essay Writing: An academic paper of 2, 000 to 2, 500 words. No illustrations (图解) are allowed. Please do not include covers. A list of references must be included.
Important Dates
January 5Submit a topic proposal to your history teacher. The teacher may require a second proposal if the first is off-topic or unclear.
February 5 Submit a first draft of your essay, performance script, or documentary highlights.
February 19 A committee of teachers will evaluate materials and give opinions. Students then have an opportunity to improve their products.
March 9 Submit a final draft of your essay.
March 15 Performance and documentary committee preview
March 24 Thornton Middle School History Fair Competition
7:00A. M-9:00A. M Participants signing in at the gym
10:00A. M. -6:00PM. Competition and judges’ review
7:00P.M. Awards ceremony and picnic
1. According to Paragragh 1, what is the major goal of understanding history?| A．To preserve national traditions. | B．To prepare for a history competition. |
| C．To better know the present and future. | D．To further explore historical mysteries. |
| A．How has technology developed in America. | B．How has science interacted with technology. |
| C．How has science made the study of history easy. | D．How has technology improved the life of Americans. |
| A．Include more information in the essay. | B．Remove the references. |
| C．Provide a cover for the essay. | D．Explain the details with illustrations. |
| A．Preview performances and documentaries. | B．Make comments on the materials. |
| C．Improve the participant’s first draft. | D．Collect a second proposal from the participant. |
5 . Trips to museums are part of many children's education. Every year, museums receive a large number of school students.
Typically, schools are concerned about students performing well on required math and science tests.
In order to learn how a trip to an art museum affects students, the team looked at 11,000 students and found that students who visited an art museum were more tolerant (容忍的)
This study involved two groups. The first group who saw a live performance experienced improvement in tolerance.
Some museums are looking for ways to provide new programs for schools. Apart from their usual field trips, the museums also offer STEM-based tours for science, technology, engineering and math.
| A．People gradually recognize the importance of field trips |
| B．The other one watched a movie version of the same play |
| C．This motivation is very important to the success at school |
| D．Therefore, teachers may not see the value of art museum trips |
| E．Students analyzed data carefully after they visited art museums |
| F．These tours look at connections between art, science, math and architecture |
| G．Plus, they learned more about the art and developed stronger critical thinking skills |
6 . A primary school in County Cork, Ireland, has decided to do away with all homework for the entire month of December, replacing it instead with acts of kindness.
For the third year in a row, students at Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Uí Choileáin will not have any homework for the month of December. Instead, they are being asked to undertake acts of kindness for friends, family and the community — and to record these in a special “Kindness Diary” which each student will fill in daily and then get signed by their parents.
“Building on the overwhelming success and positivity of last year’s Gratitude Diaries, when children and their families documented the small things they were grateful for in their lives, this year they are asked to undertake little acts of kindness that could make a big difference in somebody’s life,” Vice Principal Íde Ní Mhuirí said.
The school suggests doing something nice for an elderly neighbor, or performing an act of kindness for a relative or friend who may be feeling lonely, but the act can be anything as long as it brightens someone’s day.
Alongside this Kindness Diary initiative (倡议), there will be a kindness bucket in school, where the children can place kind observations about their peers which will boost the self-respect of those around them. Each Friday morning at the gathering a random selection of these observations will be shared to stress how small acts and kind words can make huge differences in somebody’s life. And finally, each class will put their heads together and come up with a class-wide project which can help the community.
“In this world, consumed by social media, where our young people are constantly experiencing pressure, there is no better way to show them the way forward in the world than by practicing kindness,” Íde Ní Mhuirí said.
1. What does the school require the pupils to do this December?| A．Keep a diary of their daily lives. | B．Show kindness to someone else. |
| C．Express their gratitude to others. | D．Finish their homework on time. |
| A．It needs improving. | B．It ended in failure. |
| C．It is quite satisfactory. | D．It will be continued. |
| A．To monitor their behaviour. |
| B．To evaluate their moral character. |
| C．To share their ways of dealing with stress. |
| D．To give them a sense of pride and importance. |
| A．Homework or Acts of Kindness? |
| B．How to Make a Big Difference in Life? |
| C．Irish School Relieves students of Homework. |
| D．Irish School Replaces Homework with Acts of Kindness. |
7 . Along the hallway (走廊), I saw mixed expressions on the faces of my students: excited, nervous, and worried.No doubt about it: they were this term’s freshmen. My own first day at high school flashed into my mind.
Since our family had just moved to the place, I didn’t know anyone at the school. On arriving, I picked up a map and my schedule (日程表). Oh, my goodness, what a large school it was! Nervously, I looked about for where my first class was to be held.
When I finally found my class, everyone was talking and laughing together, and I felt so lonely. Throughout the day, each period brought some new faces I had not seen before. But when my English class came around, I had a surprise: an old classmate! It was Ben, who had left my middle school right after sixth grade. We talked and joked about middle school and the clubs we were in together. My nerves eased (放松) a little.
Next was the P E. class. This was the first class that I found without difficulty. Sitting through the boring introduction to the class by the teacher, I started talking to a girl sitting near me. I found out that her family had just moved here too, and she didn’t know anyone either. As we talked, we discovered that we had a lot in common, and had a lot of classes together. This girl ended up becoming my best friend. I am so glad that I met her.
By the end of that day, I was full of optimism (乐观). I knew that high school would be an amazing experience.
1. The writer of this passage is a __________.| A．parent | B．college student | C．high school student | D．high school teacher |
| A．the school was very large | B．the map did not show the way |
| C．the teacher would be serious | D．the first class would be difficult |
| A．met her old classmate Ben | B．made friends with a girl |
| C．had P.E. class together with Ben | D．finally found her first class |
| A．Nervous. | B．Bored. | C．Hopeful. | D．Satisfied. |
8 . Get involved with our research
Some of our research projects rely on the generosity of people like you. Whether it’s using your home PC, taking part in a clinical trial, or simply volunteering your time for a study, you may be able to contribute to some of the ground-breaking projects which make the University of Oxford a world leader in research. Watch this space for ways in which you could get involved.
Seeking poor sleepers for insomnia(失眠)research
Trouble sleeping? We are looking for poor sleepers between the ages of 18 and 65. Participation will involve spending overnights in the sleep laboratory at Oxford, monitoring your sleep/wake cycle, and completing computerized tasks. If you are interested, please contact the research team at insomnia@ndcn.ox.ac.uk
Volunteers with lazy eve wanted
We are looking for volunteers aged 18-45 with a history of lazy eye to take part in our brain scanning study. You will also be asked questions about your medical history to check your suitability for an MRI scan. Call 01865 223622 for more information.
Oxford Vaccine Group
The Oxford Vaccine Group is an independent multi-disciplinary(多学科的) clinical trials group. OVG works towards the goal of developing new and improved vaccines for the prevention of infection in adults and children. To get more information, please see the OVG website.
Oxford Experimental lab for the Social Sciences
The Oxford Internet Institute, together with the Business School, is recruiting individuals to participate in computer-based experiments involving online surfing behavior as well as economic and political decision-making. We pay our subjects well, there are no special skills required and you don’t have to come to the lab in person. Contact us at socialscience.study@ox.ac.uk for more information.
1. What is the main purpose of the passage?| A．To offer medical help to patients. |
| B．To look for experienced researchers |
| C．To introduce new research programs. |
| D．To recruit volunteers for research projects. |
| A．carry out clinical trials | B．produce better vaccines |
| C．learn more about infection | D．study the causes of diseases |
| A．Oxford Vaccine Group | B．Insomnia research group |
| C．Oxford Experimental lab | D．Brain Scanning study group |
9 . School is still out for the summer, but at Eastern Senior High School, students are hard at work. In a garden bursting with vegetables and herbs, nearly a dozen teenagers are harvesting them for the weekend’s farmers market. They work Tuesday through Saturday with City Blossoms, a non-profit that brings community gardens to schools and other places where kids gather in urban(城市的) areas.
Roshawn Little, going into her junior year at Eastern, believes that working in the garden has taught her to try all sorts of new things — like eating different kinds of vegetables more often. And she has taken those healthy behaviors home with her and her family now buy more fruits and vegetables. “ We mainly live around liquor （酒）stores and snack stores. There aren’t that many grocery stores. They’re way out, and you have to drive so far ——a common problem in low-income urban areas .”
City Blossoms is one of many groups across the country teaming up with local communities to establish school gardens, like the one at Eastern. These gardens, advocates say, are really outdoor classrooms where kids learn valuable lessons — not just about nutrition, but also about science and math, even business skills. For example, the gardens can be used for math lessons — like calculating the area of a plant bed — or learning the science of how plants grow.
On a recent weekend at the Aya farmers market, the kids work at a table decorated with handmade signs that read “onions” and “garlic”, inviting people to try their herbed salt with bread. Working at the market helps them practice public speaking skills and business skills.
Nadine Joyner of a nutrition education company has a food table next to the kids’ at the market and often buys produce from them. She is constantly impressed by the kids’ knowledge of what they’re selling — they know how to grow it, how to prepare it, and how to cook it.
1. What do students at Eastern do with the harvested vegetables?| A．Sell them on market. | B．Take them to school. |
| C．Give them to farmers. | D．Share them at home. |
| A．It is inconvenient in traffic. |
| B．It is crowded with grocery stores. |
| C．It has poor access to fresh foods. |
| D．It suffers from income inequality. |
| A．To provide nutritious food. |
| B．To improve classroom conditions |
| C．To cooperate with local community. |
| D．To create outdoor learning chances. |
10 . At a comedy night at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, members of the school's comedy(喜剧) club bring lots of laughter to their classmates with funny speeches and humorous body movements. These college student comedian’s humour entertains busy, young people and eases their stress.
Yet the club member Ariella Shua says comedy is serious work. Every comedy starts as an individual project-- each member writes their own material. Then they try it out in weekly club meetings where all club members read the material, going joke by joke and seeing what works and what doesnt. Nothing unsatisfactory will be compromised(妥协). In this way comes a satisfying comedy.
Ariella joined the club last year. Now she does not go anywhere without bringing something on which she can take notes. ''Whenever I just have a thought in my head or when I see something or overhear someone saying something in the library, I just put it down, '' Ariella explained. ''when I'm trying to write my own set, I go through that…to see if there is anything in there that I can use. ''
Club president Nicholas Scandura finds writing one of the many skills he has developed since joining the club. ''Writing jokes takes a lot of critical thinking.'' he said. The club gives its members a sense of community. When they meet, they share funny experiences. tell jokes and laugh.
Harry Kuperstein discovered the club was a natural fit. Noticing the funny qualities of different situations improved his way of looking at the world. Becoming an active member also helped him work on the future skills he'll need as a medical doctor. ''Having jokes ready to go might help smooth these interactions and make you a better public speaker, '' he said.
1. What can a successful comedy be described as?| A．A group effort | B．A personal project |
| C．A satisfying task | D．A compromised result |
| A．Creating her own style. |
| B．Going to the library regularly |
| C．Taking notes in class |
| D．Becoming a good observer |
| A．By easing his stress of being a doctor |
| B．By preparing the ground for his career. |
| C．By changing his way of communication |
| D．By developing his interest in public speaking |
| A．Laughter Is Serious Work |
| B．Humor Is an Edge in Jobs |
| C．Comedy Comes with Learning |
| D．Clubs Influence One's World View |
