1 . 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. |
2 . 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. |
3 . 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. |
4 . Homework is made up of out-of-class activities and at-home activities teachers assign to students. It can include practice assignments that emphasize newly acquired skills.
Homework can also help build up children’s confidence.
In addition, homework gives students a chance to learn from their mistakes and overcome their weakness. It provides them with a platform to express what they know or have newly found, and exhibit their talents.
However, to be as beneficial to students as possible, homework should be assigned properly. The amount and difficulty level of homework assignments should match the ages and abilities of students.
| A．Otherwise, it will become a punishment. |
| B．Homework can benefit students in many ways. |
| C．Teachers give comments on the work that students do. |
| D．It also gives students the practice of whatever they learn in school. |
| E．Completing homework requires planning, organizing and acting upon it. |
| F．Students can gain a sense of accomplishment after completing homework. |
| G．It can be preparation assignments to make students ready for class activities. |
5 . In American schools there is something called Homecoming Day. Many high schools and colleges with a football team have a homecoming game. This can be the most important event of the year except graduation or commencement (毕业典礼) Day. Students plan Homecoming Day many weeks in advance.
Several days before Homecoming, students start to decorate the school. There are signs to wish luck to the team, and many other signs to welcome all the graduates. Many people still come to Homecoming twenty or thirty years after their graduation.
The members of school clubs build booths(售货棚) and sell lemonade(柠檬汽水), apples and sandwiches. Some clubs help to welcome visitors.
During the day alumni and their wives will gather at the school. They like to look for teachers that they remember. Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school.
Everyone soon comes to watch the football game. When the game is half over, the band comes onto the field and plays school songs. Another important moment is when the Homecoming Queen or King appears. All the students vote the most popular student Homecoming Queen or King. It is a great honor to be chosen.
Homecoming is a happy day, but it is not perfect unless the football team wins the game. Even if the game loses, the students still enjoy Homecoming. Some stay at the school to dance, and others go to a party. For everyone it is a day worth remembering.
1. The best title of this passage is .| A．American School | B．Homecoming Game |
| C．Homecoming Queen or King | D．Homecoming Day |
| A．To see old friends. | B．To organize clubs. |
| C．To watch the football game. | D．To call on teachers they remember. |
| A．female former students of a school or college |
| B．male former students of a school or college |
| C．grandfathers of the students in a school or college |
| D．grandmothers of the students in a school or college |
