Poorer children would be offered the chance to attend lessons on Saturday to help catch up with their middleclass peers (同龄人), the shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said today.The Conservatives would give English state schools the freedom to choose to have longer teaching hours and extra classes at the weekend, he told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’annual conference.
Gove said the move would help to close the achievement gap with richer children whose parents could afford extras such as tutoring and music lessons.
He told delegates (代表) in Manchester: “For children who come from homes where parents don’t have the resources to provide additional stretch and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children in the learning environment, in school, for longer.”
“Parents would love to have schools starting earlier in some circumstances, and certainly going on later in the afternoon, given the reality of their working lives,” he said. He held up the example of Kipp (Knowledge is Power Program) schools in the US, which are often based in the poorest communities and open from 7:30 am to 5pm on weekdays, plus Saturdays.
But it would be up to schools to decide to offer longer hours, Gove added.
Parents said Saturday classes could become a “badge of dishonor”if pupils were forced to go, while teachers raised concerns about their workload.
Margaret Morrissey, of Parents Outloud, said: “I think the suggestion the government made about one-to-one teaching for these kids would be a more preferable way of improving these children’s performance. I’m just not sure whether taking away a child at weekends is actually going to make them cleverer in the week.”
The ATL’s general secretary, Mary Bousted, said: “If we want Saturday schools, then we need more teachers doing the extra hours, not the same teachers working longer.”
66. The program is intended for children____________.
A. who are from middle-class families
B. whose parents can’t afford extra help
C. who perform poorly academically
D. whose weekends are mostly unoccupied
67. “Additional stretch” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to_________.
A. music lessons
B. physical relaxation
C. entertainment activities
D. out-of-school improvement
68. Why did Gove mention Kipp schools in the US?
A. To make a comparison.
B. To introduce a new program.
C. To seek supportive evidence.
D. To prove his program is better.
69. What is Margaret Morrissey’s opinion about the new program?
A. Favourable. B. Doubtful. C. Optimistic. D. Acceptable.
70. Which of the following is true?
A. Teachers may not like the program.
B. Schools are trying to make profits.
C. The program is already under way.
D. The program is popular with children.
More than 30,000 people went to the White House on Monday for the 136th Easter Egg Roll (复活节滚彩蛋). President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama held the event by inviting thousands of kids to color and look for eggs. The theme(主题) of the day was “Hop Into Healthy, Swing Into Shape.” It was part of the First Lady’s “Let’s Move!” program to reduce obesity rates (肥胖率) among American kids. Mrs. Obama spoke to young reporters about her goal(目标) to get children to eat right and keep moving.
“We are working to make sure that kids born today grow up healthy, learn how to have balanced meals, and get more physical activity into their lives,” she said.
Mrs. Obama said she wants children across the nation to understand that "exercise isn't just hard work, it's play. If you’re running around with your dog, you're getting exercise. If you walk up the stairs, that's exercise, But if you’re sitting in front of the TV or on a computer game, you're not exercising.”
The First Lady said that for kids who have balanced meals most of the time, having a special snack, like chocolate, will not hurt." And if you are active, you can splurge (挥霍) a little more," she said. Mrs. Obama’s favorite "splurge food" is French fries. But she balances her splurging by exercising almost every day. She loves to play tennis and she practices yoga.
“A lot of kids look up to(敬仰) athletes, and I think it's important for athletes to share their good habits,” Mrs. Obama said. "Kids aren’t just going to wake up and be LeBron James. He's practicing and eating right and working out and training. Our athletes can be really good messengers to kids who look up to them--they can say to kids, 'If you really want to be like me, then you really do need to eat your vegetables.’”The purpose of the “Let’s Move!” program is to.
| A．help kids keep healthy |
| B．train more young reporters |
| C．encourage kids to eat more eggs |
| D．invite kids to visit the White House |
In Mrs. Obama’s opinion, exercise .
| A．can be fun to do |
| B．means hard work |
| C．should be done outdoors |
| D．requires special equipment |
“Splurge food” is allowed to be eaten when .
| A．you don' t hurt yourself |
| B．you have a special snack |
| C．you never eat French fries |
| D．you eat right and stay active |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．All kids want to be LeBron James. |
| B．It is very easy to form good habits. |
| C．Athletes can set a good example for kids. |
| D．Kids like the messages the athletes give them. |
In which part of a newspaper will the text most probably appear?
| A．Business. | B．Health. |
| C．Culture. | D．Education. |
Having Breakfast Or Not
Will it matter if you don’t take your breakfast? A short time ago, a test (试验) was given in the United States. People of different ages, from 12 to 83, were asked to have a test. During the test, these people were given all kinds of breakfast, and sometimes they got no breakfast at all. Scientists (科学家) wanted to see how well their bodies worked when they had eaten different kinds of breakfast.
The results show that if a person eats a right breakfast, he or she will work better than if he or she has no breakfast. If a student has fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, he or she will learn more quickly and listen more carefully in class. The result is opposite to what some people think. Having no breakfast will not help you lose weight (减轻体重). This is because people become so hungry at noon that they eat too much for lunch. They will gain weight (增加体重) instead of losing it. You will lose more weight if you reduce your other meals.During the test, the people were given ________.
| A．no breakfast at all |
| B．very rich breakfast |
| C．different foods or sometimes none |
| D．little food for breakfast |
The results show that ________.
| A．breakfast has little to do with a person’s work |
| B．breakfast has great effect (影响) on work and studies |
| C．a person will work better if he only has fruit and milk |
| D．girl students should have less for breakfast |
According to (根据) the passage, some people think that if you don’t have breakfast, you will _______.
| A．be healthier | B．work better |
| C．lose weight | D．fail the test |
The word “reduce” in the last sentence means _________ .
| A．减少 | B．增加 | C．放弃 | D．享用 |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．It is bad for your health to have no breakfast. |
| B．Too little for breakfast and too much for lunch may make you fatter. |
| C．If you don’t eat much for lunch and supper, you may lose weight. |
| D．The more breakfast you have, the more quickly you’ll learn in class. |
The story is about two old people named David and Rosy Jackson. Both of them had very bad memories. For example, Rosy would forget to cook dinner or take vegetables home after paying for them. David would show up for work on Sundays, thinking it was Monday. One winter they were to take a long plane trip. When they arrived at the airport, there were only ten minutes left. In that situation, anyone would get into the plane right away. But David and Rosy didn’t do so. They went to buy some flight insurance(保险) instead. Immediately after they put a two-pound note into a machine, their policy (保险单) came out.
“Who would get the money if the plane crashed, I wonder?” asked Rosy. “My mother, of course,” her husband replied. “We should post the policy to her. Now, be quick! Give me a stamp, will you?” he said to Rosy. “The plane is going to take off in another minute.” David put the stamp on the envelope, dropped it into a postbox, and suddenly he let out a cry.
What do you suppose happened to him? He had posted their plane tickets to his mother.Rosy is David’s ______.
| A．friend | B．mother | C．sister | D．wife |
This passage tells us that David and Rosy ______.
| A．were always short of time |
| B．always did everything in a great hurry |
| C．were very forgetful |
| D．usually worked on Sundays |
David meant to post his mother _____.
| A．two plane tickets | B．a two-pound note |
| C．the flight insurance | D．an empty envelope |
Mr Jackson made such a foolish mistake because ______.
| A．he was worried about his mother |
| B．he had forgotten to buy a stamp |
| C．he was worried about this flight |
| D．his memory was poor and he posted the letter in a great hurry |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．A forgetful old couple. |
| B．Two plane tickets. |
| C．A pleasant flight. |
| D．A plane crash. |
Victor’s hobby was collecting stamps. He had stamps from many countries, like England, Canada and China. On his birthday, can you guess what people gave him? That’s right--stamps.
Victor’s favourite stamps came from France. He had almost every stamp from 1954 to 2004. He only needed one. That was a 1974 special edition(版本). It was very hard to find.
He looked for it everywhere. He asked his friends and relatives to help him. But nobody could find the stamp. It made Victor very sad.
“Don’t worry. Never give up,” his father said to him. “If you have enough patience, you’ll find it one day.”
“I hope so,” Victor said.
Victor also liked writing. He had a penfriend in France. They wrote to each other every month. Victor’s penfriend, Phillip, usually used new stamps to send letters. Sometimes, his mother gave him stamps to use. Once Phillip’s mother gave him a big, green stamp. It looked old. When Victor received the letter, he was very surprised. On the envelope, he looked carefully at the stamp. It was the 1974 special edition stamp. Victor was so happy. He told his sister, his mother and his father.
“You see,” his father said. “ You did find your stamp. So, it’s good to have two things in life.”
“What are they?” Victor asked.
“ Friends and patience.” He answered.It was very difficult for Victor to find a special French stamp of _________.
| A．1954 | B．1974 | C．1994 | D．2004 |
What does the underlined word “patience” mean?
| A．勇气 | B．知识 | C．耐心 | D．目标 |
Who owned the special edition stamp at the very beginning?
| A．Phillip. | B．Phillip’s mother. |
| C．Victor. | D．Victor’s father. |
Which sentence is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Victor’s father didn’t support his hobby. |
| B．Victor both liked collecting stamps and writing. |
| C．Phillip’s mother wanted his son to write letters to Victor. |
| D．Phillip was from France. |
The passage mainly tells us that ________ is(are) important to people.
| A．a happy family |
| B．a good hobby |
| C．relatives and friendship |
| D．friends and patience |
At noon, Shi Huizi received a text message: “This is Yuantong Express. Please come to the school gate and pick up your parcel.” The 22-year-old girl at Beijing International Studies University rushed to the school gate, where hundreds of parcels lay waiting to be collected by their owners.
This scene is not uncommon on China’s campuses, as shopping online has become an important part of their lifestyle for many university students. But convenient as it is, online shopping among students is marked by impulse(冲动) buying and other risks. Students should be cautious to avoid them.
According to Taobao, during last year’s graduation season, 250,000 graduate students from 116 “211” project universities nationwide spent 846 million yuan on Taobao. Beijing Haidian Consumers’ Association conducted a survey on the online purchasing behavior of students, which showed that nearly 54 percent of respondents had made irrational purchases.
Yang Yi is one of them. The 23-year-old business administration major at Beijing Wuzi University bought a limited edition Gundam model kit online for a small fortune, only to find that its appeal faded rapidly. “I did like it when I bought it, but it doesn’t look so attractive to me anymore now. So I’ve decided to sell it to pay off my debts,” says Yang. Yang’s experience reflects the consumption patterns (消费方式) of many university students. In an attempt to be unique, many of them turn to online shops to buy “exotic(奇异的)” items not easily found in the domestic (国内的) market.
According to Lei Li, a psychology professor at Renmin University, the impulsive buying patterns found among students have psychological roots. When shopping online is a campus trend, it’s not only about convenience, but also about group identification(认可). “If everyone is doing something and you’re not, you’re less likely to be accepted by others,” Lei says. The mentality(心态) of not wanting to be left out is fuelling impulse buying.
As he Haidian survey indicates, online shopping is not always a satisfying experience. Of 848 respondents(调查对象) from universities based in Beijing, 42 percent said they had received products that didn’t match the online description or photos. Even so, 72.5 percent of student buyers don’t return unsatisfactory goods due to the inconvenience it causes and long procedures.
Lei suggests that students who are enthusiastic about online shopping “pay attention to the consequences and develop a wiser way of consuming—namely, buying items within their budget and being aware of the risks of buying online.”How does the passage introduce its topic?
| A．By making comparisons. |
| B．By giving an example. |
| C．By making an analysis (分析). |
| D．By showing the result of a survey. |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the reason why shopping online becomes a campus trend?
| A．Because of the mind of not wanting to be left out in a group. |
| B．Because many students turn to online shops trying to buy rare items in China. |
| C．Because it is convenient to buy online. |
| D．Because the school hasn’t taught them how to consume wisely. |
What does the underlined word “irrational” in Para. 3 mean?
| A．Unreasonable. | B．Expensive. |
| C．Worthless. | D．Priceless. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．The Risks of Shopping Online |
| B．The Trend of Shopping Online |
| C．Students Shop on Impulse |
| D．Buying More Wisely |