Play is the basic business of childhood, and in recent years research has shown the great importance of play in the development of a human being. From earliest infancy (婴儿), every child needs opportunity and right materials for play, and the main tools of play are toys. The main function of toys is to suggest, encourage and play. To succeed in this, they must be good toys, which children will play with often, and will come back again and again. Therefore, it is important to choose suitable toys for different stages of a child’s development.
In recent years research on infant development has shown that the standard a child is likely to reach, within the range of his inherited abilities, is largely determined in the first three years of his life. So a baby’s ability to benefit from the right play materials should not be underestimated. A baby who is encouraged, talked to and shown things and played with, has the best chance of growing up successfully.
In the next stage, from three to five years old, curiosity knows no bounds. Every type of suitable toys should be made available to the child, for trying out, experimenting and learning, for discovering his own particular ability: Bricks and jigsaws and construction toys; painting, scribbling and making things; sand and water play; toys for imaginative and pretending play—the first social games for learning to play and get on with others.
But at the third stage of play development—from five to seven or eight years old— the child is at school. But for a few more years play is still the best way of learning, at home or at school. It is easier to see which type of toys the child most enjoys.
Until the age of seven or eight, play and work mean much the same to a child. But once reading has been mastered, then books become the main source of learning. Toys are still interesting and valuable, which lead up to new hobbies, but their significance has changed to a child of nine or ten years old, toys and games mean, as to adults, relaxation and fun.According to the first passage we know that as a child grows up ______.
A.he should be allowed to choose his own toys. |
B.he should be given the same toys. |
C.he should be given fewer and fewer toys. |
D.he should be given different toys. |
According to the passage, the abilities a child has inherited from his parents ______.
A.determine his character |
B.will not change after the age of three. |
C.partly determined the standard he is likely to reach |
D.to a large extent determine the choice of toys |
We learn from the passage that a child has boundless curiosity ______.
A.when he is two | B.when he is around four |
C.when he is six | D.when he is eight |
The passage is mainly about _______.
A.the role of play in a child’s development |
B.the importance of schooling |
C.the importance of pre-school education |
D.the choice of toys for youngster |
What Is a Boy?
Between the innocence of babyhood and the seriousness of manhood we find a delightful creature called a "boy". Boys come in different sizes, weights, and colors, but all boys have the same belief: to enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day and to fill the air with noise until the adult males send them off to bed at night.
Boys are found everywhere-on top of, under, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or jumping to. Mothers spoil them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers love them, and God protects them. A boy is TRUTH with dirt on its face, BEAUTY with a cut on its finger, WISDOM with chocolate in its hair, and the HOPE of the future with a snake in its pocket.
When you are busy, a boy is a trouble-maker and a noise. When you want him to make a good impression,his brain turns to jelly or else he becomes a wild creature destroying the world and himself with it.
A boy is a mixture-he has the stomach of a horse, the digestion of stones and sand, the energy of an atomic bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the imagination of a superman, the shyness of a sweet girl, the brave nature of a bull, the violence of a firecracker (鞭炮), but when you ask him to make something, he has five thumbs on each hand.
He likes ice cream, knives, saws, Christmas, comic books, woods, water (in its natural habitat), large animals, Dad, trains, Saturday mornings, and fire engines. He is not much for Sunday schools, company, schools, books without pictures, music lessons, neckties, barbers, girls, overcoats, adults, or bedtime. Nobody else is so early to rise, or so late to supper.
Nobody else gets so much fun out of trees, dogs, and breezes. Nobody else can put into one pocket a rusty knife, a half eaten apple, a three-foot rope, six cents and some unknown things.
A boy is a magical creature-he is your headache but when you come home at night with only destroyed pieces of your hopes and dreams, he can mend them like new with two magic words, "Hi, Dad!" The whole passage is in a tone (调子) of ______.
A.humor and affection |
B.respect and harmony |
C.ambition and expectation |
D.confidence and imagination |
Could you figure out the meaning of the underlined sentence?
A.He has altogether five fingers. |
B.He is slow, foolish and clumsy. |
C.He becomes clever and smart. |
D.He cuts his hand with a knife. |
According to the writer, boys appreciate everything in the following except ______.
A.ice cream |
B.comic books |
C.Saturday mornings |
D.Sunday schools |
What does the writer feel about boys?
A.He feels curious about their noise. |
B.He is fed up with these creatures. |
C.He is amazed by their naughtiness. |
D.He feels unsafe staying with them. |
A study of English learning problems was carried out among a total of 106 foreign students. It shows that most students considered understanding spoken English to be their biggest problem on arrival. This was followed by speaking. Writing increased as a problem as students discovered difficultties in writing papers that they were now expected to hand in. Reading remained as a significant (显著的) problem.
Information gained helped us in determining where special attention should be paid in our course. Although many students have chosen to join the course with a reasonable motivation (动机), we considered it important to note what seemed to encourage interest. Nearly all the students have experienced some kind of grammar-based English teaching in their own country. To use the same method would be self-defeating because it might reduce motivation, especially if it has failed in the past. Therefore a different method may help because it is different.
Variety of activity was also seen as a way of maintaining (保持) or increasing motivation. Several years ago we had one timetable that operated throughout, but we soon found that both the students and the teachers lost interest by about halfway through the ten weeks. This led us to a major re-think, so finally we brought it into line with the expressed language needs of the students. What is the text mainly about?
A.Foreign students have more problems. |
B.There are many ways to improve English. |
C.Teaching should meet students' needs. |
D.English learning problems should be studied again. |
Writing became a bigger problem when foreign students _____.
A.had to write their papers |
B.became better at speaking |
C.became less interested in reading |
D.had fewer problems with listening |
We may infer from the last two paragraphs that _____.
A.different teaching methods should be used |
B.grammar-based teaching seems to be encouraging |
C.English courses are necessary for foreign students |
D.teaching content should be changed halfway |
Ten years ago I went into the studio and recorded a 56-minute video for teenagers called “Three keys to greatness.” Although my focus was for teenagers, the principles I shared certainly apply to adults as well. Recently I was asked to list these three things. Now for your benefit here they are again.
Firstly, set goals. I call it the view of the future. Most people, including kids, will pay the price if they can see the promise of the future. So we need to help our kids see a clear future, and they will be ready to pay the price today to attain the rewards of tomorrow. Goals help them do this.
Secondly, pay attention to personal development. Simply making consistent investments in our education and knowledge we will benefit throughout our lives. I suggest having an amount of time set aside for reading books, listening to recording, attending discussion, keeping a journal and spending time with other successful people. Mr Jones recommends reading a lot as a good method of improving yourself. The simple fact is that you need to change your outlook on life and on yourself, as it will have a positive influence on your personality and outlook. You should learn something new about your profession every single day until you’re an expert in the field.
Thirdly, make a financial plan. I call it the 70/30 plan. After receiving your salary, simply setting aside 10% for saving, 10% for investing and 10% for giving, the rest for your life. And over time when you have your own family this will guarantee financial independence for you.
If people focus on doing these three simple things over a long period of time, I believe they will be surely successful! The advantage of setting goals is that ___.
A.you’ll know the future of the world |
B.you’ll know what kind of person you will become |
C.you’ll be willing to work hard for your future |
D.you’ll be satisfied with what you have achieved |
The author lays the most stress on ___.
A.gaining knowledge |
B.making good friends |
C.attending discussions |
D.listening to recordings |
According to the passage, one picture of reading a lot is to ___.
A.lead a better life |
B.have a good personality and outlook |
C.change your position |
D.become an expert in many fields |
Whom does the author mainly advise to make a financial plan?
A.All kinds of people |
B.The young people |
C.The middle-aged people |
D.The rich people |
The Queen’s English is now sounding less upper-class, a scientific study of the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts has found. Researchers have studied each of her messages to the Commonwealth countries since 1952 to find out the change in her pronunciation from the noble Upper Received to the Standard Received.
Jonathan Harrington, a professor at Germany’s University of Munich, wanted to discover whether accent changes recorded over the past half century would take place within one person. “As far as I know, there just is nobody else for whom there is this sort of broadcast records,” he said.
He said the noble way of pronouncing vowels (元音) had gradually lost ground as the noble upper-class accent over the past years. “Her accent sounds slightly less noble than it did 50 years ago. But these are very, very small and slow changes that we don’t notice from year to year.”
“We may be able to relate it to changes in the social classes,” he told The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper. “In 1952 she would have been heard saying ‘thet men in the bleck het’. Now it would be ‘that man in the black hat’. Similarly, she would have spoken of ‘the citay’ and ‘dutay’, rather than ‘citee’ and ‘dutee’, and ‘hame’ rather than ‘home’. In the 1950s she would have been ‘lorst’, but by the 1970s ‘lost’.”
The Queen’s broadcast is a personal message to the Commonwealth countries. Each Christmas, the 10-minute broadcast is put on TV at 3 p.m. in Britain as many families are recovering from their traditional turkey lunch.
The results were published in the Journal of Phonetics.What is the text mainly about?
A.The relationship between accents and social classes. |
B.The Queen’s Christmas speeches on TV. |
C.The changes in a person’s accent. |
D.The recent development of the English language. |
The Queen’s broadcasts were chosen for the study mainly because ___.
A.she has been Queen for many years |
B.she has a less upper-class accent now |
C.her speeches are familiar to many people |
D.her speeches have been recorded for 50 years |
We may infer from the text that the Journal of Phonetics is a magazine on ___.
A.speech sounds | B.Christmas customs |
C.TV broadcasting | D.personal messages |
Which of the following is an example of a less noble accent in English?
A.“dutay” | B.“citee” | C.“hame” | D.“lorst” |
Most likely, you aren’t the family breadwinner. But doing a small job or getting a weekly allowance would put some money in your pocket. For kids and grown-ups alike money is easy to spend. If you aren’t careful, it can be gone in no time.
Being responsible with your money is an important skill to learn and the sooner you start the better. Whether you are tracking your spending or saving for something special, creating a budget can help you deal with expenses and plan for the future. All you need are paper and a pencil and some self-control.
First, take a look at our sample monthly budget. Then, use a separate sheet of paper to plan your own. In the first two columns, list your sources of income and how much you expect to earn from them. In the third and fourth columns, list what you expect to spend your money on and the amount.
Sample Monthly Budget
Monthly income |
Amount |
Monthly Expenses |
Amount |
Allowance |
$ 20.00 |
Snacks |
$ 26.00 |
Money earned selling drinks |
$ 25.00 |
Music downloads |
$ 12.00 |
Money earned babysitting |
$ 12.50 |
Movies |
$ 18.00 |
Money earned delivering newspapers |
$ 30.00 |
Video Rentals |
$ 10.00 |
Total: |
$ 87.50 |
Total: |
$ 66.00 |
The left-hand total should be more than or equal to the right-hand total. If it is, you have an effective budget.
Budgets are not complex, but sticking to them can be tough. When planning your budget, be realistic about your expenses. If you know that you drop $18 at a movie, don’t write $12 in that space simply because you wish you were spending less.
If you are eyeing a big purchase, such as a $150 skateboard, spend less and save more until you have the total amount. No matter how attractive it may be, avoid spending your savings. One day, you will thank yourself!The purpose of making a budget is to help people ___.
A.learn to be realistic |
B.manage their money well |
C.increase their savings |
D.test their power of self-control |
What should people do when planning a budget?
A.Fill in the expenses as they really are. |
B.Avoid spending money on expensive things. |
C.Set aside a fixed amount of money as savings. |
D.List income and expenses on two pieces of paper. |
Who is the passage written for?
A.Bank manager | B.Parents |
C.Breadwinners | D.Children |