However important we may regard school life to be, we can’t ignore the fact that children spend more time at home than in the classroom. Therefore the great influence of parents can’t be ignored or discounted by the teacher. They can become strong supports of the school or they can consciously or unconsciously prevent the school from accomplishing its aims.
Administrators have been aware of the need to keep parents apprised of the newer methods used in schools. Many principals have conducted workshops explaining such matters as the reading readiness program and developmental math.
Moreover, the classroom teacher can also play an important role in explaining to parents what they should do. The informal tea and the many interviews carried on during the year, as well as new ways of reporting pupils’ progress, can significantly aid the interchanged of ideas between school and home.
Suppose that a father has been drilling Junior in arithmetic processes night after night. In a friendly interview, the teacher can help the parent change his method. He might be persuaded to let Junior participate in discussing he family budget, buying the food, using a measuring cup at home, setting the clock, calculating mileage on a trip and engaging in scores of other activities that have a mathematical basis.
If the father follows the advice, it is reasonable to assume that he will soon realize his son is making satisfactory progress in math and at the same time, enjoying the work.
Too often, however, teachers’ conferences with parents are devoted to unimportant accounts of children’s wrongdoing, complaints about laziness and poor work habits, and suggestions for punishments and rewards at home.
What is needed is a more creative approach in which the teacher, as a professional advisor, plants ideas in parents’ minds for the best use of the many hours that the child spends out of the classroom. In this way, the school and the home join forces in fostering the fullest development of youngsters’ competence.The underlined phrase “keep parents apprised of” (Line 1, Para. 2) probably means to let parents .
| A．judge | B．know | C．design | D．develop |
What is the purpose of the schools’ informal tea and interviews?
| A．To improve the relationship between teacher and parents. |
| B．To explain to parents the change of the school curriculum. |
| C．To report students’ misdoings and suggestions for punishments. |
| D．To help develop good communication between school and home. |
Why does the author provide all example in Paragraph 4？
| A．To help parents to know the importance of home activities. |
| B．To show how the teacher can guide in home training. |
| C．To prove parents all non professional advisors. |
| D．To advice parents to teach kids math at home. |
From the passage we learn that the author .
| A．thinks teachers should do better as professionals |
| B．is worried about children’s performance at home |
| C．is satisfied with the present state of school education |
| D．believes time spent out of the classroom has been wasted |
“A very disruptive (调皮捣蛋的) six-year-old child kicked my legs and clawed at my hand,” said one teacher. “I broke up a fight and was kicked between my legs,” said another. Many people have heard stories like this. But the situation is more worrying still and it involves parents.
Every child, regardless of the circumstances into which they are born, has the right to achieve their potential, regardless of their parents’ wealth and class. And we recognize that, as a nation, it is a long way to achieve this goal. But with rights come responsibilities and what worries people is that we are in danger of neglecting the latter.
Far too many children are behaving badly at school, even to the point of being violent to staff. This is terrible enough, but it is hard to be surprised since many children are just mirroring the behaviour of their parents. Too many are starting school unable to hold a knife and fork, unused to eating at a table, and unable to use the lavatory(卫生间) properly.
We are in danger of becoming a nation of families living separate lives under one roof. The bedroom, once a place to sleep, has become the living space for the young. Spending hours in front of computer screens, on social networking sites or being immersed (沉迷于) in computer games, children and young people spend little time with their parents. Parents are unable to monitor just what their children are watching.
Schools cannot right the wrongs of society and teachers cannot become substitute parents. Both parties need to work together. Parents must be helped and given confidence to take back control. They are responsible for setting boundaries for their children’s behaviour and sticking to those boundaries. They are responsible for setting a good example to their children and for devoting that most precious of resources---time---so that children come to school ready and willing to learn.In the opinion of the writer, what problem do people ignore?
| A．The violence in the school |
| B．The pressure of students’ learning |
| C．The right to achieve students’ potential |
| D．The responsibilities of the students. |
The underlined part in paragraph 4 means________.
| A．parents care little about children’s life at home |
| B．parents and children live in their separate rooms |
| C．children don’t live with their parents in the same house |
| D．children live a different life from that of parents at home |
The writer’s attitude to the behaviours of parents may be_______.
| A．unconcern | B．understanding |
| C．dissatisfied | D．tolerant |
Searching for airfares（飞机票价） often seems like a game that passengers are bound to lose．
Prices change from day to day, even minute to minute． Looking through multiple websites for the best deal can be a big challenge． Even when you do book, there’s no guarantee that you are going to get the best price．
"You just don’t know when to pull the trigger． It’s not like buying anything else I can think of,” said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog．com．
Harriet Levy paid $179 for a recent round-trip flight on American Airlines between New York and Fort Lauderdale, Florida． Sitting just one row behind her, Shirley Harrison paid $215． A few rows back, Ellis and Dianne Traub paid $317 each．There were at least 12 fares on the flight, ranging from $169 to $360．
There’s no reason for it, Harrison said．
Fares can change significantly in just a few hours． One Delta flight from New York to Los Angeles jumped from $755 to $1,143 from a Friday to Saturday in late April, then fell to $718 0n Sunday．
The flight was one of a dozen the Associated Press followed over three months for a vacation between July 16 and 22． The number one finding: avoid booking tickets on weekends． It’s the most expensive time to buy．
There’s no way to guarantee the best fare． But before booking, travelers should pay attention to this additional advice:
Book on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday． That’s when airlines most often offer sales．
Buy in advance, but not too early． The best time is four to six weeks before traveling． In general, prices for any given flight are highest eight to ten weeks and two to three weeks in advance．
Make use of social media． Airlines are giving more benefits like exclusive（独有的 ） sales to travelers who interact with them on Twitter and Facebook． Those specials are often gone within hours．
The so-called discount airlines - JetBlue, Air-Tran, Southwest and Frontier-adjust their fares less frequently than other airlines, so you can feel more confident that the price will stay the same． But their prices aren’t always the lowest．Researching multiple airlines’ fares is the only way to get a good deal．What can we infer from the first sentence of the text?
| A．Passengers are unable to search for airfares． |
| B．Airlines often play games with passengers． |
| C．Airfares are set in different situations． |
| D．It’s difficult for passengers to get the best price． |
The underlined phrase "pull the trigger" in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.
| A．start searching | B．get the highest price |
| C．make a purchase | D．get on board the plane |
By using a lot of figures, the author intends to ________.
| A．show there is standard price for every single airline |
| B．discover the rules behind airfares |
| C．guarantee passengers a low price |
| D．prove airfares can vary widely |
Passengers are advised to book flights ________.
| A．in the middle of the week |
| B．on special websites |
| C．several months before traveling |
| D．with airlines which are famous for offering discount prices |
Recently, the TV show “Where are we going, Dad?” produced by Hunan SatelliteTelevision is a big hit across nation. Many famous stars brought their children to a strange village alone, and they had to spend 72 hours with their children there. The program fully showed us a modern version of the “how to be a good father”. As the young parents today are too busy to take care of their children, this new form of “Lost on the way” played by nanny Daddy and cute kids triggered（触发）a lot of people’s emotional resonance（共鸣）. Both the kids and their parents will find that their hearts are being drawn closer. But this kind of feeling has just proved that there is a big spiritual barrier between the modern parents and children.
The TV shows like “Children are hard to support!”, “Where are we going, Dad?”, “hot mom” and “cute kids” are becoming more and more popular. All of these show the new parents’ confusion in children’s education and the appeal for the balance between career and family.
In the real life, on the one hand the young parents feel helpless because they are too busy to accompany their children under the pressures of work and life; on the other hand they continue to do so. The data collected by HNTV shows that nearly two-thirds of their audience are female, among whom 36% are aged from 25 to 34.We can imagine such a scene that one evening a young mother is watching the show with her young children, while her husband is still at work or trapped in socializing, or maybe is just playing computer games in the bedroom. The story of a child without the company of father is still going on. In fact, it is sometimes the same to mothers. In a modern family, it is often the old who take the responsibility of raising a child. Theparticipation of mother in the children’s education is also very low.
It is just this kind of confusion where the parents have gone in the modern family education, and where the parents will guide their children to go that “Where are we going, Dad?” shows us. If a child wants to grow up healthily and safely into a modern citizen with independent personality and free spirit, it is very important for him or her to follow the parents who serve as their first teacher. Maybe this is the real reason why such kind of TV programs could get hot. The truth is that children will go where their parents go; and society will go where the children go.To raise a child in modern society, parents should ________.
| A．break down the barrier between children and teachers |
| B．play computer games with their children |
| C．balance well between family and career |
| D．keep their children at home to avoid socializing |
Which of the following can be inferred in the passage?
| A．36% of the audience of the program are female aged from 25-34. |
| B．Parents shouldn’t entirely leave the education of children to the old. |
| C．In a modern family it is often mothers who are responsible for raising a child. |
| D．The program shows us the confusion where the parents and children will go to play. |
What does the underlined word “participation” probably mean?
| A．taking responsibility | B．understanding |
| C．taking part | D．keeping company |
What attitude towards modern family education does the author express in the second paragraph?
| A．Optimistic. |
| B．Indifferent. |
| C．Proud. |
| D．Worried. |
Which one is the best title of the passage?
| A．New problems in Modern Children’s Education |
| B．Modern Education is Important |
| C．Confusion Behind “Where are we going, dad?” |
| D．Nanny Daddy and Cute Kids |
Since the first Earth Day in 1970, Americans have gotten a lot “greener” toward the environment . “We didn’t know at that time that there even was an environment, let alone that there was a problem with it,” says Bruce Anderson, president of Earth Day USA.
But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement .Business people, political leaders, university professors, and especially millions of grass-roots Americans are taking part in the movement. “The understanding has increased many ,many times,” says Gaylord Nelson, the former governor from Wisconsin, who thought up the first Earth Day.
According to US government reports , emissions (排放)from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 million tons .The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9.Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with , the world is a safer and healthier place .A kind of “Green thinking ” has become part of practices .
Great improvement has been achieved .In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs ; today in 1995 there are about 6,600 . Advanced lights ,motors , and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution .
Twenty –five years ago , there were hardly any education programs for environment .Today , it’s hard to find a public school , university , or law school that does not have such a kind of program .“Until we do that , nothing else will change! ” say Bruce Anderson .According to Anderson , before 1970, Americans had little idea about ___
| A．the social movement |
| B．recycling techniques |
| C．environmental problems |
| D．the importance of Earth Day |
Where does the support for environmental protection mainly come from?
| A．The grass –roots level |
| B．The business circle |
| C．Government officials |
| D．University professors |
What have Americans achieved in environmental protection ?
| A．They have cut car emissions to the lowest |
| B．They have settled their environmental problems |
| C．They have lowered their CO levels in forty cities. |
| D．They have reduced pollution through effective measures . |
What is especially important for environmental protection according to the last paragraph ?
| A．Education | B．Planning |
| C．Green living | D．CO reduction |
Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband, Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.
During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport.
He reported the case to the police and then sat there，lost and lonely in a strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one.
Late in the evening, the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husband’s name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can（垃圾桶）that had been left out on the footpath.
My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents. Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend.
That family not only restored the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people. We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way.What did Rashid plan to do after his arrival in Sydney?
| A．Go shopping | B．Find a house |
| C．Join his family | D．Take a vacation |
The girl’s parents got Rashid’s phone number from_______.
| A．a friend of his family |
| B．a Sydney policeman |
| C．a letter in his papers |
| D．a stranger in Sydney |
What does the underlined word “restored” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．Showed | B．Sent out | C．Delivered | D．Gave back |
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．From India to Australia. |
| B．Living in a New Country. |
| C．Turning Trash to Treasure. |
| D．In Search of New Friends. |