D
Eight-year-old Bethany and seven-year-old Eliza are having a great time jumping around in the orchard of their home in a village near Penrith. They can play any time they like because they don't go to school. Instead, they are educated at home by their parents, Paul and Veronika Robinson. But they don't have lessons, have never used a timetable and learn only what and when they want to learn.
"I want my kids to have freedom in their childhood, not spend it in an institution," says 37-year-old Veronika, "School is all about control and following the rules." Veronika and her 56-year-old husband Paul have never experienced the daily rush to get dressed and out of the door that is common in most households with school-aged children. "We get up at our leisure - usually around 8:30," says Veronika. "We might visit a friend, or go to the library, and on Tuesdays we shop at the market. In summer, we spend most of our time outside and the girls entertain themselves a lot."
New research due to be published this spring reveals a very different picture of Britain's home educators. "Out of 297 families, 184 said that they never use a timetable," says Mike Fortune-Wood of Home Education UK. "Ninety per cent never or rarely use textbooks, and nearly all said that happiness, contentment and self-fulfillment were more important than academic achievement. Only 15% felt that planning what to learn was crucial."
So far, so good. But what, you might ask, are the children actually learning?
"It wasn't important to me that the girls could read by a certain age, but they both picked it up for themselves at around seven," says Robinson. "Weighing cooking ingredients uses maths, and making a shopping list teaches them to write. Observing five hens has taught the girls about survival of the fittest. "
But what about when the children grow up? Can they go to university? The home educators' answer is they can if they want to. There are a variety of routes into higher education, but probably the most common is to join a local college. This is what Gus Harris-Reid has done. "I was educated at home all my life. I'd never had a lesson or been inside a classroom until I started GCSEs," says the 18-year-old. "I'm now studying for 4 A-levels at Exeter College. I've had no problem with the work or with fitting in." When asked to reflect on his experience of home education, his considered response is, "Like a permanent holiday, really!" Not a bad start for someone who plans to take a mechanical engineering degree next year.
67. What is the topic of this article?
A. New ways of learning to read and write B. Problems with UK schools
C. Home education in the UK D. Wild, undisciplined children
68. Why do the Robinsons not send their children to school?
A. They think schools control children too much.
B. They do not like the courses taught in schools.
C. They want to teach their children farming skills.
D. They live in a remote area where there are no schools.
69. According to the article, in homes with school-going children, ______.
A. mornings are rushed and stressful.
B. the children hardly ever go outside.
C. the family wakes up around 8:30am.
D. the children must ask permission to go to the toilet.
70. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Most home educators believe that happiness is more important than good grades.
B. Most home educators believe that planning is important.
C. Most home educators do not follow a timetable or use textbooks.
D. Most home educators are not worried about when their children learn to read and write.
71. What does the article say about home-educated children getting into university?
A. They learn so many useful skills at home that universities are happy to accept them.
B. They can get into university if they have 4 A-levels.
C. They can go to school later and get the qualifications they need in order to enter university.
D. Home education is so relaxed that they are likely to experience problems when faced with the pressures of a degree course.
Eat, drink and be merry. That’s what the Spring Festival is all about. But there are millions of people, too, who love to let happiness go up in smoke.
Offering cigarettes to guests is a traditional Chinese way of showing respect to them. A cup of tea and cigarettes are perhaps the most common way of welcoming a guest in China, especially during festive occasions such as the Lunar New Year.
No wonder, 40 percent of the people surveyed recently said they would smoke at least twice the usual number of cigarettes during the Spring Festival holiday because of all those gatherings and parties. Only 20 percent of the respondents said they would refuse a cigarette when offered one. Why can't the others do the same? Because they could be seen as being rude, said more than half of the respondents. Fifteen percent feared they could be taken as "someone who cannot get along well with others".
The Think-tank Research Center for Health Development and Sohu.com survey shows 61 percent Chinese think offering a cigarette is useful for socializing, and 52 percent have offered cigarettes to others. The study polled 3,800 people, 64 percent of them men.
One-third of those polled were smokers, out of which 57 percent said they couldn't give up smoking because of the offering-and-accepting culture. "People have accepted offering cigarettes as an effective way of making friends." research center director Wu Yiqun says.
China has more than 350 million smokers, catering to the tobacco market that is worth 500 billion yuan. "The survey shows we still have a lot of work to do," she says. "Since Beijing is trying to make the Olympic Games smoke-free, it is time to let people know that offering a cigarette is a bad habit and it should be given up immediately."
1．The passage is written with the purpose of .
A．telling us a custom about the Chinese Spring Festival
B．introducing a way to make friends with Chinese
C．stopping smoking during the Beijing Olympics
D．telling us that offering cigarettes is a bad habit
2．The third paragraph mainly tells us .
A．the fact that smokers are greatly increasing during the festival
B．the reason why refusing cigarettes is acceptable
C．the fact that many people have to smoke more cigarettes during the festival
D．it is rude to attend parties without smoking cigarettes
3．Which of the following may not be the reason that makes many people fail to refuse the offered cigarette?
A．It’s impolite to refuse. B．Smoking is harmful to non-smokers.
C．They want to be friendly. D．It’s a kind of social habit.
4．The writer mentions the 500 billion yuan tobacco market because .
A．the tobacco market is not developing smoothly
B．the writer thinks that smoking wasters a lot of money.
C．smoking is helpful to the tobacco market
D．the tobacco market attracts too many smokers
5．We can infer from the passage that .
A．people will be free to smoke during the Beijing Olympic Games.
B．only a few smokers still have the habit of offering cigarettes
C．offering cigarettes is the most effective way for socializing
D．some non-smokers will even accept the offered cigarettes
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly. The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance. In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money.
At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance. The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics.
Many people think it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life. Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it. Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice: you have to cut costs and plan for the future.
Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving. A saving account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest. Compounding works by paying interest on interest. So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year. The second year, the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents, and so on. That may not seem like a lot. But over time it adds up.
14. Many parents give children an allowance regularly to ______.
A. meet children’s basic need for life B. give control over their children
C. see whether they have financial mistakes D. help children learn how to manage money
15. For Children who receive allowances, they’d better not ________.
A. waste money to buy gifts for their parents or friends
B. buy their favorite clothing or electronics for themselves
C. save money like their parents or other adults
D. ask for the next allowance before the decided date.
16. If children are required to save their allowance, they ______.
A. can experience the three things related to money
B. can understand the relation between goals and sacrifice
C. will do more work around the house
D. help themselves found the basis for their future life
17. What does the underlined phrase “compound interest” mean?
A. The interest based on the original money and unpaid interest.
B. A way of helping children earn two percent interest.
C. The interest intended for children to earn money.
D. A saving account opened for children’s allowance.
18. What would be the best title for the text?
A. How to Give Children an Allowance
B. Spend Your Allowance within a Budget
C. Allowance Helps Children Learn about Money
D. Doing Housework Earns Children Allowance
Pushy parents and teachers who “hothouse” the under-5s risk causing damage to the children’s long term development, a leading education expert said.
Lilian Katz, Professor of Education at the University of Illinois, said that four-year-olds engaged in reading and writing went on to perform worse academiclly than those engaged in imaginative learning. They scored higher in tests at the age of 5, but children whose first year at school was stimulating outstripped them four years later.
The findings suggest that the government's structured approach to early years' learning could be storing up problems for children. They also raise serious questions about the plan for all children to be able to read by the age of 6.
In many countries formal teaching does not start until children are 6 or 7 and have improved their social and manual skills. Children start learning to read and write at 6 in the United States. France and Germany , and at 7 in Finland and Sweden.
Professor Katz said that in many schools the courses were "boring children to tears". Much academic teaching required children to learn by memorizing pieces of information out of context, she said. Teaching in reception class should instead allow children to develop their intellect by exploring their environments and asking questions.
"Research suggests the benefits of formal academic insturction for four- and five-year-olds seem to be promising when they are tested early, but considerably less so in the long term. When these children are followed over a period of three or more years, those who had early experience in more intellectually engaging curricula were more likely to do well in school than their peers, who had received early academic instruction." She avocates teaching children through first-hand experience and play, in mixed-aged classes. This can include puppet shows, drawing or running a pretend shop in the classroom.
1．According to the passage, those who “hothouse” the under-5s would probably _________.
A. prefer a lot of interaction and stimulation while teaching
B. teach in a lively way to motivate kids’ interest
C. push the kids to memorize pieces of information
D. care about the kids’ physical development
2．What does the underlined word “ outstripped” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. did better than B. looked down upon
C. caught up with D. performed worse than
3．According to Lilian Katz, the government’s structured approach to early-years learning ______.
A. is necessary for improving children’s reading and writing ability
B. needs to be improved to develop children’s academicability
C. will cause problems to children in their future learning
D. has more advantages than disadvantages
4．The message the author wants to deliver through the passage is that formal teaching _______.
A. can start at different times in different countries.
B. should not be started too early
C. is best carried out in Finland and Sweden
D. should include teaching children social and manual skills
5．Which of the following is NOT the opinion of Lilian Katz?
A. Children should be taught through first-hand experience.
B. Learning in a mixed-age class is good for children.
C. Running a shop can help children get good marks.
D. Puppet shows and drawing are useful easy in teaching children.
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly. The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance. In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money.
At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance. The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics.
Many people think it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life. Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it. Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice: you have to cut costs and plan for the future.
Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving. A saving account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest. Compounding works by paying interest on interest. So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year. The second year, the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents, and so on. That may not seem like a lot. But over time it adds up.
14. Many parents give children an allowance regularly to ______.
A. meet children’s basic need for life B. give control over their children
C. see whether they have financial mistakes D. help children learn how to manage money
15. For Children who receive allowances, they’d better not ________.
A. waste money to buy gifts for their parents or friends
B. buy their favorite clothing or electronics for themselves
C. save money like their parents or other adults
D. ask for the next allowance before the decided date.
16. If children are required to save their allowance, they ______.
A. can experience the three things related to money
B. can understand the relation between goals and sacrifice
C. will do more work around the house
D. help themselves found the basis for their future life
17. What does the underlined phrase “compound interest” mean?
A. The interest based on the original money and unpaid interest.
B. A way of helping children earn two percent interest.
C. The interest intended for children to earn money.
D. A saving account opened for children’s allowance.
18. What would be the best title for the text?
A. How to Give Children an Allowance
B. Spend Your Allowance within a Budget
C. Allowance Helps Children Learn about Money
D. Doing Housework Earns Children Allowance
New fast food debuts in U.S. fairs—fired Coke
A new fast food is making its debut(首次演出) at U.S. fairs this fall----fried Coke. Abel Gonzales, 36, a computer analyst from Dallas, tried about 15 different varieties before coming up with his perfect recipe----a batter mix made with Coca-Cola syrup, a drizzle of strawberry syrup, and some strawberries.
Balls of the batter are then deep-fried, ending up like ping-pang ball sized doughnuts（面团）which are then served in a cup, topped with Coca-Cola syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon(桂皮)sugar and a cherry on the top.
“It tastes great,” said Sue Gooding, a spokeswoman for the State Fair of Texas where Gonzales’ fried Coke made its debut this fall. “It was a huge success.”
Gonzales ran two stands at the State Fair of Texas and sold up to 35,000 fried Cokes over 24 days for 4.50 dollars each –and won a prize for coming up with “most creative” new fair food.
Ray Crockett, a spokesman for Coca-Cola Co., said: “we’re constantly amazed at the creative ways folks find to enjoy their Coke and make it part of celebrations like fairs and festivals. This is one is definitely different!”
16. The passage is likely to .
A. be an advertisement B. appear in a newspaper
C. make a comment on a new foodD. give us some advice
17. The new fast food probably is the computer analyst’s ____________.
A. 15th attempt B. disliked food
C. most creative food D. excellent recipe
18. We are sure that ____________.
A. this new kind fast food will be popular in the future
B. this new food has been sold 157500 dollars
C. the food was bought by Coca-Cola Co.
D. this is a new kind of Coke
19. According to Ray Crockett, ___________.
A. fried Coke is a completely different form of Coca-Cola.
B. fried Coke is a very creative use of Coca-Cola.
C. folks enjoy this new kind of food very much.
D. he is amazed at the U.S. fairs this fall.