Is early childhood education really necessary? Early childhood education primarily focuses on learning through playing to develop the child’s physical, sensory, communicational and social development.Early childhood education has become a concern of the government, who pushes poor children to be formally trained before they are old enough for Kindergarten.
There are good reasons for the government to push early childhood education.Studies have shown that orphaned children who did not receive good care and education become developmentally delayed causing failure in school, and even in life.Further studies show that poor children who take part in Head Start programs are more prepared for school, less likely to end up in Special Education classes, and are less likely to receive public help or go to jail.
There are also negative parts to putting a child in formal education programs too early.Time Magazine online explains that “the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work.” I have personally witnessed many children of my generation who went to Head Start programs become frustrated and bored with school before they finished high school.Yet parents have been sure that the earlier the child starts school, the better off he or she is, so they push to start children earlier.
Actually while early formal education of poor children does show great gains in the early elementary years, studies also show that this head start is really a “false start”, as the gains are lost in middle and high school years.It seems that environment is a bigger factor on life’s success than early education.Head Start programs have not achieved its original goal in closing the achievement gap in poor and middle school children.Perhaps it is time to find other ways to close that gap.The purpose of the government valuing the early childhood education is ________.
A.to develop the children’s communication |
B.to give orphaned children good care and education |
C.to get the children prepared for the kindergarten |
D.to train the children formally and regularly |
According to the studies, which of the following is True?
A.Children with good early education may have a rich life. |
B.The orphaned children are usually unhappy in their life. |
C.Children without early education can do well at school. |
D.Head Start programs are helpful to the poor children. |
“the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work.” suggests that _________.
A.the early childhood education is helpless to the child’s grade |
B.it is good for the young children to receive early education |
C.the early education can help the children follow the grade |
D.the younger the children are, the cleverer they will be |
The author’s attitude toward the early childhood education is _________.
A.puzzling | B.objective | C.indifferent | D.approving |
The main idea of the last passage is that __________.
A.the early childhood education is very necessary |
B.Head Start programs have helped the children a lot |
C.environment is the most important to life’s success |
D.better ways should be found to help the poor children |
Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s smartest physicists, once said: “I’m obsessed by time.”Many of us are, and the popularity of time travel TV series has just proved that.
After Palace and Startling by Each Step 《步步惊心》achieved startling ratings last year, Palace 2 aired on January 20, attracting time travel fans back to TV.“It’s fun to watch characters travel back in time and deal with the conflicts between modernity and ancient times,” Xia Xiaoyan, who works for a foreign-owned enterprise in Shanghai, told China Daily. “Time travel series connect both today and the past, thus offering room for imagination,” said Cai Yinong, the producer of Startling by Each Step.
“I’m hooked by the shows because they are characterized by dramatic and poetic love and have eye-pleasing actors,” Xia explained her love for time travel TV series.Her comment echoes a 2011 survey by Great Marketing Research Co Ltd in China. When asked about what’s so appealing about time travel TV series, 21 percent of respondents answered: “Those attractive characters.”
A bigger reason behind the popularity of time travel stories, however, is the relaxation they offer, according to the survey.Cai Yinong agrees. “Many people are facing tremendous pressures in their fast-paced lives, so this genre is more relaxing than other shows as it provides people with a terrific outlet to escape reality,” Cai told China Daily.
The love for time traveling is universal.Woody Allen’s latest movie Midnight in Paris, which has been nominated for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Art Direction for the 2012 Academy Awards, features modernity versus cultural nostalgia.Which might be the best title for this passage ?
A.Time travel is universal | B.Time travel TV series |
C.A introduction to Startling by Each Step | D.Time travel wins fans |
The reasons why people like time travel are as followings except______.
A.It’s fun to watch characters travel back and deal with the conflicts between modernity and ancient times. |
B.Time travel series offer room for imagination. |
C.The characters are attractive. |
D.After watching time travel series, you can escape reality. |
Which word can replace the underlined word “hooked” in the third paragraph.
A.pleased | B.moved | C.attracted | D.surprised |
It can be inferred from the passage that________.
A.Stephen Hawking likes time travel TV series. |
B.A bigger reason behind the popularity of time travel stories, however, is the relaxation they offer. |
C.Not only Chinese audience but also foreigners like watching time travel stories. |
D.Startling by Each Step has been nominated for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Art Direction for the 2012 Academy Awards. |
We can learn form what Cai Yinong said in the fourth paragraph that ________.
A.Everyone likes watching time travel stories. |
B.Many people want to escape reality because of the pressures in their fast-paced lives. |
C.Many people want to go back to the ancient times. |
D.People can get more relaxation in the ancient times. |
King Midas used to love gold. One day he met a fairy who allowed him to make a wish for something. The king replied at once , ‘‘I love gold . I want everything I touch to change into gold”. ‘‘Very well , tomorrow morning, everything you touch will turn into gold .”Saying this, the fairy disappeared.
The king waited excitedly till the next morning. To his joy, everything he touched changed immediately into gold. ‘‘I’m the richest man in the world now.” He shouted.
Soon Midas became hungry. He sat down at his table. All the foods and drinks turned into gold in his hand. ‘‘I’m dying of hunger.” He cried.
Just then his daughter came running in . ‘‘Why are you so sad, dad?” she asked, putting her arms around him. There and then she became a golden statue. The king loved his daughter very much .Seeing this, he began to cry. He looked up and suddenly saw the fairy before him. ‘‘Don’t you like the golden touch?” asked the fairy. ‘‘Please take it away,” begged the king, ‘‘give me back my daughter.” ‘‘Well, you have learned your lesson. Go and wash in the river. Then the golden touch will be gone.” The king ran quickly to the nearby river.The fairy allowed the king to make a wish because.
A.she hoped to make the king the richest in the world |
B.She loved gold too |
C.She wanted to teach the king a lesson |
D.She wanted to turn the king’s daughter into gold |
When the foods and drinks turned into gold the king was.
A.excited | B.hungry | C.worried | D.happy |
The king’s daughter became a golden statue when.
A.she saw her father | B.the king went to meet her |
C.she put her arms around her father | D.the king loved her very much |
Which of the following might have happened afterwards?
A.The king died in the river |
B.The king’s daughter changed back from gold to a lovely girl |
C.All the things the king had touched changed back into real ones |
D.Both B and C |
What do you think the story tries to tell us?
A.Gold makes people unhappy |
B.More gold, more happiness |
C.Gold is not the thing that makes life happy |
D.People feel happy if they have not gold |
I know what you’re thinking : pizza(比萨饼)? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can have last night’s leftovers in the a. m. if you want to I know lots of women who skip breakfast(不吃早餐), and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it . Some say they don’t have time. others think they ’re “saving” calories(卡路里), still others just don’t like breakfast food.
But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you’re trying to lose weight. “Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all,” says Katherine Brooking , R , D , who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year’s “SELF CHALLENGE”. And even pizza can be healthy if it’s loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece.
Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories. Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southem California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal.
So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice. I say, try heating up last night’s leftovers-it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself, “You can always eat it tomorrow,” I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it…you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories. And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects.The word “leftovers” in Paragraph 1 probably means.
A.food remaining after a meal | B.things left undone |
C.meals made of vegetables | D.pizza topped with fruit |
What can we infer from the text?
A.Working women usually have breakfast in a hurry |
B.Many people have wrong ideas about breakfast |
C.There are some easy ways of cooking a meal |
D.Eating vegetables helps save energy. |
According to the last paragraph, it is important to.
A.eat something for breakfast | B.be careful about what you eat |
C.heat up food before eating it | D.eat calorie-controlled food |
The text is written mainly for those.
A.who go to work early | B.who want to lose weight |
C.who stay up late | D.who eat before sleep |
Young people and older people do not always agree with each other. They sometimes have different ideas about living, working and playing. But in one special program in New York State, adults and teenagers live together in a friendly way.
Each summer 200 teenagers and 50 adults live together for eight weeks as members of a special work group. Everyone works several hours each day. They do so not just to keep busy but to find meaning and enjoyment in work. Some teenagers work in the woods or on the farms near the village. Some learn to make things like tables and chairs and to build houses. The adults teach them these skills.
There are several free ho urs each day. Weekends are free, too. During the free hours some of the teenagers learn photo-taking or painting. Others sit around and talk or sing. Each teenager chooses his own way to spend his free time.
When people live together, rules are necessary. In this program, the teenagers and the adults make the rules together. If someone breaks a rule, the problem goes before the whole group. They talk about it and ask, “Why did it happen? What should we do about it?”
One of the teenagers has this to say about the experience, “You stop thinking only about yourself. You learn how to think about the group.”In one special program in New York, young and older people.
A.are friendly to each other |
B.teach each other new ways of building houses |
C.live together but do not work together |
D.spend eight weeks together, working as farmers |
Living together,.
A.the teenagers have to obey the rules the adults make |
B.the members don’t have to obey the rules |
C.the members are not allowed to break the rules they make together |
D.the members have no free time except on weekends |
The last paragraph shows that the tee nager thinks his experience in the program is.
A.disappointing | B.helpful | C.tiring | D.unpleasant |
The best title for the passage is.
A.Rules of Living Together | B.Different Ideas about Living |
C.Teenagers and Adults Together | D.Life in New York State |
When I was a kid, I always used to wonder how in the world my father work outside in the winter without a coat. It could be minus 20 degrees centigrade and there’d be Dad, removing snow, or perhaps chopping some wood --- his coat thrown aside--- wearing a shirt , a cap, and a pair of gloves.
“Aren’t you cold, Dad?” I’d ask. “No,” Dad would reply. “I’m not cold--- working too hard to be cold.”
Many times I wondered whether my father was an extremely tough man, or whether he was foolish.
One time when I was quite young, perhaps five or so, I went ice fishing with Dad. It was a bright, clear day—and bitterly cold.
After we’d been out on the ice for a little while, my feet started getting cold.
“Daddy, my feet are cold.” I said.
“Yeah, it’s cold out here today,” he replied.
“Tell you what,” he said. “Walk around. Make some circles in the snow. See how many different patterns you can make. That will get your feet warm.”
Now, I was just a little girl at the time but I remember thinking, “How in the world will walking around in the snow make my feet warm? Dad must be out of mind.
But he was my father, after all. I made circles in the snow. I made squares. Pretty soon I was having so much fun making patterns in the snow. I forgot about my feet being cold.
Now, all these years later, I know, too, from personal experience how my father was able to take his coat off and work outside in the winter wearing just a shirt, a cap and gloves. Because I do it, too. “Aren’t you cold?” my husband asked one winter day. “No,” I replied. “I’m not cold—working too hard to be cold.”
I hope my husband has decided I’m both tough and smart. But I guess quite a bit of the time he thinks I’m foolish.
Wherever Dad is in that great big farm in the sky—I’m sure he can’t help but smile whenever I take my coat off while I’m working outside in the winter.When the author’s feet felt cold, her father advised her to.
A.go home alone first | B.keep walking in the snow |
C.draw pictures in the snow | D.light a fire on the ice |
Hearing her father’s advice, the author thought her father.
A.forgettable | B.warm-hearted | C.crazy | D.cruel |
What might the author’s husband think of her?
A.Tough | B.Smart | C.Brave | D.Foolish |
The author’s purpose of writing this passage is to.
A.remember her tough and smart father |
B.show how her father cared about her |
C.describe memories of her childhood |
D.explain why her father loved her so much |