Why should I teach my children history? That sounds like a stupid question to even ask. But, as I hear different home schooling teachers discuss history, I get the idea that there may be different reasons for teaching history. Let me briefly explain the three good reasons for studying history and two bad reasons for studying history.
The major reason I see for studying history is that we can learn from the past. I am convinced that the world would be a much better place if more people understood the successes and failures of the past and the things that made these successes and failures. However, as the unfortunately true statement goes "the one thing we seem to learn from history is that we don't seem to learn from history." Perhaps at least in teaching history, to my children I can do a small part in changing this.
A second major reason for studying history is that it is hard to understand the current political climate in the absence of an understanding of its historical context. We can- not even understand why we are and where we are without history, much less (更不必说) try to figure out where we are going or how we should get where we want to be.
I teach my children history, for one more reason. I purchased a set of historical audio (录音机) tapes for our children. My seven-year-old son listened to them over and over. It was my hope that he would become inspired by the accomplishments of people like the Wright brothers to accomplish things by himself. I think that it is good that we celebrate the accomplishments of people like Martin Luther King Jr. if, in doing so, young people are called on to stand for the principles that he stood for and accomplish what he accomplishe D．I also think that by studying people like Adolph Hitler, people can learn to stand against the things that he stood for.What message can we get from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 ?
| A．Many people fail to make good use of history and make the same mistakes. |
| B．Many people aren't clever enough to learn well from the past. |
| C．Many people feel it hard to understand history. |
| D．Many people have no interest in studying history. |
Some historical figures are mentioned in the last paragraph to show ______________.
| A．people can be inspired to do good, while also learning to fight against evil |
| B．people may also learn from bad historical figures |
| C．more celebrations should be held to honor their achievements |
| D．today’s people can also achieve what they achieved |
What would be talked about in the following paragraph?
| A．How to teach history effectively. |
| B．How to get more people to study history. |
| C．Some negative reasons for studying history. |
| D．Some bad historical figures. |
The main purpose of this passage is to ____________.
| A．inspire the parents to teach their children history |
| B．show the importance of history in politics |
| C．explain the reasons why children study history |
| D．introduce the writer' s own way of teaching history |
By far the most common difficulty in study is simple failure to get down to regular concentrated work．This difficulty is much greater for those who do not work to a plan and have no regular routine of study．Many students muddle along，doing a bit of this subject or that，as the mood takes them，or letting their set work pile up until the last possible moment.
Few students work to a set timetable．They say that if they did work out a timetable for themselves they would not keep to it，or would have to change it frequently，since they can never predict from one day to the next what their activities will be.
No doubt some students take much more kindly to a regular routine than others．There are many who shy away from a self-controlled weekly timetable，and dislike being tied down to a fixed program of work．Many able students state that they work in cycles．When they become interested in a topic they work on it attentively for three or four days at a time．On other days they avoid work completely．It has to be admitted that we do not fully understand the motivation to work．Most people over 25 years of age have become used to a work routine，and the majority of really productive workers set aside regular hours for the more important areas of their work．The “tough-minded” school of workers doesn’t fully accept the idea that good work can only be done naturally，under the influence of inspiration.
Those who believe that they need only work and study as the fit takes them have a mistaken belief either in their own talent or in the value of “freedom”．Freedom from control and discipline leads to unhappiness rather than to “self-expression” or “personality development”．Our society insists on regular habits，timekeeping and punctuality (being on time)，and whether we like it or not，if we mean to make our way in society，we have to meet its demands.The most widespread problem in applying oneself to study is __________ .
| A．changing from one subject to another |
| B．the failure to keep to a set timetable of work |
| C．the unwillingness to work out a systematic plan |
| D．working on a subject only when one feels like it |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Many students are not interested in using a self-controlled timetable. |
| B．Many students don’t like being told to study to a fixed timetable. |
| C．Most people over 25 years of age don’t work to a set timetable. |
| D．Tough-minded people agree that good work is done naturally. |
The underlined part “as the fit takes them” means __________.
| A．when they have the energy |
| B．when they are in the mood |
| C．when they feel fit |
| D．when they find conditions suitable |
A suitable title for the passage might be __________.
| A．Attitudes to Study |
| B．A Study Plan |
| C．The Difficulties of Studying |
| D．Study and Self-discipline |
You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride．Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it．But Lee Gray，PhD，of the University of North Carolina，US，has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport．He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette (礼仪) is sort of odd (奇怪的)，” Gray told the BBC．“The elevators are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door．If someone else comes in，we may have to move．And here，according to Gray，liftusers unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements．He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift，you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you，you go into different corners，standing diagonally (对角线地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters，you will unconsciously form a triangle．And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square，with someone in every corner．A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively．Once in，for most people the rule is simple – look down，or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space，” Professor Babette Renneberg，a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin，told the BBC．“Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us．And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small，enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be understood as threatening or odd．“The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact，” she said.According to Gray，when people enter an elevator，they usually _____.
| A．turn around and greet one another |
| B．look around or examine their phone |
| C．make eye contact with those in the elevator |
| D．try to keep a distance from other people |
Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two people in an elevator?
A． |
B． |
C． |
D． |
According to the article，people feel awkward in lifts because of _____.
| A．someone’s odd behaviors |
| B．a lack of space |
| C．their unfamiliarity with one another |
| D．their eye contact with one another |
What’s the passage mainly about _____.
| A．Bad manners in the elevator |
| B．Some unwritten rules of elevator etiquette |
| C．An interesting but awkward elevator ride |
| D．The strange behaviors in the elevator |
Eight Things a Burglar Won’t Tell You
Should you spend your money on a home security system? A look inside a burglar’s mind might help you decide.
1．Of course I look familiar．I was here just last week cleaning your carpets，painting your shutters，or delivering your new refrigerator．
2．Hey，thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week．While I was in your home，I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.
3．To you，leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air．To me，it’s an invitation which I am more than happy to accept.
4．If it snows while you’re out of town，get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house，or it will be a dead giveaway．By the way，loud dogs and nosy neighbors are the two things I hate most．
5．It’s raining．You’re fumbling with your umbrella，and you forget to lock your door---understandable．But understand this: I don’t take a day off because of bad weather．
6．Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers，the bedside table，and the medicine cabinet．Here’s a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids’ rooms．
7．You’re right: I won’t have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables．But if it’s not fastened，I’ll take it with me．
8．Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook.com page．It’s easier than you think to look up your address.Money and valuables might be the safest if kept in your______.
| A．kids’ room |
| B．sock drawer |
| C．medicine cabinet |
| D．safe |
The underlined words “a dead giveaway” here may probably be something that______.
| A．throws away useless things at home |
| B．warns a burglar that someone is dead |
| C．tells a burglar the truth |
| D．frightens a burglar away |
We can draw a conclusion from the text that______.
| A．burglars seldom steal in bad weather |
| B．if you do housework yourself，you’ll stay away from burglars |
| C．you yourself are sometimes to blame for a theft |
| D．you can always count on your neighbors when you are out |
The main purpose of the article is to _____.
| A．summarize when burglars steal most frequently |
| B．encourage people to spend money on home security systems |
| C．explain why burglars take up stealing |
| D．teach people how to protect their homes |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Once Dr．Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases with his students．The case at hand was a Guatemalan man，aged 34，who had a fever and many other medical problems．His condition was not improving，and there was not much hope he would live.
Dr．Mellinkoff asked to see the patient．He introduced himself in Spanish and，in a very gentle voice，asked how he felt．The patient smiled and said everything was all right．Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat．The patient said that he had no desire to eat.
“Are you getting food you like?”
The patient said nothing.
“Do you get the kind of food you have at home?”
The answer was no.
The doctor put his hand on the man’s shoulder and his voice was very soft.
“If，you had food that you liked，would you eat it?”
“Yes，yes.” the patient said.
The change in the patient’s appearance couldn’t have been more obvious．Nothing was said，but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and had also been received.
Later，the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn’t getting food he could eat．One of the students said，“We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals.”
“Suppose，” the doctor replied，“you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn’t carry it，would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?”
“I would probably insist，” the student said.
“Very well，” the doctor said．“You might want to try the same method in the kitchen．It won’t be easy，but I can help you．Meanwhile，let’s get some food inside this man as fast as possible，and stay with it．Or he’ll be killed by hunger．By the way，there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish．If we want to make real progress，we need to be able to talk with him．”
Three weeks later，Dr．Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power．It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable.The patient had no desire to eat because __________.
| A．he was not hungry |
| B．he was seriously ill |
| C．he was given special meals |
| D．he was not satisfied with the food |
According to the passage，we can conclude that __________.
| A．the patient was from another country. |
| B．the patient’s illness was caused by hunger |
| C．Dr．Mellinkoff performed an operation on the patient |
| D．the hospital failed to provide the right medicine for the patient |
Which of the following words can be used to describe Dr．Mellinkoff ?
| A．Cold. |
| B．Considerate. |
| C．Curious. |
| D．Confident. |
What do you think Dr．Mellinkoff wanted to tell his students in this case?
| A．Doctors should know their patients’ real problems. |
| B．Doctors should be able to speak foreign languages. |
| C．Doctors should try to improve their medical skills. |
| D．Doctors should give more medicine to patients. |
The Best of Alaska
Nothing evokes(唤起)Alaska like a whale exploding out of the water or an eagle pulling a silver fish from the river．Combine these images with high mountains，brilliant icebergs and wonderful meals and you really do have the Best of Alaska! Join us for an unforgettable 7-day excursion(远足)to the last frontier!
Highlights(集锦)：
JUNEAU: Juneau，the state capital，is rich in culture and scenic beauty．It is here that we start and end our trip．
HAINES: Haines is a small community located along the fjords（峡湾）．The natural beauty and expansive wilderness found here have made Haines a premier center for adventure in Alaska．
ALASKA INDIAN ARTS: Alaska Indian Arts is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the preservation and continuation of traditional native craft and culture of the Northwest Native Tribes．We spend a few hours learning carving，native beading(玻璃珠)and culture from these master artists．
SKAGWAY: Skagway is a lively town，which still reflects its gold rush roots and contains colorful shops．In Skagway，we stop by the Klondike Gold Rush National Park Visitor's Center and ride the White Pass Yukon Route Railway．
GUSTAVUS: Gustavus is the gateway to Glacier Bay National Park．We'll stay at a comfortable lodge here for two nights．This will be the base for both the whale-watching excursion and a full day cruise(巡游) in Glacier Bay．
DATES/PRICES:
2014: May 16，June 20，July 18，August 15.
7 days—$3,500，including lodging，all meals，excursions，guides，park fees，sales taxes，and transportation between Juneau，Skagway，Haines，and Gustavus．Not included: Alcohol，personal items，airfare to and from Juneau．
Contact:
Email: info@alaskamountainguides．com
Call: 18007663396
Write: Alaska Mountain Guides & Climbing School
P．O．Box 1081，Haines AK 99827You can watch a whale exploding out of the water at ________．
| A．Glacier Bay National Park |
| B．the Klondike Gold Rush National Park |
| C．the White Pass Yukon |
| D．the fjords |
According to the advertisement，the participants of the excursion ________．
| A．will spend one day experiencing the local culture at Alaska Indian Arts |
| B．can contact Alaska Mountain Guides & Climbing School by email or fax |
| C．are able to experience some adventurous activities in Haines |
| D．can get lots of traditional native artwork free of charge |
Which of the following requires a participant to pay additional fees?
| A．Going from Gustavus to Juneau by train． |
| B．A full day cruise in Glacier Bay． |
| C．Having the last supper at Juneau． |
| D．Flying from Juneau to his hometown． |
It is known from the advertisement that________．
| A．the native culture of the Northwest Native Tribes is dying out |
| B．Juneau，as the state capital，is much more beautiful than Haines |
| C．Skagway was the richest town of Alaska in the past |
| D．Alaska is famous for its culture，history and natural beauty |