Standardized exam in American public education are being reformed. Over the next four years, hundreds of university professors and testing experts will work together to design new assessment system.
The new tests will be computer-based and will measure higher-order skills ignored by the multiple-choice exams used in all states，including students’ ability to read complex texts, synthesize(合成)information and do research projects．
Because the new tests will be computerized and will be administered several times throughout the school year, they can provide faster feedback(反馈)to teachers．If these plans work out, It’ll turn the current testing system upside down．
One group，led by Florida，will be made up of 25 states and the District of Columbia．The group was awarded $170 million．The other group, whose membership over-laps the first，has31 states and is led by Washington．The group was given $160 million．Twelve of the 44 states are
participating in both groups but are expected eventually to choose one set of tests．
The two groups are supposed to work in a friendly competition，though their plans are very similar．Both groups will produce tests that rely heavily on technology and both groups’ tests will include so-called performance-based tasks，designed to mirror complex，real-world situations．
In performance-based tasks，students are given a problem－they could be told, for example, to suppose they are a mayor who needs to reduce a city’s pollution—and must write about how they would solve the problem．
The new tests could be useful to teachers by giving them information on what their students are le
arning, but it might also require some mid-course adjustments.
Over the past decade, the federal No Child Left Behind law has emphasized helping low-achieving students improve their basic reading and math by encouraging states to produce tests that measure relatively low-1evel skills. Although the Bush-era law is still on the books, two
years of Obama administration policy have been leading schools in new directions． . . What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Obama’s education policy takes the lead. |
| B．A computer-based testing system is adopted. |
| C．American education system has been changed. |
| D．Experts are reinventing the student testing system. |
. Why are multiple-choice exams to be given up?
| A．Because they are not computer-based. |
| B．Because they can’t test students’ higher-order skills. |
| C．Because they can’t provide proper feedback for teachers. |
| D．Because they can’t test students’ general reading ability. |
. The underlined part in Para. 4 probably means________.
| A．the two groups have some shared members |
| B．the other group is more demanding than the first |
| C．the groups have different tasks of their own |
| D．the other group does better than the first group in the task |
. According to the passage, performance-based tasks may refer to tasks that______.
| A．are related to real-world problems |
| B．have to be performed in an imaginary world |
| C．teach us theories through complex problems |
| D．can only be completed by relying heavily on technology |
. . From the last paragraph, we can infer that_________.
| A．the No child Left Behind policy is not helpful |
| B．the Obama administration’s policy is highly praised |
| C．the two policies both emphasize math and reading abilities |
| D．the two policies both emphasize the development of practical skills |
My family moved from Taiwan to a small town in central Georgia，where my dad got a visa for his family and a job． I had just learned English，and from what little I could gather from my classmates，Santa Claus would come down one’s chimney（烟囱） and put toys in one’s stocking on Christmas Eve! What a great country，I thought．After I looked up “stocking” in my Chinese-English dictionary，I knew what I had to do．
On that fateful night，after everyone went to bed，I took my longest，cleanest knee sock and attached it to a nail already on the mantel(壁炉)．Obviously，the previous owners of this house were no strangers to this Santa character．
I woke up before everyone else on Christmas Day and ran to the fireplace．To make a sob story short，I was hit with the reality of an empty sock and the biggest lie ever told． I burst into tears，quickly took down the sock，and stuffed it in the back of a drawer．Santa was dead．
Every December since then，the topic of Christmas memories would unavoidably come up，and I would amuse my friends with my poor-little-me story．I had to make it as funny as possible，or else I would cry．
How could I know that Santa was just late? Nine years ago，on Christmas Eve，an older man with a white beard and a red cap knocked on my front door．He said，“I’ve been looking for you for twenty-five years．” He handed me a bulging red stocking，winked，and left．On top of the stocking was a card． It read: “For Becky—I may have missed you in the second grade，but you’ve always lived in my heart．Santa． ”
Through tear-blurred eyes，I recognized the handwriting of Jill，a friend I had met just two months before．I later discovered that the older man was her father．Jill had seen the hurt little girl underneath the thirty-something woman and decided to do something about it．
So now I believe that Santa is real．I don’t mean the twinkle-eyed character of children’s mythology(神话) or the creation of American holiday marketers．Those Santas annoy and sadden me．I believe in the Santa Claus that live inside good and thoughtful people．This Santa does not return to the North Pole after a crazy delivery but lives each day purposefully，really listens to friends，and then plans deliberate acts of kindness．What does the underlined part “what I had to do” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
| A．Waiting for Santa Claus． |
| B．Putting a stocking on the mantel． |
| C．Asking for gifts from her parents． |
| D．Looking up “stocking” in the dictionary |
It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s parents ____．
| A．didn’t love their child at all |
| B．didn’t know the previous owners of the house |
| C．didn’t know much about Christmas tradition |
| D．didn’t have enough money to buy the author Christmas presents |
When the author told her friends about the story，she felt ______in her heart．
| A．proud | B．amusing | C．hate | D．regret |
By writing the passage，the author speaks highly of ________
| A．friendship |
| B．parenting |
| C．religion |
| D．culture |
The author of the passage is probably ________．
| A．a teenager |
| B．a primary school student |
| C．a middle-aged woman |
| D．a native American |
阅读理解
When Dekalb Walcott III was just 8 years old，his father，a Chicago fire chief，let him tag along on a call．Dekalb says a lot of kids idolized basketball player Michael Jordan when he was growing up in Chicago in the 1990s．Not him．
“I wanted to be like Dekalb Walcott Jr．，”he says of his father．
So when his dad asked if he wanted to go on that call with him when he was 8，Dekalb was excited． “I'm jumping up and down，saying，”Mom，can I go? Can I go?'
The experience changed Dekalb's life，he tells his dad on a visit to StoryCorps．“My eyes got big from the moment the alarm went off．”the younger Dekalb says．“This is the life that I want to live someday．”
Now 27，the younger Dekalb is living that life．He became a firefighter at 21 and went to work alongside his dad at the Chicago Fire Department．Before his father retired，the pair even went out on a call together — father supervising（监督） son．
“You know，it's everything for me to watch you grow，”his father says．But he also recalls worrying about one particular fire that his son faced．
“I received a phone call that night．And they said，'Well，your son was at this fire．' I said，'OK，which way is this conversation going to go?'”Dekalb Walcott Jr．recalls．
“And they said，'But he's OK．And he put it out all by himself．Everybody here was proud of him．'”
“And the word went around，'Who was out there managing that fire? Oh，that's Walcott! That's Walcott up there!' So，you know，moments like that，it's heaven on Earth for a dad． ”
Dekalb Walcott Jr．retired in 2009.The younger Dekalb says he's proud of being a second-generation firefighter．“You know，it makes me look forward to fatherhood as well，because I'm definitely looking forward to passing that torch down to my son．”The underlined phrase tag along in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______．
| A．put out fire |
| B．watch basketball |
| C．follow his father |
| D．ask his mother’s permission |
Dekalb Walcott III determined to become a firefighter at the age of_________
| A．8 | B．21 | C．27 | D．35 |
What did Dekalb Walcott Jr want to do before he was told that the fire was put out?
| A．Go on with the conversation |
| B．Put it out all by himself |
| C．Supervise his son |
| D．Go to the fire scene |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Dekalb Walcott Jr is proud to be a second-generation firefighter． |
| B．Dekalb Walcott III wants his son to become a firefighter too． |
| C．Dekalb Walcott Jr wants to pass the torch to Dekalb Walcott III． |
| D．Dekalb Walcott III is proud that his son has become an excellent firefighter． |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Passing The Torch: A Firefighter Dad's Legacy |
| B．Putting Out Fire: A Challenging Job for Father and son |
| C．Dekalb Walcott III：A Second-generation Firefighter |
| D．Dekalb Walcott Jr．：A Chicago Fire Chief |
The parents of a troubled teen may feel unsure as to whom to turn to in order to find help for their child. They may feel as if they have exhausted all of their options, and sometimes they are on the verge of giving up. But there is hope. Schools for troubled teens offer discipline and in some cases, drug treatment programs that can provide important life skills, and more importantly, a fresh start.
The following is a list of the most effective types of schools for troubled teens. Not every facility is a match for every child, but by knowing the differences between them, parents can make a better educated decision about where to send their teenager.
Boarding Schools
When a child is unable to deal with the relative freedom of a standard school day, boarding schools might be a good choice. At boarding schools, the child lives in a dorm setting, where almost every minute of the day is scheduled by school administrators.
Treatment Centers
When a teenager has an addiction to drugs or alcohol, a residential center that specializes in young people is an outstanding way to help them break the cycle of addiction. Treatment centers feature individual and group counseling to help identify the root causes of the drug problem and help develop the life skills needed to stay clean when the program is over.
Wilderness Programs
Designed to help improve the discipline and self-reliance of the child, wilderness programs send kids back to nature. By placing them in a foreign and sometimes uncomfortable setting, wilderness programs hope to improve children’s behavior. Programs generally include hikes, exercise programs and team building exercises.
Boot Camps
Boot camps are the most extreme style of school for troubled teens. These facilities are modeled after actual military boot camps, where the individual must get into shape, work as part of a team, and follow a long, hard set of rules and regulations. However, boot camps might not be the best choice for a teen with a drug addiction.Who would be the intended readers of the passage?
| A．Teachers. | B．Parents. |
| C．Students. | D．Experts. |
As the author suggests, schools for troubled teens______.
| A．can be a good choice for some desperate parents |
| B．can completely help and change troubled teens |
| C．are becoming popular with teens in trouble |
| D．care more about discipline than life skills |
According to the passage, boarding schools_____.
| A．provide children with more freedom |
| B．have their students’ time managed carefully |
| C．pay much attention to team building exercises |
| D．can make children feel safer |
Taking exams in a large group setting can be stressful for students and for the staff members who are watching over them.
When classrooms are crowded and desks are close together, cheating might be tempting.
One university in Thailand came up with an anti-cheating hat that makes it almost impossible for students to see other students’ papers．A photo of the students wearing the anti-cheating hats made its way to the Internet, and the university was criticized for making students wear those ridiculous looking homemade hats．The hats were made by stapling pieces of paper onto a headband, one to each side of the head.
After being criticized, senior academic staff at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand, released a statement saying that the hats idea came from students．They said that in a bid to prevent cheating they asked the students for ideas on how to prevent cheating in the upcoming exam, which was being taken by almost one hundred students．Students came up with different ideas, then the paper hat idea was selected by them as the most suitable.
The university claimed that no one was forced to use the hat, but they all chose to do so．“When wearing the hat during the exam, students felt more relaxed, ”Nattadon Rungruangkitkrai, a lecturer at the university said．“It was not meant to indicate that Kasetsart students often cheat on exams．I apologize if the photo makes other people look at my students in a negative way, ”Rungruangkitkrai added.According to the text, in which case cheating will become easy?
| A．When desks are crowded into a classroom. |
| B．When students are too stressful. |
| C．When too many students are sitting in a classroom. |
| D．When the staff members who are watching over them are not responsible. |
Why was the university criticized?
| A．The university was too strict. |
| B．The university made students wear strange looking hats. |
| C．The university prevented students cheating. |
| D．The students chose to use the hats. |
What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．The students are not forced to wear the hats when taking the exam. |
| B．The senior academic staff at the university made the paper hat idea. |
| C．The students felt more stressful when wearing the hat during the exam. |
| D．The students don’t like wearing the hats when taking the exam. |
What’s the best title of the text?
| A．How to make the anti-cheating hat |
| B．Anti-cheating hat was criticized |
| C．Anti-cheating hat was considered the most suitable choice |
| D．Anti-cheating hat |
A new research of 8,000 young people in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that although love can make adults live healthily and happily, it is a bad thing for young people． Puppy love (早恋) may bring stress for young people and can lead to depression ．The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys, and younger girls are the worst of all.
The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is “loss of self”．According to the study, even though boys would say “lose themselves in a romantic relationship”, this “loss of self” is much more likely to lead to depression when it happens to girls．Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions．They won’t tell that to their parents.
Dr Marian Kaufman, an expert on young people problems, says 15% to 20% young people will have depression during their growing．Trying romance often causes the depression．She advises kids not to jump into romance too early．During growing up, it is important for young people to build strong friendships and a strong sense of self．She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends, attend more interesting school activities and spend enough time with family.
Parents should watch for signs of depression—eating or mood changes —and if they see signs from their daughters or sons, they need to give help．The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age．Love will always make us feel young, but only maturity gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects.Which of the following is more likely to have depression?
| A．Young people who have a strong sense of selfishness. |
| B．Young boys whose parents watch for their behavior. |
| C．Young girls who always hide their feelings and opinions. |
| D．Careless parents whose children are deep in love. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Lacking love can lead young people to grow up more quickly. |
| B．The older a woman is，the less likely she seems to lose herself in romance. |
| C．Early love makes young people keep close to their friends and parents. |
| D．Parents should help their children to be aware of the signs of depression. |
What’s the author’s attitude towards puppy love?
| A．Confused． |
| B．Disinterested. |
| C．Scared． |
| D．Disapproving. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Parents should forbid their children’s love. |
| B．Puppy love may bring young people depression. |
| C．Romance is a two edged sword for adults. |
| D．Romance is good for young people. |