A 33-year-old financial analyst in California recently quit his job to devote himself to an unpaid job teaching math on the Internet, and his lessons are reaching almost 100,000 people a month. Salman Khan’s voice is heard every day on the net --- by tens of thousands of students around the world who are hungry for help learning math. He has posted 1,200 lessons on YouTube ... lessons that appear on an electronic blackboard, which range from basic addition to advanced mathematics for science and finance. And they are free.
Khan lives in Silicon Valley, with his
wife, a doctor, and their new baby. He got the idea for his “Khan Academy” four years ago, when he taught a young cousin how to convert kilograms to grams. With Khan’s help, the cousin got good at math, and Khan began a new career.
Now, Khan records his lessons himself, but he never goes on camera. “It feels like my voice in their head. You’re looking at it and it feels like someone’s over your shoulder talking in your ear, as opposed to someone at the blackboard, which is distant from you,” he said.
When Springfield High School in Palo Alto, California invited Khan to speak in person --- he immediately connected to the students there.
The idea of short lessons that can be played over and over again attracted high school senior Bridget Meaney. She says she had trouble with math in the seventh grade. “I think the teachers are good, but they can’t teach at a speed that’s perfect for everyone,” she said. “I like the idea of learning something in class but then going back and pressing pause or rewind and actually getting a deeper understanding of it.”
Originally, Khan kept his lessons short because of YouTube restrictions. Now, he thinks short is better. “Education researchers now tell me that 10 minutes is how long someone can have a high level of concentration. And anything beyond that and your brain switches off,” he said.
For Khan, teaching math, science, and finance is just the beginning. He says he’s ready to expand his YouTube site to include other subjects as well.What gave Khan the idea of teaching math online?
| A．His success in helping his cousin learn math. |
| B．His discovery that many students found learning math difficult. |
| C．A suggestion made to him at a local high school. |
| D．His interest in Internet teaching. |
Why does Khan never go on camera?
| A．He’s too shy to show his face on camera. |
| B．It’s restricted by YouTube for education videos. |
| C．He wants to keep distance from the viewers. |
| D．He wants to create a more relaxed learning atmosphere. |
From the passage, we know that ________.
| A．Khan travels to many schools to promote his lessons |
| B．Khan plans to include more subjects in the future |
| C．Khan gives live math lessons every day for free |
| D．Khan set up the Khan Academy with his wife |
Why does Bridget Meaney like Khan’s les
sons?
| A．Khan teaches seventh grade math better than her teacher. |
| B．The lessons can be watched repeatedly until fully understood. |
| C．She can perfectly follow the pace of Khan’s teaching. |
| D．She cannot concentrate when learning in class. |
What does Khan mean by “short is better” in the 6th paragraph?
| A．Keeping the lessons short can ensure better concentration. |
| B．YouTube recommends short lessons for its site. |
| C．Short lessons encourage students to return to the website. |
| D．Students enjoy short mathematics lessons more. |
A. Adults keep pets with their children
B. Pet keeping has a very long history
C. Pet-keeping may do hard to animals
D. People keeps pet for their aesthetic need
E. Caged pets become increasingly popular
F. Pet-keeping is helpful for children’s growths___________
Pet-keeping is a time-honored tradition. One of the reasons for people to raise to raise dogs or cows was usefulness. While people in the past hunted animals and kept them in their backyards, the civilized man today is less cruel towards them and is less exploitative(利用的).___________
We keep animals as pets because they are attractive. We all have the urge to possess something that has aesthetic value, and that is why we treasure paintings or fine furniture. Keeping pets is one form of this urge. A Siamese cat in the house can be a decorative objective. Pets are playful animals and they amuse us. A little rabbit amuses us by its playful and lively runs. ___________
Many parents find it helpful to have pets in their house and for their children. Having pets is an excellent way of developing in children the love of animals and responsibility. Children get the opportunity to take on full responsibility for another creature’s life. It will be an educational experience for a child to watch the natural life cycle of an animal. There are psychological benefits for children. Pets are welcome friends for children who are lonely. Pets are excellent companions. Keeping pets means giving love and being loved. We find comfort in giving care and receiving care in return. We get pleasure from their appreciation and their behavior. ___________
As more people move into apartments, there are limitations on keeping of animals like dogs and monkeys. Therefore, caged animals have increased in popularity. Birds fall into this type. We keep them for their beautiful songs and feathers. Fishing keeping is a widespread hobby and the keeper can observe their behavior in the glass tank and study its entire life cycle. The cat is a fine house pet and it fits neatly into human habitation(居住地) without requiring its own cage. They are wonderful hunters, if there are rats around. ___________
Pets satisfy man’s desire to care for a bit of nature. The pet owner has the responsibility for supplying those needs nature provides. Pets are amusing and entertaining, but we are in a way doing animals harm by making them live in a human environment. Are we not enslaving(奴役)them?
There is a common belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever considered spelling unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, quite different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority (优先) it must be given over general language development and writing ability. The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely in writing without holding him back with spelling.
If spelling becomes the only point of his teacher’s interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to “play safe”. He will write only words within his spelling range (范围). That’s why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.
I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience:“This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling mistakes.” It may have been a sharp criticism(批评) of the pupils technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad thing for the teacher who had omitted (略过) to read the composition, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child’s deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the mistakes, but if his priority had centered on the child's ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more hope to seek improvement.The expression “play safe” probably means ____.
| A．to write carefully | B．to do as teachers say |
| C．to use dictionaries frequently | D．to avoid using words one is not sure of |
Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that____.
| A．students will be able to express their ideas more freely |
| B．teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes |
| C．students will have more trust in writing |
| D．students will learn to spell words correctly |
The writer seems to think that the teacher’s judgement on that sensitive piece of writing is____.
| A．reasonable | B．unfair | C．foolish | D．careless |
The major point discussed in the passage is _______.
| A．the importance of developing writing skills |
| B．the importance of spelling |
| C．the correct way of marking composition |
| D．the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition |
About 30 years ago, I left Cuba for the United States with my son. After getting settled finally in Brunswick, New Jersey, I enrolled(注册) my son in kindergarten. Several weeks later, my son’s teacher asked me to meet him at his office.
In the teacher’s office, and exchange of greetings was followed by his questions: “ Is your son mentally retarded(弱智的)? Does he suffer from any kind of mental disability?”
Was he talking about my wonderful Scola? No, no, it can’t be. What a helpless, lonely moment! I told him that Scola was a quiet, sweet little boy, instead. I asked him why he was asking me all these questions.
My son could not follow the teacher’s directions, he told me, and thus, Scola was disrupting the class. Didn’t he know my son did not speak English yet?
He was angry: “ Why hasn’t your son been taught to speak English? Don’t you speak English at home?”
No, I didn’t speak English at home, I replied. I was sure my son would learn English in a couple of months, and I didn’t want him to forget his native language. Well, wrong answer! What kind of person would not speak in English to her son at home and at all times? “ Are you one of those people who come to this country to save dollars and sent them back to their country, never wanting to be a part of this society?”
Needless to say, I tried to tell him I was not one of “ those people.” Then he told me the meeting was over, and I left.
As I had expected, my son learned to speak English fluently before the school year was over. He went on to graduate from college and got a job, earning close to six figures. He travels widely and leads a well-adjusted, contented life. And he has benefited from being bilingual(双语的)。
Speaking more than one language allows people to communicate with others; it teaches people about other cultures and other places- something very basic and obviously lacking in the “educator” I met in New Jersey.The teacher asked the author to his office________.
| A．to work out a study plan for Scola |
| B．to get Scola enrolled in kindergarten |
| C．to discuss Scola’s in-class performance |
| D．to find a language partner for Scola |
What does the underlined word “disrupting” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Attending | B．Disturbing | C．Breaking | D．Following |
The author’s attitude towards being bilingual may best be described as __________.
| A．positive | B．critical | C．casual | D．passive |
This text is likely to be selected from a book of __________.
| A．geography | B．medicine | C．history | D．education |
HONG KONG — Hong Kong Disneyland is too crowded, a senior Chinese tourism official said today, hinting that another Disney Park is necessary to accommodate demand from China’s huge population.
The comments by Shao Qiwei, director of China’s State Administration of Tourism, came a day after Shanghai’s mayor Han Zheng said the city was preparing to build China’s second Disney theme park.
“China has a very large population. We now have 1.3 billion people. The market is very large. As far as I know, Hong Kong Disneyland is now very crowded,” said Shao, whose comments were broadcast on Hong Kong’s Cable TV.
The Hong Kong theme park, which opened in September, was widely criticized in January when it turned away hundreds of Lunar New Year holiday makers from mainland China because the park was full. Chaos(混乱) erupted when angry crowds tried to force their way into the park.
The embarrassing incident prompted a public apology from Hong Kong Disneyland Managing Director Bill Ernest and a dressing down from Hong Kong’s leader Donald Tsang. Authorities are carefully studying the issue of overcrowding in preparation for the possible building of the Disney park in Shanghai, Shao said.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday that no agreement has been reached on the park in Shanghai, quoting senior vice president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Leslie Goodman. Hong Kong Disneyland is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. and the local government, which shouldered the bulk of the park’s construction fees.Why is it necessary to build a Disney park in Shanghai?
| A．Hong Kong Disneyland can’t meet the need of the large population. |
| B．Hong Kong Disneyland is too small and very crowded. |
| C．Hong Kong Disney Park was criticized by tourists. |
| D．Hong Kong Disneyland is far from the mainland. |
Hundreds of visitors from Mainland China got angry because ________.
| A．the services in the park were not as good as expected | B．they were not allowed to go into the park |
| C．the park was too crowded | D．chaos happened at the entrance to the park |
The building of a Disney park in Shanghai ________.
| A．has been agreed to by The Walt Disney Co. |
| B．is financed The Walt Disney Co. |
| C．will be in the charge of the Shanghai government |
| D．remains to be discussed with The Walt Disney Co. |
In 1978, I was 18 and was working as a nurse in a small town about 270 km away from Sydney, Australia. I was looking forward to having five days off from duty. Unfortunately, the only one train a day back to my home in Sydney had already left. So I thought I’d hitch a ride(搭便车).
I waited by the side of the highway for three hours but no one stopped for me. Finally, a man walked over and introduced himself as Gordon. He said that although he couldn’t give me a lift, I should come back to his house for lunch. He noticed me standing for hours in the November heat and thought I must be hungry. I was doubtful as a young girl but he assured(使…放心) me I was safe, and he also offered to help me find a lift home afterwards. When we arrived at his house, he made us sandwiches. After lunch, he helped me find a lift home.
Twenty-five years later, in 2003, while I was driving to a nearby town one day, I saw an elderly man standing in the glaring heat, trying to hitch a ride. I thought it was another chance to repay someone for the favor I’d been given decades earlier. I pulled over and picked him up. I made him comfortable on the back seat and offered him some water.
After a few moments of small talk, the man said to me, “You haven’t changed a bit, even your red hair is still the same.”
I couldn’t remember where I’d met him. He then told me he was the man who had given me lunch and helped me find a lift all those years ago. It was Gordon.The author had to hitch a ride one day in 1978 because __________.
| A．her work delayed her trip to Sydney | B．she missed the only train back home |
| C．the town was far away from Sydney | D．she was going home for her holidays |
Which of the following did Gordon do according to Paragraph 2?
| A．He watched the girl for three hours. | B．He gave the girl a ride back home. |
| C．He bought sandwiches for the girl. | D．He helped the girl find a ride. |
The reason why the author offered a lift to the elderly man was that______.
| A．she was going to the nearby town | B．she had known him for decades |
| C．she wanted to repay the favor she once got | D．she realized he was Gordon |
What does the author want to tell the readers through the story?
| A．Those who give rides will be repaid. | B．Giving sometimes produces nice results. |
| C．Good manners bring about happiness. | D．People should offer free rides to others. |