In the Harry Potter films, Hermione Granger is better than her male friends and is considered the brightest pupil in her grade. Isn’t it often the same in schools of our real world?
“It’s surprising but true that most of the top students have been girls since primary school. Girls are class leaders, club presidents and the top ones in exams,” said Wang Feixuan, 15, who studies at a Chengdu school. By any measure, Wang herself is a high-achiever. She is a top student, a team leader in her school’s sports club and a winner in national English and IT competitions.
But why do so many girls outperform their male peers?
In Sun Yunxiao’s latest book Save Our Boys, he points out that the education system is “more suited to girls, who are good at memorizing and like to sit quietly and read.” Yet he also says that girls have to do so much more when they compete with males for honors, top universities and later good jobs. They can feel great pressure nearly every day.
This seems to be the same in most countries in the world. Young women in the United States are also reported to feel the same pressure to be perfect.
“Let’s look at what we ask of our teenage girls,” says Professor Stephen Hinshaw in an interview. He thinks that it’s no longer enough that a girl does well in school and is a caring friend. On the TV, on the Internet and everywhere, girls see images of impossible perfection.
Today’s young women must be good learners, good athletes, and fill their after-school lives with other activities. But they are also asked to have the styles and looks of popular stars. “Be pretty, sweet and nice. Be athletic, competitive and get straight. Be impossibly perfect.” Stephen Hinshaw sums up.The passage suggests that .
| A．our society asks far too much of teenage girls |
| B．teenage girls shouldn’t be so perfect at school |
| C．boys are always lazy ones rather than girls |
| D．American girls have less pressure than Chinese girls |
According to the passage, it is true that .
| A．boys are less smart than girls throughout school life |
| B．boys usually don’t have so much pressure as girls do |
| C．girls are all fond of the Chinese education system |
| D．girls are better at school because boys don’t work hard |
The underlined word “outperform” means .
| A．hate | B．misunderstand | C．like | D．defeat |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Impossibly Perfect Is Possible． | B．Why Are Girls So Perfect? |
| C．Perfect? Pressure Every Day! | D．Perfect: Boys or Girls? |
If you go into the woods with your friends, stay with them. If you don’t, you may get lost. If you do get lost, this is what you should do.
Sit down and stay where you are. Don’t try to find your friends--let them find you. You can help them to find you by staying in one place.
There is another way to help your friends or other people nearby to find you. Give them a signal by shouting or whistling three times. Stop. Then shout or whistle three times again. Any signal given three times is a call for help. You will be helped by others.
Keep up the shouting or whistling, always three times together. When people hear you, they will know that you are not just making noise for fun. They will let you know they have heard your signal. They will give two shouts, two whistles or two gunshots. When a signal is given twice, it is an answer to a call for help.
If you don’t think that you will get help before night comes, try to make a little house and cover up the holes with branches with lots of leaves and grass. What should you do if you get hungry or need to drink some water? You should have to leave your little branch house to look for a brook. Don’t just walk away. Pick off small branches and drop them as you walk so that you can find your way back.
The most important thing to do when you are lost is--stay in one place.How do you let people believe that you are not just making noise for fun?
| A．Stop now and then. |
| B．Go on shouting or whistling. |
| C．Shout over and over at the top of voice. |
| D．Shout or whistle three times once a while. |
If nobody answers you after your signal, what should you do then?
| A．Give two gunshots. | B．Shout louder. |
| C．Stop shouting. | D．Make a house. |
If you feel thirsty when you are lost in the forest, what should you do?
| A．Go and find a brook. |
| B．Light a fire and make yourself some tea. |
| C．Go to find a brook and leave marks behind you. |
| D．Find something to hold the water. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．What Do Three Shots And Two Shots Mean In A Forest |
| B．How To Find Your Friends When You Are Lost In The Woods |
| C．What To Do If You Get Lost In The Woods |
| D．The Most Important Thing To Do Is To Stay In One Place |
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Who can’t go dancing in Ticky’s Disco?
| A．A 30-year-old teacher | B．A 21-year-old assistant |
| C．A 15-year-old student | D．A 40-year-old worker |
If you have lunch in Karma, who will serve you at the table?
| A．The waiter | B．The waitress |
| C．Your friend | D．Yourself |
Who will tell you the information about the basketball match?
| A．Howard Brenton | B．GP. Lewis |
| C．Paul Burton | D．Dotley Marston |
Which of the following food can you have at Karma?
| A．Fish | B．Chicken | C．Tomato | D．Beef |
When US student Olivia Priedeman, 17, woke up one morning, she thought she had had a dream about making plans with a friend. But it wasn’t a dream. Her phone showed that during the night, Priedeman had read a text message from her friend. She did it while she was fast asleep.
Reading and responding (反应) to text messages while asleep – called “sleep texting” – is an unusual sleep behavior, similar to sleepwalking. It’s also a growing concern among doctors: young people can’t live without their cell phones.
One in three teenagers sends more than 100 text messages a day, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. And at least four out of five teenagers said they sleep with their phone on or near their bed.
Elizabeth Dowdell, a professor at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, has studied sleep texting. She said that having a phone nearby all night is a big part of the problem.
“That phone is in bed with them or sometimes on top of their chest when they’re sleeping or even in their hand. So the response is kind of automatic (自动的),” she said.
Andrew Stiehm, a sleep medicine expert with Allina Health in Minnesota, agrees. It’s possible for the part of the brain that controls motor (运动神经) skills to wake up, while the part of the brain that controls memory and judgment may remain asleep. That’s why some people can perform basic movements – such as walking, talking, texting or even driving – while they’re sleeping.
Some of Dowdell’s students have admitted that they’re disturbed by their nighttime texting behavior. But because sleep texting is unconscious (无意识的), it’s a difficult habit to break.
Dowdell said she knows of some students who wear socks on their hands to keep themselves from texting.
Marjorie Hogan, a doctor at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, suggests keeping all electronic devices outside the bedroom at certain times.
Shay Radhakrishnan, 16, admits that she sleeps with her phone. But now the practice is giving her some pause (停顿).
“A lot of people leave their phones on their side tables, but for some reason I leave mine on my bed,” she said. “It is probably dangerous because it will probably wake me up a lot more – and probably cause me to start sleep texting.”What happened to Olivia Priedeman?
| A．She sleepwalked to a friend’s house. |
| B．She phoned one of her friends during the night. |
| C．She dreamed of making plans with a friend. |
| D．She read a text message from her friend while asleep. |
How does sleep texting happen?
| A．Some parts of the body are out of control during sleep. |
| B．The brain part controlling motor skills wakes up during sleep. |
| C．The brain part controlling judgment stays awake during sleep. |
| D．The brain part controlling memory becomes unconscious during sleep. |
What does doctor Hogan suggest people who sleep text do?
| A．Stop texting during the daytime. |
| B．Keep their phones out of their bedrooms while they sleep. |
| C．Take some medicine to control the behavior. |
| D．Wear socks on their hands to stop themselves from texting. |
Which of the following statements about sleep texting is TRUE?
| A．Sleep texting can reduce the quality of one’s sleep. |
| B．It’s easy to break away from a sleep texting habit. |
| C．Sleep texting does more harm to one’s health than sleepwalking. |
| D．One in three teenagers has a sleep texting habit. |
Mark Twain (1835-1910) – we’ve all heard the name, but what makes him “the father of American literature” as classic US author William Faulkner once called him?
Mark Twain is someone Americans are taught to love. Older relatives, English teachers and the media always praise him. But when you actually take the time to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, you find that his work is more wonderful than you could’ve ever imagined.
The novel describes a young boy named Tom Sawyer growing up in a small town along the Mississippi River. He explores the countryside on a riverboat with his friends, falls in love with girls, starts secret clubs and searches for treasure. Twain’s idea of childhood is magical – a time of imagination, wonder and, of course, adventure.
More importantly, through the eyes of Tom Sawyer, Twain cleverly makes fun of US culture. For example, Tom hates going to church, and Twain uses scenes of Tom there to mock religion (宗教) and its old traditions. “Often, the less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it,” he writes in one chapter.
Twain’s writing is full of these kinds of critical (批判的) points about culture and politics. That’s why he is so loved in the US – he wasn’t afraid to state his opinions, and he did so clearly. For instance, Twain didn’t like US wars abroad. In 1900, after the US invaded (入侵) the Philippines, Twain wrote in a newspaper article: “We do not intend to free, but to subjugate (征服) the people of the Philippines… We have gone there to conquer.” He also believed strongly in women’s right to vote in elections and gave a famous speech on the subject, called “Votes for Women”, in 1901.
“Tom was a glittering hero once more – the pet of the old, the envy of the young,” Twain writes in Tom Sawyer. But he could just as well be describing himself.According to the author, after reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, you are likely to think _____.
| A．it’s even better than you expected |
| B．it’s as wonderful as you expected |
| C．it’s better to read it with teachers |
| D．it’s not worth all the praise |
What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
| A．A brief description of the novel. |
| B．Where Twain’s idea of childhood comes from. |
| C．How naughty and adventurous Tom Sawyer is. |
| D．What makes Tom Sawyer’s adventures so wonderful. |
What does the underlined word “mock” mean?
| A．make changes to | B．make fun of |
| C．give reasons for | D．give examples of |
Why is Twain so loved in the US according to the article?
| A．He wrote bad things about US wars abroad. |
| B．He supported women’s right to vote. |
| C．He criticized American culture and society clearly and cleverly. |
| D．He showed readers a magical childhood that everyone would love. |
Now, it’s time for some brief news items.
Teens Go Online
Some 13 million European children under 18 use the Internet for schoolwork, games and music according to research done by Nielsen’s “Net-rating”. The study covered Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Experts advised parents to limit the time their kids on line and keep them away from chat rooms.
Chat to the magic Mum
British author J.K.Rowling, mother of magic boy Harry Potter, will do an Internet interview about her new book ”Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” on June 26. Before the event, children are invited to send their questions about Harry to the website. The book will hit stores in the US and UK on June 21 and will arrive in China in August.
School Soldiers
Russian school students will have to do basic military training (军训) in their final year of school, the government has decided．The lesson will include learning to fire guns, marching drills and how to deal with a chemical, nuclear or biological attack. The activity is seen as part of a drive toward the education of their love for their country.
_____________________
Is it hard for you to get up early and get ready for classes? Some students at Winter Park High School just roll out of bed in their pajamas(睡衣) and go to class in their own bedrooms. Of course, their teachers and classmates do not see them because all their class work is on the computer. The Florida High School, the state’s only online school, has 250 students who are taking classes at home by computer. Students in this first online program take classes in algebra(代数), American government , chemistry, computer, economics, and web-page design. They also have to go to regular school to attend other classes.Why will Russian school students have basic military training?
| A．To get ready for being a military. |
| B．To learn to protect themselves. |
| C．To gain some military knowledge. |
| D．To develop their love for the country. |
About Florida High School, which of these facts is true?
| A．Some of the students have to attend classes at home instead of in the school. |
| B．There are altogether 250 students who take classes in the classrooms. |
| C．At the online school, 250 students are taking classes not only by computer. |
| D．Students can’t take classes in algebra, chemistry, computer and so on. |
The news from Florida can be given a title “” .
| A．Get up Late | B．Online School |
| C．Magical Computers | D．No Teachers |
What is the second news item mainly about?
| A．J.K.Rowling will have an Internet interview. |
| B．Children will meet Harry Potter’s mother. |
| C．The Harry Potter book will be sold on the Internet. |
| D．The Harry Potter book will arrive in China in early June. |