We once had a poster competition in our fifth grade art class.
“You could win prizes,” our teacher told us as she wrote the poster information on the blackboard. She passed out sheets of construction paper while continuing, “The first prize is ten dollars. You just have to make sure that the words on the blackboard appear somewhere on your poster.”
We studied the board critically. Some of us looked with one eye and held up certain colors against the blackboard, rocking the sheets to the right or left while we conjured up our designs. Others twisted their hair around their fingers or chewed their erasers while deep in thought. We had plans for that ten-dollar grand prize, each and every one of us. I’m going to spend mine on candies, one hopeful would announce, while another practiced looking serious, wise and rich.
Everyone in the class made a poster. Some of us used parts of those fancy paper napkins, while others used nothing but colored construction paper. Some of us used big designs, and some of us preferred to gather our art tidily down in one corner of our poster and let the space draw the viewer’s attention to it. Some of us would wander past the good students’ desks and then return to our own projects with a growing sense of hopelessness. It was yet another grown-up trick of the sort they seemed especially fond of, making all of us believe we had a fair chance, and then always—always—rewarding the same old winners.
I believe I drew a sailboat, but I can’t say that with any certainty. I made it. I admired it. I determined it to be the very best of all of the posters I had seen，and then I turned it in.
Minutes passed.
No one came along to give me the grand prize, and then someone distracted me, and I probably never would have thought about that poster again.
I was still sitting at my desk, thinking, What poster? when the teacher gave me an envelope with a ten-dollar bill in it and everyone in the class applauded for me.What was the teacher’s requirement for the poster?
| A．It must appear in time. |
| B．It must be done in class. |
| C．It must be done on a construction sheet. |
| D．It must include the words on the blackboard. |
The underlined phrase in Paragraph 3 most probably means ________.
| A．formed an idea for |
| B．made an outline for |
| C．made some space for |
| D．chose some colors for |
After the teacher’s words, all the students in the class________.
| A．looked very serious |
| B．thought they would be rich |
| C．began to think about their designs |
| D．began to play games |
After seeing the good students’ designs, some students________.
| A．loved their own designs more |
| B．thought they had a fair chance |
| C．put their own designs in a corner |
| D．thought they would not win the prize |
We can infer from the passage that the author________.
| A．enjoyed grown up tricks very much |
| B．loved poster competitions very much |
| C．felt surprised to win the competition |
| D．became wise and rich after the competition |
Recently, a scientist did some experiments．He left a group of 4-year-olds in a room with a bell and a candy．If they rang the bell, he would come back and they could eat the candy．If, however, they didn't ring the bell and waited for him to come back on his own, they could then have two candies.
In videos of the experiment, he can see the children kicking, hiding their eyes--trying to exercise self-control so they can wait and get two candies．The results are different．Some broke down and rang the bell within a minute．Others lasted 15 minutes.
The children who waited longer went on to get higher SAT scores．They got into better colleges and had better adult success．The children who rang the bell quickest were more likely to have received worse teacher and parental evaluations （评价） 10 years later and were more likely to have drug problems at age 32.
The experiments are worth noting because people spend a lot of time thinking about how to improve education, how to become rich．But when the result is not good, they will come back to ask "how do we get people to get the sort of self-control that leads to success?" This is to enter the world of human nature.
So these experiments along with everyday experience, tell us that self-control is most important．Young people who can sit through sometimes boring classes to get a degree can work hard in order to learn a language well．They can avoid drugs and alcohol．For people without self-control skills, however, school is a series of failed ordeals（煎熬）．No wonder they drop out and their later life is a group of foolish ideas, such as drug use, stealing and so on.The scientist did some experiments to .
| A．test children's self control and later success |
| B．test children's intelligence of ringing the bell |
| C．find good ways of training children to learn |
| D．prove that children's education is important |
We can learn from the experiment that
| A．all children tried to ring the bell for more candies |
| B．some children didn't get any candy in the end |
| C．the children have different self- control |
| D．the last one to ring the bell is most successful |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Ways of self-control training |
| B．Experiments on children's ringing the bell |
| C．Higher score, better achievements |
| D．Self-control is the key to success |
Do other countries’ students also have so much homework? What do they usually do in their free time? You may feel curious about them.
On April 8, a report came out on the lives of high school students in China, Japan, South Korea and the US. It surveyed around 6,200 students from the four countries last year. You will find the answers to many of your questions in this report.
Who studies hardest?
Chinese students spend the most time studying. Nearly half of Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework every day. That’s much more than students of the US (26.4%), Japan (8.2%) and South Korea (5.2%).
Who sleeps most often in class?
Japanese students fall asleep in class most often. About 45% of them said they sometimes doze offin class. In South Korea, it’s 32%; in the US, 21%; and 5% in China.
South Korean students don’t like taking notes. About 70% said they write down what the teacher says in class, many fewer than in Japan (93%), China (90%) and the US (89%).
Who is the most distracted (分心的)?
American students are the most active in class, but also the most distracted: 64.2% said they chat with friends in class; 46.9% said they eat snacks in class; and 38.9% said they send e-mails or read unrelated books in class.
What do they do after school?
In their spare time, most Chinese students study or surf the Internet. Most American students hang out with their friends. Most Japanese students do physical exercise. Most Korean students watch TV.The report is about ___________.
| A．the countries | B．the subjects | C．the students’ lives | D．the high schools |
What country isn’t mentioned in the report?
| A．The US | B．South Korea | C．Japan | D．India |
__________ of the Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework.
| A．26.4% | B．8.2% | C．5.2% | D．48.6% |
The phrase doze off means ___________.
| A．be half asleep | B．get up | C．eat snacks | D．send emails |
Once in a village, the villagers built a new church building and people came from far and wide to see it. They admired its beauty! They said it was the most beautiful building in the world. Up on the roof, a little nail（钉子）heard the people praising everything about the lovely structure – except the nail! No one even knew he was there, and he became very angry and sad.
“If I am not important, nobody will miss me if I quit!” So the nail then released (松开) its hold, got down from the roof, and fell into the mud.
That night it rained and rained. Soon, the board that had no nail was blown away, and the roof began to leak (漏水). The water flowed down along the walls and over the beautiful pictures on the walls. The plaster (石膏) began to fall, the floor was ruined, and the Bible was also ruined by water. All this was because a little nail decided to quit!
But what of the nail? While holding the board, it was not known by others but it was useful. Buried in the mud now, it was useless and would soon be eaten up by rust!
What the story wants to say is that every member is important to a whole group!
You may, like the nail, feel not important at times, but just like the nail, your absence is felt. A big building might fall to pieces. You are important to a group even if you are small.Why did the nail decide to quit?
| A．Because he was not able to hold on any longer. |
| B．Because he was angry and sad without people’s praising him. |
| C．Because he knew a big nail would replace him. |
| D．Because he had finished his task successfully. |
What’s the result of the nail’s giving up?
| A．People began to realize the importance of the nail. |
| B．The nail was put in a more important position. |
| C．Many things in the building were ruined and the nail was eaten up by rust. |
| D．The nail regretted his original decision at last. |
The passage wants to tell us that ______.
| A．no matter how small you seem, you are important to a group |
| B．it is a pity that small people are never looked up to |
| C．quit when it is necessary, and don’t care about what others say |
| D．being valued is important to a man |
Can you remember a morning when you’ve woken up to the ring of your alarm clock and wished you could stay in bed? You haven’t slept well, your hair is a mess. Worse, you can’t stop yawning. Yawning is universal to humans and many animals. Cats, dogs and fish yawn just like humans do! Yawning is an involuntary(无意识的,不自觉的) action during which you open your mouth and breathe deeply. The average duration of a yawn is about 6 seconds.
The purpose and cause of yawning are still a mystery. Scientists are not sure what causes a yawn. People yawn when they are tired or bored, but they also yawn when they aren’t. There are many ideas explaining why we yawn.
One idea is that yawning is a way for the body to become more alert by taking in more oxygen. A yawn increases the heart rate, forces carbon dioxide out of the lungs and blood stream, and brings oxygen to the brain. But one study showed that volunteers given a lot of oxygen did not yawn any less than before, while those given a lot of carbon dioxide did not yawn more.
Another idea is that early humans used yawning as a form of communication. If one decided it was time to sleep, they would tell the others by yawning and they would do it in return to show they agreed.
A third explanation comes from psychology professor Gordon Gallup of University at Albany in New York. He said that as people yawn, they cool off their brains. “Brains are like computers.” he said. “They only operate efficiently and effectively when they’re cool. Many things connected to yawning, like being tired, make the brain hot, and yawning can reduce the heat.”
Scientists have sent people into space, and created terrible nuclear weapons, but there are lots of seemingly simple things, such as why we yawn, or hiccup（打嗝）, that they can’t figure out. Next time you are in class in the morning, let out a big yawn and watch to see how many of your classmates yawn in response!What’s the purpose of the description of how bad you may feel when you’re woken up in the morning?
| A．To explain why humans yawn. |
| B．To explain how humans start yawning. |
| C．To lead into the topic of yawning. |
| D．To complain about being woken up by the clock. |
Which is not among the possible reasons for yawning mentioned in the passage?
| A．A way to show that you feel hot. |
| B．A way to get rid of carbon dioxide. |
| C．A way to cool off your brain. |
| D．A way to communicate. |
In which situation are you likely to yawn?
| A．When you feel frustrated. |
| B．The weather is hot. |
| C．Someone else yawns near you. |
| D．When you breathe in a lot of carbon dioxide. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The real reason why humans and most animals yawn. |
| B．Hiccups are an involuntary human action similar to yawns. |
| C．The more an action can be studied, the easier it is to research. |
| D．Finding out why humans yawn should be easier than sending people into space. |
Every family with kids has seen its share of arguments, shouting and complaining. It turns out that all those conflicts serve an important purpose in the development of children . Saying “no” followed by a bad temper, just may be an unavoidable part of growing up. And that’s a good thing. These are the first steps toward independence. Even young children have to challenge their parents sometimes. Studies have shown the following:
·Although stressful, conflicts are beneficial for children.
·Learning to manage conflicts is necessary for a child’s development.
·Conflicts during the preschool years occur because children desire more attention than parents can or should give.
If you understand why conflicts occur, it can minimize the conflicts between you and your children. Conflict is a child’s attempt to develop a sense of self and how he or she learns to express his or her needs and ideas. Parents develop and drive this independence by putting children to the outside world both formally and informally.
Conflicts can grow out of a difference of opinion or might just be a way to blow off steam(发脾气). In rare situations, constant conflicts between parents and children can indicate a deeper emotional problem. Consult your doctor if this seems to be your situation.
It’s important to offer your child choices, which should be determined by age and developmental level. The more responsible a child is, the more choices he or she gets in reward. You can threaten your child with punishment, but often offering a choice will better improve angry situations. Consequences and rewards should have some meaning to your child.
Often a child’s adverse(敌对的)reaction when he or she hears the word “no” can be avoided by giving the child an explanation as to why you have refused his or her request.The intended readers of this passage are .
| A．parents | B．doctors | C．teachers | D．children |
By saying "that's a good thing" in Paragraph 1, the author means .
| A．children behave politely |
| B．children try being independent |
| C．parents control their feelings well |
| D．parents understand their children |
If a 3-year-old boy challenges his parents angrily, according to studies, he may .
| A．feel being overlooked by his parents. |
| B．get tired of being looked after by his parents. |
| C．want to stay with his parents at any time. |
| D．be blamed by his parents for his faults. |
In most cases ,the conflicts between parents and their children .
| A．lead to more misunderstandings |
| B．doesn't really mean a deep emotional problem |
| C．is an important choice |
| D．involve visiting doctors |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Children understand what their parents think of clearly. |
| B．Children enjoy giving their opinions by conflicting with their parents. |
| C．Most parents would rather punish their children than reward them. |
| D．Communication can reduce conflicts between parents and children. |