Kuss Middle School serves students in Fall River, Mass. , a former mill town that has struggled economically for decades. Students at Kuss have struggled, too, usually falling short of making the academic progress required under the No Child Left Behind law.
Then, last year, the school experimented with extending the school day. Teachers got paid at a higher hourly rate.
Students weren't thrilled at first with leaving school at 4:15 p.m. instead of at 2:20 p.m. But the added hours gave them more time for physical education and let them select special interest classes. By the end of the year, student scores had risen by enough to enable Kuss to make the progress required under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
The only surprise is that more districts haven't lengthened school schedules set decades ago to accommodate (适应) a farm economy rather the information economy of today.
| School days The USA ranks 36th of 40 industrialized nations in average weekly instructional time. Selected countries: 1) Thailand--30.5 hours 2) Korea--30.3 hours 7) China--26.5 hours 14) France--24.6 hours 15 ) UK--24.6 hours 16) Mexico--24.2 hours 23 ) Japan--23.8 hours 26)Canada--23.6 hours 36)USA--22.2 hours 40)Brazil--19 hours |
New research suggests the time is ready for a change:
Matched against 39 other developed countries, the United States is near the bottom in the rankings of average weekly instructional time in school. Measured over 12 years, students in the top-scoring countries spend the equivalent of a full extra year in school.
US students perform poorly on math and science tests compared to their international peers, according to a US Education Department comparison released earlier this month. In math, American 15-year-old scored near the bottom among the study's 30 developed countries.
Most countries that boost the number of minutes spent on math instruction find pay offs in improved math scores, according to a study released this month by the Brookings Institution. Small increases in the school day are more effective than a longer school year, the report concluded.
The most encouraging news about the benefits of extending the school day comes from Massachusetts, where an experiment with 10 schools, including Kuss, appears to be working. Those 10 schools lengthened their instructional days by 25% and boosted their state scores in math, English and science at all grades.
Perhaps the concept won't work everywhere. Certainly, it won't instantly be popular. But it's obvious that a problem exists or that adding class time seems to help.What is the main idea of the above passage?
| A．Experiments with extended school hours produce academic gains. |
| B．Kuss Middle School sets a good example for US education. |
| C．Academic progress has achieved under the No Child Left Behind law. |
| D．Information age calls for more instructional lime at all schools. |
A longer school day is suggested for the following reasons except that _________.
| A．students from many developed countries spend more time at school |
| B．American students do a bad job at science subjects |
| C．teachers are paid at a higher rate with time added |
| D．a longer school day works better than a longer school year |
Which statement is true of Kuss Middle School?
| A．Kuss Middle School lies in where a farm economy is changing to an information one. |
| B．Kuss Middle school has joined the federal "No Child Left Behind" progrann |
| C．Neither teachers nor students are happy with the longer school day. |
| D．Adding class time functions at Kuss Middle School. |
The writer has expressed ____________.
| A．a positive attitude towards adding school time |
| B．a negative attitude towards adding school time |
| C．a changing attitude towards adding school time |
| D．a right attitude towards adding school time |
A new study from Harvard University revealed that the message parents mean to send to children about the value of sympathy (同情心）is being mistaken by the message they actually send. In fact they value achievement and happiness above all else.
The Making Caring Common Project at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education surveyed 10,000 middle and high school students about which is more important to them—achievement, happiness, or caring about others. Almost 80 percent of students placed achievement or happiness over caring about others. Only 20 percent of students considered caring about others as their top aim.
In the study “The Children We Mean to Raise: The Real Message Adults Are Sending about Values”, the authors refer to a reality gap, an incongruity (不一致) between what adults tell children they should value and the message we grown-ups actually send through our behavior.
Simply talking about sympathy is not enough. While 96 percent of parents say they want to raise caring children, and cite the development of moral character as “very important, if not essential”, 80 percent of the youths surveyed reported that their parents “are more concerned about achievement and happiness than caring about others”. Approximately the same percentage of the students reported that their teachers put their achievement over caring.
As the report shows, simply talking about sympathy is not enough. Children are sensitive creatures, fully capable of telling the true meanings in the blank spaces between well-organised words. If parents really want to let their kids know that they value care and sympathy, the authors suggest, they must make a real effort to help their children learn to care about other people—even when it’s hard, even when it does not make them happy, and yes, even when it is at odds with(与……不一致) their personal success.The first paragraph suggests that parents _____.
| A．don’t intend to valuesuccess |
| B．fail to make students realize the importance of sympathy |
| C．value achievement less |
| D．regard achievement and happiness as the same |
What can be concluded from the study?
| A．About 80% of the students are not caring. |
| B．Kids care more about achievement. |
| C．20% of the students are not ambitious. |
| D．A majority of the kids are kind students. |
What may be the cause for the reality gap?
| A．Children’s desire for getting individual achievement. |
| B．The generation gap between parents and children. |
| C．Children’s failure to understand parents’ well-organised words. |
| D．Parents’ lack of a real effort to guide children. |
Five Booming Careers in Health Care
Loving what you do is great，but knowing your career will be there tomorrow is even better. And when it comes to booming fields，the health care industry is one that's primed(准备好) for growth.
Want to prepare to take your place in the health care field？Check out these five indemand health care careers.
Career 1 Medical and Health Services Manager
If you want to take your leadership skills into the growing health care field，consider pursuing a career as a medical and health services manager.
As a medical and health services manager you might plan，direct，and organize health services in an entire health care facility，or a specific department or clinical area，says U．S. Department of Labor. Daily duties could include handling a facility's finances，creating work schedules，and making sure that health care services are delivered efficiently.
Career 2 Medical Assistant
If you are interested in working in a doctor's office，consider preparing for a career in the indemand field of medical assisting.
As a medical assistant，you could play a role in helping patients' visits go smoothly from when they first walk in the door. Your duties might include measuring vital signs，assisting the physician with examinations，recording health information，and scheduling appointments，according to the U．S. Department of Labor.
Career 3 Registered Nurse
Ready to put your helpful nature to use in the largest health care field？Look into prepping（准备） to pursue a career in registered nursing.
As a registered nurse，you could work closely with patients by providing care，education，and emotional support. You might give patients medicines and treatments，observe their conditions，or perform diagnostic(诊断的)tests，says the U．S. Department of Labor.
Career 4 Physical Therapist （理疗师）Assistant
Want to enter an indemand health care field where you could really play a handson role in helping patients restore their physical functionality？If so，a career as a physical therapist assistant could be a good fit.
Under the supervision of a physical therapist，you could help patients regain movement as they recover from injuries，illnesses, or surgery. Your role in the rehabilitation process could include assisting patients with techniques(massage[按摩]，stretching)and therapeutic methods like electrical stimulation and mechanical traction，says the U．S. Department of Labor.
Career 5 Pharmacy Technician(药剂师)
Prefer a health care career that is less handson？Consider pursuing a career in the growing pharmacy technician field.
Pharmacy technicians can be responsible for counting pills，filling prescriptions，providing customer service，and fulfilling administrative tasks under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist，according to the U．S. Department of Labor.As a medical assistant，your duties might NOT include ________.
| A．scheduling appointments |
| B．providing customer service |
| C．assisting the physician with examinations |
| D．recording health information |
Which of the following is TRUE about a physical therapist assistant?
| A．His/Her duty might include measuring vital signs and recording health information. |
| B．His/Her function includes assisting patients and providing customer service. |
| C．He/She could play a practical role in helping patients restore their physical functionality. |
| D．He/She can help patients gain movement as they are in the illness. |
What does the underlined word “rehabilitation” mean?
| A．The process of recording somebody's name on an official list. |
| B．The process of cutting a part of a person's body in order to remove or repair a damaged part. |
| C．The process of helping somebody to have a normal life again after they have been ill for a long time. |
| D．The process of improving or becoming stronger. |
The author writes the passage mainly to ________.
| A．advocate five booming careers in health care |
| B．persuade you to go into five booming careers in health care |
| C．introduce five booming careers in health care |
| D．classify health care into five careers |
Our children feel stressed out by an educational system that actually uses stress as an educational technique. It's a constant pressure of homework deadlines，essays and exams. And our children are told at a young age that failing a test means that they are failures in life. They'll end up nowhere if they don't pass this or that exam. Our educational system is based on a very Western idea that life is a struggle and you'd better measure up. It's survival of the fittest. While there is some truth to this，not as much as people think.
Our ancestors didn't develop a constant stress environment. Back then，stress came quickly and was over quickly，it wasn't like the stress of modern education. Stress was originally just a shortterm biological response to danger；however，the constant stress of modern education rarely stops. It's long term，at least ten years and usually more.
Recent research has shown that the neurological(神经系统的)response to stress is the same response that is found in depression. So，what's the solution? A number have been proposed，including but not limited to the following.
________.Exercise consumes energy that would otherwise build up in the stress response and could cause physical and mental problems.
Teach relaxation exercises. Allowing the mind and body to relax cuts off the stress response and reduces the neurological fatigue(疲惫)，enabling the individual to recover at least somewhat.
Pay attention to thinking. Training the stressed student to pay attention to his or her own mind to a point where he or she is sufficiently aware to shut off the stress response when necessary.
Of course，there's a logical answer to the problem. Just rearrange our teaching methods to encourage，rather than prevent，the natural curiosity and joy in learning that we are all born with. This would remove the stress and probably cut learning time in half.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Getting rid of the modern education. |
| B．Helping children live a happy life. |
| C．Dealing with stress in modern education. |
| D．Taking measures to learn at school. |
How did our ancestors treat education?
| A．They believed education could bring the best out. |
| B．They felt education could bring shortterm stress. |
| C．They thought education was the only way to success. |
| D．They knew the importance of good education. |
Which of the following is the best for the blank?
| A．Try to save energy as much as possible. |
| B．Quite a few children avoid exercise. |
| C．Make sure that kids get exercise. |
| D．Set a few limits to your physical activities. |
If you are a teacher in a high school, ______.
| A．you should leave students in a good mood |
| B．you should ignore the stressed student |
| C．you should relax yourself as far as possible |
| D．you should stick to your teaching methods |
Alibaba started taking the lead in China, simply enough, by connecting big Chinese manufacturers(制造商)with big buyers across the world. Its business-to-business site, Alibaba.com allowed business to buy almost everything. Alibaba’s advantage wasn’t hard to identify: size. Alibaba is just big, even by Chinese standards. Its marketplaces attract 231 million active buyers, 8 million sellers, 11.3 billion orders a year—and Alibaba is just the middleman. It encourages people to use its markets—not charging small sellers a percentage of the sale.
If you want a quick look into the influence of Alibaba on daily Chinese life, take my experience. I moved to Beijing almost a year ago and quickly got tired of visiting small stores across the crowded, polluted city of 20 million people in search of new electronics, bathroom furnishings, and anything else my wife wanted. “You’re looking for what exactly? Why not try it? ” my Chinese teacher asked me one day. With that, my wonderful new relationship with Alibaba began.
Alibaba’s original business-to-business model now is secondary to(对…来说是次要的) consumer buying. Chinese retail（零售）buying makes up 80% of Alibaba’s profit, and leading that group is Taobao, with 800 million items for sale and the most unbelievable selection of things you’ll ever find. TMall.com is Alibaba’s other big site, where you can find brand name goods from Nike and Unilever near the lowest prices.
What I have a hard time explaining to friends and family back in the U.S. is how China has gone beyond traditional shopping—big-box retailers especially —in favor of online purchases on Taobao and a few other sites. In smaller towns than Beijing, where big retailers have not yet traveled, shopping online is shopping, and shopping is Taobao.
I have a list of some of my recent purchases on Taobao for a sense of how extensive(广大) the marketplace is. Almost everything arrived a day or two after ordering with free shipping. I’m not even a big buyer, because I need friends to help me search the Chinese-language site. When I was searching my purchase history on my Chinese teacher’s iPad, which helps me buy goods, I looked through with great difficulty about 10 of her purchases for every one of mine.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．Alibaba | B．a new store |
| C．a business | D．a foreign website |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The author’s Chinese teacher is also an online purchase lover. |
| B．Taobao has no obvious advantage over other similar online sites. |
| C．Alibaba’s business-to-business service earns more money than retail now. |
| D．TMall.com provides more profit than Taobao. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Shopping online is TaoBao. |
| B．Alibaba greatly influences people’s daily purchase in China. |
| C．The influence of shopping online goes beyond traditional shopping. |
| D．How the author purchases online in China. |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the passage refer to?
| A．Alibaba acts as a bridge between buyers and sellers. |
| B．Alibaba will continue to develop. |
| C．Alibaba stands out as the best online site. |
| D．Alibaba is of middle size among all the online sites. |
The day when the jobs were handed out was one of the most exciting moments for all the children in the class. It took place during the first week of the term. Every kid was given a job for which they would be responsible for the rest of that school year.
Some jobs were more interesting than others, and the children were eager to be given one of the best ones. When giving them out, the teacher took into account which pupils had been most responsible during the previous year. During the previous year Rita had carried out the teacher’s instructions perfectly. All the children knew Rita would be given the best job.
But there was a big surprise. Each child received a normal job. But Rita’s job was very different. She was given a little box containing some sand and one ant. Though the teacher insisted that this ant was very special, Rita felt disappointed. Most of her classmates felt sorry for her. Even her father became very angry with the teacher and he encouraged Rita to pay no attention to this insignificant pet. However, Rita preferred to show the teacher her error by doing something special with that job of little interest.Rita started investigating all about her little ant and gave the ant the best food, and it grew quite a bit bigger.
One day, a man, who looked very important, came into their classroom and declared, “Your class has been chosen to accompany me, this summer, on a journey to the tropical rain forest, where we will investigate all kinds of insects. Among all the schools of this region, your class has best cared for the little ant.”
That day the school was filled with joy and celebration. Everyone thanked Rita for having been so patient and responsible. And many children learnt that to be given the most important task, you have to know how to be responsible even in what are the smallest tasks.What does the underlined sentence mean?
| A．Each child got an important job. |
| B．Each child got an interesting job. |
| C．The perfect student got the job of everyone’s preference. |
| D．The most responsible student got the job of least interest. |
What is Rita’s attitude to her father’s suggestion?
| A．Negative. | B．Uncertain. |
| C．Totally positive. | D．Acceptive. |
We can infer that the man who made the declaration is a _________.
| A．hunter | B．director |
| C．biologist | D．principal |