Madame de Stael says that only the people who can play with children are able to educate them. For success in training children, the first condition is to become a child oneself. It means to treat the child as really one’s equal, that is, to show him the same consideration, the same kind of confidence one shows to an adult. It means not to affect the child to be what we ourselves want him to become, but to be affected by the impression of what the child himself is; not to treat the child with cheating, or by force, but with the seriousness and true love suitable to his own character.
Not leaving the child in peace is the greatest problem of present methods of training children. Parents do not see that during the whole life, the need of peace is never greater than in the years of childhood, an inner peace under all outside liveliness.
But what does a child experience? Corrections, orders, interference(干涉), the whole livelong day. The child is always required to leave something alone, or to do something different, to find something different, or want something different from what he does, or finds, or wants. He is always guided in another direction from the true inner will that is leading him. All of this is caused by our so-called enthusiasm in directing, advising, and helping the child to become the same model produced in one assembly line(流水线). Understanding, the deepest characteristic of love, is almost always absent.
To bring up a child means carrying one’s soul in one’s hand; it means never placing ourselves in danger of meeting the cold look on the face of the child. It means the truth that the ways of injuring the child are limitless while the ways of being useful to him are few. How seldom does the educator remember that the child, even at four or five years of age, has already had a sharp feeling! The smallest mistrust and unkindness, the least act of injustice, leave wounds that last for life in the heart of the child. While, on the other hand, unexpected friendliness and kindness make quite as deep an impression on those soft senses.The passage mainly talks about _______.
A.misleading zones and right ways in educating children |
B.current problems in training children |
C.what should be taught to children |
D.the importance of educating children |
Children, according to the passage, are experiencing _______.
A.corrections, orders and peace |
B.orders, interference and peace |
C.interference, orders and corrections |
D.peace, guide and praise |
If you were a parent, which of the following methods is TRUE according to the text?
A.You could treat your children not so seriously for they don’t understand many things. |
B.You could train your children as you wish them to be since you are parents. |
C.You should sometimes leave your children in peace as they wish in their childhood. |
D.You should correct your children immediately if their behavior is not what you want. |
We may conclude that the author believes people should _______.
A.play with the children with enthusiasm all day long just to please them |
B.try to give an order, advice and suggestions to their children at any time |
C.treat their children just as the way they treat an adult in their daily life |
D.regard their children as an equal to them and have understanding of the inner peace of them |
For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict(冲突)between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it . From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming, the goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right, It doesn’t matter what the topic is—politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg –the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something—and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress. Why does the author compare the parent—teen war to a border conflict?
A.Both can continue for generations. |
B.Both are about where to draw the line. |
C.Neither has any clear winner. |
D.Neither can be put to an end. |
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict. |
B.The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict. |
C.The teens accuse their parents of misleading them. |
D.The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents. |
Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ________.
A.give orders to the other |
B.know more than the other |
C.gain respect from the other |
D.get the other to behave properly |
NOT all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive these experiences in nightmares.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce ,or possibly erase(抹去) the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.
Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war. They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.
"Some memories can ruin people's lives. They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions," said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "This could relieve a lot of that suffering."
But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity (特质). They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.
"All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out, "said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.The passage is mainly about ________.
A.a new medical research |
B.a new invention of the pill |
C.an argument about the research on the pill |
D.a way of erasing painful memories |
The drug tested on people can ________.
A.prevent body producing certain chemicals |
B.cause the brain itself to recover memories |
C.help people remember the memories |
D.wipe out the emotional effects of memories |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
A.the pill will prevent people's bad experiences |
B.people argue about the effects of the pills |
C.taking the pill will do harm to people's health |
D.the pill has probably been produced in America |
Which of the following does Rebecca Dresser agree with?
A.Some memories can help avoid the mistakes made in the past. |
B.Changing memories is very dangerous. |
C.Experiencing bad events makes us different from others. |
D.The pill will reduce people's sufferings from bad memories. |
The way we get about has a deep influence on the way we live-affecting where we set up home, work and holiday. So what changes might come in the way we get around? What big ideas are out there, and do they have any chance of coming true?
Personal Air Travel
The idea: flying cars
Developments in light small plane technology will make it possible for everyone to own what are, in fact, flying cars. They will have closed cabins, heating, stereos and room for two people.
You will take off from a field near your home and fly to towns and cities. After landing, you will take off the fixed wing and continue your journey by road just as if you were traveling by car.
Fuel efficient engines and the advantage of being able to travel in the sky will keep costs and the environmental influence down.
Flying for Fun
The idea: Jet Packs
The idea was a hit when a stuntman (特技演员) flew around on one during the opening ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, which was very successful.
You’ll be able to use the equipment-roughly the size of two scuba tanks fastened to your back-for short journeys.
They will be handy for cleaning hard-to-reach windows, arriving in style at a party and shopping.
Taxis
The idea: driverless taxis
These computer-controlled taxis will take you wherever you want along a fixed route, whenever you want to go.
For the price of one person’s bus fare, several people can ride at speeds of up to 25 mph, and there will be fences to guard against accidents.
There will be little, if any, wait for the use of the taxis, which will leave from stations and will be used by prepaid cards.
The taxis, which will travel on a 1.5 m-wide track, will use 75% less energy per passenger than a car and 50% less than a bus.The passage is mainly about ________.
A.future travel | B.big ideas and dreams |
C.advanced technology | D.the influence of travel |
We learn from the passage that flying cars ________.
A.will operate only in the sky |
B.will be more expensive than common cars |
C.will have fewer bad effects on the environment |
D.won’t be equipped with things similar to what cars have |
With Jet Packs, we can do all the following EXCEPT________.
A.attend a party | B.clean high windows |
C.go shopping | D.have a long journey |
As for driverless taxis, we can infer that__________.
A.We can go wherever we want in them |
B.They will be both cost-effective and safe |
C.It costs more to take them than to take ordinary cars |
D.They will be operated by computers as well as by people |
“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton(骨骼)in the closet(衣橱)?” Jessica asked. “A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully. “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a skeleton in his family’s closet’. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”
“Why pick on my family?” Jessica’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.” “Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now,” Jessica cut in before things grew worse.
After dinner, the house was very quiet. Jessica’s parents were still quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Jessica’s mother sank in a faint(晕倒), waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re both crazy,” she thought.According to Jessica’s mother, “a skeleton in the closet” means ________.
A.a family honor | B.a family secret |
C.a family story | D.a family treasure |
What can we learn about some Australians’ ancestors form Paragraph 2?
A.They were brought to Australia as prisoners. |
B.They were the earliest people living in Australia. |
C.They were involved in some crimes in Australia. |
D.They were not regarded as criminals in their days. |
Jessica’s mother fell down into a faint because she was ________.
A.knocked | B.frightened | C.injured | D.surprised |
Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home?
A.She was curious about it. |
B.She planned to keep it for fun. |
C.She needed it for her school task. |
D.She intended to scare her parents. |
All my life I had loved airports.To me,they were fl kind of magic gateway to the world,but today it seemed like a cold and heartless place.
“Well,here we are,the airport,"my sister said with fl sigh.As 1 watched her unload my luggage,I could see the sadness in her eyes.One last hug and a final good-bye and I would be on my way to a new lire abroad,leaving my beloved sister behind.
I looked at my sister and even though her eyes were filled with tears,she was trying to keep a brave face.“You’d better go or you’ll miss your flight,”she said.
“I am just going to walk away and not look back,” I said. As I held her one last time she whispered,“Don’t worry about me,I’ll be fine."“I’ll miss you,” I replied with tears in my eyes.As I promised,I did not look back。but 1 was sobbing.To me it was the end of the world.
While boarding the plane 1 was still crying.I did not have the energy to put my bag in the overhead locker, so I put it on the empty seat next to mine.As I settled into my chair, a feeling of sadness overwhelmed(淹没) me.I felt like my best friend had just been taken away from me.
The plane shook heavily and the bag fell,with some stuff spreading on the floor.When I bent over to gather the things up,I saw an unfamiliar little book in the middle of my belongings.It was not until I picked it up that I realized that it was a diary.
Immediately I recognized my sister’s handwriting. “Hi,Sis,What a day it has been today.First you let me know that you are moving abroad and then my boss…”My sister had been keeping a diary for the past month and she was now passing it on to me.I was to write in it for the next couple of months and then send it back to her.Even though a large ocean separated us,at some point it felt like she was actually there.The writer started to cry.
A.when she watched her sister unload her luggage |
B.when she held her sister one last time |
C.when she settled herself into her chair |
D.when she was boarding the plane |
what had the writer thought about airports before she separated from her sister?
A.Airports brought freedom. |
B.Airports were on the top of her love. |
C.Airports led to the wonderful world. |
D.Airports were fl cold and heartless place. |
From the writer’s and her sister’s tears,we can see.
A.they loved each other very much |
B.they felt sad about the new life |
C.they were afraid of the separation |
D.it was the end of the world to them |