Steve, a twelve-year-old boy with alcoholic parents, was about to be lost forever, by the U.S. education system. Remarkably, he could read, yet, in spite of his reading skills, Steve was failing. He had been failing since first grade, as he was passed on from grade to grade. Steve was a big boy, looking more like a teenager than a twelve year old, yet, Steve went unnoticed... until Miss White.
Miss White was a smiling, young, beautiful redhead, and Steve was in love! For the first time in his young life, he couldn’t take his eyes off his teacher; yet, still he failed. He never did his homework, and he was always in trouble with Miss White. His heart would break under her sharp words, and when he was punished for failing to turn in his homework, he felt just miserable! Still, he did not study.
In the middle of the first semester of school, the entire seventh grade was tested for basic skills. Steve hurried through his tests, and continued to dream of other things, as the day wore on. His heart was not in school, but in the woods, where he often escaped alone, trying to shut out the sights, sounds and smells of his alcoholic home. No one checked on him to see if he was safe. No one knew he was gone, because no one was sober(清醒的) enough to care. Oddly, Steve never missed a day of school.
One day, Miss White’s impatient voice broke into his daydreams. “Steve!!” Startled, he turned to look at her.
“Pay attention!”
Steve locked his gaze on Miss White with adolescent adoration (青春期的爱慕), as she began to go over the test results for the seventh grade.
“You all did pretty well,” she told the class, “except for one boy, and it breaks my heart to tell you this, but...” She hesitated, pinning Steve to his seat with a sharp stare, her eyes searching his face.
“...The smartest boy in the seventh grade is failing my class!”
She just stared at Steve, as the class spun around for a good look. Steve dropped his eyes and carefully examined his fingertips.
After that, it was war!! Steve still wouldn’t do his homework. Even as the punishments became more severe, he remained stubborn.
“Just try it! ONE WEEK!” He was unmoved.
“You’re smart enough! You’ll see a change!” Nothing fazed him.
“Give yourself a chance! Don’t give up on your life!” Nothing.
“Steve! Please! I care about you!”
Wow! Suddenly, Steve got it!! Someone cared about him? Someone, totally unattainable and perfect, CARED ABOUT HIM??!!
Steve went home from school, thoughtful, that afternoon. Walking into the house, he took one look around. Both parents were passed out, in various stages of undress, and the stench(恶臭) was overpowering! He, quickly, gathered up his camping gear, a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, a bottle of water, and this time...his schoolbooks. Grim faced and determined, he headed for the woods.
The following Monday he arrived at school on time, and he waited for Miss White to enter the classroom. She walked in, all sparkle and smiles! God, she was beautiful! He yearned for her smile to turn on him. It did not.
Miss White, immediately, gave a quiz on the weekend homework. Steve hurried through the test, and was the first to hand in his paper. With a look of surprise, Miss White took his paper. Obviously puzzled, she began to look it over. Steve walked back to his desk, his heart pounding within his chest. As he sat down, he couldn’t resist another look at the lovely woman.
Miss White’s face was in total shock! She glanced up at Steve, then down, then up. Suddenly, her face broke into a radiant smile. The smartest boy in the seventh grade had just passed his first test!
From that moment nothing was the same for Steve. Life at home remained the same, but life still changed. He discovered that not only could he learn, but he was good at it!
He discovered that he could understand and retain knowledge, and that he could translate the things he learned into his own life. Steve began to excel! And he continued this course throughout his school life.
After high-school Steve enlisted in the Navy, and he had a successful military career. During that time, he met the love of his life, he raised a family, and he graduated from college Magna Cum Laude. During his Naval career, he inspired many young people, who without him, might not have believed in themselves. Steve began a second career after the Navy, and he continues to inspire others, as an adjunct professor(副教授) in a nearby college。
Miss White left a great legacy. She saved one boy who has changed many lives. I know, because I am the love of his life.
You see, it’s simple, really. A change took place within the heart of one boy, all because of one teacher, who cared.What does the underlined sentence in the first paragraph mean?
A.Steve would give up schooling forever. |
B.Steve was at a loss about improving his study. |
C.Being unhappy both in school and at home, Steve intended to end his own life. |
D.Due to his poor study, Steve was about to be expelled from his school. |
What made Steve change greatly all of a sudden?
A.Miss White’s encouragement | B.Miss White’s praise |
C.knowing Miss White concerned him | D.Miss White’s persuasion |
What might be the best title for this passage?
A.A boy loves his teacher | B.The difference a teacher can make |
C.A great teacher | D.Please care about your students |
National Family Week-an event that encourages families to spend more time together-carried out a study among 8-15 yearolds.The study found 40% of girls thought Facebook was one of the most important things in their lives-compared with 6% of boys.Parents were found to underestimate (低估) the importance of Internet technology.
The role of social networking was particularly important in families with a single mother as parent.The survey was carried out last month and based on 3,000 parents and 1,000 children across the UK.
The survey shows that girls are using social networking as something central to their social and family life.Girls saw websites such as Facebook as much more influential (有影响力的) than television,magazines, famous people and even their own brothers and sisters.Asked to name the three most important things in their lives, the most popular choices for girls were friends, family and then Facebook and MSN.
Girls are also more likely to believe that technology-in the form of social networking and mobile phones-plays an important role in their lives.While 41% of girls think technology is one of their biggest influences,only 17% of boys believe this.
Girls see their big influences as parents,teachers and technology,while boys choose parents,friends and school as their big influences.The survey says that parents have failed to keep up with their children’s use of technology,overestimating (高估) their own importance in their children’s lives.
The survey also looked at how children thought about their relationships with their parents.It found that both boys and girls would much rather have stories read to them by their mothers.However,girls felt closer to their fathers,while boys felt closer to their mothers.What can we know from the first paragraph?
A.The study was carried out by the government. |
B.The researchers studied more girls than boys. |
C.Boys liked to surf the Internet more than girls. |
D.Parents didn’t think the Internet was so important. |
How many people were included in the survey last month?
A.1,000. | B.2,000. |
C.3,000. | D.4,000. |
Which of the following is NOT among the three most important things for girls?
A.Teachers. | B.Family. |
C.Facebook and MSN. | D.Friends. |
According to the passage,the survey shows ________.
A.girls felt closer to their mothers |
B.children are better at using technology than their parents |
C.televisions are much more influential in girls than magazines |
D.more boys regard technology as one of the biggest influences than girls |
A new study of 8,000 young people in the journal of HealthandSocialBehavior shows that although love can make grownups live healthily and happily,it is a bad thing for young people.Puppy love (早恋) may bring trouble for young people and can cause depression (沮丧).The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys,and young girls are the worst of all.
The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is “loss of self”.According to the study,even though boys would say “lose themselves in a romantic (浪漫的) relationship”,this “loss of self” is much more likely to cause depression when it happens to girls.Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions.They won’t tell that to their parents.
Dr.Marianm Kaufman,who works on young people problems,says 15% to 20% of young people will have depression during their growing.Trying romance often causes the depression.She advises kids not to jump into romance too early.During growing up,it is important for young people to build strong friendship and a strong sense of self.She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends,attend more interesting school activities and spend enough time with family.
Parents should watch for their children’s eating or mood changes.If they see some,they need to give help.The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age.Love will always make us feel young,but only maturity (成熟) gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.Puppy love may bring young people depression. |
B.Parents should agree to their children’s love. |
C.Romance is a twoedged sword for grownups. |
D.Romance is good for young people. |
Who are most likely to become depressed?
A.Young people who have a strong sense of self. |
B.Young boys whose parents watch for their behavior. |
C.Young girls who always hide their feelings and opinions. |
D.Careless parents whose children are deep in love. |
According to the passage,the author ________ puppy love.
A.is for | B.is against |
C.is not interested in | D.thinks highly of |
Dr.Marianm Kaufman does NOT suggest parents’encouraging their kids to ________.
A.keep close to their friends |
B.attend more interesting activities |
C.chat more on line |
D.spend more time with their family |
TheInventionofHugoCabret,by Brian Selznick,is a novel like no other.There are pages of exciting events and then suddenly,wait! A picture with tiny details,then a big picture that takes up the whole page-and the next page,and the next page,and the next!The pictures are actually telling the story.It’s like a book and a movie all in one.
I recently had the opportunity to talk with Selznick about his unique novel.I wanted to know just how he came up with the concept of writing a novel that reads like a picture book.
“Because the book was so much about movies and the history of cinema,I also wanted to figure out how to make a book that was also like a movie,” Selznick said.
Writing and illustrating the book was a long and hard process,Selznick said.One of the challenges was figuring out what the story was really about and what happens to the main character,Hugo.Selznick also had to figure out how to make the narrative and the pictures work together to tell the story.
Working with pictures was natural for Selznick.He has actually spent most of his career as an illustrator and really considers himself more of an artist than a writer.
But sometimes figuring out what was going to happen in the story was not easy,he told me.He had no idea what the story was going to be about when he started writing.He didn’t know if it was going to be sad,adventurous,or exciting.For now,Selznick doesn’t plan on writing a sequel (续集) to the book,but he warns,“You can never say never.”TheInventionofHugoCabret is ________.
A.a novel on which a popular movie has been based |
B.a novel only using pictures explaining series of events |
C.a book which tells children how to draw pictures |
D.a book packed with pictures-a combination of words and drawings |
What does Brian Selznick think of writing the novel?
A.Challenging. | B.Timesaving. |
C.Adventurous. | D.Foolish. |
By saying “You can never say never”,Selznick means ________.
A.it’s hard to say whether he will continue writing the book |
B.it is such a difficult book that he won’t continue it |
C.he will never give up writing a sequel to the book |
D.he will never write a novel like TheInventionofHugoCabret |
It can be inferred that the text is ________.
A.an introduction to an unusual novel |
B.a summary record of an interview |
C.a biography of the novelist Brian Selznick |
D.an ad persuading kids into buying the novel |
Many kids are too busy to have time to play creatively or relax after school.Kids who complain about the number of activities they’re involved in or refuse to go to them may be a sign that they’re burdened with stress.
How can you help kids deal with stress? Proper rest and good nutrition can improve such skills,as can good parenting.Make time for your kids each day.Whether they need to talk or just be in the same room with you,make yourself available.
Even as kids get older,quality time is important.It’s really hard for some people to come home after work,get down on the floor,and play with their kids or just talk to them about their day- especially if they’ve had a stressful day themselves.But expressing interest in your kids’days shows that they’re important to you.
Help your child deal with stress by talking about what may be causing it.Together,you can come up with a few solutions like cutting_back_on afterschool activities,spending more time talking with parents or teachers,developing an exercise habit,or keeping a journal.
You can also help by anticipating(期待) potentially stressful situations and preparing kids for them.For example,let a child know ahead of time (but not too far ahead of time) that a doctor’s appointment is coming up and talk about what will happen there.Keep in mind,though,that younger kids probably won’t need too much advance preparation.Too much information can cause more stressreassurance(放心) is the key.
Remember that some level of stress is normal; let kids know that it’s OK to feel angry,scared,lonely,or anxious and that other people share those feelings.The passage is mainly written for ________.
A.parents | B.teachers |
C.kids | D.doctors |
You can do the following to help reduce children’s stress EXCEPT ________.
A.making yourself available |
B.showing interest in kids’ days |
C.reminding them some stress is OK |
D.trying to offer more information |
The underlined “cutting back on” in the fourth paragraph probably means ________.
A.reducing | B.increasing |
C.creating | D.expecting |
The purpose of the passage is ________.
A.to find out the sources of stress |
B.to offer tips on dealing with stress |
C.to give advice on how to relax |
D.to explain why stress is harmful |
It was almost four o’clock in the morning when the fire broke out.“We watch one window blow out,and then another,and heard people shouting,”says Stanley,21,a junior from Westfield State College in Massachusetts.Students were throwing ropes made from bed sheets out their windows,and a couple of them were trying to climb down.
Almost all the hotel’s 502 rooms were filled with college students from across the United States who were spending their holiday here in Acpulco,Mexico.As the smoke thickened,Moreno ran upstairs to where other Westfield students were rooming.“Some people had no idea what was going on,”he says.“I was shouting at the top of my voice.I made sure I hit every door.”At the same time,Stanley was downstairs helping people get through the smokefilled hall.There he joined forces with Nalewanski who had just come back from his own night out.
“Let’s go.”Nalewanski says.He and Stanley wet their shirts in the bathroom and wrapped them around their mouths and noses so they could breathe.Then they ran up the stairs.
Nalewanski and Stanley found Moreno on the fourth floor.They all ran upstairs and down the corridors(走廊) on every floor,hitting every door hard.
In the end,no one was seriously injured.Even more unbelievable,all the Westfield students made it back to Massachusetts later that same day.
Westfield president Evan Dobelle says,“I have a great deal of pride in these young men and they were able to react in such an emergency.”What’s the best title for this passage?
A.College students have a terrible holiday |
B.College students survived a big fire |
C.Heroes:close call in a hotel fire |
D.A big fire broke out in a hotel |
What do we learn from Stanley from the passage?
A.He is in his last year in college. |
B.He is a very brave young man. |
C.He was reading a book when the fire broke out. |
D.He was the first one to find out there was a fire. |
According to the passage ________ might not have woken up people during the fire.
A.Evan Dobelle | B.Nalewanski |
C.Stanley | D.Moreno |
The students helped people out through all of the following ways EXCEPT ________.
A.helping people get through the hall |
B.shouting loudly to warn people |
C.hitting doors to wake people up |
D.Making ropes for people to climb down |