Boys’ schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music.
Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity (男子气概), the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to be consistent to a stereotype, a US study says.Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their abilities to express their emotions, rather than feeling they had to obey to the “boy code” of hiding their emotions to be a “real man”.
The findings of the study are against the received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.
Tony Little, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being ignored by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.
The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.
But in single-sex schools teachers can adjust lessons to boys’learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study’s author, Abigail James of the University of Virginia.
Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with “boy-focused” approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have sharper vision, learn best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given “hands-on” lessons where they are allowed to walk around. “Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine (女性的) and prefer the modern type in which violence and sexism are major themes,” James wrote.
Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to give in to a stereotype that men should be “masterful and in charge” in relationships. “In mixed schools boys feel pressed to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means,” the study reported.The author believes that a single-sex school would ____ .
| A．force boys to hide their emotions to be “real men” |
| B．help to form masculine aggressiveness in boys |
| C．encourage boys to express their emotions more freely |
| D．naturally place emphasis on the traditional image of a man to boys |
It is commonly believed that in a mixed school boys _____ .
| A．perform relatively better | B．grow up more healthily |
| C．behave more responsibly | D．receive a better education |
What does Tony Little say about the British education system?
| A．It fails more boys than girls academically. |
| B．It focuses more on mixed school education. |
| C．It fails to give boys the attention they need. |
| D．It places more pressure on boys than on girls. |
According to Abigail James, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is _____.
| A．teaching can be adapted to suit the characteristics of boys |
| B．boys can focus on their lessons without being absent-minded |
| C．boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in |
| D．teaching can be designed to promote boys’ team spirit |
Which of the following is the characteristic of boys according to Abigail James’ report?
| A．They enjoy being in charge. |
| B．They act the same to stereotypes. |
| C．They have sharper vision. |
| D．They are violent and sexist. |
The United States is full of cars. There are still many families without cars, but some families have two or more. However, cars are used for more than pleasure. They are a necessary part of life.
Cars are used for business. They are driven to offices and factories by workers who have no other way to get to their jobs. When salesmen are sent to different parts of the city, they have to drive in order to carry their products. Farmers have to drive into the city in order to get supplies.
Sometimes small children must be driven to school. In some cities school buses are used only when children live more than a mile away from the school. When the children are too young to walk too far, their mothers take turns driving them to school. One mother drives on Mondays taking her own children and the neighbors' as well. Another mother drives on Tuesdays, another on Wednesday, and so on. This is called forming a car pool. Men also form car pools, with three or four men taking turns driving to the place where they all work.
More car pools should be formed in order to put fewer cars on the road and use less gas. Too many cars are being driven. Something will have to be done about the use of cars. The United States is filled with cars, but .
| A．not every family has a car | B．few families have two cars or even more |
| C．every American has a car | D．every family has a car |
What's the main idea of the second paragraph?
| A．Workers drive cars to offices and factories | B．Salesmen drive to carry their products. |
| C．Farmers drive into cities to get supplies. | D．Cars are widely used. |
Which statement is true according to the third paragraph?
| A．Small children are driven to school. |
| B．All children go to school by bus in some cities. |
| C．Mothers drive their children who can't walk to school. |
| D．School buses pick up all children. |
Mothers form car pools in order that .
| A．they can drive to school |
| B．they can take turns driving their children to school |
| C．they reach school quickly |
| D．they can drive their children to school in time |
The traffic in and around cities is a great problem because .
| A．too many cars are being driven | B．there are too many car pools |
| C．people put fewer cars on the roads | D．there is less gas |
In a country that defines itself by ideals, not by shared blood, who should be allowed to come to work and live here? In the wake of the Sept．11 attacks these questions have never seemed more pressing．
On Dec．11, 2001, as part of the effort to increase homeland security, federal and local authorities in 14 states staged “Operation Safe Travel”---raids on airports to arrest employees with false identification．In Salt Lake City there were 69 arrests．But those captures were anything but terrorists, most of them illegal immigrants from Central or South America．Authorities said the undocumented workers’ illegal status made them open to blackmail（讹诈）by terrorists．
Many immigrants in Salt Lake City were angered by the arrests and said they felt as if they were being treated like disposable goods．Mayor Anderson said those feelings were justified to a certain extent．“We’re saying we want you to work in these places, we’re going to look the other way in terms of what our laws are, and then when it’s convenient for us, or when we can try to make a point in terms of national security, especially after Sept．11, then you’re disposable．They are whole families being uprooted for all of the wrong reasons,” Anderson said．
If Sept．11 had never happened, the airport workers would not have been arrested and could have gone on quietly living in America, probably indefinitely．Ana Castro, a manager at a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop at the airport had been working 10 years with the same false Social Security card when she was arrested in the December airport raid．Now she and her family are living under the threat of deportation（驱逐出境）．Castro’s case is currently waiting to be settled．While she awaits the outcome, the government has granted her permission to work here and she has returned to her job at Ben & Jerry’s．How did the immigrants in Salt Lake City feel about “Operation Safe Travel”?
| A．Guilty | B．Offended | C．Disappointed | D．Discouraged |
Undocumented workers became the target of “Operation Safe Travel” because ____．
| A．evidence was found that they were potential terrorists |
| B．most of them worked at airports under threat of terrorists |
| C．terrorists might take advantage of their illegal status |
| D．they were reportedly helping hide terrorists around the airport |
By saying “…we’re going to look the other way in terms of what our laws are”, Mayor Anderson means “______”．
| A．there are other ways of enforcing the law |
| B．we will examine the laws in a different way |
| C．we will turn a blind eye to your illegal status |
| D．the existing laws must not be ignored |
Communications technologies are far from equal when it comes to conveying the truth．The first study to compare honesty across a range of communication media has found that people are twice as likely to tell lies in phone conversations as they are in emails．The fact that emails are automatically recorded—and can come back to puzzle you---appears to be the key to the finding．
Jeff Hancock of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, asked 30 students to keep a communications diary for a week．In it they noted the number of conversations or email exchanges they had lasting more than 10 minutes, and confessed to how many lies they told．Hancock then worked out the number of lies per conversation for each medium．He found that lies made up 14 per cent of emails, 21 percent of instant messages, 27 per cent of face-to-face interactions and an astonishing 37 percent of phone calls．
His results to be presented at the conference on human-computer interaction in Vienna, Austria, in April, have surprised psychologists．Some expected emailers to be the biggest liars, reasoning that because deception makes people uncomfortable, the indirect contact of emailing would make it easier to lie．Others expected people to lie more in face-to-face exchanges because we are most practiced at that form of communication．
But Hancock says it is also crucial whether a conversation is being recorded and could be reread, and whether it occurs in real time．People appear to be afraid to lie when they know the communication could later be used to hold them to account, he says．This is why fewer lies appear in email than on the phone．
People are also more likely to lie in real time---in an instant message or phone call, say---than if they have time to think of a response, says Hancock．He found many lies are spontaneous（脱口而出） responses to an unexpected demand, such as: “Do you like my dress?”
Hancock hopes his research will help companies work out the best ways for their employees to communicate．For instance, the phone might be the best medium for sales where employees are encouraged to stretch the truth．But, given his result, work assessment where honesty is a priority, might be best done using email．Hancock’s study focuses on _______．
| A．the consequences of lying in various communications media |
| B．the success of communications technologies in conveying ideas |
| C．people are less likely to lie in instant messages |
| D．people’s honesty levels across a range of communications media |
Hancock’s research finding surprised those who believed that _____．
| A．people are less likely to lie instant messages |
| B．people are unlikely to lie in face-to-face interactions |
| C．people are most likely to lie in email communication |
| D．people are twice as likely to lie in phone conversations |
According to the passage, why are people more likely to tell the truth through certain media of communication?
| A．They are afraid of leaving behind traces of their lies |
| B．They believe that honesty is the best policy |
| C．They tend to be relaxed wh en using those media |
| D．They are most practised at those forms of communication |
It can be inferred from the passage that ________．
| A．honesty should be encouraged in interpersonal communications |
| B．suitable media should be chosen for different communication purposes |
| C．more employers will use emails to communicate with their employees |
| D．email is now the dominant medium of communication within a company |
Greeks play a special game at Easter and it’s good fun! The rules of the game are as follows: 1．Everyone picks out a hard-boiled Waster Egg．2．Each player finds a partner．One person will be a “holder”, and the other will be a “tapper”．Holders should hold the egg with either the pointy end or the round end facing up．Tappers should hold the egg with that same end facing down．Tapping must be done pointy-end-to-pointy-end or round-end-to-round-end．3．With one good tap, the tapper tries to crack the holder’s egg．One player will end up with a cracked egg．4．Each player finds another partner and repeats steps 2 and 3．（After one end of the egg is cracked, players may continue to play using the uncracked end）．5．A player loses when both ends of his egg have been cracked．The winner is the person who still has an uncracked egg．6．Enjoy eating the eggs!
Dye your Easter eggs．With an adult’s help, dye hard-boiled eggs red using food coloring or egg dye．For a nice sheen, use a paper towel to rub some oil on each egg．But don’t use too much oil---you wouldn’t want your egg to slide out of your hand when you play the egg-cracking game!
Why dye eggs red? Eggs represent new life and the red dye symbolizes the pain and suffering in the past．
Why crack eggs? Some say that the cracking of the eggs symbolizes a wish to break away from human misery and enter the new life．A player has to drop out of the game when _____．
| A．the pointy end of his egg is cracked |
| B．the round end of his egg is cracked |
| C．his egg slides out of the hand |
| D．his egg is cracked at both ends |
Why is oil rubbed on the egg?
| A．To give the egg a shiny appearance |
| B．To make the game more difficult to play |
| C．To protect the hand of the player |
| D．To symbolize the wealth of the Greeks |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The holders hold the eggs with the pointy end facing up in most cases |
| B．If one end of the player’s egg is cracked, he will eat the egg |
| C．The player in the game must dye his egg red independently |
| D．It’s said that the broken eggs represent the wish to lead a new life |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．The suffering of the Greeks | B．The Easter holidays |
| C．Celebrate Greek Easter | D．A special game |
With the rapid social development, the Internet now provides social networks that include online movies and videos．The major television networks have much less control over your mind and their broadcasts for entertainment and, more importantly, advertising．It has long been known that television’s audience will spend more time on the Internet than watching TV．People have found another means of entertainment by going to websites which seem to satisfy their specific interests more completely．This isn’t very good news for the television networks．
The influence of people using DVRs （Digital Video Recorder） also has led to fewer and fewer viewers watching television commercials．Market research indicates the effectiveness of TV ads is getting weaker as a result．Many DVR owners are fast forwarding and skipping television commercials．With viewers now spending an average of four times longer on the Internet and more viewers avoiding commercials, this trend isn’t good for television’s advertising revenues（收益）．
Major TV advertisers know full well that their advertising dollars on TV aren’t as an effective investment as they once were．The major players in advertising have been moving towards the Internet as a serious alternative means of advertising．
For thousands of people involved in Internet marketing, it’s history-making to share the revenue that previously all went to major television networks．There’s already a group of Internet marketers being paid a larger amount of advertising revenue．These are everyday people that work usually from home on their own．Advertisers can direct their advertising to websites where viewer types are more likely to be interested in their product or service．
The development of the Internet and its role and change in our lives cannot be compared to any other form of media created throughout the history of mankind．People are going to websites for entertainment because _______．
| A．they’d like to follow the last trend |
| B．there are fewer commercials |
| C．there are more movies and videos |
| D．they can choose what meets their particular needs |
We can learn from the second paragraph that ______．
| A．viewers are bored with television commercials |
| B．the television viewing time should be limited |
| C．many television commercials are of poor quality |
| D．there are more commercials on DVRs than on TV |
It can be inferred from the passage that _____．
| A．people spend time on the Internet mainly for entertainment |
| B．most people prefer to work at home nowadays |
| C．the Internet will attract more and more advertisers |
| D．the appearance of TV changed our lives |
The passage mainly tells us ________．
| A．the rapid social development |
| B．the fast development of the Internet advertising |
| C．the way to advertise on the Internet |
| D．the influence of television commercials |