Reading Oliver James'Affluenza, I thought about what often happens at home. My 12-year-old daughter is in tears."I have so take a test tomorrow. I don't understand any of it," she cries out. After shouting and shutting her door, she calms down enough to go through her notes. The following dry I ask her how the test went and the just says "OK,I got a nine".
"Wow. well done!" I say, before she finishes with "But I never get a ten!"
According to James, this obsession with getting top marks has been a bad development, which encourages people to think of education in terms of work and money. To test this, I asked my daughter why she was so worried about her tests. She looked at me as if I was thick. "Well, if I don't get good grades, I won't be able to afford nice things like a car and stuff."
I was quite surprised, because I don't consider myself a pushy parent. But James suggests and it leaves students feeling failures even if they are very bright. He points to the Danish system(体制)of education as a better model. Creating happy citizens who have good social skills is seen as more important than high achievements at school or the needs of business.
For me, I cannot remember the last time I had to work out the area of a circle, recite a Shakespeare poem or grammar rules, yet I have lived a happy life. What I really needed to learn at school was how to make polite conversations, or how to avoid getting into debt or how to develop good personality.
This is in fact similar to what Oliver James really has in mind. And he is looking for schools where students are encouraged to find and follow their own interests, something more like Tongjon. Tongjon has been developed in some Korean private schools. It is quite different from the more rigid system of learning things by heart that is used in Korea, and indeed in many other school systems around the world.
As the Russian poet Pushkin said," Inspiration(灵感)is needed in geometry(几何学)just as much as in poetry ",and inspiration does not come from endlessly revising for tests or getting worried about them .What does the writer probably think of his/her daughter?
A.She sets herself a goal too high to reach. |
B.She should be more polite to her parents. |
C.She is hard-working but not very bright. |
D.She takes her grades much too seriously. |
What does the word "obsession"in paragraph 3 mean?
A.A plain and unavoidable fact. |
B.A satisfied and very proud state. |
C.A practical and widely-used way. |
D.A fixed and often unreasonable idea. |
What can we infer from the passage?
A.Social skills are as important as high grades. |
B.Interest in grades can shake self-confidence. |
C.The writer regrets not having studied hard at school. |
D.Danish educational system is for very smart students. |
The writer wants to tell us that____.
A.learning happily is the key to self-development. |
B.top marks may be helpful to increase one's interest. |
C.tests should be improved to give children inspiration. |
D.education should meet one's needs for word and money. |
阅读理解
When we think of Hollywood, we think of movies and famous movie stars. They are part of Hollywood’s history. Today people make movies in other places too. Not all famous movie stars live in Hollywood. But Hollywood is still a very special city in Los Angeles, California.
You can easily see where Hollywood is in Los Angeles. There is a big sign on the hills. It says “HOLLYWOOD”. The white letters are fifty feet tall. You can see the sign from far away. The Hollywood sign is a famous landmark in Los Angeles. Many postcards show this famous Hollywood landmark.
In the hills of Hollywood, there is also the Hollywood Bowl. This is an open-air theatre. It is one of the largest open-air theatres in the world. It has seventeen thousand seats and a very special stage. The stage was designed by the great American architect(建筑师) Frank Lloyd Wright. You can listen to all kinds of concerts at the Hollywood Bowl.Today Hollywood is _______.
A.a special city in Los Angeles | B.a place where all the movie stars live |
C.a place where they make all the movies | D.the biggest city in California |
You can see where Hollywood is in Los Angeles because _______.
A.it is a hill | B.postcards show you |
C.there is a big sign on the hills | D.local people will tell you |
The Hollywood Bowl is _______.
A.a place where you see movies | B.one of the largest open-air theatres in the world |
C.a hill in Hollywood | D.a big sign in Los Angeles |
Which is not mentioned about the Hollywood Bowl?
A.Seats. | B.Size. | C.Stage. | D.Designer. |
What special things can we see in Hollywood?
A. The Hollywood hills. B. The Hollywood landmark.
C. The Hollywood Bowl. D. Both B and C.
阅读理解
One day in Overtown, Florida, 3.7 million dollars fell from the sky! It happened when a truck turned over.There was money everywhere! One man said, “The streets were like gold.” Some people took off their shirts and filled them with money.
Police officers went from door to door in the neighborhood. They asked people to return the money. After six hours, the total returned: zero.
No one in Overtown was surprised. Many people in this town are poor. They need the money to buy food for their children. They think that God sent the money to them.
The police say this is a serious crime. “People took thousands of dollars. It’s not their money, and they have to return it.” The police also say it’s dangerous to keep the money because everyone knows the story from the news. People have money in their pockets and their backyards, and other people will try to steal it.
So far, only one person has returned some money. He is a firefighter. He found 300,000 dollars in a bag and gave it to the police. The people of Overtown still have the rest of the money.People filled their shirts with the money from _______.
A.the sky | B.a truck | C.a bank | D.a shop |
What does the underlined word “crime” in the fourth paragraph mean in Chinese?
A.金钱 | B.犯罪 | C.损失 | D.德行 |
Where did people hide the money they got?
A.In their kitchens. | B.In their bedrooms. |
C.In their backyards. | D.In their sitting rooms. |
How much money was still missing?
A.3.7 million dollars. | B.300,000 dollars. |
C.3.4 million dollars. | D.700,000 dollars. |
Which is the best title for the passage?
A.Money from the Sky. | B.Police and Money. |
C.A Truck of Money. | D.Poor People and Money. |
阅读理解
Farquaad, the ruler of a country called Duloc, decides that all the characters from fantasy stories must leave the country. There is a huge green monster called Shrek who lives in a forest and all the fantasy characters hide in his home, although Shrek doesn’t want them to.
Shrek visits Farquaad. Farquaad agrees that the fantasy characters can come back if Shrek can find the beautiful princess that Farquaad wants to marry. Shrek goes to look for the Princess Fiona. He finds her and discovers that at night she becomes as ugly as him. When Farquaad discovers that Fiona is ugly, he doesn’t want to marry her. But the monster and the princess get married, and the princess decides to stay ugly all the time for love.The meaning of the phrase “fantasy stories” is _______.
A.童话故事 | B.喜剧故事 | C.恐怖故事 | D.科学故事 |
Shrek goes to find the princess because _______.
A.he wants to marry her | B.he wants to kill the princess |
C.Farquaad wants to marry her | D.he wants Farquaad to let the fantasy characters live in the country |
The princess was called _______.
A.Farquaad | B.Shrek | C.Duloc | D.Fiona |
Which of the following sentences is True?
A.Fiona decides to stay ugly because she loves Shrek. |
B.Fiona decides to stay ugly because she wants to marry Farquaad. |
C.Fiona decides to stay ugly because she can’t become beautiful again. |
D.Fiona decides to stay ugly because she isn’t the princess. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.Farquaad is a bad ruler of the country. |
B.Characters from fantasy stories are in trouble. |
C.The love between a monster and a princess. |
D.Shrek saves Fiona so that he can become a hero. |
任务型阅读。
Maria家楼上搬来了新邻居,他们的某些行为经常影响Maria和她家人的休息。因此她给邻居写了一封信。请根据这封信,完成下面表格。
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Green, Welcome to our neighborhood. I’m very glad that you and your family become our neighbor. However, I am sorry to say that you have brought some trouble to us. Mr. Green, would you please not play the drum late into the night? We can’t fall asleep until you stop it. Mrs. Green, you are always like the early bird. So would you please not sing so loud in the early morning? And your son Paul is playing balls at home all day. Would you please ask him not to play there? There is a big playground in front of our building. What’s more, your daughter Emma plays music too loud. She makes so much noise. My little baby starts to cry as soon as she plays the crazy music. Thank you for your understanding! Yours, Maria |
To whom |
Complaint |
Suggestion |
To whom |
Mr. Green |
Plays the drum late into the night |
1. |
Mr. Green |
Mrs. Green |
2. |
Please don’t sing so loud in the early morning. |
Mrs. Green |
Emma |
3. |
Please don’t play music too loud. |
Emma |
Paul |
4 |
5. |
Paul |
阅读理解
Thursday, April 24th
We got to the clean, lovely city of Yangzhou early in the morning. This is our first trip to China. All the different smells attract our attention to the local food. We are going to try something special for dinner tonight. The hotel we are staying in is not expensive but very clean. We plan to stay here for a few days, visit some places in the city, and then travel to the Great Wall in the north.
Sunday, April 27th
We visited the famous Slender West Lake (瘦西湖) which was crowded with visitors from all over the world, and bought a lot of toys for our friends outside the gate of the park. Everything is so colourful, and we have taken hundreds of photos already! Later today we will do the famous foot massage (按摩) and then leave for the Great Wall. We will take the night train north, stay in Beijing for two days, and then catch a bus to the Great Wall.
Wednesday, April 30th
Our trip to the Great Wall was long and boring. We visited a small village in the mountains. People in the village love the quiet life. They are the kindest people I had ever met. They always smile and say “Hello”. Ralph and I can speak only a few words in Chinese, so smiling is the best way to show our kindness. From the passage we can see that the writer had a ____ stay in Yangzhou.
A.four-day | B.five-day | C.six-day | D.seven-day |
The writer didn’t ____ in Yangzhou.
A.taste delicious food | B.visit places of interest |
C.do foot massage | D.climb mountains |
The writer left Beijing for the Great Wall _______.
A.by train | B.by car | C.by bus | D.on foot |
Which of the following is NOT true?
A.The writer left Yangzhou for Beijing by train at night. |
B.It took them a long time to get to the Great Wall from Beijing. |
C.People in the village live a quiet but happy life. |
D.The writer was travelling alone but happily. |
What is the best title for the passage?
A.My First Visit to Yangzhou | B.My Travelling in China |
C.Delicious Food and Beautiful Places | D.A Trip to the Great Wall |