One is never too old to learn. Life learning (sometimes called un-schooling or self-directed learning) is one of those concepts that are almost easier to explain by saying what it isn’t than what it is. And that’s probably because our own schooled backgrounds have convinced us that learning happens only in a fine building on certain days, between certain hours, and managed by a specially trained professional.
Within that schooling framestudy, no matter how hard teachers try and no matter how good their textbooks, many bright students get bored, many slower students struggle and give up or lose their self-respect, and most of them reach the end of the process unprepared to enter into society. They have memorized a certain body of knowledge long enough to rush back the information on tests, but they haven’t really learnt much, at least of the official curriculum.
Life learners, on the other hand, know that learning is not difficult, that people learn things quite easily if they’re not compelled and forced, if they see a need to learn something, and if they are trusted and respected enough to learn it on their own timetable, at their own speed, in their own way—no matter what age and no matter whether we’re at school or at home.
Life learning is independent of time, location or the presence of teacher. It does not require mom or dad to teach, or kids to work in workbooks at the table from 9 to noon. Life learning is learner-driven. It involves living and learning—in and from the real world. It is about exploring, questioning, experimenting, making messes, taking risks without fear of making mistakes, being laughed at and trying again.
Furthermore, life learning is about trusting kids to learn what they need to know and about helping them to learn and grow in their own ways. It is about providing positive experiences that enable children to understand the world and their culture and to interact with it. It is implied in the text that it is hard to ___________.
| A．find a specially trained teacher |
| B．carry life learning through |
| C．learn without going to school |
| D．tell the nature of life learning |
. According to the author, the schooling framestudy often ____________.
| A．produces slow students with poor memories |
| B．fails to provide enough knowledge about life |
| C．ignores some parts of the official curriculum |
| D．gives little care to the quality of teaching materials |
Life learners recognize that learning will not be difficult if they are ____________.
| A．clear about why to learn |
| B．careful to make a time table |
| C．able to respect other people |
| D．cautious about any mistakes |
According to the author, life learning ___________.
| A．could be a road full of trials and errors |
| B．teaches a kid how to avoid being laughed at |
| C．makes a kid independent of his parents |
| D．could prevent one from running risks |
Through life learning, children ___________.
| A．will grow without the assistance from parents |
| B．will be separated from the negative side of society |
| C．will be driven to learn necessary life knowledge |
| D．will learn to communicate with the real society |
It’s not easy being a teenager（13至19岁青少年）—nor is it easy being the parent of a teenager. You can make your child feel angry, hurt, or misunderstood by what you say without realizing it yourself. It is important to give your child the space he needs to grow while gently letting him know that you you’ll still be there for him when he needs you.
Expect a lot from your child, just not everything.Except for health and safety problems, such as drug use or careless driving; consider everything else open to discussion. If your child is unwilling to discuss something, don’t insist he tell you what’s on his mind. The more you insist, the more likely that he’ll clarn up. Instead , let him attempt to solve（解决）things by himself. At the same time, remind him that you’re always there for him should he seek advice or help. Show respect for your teenager’s privacy （隐私）. Never read him his mail or listen in on personal conversions.
Teach your teenager that the family phone is for the whole family. If your child talks on the family’s telephone for too long, tell him he can talk for15 minutes, but then he must stay off the phone for at least an equal period of time. This not only frees up the line so that other family members can make and receive calls, but teaches your teenager moderation（节制）. Or if you are open to the idea, allow your teenager his own phone that he pays for with his own pocket money or a part –time jobThe main purpose of the text is to tell parents _____________.
| A．how to get along with a teenager |
| B．how to respect a teenager |
| C．how to understand a teenager |
| D．how to help a teenager grow up |
What does the phrase “clam up” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．become excited | B．show respect |
| C．refuse to talk | D．seek help |
The last paragraph is about how to teach a teenager_________________.
| A．to use the phone in a sensible way |
| B．to pay for his own telephone |
| C．to share the phone quickly |
| D．to answer the phone quickly |
What should parents do in raising a teenager according to the text?
| A．Nor allow him to learn driving or take drugs |
| B．Give him advice only when necessary |
| C．Let him have his own telephone |
| D．Not talk about personal things with him |
Computer programmer David Jones earns $35.000 a year designing new computer games. yet he cannot find a bank ready to let him have a credit card（信用卡）Instead he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18. The 16-year-old works for a small firm in Liverpool where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job David’s firm releases（推出）two new games for the fast growing computer market each month
But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. Even though he earns a lot he cannot drive a car take out a mortgage（抵押贷款）,or get credit cards David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago ,a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs” he said David spends some of his money on records and clothes and gives his mother 50 pounds a week But most of his spare time is spent working.
“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school “ he said “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway” David added :”I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement（退休）is a possibility You never know when the market might disappear.”In what way is David different from people of his age?
| A．He often goes out with friends |
| B．He lives with his mother |
| C．He has a handsome income |
| D．He graduated with six O-levels |
What is one of the problems that David is facing now?
| A．He is too young to get a credit card |
| B．He has no time to learn driving |
| C．He has very little spare time |
| D．He will soon lose his job |
Why was David able to get the job in the company?
| A．He had done well in all his exams |
| B．He had written some computer programs |
| C．He was good at playing computer games |
| D．He had learnt to use computers at school |
Why did David decide to leave school and start working?
| A．He received lots of job offers |
| B．He was eager to help his mother |
| C．He lost interest in school studies |
| D．He wanted to earn his own living |
I suddenly heard an elephant crying as though frightened Looking down I immediately recognized that something was wrong and ran down to the edge of the near bank There I saw Ma Shwe with her three-month-old calf struggling in the fast-rising water and it was a life-and-death struggle Her calf was floating and screaming with fear Ma Shwe was as near to the far bank as she could get, holding her whole body against the rushing water and keeping the calf pressed against her huge body . Every now and then the rushing water would sweep the calf a way.
There was a sudden rise in the water and the calf was washed clean over the mother’s body and was gone Ma Shwe turned quickly to reach it and pressed the calf with her head and trunk（象鼻）against the rocky bank Then with a huge effort she picked it up in her trunk and tried until she was able to place it on a narrow shelf of rock
Just at this moment she fell back into the river If she were carried down it would be certain death I knew as well as she did ,that there was one spot（地点）where she could get up the bank but it was on the other side from where she had put her calf
While I was wondering what I could do next I heard the sound of a mother’s love Ma Shwe had crossed the river and got up the bank and was making her way back as fast as she could roaring（吼叫）all the time but to her calf it was music.The moment the author got down to the river bank he saw______.
| A．the calf was about to fall into the river |
| B．Ma Shwe was placing the calf on the rock |
| C．the calf was washed away by the rising water |
| D．Ma Shwe was holding the calf against the rushing water |
How did Ma Shwe manage to save her calf from the fast-flowing water?
| A．By putting it on a safe spot |
| B．By pressing it against her body |
| C．By taking it away with her |
| D．By carrying it on her back |
How did the calf feel about the mother elephant’s roaring?
| A．It was a great comfort | B．It was a sign of danger |
| C．It was a call for help | D．It was a musical note |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．A Mother’s Love | B．A Brave Act |
| C．A Deadly River | D．A Matter of Life and Death |
Abby Subark is a mother of two from Boston. “For my kids, I’m nervous. I don’t know if they’ll be able to achieve their American dream.” She may be right. More than hard work or education, the best way to get rich in America is to be born rich.
It is the case that somebody who is in the upper third of income, poor scores, in the bottom on tests when they are in eighth grade, is more likely to go to college and finish college than a poor kid with the top scores. That’s what the working persons’ children are up against.
The Economic Policy Institute finds it would take a poor couple with 2 children 9 or 10 generations to achieve middle class status. That’s about 200 years. The hallmark (特征) of American opportunity has always been the ability to do better than your parents. But compared with similar developed countries, the United States ranks fifth out of six for so-called intergenerational mobility (变动).
If you look at the mechanisms (机制) for upward mobility that were so readily available 50 years ago, they are becoming out of reach, like plentiful factory jobs with good wages and affordable education and health care.
White families are twice as likely as blacks to be upwardly mobile. For most people in America today, where you end up depends on where you start.
If you started in the middle-income class, about 40 to 45 percent of what you are making right now is due to the fact that your parents were in the middle-income class. The rest is up to you.
But for the millions of people who find themselves below the poverty line and the millions more who are the working poor, their starting point for the American dream leaves them painfully far away from the middle class. The main idea of the passage is _______.
| A．How the middle class comes about in the U.S. |
| B．It’s hard to realize the American dream for the poor. |
| C．Wealth and social status depend on family background. |
| D．Upward mobility in America is never easy. |
Which of the statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．People used to have job opportunities and welfare for upward mobility. |
| B．A great many poor people can hardly realize their American dream. |
| C．You can make all your dreams come true in America if born rich. |
| D．Rich kids are more likely to go to college than poor kids. |
The underlined sentence “where you end up depends on where you start” most probably means _______.
| A．Your starting point cannot determine your destination. |
| B．Only a high goal can ensure success. |
| C．One’s birth has nothing to do with his fate. |
| D．One’s family lays solid foundation for his future achievements. |
Why is Abby Subark nervous?
| A．Her kids don’t want to compare with other rich kids in achievements. |
| B．Her kids don’t want to achieve success at all. |
| C．Her kids can achieve success through hard work and education. |
| D．Her kids can’t reach their goal without a rich family. |
What can we infer after reading the passage?
| A．Poverty causes people much pain. |
| B．People below the poverty line can never be in the middle class. |
| C．Lower starting point makes it hard for people to realize their dream. |
| D．Poor people’s starting point is too low. |
Everyone’s at it, even my neighbors. I thought I might be the only person left in the world who hadn’t done an eBay deal. So, I decided to try my hand at online auction（网上拍卖）.
Buying for Beginners
Sign up on www. eBay. co. uk. Most items (e.g. tables, computers and books) ready for auction will come with a picture and a short description; others may be marked with “Buy It Now” and have a fixed price. You can buy these right away.
If the item is being auctioned, you offer the highest price you are prepared to pay and eBay bids (出价) for you. The bid will be increased little by little until it goes beyond your highest bid, then you are emailed and asked if you would like to bid again. Auctions last up to 10 days and when they finish, you get an email telling you whether you have won the item. 
How to Pay
Sellers decide how they would like to be paid and you need to check this before placing a bid as you might not want to post a check or postal orders. The easiest way is through PayPal, an online payment system that takes the money away from your credit card.
Selling Made Simple
If you plan to sell on eBay, it helps to include a picture of the item. I followed my friends’ advice and put up the items I wanted to sell for a 10-day auction, starting on a Thursday. This way buyers had two weekends to bid.
The big Things in Life
It’s easy to post a small item, but furniture is a big part of eBay and this has to be collectively sent by deliverymen. Check the ways of delivery before you bid.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．How to make payment online. | B．Ways of making delivery online. |
| C．Advantages of an online auction system. | D．How to use an online-auction system. |
After bidding for an item, a buyer ________.
| A．has chances to make higher bids | B．will get what he wants in ten days |
| C．should make payment immediately | D．may check its picture and description |
The easiest way of making payment mentioned in the passage is ________.
| A．through a local banking system | B．by sending the money to the seller |
| C．by paying the deliveryman directly | D．through an online payment system |