Reading for pleasure is declining among primary-age pupils, and increasing numbers of "time poor" parents are dropping the practice of sharing bedtime stories with their children once they start school.
Research presented to a conference last week found that, while parents read to preschoolers, this later tails off, and by the final year of primary school only around 2% read to their children every day. Once children can read skillfully, parents tend to step back, and this usually happens at the age of seven or eight. The report also found that 82% of teachers blame the government's “target--driven" education policies for the fact that fewer children are reading for pleasure.
They believe that a straitjacket (束缚) of strictly organized schooling is containing young people's ability to read more widely. Two-thirds of teachers surveyed said they lacked time in the school day to introduce a variety of books and that this was a “major obstacle to being able to develop a level of reading". Teachers also cited as main factors the reduction in the number of school librarians, who could put interesting books before children, and the rise in "screen time", switching children from reading to playing games.
The majority of teachers said the curriculum's (课程) " emphasis on reading as a skill to be mastered" was increasing the pressure. This was compounded by parents who saw reading just as a focus of learning, a skill critical to career advancement in a competitive world.
Reading habits and the digital revolution in publishing were key topics of debate at the conference. The theme of the lack of British culture was supported by children's writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, who wrote the scripts(手稿 ) for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics.
“We discovered the whole nation had forgotten that they did the industrial revolution," he said.
“Books are so central to it; books can be written by anyone. A lot of the pleasure of a book is listening to somebody read it to you. "
"We found a real love of reading among teachers, and a strong desire ,to encourage more children to read for pleasure ,”said Rob Cheney," However, the teachers also had an overpowering sense of frustration with their situation." "Touch-screen phone and tablets ( 平板电脑）are naturally attractive to children ," the survey Said ,and predicted a period of awkwardness as everyone else adapts . By 2018, children's television will have adopted the presence of this second screen, and it "will be strange not to have children, at home drawing along on tablets and then having these appearing live in the show ".
The hope is “that user-friendly screens could, if material is adapted and downloaded easily, present an opportunity for more ambitious publishing - for example, books children can either read or choose to have read to them; or digital books with moving pictures instead of photos to clarify factual and scientific points. Parental controls that are easy to use would be key, the conference was told, such as "a warning for when devices use the Wi-Fi, especially after bedtimes", to allow parents to shut off access to children in the home.What leads to parents' dropping the practice of sharing bedtime stories with their children?
| A．Children have less time to spend with their parents after they start school. |
| B．Parents think it unnecessary to do so when children can read themselves. |
| C．The government’s education policies have placed much burden on children. |
| D．Children don't like parents reading stories to them when they are seven or eight. |
Which of the following is not teachers' point of view?
| A．Children are prevented from reading widely enough in school. |
| B．Schools pay attention to reading skills instead of reading for fun. |
| C．Playing video games reduces children's time spent on reading. |
| D．School libraries can't provide good books for lack of money. |
The word "compounded" (Paragraph 4) most probably means ______.
| A．worsened | B．preserved | C．reduced | D．improved |
It can be inferred from the article that ______.
| A．children don't like reading because books are not attractive |
| B．British people enjoyed reading books very much in the past |
| C．teachers forbid their students to read more books for fun |
| D．children should enjoy more freedom to use the Wi-Fi at home |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Parents should set a limit to their children's using electric devices at home. |
| B．Children are encouraged to read as many interesting books as they can. |
| C．Children miss out on pleasures of reading a good book in modern life. |
| D．Experts appeals to the government to reduce the heavy burden on children. |
I will always remember my mother’s last days in this world.
On February 14th, 2008, my class went on a field trip to the beach. I had so much fun. When we returned to school, my teacher told me to go to the headmaster’s office. When I got into the office, I saw a police officer. Suddenly, I realized something was wrong. The police officer told me what had happened and we went to pick my sister up. After that, we went to the hospital and waited. Time went slowly. Finally, we got to see our mother. It was terrible.
On the next day, the headmaster came and told my two teachers what had happened. I was taking a test that day. I knew it had something to do with my mother. I kept thinking that she either died or had gotten better. How I wished that she had gotten better. When my teacher took me outside, my sister ran up to me. She started crying, “She’s gone, Terresa, mommy’s gone. She’s dead.” I couldn’t believe it. We jumped into the car and drove straight to the hospital. Most of my family were there. The silence was terrible. I knew I had to say goodbye.
Today when I look back, I still miss my mother very much, but I know that I will live. My mother was a strong mother, who had the biggest heart. She was an angel walking on the earth. I will always remember her as a living. When someone is asked who their hero is, they usually say someone famous, like Michael Jordan or Britney Spears. When someone asks me who my hero is, I tell them, my mother. My mother lives everyday. That is what makes her a true hero.Where was the writer when she learned her mother was sick?
| A．On the beach. | B．At the hospital. |
| C．At home. | D．At school. |
Who brought the writer the bad news that her mother was ill?
| A．Her sister. | B．The headmaster. |
| C．Her teacher. | D．The police officer |
What did the headmaster tell the two teachers on the next day?
| A．Her father had been very ill. |
| B．Her mother had gotten better. |
| C．Her mother had been dead. |
| D．Her mother came to see her. |
From the last paragraph of the passage we know that _____________.
| A．the writer is afraid of her mother. |
| B．the writer feels sad about her mother. |
| C．the writer is proud of her mother. |
| D．the writer feels sorry for her mother. |
Eddie liked music very much when he was at school, but when he went to the university he decided to study medicine instead of music. When he passed his examinations and became a doctor, he had to work in a hospital for some time. There he discovered that a lot of patients were happier and caused less trouble if pleasant music was played to them When Eddie got an office and began to work for himself, he decided to keep his patients happy by having a tape recorder in his waiting-room play beautiful music for them.
But soon after the tape recorder had been put in, Eddie’s nurse heard a woman, who was sitting in the crowded waiting-room one morning, complained, “Here we’re all waiting to see the doctor, and he’s just playing the violin in his office instead of doing his work.”Eddie became a student of medicine at university__________.
| A．because he had lost interest in music |
| B．because he thought medicine was more important than music |
| C．to find out new use of music in hospital |
| D．for reasons unknown from this passage |
Why did Eddie put a tape recorder in his office?
| A．He wanted to help patients waiting to see him pass the time easily. |
| B．He discovered that music was of help to his patients |
| C．He enjoyed listening to music while he worked |
| D．He wanted to attract more patients to his office |
From the passage we can see that__________.
| A．the woman thought Eddie was an unusual doctor |
| B．the woman didn’t understand music |
| C．the woman did not understand what Eddie meant |
| D．the woman hated to be kept waiting |
Students who date(约会) in middle school have significantly worse study skills. They are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol and tobacco use as their single classmates, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
“Romantic relationships are a trademark of adolescence, but very few studies have examined how adolescents differ in the development of these relationships,” said Pamela Orpinas, study author and professor in the College of Public Health and head of the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior.
Orpinas followed a group of 624 students over a seven-year period from 6th to 12th grade.
Each year, the group of students completed a survey indicating whether they had dated and reported the frequency of different behaviors, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Their teachers completed questionnaires about the students’ academic(学术的) efforts. He found that some students never or hardly ever reported dating from middle to high school, and these students always had the best study skills according to their teachers. Other students dated infrequently in middle school but increased the frequency of dating in high school.
“At all points in time, teachers considered the students who reported the lowest frequency of dating as having the best study skills and the students with the highest dating as having the worst study skills,” according to the journal article. Study skills refer to behaviors that lead to academic success such as doing work for extra credit (学分), being well organized, finishing homework, working hard and reading assigned chapters.
“Dating a classmate may be as complicated as dating a co-worker,” Orpinas said, “when the couple break up, they have to continue to see each other in class and perhaps see the ex-partner dating someone else. It is reasonable to think this could be linked to depression and could divert (转移) attention from studying.”
“Dating should not be considered a ceremony of growth in middle school,” Orpinas concluded.According to the passage, students who date in middle school may_____
| A．have poorer academic performances |
| B．be more likely to hurt others |
| C．enjoy better school lives |
| D．be less likely to use alcohol and tobacco |
When doing his study, Orpinas ________________.
| A．followed a group of students of 6th and 12th grade |
| B．completed a survey and a report each year |
| C．found that the students’ study skills have connection with their frequency of dating |
| D．completed questionnaires about the students’ academic efforts |
What can possibly happen to the school couples after they break up?
| A．They don’t want to see each other any longer. |
| B．They will think it’s reasonable to get depressed. |
| C．They will miss their ex-partners sometimes. |
| D．Their attention to studying will be affected. |
Orpinas’ attitude towards dating in middle school is_____
| A．supportive | B．negative |
| C．positive | D．Unconcerned |
The weather predictions for Asia in 2050 read like a story from a doomsday movie．
Many experts and green groups fear they will come true unless there is a united global effort to hold back greenhouse gas outpouring．In the decades to come, Asia—home to more than half the world's 63 billion people—will change from one climate extreme to another, with tired farmers battling droughts, floods, disease, food shortages and rising sea levels．
"It's not a pretty picture," said Steve Sawyer, climate policy adviser with Greenpeace in Amsterdam．Global warming and changes of weather patterns are already occurring and there is more than enough carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to drive climate change for decades to come．
Already, changes are being felt in Asia but worse is likely to come．Sawyer and top climate bodies say, and could lead to mass migration and widespread human disasters．According to predictions, icebergs will melt faster, some Pacific and Indian Ocean islands will have to evacuate or build sea defenses, storms will become stronger and insects and water-borne diseases will move into new areas as the world warms．
All this comes on top of rising populations and demand for food, water and other resources．Experts say environmental worsening such as deforestation and pollution will likely enlarge the results of climate change．
In what could be a sign of the future, Japan was hit by a record of 10 typhoons and tropical storms this year, while two - thirds of Bangladesh, parts of Nepal and large areas of northeastern India were flooded, affecting 50 million people, destroying livelihoods and making tens of thousands ill．
The year before, a winter cold strike and a summer heat wave killed more than 2,000 people in India．This passage is mainly about ____ ．
| A．present situation and predictions of environmental problems in Asia. |
| B．the weather predictions for Asia in the future and the reasons |
| C．how to improve our environment |
| D．reasons why the world will no longer be suitable for us to live in |
In the future the Asian farmers will have to face the following except ____ ．
| A．food shortages | B．wars |
| C．droughts | D．floods |
The underlined word "doomsday" in the first paragraph may mean____ ．
| A．the hell | B．the end of the world |
| C．a great world war | D．mystery |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Asian climate will change greatly． |
| B．Some islands may be flooded in the future． |
| C．People may meet with some new diseases resulting from water． |
| D．More than 50 million people have been ill in Asia the year before． |
Welcome here! The Southern Spring Home & Garden Show will be held at The Park Expo and Conference Center. This show will last from Wednesday (March 2) to Sunday (March 6,2012).
Admission : Adults $10.00. Teenagers under 15 free with a paying adult.
Join Lincolnton’s own Tammie Davis as she performs her original country songs at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 5th.
Special Days: The Spring for Kids First Night Gala benefiting the Council for Children’s Rights will take place from 7 p.m. to 10p.m. on Wednesday, March 2,2012. Tickets are $50 and include an access to Freedom Hall, where you can enjoy delicious food, beverage(饮料)and entertainment free of charge.
Seniors Day(55+):Wednesday is for them. Cost is $7.00 but without coupons(减价优惠).
Hours :Wednesday, Thursday &Sunday :10 a.m.---5p.m.;Friday &Saturday :10 a.m.----9 a.m.
Wheelchairs are available on a first come first served basis for you. The cost is $1.00 and you are required to leave a valid driver’s license or ID.
Parking :All Day Parking: $6.00;Half Day Parking:$3.00; Every Hour Parking:$1.00
For more Information: Come to visit Mardee Woodward in person.
E-mail: mwoodward@southernshows.com
Telephone:704-376-4085 We can learn from the text that the show will ___________.
| A．last only five days |
| B．offer a free parking |
| C．have the only one singer |
| D．take place in a private house |
How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and a child aged 16?
| A．$ 10 | B．$ 30 | C．$ 20 | D．$40 |
We can infer from the text that______________.
| A．old people can visit the show only on Wednesday |
| B．the disabled can use the wheelchairs free of charge |
| C．there are not enough wheelchairs for the disabled |
| D．kids’ tickets on Wednesday don’t include beverage |