D
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. |
On Sunday , April 22, people all over the world take time out to appreciate ( 珍惜 ) the earth that we all share. It’s Earth Day, a special day to learn about our planet ( 星球) and how to take care of it.
On Earth Day, some people listen to speeches about the environment. Others help clean up their offices or save water and electricity at home. Your parents may even decide to take a day off from driving their cars.
The idea for Earth Day came from a U.S. Senator (参议员) ，who was worried about pollution and the health of plants and animals. And the idea quickly caught on ( 流行起来). In 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated. More than 20 million people in cities all over the U.S. took part . Since then, Earth Day has been used to educate people about their role in taking care of our planet.
Now , Earth Day has become a global celebration. In 1990, 200 million people from 140 countries took part in clean-ups, tree planting and other environmental events on Earth DayWhen is Earth Day?
Who came up with the idea for Earth Day?
How many people celebrated the first Earth Day in 1970 ?
Is Earth Day popular around the world now ?
What is Earth Day?
Alice is my pen friend, She is a 16-year-old girl from the UK, but now she lives in China. She is a middle school student in Nanjing. She likes going to school, but there are some things she doesn't tike, such as PE. She enjoys playing sports. She thinks sports are interesting and exciting. But she doesn't like doing physical exercises in PE classes. She feels that they are boring! Her favorite subject is Science. It seems that the amazing and useful Science attracts her. She thinks she is on the way to be a scientist. She wishes to invent things to make the world more beautiful.
In her free time, she often goes to the beach. She loves just sitting around and talking to friends there. She's getting better at understanding boys, but she hates listening to hours of talk about football. " It's not interesting at all!" she once said to me.
That is my pen friend Alice.
Information about Alice
| BasicInformation |
Name : Alice Age: sixteen |
Birth place : in the UK Living now : in China |
| Like |
What |
Why/ For what |
| Playing sports |
Interesting and __ |
|
| Going to the _ |
Sitting around and __ |
|
| Favorite subject: Science. |
__ |
|
| Dislikes |
Having _ |
Physical exercises are _ |
| _ |
Not interesting at all. |
|
| Wishes |
To be a _ |
Be attracted by Science. |
| To invent things |
Make the world _ |
In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business .But he was not a goodartist .So he invented a very simple camera (照相机).He put it in a window of his house and took apicture of his garden .That was the first photo.
The next important date in the history of photography (摄影术) was in 1837. That year, Daguere, another Frenchman ,took a picture of his reading room .He used a new kind of camera in a differentway. In his picture you could see everything very clearly ,even the smallest thing. This kind of photowas called a Daguerreo type. Soon, other people began to use Daguerre’s way. Travelers broughtback wonderful photos from all around the world .people took picture of famous buildings, cities andmountains. In about 1840, photography was developed .Then photographers could take picture ofpeople and moving things .That was not simple .The photographers had to carry a lot of film and other machines. But this did not stop them ,for example, some in the United States worked so hard. Mathew Brady was a famous American photographers. He took many picture of great people .The picture were unusual because they were very lifelike(栩栩如生的)
Photographers also became one kind of art by the end of the 19th century .Some photos were notjust copies of the real world .They showed feelings, like other kinds of art.The first photo taken by Niepce was a picture of ____________
| A．his business | B．his house |
| C．his garden | D．his window |
The Daguerreotype was____________.
| A．a Frenchman | B．a kind of picture |
| C．a kind of camera | D．a photographer |
If a photographer wanted to take pictures of moving things in the year of 1840, hehad to__________.
| A．watch lots of films |
| B．buy an expensive camera |
| C．stop in most cities |
| D．take many films and something else with him |
Mathew Brady______________.
| A．was very lifelike |
| B．was famous for his unusual pictures |
| C．was quite strong |
| D．took many pictures of moving people |
This passage tells us_____________.
| A．how photography was developed |
| B．how to show your ideas and feelings in pictures |
| C．how to take pictures in the world |
| D．how to use different cameras |
Mr Baker worked in a big factory. He was busy all the time and had little time to rest. One summer, he decided to go to the sea to spend his holidays.
One afternoon, it was very hot. Mr Baker came into a restaurant, sat at a table and wanted to drink. Just then, an old man came up to him and said, “How do you do, sir?” “How do you do?” Mr Baker asked the old man to sit next to him. “Have you been here before?” “No, I haven’t.” “You look lonely, don’t you?” said the old man. “Let’s have a bet, shall we?”
It interested Mr Baker, “But what shall we bet on?” “I can bite my left eyeball,” said the old man, “I can bet you five dollars.”
Mr Baker didn’t believe and passed $5 on the table.
The old man took out his glass eyeball, put it into his mouth and bite it. Mr Baker had to give his money.
“It doesn’t matter young man,” the old man said. “I’ll give you a chance to win the money back. I can also bite my right eye. I’ll bet you $10.”
“I’m sure he’s able to see. And I must win his money,” he thought. So he took out ten dollars from his wallet.
But he was very surprised, the old man took out his false(假的) teeth and bit his right eye with it. Then he put the money into his pocket and went away quickly.Mr Baker went to the sea ________.
| A．to swim | B．to have a rest |
| C．to drink something | D．to make a bet |
The old man said hello to Mr Baker because ________.
| A．they were good friends |
| B．he wanted to ask for some food |
| C．he wanted to drink with him |
| D．he wanted to win money |
After the old man knew _______, he began to make a bet with the young man.
| A．Mr Baker was there for the first time |
| B．Mr Baker wanted to win the five dollars back |
| C．Mr Baker knew he had false teeth |
| D．Mr Baker wasn’t clever enough |
As ________, he bet the old man ten dollars.
| A．Mr Baker didn’t think him blind(瞎的) in both eyes |
| B．Mr Baker wanted to win the five dollars back |
| C．Mr Baker knew he had false teeth |
| D．Mr Baker wanted to help him in another way |
The old man was blind in ________.
| A．both eyes | B．neither eye |
| C．the right eye | D．the left eye |
One day a farmer went out for a walk with his daughter. The farmer put on a pair of wrong shoes－one with a thick sole(鞋底) and the other with a thin one. So as he began to walk, he felt very uncomfortable. When he was just out of the house, he turned to his daughter and said, “Why should one of my legs be longer than the other today?”
The daughter looked at his father’s legs carefully as he was walking, and then laughed, “Oh, no, Daddy, your legs are all right. You have put on the wrong shoes.”
The farmer was very happy to hear that and said to himself, “What a clever daughter I have got!” Then he asked his daughter to go back and get the other pair of shoes for him.
The farmer had only two pairs of shoes.
When the daughter ran back to the house, she found that the other pair was also a pair of wrong shoes.
She had to return to his father with nothing in her hands and said out of breath, “It’s no use changing them, Daddy! The shoes at home were not a pair, either!”When the farmer went out for a walk with his daughter, he put on a pair of ____ shoes.
| A．wrong | B．comfortable |
| C．old | D．new |
A pair of wrong shoes means ________.
| A．the shoes are not the farmer’s |
| B．the shoes are too small |
| C．one of the shoes has a thick sole, the other has a thin one, they are not a pair |
| D．the shoes are too big |
When the farmer began to walk, he felt very uncomfortable because ________.
| A．one of his legs was longer than the other one |
| B．he was ill that day |
| C．he wore a pair of wrong shoes |
| D．the shoes were too small |
The farmer thought his daughter was a clever girl because ________.
| A．she could make shoes |
| B．she could find out that her father wore a pair of wrong shoes |
| C．she could find out a pair of right shoes |
| D．she found that her father’s legs were sick |
The father asked his daughter to go and get the other pair of shoes for him and the daughter ________.
| A．brought back a pair of wrong shoes |
| B．brought back of a pair of right shoes |
| C．didn’t bring any shoes; she knew the other pair at home was not a pair, either |
| D．couldn’t find anything at home |