With the popularity of Harry Potter novels, the number of children applying to boarding schools has risen, many of them hoping to find their own version of Hogwarts. However, others have interpreted this trend as a reaction to longer working hours and the break up of more marriages. The boarding schools of. fiction are presented as one long midnight feast with pillow fights making firm friendships. However, some people say the reality is children having more homesickness and a lack of individual attention. Modern boarding schools have done much to get rid of the image of the mass dormitories with 40 or more beds in one room, some going as far as providing private rooms with bathrooms. Similarly, they make great announcements for their academic advantage, particularly in light of the increase in exams, homework and university entrance requirements facing children wishing to succeed in the modern world.
Alongside these more conventional schools, two types of boarding schools have also become more popular recently. Sports academies and stage schools seek to cater for children with particular interests and talents, while so-called troubled-teens have been able to turn to a range of religious or wilderness schools to solve their problematic behavior.
Boarding schools allow children a safe space in which to accomplish greater control and independence over their daily lives. Teachers and staff can look after and support but they are unlikely to be over-protective. This can be a great preparation for university or for working away from home in later life as it provides an intermediate step between childhood and full independence.
However, parents are a child's most natural support and best role models to learn from. If they are separated from them for long periods of time, this may damage their relationship and leave the child feeling anxious or alone. Schools are unlikely to be able to copy the detailed knowledge of each individual child that a parent has and therefore cannot be as effective in supporting the child.
To sum up, boarding schools have both their advantages and disadvantages, so it is up to you to decide whether to send your children to boarding schools or not.What do we know from the passage?
| A．More and more children go and visit Hogwarts on their own. |
| B．Pillow fights in boarding schools make firm friendships in reality. |
| C．More children want to go to boarding schools because of Harry Potter novels. |
| D．There aren't special schools for the particularly talented children. |
What kind of schools may be the most suitable for the so-called troubled-teens?
| A．sports academies |
| B．Wilderness schools |
| C．Conventional schools |
| D．Stage schools |
We learn from Paragraph 4 that __________.
| A．teachers of boarding schools are the best examples for children to learn from |
| B．children can be more independent if they are separated from their parents |
| C．parents know their children better than teachers of boarding schools |
| D．schools are much more effective than parents in supporting children |
What is the author's opinion of boarding schools?
| A．Neutral. |
| B．Negative. |
| C．Positive. |
| D．Critical. |
“It was all his own idea, ” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school football coach Bob Peters, 39. Bob had just drawn up a “motherhood contract” --a document stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores. Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident. (He thought the experience would make a nice book.)
After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled（挫败的）,” admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press, stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.
Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids. Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs, “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however----until Bob signed the contract, therefore, she decided to relax and enjoy it.
Although Peters had consulted with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria, his meals were sometimes a disaster. “I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner.
As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”
Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative（暂时的） title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.The couple signed the contract because _______.
| A．Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself |
| B．Bob loved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest |
| C．they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks |
| D．Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book |
It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _______.
| A．pay a certain amount of money |
| B．admit publicly he was wrong about motherhood |
| C．say sorry to his wife Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. |
| D．do all the housework for years |
What can we learn about Pat Peters?
| A．She was hard-working and selfless. |
| B．She was pretty and kind-hearted. |
| C．She was tired of the child-raising and household tasks. |
| D．She did not love Bob any longer. |
Which of the following can best end the news story?
| A．“Wait till your mother gets home!” |
| B．“My experience of being a mother.” |
| C．“I’m proud of you all, my dear!” |
| D．“Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.” |
A new study from Harvard University revealed that the message parents mean to send to children about the value of sympathy (同情心）is being mistaken by the message they actually send. In fact they value achievement and happiness above all else.
The Making Caring Common Project at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education surveyed 10,000 middle and high school students about which is more important to them—achievement, happiness, or caring about others. Almost 80 percent of students placed achievement or happiness over caring about others. Only 20 percent of students considered caring about others as their top aim.
In the study “The Children We Mean to Raise: The Real Message Adults Are Sending about Values”, the authors refer to a reality gap, an incongruity (不一致) between what adults tell children they should value and the message we grown-ups actually send through our behavior.
Simply talking about sympathy is not enough. While 96 percent of parents say they want to raise caring children, and cite the development of moral character as “very important, if not essential”, 80 percent of the youths surveyed reported that their parents “are more concerned about achievement and happiness than caring about others”. Approximately the same percentage of the students reported that their teachers put their achievement over caring.
As the report shows, simply talking about sympathy is not enough. Children are sensitive creatures, fully capable of telling the true meanings in the blank spaces between well-organised words. If parents really want to let their kids know that they value care and sympathy, the authors suggest, they must make a real effort to help their children learn to care about other people—even when it’s hard, even when it does not make them happy, and yes, even when it is at odds with(与……不一致) their personal success.The first paragraph suggests that parents _____.
| A．don’t intend to valuesuccess |
| B．fail to make students realize the importance of sympathy |
| C．value achievement less |
| D．regard achievement and happiness as the same |
What can be concluded from the study?
| A．About 80% of the students are not caring. |
| B．Kids care more about achievement. |
| C．20% of the students are not ambitious. |
| D．A majority of the kids are kind students. |
What may be the cause for the reality gap?
| A．Children’s desire for getting individual achievement. |
| B．The generation gap between parents and children. |
| C．Children’s failure to understand parents’ well-organised words. |
| D．Parents’ lack of a real effort to guide children. |
Five Booming Careers in Health Care
Loving what you do is great，but knowing your career will be there tomorrow is even better. And when it comes to booming fields，the health care industry is one that's primed(准备好) for growth.
Want to prepare to take your place in the health care field？Check out these five indemand health care careers.
Career 1 Medical and Health Services Manager
If you want to take your leadership skills into the growing health care field，consider pursuing a career as a medical and health services manager.
As a medical and health services manager you might plan，direct，and organize health services in an entire health care facility，or a specific department or clinical area，says U．S. Department of Labor. Daily duties could include handling a facility's finances，creating work schedules，and making sure that health care services are delivered efficiently.
Career 2 Medical Assistant
If you are interested in working in a doctor's office，consider preparing for a career in the indemand field of medical assisting.
As a medical assistant，you could play a role in helping patients' visits go smoothly from when they first walk in the door. Your duties might include measuring vital signs，assisting the physician with examinations，recording health information，and scheduling appointments，according to the U．S. Department of Labor.
Career 3 Registered Nurse
Ready to put your helpful nature to use in the largest health care field？Look into prepping（准备） to pursue a career in registered nursing.
As a registered nurse，you could work closely with patients by providing care，education，and emotional support. You might give patients medicines and treatments，observe their conditions，or perform diagnostic(诊断的)tests，says the U．S. Department of Labor.
Career 4 Physical Therapist （理疗师）Assistant
Want to enter an indemand health care field where you could really play a handson role in helping patients restore their physical functionality？If so，a career as a physical therapist assistant could be a good fit.
Under the supervision of a physical therapist，you could help patients regain movement as they recover from injuries，illnesses, or surgery. Your role in the rehabilitation process could include assisting patients with techniques(massage[按摩]，stretching)and therapeutic methods like electrical stimulation and mechanical traction，says the U．S. Department of Labor.
Career 5 Pharmacy Technician(药剂师)
Prefer a health care career that is less handson？Consider pursuing a career in the growing pharmacy technician field.
Pharmacy technicians can be responsible for counting pills，filling prescriptions，providing customer service，and fulfilling administrative tasks under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist，according to the U．S. Department of Labor.As a medical assistant，your duties might NOT include ________.
| A．scheduling appointments |
| B．providing customer service |
| C．assisting the physician with examinations |
| D．recording health information |
Which of the following is TRUE about a physical therapist assistant?
| A．His/Her duty might include measuring vital signs and recording health information. |
| B．His/Her function includes assisting patients and providing customer service. |
| C．He/She could play a practical role in helping patients restore their physical functionality. |
| D．He/She can help patients gain movement as they are in the illness. |
What does the underlined word “rehabilitation” mean?
| A．The process of recording somebody's name on an official list. |
| B．The process of cutting a part of a person's body in order to remove or repair a damaged part. |
| C．The process of helping somebody to have a normal life again after they have been ill for a long time. |
| D．The process of improving or becoming stronger. |
The author writes the passage mainly to ________.
| A．advocate five booming careers in health care |
| B．persuade you to go into five booming careers in health care |
| C．introduce five booming careers in health care |
| D．classify health care into five careers |
Our children feel stressed out by an educational system that actually uses stress as an educational technique. It's a constant pressure of homework deadlines，essays and exams. And our children are told at a young age that failing a test means that they are failures in life. They'll end up nowhere if they don't pass this or that exam. Our educational system is based on a very Western idea that life is a struggle and you'd better measure up. It's survival of the fittest. While there is some truth to this，not as much as people think.
Our ancestors didn't develop a constant stress environment. Back then，stress came quickly and was over quickly，it wasn't like the stress of modern education. Stress was originally just a shortterm biological response to danger；however，the constant stress of modern education rarely stops. It's long term，at least ten years and usually more.
Recent research has shown that the neurological(神经系统的)response to stress is the same response that is found in depression. So，what's the solution? A number have been proposed，including but not limited to the following.
________.Exercise consumes energy that would otherwise build up in the stress response and could cause physical and mental problems.
Teach relaxation exercises. Allowing the mind and body to relax cuts off the stress response and reduces the neurological fatigue(疲惫)，enabling the individual to recover at least somewhat.
Pay attention to thinking. Training the stressed student to pay attention to his or her own mind to a point where he or she is sufficiently aware to shut off the stress response when necessary.
Of course，there's a logical answer to the problem. Just rearrange our teaching methods to encourage，rather than prevent，the natural curiosity and joy in learning that we are all born with. This would remove the stress and probably cut learning time in half.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Getting rid of the modern education. |
| B．Helping children live a happy life. |
| C．Dealing with stress in modern education. |
| D．Taking measures to learn at school. |
How did our ancestors treat education?
| A．They believed education could bring the best out. |
| B．They felt education could bring shortterm stress. |
| C．They thought education was the only way to success. |
| D．They knew the importance of good education. |
Which of the following is the best for the blank?
| A．Try to save energy as much as possible. |
| B．Quite a few children avoid exercise. |
| C．Make sure that kids get exercise. |
| D．Set a few limits to your physical activities. |
If you are a teacher in a high school, ______.
| A．you should leave students in a good mood |
| B．you should ignore the stressed student |
| C．you should relax yourself as far as possible |
| D．you should stick to your teaching methods |
Alibaba started taking the lead in China, simply enough, by connecting big Chinese manufacturers(制造商)with big buyers across the world. Its business-to-business site, Alibaba.com allowed business to buy almost everything. Alibaba’s advantage wasn’t hard to identify: size. Alibaba is just big, even by Chinese standards. Its marketplaces attract 231 million active buyers, 8 million sellers, 11.3 billion orders a year—and Alibaba is just the middleman. It encourages people to use its markets—not charging small sellers a percentage of the sale.
If you want a quick look into the influence of Alibaba on daily Chinese life, take my experience. I moved to Beijing almost a year ago and quickly got tired of visiting small stores across the crowded, polluted city of 20 million people in search of new electronics, bathroom furnishings, and anything else my wife wanted. “You’re looking for what exactly? Why not try it? ” my Chinese teacher asked me one day. With that, my wonderful new relationship with Alibaba began.
Alibaba’s original business-to-business model now is secondary to(对…来说是次要的) consumer buying. Chinese retail（零售）buying makes up 80% of Alibaba’s profit, and leading that group is Taobao, with 800 million items for sale and the most unbelievable selection of things you’ll ever find. TMall.com is Alibaba’s other big site, where you can find brand name goods from Nike and Unilever near the lowest prices.
What I have a hard time explaining to friends and family back in the U.S. is how China has gone beyond traditional shopping—big-box retailers especially —in favor of online purchases on Taobao and a few other sites. In smaller towns than Beijing, where big retailers have not yet traveled, shopping online is shopping, and shopping is Taobao.
I have a list of some of my recent purchases on Taobao for a sense of how extensive(广大) the marketplace is. Almost everything arrived a day or two after ordering with free shipping. I’m not even a big buyer, because I need friends to help me search the Chinese-language site. When I was searching my purchase history on my Chinese teacher’s iPad, which helps me buy goods, I looked through with great difficulty about 10 of her purchases for every one of mine.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．Alibaba | B．a new store |
| C．a business | D．a foreign website |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The author’s Chinese teacher is also an online purchase lover. |
| B．Taobao has no obvious advantage over other similar online sites. |
| C．Alibaba’s business-to-business service earns more money than retail now. |
| D．TMall.com provides more profit than Taobao. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Shopping online is TaoBao. |
| B．Alibaba greatly influences people’s daily purchase in China. |
| C．The influence of shopping online goes beyond traditional shopping. |
| D．How the author purchases online in China. |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the passage refer to?
| A．Alibaba acts as a bridge between buyers and sellers. |
| B．Alibaba will continue to develop. |
| C．Alibaba stands out as the best online site. |
| D．Alibaba is of middle size among all the online sites. |