When Jane put out the idea of homeschooling to her parents, the first reaction they gave was, “You are cutting the child off the world.’’ “Did the child really get cut off or did the child socialize better?”
The moment we hear of homeschooling, we think the child will have no opportunities to interact with peers. However, in my friend’s opinion, we forget that when attending a regular school, the child is not into socializing all the while. The child is restricted to so many other activities. Studies take a major role in a child’s life. The child hardly has the time to interact at school.
The child might be meeting and studying along with many peers; however, how many kids interact with all the kids in a class? But in homeschooling system, as my friend mentioned, the kid has all the time and can plan his day accordingly. During the day the child studies just like other school-going kids but with no burden of homework and project work, the child has so much free time in the evening as to effectively interact and play with peers. The quality time the child spends in education is really impressive.
Homeschooled kids have the opportunity to socialize more often as they have a lot of time in their hands. They can also make socializing a regular habit. Just as my friend said, her child goes to a neighboring park almost every day and has a set of friends who go there daily. Other children get back home to finish off homework and project work whereas her child who is already through with studies gets the opportunity to spend time with family members.
When I heard this, I really felt how lucky the child was. Definitely the child had a better opportunity to socialize when compared with my kid. However, I might not consider homeschooling for my kid, as I am so used to the conventional schooling system and feel regular schooling the safest bet.The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to_____________.
| A．express his views on homeschooling |
| B．explain what homeschooling is |
| C．share his ways of teaching his children |
| D．promote homeschooling |
What is the biggest advantage of homeschooled children?
| A．They will become braver. | B．They can be more popular. |
| C．They can socialize better. | D．They will know how to arrange time. |
What do we know about homeschooled children?
| A．They don’t interact with their peers often. |
| B．They have more spare time to play. |
| C．They are restricted to certain activities |
| D．They can’t gain enough knowledge. |
How does the passage mainly develop?
| A．By following the order of importance. |
| B．By following the order of time. |
| C．By making comparisons. |
| D．By presenting data. |
Members of the working class have blue-collar jobs. They are construction workers, truck drivers, mechanican, steel workers, electricians, and the like. What makes this class differ from the lower class is, first, longer periods of employment—and therefore, more fixed incomes—and , second, employment in skilled or semi-skilled occupations, not unskilled ones. Although unemployment hits all levels of the American economy, including those of skilled and semi-skilled workers, it is most common at the bottom of the class structure and increasingly less common at each level upward. They consider themselves to be respectable and hard-working and they look down upon members of the “low” class, whom they often consider to be lazy, dishonest, and too ready to exploit public assistance.
Most people in the working class have at least high school education. Many have some experience of college(especially community college), though few are college graduates. Unionization has helped the working class, but a rapidly changing economy and frequent periods of high unemployment make it difficult for most of its members to be able to increase their savings greatly. Purchasing a house for people in this class is extremely difficult, although a certain percentage may receive houses from their parents. (Home-owning rises with social class.)
A greater number of the members of the working class take relatively little satisfaction in their jobs, because much of their work is ordinary and boring. As a result, many seek their main satisfaction in recreational activities. Many members of this class would like to earn enough money to leave their jobs and start their own businesses, though few make it. Many place their expectations on their children, hoping that they at least will rise in the ladder of success. Which of the following is true about the working class?
| A．They are often offered jobs with high incomes. |
| B．They are employed as skilled and semi-skilled workers. |
| C．They are often considered lazy and dishonest. |
| D．They are often exploited by the public. |
The word “hit” in paragraph one roughly means__________.
| A．have bad effects on | B．break up |
| C．beat | D．strike with a blow |
Most people in the working class ________.
| A．have at least some experience of college |
| B．receive houses from their parents |
| C．buy houses by themselves |
| D．have difficulty increasing their savings greatly |
Many members from the working class are not satisfied with their jobs because _____.
| A．they are not interested in their jobs. |
| B．they could not earn much money |
| C．they are not their own bosses |
| D．they could not rise in the ladder of success |
A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.
I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting, and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year, maybe two, and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.
It was a very important event in the computerization of life---a sign that the informal, friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters and we recognized one another’s handwriting the way we know voices or faces.
As a child, visiting my father’s office, I was pleased to recognize, in little notes on the desk of his staff, the same handwriting I would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge---except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW’.
All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The rise and Fall of Handwriting, a book by Florey. She shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well, but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.
I don’t buy it.
I don’t want to see anyone cut off from expressive, personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer, part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.
What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand---as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However, they have worked in many school systems.Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?
| A．He had worked with his colleague long enough. |
| B．His colleague’s handwriting was so beautiful. |
| C．His colleague’s handwriting was so terrible. |
| D．He still had a lot of work to do. |
People working together in an office used to __________.
| A．talk more about handwriting |
| B．take more notes on workdays |
| C．know better one another’s handwriting |
| D．communicate better with one another |
According to the author, handwritten notes ___________.
| A．are harder to teach in schools | B．attract more attention |
| C．are used only between friends | D．carry more message |
We can learn from the passage that the author _____________.
| A．thinks it impossible to teach handwriting |
| B．does not want to lose handwriting |
| C．does not agree with Florey |
| D．puts the blame on the computer |
Everyone knows the smart black-and-white dog that sits on top of a red doghouse with his best friend---a bird called Woodstock.
Created by the American cartoonist Charles Schulz in 1950, the clever dog is loved by generations of kids and adults. He speaks more than 20 languages and appears daily in 26,000 newspapers around the world.
When Snoopy first appeared, he was not different form other pet dogs. But two years later, he had begun to speak with simple words and sounds. By 1957 he could walk on two legs and was going to school with his master, Charlie Brown, who failed in just about everything. Later he learned to use the typewriter.
Snoopy has done lots of jobs. He has been a bow-tie wearing lawyer, a tennis player, an Olympic figure skater, a world famous grocery checkout clerk, a pilot and even the first astronaut on the moon.
However, Snoopy has always dreamed of being a famous writer. The beginning of his story is always, “It was a dark and stormy night…” Unfortunately for him no one has ever wanted to publish the story.
In love, Snoopy is as much of a failure as Charlie Brown is at baseball. He easily falls in love but always has his heart broken. He eats to forget, but it never works.
Snoopy is an insightful, feel-good and sometimes sad dog. If you think a little about words, you might find them full of life lessons. Among his most famous lines are “To live is to dance, to dance is to live.” And “Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog. Sigh! There’s so little hope for advancement”. Snoopy has done all the following jobs except ____________.
| A．a lawyer | B．a player | C．a clerk | D．a writer |
From the passage, we can learn that _________.
| A．Snoopy is always a sad dog |
| B．Snoopy can not speak in the beginning |
| C．Snoopy often dreams of true love |
| D．Snoopy is a real smart pet dog |
It can be inferred that Snoopy ____________.
| A．has many bird friends and relatives |
| B．is a well-known writer and clerk |
| C．has been unfortunate since it was born |
| D．is very popular in the whole world |
The word “advancement” in the last paragraph probably means__________.
| A．success | B．progress | C．growth | D．popularity |
Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships. One strength of the human condition is our possibility to give and receive support from one another under stressful conditions. Social support makes up of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily problems. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over types of illnesses, from depression(沮丧) to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people defend themselves against illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.
Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others in spite of our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Taking part in free-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting (转移注意力) us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental support money aid, material resources, and needed services - that reduces stress by helping us resolve and deal with our problems. Interpersonal relationships are important because they can ________
| A．make people live more easily | B．smooth away daily problems |
| C．deal with life changes | D．cure types of illnesses |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word "cushions"?
| A．takes place of | B．makes up of |
| C．lessens the effect of | D．gets rid of |
What is the subject discussed in the text?
| A．Interpersonal relationships. | B．Kinds of social support. |
| C．Ways to deal with stress. | D．Effects of stressful condition. |
What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技术). With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today's leading killers, such as heart diseases, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memory.
In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells(细胞) are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs(器官). The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on---in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic conditional human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future. According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by _______.
| A．diseases and aging | B．accidents and war |
| C．accidents and aging | D．heart diseases and war |
In the author's opinion, today's most important advance in technology lies in _____.
| A．medicine | B．the internet | C．brain cells | D．human organs |
Humans may live longer in the future because ______.
| A．heart disease will be far away from us |
| B．human brains can decide the final death |
| C．the basic materials of cells will last forever |
| D．human organs can be repaired by new medicine |