Recently, we’ve been talking about how we need better teachers. There’s no doubt that a great teacher can help in a student’s achievement but here’s what some new studies are also showing: We need better parents.
Every three years, the organization called O.E.C.D. organizes exams as part of the Program for International Student Assessment (评估), or PISA, which tests 15-year-olds on their abilities to solve real problems. America’s 15-year-olds have not done as well as students in Singapore, Finland and Shanghai in the PISA exams.
To better understand the reasons, the PISA team, starting with four countries in 2006, and then adding 14 more in 2009, went to the parents of 5,000 students. They interviewed them about how they raised their kids and then compared it with the test results for each of those years. Two weeks ago, the PISA team published the main findings of its study:
Fifteen-year-olds whose parents often read books with them during their first year of primary school get much higher scores in PISA 2009 than students whose parents don’t often read with them or not at all. Parents’ concern for their children is strongly connected with better results in PISA.
According to Schleicher, the leader of the team, just asking your children how their school day was and showing great interest in their learning can help a lot. It is something every parent can do, no matter what their education level.
The study found that getting parents concerned about their children’s learning at home is more powerful than parents attending parent-teacher meetings, volunteering in classrooms, taking part in money-raising, and showing up at back-to-school nights.
To be sure, nothing can replace a good teacher. But let’s stop putting the whole responsibility on teachers. We also need better parents. Better parents can make teaching more effective (有效的).The study was done in________ countries in total in 2009.
| A．4 | B．14 | C．18 | D．40 |
It is suggested in the study that parents should________.
| A．try to search for better teachers |
| B．put the whole duty on teachers |
| C．care about their children’s school life |
| D．ask their children to read more books |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Better Parents Are Needed |
| B．Better Teachers Are Needed |
| C．A Study by the PISA Team |
| D．An Interview with Parents |
One day Bill went to eat at a restaurant in London．Suddenly a young woman sat down beside him．Bill could not think what she wanted．She did not look very happy．Bill asked her what was wrong．“The problem is,” she began．But then she stopped．She didn’t find it easy to tell Bill about it, it seemed．
“My husband and I wanted to meet here for lunch at 12,” she said at last, “but he hasn’t come．”
“Well, don’t you know where he is? Can you ring him up?”
“No, I can’t.” said the woman, “And I have had lunch now and I can’t pay the bill．Because I haven’t got any money with me．”
“Never mind, I’ll pay the bill for you．You can pay me back later．” Bill said．“If you give me your address, I’ll send you the money as soon as I get home．” With these words she left the restaurant．
A few weeks later, when Bill was having lunch at another restaurant, he suddenly heard a familiar（熟悉的）voice, “Excuse me．May I just sit here for a moment?” Bill turned round．It was the same young woman again．This time she was talking to a man with gray hair at a table not far from the gate．Bill smiled at the woman and got up from his chair and walked across the room．One day Bill came to eat at a restaurant _____ ．
| A．to meet a young woman |
| B．to help a woman |
| C．to have lunch |
| D．to have the last meal of the day |
The woman said she would _____ ．
| A．return Bill’s money as early as possible |
| B．go to Bill’s home to return the money |
| C．give Bill’s money back the next day |
| D．return Bill’s money at the restaurant |
Bill walked across the room _____ ．
| A．to pay the woman’s bill |
| B．to say hello to the man with gray hair |
| C．to meet the woman |
| D．to go away from the woman |
One-hundred-and seventh birthdays aren’t usually celebrated for authors who aren’t alive anymore. But Theodor Seuss Geisel---better known as the children’s books author Dr. Seuss ---who came into the world on 2 March, 1904, was an unusual man.
Like generations of children I was raised on his wonderful stories. But when I now read them to my children it’s not just the childhood memories I enjoy. His writing is brilliant and imaginative and flows with a self-confidence as sure as the words of a Shakespeare poem. Readers ride his characteristic rhythm (韵律) with an effortless joy that cannot be matched by any other modern writer:
You have brains in your head
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself any direction you choose
And will you succeed?
Yes indeed, yes indeed!
Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed.
Seuss’s brilliant cartoons and clever words make his books a delight for adults but they attract mostly children of course. His stories teach kids moral lessons but in indirect and entertaining ways.
The first Seuss book I was given was The Lorax, written just as the 60s were becoming the 70s. Seuss was ahead of his time, and in this book the dawn of concern for environmental problems are shown as the Lorax “who speaks for the trees” battles against an evil businessman who wants to destroy the forest and make goods “which everyone needs”.
It’s not only a warning of the heavy price of environmental destruction, written well before most people had thought to worry, but it’s also a smart analysis of consumer societies: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” This is of course a moral message, but not of the kind designed to persuade the youngsters into behavior that adults want.
I could go on, but hey, it’s a birthday, and I’m sure you folks have some good toasts to raise for the party…What’s the purpose of this passage?
| A．To introduce Dr. Seuss’s life. |
| B．To analyze Dr. Seuss’s books. |
| C．To describe Dr. Seuss’s writing style. |
| D．To celebrate Dr. Seuss’s achievements. |
Why does the author include Dr. Seuss’s poem?
| A．To encourage readers to use their brains and choose their own way. |
| B．To give readers a sample of Seuss’s story The Lorax. |
| C．To provide readers with an example of Seuss’s writing style. |
| D．To explain how relevant Seuss’s stories remain today. |
Why do adults also enjoy Seuss’s books?
| A．His words and pictures are imaginative enough to be enjoyed by all. |
| B．His books give children obvious moral messages to learn from. |
| C．He writes about adult topics in a way that is understandable to children. |
| D．He was the first person to write about the environment. |
When was the book The Lorax written?
| A．Early 1960s. | B．Early 1970s. |
| C．Late 1960s. | D．Late 1970s. |
Which of the following is true about Seuss?
| A．Many of the issues he discussed attracted greater concern in later years. |
| B．He is widely considered as the twentieth-century Shakespeare. |
| C．His books are more popular now than when they were first published. |
| D．Most readers thought his ideas were difficult to understand. |
Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family’s last vacation. It was my six-year-old son’s winter break form school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York，So I had to get back. But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.
The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged—okay, ordered—them to wait it out at the airport, to "earn" more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?
Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.
I've made living looking for the best deals and exposing （揭露）the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.
I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money’s worth. I’m also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn't hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps its shape longer, and it's the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.Why did Delta give the author's family credits?
| A．They took a later flight. |
| B．They had early bookings. |
| C．Their flight had been delayed. |
| D．Their flight had been cancelled. |
What can we learn about the author?
| A．She rarely misses a good deal. |
| B．She seldom makes a compromise. |
| C．She is very strict with her children. |
| D．She is interested in cheap products. |
What does the author do?
| A．She's a teacher. | B．She's a housewife. |
| C．She's a media person. | D．She's a businesswoman. |
What does the author want to tell us?
| A．How to expose bad tricks. | B．How to reserve airline seats. |
| C．How to spend money wisely. | D．How to make a business deal. |
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You don’t have to be a student to buy one of our plans. Non-students can visit our sister site International Citizens —International Health Insurance.
If you are looking for an international plan to fit the need of your group of international students, please visit our group insurance center for more. Any student who wants to learn about the insurance plans can click the following EXCEPT ______.
| A．Student Safety | B．International Citizens |
| C．Atlas International | D．Student STM |
The underlined word “browse” (in Paragraph 4) means “______”.
| A．look after | B．look for |
| C．look through | D．look at |
Where can we probably read this passage?
| A．In a newspaper. | B．On the Internet. |
| C．In a magazine. | D．In a story book. |
The group insurance center is for ______.
| A．every student | B．groups of international students |
| C．American students | D．single international student |
Everything has a name. All people, places and things have names. For example, Jenny is the name of a student from England. England is the name of her country. Cities and towns have names, too. Schools and office building also have names. All things have names. Names are important.
Names are different all over the world. In Jenny’s class, Jenny must learn the names of students from all over the world. This is very difficult because the names are different. www.
In the USA, most people have a first name, a middle name, and a last name. Parents choose the first and middle names for their baby. There are names for boys and names for girls. For example, John, Peter, Tom and Mike are all names for boys. Elizabeth, Betty, Susan, and Mary are all names for girls. The last name is the family name. Usually it is the father’s family name. In a family, the mother, the father, and the children usually have the same last name.
Names are different all over the world. They can be long or short, but they are always very important.Why does everything have a name? Because ______.
| A．it is very interesting to have a name |
| B．it is very easy to be remembered |
| C．it is very easy to be told from others |
| D．both B and C |
It is difficult to learn names all over the world because ______.
| A．there are many different languages |
| B．the names in different countries are different |
| C．some names are very short, some are very long |
| D．there are many names all over the world |
Which of the following is true?
| A．It’s difficult to learn the names because they are different |
| B．There is no difference between girls’ names and boys’ names |
| C．Jenny doesn’t want to learn the names very well |
| D．It’s easy for Jenny to learn the names of her classmates. |
What names are for girls?
| A．George, Linda, Susan | B．Tom, Jill, Candy |
| C．Elizabeth, Betty, Mary | D．Peter, Jeff, Jack |