A public primary school in New York City has stopped giving its students homework．
P．S．116 Principal Jane Hsu wrote a letter to parents last month explaining that after more than a year of analyzing studies，the school had concluded that students’after-school time would be better spent on activities like reading at their own pace and playing rather than working on homework．
Hsu’s letter says that many studies indicate that there is no connection between homework and academic success．Indeed，there are some studies that show that the link between homework and success is doubtful at the primary school level．
An important 1989 study on homework by Professor Cooper found that doing homework led students to perform better in school as they grew older．In later grades，students who did homework performed increasingly better than students who did not．In 2006，Cooper published a study that analyzed 15 years’worth of data on the effectiveness of homework．He found that homework had a more positive impact on students as they aged，and identified stronger relations between homework and achievement for students in grades seven through 12 than for students in kindergarten through sixth grade．
A 2012 study from the Indiana University School of Education on 10th-graders found little relation between time spent on homework and better course grades，although it did find a positive relation between homework time and standardized test performance．
Some parents of P．S．116 students are not happy with the decision to eliminate homework．
“I think they should have homework—some of it is about discipline．I want(my daughter)to have fun，but I also want her to be working towards a goal，”Daniel Tasman，the father of a second—grader at the schoo1．
“You have to do homework in order to gain；you have to do homework because they may not be able to comprehend everything in school，”Sharon Blake，a grandmother of a P．S．116 student．Principal Jane Hsu wrote the letter to the parents to_________．
| A．analyze the test results of the students |
| B．suggest students’reading at their own pace and playing |
| C．tell them about the conclusion of the research |
| D．give them the reason for the decision of the school |
The decision to stop giving students homework depends upon________．
| A．studies on the link between homework and academic success |
| B．students’wish to spend their time on activities or playing |
| C．Professor Cooper’s research on the effectiveness of homework |
| D．the ideas of both school authorities and parents |
Harris Cooper found in his research that________．
| A．kindergarten students spent too much time doing activities |
| B．doing homework made the kindergarten students cleverer |
| C．only elderly students should be given homework to do |
| D．students benefit more from doing homework as they grow older |
What does the underlined word“eliminate”in Paragraph 6 mean?
| A．Refuse． | B．Cancel． | C．Increase． | D．Reduce． |
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳答案。
Hi, dear boys and girls! Do you know how to be a healthy kid? Here are some rules you should follow.
First, eat different foods, especially fruit and vegetables. You may have a favorite food, but you'd better eat something different, if you eat different foods, you will probably get more nutrients (营养物质) your body needs.
Then, drink water and milk as often as possible. When you're really thirsty, cold water is the No. l choice. Milk is a great drink that can give you more calcium (钙) your body needs to grow strong bones .
Next, listen to your body. How do you feel when you are full? When you are eating, notice how your body feels and when your stomach feels comfortably full. Eating too much will not make you feel comfortable and make you fat.
Afterwards, limit (限制) screen time. Screen time is the time you watch TV, DVDs and videos, or using computers. It is good to take more exercise such as basketball, bike riding and swimming. You can't watch TV for more than two hours a day.
Finally, be active. One thing you'd like to do as a kid is to find out which activity you like best. Find ways to be active every day.
Follow these rules and you can be a healthy kid. You have to eat different kinds of foods especially _________.
| A．meat | B．hamburgers | C．sweets | D．fruit and vegetables |
Which kind of drinks can give you more calcium?
| A．Juice. | B．Milk. | C．Cold water. | D．Tea. |
According to the passage, how many rules should you follow if you want to be healthy?
| A．Five. | B．Nine. | C．Fifteen. | D．Thirteen. |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．When you're eating, you don't have to pay attention to how your body feels. |
| B．You can eat your favorite food as much as you can . |
| C．You can watch TV whenever you like to get more information. |
| D．We should try to live in an active way in our life. |
Which is the best title of the passage?
| A．How to make yourself popular | B．How to be a healthy kid |
| C．How to be a popular kid | D．How to make your parents healthy |
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳答案。
A
Part-time Waitress
Busy café needs honest and good-looking waitress for weekends. Must enjoy working with a team and dealing with customers. Call Li Ling at 0732-8536724 after 6 pm.
Delivery (投递) Person
Young, healthy person able to deliver heavy boxes of books. Must have a driver’s license and can carry heavy boxes. We’re looking for a person for this position. Call Liu Fang at 0732-7887766 at any time.
Nanny Wanted
Kind, hard-working nanny wanted to look after three friendly children. Must be experienced and have childcare quail fications(资格). Please call Chen Yiping at 0732-6774538 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.mThese are _______ in the newspaper.
| A．notices | B．ads | C．stories | D．news |
If you can get the job in the café, you must be a _______.
| A．pretty young woman | B．good-looking boy |
| C．cool young man | D．hard-working student |
Who can do the delivery job?
| A．A beautiful woman who is good at selling books. |
| B．A person who has been a taxi driver for more than 40 years. |
| C．A beautiful and hard-working girl. |
| D．A strong young man who can drive. |
Which of the four statements is true?
| A．You can call Chen Yiping in the evening. |
| B．If you want to call Li Ling, do it in the morning. |
| C．You can call Liu Fang at any time. |
| D．If you want to call Li Ling, you can do it in the afternoon. |
What’s the Chinese for the underlined word “nanny”?
| A．奶奶 | B．阿姨 | C．保姆 | D．护士 |
Birds that are half-asleep—with one brain hemisphere（半球）alert and the other sleeping—control which side of the brain remains awake, according to a new study of sleeping ducks．
Earlier studies have documented half-brain sleep in a wide range of birds．The brain hemispheres take turns sinking into the sleep stage characterized by slow brain waves．The eye controlled by the sleeping hemisphere keeps shut, while the wakeful hemisphere’s eye stays open and alert．Birds also can sleep with both hemispheres resting at once．
Decades of studies of bird groups led researchers to predict extra alertness in the end-of-the-row sleepers which tend to be attacked more easily．Sure enough, the end birds tended to watch carefully on the side away from their companions．Ducks in the inner spots showed no preference for gaze（注视）direction．
Also, birds napping at the end of the line depend on single-hemisphere sleep, rather than total relaxation, more often than inner ducks did．Turning 16 birds through the positions in a
four-duck row, the researchers found that compared with 12 percent for birds in internal spots, outer birds half-asleep during some 32 percent of napping time．
“We believe this is the first evidence for an animal behaviorally controlling sleep and wakefulness at the same time in different regions of the brain,” the researchers say．
The results provide the best evidence for a long-standing assumption that single-hemisphere sleep evolved（发展）as creatures scanned for enemies．The preference for opening an eye on the lookout side could be widespread, he predicts．He’s seen it in a pair of birds napping side-by-side in the zoo and in a single pet bird sleeping by a mirror．The mirror-side eye closed as if the reflection were a companion and the other eye stayed open．
Useful as half-sleeping might be, it’s only been found in birds and such water animals as dolphins, whales, and seals．Perhaps keeping one side of the brain awake allows a sleeping animal to surface occasionally to avoid drowning．
Studies of birds may offer unique insights（深刻的理解）into sleep．Jerome M．Siegel of the UCLA says he wonders if birds’ half-brain sleep “is just the tip of the iceberg．” He supposes that more examples may turn up when we take a closer look at other species．According to the passage, birds often half sleep because ______．
| A．they have to watch out for possible attacks |
| B．their brain hemispheres take turns to rest |
| C．the two halves of their brain are differently structured |
| D．they have to constantly keep an eye on their companions |
What is implied about the example of a bird’s sleeping in front of a mirror?
| A．An imagined companion gives the bird a sense of security． |
| B．Birds prefer to sleep in pairs for the sake of their security． |
| C．The phenomenon of birds napping in pairs is widespread． |
| D．A single pet bird enjoys seeing its own reflection in the mirror． |
While sleeping, some water animals tend to keep half awake in order to ______．
| A．alert themselves to the approaching enemy |
| B．emerge（浮现）from water now and then to breathe |
| C．be sensitive to the ever-changing environment |
| D．avoid being swept away by rapid currents |
By saying “just the tip of the iceberg”, Siegel suggests that ______．
| A．half-brain sleep has something to do with icy weather |
| B．the mystery of half-brain sleep is close to being solved |
| C．most birds living in cold regions tend to be half sleepers |
| D．half-brain sleep may exist among other species |
An old problem is getting new attention in the United States—bullying．Recent cases included the tragic case of a fifteen-year-old girl whose family moved from Ireland．She hanged herself in Massachusetts in January following months of bullying．Her parents criticized her school for failing to protect her．Officials have brought criminal charges against several teenagers．
Judy Kuczynski is president of an anti-bullying group called Bully Police USA．Her daughter Tina was the victim of severe bullying starting in middle school in the state of Minnesota．Her said, “Our daughter was a very outgoing child．She was a bubbly personality, very involved in all kinds of things, had lots of friends．And over a period of time her grades fell completely．She started having health issues．She couldn't sleep．She wasn't eating．She had terrible stomach pains．She started clenching(咬紧) her jaw and grinding(磨,咬牙) her teeth at night．She didn't want to go to school.”
Bullying is defined as negative behavior repeated over time against the same person．
It can involve physical violence．Or it can be verbal — for example, insults or threats．Spreading lies about someone or excluding a person from a group is known as social or relational bullying．
And now there is cyber bullying, which uses the Internet, e-mail or text messages．It has easy appeal for the bully because it does not involve face-to-face contact and it can be done at any time．
The first serious research studies into bullying were done in Norway in the late 1970s．The latest government study in the United States was released last year．It found that about one-third of students aged twelve to eighteen were bullied at school．
Susan Sweater is a psychologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and co-director of the Bullying Research Network．She says schools should treat bullying as a mental health problem to get bullies and victims the help they need．She says bullying is connected to depression, anxiety and anti-social behavior, and bullies are often victims themselves．Which of the following is NOT bullying?
| A．To beat someone repeatedly． | B．To call someone names． |
| C．To isolate someone from friends． | D．To refuse to help someone in need． |
Why is cyber bullying appealing to the bully?
| A．Because it can involve more people． | B．Because it can create worse effects． |
| C．Because it is more convenient． | D．Because it can avoid cheating． |
According to Susan Sweater,．
| A．bullies are anti-social | B．bullies should give victims help |
| C．students are not equally treated | D．bullies themselves also need help |
Which of the following can be the best title of the text?
| A．How to wipe out bullying in schools. |
| B．Bullying has a negative influence on students in US. |
| C．Cyber bullying-Taking Off in Schools. |
| D．Girl's suicide in US brings fresh attention to bullying. |
Who’s in control of your life? Who is pulling your string? For the majority of us, it’s other people—society, colleagues, friends, family or our religious community. We learned this way of operating when we were very young, of course. We were brainwashed. We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do everything we could to make other people like us. As Oscar Wilde puts it, “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry(模仿), their passions a quotation.”
So when people tell us how wonderful we are, it makes us feel good. We long for this good feeling like a drug. Therefore, we are so eager for the approval of others that we live unhappy and limited lives, failing to do the things we really want to. Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting their fix (一剂毒品). We worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval.
But, just as with any drug, there is a price to pay. The price of the approval drug is freedom—the freedom to be ourselves. The truth is that we cannot control what other people think. People have their own agenda, and they come with their own baggage and, in the end, they're more interested in themselves than in you. Furthermore, if we try to live by the opinions of others, we will build our life on sinking sand. Everyone has a different way of thinking, and people change their opinions all the time. The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted and probably pleasing no one in the process.
So how can we take back control? I think there’s only one way—make a conscious decision to stop caring what other people think. We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values---not values imposed（强加）from the outside by others, but innate values which come from within. If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others, we will live a more authentic, effective, purposeful and happy life.What Oscar Wilde says implies that _____________.
| A．we have thoughts similar to those of others |
| B．most people have a variety of thoughts |
| C．most people’s thoughts are controlled by others |
| D．other people’s thoughts are more important |
What does the author try to argue in the third paragraph ?
| A．We may lose ourselves to please others. |
| B．Changing opinions may cost us our freedom. |
| C．We need to pay for what we want to get. |
| D．The price of taking drugs is freedom. |
In order to live a happy, effective and purposeful life, we should _________.
| A．care about others’ opinions and change opinions all the time |
| B．guide ourselves by means of values from the outside |
| C．persuade others to accept our opinions |
| D．stick to our own values |
It can be concluded from the passage that __________.
| A．we shouldn’t care what others think | B．it’s better to do what we like |
| C．we shouldn't change our own opinions | D．it’s important to accept others’ opinions |