D
Parents who help their children with homework may actually be bringing down their school grades. Other forms of prenatal involvement, including volunteering at school and observing a child's class, also fail to help, according to the most recent study on the topic.
The findings challenge a key principle of modern parenting(养育子女) where schools except them to act as partners in their children's education. Previous generations concentrated on getting children to school on time, fed, dressed and ready to learn.
Kaith Robinson, the author of the study, said, "I really don't know if the public is ready for this but there are some ways parents can be involved in their kids' education that leads to declines in their academic performance. One of the things that was consistently negative was parents' help with homework." Robinson suggested that may be because parents themselves struggle to understand the task." They may either not remember the material their kids are studying now, or in some cases never learnt it themselves, but they're still offering advice."
Robinson assessed parental involvement performance and found one of the most damaging things a parent could do was to punish their children for poor marks. In general, about 20% of parental involvement was positive, about 45% negative and the rest statistically insignificant.
Common sense suggests it was a good thing for parents to get involved because "children with good academic success do have involved parents ", admitted Robinson. But he argued that this did not prove parental involvement was the root cause of that success." A big surprise was that Asian-American parents whose kids are doing so well in school hardly involved. They took a more reasonable approach, conveying to their children how success at school could improve their lives."The underlined expression "parental involvement " in Paragraph 1 probably means .
| A．parents' expectation on children's health |
| B．parents' participation in children's education |
| C．parents' control over children's life |
| D．parents' plan for children's future |
What is the major finding of Robinson's study ?
| A．Modern parents raise children in a more scientific way. |
| B．Punishing kids for bad marks is mentally damaging. |
| C．Parental involvement is not so beneficial as expected. |
| D．Parents are not able to help with children’s homework. |
The example of Asian-American parents implies that parents should .
| A．help children realize the importance of schooling |
| B．set a specific life goal for their children |
| C．spend more time improving their own lives |
| D．take a more active part in school management |
Let us suppose it is now about A.D. 2060. Let’s make believe(假设；虚构) it is about sixty years from now. Of course, things have changed and life is very different.
Voyages to the moon are being made every day. It is as easy to take a holiday on the moon today as it was for the people in 1960 to take a holiday in Europe. At a number of scenic spots on the moon, many hotels have been built. The hotels are air-conditioned, naturally. In order that everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the moon, every room has at least one picture window. Everything imaginable is provided for entertainment(娱乐) of young and old.
What are people eating now? People are still eating food. They haven’t yet started to take on heir(继承) supply of energy directly as electrical current or as nuclear power. They may some day. But many foods now come in pill form, and the food that goes into the pill continues to come mainly from green plants.
Since there are several times as many people in the world today as there were a hundred years ago, most of our planet’s surface has to be filled. The deserts are irrigated with water and crops are no longer destroyed by pests. The harvest is always good.
Farming, of course, is very highly developed. Very few people have to work on the farm. It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then.
People are now largely vegetarians(素食者). You see, as the number of people increases, the number of animals decreases. Therefore, the people have to be vegetarians and we are healthier both in our bodies and in our minds, and we know the causes and cure of disease and pain, and it is possible to get rid of diseases. No one has to be ill any more.
Such would be our life in 2060.According to the passage, what will be on the moon in about A.D. 2060?
A. Many tourists. B. Many other animals.
C. Many plants. D. A sea.What will people eat then according to the passage?
| A．Biscuits in pill form. | B．Foods in pill form. |
| C．Foods in water form. | D．Foods in gas form. |
The passage tells us that in 2060, ________ on the earth than now.
| A．there are fewer population | B．there are more pests |
| C．there is less water | D．the crops are getting better |
Why are people largely vegetarians in 2060?
| A．Because they don’t eat meat . |
| B．Because doctors advise them not to eat meat. |
| C．Because the number of animals decreases. |
| D．Because all the animals have died of diseases. |
Many artists late in the last century were in search of a means to express their individuality. Modern dance was one of the ways some of these people sought to free their creative spirit. The beginnings of modem dance were happening before Isadora Duncan, but she was the first person to bring the new dance to general audiences and see it accepted and acclaimed.
Her search for a natural movement form sent her to nature. She believed movement should be as natural as the swaying of the trees and the rolling waves of the sea. Her great contributions are in three areas.
First, she began the expansion of the kinds of movements that could be used in dance. Before Duncan danced, ballet was the only type of dance performed in concerts. In the ballet the feet and legs were emphasized, with virtuosity (技巧高超) shown by complicated, codified positions and movements. Duncan performed dance by using all her body in the freest possible way. Her dance stemmed from (源自) her soul and spirit. She was one of the pioneers who broke tradition so others might be able to develop the art.
Her second contribution lies in dance costumes (服装). She discarded corset, ballet shoes, and stiff costumes. These were replaced with flowing clothes, bare feet, and unlimited hair. She believed in the natural body being allowed to move freely, and her dress displayed this ideal.
Her third contribution was in the use of music. In her performances she used the symphonies (交响乐) of great masters, including Beethoven and Wagner, which was not the usual custom.
She was as exciting and eccentric in her personal life as in her dance.. The best title for the passage would be“_________”.
| A．Dance in the Twentieth Century |
| B．Artists of the Last Century |
| C．Natural Movement in Dance |
| D．A Pioneer in Modern Dance |
According to the passage, nature meant_________ to Duncan.
| A．something to conquer | B．a model for movement |
| C．a place to find peace | D．a symbol of disorder |
The paragraph following the passage most probably discusses_________.
| A．Duncan’s further contribution to modern dance |
| B．The music customarily used in ballet |
| C．other aspects of Duncan’s life |
| D．audience acceptance of the new form of dance |
Several days ago, a Beijing-based IT company fired about 400 people overnight. No one had expected the job cuts, which broke with traditional ways of letting go of workers in China. Moreover, what was special about this case was that the day before the 400 were fired, they all received from their boss a gift—the book “Who Moved My Cheese?”
The book—a bestseller in the US—is being used by men and women to deal with changes in their lives and work. Some large organizations, including Coca-Cola, Kodak and General Motors, ask their employees to read it in order to encourage them to be active towards changes.
Cheese is something related to everyone’s livelihood-Our jobs, the industries we work in, relationships and love as well.
With China’s official entry into the WTO, the whole nation will face up to more changes and challenges. So what we should do once this “cheese” on which we are so dependent is moved?
“Whatever challenges and changes we meet, we should face up to them bravely,” Jiang Hengwei, a civil servant said after reading the book.
Professor Zhang Yang in Renmin University of China agrees. “We should change our way of thinking. The coming competitive foreign companies and products provide us with great chances to learn from them and improve our own products to meet international standards and be more competitive.”
“With hard work and wisdom, we will create a much larger and better piece of cheese.” Zhang smiled confidently.. The whole passage is about_________.
| A．a bestseller in the US |
| B．what people think about China’s entry into the WTO |
| C．the change in people’s attitude towards changes and challenges |
| D．how a book influences the Chinese workers |
The company in Beijing gave each of the 400 fired workers a copy of “Who Moved My Cheese ”in order to_________.
| A．be more competitive with foreign firms |
| B．find an excuse for their job cuts |
| C．let the workers make a living on their own |
| D．encourage the fired workers |
. The word “cheese” in the passage can refer to_________.
| A．something we depend on |
| B．a most important kind of food |
| C．change or challenge |
| D．way of life |
. From what Heng wei and Professor Zhang Yang said, we can know that____________.
| A．they have different opinions on changes and challenges |
| B．people are not afraid of competition from foreign companies |
| C．the Chinese people are ready to face any changes and challenges |
| D．they are both greatly encouraged by the book |
The following diaries were written by an Australian boy named Tony. He was on holiday with his family in South Asia.
27 December, 2007
This morning I read an e-mail about a boy in hospital looking for his father and I finally thought of a way to help. I took my camera to the hospital and took photos of the boy. Now I’m going to set up a website on my dad’s computer, upload the photos and add his name and information of the hospital. Hopefully it will help!
2 January, 2008
At the end of the trip, I learned that the boy found his father! His Swedish uncle saw the e-mail on my webpage and arranged the meeting. Is it my website that has made such a success? But at least I’ve done something.
We’re returning home tomorrow but I will remember the experience and tell my friends: No matter what we are, we can think of a way to help others.. Tony thought of the way to ______.
| A．forget the experience |
| B．take photos of the travelers |
| C．set up a website for the hospital |
| D．help the boy find his father |
______ saw the e-mail and photos on the webpage and arranged the meeting.
| A．The boy’s uncle | B．Tony |
| C．Tony’s father | D．The doctor |
Tony was more likely to be ______ in South Asia.
| A．living | B．studying |
| C．shopping | D．traveling |
It can be learned from the diaries that ______.
| A．people are willing to set up websites |
| B．Tony’s father worked in the hospital there |
| C．people can do something to help each other |
| D．Tony went there to look for his family members |
It doesn’t matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive. That’s what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin. Al Herpin, it was said, never slept. Could this be true? The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves.
Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey. They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind. So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made. But they were surprised. Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day. They never saw Herpin sleeping. In fact, he did not even own a bed. He never needed one.
The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers. The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. They found only one answer that might explain his condition. Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born. But that was all. Was this the real reason? No one could be sure. Herpin died at the age of 94.. The main idea of this passage is that _______.
| A．large numbers of people do not need sleep. |
| B．a person was found who actually didn’t need any sleep. |
| C．everyone needs some sleep to stay alive. |
| D．people can live longer by trying not to sleep. |
The doctors came to visit Herpin, expecting to _______.
| A．find that his sleeplessness was not really true. |
| B．cure him of his sleeplessness |
| C．find a way to free people from the need of sleeping. |
| D．find out why some old people didn’t need any sleep. |
After watching him closely, the doctors came to believe that Al Herpin _______.
| A．was too old to need any sleep. |
| B．often slept in a chair. |
| C．needed no sleep at all. |
| D．needed some kind of sleep. |
One reason that might explain Herpin’s sleeplessness was _______.
| A．that he hadn’t got a bed. |
| B．that he had gradually got tired of the sleeping habit. |
| C．his mother’s injury before he was born. |
| D．his magnificent physical condition. |