Spending more than two hours a night doing homework leads to better results in English,math and science, according to a major study (by Pam Sammons, England) which has tracked(跟踪) the progress of3,000 children over the past 15 years.
Spending any time doing homework showed advantages, but the influence was greater for the students who put in two to three hours a night, according to the study published by the Department for Education in England.
The scientists who did the research say their study empbasizes(强调) what students actually do rather than how much work the school has set.
Pam Sammons, a professor of education at Oxford University, said that time spent on homework showed the influence of the school-if children were expected to do homework and if they enjoy their subjects. "That's one of the reasons Indian and Chinese children do better.They put more time in it." he added.
It's also reported that students who enjoyed school got better results. "Schools could make sure children had a better experience by improving the school environment, making school work interesting and making children feel supported by teachers." Sammons said.
It is suggested that children aged 5 t0 7 should be set one-hour homework a week, half an hour a night for 7 t0 11-year-olds. Secondary schools were encouraged to set up two hours a night for 14 t0 16-year-olds.
"Head teachers should make their own homework policy(政策)," the government says.Where can we probably read this passage?
| A．In a poster. | B．In a magazine. |
| C．In a storybook | D．In an advertisement. |
According to the first paragraph, spending doing homework leads to better results in lessons.
| A．half an hour | B．an hour |
| C．over two hours | D．less than two hours |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE according Io the passage?
| A．What students actually do is as important as how much work schools set. |
| B．If children enjoy their subjects, they will do much homework |
| C．Indian and Chinese children spend more time doing homework |
| D．Children aged 14-16 should spend an hour a night on homework |
The underlined word "set" means .
| A．writing music for words |
| B．giving some work for somebody to do |
| C．putting something in a place |
| D．making something happen |
From the passage, we can know that .
| A．Students should become interested in their results. |
| B．Students should do bomework as mucb as possible. |
| C．Parents should encourage their children to do homework |
| D．Teachers should make their children feel supported. |
Felix, a little mouse, looked outside through the window of a farmhouse. Still nobody came. Maybe today, he thought hopefully. It was only a few days before Christmas and he was watching for a miracle（奇迹）.
This farmhouse had been empty too long. It needed a family. Felix’s stomach made a noise. He realized that he had eaten nothing since yesterday. He took a bag from his home, and went next door to Farmer Mike’s.
Farmer Mike’s house had been a great place for Felix until the farmer married a wife who had a cat. Felix felt scared when he thought of it. He looked around cautiously as he moved quietly into the room and was quite nervous when he filled his bag with rice. He was turning to leave when suddenly he felt something unusual. The cat? Without thinking he started to run and luckily escaped the cat’s paws（爪子）.
The next afternoon Felix heard some good news: a new family would move into the farmhouse soon. Felix was happy and hoped that the family would come before Christmas. Before long, a car came up to the house, with sandwiches, cheese and chocolate.
Felix’s Christmas miracle did arrive!
The house came alive the next few days. Felix enjoyed every hour of them. However, the day before Christmas when he was drinking hot chocolate with a big smile, he heard about the gift that the children of the family might get for Christmas. What? A cat? The smile froze（冻结）on his face; his mouth fell wide open. After a long moment, he at last found his voice: “Hey! Whose Christmas miracle is this?”What does the underlined word “cautiously” mean in the passage?
| A．平稳地 | B．兴奋地 |
| C．谨慎地 | D．可怕地 |
What’s the correct order of the following sentences?
a. Felix escaped from the cat.
b. Felix went into Farmer Mike’s room.
c. Felix enjoyed his life after the new family moved in.
d. Felix filled a bag with rice.
e. Felix heard about the gift that the children might get.
| A．b-d-a-c-e | B．b-d-c-e-a |
| C．a-b-c-e-d | D．a-b-c-d-e |
How did the little mouse feel at the end of the story?
| A．Excited. | B．Hopeful. |
| C．Angry. | D．Upset. |
Which of the following sayings can express the main idea of the story?
| A．Love me, love my dog. |
| B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．Life is one trouble after another. |
| D．It is better to be poor than to be dishonest. |
Can you imagine surfing the Internet without lifting your finger? Do you want to know what it feels like to fly like a bird? Let’s have a look at some of the “Best inventions of the Year 2012”.
Wing Suits
The suit can make your dream of flying like a bird come true. Well, not exactly flying, but gliding（滑翔）through the air. Fliers wearing wing suits can glide one kilometer in about 30 seconds. But they need a parachute（降落伞）to make a safe landing because the suit does not allow you to slow down.
Talk Gloves
Do you often feel confused（困惑的）by the sign language used by disabled people? Here is the “helping hand” you need. Four students in Ukrainian college have invented a pair of gloves that helps people who has hearing and speech problems to communicate with others. The gloves are set with sensors（传感器）that receive sign language and translate it into text on a smart phone. Then the smart phone changes the text to spoken.
Google Glasses
In short, Google Glasses are like a computer which is built into a pair of glasses. The glasses allow you to surf the Internet and make phone calls without even lifting a finger. All you have to do is to let your head move the mouse on the screen. The glasses also have a camera and GPS mapping system. Users can take and share photos, video-chat, check maps and surf the Internet just by looking up, down, left and right. But now they are on sale only in two countries, German and America.Through the Talk Gloves, the sign words are translated for__________.
| A．trained people | B．disabled people |
| C．normal people | D．old people |
How can users of Google Glasses surf the Internet?
| A．By lifting the hands. | B．By using the keyboard. |
| C．By using the mouse. | D．By moving the eyeballs. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Now people can buy Google Glasses in China. |
| B．People need a parachute to fly besides a wing suit. |
| C．Wing Suits can make you fly one kilometer in 30 minutes. |
| D．Talk Gloves include sensors, a smart phone and glasses. |
What’s the writer’s purpose of writing this article?
| A．To draw people’s attention to the Year 2012. |
| B．To bring some pleasure to readers. |
| C．To introduce some interesting inventions. |
| D．To ask people to buy these products. |
Monty Robert’s father was a horse trainer. As a child, Monty often went from one farm to another with his father. Sometimes they didn’t have money to pay for food, but Monty still kept hoping to own a horse farm.
When he was in school, his teacher asked him to write a paper about his dream. He wrote a seven-page（页）paper. He wanted to have a horse farm one day. He even drew a picture of a horse farm in the paper.
The next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later, he got his paper back. On the front page was a large red “F” with the words “See me after class”. So the boy did and asked his teacher, “Why did I get an F?” The teacher said, “This dream will not come true for a young boy like you. You need a lot of money to own a horse farm. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for a lot of things. There is no way you could ever do it.” Then the teacher added, “If you write this paper again with a simpler dream, I will give you a good grade.”
After school he thought hard about it. At last, he decided to hand in the same paper, making no changes at all. He said to the teacher, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”
Many years later, Monty had his own large horse farm. His dream came true.
So don’t let anyone take away your dreams. Follow your dreams, no matter what they are. From Paragraph 1, we learn that _________.
| A．Monty’s family was poor |
| B．Monty’s father didn’t support him |
| C．Monty hoped to be a horse trainer |
| D．Monty changed his mind all the time |
What was Monty’s attitude towards his paper?
| A．Careless. | B．Serious. |
| C．Joking. | D．Funny. |
Monty’s teacher gave him a red “F” because he thought _________.
| A．Monty’s handwriting was too bad |
| B．Monty copied from another student |
| C．Monty’s dream was too hard for him to achieve |
| D．Monty was not working hard to realize his dream |
What does the story want to tell us?
| A．Don’t take away others’ dreams. |
| B．Follow a realistic dream. |
| C．Never give up your dream. |
| D．Anyone with a dream will succeed. |
School Activities in May
| an Open-air Craft（工艺）Show in Front of the Gym Square May Day from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Need to buy a present? Find bamboo toys, paper flowers, paper umbrellas, model cars and more! Come and have fun here! |
Clean &Green Week: War on Graffiti（涂鸦） Monday, May16, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm Is graffiti cool? Well, it is not! We are repainting the school walls. You don’t have to bring any tools, just remember to wear some old clothes! Follow Ms Jin and meet at the school gate. |
| Movie Time at the Media Hall Saturday, May14, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:30p.m. Dragon（龙）is back! You can enjoy the magic training of dragons again, much more thrilling and amazing! Get the ticket from your head teacher. Don’t miss it! |
Latin Dance in the Music Club Tuesday& Thursday in May, at 3:00 p.m. Latin dance classes are hold at the music room twice a week in May. Our foreign teacher Maria introduces Latin to you in a way you can easily understand and learn. |
There are activities that students can do indoors in May.
| A．two | B．three |
| C．four | D．five |
If you are interested in handwork, you can go to ____________.
| A．the Media Hall | B．the Gym Square |
| C．the music room | D．the school gate |
If Jim wants to learn Latin dance, he can ask ________ for help.
| A．Maria | B．Ms Jin |
| C．his friend | D．his head teacher |
Have you ever heard someone use the phrase “once in a blue moon”？ People use this expression to describe something that they do not do very often. For example, someone might say that he tries to avoid eating sweets because they are unhealthy, but will eat chocolate “once in a blue moon”. Or someone who does not usually like to go to the beach might say “I visit the shore once in a moon.” While many people use this phrase, not everyone knows the meaning behind it.
The first thing to know is that the moon itself is never really blue. This is just an expression. In fact, the phrase “blue moon” has to do with the shape of the moon, not the color.
As the moon travels around the earth, it appears to change shape. We associate names with certain shapes of the moon. For example, when we can see a small part of the moon, it is called a crescent moon. A crescent is a shape that looks like the tip of a fingernail. When we cannot see the moon at all, it is called a new moon. When we can see the whole moon, it is called a full moon. Usually, there is only one full moon every month. Sometimes, however, there will be two full moons in one month. When this happens, the second full moon is called a “blue moon”．
Over the next 20 years, there will only be 15 blue moons. As you can see, a blue moon is a very rare event. This_fact has led people to use the expression “once in a blue moon” to other very rare events in their lives. Which of the following would be a good example of using the phrase “once in a blue moon”？
| A．Simon often tells jokes. Simon tells jokes once in a blue moon. |
| B．Tom rarely remembers to do exercise. Tom does exercise once in a blue moon. |
| C．Mary likes to go shopping every weekend. Mary goes shopping once in a blue moon. |
| D．Cindy hates to stay up, but she stays up every day. Cindy stays up once in a blue moon. |
When does a blue moon happen in nature?
| A．When the moon has a blue moon. |
| B．When we cannot see the moon at all. |
| C．When there are two full moons in one month. |
| D．When we can only see a small part of the moon. |
Which of the following is another example of something that has a crescent shape?
| A．The letter “O”. | B．The letter “M”． |
| C．The letter “H”. | D．The letter “C”． |
How often will a blue moon happen over the next twenty years?
| A．Once a year. | B．Less than once a year. |
| C．More than once a year. | D．At least twice a year. |
What does the underlined part “This fact” in the last paragraph refer to(所指)?
| A．A blue moon is a very rare event. |
| B．The moon appears to change shape. |
| C．The moon itself is never really blue. |
| D．A blue moon has to do with the shape of the moon. |