Proper arrangement of classroom space is important to encouraging interaction. Most of us have noticed how important physical setting is to efficiency and comfort in our work. College classroom space should be designed to encourage the activity of critical thinking.
We are in the 21st century now, but step into almost any college classroom and you step back in time at least a hundred years. Desks are normally in straight rows, so students can clearly see the teacher but not all their classmates. The assumption behind such an arrangement is obvious: Everything of importance comes from the teacher.
With a little imagination and effort, unless desks are fixed to the floor, the teacher can correct this situation and create space that encourages interchange among students. In small or standard-size classes, chairs, desks, and tables can be arranged in a variety of ways: circles, U-shapes or semicircles. The primary goal should be for everyone to be able to see everyone else.
Arrangement of the classroom should also make it easy to divide students into small groups for discussion or problem-solving exercises. Small classes with movable desks and tables present no problem. Even in large lecture halls, it is possible for students to turn around and form groups of four or six. Breaking a class into small groups provides more opportunities for students to interact with each other, think out loud, and see how other students’ thinking processes operate---all these are essential elements in developing new modes of critical thinking.
In courses that regularly use a small group format, students might be asked to stay in the same small groups throughout the course. A colleague of mine, John, allows students to move around during the first two weeks, until they find a group they are comfortable with. John then asks them to stay in the same seat, with the same group, from that time on. This not only creates a comfortable setting for interaction but helps him learn students’ names and faces.The final purpose of arranging desks in circles or U-shapes is __________.
| A．for teachers to divide students into small groups |
| B．to make it possible for students to interact with each other |
| C．for teachers to find out how students think |
| D．to give students more opportunities to practice speaking |
The expression “step back in time at least a hundred years” is intended to convey that________.
| A．college classrooms often reminded people of their past |
| B．critical thinking was encouraged even one century ago |
| C．desk arrangement in a classroom was quite different from that a hundred years ago |
| D．today’s arrangement of college classroom space has little difference from past’s |
The way of arranging desks in classrooms in straight rows indicates that ________.
| A．students can be easily prevented from cheating during tests |
| B．it is convenient for teachers to monitor students |
| C．teachers play a significant role in a classroom |
| D．it is good for students to concentrate on listening to teachers |
C
Education is not an end but a means to an end．In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them．Our purpose is to fit them for life．
In some modern countries, it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation．But we have already seen that free education for all is not enough; we find in some countries a far larger number of people with university degrees．They refuse to do what they think “low” work and, in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries．But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of professor．We can live without education, but we die if we have no food．If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we should get terrible diseases．
In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we must be educated in certain ways．Firstly each of us can do whatever work suited to our brains and ability．Secondly, we should realize that all jobs are necessary to society．It is very bad to be shamed of one’s work．Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society．What would be the best title for the text?
| A．The Means of Education． | B．The System of Education． |
| C．The Value of Education． | D．The Type of Education． |
From the second paragraph of the passage we know that ________．
| A．work with hands is low work because it is dirty and shameful． |
| B．the work of the completely uneducated is the most important． |
| C．education is no more important than food in order to live． |
| D．we shouldn’t think of work with hands as low work． |
What kind of educational system is valuable to society?
| A．A large number of people can go to university． |
| B．Everyone can solve all the problems of society． |
| C．All the people can get free education． |
| D．Everyone must be educated differently to fit them for society． |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Our society needs all kinds of jobs． |
| B．Free education for all is enough． |
| C．A farmer is more important than a professor． |
| D．People with university degrees shouldn’t do low work． |
B
It is the duty of every man to work. The life of a lazy man is of no use to himself and to others. The man who is too lazy to work is the man who is generally most ready to beg or to steal. Every boy, when he is young, should learn how to do some useful work.
But it is not enough that a boy should learn some kind of work. He should put his heart and soul completely into his work, and not waste his spare time. “Work while you work and play while you play” is as good a rule for young people as for the old!
There is no better help to diligence (勤奋) than the habit of early rising, and this, just like all other good habits, is most easily formed in youth. There is an English saying, “Lost time never returns”. This means that everybody must be diligent and make good use of his time. One must study hard when one is young so that one may make great progress, succeed in life and become useful to one’s country. Those who are diligent will never become beggars. Therefore, we can say that diligence is the mother of success.From the passage, we know that those who are too lazy to work will_________.
| A．waste their time |
| B．help others |
| C．become beggars or thieves |
| D．make progress some day |
In order to learn to be diligent, it’s important for young people to _________.
| A．form the good habit of getting up early in youth |
| B．learn about some good habits |
| C．work while they work and play while they play |
| D．work all the time without playing |
One can’t be successful in life unless he _________when he is young.
| A．is diligent in his study |
| B．loves life |
| C．spends some time learning something |
| D．makes up for his lost time |
A
“Depend on yourself” is what nature says to every man. Parents can help you. Teachers can help you. But all these only help you to help yourself.
There have been many great men in history. But many of them were very poor in boyhood, and had no uncles, aunts, or friends to help them. Schools were few and low. They could not depend on them for an education. They saw how it was, and set to work with all their strength to know something. They worked their own way up to fame.
One of the most famous teachers in England used to tell his pupils, “I cannot make worthy men of you, but I can help you make men of yourselves.”
Some young men have no ambitions(抱负) to do anything; and they are to be pitied. They can never succeed unless they see their foolishness, and change their courses. They are nothing now, and will be nothing as long as they live, unless they accept the advice of parents and teachers, and depend upon their own honest and serious efforts.The best title for this passage is ________.
| A．Depend on Yourself |
| B．Don’t Depend on Your Parents |
| C．Nobody can help you |
| D．The Good Advice |
From the passage we know that many great men in history ________.
| A．learned everything themselves in boyhood |
| B．didn’t receive any education |
| C．had no relatives or friends |
| D．depended on themselves to become famous |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Parents can make you succeed. |
| B．Great men in history were very poor. |
| C．Teachers would not like to help you to be a man. |
| D．Only you can make yourself a great man. |
Why have some young men failed in everything?
| A．They have no ambitions. |
| B．They are to be pitied. |
| C．They have changed their courses. |
| D．They have seen their foolishness. |
E
A year after graduation, I was offered a position teaching a writing class. Teaching was a profession I had never seriously considered, though several of my stories had been published. I accepted the job without hesitation, as it would allow me to wear a tie and go by the name of Mr. Davis. My father went by the same name, and I liked to imagine people getting the two of us confused. “Wait a minute” someone might say, “are you talking about Mr. Davis the retired man, or Mr. Davis the respectable scholar?”
The position was offered at the last minute, and I was given two weeks to prepare, a period I spent searching for briefcase (公文包) and standing before my full-length mirror, repeating the words, “Hello, class. I’m Mr. Davis.” Sometimes I would give myself an aggressive voice. Sometimes I would sound experienced. But when the day eventually came, my nerves kicked in and the true Mr. Davis was there. I sounded not like a thoughtful professor, but rather a 12-year-old boy.
I arrived in the classroom with paper cards designed in the shape of maple leaves. I had cut them myself out of orange construction paper. I saw nine students along a long table. I handed out the cards, and the students wrote down their names and fastened them to their breast pockets as I required.
“All right then,” I said. “Okey, here we go.” Then I opened my briefcase and realized that I had never thought beyond this moment. I had been thinking that the students would be the first to talk, offering their thoughts and opinions on the events of the day. I had imagined that I would sit at the edge of the desk, overlooking a forest of hands. Every student would yell. “Calm down, you’ll all get your turn. Once at a time, once at a time!”
A terrible silence ruled the room, and seeing no other opinions, I inspected the students to pull out their notebooks and write a brief essay related to the theme of deep disappointment.The author took the job to teach writing because ______.
| A．he had written some stories | B．he wanted to be expected |
| C．he wanted to please his father | D．he had dreamed of being a teacher |
Before he started his class, the author asked the students to ______.
| A．write down their suggestions on the paper cards |
| B．cut maple leaves out of the construction paper |
| C．cut some cards out of the construction paper |
| D．write down their names on the paper cards |
What did the students do when the author started his class?
| A．They began to talk. | B．They stayed silent. |
| C．They raised their hands. | D．They shouted to be heard. |
The author chose the composition topic probably because ______.
| A．he got disappointed with his first class | B．he had prepared the topic before class |
| C．he wanted to calm down the students | D．he thought it was an easy topic |
D
President Obama: I want to welcome Vice President Xi to the Oval Office and welcome him to the United States. This is obviously a great opportunity for us to build on the U. S,-China relationship, but also an opportunity to return the extraordinary hospitality (款待) that Vice President Xi showed Vice President Biden during his recent visit to China.
As I indicated during my recent visit to APEC and the East Asia Summit, the United States is a Pacific nation. And we are very interested and very concentrated on continuing to strengthen our relationships, to enhance our trade and our commerce, and make sure that we are a strong and effective partner with the Asia Pacific region. And obviously, in order to do that, it is absolutely vital that we have a strong relationship with China.
So, Mr. Vice President, I hope you have a wonderful visit while you're here. I'm sure the American people welcome you. I'm glad that you're going to get an opportunity to get out of Washington. I know you'll be visiting Iowa, which you visited many years ago when you were governor. And I understand you're also going to Los Angeles and maybe even taking in (观看) a Lakers basketball game. So I hope you enjoy that very much.
I want to extend my deepest welcome to you, and look forward to a future of improved dialogue and increased cooperation in the years to come.Where can you most probably read the passage?
| A．In an advertisement. | B．In a guidebook. | C．In a news report. | D．In a science report. |
Which sentence is true according to the passage?
| A．Obama didn't attend APEC or the East Asia Summit recently. |
| B．Biden and Xi Jinping are holding the talk in the Oval Office of the White House. |
| C．The talk is being held between China and the USA in the Oval Office of New York. |
| D．Biden once paid a visit to China before this talk. |
The underlined word in Para. 2 “enhance”, probably means “____”.
| A．develop | B．change | C．invent | D．reduce |
From Para. 3, we can learn that Vice President Xi ____.
| A．will go to Los Angeles to watch a soccer game |
| B．visited Iowa many years ago, when he was a vice president |
| C．visited Iowa many years ago, when he was governor |
| D．will visit New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles |