We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed-ability teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming（把…按能力分班）pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all, it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade!
Besides, it is rather unreal to grade people just according to their intellectual (智力的) abilities. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed-ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning.
In our classrooms, we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to cope with personal problems as well as how to think, to make decisions, to analyze and evaluate, and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.
Sometimes the pupils work in pairs; sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments, and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some library, and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this effectively. And expect our pupils to do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement to attain this goal.
1. Group work provides pupils with the opportunity_________.
A. to develop academic abilities B. to learn to teach.
C. to do some experiments D. to learn to be capable organizers.
2. By "held back" in the first paragraph the author means _________.
A. drawn to their studies B. prevented from advancing
C. made to remain in the same classes D. forced to study in the lower classes
3. In the passage the author's attitude towards " mixed-ability teaching" is ________.
A.questioning B. approving C. objective D. critical
4. The author's purpose of writing this passage is to _________.
A. offer advice on the proper use of the library
B. emphasize the importance of appropriate formal classroom teaching
C. argue for teaching bright and not -so-bright pupils in the same class
D. recommend pair work and group-work for classroom activities
5. The author argues that a teacher's chief concern should be the development of the student's _____.
A. total personality B. intellectual ability
C. learning ability and communicative skills D. personal qualities and social skills
Many people believe the glare from snow causes snowblindness. Yet, dark glasses or not, they find themselves suffering from headaches and watering eyes, and even snowblindness, when exposed to several hours of “snow light”. The United States Army has now determined that glare from snow does not cause snowblindness in troops in a snow-covered country. A man's eyes frequently find nothing to focus on in a broad expanse of barren snow-covered terrain(地域). So his long look continually moves and jumps back and forth over the entire landscape in search of something to look at. Finding nothing, hour after hour, the eyes never stop searching and eyeballs become sore and the eye muscles ache. Nature offers this discomfort by producing more and more liquid which covers the eyeball. The liquid covers the eyeball in increasing quantity until vision became not clear, and then is not easily seen and the result is total, even though not very long, snowblindness.
Experiments led the Army to a simple method of solving this problem. Scouts, ahead of a main body of troops, are trained to shake snow from evergreen bushes creating a dotted line as they cross completely snow-covered landscape. Even the scouts themselves throw lightweight, dark colored objects ahead on which they too can focus. The men following can then see something. Their eyes focus on a bush and have something to see. By focusing their attention on one object at a time, the men can cross the snow without becoming hopelessly snowblind or lost. In this way the problem of crossing a solid white terrain is solved.
1. The first paragraph is mainly concerned with ________.
A. need for dark glasses
B the whiteness from snow
C. headaches, watering eyes and snowblindness
D. snow glare and snowblindness
2. According to the author, recent work on snowblindness shows that it is caused by ________.
A. exposure to bright light
B. failure to focus on an object
C. a loss of vision which doesn't last long
D. focusing on dark colored objects for a very long time
3. Suppose you walk across a completely snow-covered area, what should you do to solve the problem of snowblindness?
A. By wearing dark sun glasses.
B. By throwing an extra pair of black shoes ahead.
C. By asking the Army for help.
D. By walking backwards.
4. A suitable title for this passage would be ________.
A. Snowblindness and How to avoid it B. Soldiers in Snow
C. Nature's Cure for Snowblindness D. Snow Vision
It’s 2009. You feel sick, so you go to the doctor. She checks your fever, looks at your throat, and asks what you’ve been thinking about lately. When you leave，she gives you some medicine, but also a list of thinking skills that you are supposed to practice daily. She says that the way you think is causing some of your illness.
Doctors and other scientists who study the human mind and try to explain why people behave in the way that do, called psychologists, are starting to believe it. You know that your brain is connected to every part of your body through your nervous system(神经系统). Now scientists have proved that how you think and feel can have an influence on the health of your body.
Stress(压力，紧张) is caused whenever there is a problem or a change in your life. Of course, everybody has stress more or less; nobody’s life is perfect. In fact, stress is necessary. Without stress, we would never learn anything or grow or change. We would probably be bored to death. But too much stress can hurt you. It can weaken your body’s protection so that you are more likely to catch diseases. It can even make you more likely to have an accident.
When you feel stress, your brain sends a message to your body to produce a chemical called adrenaline(肾上腺素). Adrenaline speeds up your breathing and your heartbeat. Today you have a different kind of stress. Problems like endless homework or troubles with your family are the kind of things you can’t fight or run away from, so you don’t use up all that adrenaline. It just stays bottled up inside you, and that’s what can do something bad to you.
What can you do about stress? First, you can try to find ways to change things so you aren’t under so much stress. You can set up a plan to finish homework or go to a doctor or a psychologist to try to work things out with your family or your friends. But sometimes you can’t change a stressful situation. Sometimes you don’t even want to. A big change might be a good change, but it will still be stressful.
The link(关联) between your body and brain works in two ways. Your body can help your mind deal with stress. If you are under stress, you need to take especially good care of your body. It’s important to get enough sleep and eat nutritious meals. Some people take a vitamin-mineral pill every day. Another thing that you can do is daily exercise. If you go walking or do aerobic(需氧的) dancing or work out at the gym, you give your body a chance to burn up some of that adrenaline. Of course, a person who isn’t used to much physical activity should start slowly. Anyone with a continuing physical problem should check with a doctor before staring any exercise programs.
1. A psychologist is a person who may help you with your ______.
A. illness and abilities B. thoughts and behaviour
C. mind and nervous system D. physical activity and daily exercise
2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. You shouldn’t go to the gym if you are under stress.
B. One can do his homework to burn up adrenaline.
C. Diseases and accidents are caused by stress.
D. Everyone needs stress to improve himself.
3. From the last sentence of Paragraph 5 we can infer that ________.
A. it’s difficult to change a stressful situation
B. it’s not stressful when a good change takes place
C. a big change will cause another stressful situation
D. a stressful situation can’t be changed without any effort
4. What is probably the best title for this passage?
A. The body-Brain Link B. The Causes of Stress
C. The Advice on Health D. The Nervous System
A famous study was done in a school by a professor from a university．At the start of the school year，the teachers were given the names of five children．They were told that these five were the most excellent students in the class．But the fact was that these students were only average，and they were not the best students at all．Well，guess what? At the end of the year，all the five average students scored among the highest in the class．
What made these average students change so much to become top students? The only difference was the change in their teachers’ attitude．Because the teachers believed that these five kids were the top students，they expected more from them．And so these five average students began to believe and expect more from themselves．So they worked harder to do as well as they could．
Do you know? If you expect the best from people，they’ll usually want to give you their best．A great leader said，“Treat a person just how he appears to be on the outside，and you’ll make him even worse．But treat a person like he’s already a success，and you’ll help make him the best he can be．”
Like the true story of 7-year-old Johnny，his teacher got so angry with him that one day she said，“Johnny，you’re the naughtiest(最顽皮的) boy in this class．I’m sure you’ll never change．”The next year Johnny had a new teacher．And on the first day of class，she met with Johnny after school and said，“Johnny，I’ve heard a lot about you! But do you know that I don’t believe a word of it．”And every day after that，this new teacher treated Johnny as if he was one of the smartest students even when Johnny did naughty things．Later on，Johnny became a school leader．Because that’s the power of our belief and attitude toward children．
1．The professor started his research by ________．
A．telling the five students to work harder than ever before
B．teaching the five children himself
C．telling the teacher the five students were the best in the class
D．asking the five children to find a new teacher
2．The five average students became top students mainly because of ________．
A．the professor’s study B．the change in the professor’s attitude
C．the teachers’ hard work D．the change in the teachers’ attitude
3．Why did the writer tell us the story of 7-year-old Johnny?
A．To show the importance of encouragement．
B．To show that the boy was clever enough．
C．To let us know the famous boy．
D．To let us know how good his new teacher was．
4．According to the story，we can learn that ________．
A．the research began at the end of the school year
B．the students scored highest only because they worked hard
C．if you expect the most from people，you’ll get the least
D．little Johnny liked his new teacher very much
5．What does the passage mainly tell us?
A．If you want to get more，you should have new teachers．
B．Attitude and belief can change a person．
C．A professor’s study can help you score highest．
D．Only teachers can make you a top student．
Alex knew colors and shapes．He learned about 150 English words．With his language ability he made himself known as perhaps the world’s most famous talking bird．
But Alex，a parrot，died two weeks ago when he was 31．Irene，a psychologist(心理学家) at Harvard University，studied and worked with the parrot for nearly 30 years．
In 1977，Irene，then an excellent student in chemistry at Harvard，bought Alex from a pet store．At that time，scientists were not quite sure whether birds could learn to communicate with humans．
But using the methods of teaching．Irene helped Alex to learn about 150 words，and to count small numbers，as well as colors and shapes．
In experiments，Irene would give Alex a small reward，like a grape．Alex learned to ask for the grape by watching what the trainer was doing to get it．The researchers then worked with the bird to help him with pronunciation．
Alex showed a surprising ability to learn．For example，when he was shown a blue paper circle．he could tell what color the paper was．what shape it was，and after touching it，what it was made of．
Like other parrots，he also picked up some words when staying in the lab，like“calm down”and“good morning”．He could also show his happiness and sadness．
Even before the week he died，Alex was working with Irene on difficult words．As she put him into his cage for the night that Thursday，Irene said that Alex looked at her and said，“You be good．See you tomorrow．I love you．”
He was found dead in his cage the next morning．
1．Alex is the name of ________．
A．an excellent student B．a clever bird
C．a trainer D．a psychologist
2．How did Irene get the parrot?
A．A friend gave it to her． B．She caught it in a forest．
C．She bought it from the market． D．The passage doesn’t mention it．
3．The underlined words“picked up”in the seventh paragraph mean ________．
A．捡到 B．挑选 C．举起 D．学到
4．The passage is probably taken from a ________．
A．history textbook B. novel C．newspaper D. dictionary
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D) 中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
1. If you’re interested in music, you can read “_______”.
A. National spots B. Sad movies
C. The planets D. Weather service
2. You can learn something abut weather in _______.
A. Unit 1 B. Unit 2 C. Unit 3 D. Unit 4
3. Words about ______ are in Unit 5.
A. music stars B. weather conditions
C. sports tools D. space news
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