Last year, on report card day, my son and a bunch of his 13-year-old friends piled into the back seat of my car, ready for the last-day-of-school party at McDonald’s. “Jack got a laptop for getting straight A’s, and Laurie got a cellphone,” one boy said. “Oh, yeah, and Sarah got an iPod Nano, and she’s only in third grade,” said another. “And how about Brian? He got $ 10 for each A.”
I suddenly became concerned. These payoffs might get parents through grammar school, but what about high school and beyond? What would be left after the electric guitar, the cellphone, and the portable DVD player?
I saw the road ahead: As the homework load increased, my income would decrease. I saw my comfortable lifestyle vanish before my eyes-no more of those $ 5 bags of already-peeled organic carrots. No more organic anything!
I started to feel surprised and nervous. Would every goal attained by my two children fetch a reward? A high grade point average? A good class ranking? Would sports achievements be included in this reward system: soccer goals, touchdowns, runs-batted-in? What about orchestra? Would first chair pay more than second? I’d be penniless by eighth-grade graduation.
“We never paid anything for good grades,” said my neighbor across the street, whose son was recently accepted at MIT. “He just did it on his own. Maybe once in a while we went out for pizza, but that’s about it.”
Don’t you just hate that? We’re all running around looking for the MP3 player with the most updates, and she’s spending a few dollars on pizza. She gets motivation; we get negotiation.
1．The sentence “As the homework load increased, my income would decrease.” in the third paragraph probably means _____________.
A．taking care of the children would influence my work
B．I would spend more money on my children’s homework
C．reducing children’s homework load would cost me a lot
D．more rewards would be needed as the children grew up
2．We can tell from the passage that the author’s son was in ___________.
A．primary school B．junior middle school C．high school D．university
3．It can be inferred from the passage that ____________.
A．if you pay the children for good grades, they would take it for granted
B．if you buy children pizza for good grades, they would work harder
C．children would not ask for rewards when they enter high school
D．children would not ask for rewards when they enter university
4．The example of the author’s neighbor shows that ____________.
A．pizza is the best way to motivate children
B．reward is not the only way to motivate children
C．the author’s neighbor was very poor
D．the author’s neighbor’s son didn’t like reward
5．What is the author’s attitude toward paying children reward for good grades?
A．Favorable B．Ambiguous C．Disagreeable D．Unknowable
For a lang time,a boy wonder why his next-desk-pal was always the first in the class , whereas he could only rank the 21st.
At home,he asked his mom：“Am I more stupid than other kids? How can I alwasys fall behind? I just can’t come with an answer.”Mom was aware that her son’s selfrespect had been damaged by the ranking system,but she didn’t know what to say to help.
She tended to say that intelligence differs and that yes,her son’s friend really was the smarter boy.But that would so upset her son .Thank goodness she resisted the temption (诱惑)to say it .
Her son and his friend went on to high school that year,but despite trying as hard as he could,her son’s friend still outdid him.But she was proud of her boy for his hard work, sincerely proud,It was aroud this time that she decided to take him on a trip to the seaside,On the trip,she at last found an answer for him.
Today her son no longer care about rankings.He doesn’t have to,for he himself is now the top of the class at the national unversity he attands,After university his Teachers and peers fully expect him to have promising career.
Invited to speak to his old high school, he mentioned a valuable childhood experience. It concerned that holiday his mother had prepared for them: “Once, on a trip to the sea, my mother and I were lying on the beach. She pointed to the sea and said to me: Do you see the seabirds fighting for food out there? When a wave comes near, the little birds rise quickly. The clumsy(笨拙的)seagulls are far slower and have to struggle to get away from the wave. But these clumsy birds prove to have the biggest, strongest wings, which allow the bird to travel the furthest. When the season changes, they leave for foreign shores, leaving the little birds behind. Son, I have a feeling that you are one of those seagulls.”The story convey the message that.________.
| A．competion between students is good for society |
| B．only rankings show intelligence of a child |
| C．chilren take competion among them to heart |
| D．parents should build up chilren’s self-respect |
Form the 2nd paragraph,we can see that the mother
| A．decided to help with her son’s homework |
| B．saw the negative effects of the ranking system |
| C．knew her son was weak in his study |
| D．felt sorry for her son’s bad behavior |
We can infer from the passage that
| A．the mother was cafeful to protect her son’s self-respect |
| B．the mother was not strong enough to face the truth |
| C．the son knew intelligence didn’t mean anything |
| D．the son would forget his rankings soon after leaving high school |
Which of the following has the similar meaning with the underlined word “outdid”?
A.was equal to B..laughed at C did better than D.worked harder than
Traditional fairytales are being abandoned by parents because they are too horrible for their young children, a study found.
Research revealed one in five parents dislike old classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Rapunzel and are in favor of more modern books. One third of parents said their children have been left in tears after hearing the horrible details of Little Red Riding Hood. And nearly half of mothers and fathers refuse to read Rumplestiltskin to their kids as the themes of the story are about kidnapping and crimes. Similarly, Goldilocks and the Three Bears was also a tale likely to be left on the book shelf as parents felt it forgives stealing.
The survey of 2,000 adults was conducted to mark the launch of the hit US drama GRIMM, which starts tonight at 9pm on Watch, and sees six episodes based on traditional fairytales. The survey found a quarter of parents questioned wouldn’t consider reading a fairytale to their child until they had reached the age of five, as they prompt too many awkward questions from their children.
Steve Hornsey, General Manager of Watch, said: “Bedtime stories are supposed to calm down children and send them off to sleep soundly. But as we see in GRIMM, fairytales can be dark and dramatic tales so it’s understandable that parents worry about reading them to young children.”
“As adults we can see the innocence in fairytales, but a five-year-old child with an over active imagination could take things too seriously. Despite the dark nature of classic fairytales, as we see in GRIMM, good will triumph over evil and there is always a moral to the story.”
The study also found two thirds of mums and dads try to avoid stories which might give their children nightmares.
However, half of parents said traditional tales are more likely to have a strong moral message than a lot of modern kids’ books, such as The Gruffalo, The Hungary Caterpillar and the Mr. Men books.Why don’t some parents want to read Rumplestiltskin to their kids?
| A．Rumplestiltskin forgives stealing |
| B．Rumplestiltskin is too difficult |
| C．Rumplestiltskin is too long |
| D．Rumplestiltskin may have bad influence on Children |
We can learn from paragraph 3 that Grimm is _____.
| A．a fairytales book |
| B．a movie for children |
| C．a play loved by children |
| D．a drama based on traditional fairytales |
Which of the following may Steve Hornsey agree to?
| A．There is a moral to a classic fairytale. |
| B．Fairytales are dark. |
| C．Adults take fairytales too seriously. |
| D．Fairytales are not good for children's sleep. |
What’s the author’s attitude towards traditional fairytales?
| A．Optimistic | B．Not mentioned | C．Casual | D．Disapproving |
Why are people interested in eating raw foods or whole foods (天然健康食品) ? One reason is that eating these types of food reduces the risk of acid (酸) accumulation in your body.
Raw and whole foods are usually digested more efficiently than cooked foods. When we cook foods, we destroy the natural enzymes (酶) that are part of the food in its raw form. These enzymes were intended by nature to help us digest the food. When we consume food without these natural enzymes, our bodies either digest the food improperly or allow too many nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream. In both instances, the result is overweight. When too many nutrients are absorbed at once, the body grows fat. Improperly digested food moves slowly through the digestive system, where it becomes increasingly acidic. To protect its vital organs from this acidic waste, the body changes the acid into fat and stores it safely away from the organs.
Processed foods (加工食品) contain chemical elements, which might confuse the appetite mechanism that tells us when we’ve had enough to eat; as a result, people often overeat. Processed foods also upset the digestive cycle. The body will either identify these foods as allergens and then store them safely away from the organs as fat, or the remains of undigested food will become acidic and enter the bloodstream as acid waste, which will stick to the blood vessel walls and block the passage of vital oxygen and nutrients heading for the body’s cells. The body’s metabolism (新陈代谢) becomes inactive, and the result is weight gain and obesity.
The accumulation of acid in the digestive system makes digestion increasingly inefficient. When that happens, even healthy foods can become acidic and the food allergies will become more common.
To stop this vicious circle in its tracks, people need to consume food and supplements that will neutralize the acid already accumulated in body. Eating the right types of raw and whole foods can help. It’s also important to restore your enzyme balance. You need to identify and avoid the foods that cause acid accumulation and consume the foods that increase enzyme production. If you truly want to change and help your body heal itself, you need to take an active approach. One effective way is to choose raw and whole foods appropriately according to your health conditions and personal preferences.It can be inferred from Para. 2 that __________.
| A．we’d better be cautious about raw and whole foods |
| B．foods with natural enzymes help people keep fit |
| C．it is important for people to protect their vital organs |
| D．giving up cooked and refined foods is a new lifestyle |
Processed foods are unhealthy because they __________.
| A．destroy body’s cells | B．harm your stomach |
| C．may lead to obesity | D．stop body’s natural function |
What is the main purpose of this passage?
| A．To warn people of the problem of overweight. |
| B．To inform people of the harm of processed foods. |
| C．To advocate eating more raw and whole foods. |
| D．To tell the differences between raw and processed foods. |
What is likely to be talked about following the last paragraph?
| A．Different causes of acid accumulation. |
| B．Correct ways to cook raw foods. |
| C．Active approaches to avoid acid. |
| D．Suitable types of raw and whole foods. |
One of the most difficulties in learning a language is learning the idiomatic phrases, slang and common usage of native speakers. These four books focus on giving students a hand when learning North American idiomatic language.
Ya Gotta Know It by Hania Hassan
It provides an excellent mixture of materials for classroom lessons and American slang reference. Its unique feature is that students are provided with ongoing (持续不断的) context reminding learners of idioms learned while improving their understanding by using the same characters and a developing story line. Exercises provide a chance for students to practice in proper situations.
Price: $11.66
ISBN: 9780074560167
Common American Phrases by Richard A. Spears
It has a wide variety of resources on American English. It contains more than 2,000 phrases and idioms. Excellent for classroom use as this reference guide focuses on standard phrases that can be found in everyday standard usage.
Price: $ 7.06
ISBN: 978007405607
American Idioms and Some Phrases Just for Fun by Edward Swick
The book’s strength is its translation of more formal English of a number of idioms. These phrases are then repeated in a number of different contexts giving students a good idea of common usage. There are also a number of exercises designed to help students put their newfound idiomatic understanding into use.
Price: $ 5.49
ISBN: 9780764108075
American Slang by Robert L. Chapman
It provides a guide for advanced level English students. This references guide to slang is best used by those interested in the very latest and up-to-date slang and slang you might hear in the laterst films from Hollywood.
Price: $ 1.99
ISBN: 9780062731722The purpose of writing the passage is _______.
| A．teach students how to learn idioms |
| B．introduce books to readers |
| C．increase students’ knowledge about idioms |
| D．offer learning materials to readers for free |
In what way is Ya Gotta Know It different from other books?
| A．It contains a lot of exercises. |
| B．It has the largest number of idioms. |
| C．It is mainly about American slang. |
| D．It offers readers ongoing context. |
If you want to learn the slang from the latest Hollywood films, you can choose _______.
| A．American Slang |
| B．Ya Gotta Know It |
| C．American Idioms and Some Phrases Just for Fun |
| D．Common American Phrases |
Early this morning, I got up to make cookies for my neighbor. But actually she hardly greeted me when we saw each other.
Last Monday, she called the firefighters when my house began to fog up while I was out. Luckily, nothing serious had happened. When I thanked her and apologized for causing the trouble, she just asked if my cats were all right and stepped into her house. I felt strangely safe, knowing that even though we don’t get along, she’d done the right thing. So, the yummy cookies.
Last winter, my neighbor carelessly let it out that she was holding a grudge towards me because of an incident we’d had four years ago. I had particularly apologized and asked if there was anything I could do to improve our relationship. She would not accept my apology.
It had taken me a lot of courage to apologize and ask that question. Her refusal to make amends (补偿) really saddened me. After that, I decided I’d just leave her be. So I was really scared she was going to refuse my offer again. I know some people have a hard time understanding how the possibility of rejection can make an adult so afraid, but that’s just the way I felt.
Then, I reminded myself of how good I had felt yesterday when I’d done some acts of kindness after telling myself: Feel the fear, and do it anyway! So I put the cookies on a beautiful plate, opened my apartment door—and there she was, standing in the hallway. But when she saw me, she went back inside. I went after her and quickly said, “I’m sorry, I’ve got something for you! I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am that you were paying attention on Monday.” When she heard me speaking, she turned around. As I held the plate towards her, her eyebrows winged up and she took the plate. I was so happy and excited.
Back in my place, I did a “happy dance”, because I had dared to be kind even though I hadn’t been sure my kindness would be welcome. I do hope that our relationship will slowly get better. I know I was and still am biased (存有偏见) towards her at times, but even if we don’t make amends, I want to be able to be kind without depending on other people’s behaviors and reactions.The neighbor hardly greeted the writer most probably because ______.
| A．the writer’s cats disturb her neighbor frequently |
| B．the writer didn’t thank her for calling the firefighters |
| C．the writer never apologized to her for her misbehaviors |
| D．the writer had an unpleasant experience with the neighbor long ago |
The underlined word “grudge” in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______.
| A．appreciation | B．gratitude | C．dislike | D．envy |
From Paragraph 4, we can learn that the writer ______.
| A．was afraid of being rejected again by her neighbor |
| B．didn’t know how to get along with her neighbor |
| C．didn’t admit it was her fault in the last incident |
| D．refused to forgive her neighbor’s rude behavior |
What does the author try to tell us?
| A．Don’t punish yourself because of others’ mistakes. |
| B．We should be kind to others, regardless of their behavior. |
| C．We must keep a good relationship with our neighbors. |
| D．When we make a mistake, we should have the courage to admit it. |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号