Many animals 31 (disappear) during the history of the earth. 32 (famous) of these animals were dinosaurs. They lived on the earth 33 (ten) of millions of years ago, long 34 humans came into being. There were many different species of dinosaur and several of them have been found in China. The eggs of twenty-five species have been found in Xixia County, Nanyang, Henan Province, and not long ago a rare new species of bird-like dinosaur was discovered in Chaoyang County, Liaoning Province. The scientists were surprised 35 (find) they could run 36 other dinosaurs, but also climb trees. They could tell this from the way the bones 37 (join) together.
Dinosaurs died 38 quickly about 65 million years ago. Some scientists think it was after a large rock hit the earth and put too much dust into the air. Others think the earth got 39 hot for the dinosaurs to live on any more. Nobody knows 40 sure. In the same way there are animals that have died out more recently and no one knows why. Listen to the story about the dodo, an animal that has disappeared from the earth.
Frederick M. Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, which is a nonprofit organization that conducts research on many public issues. He says that a long summer vacation doesn’t make sense in today’s world.
Can American students afford to take a summer vacation? In a summer vacation, millions of kids spend valuable time sending messages, watching TV, playing video games and doing shopping in the mall. They will also be putting their academic futures at risk.
Summer vacation once made sense in the past when you didn’t need an education to get a good job. But now things have changed. For today’s students, academic skills are important to students’ future success, but such skills are affected in the summertime. Many nations don’t give kids an American-style summer vacation. They offer no more than seven consecutive(连续的) weeks of vacation. Most American school districts offer up to thirteen weeks. To compete in the global marketplace, Americans must be prepared to go up against international competitors.
Summer vacation also causes challenges for today’s families. In the 1960s, more than 60% of families had a stay-at-home Mom. Now two-thirds of American children live in households where every adult works. For these families, summer vacation can be more burden than break. Someone must watch the kids.
But the biggest problem may be how summer vacation hurts academic achievement. Researchers have found that disadvantaged students lose significant ground in the summertime.
A longer school year does not have to be an invitation to hard boring work. Rather, it should allow time-pressed teachers to conduct richer and more imaginative lessons. Schools would have more time to devote to athletics, languages, music and the arts. Summer vacation can be a grand thing. But in the 21st century, it may also be outdated.
Title: Summer Vacation
| Theme |
A long summer vacation isn’t |
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| Basic Information |
13 weeks in most American schools |
|
| Students’ |
·Sending messages and watching TV ·Playing video games ·Doing shopping |
|
| Disadvantages |
· ·Being a ·Hurting students’ academic achievement and resulting in |
|
| Suggestion |
A longer school year does not have to |
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| Though being a ground thing, summer vacation might be out of |
Food makes us feel good, but some people eat when they aren’t really hungry and eat to simply feel good. This kind of eating habit is called emotional eating, which does not affect adults but also young children. It isn’t a good thing.
A child’s eating habits can develop right from childhood. As we know, a baby cries out if he doesn’t get milk at the usual time of the day. However, sometimes parents immediately stick a bottle in a child’s mouth without trying to find out if the child is really hungry. In fact, children may cry for other reasons. Even as children grow up and start going to school, parents sometimes give them a chocolate bar if they become really unhappy. As the children further grow up, they may become used to having a snack whenever they’re upset or low.
Therefore, they’d like to eat an emotional snack when they have the feeling of unhappiness and boredom. Even when they don’t get high grades, aren’t popular at school or made fun of by others, they will want something to eat. After having the snack, they feel a lot better.
Emotional eating in young children is a thing that needs to be taken seriously. To protect your children from emotional eating, you should satisfy your child’s emotional needs in the best possible way. This includes spending time with your child every day, taking an interest in his school work, helping your child study, providing a health environment without tension at home, etc. Don’t make the child lose face by scolding him. Develop confidence in your child. Make your child eat enough once in a while. Reward him for his achievements.
All this will help your little one develop a healthy eating habit. And always remember love and care is the key to help you child out of trouble and grow up happily.
Title: in Young Children
| Definition |
Eating for feeling good instead of for |
| Causes |
forming the habit when they are feeling feeling getting low grades and feeling being made fun of by others |
| |
staying with your child for some time every day being providing a healthy environment without tension at home avoiding making your child giving your child enough to eat once in a while giving your child reward for what he has achieved |
| Love and care helps children out of trouble. |
Kids worry about things like grades, tests, their changing bodies, getting along with friends, the goal they missed at the soccer game, or whether they’ll make the team. They may worry about social troubles like cliques (朋党), peer pressure, or whether they’ll be bullied (威吓), teased, or left out.
There are some tips to help your kids handle what’s worrying them as follows.
Find out what’s on their minds. Be available and take an interest in what’s happening at school, on the team, and with your kids’ friends. Take casual opportunities to ask how it’s going. As you listen to stories of a day’s events, be sure to ask about what your kids think and feel about what happened. If your children seem to be worried about something, ask them about it.
Show your care and understanding. Being interested in your children’s concerns shows they’re important to you. It helps your kids feel supported and understood. Reassuring comments can help — but usually only after you’ve heard your children out. Say that you understand their feelings and the problems.
Guide kids to solutions. When your children tell you about a problem, offer to help them. For example, if your son is worried about an upcoming math test, offering to help him study will reduce his concern about it. In most situations, don’t simply jump in and fix the problem for your children. Instead, think it through and come up with possible solutions together. Solve problems with your kids, rather than for them. By taking an active role, kids learn how to handle a problem independently.
Be a good role model. Your response to your own worries can go a long way toward teaching your kids how to deal with everyday challenges. If you’re at a loss or angry when dealing with a to-do list that’s too long, your kids will learn that as the proper response to stress.
| Title |
Helping kids |
|
of their worries |
* Academic: their lessons, grades, tests * Physical: * |
|
| Tips for removing the worries |
Find out what’s on their minds. |
* Be * Find out your kids’ attitude and reaction to the happenings. |
| Show your care and understanding. |
* Show * Tell them you understand their feelings and the problems. |
|
| Guide kids to solutions. |
* Offer help to your kids when they are in * Never solve the problem for them, but with them. * Help your kids develop a habit of solving problems in a(n) |
|
| Be a good role model. |
* Your response to your own worries can have a deep * Set them a good example by |
Until just a few years ago, we doctors believed that the brain stopped making new neural(神经系统的) connections (meaning that your memory began to get worse) when the body stopped developing, usually in your early 20s. And we knew that, like any other body part, neurons weaken as we age. Loss of brain function due to neural breakdown was assumed to be a normal, unavoidable part of aging.
It turns out that we were wrong. In the past few years, it has been discovered that you can, in fact, make new neurons starting in your 20s and continuing well into old age. You can literally rewire the brain with new parts as the older parts wear out. How? Simple: Keep learning. Just as your body can pack on and condition new muscle, your brain can rebuild used-up neurons.
How strong is the evidence for this? Strong enough that a $200 million industry devoted to brain boosting software (products like Brain Age, MindFit, and Lumosity that supposedly improve your memory function) has sprung up out of nowhere. All “mental fitness” means are keeping your memory intact(everything from phone numbers to how to throw a football). So what can you do to stay smart?
Keep blood pressure down. People with high blood pressure are more likely to develop cognitive impairment later in life.
Eat more vitamins. Like E(in nuts and sunflower seeds), B6 and B12(beef, tuna), and folic acid(leafy greens, citrus, berries), which help keep your brain’s chemistry in balance.
Exercise your brain. This is the best way to rebuild and strengthen those precious neurons. Learn to play chess or the guitar. When you’re at a stoplight, try to recall the starting lineup of the 1983 Celtics. See a movie that doesn’t feature Ben Stiller. Or read, like, a book.
Title: How to keep the ________smart?
| Previous |
The brain no longer makes new neural connections once the |
| New |
●New neurons continue to occur even in one’s old age. ● ●Many products which claim to improve your brain function appear in the |
| ●Keep yourself away from ● ● |
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。(每个空格只填1个单词。)
Many people today are worried about the quality of the food they eat. This concern has led to an increasing number of organic products appearing on supermarket shelves. Many people refuse to buy products that contain artificial colorings or preservatives, or foods that come from genetically modified (GM) crops, fearing that these foods are unhealthy and can cause cancer and other diseases. Some advocates of genetically modified foods consider such attitudes unjustified. I am one of them, and in this essay I will try to justify why I think concerns about GM foods have little value.
First of all, GM foods have been around for almost 20 years. Contrary to the claims of those who oppose GM foods, there have not been any officially reported cases of such foods causing cancer or any other diseases. In fact, research into GM foods has been unable to confirm any harmful effects on human health whatsoever.
Secondly, not everyone can afford organic foods. Climate change and rising fuel costs have led to global increases in the price of food, and as a result, many poor people are spending more money on feeding themselves. Many can hardly afford to buy food. GM plants are generally more resistant to droughts, floods and pests, and have higher production per hectare（公顷）, which leads to more affordable food prices.
The world population keeps growing and is expected to reach eight billion by 2015. People in fast-developing countries such as India and China are consuming more energy and food. The only solution to the ever-increasing demand for food is to grow more GM crops. Unless scientists and governments come up with a better solution, GM foods are here to stay.
To conclude, people are free to eat the food of their choice, whether it is organic or not. However, I think that many people overlook major benefits of GM foods, and instead choose to focus on the unproven negative effects of such foods.
| Phenomenon |
Many people today are worried about the equality of the food they eat, and refused to buy products |
| The author’s attitude |
As an |
| |
GM foods have come into Contrary to organic foods, GM plants are generally more resistant to natural GM foods are the only |
| People are free to choose what they eat. However, they should |
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