Pushy parents and teachers who “hothouse” the under-5s risk causing damage to the children’s long term development, a leading education expert said.
Lilian Katz, Professor of Education at the University of Illinois, said that four-year-olds engaged in reading and writing went on to perform worse academically than those engaged in imaginative learning. They scored higher in tests at the age of 5, but children whose first year at school was stimulating outstripped them four years later.
The findings suggest that the government's structured approach to early years' learning could be storing up problems for children. They also raise serious questions about the plan for all children to be able to read by the age of 6.
In many countries formal teaching does not start until children are 6 or 7 and have improved their social and manual skills. Children start learning to read and write at 6 in the United States, France and Germany, and at 7 in Finland and Sweden.
Professor Katz said that in many schools the courses were "boring children to tears". Much academic teaching required children to learn by memorizing pieces of information out of context, she said. Teaching in reception class should instead allow children to develop their intellect by exploring their environments and asking questions.
"Research suggests the benefits of formal academic instruction for four- and five-year-olds seem to be promising when they are tested early, but considerably less so in the long term. When these children are followed over a period of three or more years, those who had early experience in more intellectually engaging curricula were more likely to do well in school than their peers, who had received early academic instruction." She advocates teaching children through first-hand experience and play, in mixed-aged classes. This can include puppet shows, drawing or running a pretend shop in the classroom.According to the passage, those who “hothouse” the under-5s would probably _________.
| A．prefer a lot of interaction and stimulation while teaching |
| B．teach in a lively way to motivate kids’ interest |
| C．push the kids to memorize pieces of information |
| D．care about the kids’ physical development |
What does the underlined word “ outstripped” in Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．did better than | B．looked down upon |
| C．caught up with | D．performed worse than |
According to Lilian Katz, the government’s structured approach to early-years learning __.
| A．is necessary for improving children’s reading and writing ability |
| B．needs to be improved to develop children’s academic ability |
| C．will cause problems to children in their future learning |
| D．has more advantages than disadvantages |
The message the author wants to deliver through the passage is that formal teaching _____.
| A．can start at different times in different countries. |
| B．should not be started too early |
| C．is best carried out in Finland and Sweden |
| D．should include teaching children social and manual skills |
Which of the following is NOT the opinion of Lilian Katz?
| A．Children should be taught through first-hand experience. |
| B．Learning in a mixed-age class is good for children. |
| C．Running a shop can help children get good marks. |
| D．Puppet shows and drawing are useful in teaching children. |
A clinic in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, works to support the health of people and forests.
Kinari Webb is an American doctor who helped start the non-profit group that operates the clinic. The group is known as ASRI. Dr. Webb says most communities value the local forests, but illegal logging(伐木) was often their only way to earn money to pay for health care. "Villagers know that if they protect the forest, that’s good for their long-term well-being. But if they have no money to see a doctor, they have to do illegal logging," said Dr. Webb.
The clinic is in Sukadana, a village outside Gunung Palung National Park. Each month someone from ASRI visits the surrounding villages to see if they are actively logging or burning land within the park. Communities that do not take part in illegal logging pay about 40 percent less for health care than those that do. Also, the clinic uses a barter system. Patients can pay with things like handmade baskets, labor exchanges, young trees or fruit they grow.
Patients learn about environmental conservation as they wait to register at the clinic. Many of the 70 staff members also help communities learn about organic farming and other ways to earn money. In May, ASRI started a program to identify forest "guardians". These guardians work with the community to try to prevent illegal logging. One of the guardians says he entered the program because ASRI helped his son recover from tuberculosis(肺结核).
The clinic is small, but very busy. However, people did not trust the clinic at first. They wanted to go to the only hospital in the area. Yet its resources are limited and villagers often have to travel more than two hours to get there.
Now, people happily share stories about the clinic. Amelia’s mother is one of them. She started going there when her daughter was eight months old. She says the treatment is good. Dr. Webb smiled when she heard that.
Dr. Webb said: "Health care is an incredible key. And everyone everywhere around knows that we really care and that we are helping save their lives."A barter system is a system in which .
| A．people trade by the exchange of goods |
| B．patients can receive a free treatment |
| C．customers pay the goods in cash |
| D．trees are taken good care of |
Kinari Webb set up the clinic for the following purposes EXCEPT .
| A．treating the local patients |
| B．protecting the forests |
| C．teaching people about organic farming |
| D．forcing the only hospital out of the area |
We can infer that .
| A．only a few people went to the clinic at the beginning |
| B．the clinic is well equipped |
| C．Amelia’s mother is not satisfied with the medical service |
| D．the only hospital in the area is of poor service |
Scientists have long understood the key role that oceans play in regulating the Earth’s climate. Oceans cover 70 percent of the globe and store a thousand times more heat than the atmosphere does. What’s newer is the understanding of how this key component of our climate system responds to global warming.
A brake on global warming — for now
One of oceans’most important climate functions is absorbing heat and carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the gases that cause global warming. Acting as a heat sponge (海绵), oceans have absorbed huge amounts of heat and CO2 in the last forty years.
Fujita explains that "oceans are saving us from faster climate change — they are a big flywheel that delays rapid overheating of the Earth, putting a brake on the climate system."
"That’s the good news," he adds. "The bad news is that oceans only slow the atmospheric warming. Once oceans come to balance with a greenhouse gas warmed earth, the extreme heat will remain in the atmosphere and things will get much hotter." But where and how oceans release this accumulated (积累的) heat is uncertain. And as oceans store heat, fragile underwater ecosystems are struggling.
The most recent scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also notes with concern that oceans are acidifying because of increased absorption of atmospheric CO2, and thus causing a threat for shell-forming species. Sharp increases in carbon dioxide levels will cause further acidification of oceans.
Currents distributing heat
Another important role oceans play is that of distributor. Oceans deliver heat and life-sustaining nutrients around the globe. Just as blood vessels bring oxygen and nutrients to cells in the human body, oceans’ currents carry oxygen, nutrients and heat throughout the Earth. Oceans distribute 25 percent to 50 percent of the energy the planet receives from the sun. For example, the Gulf Stream carries heat across the Atlantic. This warm current gives northwestern Europe a milder climate than it would normally have so far north. A change to oceans’ circulation (循环) patterns could throw Europe into a colder period, even as the rest of world experiences warmer temperatures.We can infer from the passage that .
| A．oceans cause global warming |
| B．oceans stop global warming |
| C．oceans release nutrients and heat |
| D．ocean ecosystems face more dangers |
From the passage we can learn that oceans’ currents .
| A．produce oxygen and nutrients everywhere |
| B．absorb 25% to 50% of the energy from the sun |
| C．distribute heat and nutrients around the globe |
| D．change oceans’ circulation patterns |
Which of the following is NOT the result of oceans absorbing heat and carbon dioxide?
| A．It causes further acidification. |
| B．It affects shell-forming species. |
| C．It makes the atmosphere hotter. |
| D．It regulates the Earth’s climate. |
This passage mainly talks about .
| A．the roles of oceans | B．global warming |
| C．ocean currents | D．carbon dioxide |
The National Geographic Channel has unearthed a time capsule (时光宝盒) buried by late Apple chairman and co-founder Steve Jobs thirty years ago.
The time capsule was buried in Aspen, Colorado, in 1983, shortly after Jobs attended the International Design Conference being held in that city. Organizers called the device the Aspen Time Tube and contributed items like Rubik's cubes(魔方) and some iconic music. Jobs added his own items to the capsule, including the " Lisa" ( also known as an "Apple" ) mouse" he used for his presentation at the conference.
Younger readers may not recognize the name but the Lisa Apple mouse was one of the first commercial mice released to consumers. The mouse was specially designed for the Apple Lisa computer. It's also the first personal computer to offer users a graphical user interface(图形用户界面)
Initially, the plan was to dig up the time capsule in the year2000, but organizers forgot its exact location. Recently, they brought in researchers working with the National Geographic Channel show Diggers to find the device. Eventually they came across the 13-foot-long, 1.5-foot-diameter tube. Inside they found a lot of 1980s artifacts(人工制品)that are still being catalogued.
“When the end came off, literally things just poured out.” noted Diggers host Tim Saylor "There must be literally thousands of things in there.”
“They had the foresight to put a bunch of stuff in plastic bags." Saylor said. “I could see at least a dozen plastic bags and other items. But I know for sure there got to the photographs in there. People had hand-written things on the back of the photographs, so there will be some really interesting things inside.”
Among the artifacts researchers expect to discover inside: a Steve Jobs speech in which the Apple visionary outlines his predictions for future technologies. We should know more about the researchers, discoveries once the Diggers program airs this fall.Which of the following is true about the Lisa mouse?
| A．The mouse was the first commercial one for consumers. |
| B．The mouse was created only for the Apple Lisa computer. |
| C．The mouse was buried in Aspen, Colorado for two decades. |
| D．The mouse was invented after the International Design Conference. |
Why wasn't the time capsule dug up in 2000?
| A．Because it was not the time set by Steve Jobs. |
| B．Because it could not be accurately located. |
| C．Because organizers forgot its precise shape. |
| D．Because the local government didn't approve. |
From the passage we can infer that_______.
| A．there were some special photographs found-inside the time capsule |
| B．a Steve Jobs speech with future predictions was found inside the cap |
| C．Steve Jobs predictions for future technologies have come true |
| D．more about the capsule will be discovered in the Diggers program |
The best title for the passage might be _______.
| A．The "Lost" Steve Jobs Time Capsule |
| B．The Mystery of Steve Jobs Speech Solved |
| C．Steve Jobs' 1983 Time Capsule Recovered |
| D．Co-founder & Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs |
Babies born in summer are more likely to become short-sighted in late life, a study has shown.
As many as a quarter of all cases of short-sightedness are caused by too great an exposure to sunlight in the first weeks of life, say eye experts.
They are advising all parents to put sunglasses on their babies during the first weeks.
Scientists had already established that over-exposure to sunlight caused shortsightedness in animals.
Researchers who compared the months in which babies were born with whether they needed glasses later on say the principle also applies to humans.
A study of almost 300,000 young adults-the largest of its kind-showed that those born in June and July had a 25 per cent greater chance of becoming severely short-sighted than those born in December or January.
Research leader Professor Michael Belkin, of Tel Aviv University, said it was because prolonged illumination(光照) causes the eyeball to lengthen-causing short-sightedness.
Hence the more light a newborn is exposed to, the more the eyeball lengthens and the worse the short-sightedness will be.
The mechanism which lengthens the eyeball is associated with levels of melatonin(褪黑激素), a pigment (色素) which protects the skin against harmful rays of the sun.
In young babies not enough melatonin is released as protection, meaning they are more vulnerable to sunburn and changes to eyeball shape.
Sight expert Professor Daniel O’Leary, of Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, said “At the moment we don’t know the precise cause of why light exposure affects sight, but the evidence seems to prove that it is one of the reasons for people becoming shortsighted.”Babies born in summer are more likely to be shortsighted ____________.
| A．because the summer sun is too strong for babies |
| B．because babies born in summer have lengthened eyeballs |
| C．if they are exposed too much sunlight in the first weeks after they are born |
| D．if parents don’t know a proper way to protect their babies’ eyes |
Melatonin is a kind of material to ___________.
| A．prevent the eyes from becoming near-sighted |
| B．protect the skin from harmful sun rays |
| C．make our body strong |
| D．protect babies’ eyes from summer sun |
From what Professor Daniel O’Leary says we can conclude that ___________.
| A．there is no evidence that shortsightedness is related to exposure to sunlight |
| B．whether light exposure affects sight still needs to be further proved |
| C．he believes that light exposure can cause shortsightedness |
| D．he tries to give the cause of why light exposure affects sight |
The underlined word “vulnerable” in the passage probably means __________.
| A．easy to be harmed | B．resistant |
| C．protective | D．changeable |
Fear and its companion pain are two of the most useful things that man and animals possess if they are used. If fire didn’t hurt when it burned, children would play with it until their hands were burned away. Similarly, if pain existed but fear didn’t, a child could burn itself again and again because fear would not warn it to keep away from the fire that had burnt it before. A really fearless soldier—and some do exist—is not a good soldier because he is soon killed; and a dead soldier is of no use to his army. Fear and pain are therefore two guards without which man and animals might soon die out.
In our first sentence we suggested that fear ought to be properly used. If, for example, you never go out of your house because of the danger of being knocked down and killed in the street by a car, you are letting fear rule you too much. The important thing is not to let fear rule you, but instead, to use fear as your servant and guide. Fear will warn you of dangers; then you have to decide what action to take.
In many cases, you can take quick and successful action to avoid the danger. For example, you see a car coming straight towards you; fear warns you, you jump out of the way, and all is well.
In some cases, however, you decide that there is nothing that you can do to avoid the danger. For example, you cannot prevent an airplane crashing into your house, and you may not want to go and live in a desert where there are no airplanes. In this case, fear has given you its warning, you have examined it and decided on your course of action, so fear of the particular danger is no longer of any use to you, and you have to try to overcome it.Children would play with fire until their hands are burnt away if _________.
| A．they were not well educated at school |
| B．they had never played with fire before |
| C．they had no sense of pain |
| D．they were fearful of pain |
People sometimes succeed in timely avoiding danger because _________.
| A．they have gained experience |
| B．they are warned of the danger and take quick action |
| C．they jump out of the way in time |
| D．they are calm in face of danger |
What is implied but not stated in the passage?
| A．Too much fear is harmful |
| B．Fear is always something helpful |
| C．Fear is something that can be avoided |
| D．Fear ought to be used as our guide in our life |
The best title for this passage should be __________.
| A．No Pains, No Gains | B．Pain and Actions |
| C．The Value of Fear | D．The Reason Why People Fear |
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