Reading Oliver James'Affluenza, I thought about what often happens at home. My 12-year-old daughter is in tears."I have so take a test tomorrow. I don't understand any of it," she cries out. After shouting and shutting her door, she calms down enough to go through her notes. The following dry I ask her how the test went and the just says "OK,I got a nine".
"Wow. well done!" I say, before she finishes with "But I never get a ten!"
According to James, this obsession with getting top marks has been a bad development, which encourages people to think of education in terms of work and money. To test this, I asked my daughter why she was so worried about her tests. She looked at me as if I was thick. "Well, if I don't get good grades, I won't be able to afford nice things like a car and stuff."
I was quite surprised, because I don't consider myself a pushy parent. But James suggests and it leaves students feeling failures even if they are very bright. He points to the Danish system（体制）of education as a better model. Creating happy citizens who have good social skills is seen as more important than high achievements at school or the needs of business.
For me, I cannot remember the last time I had to work out the area of a circle, recite a Shakespeare poem or grammar rules, yet I have lived a happy life. What I really needed to learn at school was how to make polite conversations, or how to avoid getting into debt or how to develop good personality.
This is in fact similar to what Oliver James really has in mind. And he is looking for schools where students are encouraged to find and follow their own interests, something more like Tongjon. Tongjon has been developed in some Korean private schools. It is quite different from the more rigid system of learning things by heart that is used in Korea, and indeed in many other school systems around the world.
As the Russian poet Pushkin said," Inspiration(灵感）is needed in geometry(几何学）just as much as in poetry ",and inspiration does not come from endlessly revising for tests or getting worried about them .What does the writer probably think of his/her daughter?
| A．She sets herself a goal too high to reach. |
| B．She should be more polite to her parents. |
| C．She is hard-working but not very bright. |
| D．She takes her grades much too seriously. |
What does the word "obsession"in paragraph 3 mean?
| A．A plain and unavoidable fact. |
| B．A satisfied and very proud state. |
| C．A practical and widely-used way. |
| D．A fixed and often unreasonable idea. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Social skills are as important as high grades. |
| B．Interest in grades can shake self-confidence. |
| C．The writer regrets not having studied hard at school. |
| D．Danish educational system is for very smart students. |
The writer wants to tell us that____.
| A．learning happily is the key to self-development. |
| B．top marks may be helpful to increase one's interest. |
| C．tests should be improved to give children inspiration. |
| D．education should meet one's needs for word and money. |
任务型阅读 （共5小题，计10分）
Building blocks(积木) are still one of the most popular traditional toys today. Their interesting design and easy use attract children of all ages. Most traditional toys, like building blocks, were first made of wood. Today, wooden building blocks are still used, (A)______ now there are several other types of building blocks to choose from, like plastic building blocks.
Children build all kinds of things that they see in everyday life with building blocks. This gives them the chance to learn new things and life skills.
(B)积木能帮助孩子练习他们的语言。Most children talk to each other as they build things with these traditional toys. This type of toy also helps develop the skills that children need in life. As they begin to join groups playing with building blocks, they learn to take turns, to share, and to solve problems with others. However, these are not the only advantages of playing with building blocks. (C)The building blocks also help develop children’s skills in math and science. . They allow children to work according to the steps of scientific discovery, (D) ______ are first to watch and think, and then to test. Traditional toy building blocks also come in different shapes, colors and sizes. These types of building blocks encourage children to develop skills in dividing things.
(E)Playing with building blocks is not only fun but also very helpful. Maybe that is the reason why building blocks are still favorite today.
A: _______ D: _______
___________________________________.
___________________________________.
Playing with building blocks is ______ fun ______ very helpful.
What were traditional toy building blocks made of?
___________________________________.
WHY IS THE SUN IMPORTANT？
The sun is a huge, hot, bright star. It is important because without it there would be no life on Earth. The sun gives us light and heat.
All living things need light and heat from the sun to live. Plants need light and heat to grow. They use the light from the sun to make food. We cannot make our own food, but plants can. All the food we eat comes from plants in a food chain(链)which starts with the sun. For example,
Animals need sunlight, too. Just like us, their food comes from a food chain which begins with the sun and the plants.
sun→ leaf→ caterpillar(毛虫)→bird
sun→ seaweed(海藻)→small fish→ whale(鲸)
Sunlight means we can see during the day. If there was no sun, it would be dark all the time. Even when the sky is cloudy, the sunlight is very strong and it shines through the clouds.
A. huge, cold and bright
B. huge, hot and bright
C. small, warm and bright
A. Light and heat.
B. Heat and eggs.
C. Corn and light.
A. when the sky is cloudy, there is no sunlight at all
B. without the sun there will be no life on the earth
C. we human beings can make food by our own bodies
A. plants; earth
B. plants; sun
C. animals; star
A. Plants need heat and light to grow
B. All living things depend on the sun for their growth
C. The sun is very important
Henry was an office worker in a big city. He worked very hard and enjoyed traveling in his holidays.
He usually went to the seaside, but one year he saw an advertisement in a newspaper. “Enjoy country life. Spend a few weeks at West Hill Farm. Good food. Fresh air. Horse riding.Walking. Fishing. Cheap and interesting.”
“This sounds a good idea,” he thought. “I’ll spend a month at West Hill Farm. I think I can enjoy horse riding, walking and fishing. They’ll make a change from sitting by the seaside and swimming.”
He wrote to the farmer. In the letter he said that he would like to spend all of July there. Then on the first of July, he left for West Hill Farm.
But four days later, he returned home.
“What was wrong with West Hill Farm?” his best friend, Ed, asked him. “Didn’t you enjoy country life?”
“Country life was very good,” Henry said. “But there was another problem.”
“Oh. What?”
“Well,” he said, “the first day I was there a sheep died, and we had roast mutton for dinner.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Ed asked. “Fresh meat is the best.”
“I know, but on the second day a cow died, and we had roast beef for dinner.”
“Lucky you!”
“You don’t understand,” Henry said. “on the third day a pig died and we had roast pork for dinner.”
“A different meat every day,” Ed said loudly, “and you are complaining!”
“Let me finish,” Henry said. “on the fourth day the farmer died, and I didn’t dare (敢)stay for dinner!”
| A．He saw it in a newspaper advertisement. |
| B．His best friend told him. |
| C．He wrote to the farmer. |
| D．Maybe he learned it from the radio. |
| A．he didn't like the country life at all |
| B．the farmer wasn’t friendly to him |
| C．his holiday was over |
| D．he thought he might have to eat the farmer |
| A．夸奖 | B．说三道四 |
| C．抱怨 | D．故弄玄虚 |
| A．Ed could eat a different kind of meat every day. |
| B．Henry thought he could enjoy a change. |
| C．Henry couldn't think of anything else to do, so he went to the farm. |
| D．The farmer died because of the bad meat he ate. |
| A．What a beautiful farm! | B．Have a good time. |
| C．A short holiday | D．Henry and the farmer. |
Dear Jane,
I have to（必须） go to work (工作) now. I prepare（准备） these things for you. Your schoolbag is on the desk. Your pen, books, keys and your school card are in your schoolbag. Your clothes and hat are on the sofa. The shoes are under your bed. Don't forget your breakfast(早餐）.It's in the microwave oven（微波炉）．
Mom leaves（留下） the note（便条）．
| A．Jane. | B．Jane's father |
| C．Jane's mother | D．Jane's friend |
What's in the schoolbag?
a. the pen b. the shoes
c. the keys d. the school card e. the hat
| A．b c d | B．a b d |
| C．a b e | D．a c d |
The shoes are .
| A．on the bed | B．on the dresser |
| C．under the bed | D．on the sofa |
The schoolbag is .
| A．on the desk | B．on the bed |
| C．under the desk | D．in the microwave oven |
The underlined（划线的）“forget" means（意思是）“ ”.
| A．拿走 | B．忘记 | C．带来 | D．记得 |
My name is Kitty. I have a very big and nice room and I have a great school things collection. My brother’s room is near my room. He is Mike. And he has a big sports collection. I have twenty erasers, ten pencils, nine rulers and eight pens in my schoolbag. My brother has two baseballs, four soccer balls and five basketballs under his bed.Does Kitty have a brother?
| A．No. she doesn’t | B．Yes, she does. |
| C．Yes. she has. | D．No, she hasn’t. |
Does Mike have a great sports collection?
| A．Yes, he does. | B．No, he doesn't. |
| C．We don't know. | D．No, I don't. |
How many（多少）erasers does Kitty have?
| A．10 | B．20 | C．9 | D．8 |
How many balls does Mike have?
| A．4 | B．5 | C．11 | D．10 |
Where is Mike's sports collection?
| A．Under his bed. | B．Under Kitty's bed. |
| C．In his schoolbag. | D．In Kitty’s schoolbag. |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号