One is never too old to learn. Life learning (sometimes called un-schooling or self-directed learning) is one of those concepts that are almost easier to explain by saying what it isn’t than what it is. And that’s probably because our own schooled backgrounds have convinced us that learning happens only in a fine building on certain days, between certain hours, and managed by a specially trained professional.
Within that schooling framestudy, no matter how hard teachers try and no matter how good their textbooks, many bright students get bored, many slower students struggle and give up or lose their self-respect, and most of them reach the end of the process unprepared to enter into society. They have memorized a certain body of knowledge long enough to rush back the information on tests, but they haven’t really learnt much, at least of the official curriculum.
Life learners, on the other hand, know that learning is not difficult, that people learn things quite easily if they’re not compelled and forced, if they see a need to learn something, and if they are trusted and respected enough to learn it on their own timetable, at their own speed, in their own way—no matter what age and no matter whether we’re at school or at home.
Life learning is independent of time, location or the presence of teacher. It does not require mom or dad to teach, or kids to work in workbooks at the table from 9 to noon. Life learning is learner-driven. It involves living and learning—in and from the real world. It is about exploring, questioning, experimenting, making messes, taking risks without fear of making mistakes, being laughed at and trying again.
Furthermore, life learning is about trusting kids to learn what they need to know and about helping them to learn and grow in their own ways. It is about providing positive experiences that enable children to understand the world and their culture and to interact with it.It is implied in the text that it is hard to ______.
| A．tell the nature of life learning | B．carry life learning through |
| C．learn without going to school | D．find a specially trained teacher |
According to the author, the schooling framestudy often ______.
| A．produces slow students with poor memories |
| B．ignores some parts of the official curriculum |
| C．fails to provide enough knowledge about life |
| D．gives little care to the quality of teaching materials |
Life learners recognize that learning will not be difficult if they are ______.
| A．able to respect other people | B．careful to make a time table |
| C．clear about why to learn | D．cautious about any mistakes |
According to the author, life learning ______.
| A．could prevent one from running risks |
| B．teaches a kid how to avoid being laughed at |
| C．makes a kid independent of his parents |
| D．could be a road full of trials and errors |
Through life learning, children ______.
| A．will grow without the assistance from parents |
| B．will be seperated from the negative side of society |
| C．will be driven to learn necessary life knowledge |
| D．will learn to communicate with the real society |
Spring is just around the corner and it’s a time to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. Here is a selection of festivals around the country that are a great excuse to travel and get back in the spring sunshine.
Dana Point Festival of the Whales
Dana Point, California
March 7 to 8 and 14 to 15, 2010
Each year, over two sunny weekends in March the town of Dana Point, California celebrates the return of migratory California gray whales to this part of the Pacific Ocean. Festivities include whale-watching, an arts festival and educational hands-on activities for the entire family. Prices start at $29 per adult and $19 for children. For more information, visit:
www.dpfestivalofwhales.com
Chandler Ostrich Festival
Chandler, Arizona
March 13 to 15, 2010
Chandler is the center of ostrich ranching (鸵鸟经营) in the USA. You can see jockeys ride these feathered beasts around the ostrich track at Tumbleweed Park. General admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $7 for children aged 5 to 12 and kids 4 and under are free. For more information, visit:
www.ostrichfestival.com
Festival of Houses and Gardens
Charleston, South Carolina
March 19 to April 18, 2010
The Historic Charleston Foundation gives curious travelers the opportunity to explore gardens of some of the finest private residences in America. Each 3-hour tour (afternoons from 2 to 5 pm and evenings from 6 to 9 pm) lets you visit 8 to 10 properties dating from the American colonial period. Prices range from $25 to $45. For more information, visit:
www.historiccharleston.org
Tulip Time Festival
Holland, Michigan
May 1 to 9, 2010
You don’t need to travel to the Netherlands this spring to see and smell some of the world’s finest tulips (郁金香). The annual Tulip Time Festival, one of the largest flower festivals in the country, will kick off with fireworks on May 1. Admission fee ranges from $6 for the children’s area to $38 for theatre tickets. Tickets and more information are available at:
www.tuliptime.com A couple with their 4-year-old son will go whale-watching. They have to pay _____.
| A．$58 | B．$38 | C．$48 | D．$77 |
The underlined word “jockeys” in the passage is closest in meaning to _____.
| A．judges | B．children | C．riders | D．beginners |
A group of travelers who want to have fun in mid-April will go to _____.
| A．Festival of Houses and Gardens | B．Chandler Ostrich Festival |
| C．Dana Point Festival of the Whales | D．Tulip Time Festival |
Which of the following is TRUE of Tulip Time Festival?
| A．It is held in a town in the Netherlands. |
| B．It will start with fireworks on the first day. |
| C．It is the largest flower festival in the world. |
| D．Admission is free for children. |
Once a neighbour stole one of Washington’s horses. Washington went with a police officer to the neighbour’s farm to get the horse, but the neighbour refused to give the horse up; he claimed (声称) that it was his horse.
Washington placed both of his hands over the eyes of the horse and said to the neighbour, “If this is your horse, then you must tell us in which eyes he is blind.”
“In the right eye,” the neighbour said.
Washington took his hand from the right eye of the horse and showed the police officer that the horse was not blind in the right eye.
“Oh, I have made a mistake,” said the neighbor. “He is blind in the left eye.”
Washington then showed that the horse was not blind in the left eye, either.
“I have made another mistake,” said the neighbor.
“Yes,” said the police officer, “and you have also proved that the horse does not belong to you. You must return it to Mr. Washington.”Why did Mr. Washington go to the neighbor’s farm with a police officer?
| A．Because the neighbor was the police officer’s friend. |
| B．Because he wanted to make the neighbor return the horse. |
| C．Because the police officer was Washington’s friend. |
| D．Because they were invited to the neighbor’s farm. |
When Washington and the police officer reached the neighbor’s farm, the neighbor _____.
| A．immediately admitted that he had stolen the horse |
| B．received them warmly |
| C．said he had lost a horse, too |
| D．didn’t want to give the horse back to Washington |
When Washington asked the neighbor to tell them in which eye the horse was blind, the neighbor _____.
| A．didn’t say anything | B．knew the horse wasn’t blind at all |
| C．thought the horse was really blind | D．said he had stolen the horse |
From the passage, we know _____.
| A．Washington was a wise man |
| B．Washington’s neighbor was cleverer than Washington |
| C．the police officer was the cleverest of the three |
| D．all the three men were not very clever |
I arrived at my mother’s home for our Monday family dinner. The smells of food flew over from the kitchen. Mother was pulling out quilt(被子)after quilt from the boxes, proudly showing me their beauties. She was preparing for a quilt show at the Elmhurst Church. When we began to fold and put them back into the boxes, I noticed something at the bottom of one box. I pulled it out. “What is this?” I asked.
“Oh?” Mom said, “That’s Mama’s quilt.”
I spread the quilt. It looked as if a group of school children had pieced it together; irregular designs, childish pictures, a crooked line on the right.
“Grandmother made this?” I said, surprised. My grandmother was a master at making quilts. This certainly didn’t look like any of the quilts she had made.
“Yes, right before she died. I brought it home with me last year and made some changes,” she said. “I’m still working on it. See, this is what I’ve done so far.”
I looked at it more closely. She had made straight a crooked line. At the center of the quilt, she had stitched(缝) a piece of cloth with these words: “My mother made many quilts. She didn’t get all lines straight. But I think this is beautiful. I want to see it finished. Her last quilt.”
“Ooh, this is so nice, Mom,” I said.
It occurred to me that by completing my grandmother’s quilt, my mother was honoring her own mother. I realized, too, that I held in my hands a family treasure. It started with the loving hands of one woman, and continued with the loving hands of another.
72. Why did the author go to mother’s home?
A. To see her mother’s quilts. B. To help prepare for a show.
C. To get together for the family dinner. D. To discuss her grandmother’s life.
73. The author was surprised because __________________.
A. the quilt looked very strange. B. her grandmother liked the quilt.
C. the quilt was the best she had seen. D. her mother had made some changes
74. The underlined word “crooked” in the passage most probably means __________ .
A. unfinished B. broken C. bent D. unusual
75. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Quilt Show B. Mother’s Home C. A Monday Dinner D. Grandmother’s Quilt
Opening week specials at Munchies Food Hall.
At the corner of Green and Brown Streets in the city
Monday 7th of January until Sunday.13rd of January 2008
Feast until you’re full! Come down to Monetizes time week to enjoy the special dishes on offer it all of our food outlets. Order from the following:
|
●Succulent chicken rice ●spicy stays beef
●Delicious noodle dishes ●plump porky chips●seafood specialties ●crunchy vegetables
●sweet tropical fruit
Halal food is available at the stall. Malay Mood Heaven
Win Prizes and Gifts!
Spend ＄20.00 or more and win instant prizes fro
m our lucky draw box.
Collect a free party balloon and whistle for each young diner.
Enjoy a free meal if you are the first customer of the day at any of our stalls.
Win a holiday to Western Australia.
A free raffle ticket is given with every receipt. Just fill in your information and place your entry in the box provided.
Winner to be announced in The strait Times on the 15th of January.
Join in the Fun!
Between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm each evening until the 15th of January, your favorite Channel 3 television actors and singers will entertain you:
●May Lee ●Jackie Chen
●Kim Yap ● Kamala
Autograph sessions will follow each performance! And who will be our extra special mystery star? Come down on Saturday at noon to find out.
68. Munchies Food Hall does NOT sell ____.
A. lamb B. Beef C. pork D. chicken
69. The prices at Munchies are ____.
A. lower than usual B. bargain prices for the opening
C. lower far two people D. lower of you spending ＄21.00
70. Everyone who eats at Munchies will receive a ______.
A. free raffle ticket B. lucky draw coupon
C. free meal D. balloon and whistle
71. I will find out who has won the top to Western Australia when I ______.
A. watch Channel 3 television
B. come down to Munchies at noon
C. read The Straits Times on the 5th of
January
D. attend the lucky draw at Munchies Food Hall
In the future your automobile will run on water instead of gas! You will be able to buy a s
upercomputer that fits in your pocket! You might even drive a flying car!
For each prediction that has come true today, several others have missed by a mile. Many of these predictions didn’t consider how people would want to use the technology, or if people really needed it in their lives or not. Let’s look at some predictions from the not-too-distant past.
Robot Helpers
Where’s the robot in my kitchen? Nowhere, of course. And he’s probably not coming anytime soon. Robots do exist today, but mostly in factories and other manufacturing environments.
Back in the 1950s, however, people said that by now personal robots would be in most people’s homes.
So why hasn’t it happened? Probably because robots are still too expensive and clumsy. And maybe the idea of robots cooking our dinners and washing our clothes is just too weird. At home we seem to be doing fine without them.
Telephones of Tomorrow
In 1964 an American company introduced the video telephone. They said by the year 2000 most people would have a video phone in their homes. But of course the idea hasn’t caught on yet.
Why? The technology worked fine, but it over—looked something obvious: people’s desire for privacy. Would you want to have a video phone conversation with someone after you just step out of the shower? Probably not---it could be embarrassing! Just because a technology available doesn’t always mean people will want to use it.
And finally, how about that crazy prediction of the flying car? It’s not so crazy anymore! But a flying car remains one of the most fascinating technology ideas to capture our imagination. Keep watching the news, or perhaps the sky outside your window, to see what the future will bring.
64. The whole passage is mainly about ________________.
A. predictions that have come true. B. predictions that haven’t come true.
C. why predictions don’t come true easily. D. what technology will bring about.
65. The author of this passage won’t believe that _________________.
A. predictions needn’t consider people’s practical use of technology.
B. the future isn’t always easy to guess.
C. not all past predictions have come true.
D. many of the high—tech things our parents thought we’d be using by now simply never appeared.
66. The underlined word “weird” probably means __________.
A. wonderful B. stupid C. practical D. strange
67. What does the author think of the flying car?
A. It is too difficult to imagine. B. It is too crazy an idea.
C. It is likely to be made. D. It is often reported in the news.
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