Asian parents are spending billions of dollars on private tutors (家庭教师) for their children and the practice is growing despite doubts about its effectiveness, according to an Asian Development Bank study published Wednesday, AFP reported.
"Shadow education" is an expanding business not only in wealthy countries, but also in some of the region's poorer nations as parents try to give their children the best start in life, the study said. Nearly nine out of 10 South Korean elementary pupils receive private tutoring, while the figure for primary school children in India's West Bengal state stands at six out of 10.
The study estimated that the costs of private tutoring in South Korea were equivalent (相等的) to 80 percent of government spending on public education. Japan spent $12 billion on extra teaching in 2011, while the figure for Singapore stood at US$ 680 million in 2009.
Extra academic work aims to help slow learners and support high achievers. Many Asian parents view it as a constructive way for adolescents to spend their spare time. However, it can also reduce the students' time for sports and other activities important for their overall development as well as cause social tensions as richer families are able to pay for better-quality tutoring, the study said.
The study calls for a review of educational systems to make such extra teaching less attractive.Why is “Shadow education" an expanding business?
| A．Because parents want to spend their money. |
| B．Because children don't want to go to school. |
| C．Because parents want their children to stay with teachers. |
| D．Because parents want to give their children the best start in life. |
According to the article, what is the purpose of extra academic work?
| A．To aid slow learners and support high achievers. |
| B．To prepare children for all kinds of academic contests. |
| C．To increase children's hobbies and interests in many fields. |
| D．To gain the most knowledge that students can't get in class. |
Which disadvantage of extra academic work is NOT mentioned?
| A．Causing social tensions. |
| B．Spending more extra money. |
| C．Lacking the chance to communicate with others. |
| D．Reducing the students' time for sports and other activities. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．The government policy on educational systems. |
| B．How to provide the best education for children. |
| C．The importance for children's overall development. |
| D．The reasons for the popularity of private tutors for children. |
The winds had finally died down,and the rains stopped.Paige and her parents were inside their house,sitting in the living room,which was dark except for a single candlelight.
“Let’s find out what’s going on outside,”Paige’s mom suggested as she turned on the small radio.
“…has moved out of the area,”an announcer’s voice boomed. “Winds reaching nearly 100 miles an hour passed through our town this morning. But,the worst is over,and it is safe to go outside.In fact,the sun is now peeking out from behind the…”
Suddenly,the radio went dead.The house was quiet again.
“Well,”Paige’s dad said, “at least we heard some good news,even if it was cut short.Let’s look out of the window and survey the damage.”
Paige ran to the window and looked outside.She saw tree branches lie on the lawn.The mailbox was broken,and some of the address letters and numbers on the mailbox were missing.
“The wind must have ripped(擦)them off,” Paige’s father noted.As he read the remaining letters he began to laugh.
The mailbox dispalyed “_ _RAIN.”
“It says “rain”,”Paige said. “That’s appropriate for a day like today!”The weather event that took place that day in the story was .
| A．an earthquake | B．a hurricane | C．a flood | D．a fire |
The living room was dark because .
| A．there were no lamps | B．someone forgot to pay the electric bill |
| C．the electricity had been cut off | D．the wind blew out the candle |
After the storm had passed,Paige’s family felt .
| A．worried | B．disappointed | C．relieved | D．scared |
The family’s last name could have been .
| A．Germain | B．Crain | C．Syrain | D．Rain |
When my son, Mark, was in the third grade, he saved all his pocket money for over three months to buy holiday presents. The third Saturday in December Mark said he had made his list and had twenty dollars in his pocket.
I drove him to a nearby supermarket. Mark picked up a hand basket and went in while I waited and watched in the car. It took Mark over 45 minutes to choose his presents. Finally he came to the checkout counter (交款处) and reached into his pocket for his money. It was not there! There was a hole in his pocket, but no money. Mark stood there holding his basket, tears falling down his face.
Then a surprising thing happened. A woman came up to Mark and took him in her arms. "You would help me a lot if you let me pay for you," said the woman. "It would be the most wonderful gift you could give me. I only ask that one day you will pass it on. When you grow up, I would like you to find someone you can help. When you help others, 1 know you will feel as good about it as I do now."
Mark took the money, dried his tears and ran back to the checkout counter as fast as he could. That year we all enjoyed our gifts almost as much as Mark enjoyed giving them to us.
I would like to say ’"thank you" to that very kind woman, and tell her that four years later, Mark went house to house collecting blankets (毯子) and clothes for the homeless people in the fire. And I want to promise her that Mark will never forget to keep passing it on.When did the story probably happen?
| A．On Christmas Day. | B．Before Christmas Day, |
| C．On New Year’s Day. | D．After New Year’s Day. |
Why did the writer want to say ’’thank you" to the woman?
| A．Because she bought Mark a nice present. |
| B．Because she always paid money for others. |
| C．Because she collected clothes for the homeless. |
| D．Because she taught Mark to help people in need. |
What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．A big supermarket | B．A kind woman |
| C．A happy family | D．A wonderful gift |
“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity,” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’s probably worth listening to.
Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’re a Chinese, you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump(树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.
A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’s not about going to a temple to burn some incense(香) hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’s practical advice you can follow each day.
Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups; those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper,” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not spot the message.
It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”, in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.
I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners, my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence? After reading about Professor Wiseman’s studies I think not.
As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential problem.
Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’s point?
| A．Make the best of a bad job. |
| B．Rome was not built in a day. |
| C．All is not gold that glitters. |
| D．A good heart conquers ill fortune. |
What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?
| A．She became famous through her family background. |
| B．She is a British talk show host. |
| C．She became successful by her own effort. |
| D．She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks in her life. |
The writer quoted the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show __________.
| A．man can conquer nature |
| B．luck is in your own hand |
| C．bad luck can turn into good |
| D．you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you |
Recently there was a major discovery in the scientific research—the mapping of all DNA in a human gene（基因）is complete. Couple of years ago, this seems an impossible task for scientist to accomplish. All this progress in science leads us to believe that the day, when the human being will be cloned, is not far away. Human cloning has always been a topic of argument，in terms of morality or religion.
Taking a look at why cloning might be beneficial, among many cases, it is arguable that parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic limitation to a child could make use of cloning. If the clone was free of genetic limitations. Then the other clone would be as well. The latter could foe inserted in the woman and allowed to ripen to term. Moreover，cloning would enable women, who can’t get pregnant, to have children of their own.
Cloning humans would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect transfer organs. This, surely would be greatly beneficial to millions of unfortunate people around the world that are expected to lose their lives due to failure of single(or more) organ(s）.It is also arguable that a ban on cloning may be unlawful and would rob people of the right to reproduce and limit the freedom of scientists.
Arguments against cloning are also on a perfectly practical side. Primarily, I believe that cloning would step in the normal “cycle”of life. There would be a large number of same genes., which reduce the chances of improvement，and, in turn, development-the fundamental reason how living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment. Life processes failing to do so might result in untimely disappearance. Furthermore, cloning would make the uniqueness that each one of us possesses disappea. Thus, leading to creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes and, chances are, that those individuals would be regarded as “objects” rather than people in the society.Scientists haven’t 100 percent. guaranteed that the first cloned will be normal. Thus this could result in introduction of additional limitations in the human “gene-pool”.
Regarding such arguable topics in “black or white” approach seems very innocent to me personally. We should rather try to look at all “shades: of it. I believe that cloning is only legal if its purpose is for cloning organs, not humans. Then we could regard this as for “saving life” instead of “creating life”. I believe cloning humans is morally and socially unacceptable.Which of the following is true according to the passage？
| A．Genetic limitation will be beneficial for some women |
| B．A large number of genes will prevent us from developing |
| C．Prohibition of cloning might limit the freedom of scientists |
| D．First cloned humans might be normal according to scientists |
What’s the author’s opinion on cloning?
| A．Cloning should be entirely banned |
| B．Cloning should be used in creating life |
| C．Cloning will take away the right to reproduce |
| D．Cloning is acceptable if it is used for cloning organs |
Where can you read this article?
| A．In a story book. | B．In a magazine. | C．In a science fiction | D．In a brochure |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage
He’s out there somewhere, an instant icon in the records of American conflict, the final big-game hunter. But a puzzle, too, his identity would be kept a secret for now, and maybe forever.
He is the unknown shooter. The nameless, faceless triggerman who put a bullet in the head of the world’s most notorious（臭名昭著的）terrorist, Bin Laden.
He’s likely between the ages of 26 and 33, says Marcinko, founder of the “SEALs Team 6” that many believe led the attack on Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. He’ll be old enough to have had time to hurdle the extra training tests required to join the counter-terrorism unit, yet young enough to stand the body-punishing harshness of the job. The shooter’s a man, it’s safe to say, because there are no women in the SEALs. And there’s a good chance he’s white, though the SEALs have stepped up efforts to increase the number of minorities in their ranks, Marcinko and Smith say.
He was probably a high school or college athlete, Smith says, a physical specimen who combines strength, speed and wisdom. “They call themselves ‘tactical athletes,’” says Smith, who works with many future SEALs in his Heroes of Tomorrow training program in Severna Park. “It’s getting very scientific.”
Marcinko puts it in more conventional terms: “He’ll be ripped,” says the author of the best-selling autobiography “Rogue Warrior.” “He’s got a lot of upper-body strength. Long arms. Thin waist. Flat stomach.”
On this point, Greitens departs a bit. “You can’t make a lot of physical assumptions,” says the author of “The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL.” There are SEALs who are 5 feet 4 and SEALs who are 6 feet 5, Greitens says. In his training group, he adds, there were college football boys who couldn’t hack it; those who survived were most often men in good shape, but they also had a willingness to show their concerns in favor of the mission.
The shooter’s probably not the crew-cut（平头）, neatly shaven ideal we’ve come to expect from American fighting forces. “He’s bearded, rough-looking, like a street naughty boy,” Marcinko supposes. “You don’t want to stick out.” Marcinko calls it “modified grooming standards.”
His hands will be calloused（长老茧）, Smith says, or just rough enough,” as Marcinko puts it. And “he’s got frag in him somewhere,” Marcinko says, using the battlefield shorthand for “fragments” of bullets or explosive devices. This will not have been the shooter’s first adventure. Marcinko estimates that he might have made a dozen or more deployments（部署）, tours when he was likely to have dealt with quite a number of dangerous situations, getting ready any time for explosive devices or bullets.Which of the following is most likely to be the title of the passage?
| A．Who shot Bin Laden? | B．What do the SEALS do? |
| C．How can boys be SEALS? | D．What SEALS are like? |
We can say for sure according to the passage that ___________.
| A．the shooter will eventually be revealed in the Press |
| B．the writer is a person who is curious about the shooter |
| C．the writer is a detective who tries to arrest the shooter |
| D．the shooter is a strong man with a pair of rough hands |
Which of the following are the names of writers mentioned in the passage?
①. Marcinko ②. Greitens ③. Smith ④. Abbottabad
| A．①④ | B．③④ | C．②③ | D．①② |
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