There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill There are, however, vastly different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority it must be given over in general language development and writing ability. The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities of spelling?
If spelling becomes the only focal point of his teacher's interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to "play safe". He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language. That's why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.
I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: "This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling errors and your writing is illegible." It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil's technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted to read the essay, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child's deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centered on the child's ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation to seek improvement.Teachers differ in their opinions about ________.
| A．the difficulties in teaching spelling |
| B．the necessity of teaching spelling |
| C．the complexities of the basic writing skills |
| D．the role of spelling in general language development |
The expression "play safe" probably means “_______”.
| A．to write carefully |
| B．to avoid using words one is not sure of |
| C．to do as teachers say |
| D．to use dictionaries frequently |
Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that ______.
| A．teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes |
| B．students will have more confidence in writing |
| C．students will be able to express their ideas more freely |
| D．students will learn to be independent of teachers |
The major point discussed in the passage is ________.
| A．the relationship between spelling and content of a composition |
| B．the importance of developing writhing skills |
| C．the correct way of marking compositions |
| D．the complexities of spelling |
I moved into a new house in July. Since then I have met a few of my neighbors who are very nice people. For Christmas, I thought I would do something nice for each of the neighbors I know. There were nine neighbors whom I knew by name or spoke with often when I was out in my yard. I knew which houses they lived in.
I decided to add one more to my list. This lady I decided to add lives down the street from me. I meet her every morning walking to work as I drive down the street. She always smiles to me. But I had no idea who she was and which house she lived in.
I planned to make small fruit baskets and leave them on my neighbor's front porches (门廊) on Christmas Eve. I signed the cards: “Happy Holidays from 5104 Northumberland Road.”
I saved the last for the friendly lady. I finally decided on a house where I met her each morning and guessed that it was hers.
My neighbors really appreciated the baskets and would tell me as they saw me in the yard or 
they would call, and a couple even came by to thank me.
This morning I found a small note in the mailbox. It was addressed simply: Resident, 5104 Northumberland Road.
The Thank You card really caught me by surprise. I opened it and read the message, “Thank you for the lovely fruit basket you left on our porch. It was very thoughtful. Richard Kelly passed away last week. He talked a lot about how nice it was that someone remembered him in his time of illness. He really appreciated it.”
I had no idea who Richard Kelly was and that he had been seriously ill. I had left that nice lady’s basket on his porch by mistake. I wanted to say sorry, but that would be wrong. I believe that Mr. Kelly was meant to have that basket because he was dying. I hate that the nice lady did not get to receive a fruit basket on Christmas, but I believe if she knew what had happened, she would be happy. I feel pleased to have helped Richard Kelly's last days be more cheerful. How many Christmas gifts did the author intend to send?
| A．9. | B．8 | C．10 | D．11 |
Where did the friendly lady live?
| A．She lived at the end of Northumberland Road. |
| B．Her address was 5104 Northumberland Road. |
| C．She was thought to share a house with Mr. Kelly. |
| D．The author was not sure about her address at all. |
How did the author’s neighbors respond to his gifts?
| A．They liked the gifts very much and were thankful. |
| B．They were thankful that they wanted to be friends. |
| C．They all made phone calls to say “Thank You”. |
| D．They all visited him by person to show gratitude. |
What does the author mean in the last paragraph?
| A．He was regretful that the nice lady didn’t receive his gift. |
| B．He was glad to have made Mr. Kelly's life more pleasant. |
| C．He thought Richard Kelly deserved to receive that basket. |
| D．The old lady was happy to sacrifice to make Kelly happy. |
Grown-ups know that people and objects are solid. At the movies, we know that if we reach out to touch Tom Cruise, all we will feel is air. But does a baby have this understanding?
To see whether babies know objects are solid. T. Bower designed a method for projecting an optical illusion (视觉影像) of a hanging ball. His plan was to first give babies a real ball, one they could be expected to show surprised in their faces and movements. All the 16 to 24-week-old babies tested were surprised when they reached for the illusion and found that the ball was not there.
Grown-ups also have a sense of object permanence. We know that if we put a box in a room and lock the door, the box will still be there when we come back. But does a baby realize that a ball that rolls under a chair does not disappear and go to never-never land?
Experiments done by Bower suggest that babies develop a sense of object permanence when they are about 18 weeks old. In his experiments, Bower used a toy train that went behind a screen. When 16-week-old and 22-week-old babies watched the toy train disappear behind the left side of the screen, they looked to the right, expecting it to re-appear. If the experiment took the train off the table and lifted the screen, all the babies seemed surprised not to see the train. This seems to show that all the babies had a sense of object permanence. But the second part of the experiment showed that this was not really the case. The researcher substituted (替换) a ball for the train when it went behind the screen. The 22-week-old babies seemed surprised and looked back to the left side for the train. But the 16-week-old babies did not seem to notice the switch (更换). Thus, the 16-week-old babies seemed to have a sense of “something permanence,” while the 22-week-old babies had a sense of object permanence related to a particular object.The passage is mainly about .
| A．babies’ sense of sight | B．effects of experiments on babies |
| C．babies’ understanding of objects | D．different tests on babies’ feelings |
In Paragraph 3, “object permanence” means that when out of sight, an object .
| A．still exists | B．keeps its shape | C．still stays solid | D．is beyond reach |
What did Bower use in his experiments?
| A．A chair | B．A screen | C．A film | D．A box |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The babies didn’t have a sense of direction. |
| B．The older babies preferred toy trains to balls. |
| C．The younger babies liked looking for missing objects |
| D．The babies couldn’t tell a ball from its optical illusion. |
Being a mother is apparently not like it was in the good old days.
Today’s parents yearn for the golden age that their own mothers enjoyed in the 1970s and 1980s, researchers found. Mothers have less time to themselves and feel under greater pressure to handle work and family life than the previous generation. As a result, 88 per cent said they felt guilty about the lack of time they spent with their children.
The survey of 1,000 mothers also found that more than a third said they had less time to themselves than their mothers did – just three hours a week or 26 minutes a day. And 64 per cent said this was because they felt they ‘had’ to go out to work, while nearly a third (29 per cent) said they were under constant pressure to be the ‘perfect mother’, the report found.
Other findings showed social networking and parenting websites, as well as technology such as Skype, were important in providing help and support among female communities. Kate Fox, a member of the Social Issues Research Centre, which conducted the survey for Procter & Gamble, said: ‘With increasing pressure on mothers to work a “double shift”— to be the perfect mother as well as a wage-earner — support networks are more important than ever.
It comes as a separate report examining childcare in the leadin
g industrialised nations found that working mothers in Br
itain spend just 81 minutes a day caring for their children as a ‘primary activity’. Mothers who stay at home, on the other hand, manage twice as much time – more than two and a half hours – looking after their offspring, according to the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development.
Critics say the pressure on women to work long hours, and leave their offspring in the hands of nurseries or childminders, is putting the well-being of their children at risk.
The study also reveals that, despite the fact that more and more modern mothers go out to work, the burden of childcare still falls on them - even if their husband is not in work. A fat
her who is not in work tends to spend just 63 minutes a day looking after his child - 18 mi
nutes less than a mother who goes out to work. Working fathers spare less than three quarters of an hour with their children.What does the underlined phrase “yearn for” probably means ___________.
| A．hate | B．forget | C．miss | D．control |
Which of the following problems is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Today’s mothers have less time left for their children and themselves. |
| B．The working mothers can hardly strike the balance between work and family. |
| C．Most of the mothers can not control their husbands nowadays. |
| D．Modern fathers do not spend enough time with their children. |
From Para. 4, we can infer that ___________.
| A．Skype is a very famous expert in studying social issues |
| B．working mothers can seek help on line |
| C．working mothers’ double shift is to be a wife and a mother |
D．Kate Fox has opened a website offering help to working mothers |
What critics say means that _____________.
A．it is wise for working moth ers to put their kids in nurseries or childminders |
| B．children do not like nurseries or childminders at all |
| C．nurseries or childminders are dangerous places for children |
| D．too much time in nurseries or childminders is bad for kids’ mental and physical health |
I’m fat. I’m too skinny. I’d be happy if I were taller, shorter, had curly hair, straight hair, a
smaller nose, bigger muscles, longer legs. Do any of these statements sound familiar? Do you often put yourself down? If so, you’re not alone. As a teen, you’re going through a ton of changes in your body. And as your body changes, so does your image (形象) of yourself. Lots of people have trouble getting used to it and this can affect their confidence.
Some people think they need to change how they look or act to feel good about themselves. But actually all you need to do is change the way you see your body and how you think about yourself.
The first thing to do is recognize that your body is your own, no matter what shape, size, or color it comes in. If you’re very worried about your weight or size, go to your doctor to check that things are OK. But it’s no one’s business but your own what your body is like—finally, you have to be happy with yourself.
Nex
t, find which aspects (方面) of your appearance you can change and which you can’t change and need to accept—like their height, for example, or their shoe size.
If there are things about yourself that you want to change and can do this by making goals for yourself. For example, if you want to get fit, make a pan to exercise every day and eat nutritious foods.
When you hear negative comments coming from within yourself, tell yourself to stop. Try building your confidence by listing three things in your day that really gave you pleasure. It can be anything like the way the sun felt on your face, the sound of your favorite band, or the way someone laughed at your jokes.From the first paragraph, we can infer that .
| A．many teens can’t accept their body change easily |
| B．most teens like to have a special body image |
| C．teens prefer to change their body image quickly |
| D．teens usually change their opinions on their body image |
Which of the following does the author probably agree with?
| A．Change the way other people look at you. |
B．Go to your doc tor for advice on how to change your body. |
| C．Realize you can’t change everything about yourself. |
| D．源Learn from some celebrities on how to change your body. |
The underlined phrase “put yourself down” in the first paragraph probably means .
| A．make yourself fall down | B．say negative things about yourself |
| C．force yourself to do something | D．write down your name somewhere |
The passage is mainly about .
| A．how to adjust to the changes of your body |
| B．how to build confidence by changing your body |
| C．how to keep an attractive body image |
| D．how to find pleasure in your day |
Where will you post a notice if you need someone to look after your children?
| A．PERSONAL | B．ROOMMATES |
| C．DOMESTIC SERVICE | D．HELP WANTED |
A second-hand jacket will probably cost you __________.
| A．$60 | B．$10 | C．$20 | D．$40 |
To have your travel notes published, you may contact __________.
| A．The International Center | B．Gayle Moore |
| C．Students’ Union | D．Life Planning Workshop |
If you want to have someone wake you up in the morning, you may call __________.
| A．800-5224 | B．800-0760 | C．800-7839 | D．800-5770 |
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