However important we may regard school life to be, there is always the fact that children spend more time at home than in the classroom. Therefore, the teacher should realize that parents have a great influence on their children. Parents can become strong allies (助手) of the school or they can get in the way of the school education.
Experts have realized the need to keep parents informed of the newer methods used in schools. Many headmasters have conducted workshops explaining such matters as the reading readiness, program writing and mathematics to parents.
Moreover, the classroom teacher, with the permission of the supervisors(管理者), can also play an important part in giving more knowledge to reporting pupils progress, teachers can help parents a lot in educating their children and parents can give much help to teachers.
Suppose that a father has been drilling Junior arithmetic lessons night after night. In a friendly talk between the teacher and the father, the teacher can help the parent to make Junior interested in it. He might be persuaded to let Junior join in discussing the family budget, buying the food, using a ruler or measuring cup at home, setting the clock, calculating the distance of a trip and engaging in scores of other activities that have a mathematical basis.
If the father follows the advice, it is reasonable to say that he will soon realize that his son is making satisfactory progress in mathematics, and at the same time, enjoying the work.
Too often, however, teachers’ talks with parents are devoted to small accounts of children’s misdemeanors(不良行為). They talk about the laziness and poor work habits of the children.
What is needed is a more creative way in which the teacher, as an adviser, plants ideas in parents’ minds to make sure that the child spends the many hours out of the classroom learning something useful.
In this way the school and the home join forces in educating children.
【小題1】The main idea of the passage is that ____.

A．home training is more important than school training

B．parents should help their children to do their homework

C．there’re many ways in which the mathematics program can be carried out at home

D．teachers can and should help parents to use better ways to teach their children

【小題2】From this passage we can know that the writer ____.

A．is satisfied with the relationship between school and home

B．feels that parent-teacher talks can be made much more constructive

C．believes that schools can’t teach pupils well

D．calls on parents to teach their children mathematics at home

【小題3】What way that the writer doesn’t talk about can improve the present situation?

A．Classes for parents.	B．New type of report card.
C．Parent-teacher talk.	D．Dinner or party.

【小題4】The writer implies that ____.

A．interesting activities can improve one’s achievement

B．too many children are lazy and have poor work habits

C．teachers should often make home visits to parents

D．headmasters do more than teachers in this area

【小題5】We can infer from the passage that the writer does not favor ____.

A．father’s helping his son with his study

B．written reports to the parents from the teachers

C．talking about children’s shortcomings

D．having the parents help their children with their lessons

In our life, we have rarely expressed our gratitude to the one who’d lived those years with us.In fact, we don’t have to wait for anniversaries to thank the ones close to us—the ones so easily overlooked. If I have learned anything about giving thanks, it is this: give it now！While your feeling of appreciation is alive and sincere, act on it. Saying thanks is such an easy way to add to the world’s happiness.
Saying thanks not only brightens someone else’s world, but it also brightens yours. If you’re feeling left out, unloved or unappreciated, try reaching out to others. It may be just the medicine you need.
Of course, there are times when you can’t express gratitude immediately. In that case don’t let embarrassment sink you into silence—speak up the first time you have the chance.
Once a young minister, Mark Brian, was sent to a remote parish of Kwakiutl Indians in British Columbia. He had been told that the Indians did not have a word for thank you. But Brian soon found that these people had exceptional generosity. Instead of saying thanks, it is their custom to return every favor with a favor of their own, and every kindness with an equal or superior kindness. They do their thanks.
I wonder if we had no words in our vocabulary for thank you, would we do a better job of communicating our gratitude? Would we be more responsive, more sensitive and more caring?
Thankfulness sets in motion a chain of reaction that transforms people all around us—including ourselves, for no one ever misunderstands the melody of a grateful heart.
【小題1】In the first paragraph the writer mainly encourages us       .

A．to express our sincere thanks timely to those around us

B．never to overlook our close friends in daily life

C．to wait for a proper occasion to show our gratitude

D．to increase the world’s happiness by saying thanks

【小題2】When we say something for what others do for us, it ______.

A．is good for both us and people who help us

B．benefits the people who do something for us

C．wastes our and our friends’ time at the same time

D．does harm to both us and people who help us

【小題3】According to the writer,        could be the best way to prevent ourselves from being left out.

A．seeing a doctor to find the right medicine we need

B．expressing our gratitude in an easy way

C．speaking up the moment we have the chance

D．showing others actively we are willing to help them

【小題4】Mark Brain’s story is mentioned in the passage in order to show the fact that       .

A．the Indians didn’t have any words for appreciation

B．the Indians were particularly generous to others

C．some people may express their gratitude through different approaches

D．Mark Brain set the Indians an example to show saying thanks is very important

So much to do, so little time．So much information, so little time to read．In this age there is more information than ever before．There is not enough time to read everything we want to read．However, you can take in and understand more information in shorter time through speed-reading．This article will not make you read 3,000 words per minute, but it will show you how to increase your speed greatly．You will also learn the basic techniques of speed reading, along with the dos and don’ts of speed-reading．
When you first learned to read, you would say the word out loud and sound it out．Then you might whisper the word because people can become annoyed when you read aloud．The stage you are now at is saying the word in your head．Most people tend to read this way．Saying the word in your head will cut your reading speed tremendously （極大的）．
How do you calculate your reading speed? The speed is measured by how many words per minute you can read．Get some reading material, preferably a book．Find out how many words are on the page．Time yourself one minute．Start your timer and start reading．When the timer sounds, stop at once．If you counted 500 words on the page and you read half of the page, then you are probably reading at 250 words per minute．
The first thing about speed-reading is looking at the word and recognizing it．Don’t say the word in your mind, just look at it and recognize its appearance．Later you will recognize groups of four words or more to increase your speed．This is the first and most important step in speed-reading．
The next step is technique．As with any other skill, speed-reading requires technique．You should first be sitting up straight with your book on a horizontal （水平的） surface, such as a table or desk．Next, should be able to see the entire page．This is necessary if you want to recognize clumps of words．Lastly, you should be focused．It’s hard to read with a lot of noise．Find a quiet place to read．This will help your understanding of the text．You need something to guide your eyes while reading．Then right, you should use your hand．Remember when you were little, you would read using your finger．That is a great technique, only now you’re using your hand to underline each line．Move your finger smoothly across page．No need to go rush, start out slow．Keep your eyes focused on words as you recognize them while using your hand as a guide．This will increase your speed．
The third step is practice．Practice makes perfect．Set time intervals．Read using different techniques,
but make sure you understand what you’re reading．
【小題1】Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

A．Now there is limited information than ever before．

B．Now conditions ask people to use less time to know more information．

C．Now people can read what they like．

D．The less you read, the more time you will spend．

【小題2】The underlined sentence “you should be focused” in the fifth paragraph means that ______．

A．a(chǎn) person should devote his attention to it while reading

B．your feelings will be hurt while reading

C．a(chǎn) person should smooth away difficulties while he reads

D．you should pay attention to your faults while you are reading

【小題3】To speed up your reading, you should_________．

A．sit up straight with your book flat and use something to guide your eyes

B．say every word out loud and sound it out

C．know it is necessary to read quickly

D．underline some important words while you say them

What can help you make a fortune in the future? Graduating from a top university might not be enough. A new study from the University of Essex in Britain has shown that the more friends you have in school, the more money you’ll earn later.
The idea that popularity could have a serious impact on one’s earning potential shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. The researchers noted that if you want to get ahead in life, social skills and networking are easily as powerful as talent and hard work.
“If a person has lots of friends, it means that he or she has the ability to get along with others in all kinds of different situations,” said Xu Yanchun, 17, from Nantou High School in Shenzhen, who totally agreed with the recent finding. “Also, friends always help each other. They not only create wider social circles for you but lift your mood when you occasionally feel depressed,” said Xu. She believed that all this helps you “earn a higher salary”.
Maybe that’s why some people think the younger generations are in the age of Friendalholism(交友狂癥). A woman even complained that the networking website Facebook’s 5,000-friend limit was too low for her large reserve of social contacts.
But what does a friend mean? Should friends be regarded as a form of currency?
“Call me uncool, but I think of a friend as an actual person with whom I have an actual history and whom I enjoy actually seeing. It seems, however, that this is no longer the definition of ‘friend’,” said Meghan Daum, who works with the Los Angeles Times in the US.
【小題1】The new study from the University of Essex in Britain shows that _______.

A．if you have more friends you will not live happily

B．the more friends you have in school, the more money you’ll earn in your late life

C．the less friends you have, the poor lives you will live

D．friends can make more money for you

【小題2】According to Xu Yanchun, when you have lots of friends, it means________.

A．you have the ability to earn more money

B．you will not feel lonely

C．you are quite content with your life

D．you have the ability to get along with others in various situations

【小題3】What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．The passage mainly tells us something about the friendship.

B．Friendship plays a more important part in our daily life than anything else.

C．Friends are currency.

D．Friends give you success.

【小題4】We can learn from the passage that _______.

A．if you have more friends, you can make a fortune in the future

B．graduating from college means that you can make a fortune in the future

C．friends mean a form of currency

D．friends can make you wider social circle and make you feel better when you feel depressed

Most recently, it’s very common in students who need a parent present for job interviews．Naturally, it’s easy to blame the students in these situations, but the bigger problem is us． We—as parents—are so eager to shelter our kids that we fail to realize that this in itself is harming them．As the mother of two young sons, I have to remind myself constantly that the biggest responsibility I have as a parent is to help them develop the skills needed to live in, to live without me．So, I’ll let them fail．
I’ll let them fail because as long as they are safe and warm inside their comfort zones, they will never grow．And failure with loss, heartbreak, disappointment, etc —will be part of growth for them．Call me the anti-tiger mom, but leaving them alone is my way of helping them become equipped to fit in this world as we know it today．From terrorism and seemingly endless natural disasters, to our national debt and beyond, if we expect the next generation to stand up to the very real problems of our time, we need to stop feeding them and start teaching them how to fish．
It’s a small price to help them learn a skill they’ll use for the rest of their lives, including when I don’t accompany them on job interviews．
【小題1】Why do parents accompany their kids on job interviews?

A．Because they want to protect their kids from difficulties．

B．Because they think they can help them on the questions．

C．Because their kids are too shy to attend interviews．

D．Because their kids strongly request them to do so．

【小題2】According to the author, what is beneficial to kids’ development?

A．Sheltering them．

B．Keeping them safe．

C．Leaving them alone．

D．Blaming them．

【小題3】Why does the author stress（強調(diào)） failure in kids’ life?

A．To make them stronger than other kids．

B．To help them grow in this tough world．

C．To help them develop all social skills．

D．To make them learn to compromise．

【小題4】Which of the following might be the best title for the text?

A．Never Shelter Your Kids

B．Let Your Kids Fail

C．Be Eager to Grow Up

D．Live Without Parents

The Cost of Higher Education
Individuals (個人) should pay for their higher education.
A university education is of huge and direct benefit to the individual. Graduates earn more than non-graduates. Meanwhile, social mobility is ever more dependent on having a degree. However, only some people have it. So the individual, not the taxpayers, should pay for it. There are pressing calls on the resources (資源) of the government. Using taxpayers' money to help a small number of people to earn high incomes in the future is not one of them.
Full government funding (資助) is not very good for universities. Adam Smith worked in a Scottish university whose teachers lived off student fees. He knew and looked down upon 18th-century Oxford, where the academics lived comfortably off the income received from the government. Guaranteed salaries, Smith argued, were the enemy of hard work; and when the academics were lazy and incompetent, the students were similarly lazy.
If students have to pay for their education, they not only work harder, but also demand more from their teachers. And their teachers have to keep them satisfied. If that means taking teaching seriously, and giving less time to their own research interests, that is surely something to celebrate.
Many people believe that higher education should be free because it is good for the economy (經(jīng)濟). Many graduates clearly do contribute to national wealth, but so do all the businesses that invest (投資) and create jobs. If you believe that the government should pay for higher education because graduates are economically productive, you should also believe that the government should pay part of business costs. Anyone promising to create jobs should receive a gift of capital from the government to invest. Therefore, it is the individual, not the government, who should pay for their university education.
【小題1】 The underlined word "them" in Paragraph 2 refers to ______.

A．taxpayers

B．pressing calls

C．college graduates

D．government resources

【小題2】The author thinks that with full government funding ______.

A．teachers are less satisfied	B．students are more demanding
C．students will become more competent	D．teachers will spend less time on teaching

【小題3】The author mentions businesses in Paragraph 5 in order to ______.

A．a(chǎn)rgue against free university education	B．call on them to finance students' studies
C．encourage graduates to go into business	D．show their contribution to higher education

Many English learners have difficulty deciding what kind of English accent they want to have. A US accent, perhaps modeled on the way a Hollywood star speaks? Or maybe you want to imitate（模仿） the British accent of a BBC news reader?
Young British people find the US accent attractive while young US people like a British accent. Especially when the person speaking is of the opposite sex! Let’s listen to what they have to say.
Stephen Yang, 17, from London, UK
A US accent is cute, especially when a girl speaks it. Whether it’s Jessia Alba speaking or the girl- next-door, the way US girls speak has a sweet tingle that is really sassy(時髦). A girl from Texas recently moved into our neighborhood. Her Texan twang（鼻音） had all the boys here on their knees within seconds of meeting her.
To me, accents reflect the attitudes, characteristics and lifestyles of the people.
Jennifer Sun, 16, from New Jersey, US
From watching English actors like Daniel Radcliffe, my friends and I have developed a soft spot for British men. Some are attracted to the qualities of English males, while others admire their sense of style.
Everyone, however, agrees that the most appealing aspect of an English man is his accent. For example, many American girls watch Harry Potter movies over and over again just to listen to the actors speak.
The English accent seems almost like art.
【小題1】In Stephen Yang’s opinion, accents just show__________.

A．the beauty of the language	B．how the language is spoken
C．the cultural differences of the speakers	D．the fashion of the day

【小題2】The underlined word “cute “probably means__________.

A．strange

B．exciting

C．a(chǎn)ttractive

D．fashionable

【小題3】Many American girls watch Harry Porter again and again in order to __________.

A．learn the acting skills of the these stars

B．learn the magic performed by Harry Potter

C．imitate the actors’ accents

D．know more about British English

【小題4】What is probably the best title for this passage?

A．British English and American English

B．British Accent or American Accent

C．American English Accent is Most Accepted

D．The difference between British Accent and American Accent.

Once upon a time in a land far away, there was a wonderful old man who loved everything：animals, spiders, insects．．．
One day while walking through the woods, the nice old man found a cocoon（繭）of a butterfly．He took it home．A few days later, a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole．Then it seemed to stop making any progress．It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther．Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon．
The butterfly then appeared easily．
But it had a swollen body and small, fragile wings．The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would be smaller in time．Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling （慢慢爬行）around with a swollen body and fragile wings．
It never was able to fly．
What the man in his kindness and hurry did not understand was that the limited cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Nature’s way of forcing fluid （液體）from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon．
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life．If we were allowed to go through our life without any obstacles and difficulties, it would disable us．We would not be as strong as what we could have been．And we could never fly．
【小題1】The butterfly could never fly because ________．

A．it was too fat and strong．

B．it loved crawling around．

C．it got out of the cocoon easily．

D．it didn’t get through the cocoon ．

【小題2】The text is most likely to be found in a book about__________．

A．popular science	B．humorous stories．
C．successful people	D．philosophy events ．

【小題3】What is the implied meaning of the passage?

A．Life without any obstacles and difficulties is perfect．

B．Obstacles and difficulties contribute to success．

C．Never help a butterfly to get out of the cocoon．

D．A butterfly can never fly without going through the cocoon．

Kids are far better than adults at learning how to speak multiple languages. Research now shows that very young infants might have some of the best language skills of all．

A new study suggests that babies between 4 and 6 months old can tell the difference between two languages just by looking at the speaker's face．They don't need to hear word．Sometimes between 6-8 months of age, babies raised in homes where just one language is spoken lose this ability．Babies from bilingual(雙語的) homes, on the other hand, keep the face-reading ability until they're at least 8 months old．
Researchers in Canada studied 36 babies from English-speaking families．Twelve of the babies were 4 months old,12 were 6 months old, and the rest were 8 months old．Each baby sat on his or her mother's lap and watched video clips(電影片斷) of a woman talking．The woman was fluent in both English and French．In some clips, she read from a storybook in English．In other clips, she read in French．In all of the videos there was no sound．
【小題1】What is mainly discussed in the passage ?

A．Language teaching．

B．Language learning

C．Babies and language learning

D．Parents and language teaching

【小題2】What do the underlined word in the second paragraph refer to ?

A．Two or more．

B．Foreign.

C．difficult.

D．At least one.

【小題3】We can know from the passage that    .

A．a(chǎn)ll the babies in the study are of the same age．

B．the babies could hear the woman's voice while watching the videos．

C．the stories the woman read were written in either French or German．

D．it's still unknown how babies could tell the difference between languages．

【小題4】Why did the 8-month-old pay no attention when the language was changed ?

A．They had lost the ability to distinguish different languages．

B．They were too tired to open their eyes and fell asleep．

C．They couldn't hear what the speaker was talking about．

D．They had lost the interest in bilingual speakers．

Pets provide an unconditional love that requires very little on the part of the human.
Animals are so special to those of us who love them. We miss them when they are no longer with us. We grieve (哀悼) for them in ways which are just the same as grieving for a human loved one.
Whether the end comes through old age, illness, or sudden death, the death of a pet can cause enormous feelings of sorrow, guilt, and loneliness for children and adults alike, as the animal was considered a family member, a child’s favoured playmate, or an older person’s loyal and faithful companion.
Some people don’t want a pet because they do die! It’s understandable to be unwilling to expose yourself to death but, at the same time, we become immeasurably more human because our animals die. When we live with animals we’re more in step with the rhythms of the planet from day to night and from season to season because our companions make us more aware of the changes around us. Our companion animals teach us about the simple gifts of a beautiful day, a good meal and a gentle touch.
The death of a pet can make us struggle with our belief structure－a natural part of the grieving period. Whether grieving an animal or human, we question our beliefs and many people find their belief structure becomes stronger when they ask themselves hard questions. Others find a new way of acceptance.
And we learn from our animals. Animals aren’t afraid to die; they show us that the end of life can be faced without fear. They can teach us to accept death as an opening for love and wonder.
Allow yourself to grieve in whatever way is appropriate for you. The loss of a pet is real grief and causes us to travel through the stages of grief－denial, anger, depression, guilt, and acceptance. These stages must be lived through for the mourning to allow full healing.
【小題1】 According to the passage, the reason why some people don’t want a pet may be that       .

A．a(chǎn)nimals may change our belief structure

B．a(chǎn)nimals are so special for those who love them

C．pets can never escape from death which makes people sad

D．pets only provide people with love but never ask for return

【小題2】The underlined sentence in paragraph 4 probably means                        .

A．the animals’ death is unacceptable for their owners

B．the animals’ death may arouse their true feelings inside

C．the animals’ death may expose people to the changes in life

D．the animals’ death is more understandable than human’s death

【小題3】According to the passage, we can infer that                               .

A．pets can give us some gifts when they have a good meal

B．pets are so selfless and brave that all the people love them

C．people can never accept the death of pets or the one they love

D．people may go through several stages before they can accept the death of a pet

【小題4】What’s the attitude of the author towards grieving a pet?

A．Neutral.

B．Negative.

C．Positive.

D．Critical.