A recent online poll (民意调查) asked kids what they hated most about school. “Classes are boring” came in first. “Too much homework” was a close second. Since all activities remain interesting for only so long, too much homework can lead to ennui. So, why are some kids getting homework overload? Teachers give two reasons. First, they say, the government now requires schools to meet higher-than-ever achievement goals for students. If students don’ t succeed, the school faces punishment. Second, many parents want their children to be able to get into the best colleges and universities. These parents believe homework is a way to ensure that students are learning as much as possible.
People who favor homework argue that it can have many beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits. Homework can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. It can help develop their independent learning and responsible character traits(性格特征).
But studies show that middle school students doing 60 to 90 minutes of homework a night are doing just as well in school as those doing more than 90 minutes. And homework can have negative effects. Homework can deny students access to leisure(休闲) activities that also teach important skills. For example, sports teams teach cooperation and leadership, in addition to helping kids stay physically active. Another problem with too much homework is that parents can get too involved. They can put too much pressure on their kids.
So what should be done? Good homework assignments in the proper amount will have positive effects. Too much homework, however, will have negative effects. The bottom line: Students in grades three through six should do no more than 30 to 60 minutes of homework each night.
【小题1】The underline word “ennui” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by “______” .

A.relaxationB.fancyC.boredomD.intelligence
【小题2】 According to Paragraph 1, the kids are given much homework because ________.
A.schools are evaluated in terms of students’ achievement.
B.the government doesn’t take the problem seriously
C.it is a good way to improve the students’ ability
D.time will be made full use of in this way
【小题3】Those who are in favor of homework think that _______.
A.homework helps students to succeed
B.it’s good for kids to help each other in learning
C.parents are a great help when kids do homework at home
D.homework helps children to learn independently
【小题4】 Which of the following is NOT a negative effect of too much homework?
A.Kids have little time to do leisure activities.
B.There is a lack of sleeping time.
C.The chances of learning other skills are lost.
D.Kids are under pressure from their parents.
【小题5】 The author’s purpose in writing the passage is _______.
A.to criticize the school teachers
B.to attract public attention to kids’ study
C.to offer more help to today’s kids
D.to call for proper amounts of homework

I recently turned fifty, which is young for a tree, midlife for an elephant, and ancient for a sportsman. Fifty is a nice number for the states in the US or for a national speed limit but it is not a number that I was prepared to have hung on me. Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age, but now I am stuck with this number and everything it means.

A few days ago, a friend tried to cheer me up by saying, “Fifty is what forty used to be.” He had made an inspirational (有灵感的) point. Am I over the hill ? People keep telling me that the hill has been moved, and I keep telling them that the high-jump bar has dropped from the six feet I once easily cleared to the four feet that is impossible for me now.

“You are not getting older, you are getting better.” Says Dr. Joyce Brothers. This, however, is the kind of doctor who inspires a second opinion.

And so as I approach the day when I cannot even jump over the tennis net, I am moved to share some thoughts on aging with you, I am moved to show how aging feels to me physically and mentally. Getting older, of course, is obviously a better change than the one that brings you eulogies(悼词). In fact, a poet name Robert Browning considered it the best change of all:

Grow old along with me !

The best is yet to me.

Whether or not Browning was right, most of my first fifty years have been golden ones, so I will settle for what is ahead being as good as what has gone by. I find myself moving toward what is ahead with a curious blend(混合) of both fighting and accepting my aging, hoping that the philosopher(哲学家) was right when he said , “old is always fifteen years from now.”

1.The author seems to tell us in Paragraph 1 that ______.

A.time alone will tell                       B.time goes by quickly

C.time will show what is right                D.time makes one forget the past.

2.When the author turned fifty, people around him ________ .

A.tried to comfort him                     B.got inspiration with him

C.were friendlier with him                  D.found him more talkative

3.The author considers his fifty years of life _________.

A.peaceful          B.ordinary          C.satisfactory        D.regretful

4.We can infer from the passage that ________ .

A.the old should lead a simple life

B.the old should face the fact of aging

C.the old should take more exercise

D.the old should fill themselves with curiosity

5.Which of the following statements is WRONG?_______.

A.It’s hard for the author to jump over the six-feet high-jump bar now.

B.The author is optimistic about his future.

C.the author used to think 50 was far away from him.

D.Most elephants live less than 50 years.

 

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