More than a decade ago, cognitive scientists John Bransfgord and Daniel Schwartz, both then at Vanderbilt University, found that knowledge was not the ability to retain facts or apply previous knowledge to a new situation but a quality they called "preparation for future learning." The researches asked fifth graders and college students to create a recovery plan to protect bald eagles from extinction. Shockingly, the two groups came up with plans of similar quality (though the college students had better spelling skills). From the standpoint of a traditional educator, this outcome indicated that schooling had failed to help students think about ecosystems and extinction, major scientific ideas.

The researches decided to go deeper, however. They asked both groups to generate questions about important issues needed to create recovery plans. On this task, they found large differences. College students focused on critical issues. The college students had cultivated the ability to ask questions, the foundation of critical thinking. They had learned how to learn.

Museums and other institutions of informal learning may be more suitable to teach this skill than elementary and secondly schools. At the Exploratorium in San Francisco, we recently studied how learning to ask good questions can affect the quality of people's scientific inquiry. We found that when we taught participants to ask "What if?" and "How can?" questions that nobody present would know the answer to and that would spark exploration, they engaged in better inquiry at the next exhibit—asking more questions, performing more experiments and making better interpretations of their results. Specially, their questions became more comprehensive at the new exhibit.

This type of learning is not limited to museums of institutional settings. Informal learning environment tolerate failure better than schools. Perhaps many teachers have too little time to allow students to form and pursue their own questions and too much ground to cover in the curriculum. But people must acquire this skill somewhere. Our society depend on them being able to make critical decisions about their own medical treatment, says, or what we must do about global energy needs and demands. For that, we have a robust informal system that gives no grades, takes all comers, and is available even on holidays and weekends.

1.What is traditional educators' understanding of the search outcome mentioned in the first paragraph?

A.Students are not able to apply prior knowledge to new problems.

B.College students are no better than fifth graders in memorizing issues.

C.Education has not paid enough attention to major environmental issues.

D.Education has failed to lead students to think about major scientific ideas.

2.In what way are college students different from children?

A.They have learned to think critically.

B.They are concerned about social issues.

C.They are curious about specific features.

D.They have learned to work independently.

3.What is benefit of asking questions with no ready answers?

A.It arouse students' interest in things around them.

B.It cultivates students' ability to make scientific inquiries.

C.It trains students' ability to design scientific experiments.

D.It helps students realize not every question has an answer.

4.What does the author seem to encourage educators to do at the end of the passage?

A.Train students to think about global issues.

B.Design more interactive classroom activities.

C.Make full use of informal learning resources.

D.Include collaborative inquiry in the curriculum.

Many people write to newspaper and magazines to express their opinions. Letters to the editor must carry the writer’s full name, address and telephone number, although the information is not necessary for publication. This requirement to provide personal particulars is a clear indication that writers are held responsible for what they say. When a writer wants his voice heard, he needs to claim ownership of his voice. Responsibility is the name of the game.

“People today prefer living together to putting their signatures on a marriage certificate because they refuse to accept responsibility for the relationship,” said social worker Ken Yip, “and this is what is causing a lot of family problems.” When we sign a paper, for example, a business contract or a bank document, the signature is a seal of consent, an agreement to take the matter seriously. Most governments and many organizations will not process written complaints if they do not bear the writer’s signature. The absence of a signature, they explain, tells us that the writer cannot be too serious and therefore does not deserve a reply.

There are people who wish to remain anonymous(匿名的) for various reasons. Multi-billionaire Mr. King donates generously to charity several times a year. He gives simply because he wants to help but not for the publicity his donations may bring, and he does not want his good deeds to make news. In other cases, people insist on anonymity because they are afraid of the consequences of revealing their identity. Crime witnesses may be willing to assist the police, but most are unwilling to give their names when reporting a crime.

Name or no name? The answer is very personal and lies in how much we want to get involved. We all have a name. It is a matter of responsibility to use it when we make a statement, a claim or an accusation. We all want to honor our own name, and it is only by stamping our expression of an opinion with our own name that we honor what we say.

1.What does the writer mean by saying “Responsibility is the name of the game”?

A. Writers need to provide their personal information in the game.

B. Publication must bear the writer’s full name, address and phone number.

C. Writers should be responsible for their names.

D. Names are required to indicate writers’ responsibility for what they say.

2.The second paragraph suggests that a paper without a signature may _______.

A. not get a reply

B. help to end a relationship

C. be accepted all the same

D. become a family problem

3.Some people don’t want their names known because they are ________.

A. hesitant to make a donation

B. unwilling to draw public attention

C. afraid of an accusation

D. ready for involvement

4.The passage is mainly about _______.

A. honor and writers

B. identity and signature

C. signature and responsibility

D. anonymity and signature

When I was small and my grandmother died, I couldn’t understand why I had no tears. But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying.

So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain. Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying.

Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional (情感的) health, and a study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying.

Besides, tears attract help from other people. Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort. Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don't even know we' re very sad until we cry. We learn about our emotions through crying, and then we can deal with them.

Just as crying can be healthy, not crying — holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering — can be bad for physical (身体的) health, Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses. If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry. But when you feel like crying, don't fight it. It's a natural — and healthy — emotional response (反应).

1.Why didn't the author cry when her grandmother died?

A. Because her father did not want her to feel too sad.

B. Because she did not love her grandmother.

C. Because she was too shy to cry at that time.

D. The author doesn’t give the explanation.

2. According to the author, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Crying is the best way to get help from others.

B. Fighting back tears may cause some health problems.

C. We will never know our deep feelings unless we cry.

D. We must cry if we want to reduce pressure.

3.What might be the best title for the text?

A. Power of Tears B. How to Keep Healthy

C. Why We Cry D. A New Scientific Discovery

阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A, B, C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

During the war, my husband was stationed at an army camp in a desert in California. I went to live there in order to be him. I hated the place. I had never been so unhappy. My husband was ordered out on a long-term duty, and I was left in a tiny shack(棚屋) alone. The heat was -almost 125 degrees even in the shade of a cactus(仙人掌). a soul to talk to. The wind blew non-stop, and all the food I ate, and the very air I breathed,were with sand, sand, sand!

I was so sorry for myself that I wrote to my parents. I told them I was and coming back home. I said I couldn’t stand it one minute longer. I be in prison! My father answered my with just two lines-two lines that will always sing in my - two lines that completely changed my life:

Two men looked out from prison bars,

One saw the mud, the other saw the stars.

I read those two lines . I was ashamed of myself. I made up my mind I would find out what was good in my present ; I would look for the stars.

I made friends with the natives, and their amazed me. They gave me presents of their favorite artworks which they had to sell to tourists. I studied the delightful forms of the cactus . I watched for the desert sunsets, and for seashells that had been left there millions of years ago when the desert had been an ocean .

What brought about this change in me? The desert hadn’t changed, I had . I had changed my . And by doing so, I changed an unhappy experience into the most amazing of my life. I was excited by this new world that I had discovered. I had looked out of my self-created prison and the stars.

1.A. off B. behind C. nearD. beyond

2.A. beforeB. already C. thenD. still

3. A. inflexible B. incomprehensibleC. uncontrollableD. unbearable

4.A. Only B. NotC. ManyD. Such

5.A. coveredB. filled C. buriedD. charged

6.A. catching upB. keeping up C. giving up D. getting up

7.A. ought toB. might well C. would ratherD. had better

8. A. requestB. call C. questionD. letter

9. A. comparisonB. imagination C. considerationD. memory

10.A. over and over B. by and byC. up and downD. now and then

11.A. companyB. occupation C. situationD. relationship

12.A. movementB. reaction C. guidance D. purpose

13.A. refusedB. failed C. managedD. happened

14.A. asked B. huntedC. waitedD. headed

15.A. floor B. surface C. rock D. level

16.A. frightening B. challenging C. puzzlingD. astonishing

17.A. as B. but C. forD. or

18.A. attitudeB. principleC. identityD. standard

19. A. vacationB. operationC. affair D. adventure

20.A. sought B. countedC. foundD. reached

When I was 10 years old, I tried out for the cheerleading squad. I had taken gymnastics classes for two years to prepare for these tryouts. However, I didn't make the team. It was a heavy blow to me. I cried all night.

Kids today won’t experience that kind of rejection. They’re growing up in “everybody gets a turn” world where every child gets a chance to kick the ball, sing the song, and win the award. But that’s not always such a good thing.

Parents have become fearful of letting kids fail, thinking that our children are easily hurt and will never recover from anything—that’s a serious problem. Last week, my 7-year-old daughter didn’t get into the school play. At first, I was upset by it. How would she react? When I gave her the news, I was ready to hug her and cry with her. She looked at me, made a slight face and said, “That’s too bad. What’s for dinner?”

It clearly wasn’t the end of her world. Maybe if we let our kids experience rejection once in a while, we’d realize they are much stronger than we think. Kids need to be able to handle disappointments; doing so helps them to prepare for real life. Most importantly, rejection carries the possibility not only for growth and can also motivate kids to try harder the next time.

Rejection is pain. There is no way around that. How will our kids ever discover their true talents if we don’t let them? Instead of complaining, maybe we should consider rejection an opportunity.

1.The author shared her childhood story with readers to ________.

A. introduce the topic of how to let kids face rejection in life

B. suggest how difficult it was for her to join a cheerleader squad

C. show how her parents attached importance to her education

D. explain why children are easily hurt in the process of their growth

2.When failing to get into the school play, the author’s 7-year-old daughter ________.

A. felt greatly disappointed B. was upset about it

C. cried all night D. thought nothing of it

3.In the author’s opinion, rejection ________.

A. is something that can be avoided in life

B. is good for the growth of the children

C. discourages children from learning new things

D. causes children to lose their confidence

4.What is important when we face rejection according to the last paragraph?

A. Health. B. Interest.

C. Attitude. D. Memory.

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