When it comes to preschool education, there are two lines of thought. One says that preschoolers need to be taught early academic skills in order to get a leg up on future school achievement. Another says the focus should be on social and emotional development. But, new research from Penn State University says a high quality preschool program should do both.

Karen Bierman, Penn State Professor of Psychology, and her team studied 350 preschoolers. Half were taught the traditional curriculum(课程). The other half were given the basic curriculum as well as social and emotional teaching.

The results show that the half students taught with a curriculum that includes social lesson, such as sharing, listening and self-control, score higher in both the social and academic areas of school readiness than the other half students.

The other finding is that when you work on both academic and social-emotional skills, you get stronger gains in both areas. “You get the combined power when you put both together, so neither area is weakened.” she says.

Clearly, knowing how to share, develop healthy friendships, and learn side-by-side with others is important to a child’s academic achievement in the classroom. But, Bierman says the importance of social and emotional education goes beyond that. Preschool is prime time for the development of self-regulation, which not only tells a child not to hit another child, but also tells a child how to set personal goals and focus himself enough to follow through with those goals. And the ability to regulate behavior is what helps children get motivated at school. “When they get upset, bored, or frustrated, it doesn’t defeat them.” she says.

Goal-oriented (面向目标的) and motivated learning is best taught in preschool, Biernam says, when the prefrontal part of the brain, which controls decision-making, is at the height of development. “First grade teachers can teach letter names, but preschool is when that behavior is peaking and language is just beginning to develop,” she says.

1.Karen Bierman and her team carried out the research by ________.

A. tracking 350 preschoolers for years

B. separating children into two equal groups

C. working out a high quality preschool program

D. analyzing the importance of social and emotional teaching

2.The underlined words “prime time” in the text probably refer to ________.

A.the best timeB.the only time

C.the earliest timeD.the suitable time

3.According to the text, self-regulation can help children ________.

A.be willing to studyB.become emotionless

C.memorize letter namesD.learn language quickly

4.What’s the best title for the text?

A. Preschool learning: more than ABCs and 123s

B. Karen Bierman: freeing kids from boring learning.

C. Learning self-regulation in preschool: why it matters?

D. Academic and social-emotional skills: which is more important?

House Sitting

In many countries of the world people do what is called house sitting. It means that if owners of the house are going away, they want someone to come into their home and look after the house and maybe pets while they are away.

In Australia, many people travel. After people retire, they might buy a van and travel all over the country. 1. (many people—retired people—thousands of them)

So if someone wants to travel or go away for some reason, they might want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy. House sitters might have to care for pets. Also, quite a few people have swimming pools in their back yards and they need cleaning. 2. I feel it is a great way of seeing the country, because you go and stay in a new city, get to meet new people, and have time to go sightseeing in a new area.

3. There are websites where you find the advertisements by people who want to travel, and by replying to the advertisement, you can make arrangements to go and look after their home.

There are some requirements to be a house sitter. You must be a trusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything. You must be able to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time. 4. You need to be good with pets, able to care for cats and dogs, or other pets they may have.

Some house sitting jobs are just for a few days or a couple of weeks while the home owner has a short holiday. Sometimes it is for much longer. We have had one house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe.

5. Then you can travel to many different countries and stay there. One of the important things to get are references from the home owners where you have stayed. A reference is a written letter to say that you are trustworthy and have looked after their home well. You can show these letters to prospective house sitting jobs and they know you will do a good job.

A. I have done house sitting many times.

B. Thousands of people do this all the time.

C. It is also possible to do house sitting in other countries.

D. Generally you have many opportunities to get a house sitting job.

E. You must take a little care over what your description says about you.

F. This is an international house sitting service for all city and country areas.

G. You must have a good car, so you can travel to different parts of the country.

Most people know that Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.

Born in September, 1987, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies’ two daughters. Along with nine other children the parents of whom were also famous scholars, Irene studied in their own school, and her mother was one of the teachers. She finished her high school education at the College of Sévigné in Paris.

Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, Irene went to help her mother, who was using X-ray facilities (设备) to help save the lives of wounded soldiers. Irene continued the work by developing X-ray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgium. Her services were recognised in the form of a Military’s Medal by the French government.

In 1918, Irene became her mother’s assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924, Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taught him the techniques required for his work. They soon fell in love and were married in 1926. Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later.

Like her mother, Irene combined family and career. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935. Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia because of her work with radioactivity (辐射能). Irene Joliot-Curie died from leukemia on March 17, 1956.

1.Why was Irene Curie awarded a Military Medal?

A. Because she received a degree in mathematics.

B. Because she helped to save the wounded.

C. Because she won the Nobel Prize with Frederic.

D. Because she worked as a helper to her mother.

2.Where did Irene Curie meet her husband Frederio Joliot?

A. At the Curie Institute.B. At the University of Paris.

C. At a military hospital.D. At the College of Sévigné.

3.In which of the following aspects was Irene Cuire different from her mother?

A. Irene worked with radioactivity.

B. Irene combined family and career.

C. Irene won the Nobel Prize once.

D. Irene died from leukemia.

When you first arrive in Oxford, it may take a little while for you to find your way around. Some of the first things our students do when they arrive include finding a bike (most students in Oxford find cycling is the best way to go around), setting up a bank account, getting their computer and mobile phone working, finding their department, getting to know their college and working out the best places to socialize.

One of the major events you will experience shortly after “coming up” to Oxford is matriculation. Matriculation is held at the University’s Sheldonian Theatre and is the ceremony at which you are formally admitted to the university.

International students are invited to an orientation day at the start of the academic year. Sessions run throughout the day that will give you practical information about living and studying in the UK and introduce you to other graduate students from all over the world who are starting their studies at Oxford at the same time as you, as well as to current Oxford graduate students and staff who will be able to help and advise you. The day covers topics such as studying and learning in the Oxford system, University services, information on living in Britain and cultural differences, as well as addressing practical issues such as employment, immigration and visas, health and safety. You can choose which talks to attend and at the end of the day there is a social hour so you can meet fellow students.

Another good thing to experience early is college dining. Most colleges have a tradition of regular formal hall dinners, which consist of three or four courses, and the atmosphere of an evening out in a nice restaurant. On some of these occasions you can invite people around to your college for dinner and then they may return the favor. In this way, you can get to know people studying your own and other subjects at the same time as visiting many of the historical college grounds and dining halls.

1.For a newcomer to Oxford, what does he have to do first?

A. To work out what to major in.

B. To open a qq account.

C. To get a bike to go around.

D. To buy a new mobile phone.

2.What is matriculation?

A. A special day for International students to start academic year.

B. A ceremony when students are formally admitted to Oxford.

C. Performances held at the Sheldonian Theatre.

D. The best places to socialize.

3.Which talk can students attend on the orientation day?

A. Studying in the Cambridge system.

B. Talks on how to meet fellow students.

C. Practical issues like employment, immigration, and health.

D. University services about the life in Britain and cultural similarities.

4.What does the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. Treating you to dinner.

B. Visiting historic college in return.

C. Studying the subjects with your friend.

D. Showing you around the college.

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