Pushy parents and teachers who “hothouse” the under-5s risk causing damage to the children’s long term development, a leading education expert said.
Lilian Katz, Professor of Education at the University of Illinois, said that four-year-olds engaged in reading and writing went on to perform worse academically than those engaged in imaginative learning. They scored higher in tests at the age of 5, but children whose first year at school was stimulating outstripped them four years later.
The findings suggest that the government's structured approach to early years' learning could be storing up problems for children. They also raise serious questions about the plan for all children to be able to read by the age of 6.
In many countries formal teaching does not start until children are 6 or 7 and have improved their social and manual skills. Children start learning to read and write at 6 in the United States, France and Germany, and at 7 in Finland and Sweden.
Professor Katz said that in many schools the courses were "boring children to tears". Much academic teaching required children to learn by memorizing pieces of information out of context, she said. Teaching in reception class should instead allow children to develop their intellect by exploring their environments and asking questions.
"Research suggests the benefits of formal academic instruction for four- and five-year-olds seem to be promising when they are tested early, but considerably less so in the long term. When these children are followed over a period of three or more years, those who had early experience in more intellectually engaging curricula were more likely to do well in school than their peers, who had received early academic instruction." She advocates teaching children through first-hand experience and play, in mixed-aged classes. This can include puppet shows, drawing or running a pretend shop in the classroom.
【小题1】According to the passage, those who “hothouse” the under-5s would probably _________.

A.prefer a lot of interaction and stimulation while teaching
B.teach in a lively way to motivate kids’ interest
C.push the kids to memorize pieces of information
D.care about the kids’ physical development
【小题2】What does the underlined word “ outstripped” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.did better thanB.looked down upon
C.caught up withD.performed worse than
【小题3】According to Lilian Katz, the government’s structured approach to early-years learning __.
A.is necessary for improving children’s reading and writing ability
B.needs to be improved to develop children’s academic ability
C.will cause problems to children in their future learning
D.has more advantages than disadvantages
【小题4】The message the author wants to deliver through the passage is that formal teaching _____.
A.can start at different times in different countries.B.should not be started too early
C.is best carried out in Finland and Sweden
D.should include teaching children social and manual skills
【小题5】Which of the following is NOT the opinion of Lilian Katz?
A.Children should be taught through first-hand experience.
B.Learning in a mixed-age class is good for children.
C.Running a shop can help children get good marks.
D.Puppet shows and drawing are useful in teaching children.

When he was a boy, Tim was much influenced(影响) by the books about the sea, but in fact by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a dentist and as a result, Tim had the opportunity of meeting many doctors either at home or elsewhere. When he was fourteen he was already hanging around the clinic (诊所) of a local doctor where he was supposed to help to wrap up medicine bottles, but was actually trying to listen to the conversations(会议) taking place between the doctor and his patients in the next room.

During the war Tim served in the Navy (海军) as a surgeon (外科医生). “That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with very real suffering and on the whole making a success of it.” In California he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skills to himself and his ability to take decisions. Thus, while he was able to tell them what to do, he could feel he was saving them. After the war, he got married and chose to be a doctor in the countryside, working under an old doctor who was popular in the area, but who hated the sight of blood and believed that the secret of medicine was faith. This gave the young man many opportunities(机会) to go on working as a life-saver.

1.Tim decided to be a doctor when he was________.

A.fourteen

B.fifteen

C.serving in the Navy

D.working in clinic

2.Tim decided to become a doctor mainly because________

A.his father wanted him to be so.

B.his father was a surgeon.

C.he had read many books about medicine.

D.he had chances to know many doctors and know about what doctors did.

3.Which of the following is not true?

A.during the war, Tim was a surgeon in the Navy.

B.he taught the country people simple facts about medicine in California.

C.after the war, he married the old doctors’ daughter.

D.Tim worked as a life-saver after war.

4.From the passage we can infer(推出) that Tim_________.

A.was sent to Europe during the war.

B.was not afraid of blood.

C.decided to give up his doctor career.

D.regarded himself as a life-saver.

 

 

 

第三部分 阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)

Richard Charles Rodgers was born in New York City on June 28th, 1902. Both his parents enjoyed singing and playing the piano. His grandparents loved opera and took their grandson to many productions. Richard attended many Broadway (百老汇) shows as a child. Richard began playing the piano by the age of three. At the age of fifteen, he decided that he would work in the musical theater. In the same year, he wrote the music for a stage show presented by a local group of young people. Then, he wrote music for a production of the students at Columbia University.

Richard and his wife Dorothy had two daughters and six grandchildren. One daughter and two grandsons also write music. Richard died in 1979. Books written about his life describe him as a cold man who was often depressed (消沉的). Family members say he was only able to express himself through music.

Other future show business leaders were also involved in the Columbia productions. Two of these men would be very important in Richard’s life — Oscar Hammerstein and Lorenz Hart. Richard once said the show he liked the best was Carousel, the second musical (音乐剧) he wrote with Oscar Hammerstein. Music experts say that a Richard show is always playing somewhere in the world — on Broadway, in theaters in different countries, and in local school productions. And people all over the world still enjoy the movies linked to Richard, such as State Fair, South Pacific, Pal Joey, The Sound of Music, Oklahoma and Carousel.

1.When did Richard Charles Rodgers decide that he would work in the musical theater?

A. In 1967.          B. In 1917.        C. In 1907.          D. In 1905.

2.Which musical is the one that he likes most?

A. Oklahoma.                        B. The Sound of Music.

C. State Fair.                         D. Carousel.

3.Which is the first musical he wrote with Oscar Hammerstein?

A. Carousel.          B. South Pacific.     C. Not mentioned.         D. State Fair.

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A. All the life of Richard Charles Rodgers      B. Richard Charles Rodgers’ Family

C. Richard Charles Rodgers’ Music           D. Richard Charles Rodgers’ Stage

 

Directions: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.

There’s worrying news for any parent who’s struggled with a headstrong young child. Some scientists recently claim that children who have low levels of self-control, which is the earliest demands that society places on children, at the age of three are more likely to have health and money problems and a criminal record by the age of 32, regardless of background and IQ. That is to say, willpower as a child really does influence your chances of a healthy and wealthy adulthood.

They found that children with low self-control were more likely to have health problems in later life including high blood pressure, being overweight, breathing problems and sexually transmitted infections. They were also more addicted to substances such as tobacco, alcohol and drugs, more likely to be single parents, have difficulty managing money and have criminal records.

Researchers from Britain, the US and New Zealand analyzed data from two large studies in which children completed a range of physical tests and interviews to assess genetic and environmental factors that can shape their lives.

The participants’ self-control was assessed by teachers, parents, observers and the children themselves and included things like having low frustration tolerance, lacking persistence in reaching goals, being over-active and acting before thinking.

Researchers then found that when the participants reached their early 30s, this impulsivity and relative inability to think about the long-term gave them more problems with finances, including savings, owning a home and credit card debt.

The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

 

(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TWELVE WORDS.)

 

1. What are the findings of a recent research according to the passage?

____________________________________________________

2. The phrase “more addicted to” (Line 3, Para. 2) probably means “_____________________”.

3. Besides poor anti-frustration ability, over-activeness and fore-acting, children with low self-control may also suffer __________________________.

4. What may primarily cause the financial problems of the children with low self-control in their later years?

____________________________________________________

 

 

     Although women lead healthier, longer lives, the cruel opinion that they become "old” sooner than men is widespread in the workplace, research shows. 

     A survey of more than 2,600 managers and personnel professionals showed that age discrimination is not only common in the workplace, but is shot through with inconsistencies (矛盾).

     Six in ten managers reported being a victim of age discrimination -- usually because they were turned down for a job for being too old or too young. Yet more than a fifth admitted that they used age as an important standard.

     Although the survey found widespread agreement that older workers were better than younger colleagues when it came to reliability, commitment (承担义务), loyalty (忠诚) and customer service, these qualities were not necessarily considered to be worthy of advancement.

     A large number of persons believed that workers between 30 and 39 had the best promotion chances, with only 2 per cent giving examples of 50-year-olds or above.

     There was evidence that people were considered old at different ages in different jobs. A young man working in IT said he was considered too old by the age of 28.

     In fact there was no evidence to suggest that older workers were less valuable to companies than younger workers, in fact the opposite was often true because older workers often brought experience.

     The findings also suggested that the Government's ideas on age in the workforce may also be out of step with reality.

63.Which is the discrimination mentioned in this passage?

  A. The healthier women are, the sooner they will lose their jobs.

   B. Society knows women should be respected, but it doesn't offer them any jobs.

  C. Female managers respect male workers, but male managers don't respect female workers.

  D. victims of age discrimination consider age as an important standard.

64.Older workers are better than younger colleagues because they have many advantages except that they are _____.    

A. dependable             B. married       C. faithful     D. helpful

65.Why does the writer mention a young man working in IT?

   A. Because the writer thinks it a pity that this young man is old.

   B. Because it's an example of different age standards in different jobs.

    C. Because IT industry is developing too fast.

    D. Because the writer doesn't think the young man is old.

66. Which statement is true according to the writer's attitude?

    A. The present age standard doesn't go with reality.

B. The present age standard is reasonable.

    C. women should work longer than men.  

D. Young workers should learn from old workers.

 

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