Facing increasing pressure to raise students’ scores on standardized tests,schools are urging kids to work harder by offering them obvious encouragements.Happy Meals are at the low end of the scale.With the help of businesses, schools are also giving away cars,iPods,seats to basketball games,and—in a growing number of cases—cold,hard cash.The appeal of such programs is obvious,but the consequences of tying grades to goods are still uncertain.It’s been a common tradition in middle-class families to reward top grades with cash as a way to teach that success in school leads to success in life.But for many disadvantaged minority children,the long-term benefits of getting an education are not so clear,according to experts.

No one knows for sure how well cash and other big-ticket rewards work in education in the long run.But there are plenty of concerns that this kind of practice could have negative effects on kids.Virginia Shiller,a clinical psychologist,says that it’s worth experimenting with cash encouragements but that tying them to success on a test is not a worthwhile goal.“I’d rather see rewards based on effort and responsibility—things that will lead to success in life,” she says.

Even if rewards don’t lead to individual achievement on a test,they could have a meaningful effect in the school.Charles McVean, a businessman and philanthropist(慈善家),started a tutoring program,which pays higher-achieving students $10 an hour to tutor struggling classmates and divides them into teams.During the course of the year,students bond and compete.The team posting the highest math scores wins the top cash prize of $100. McVean calls the combination of peer(同龄人)tutoring,competition,and cash encouragements a recipe for “nothing less than magic”.[

For its part,the Seminole County Public Schools system in Florida plans to continue its report card encouragement program through the rest of the school year.The local McDonald’s restaurants help the poor district by paying the $1,600 cost of printing the report card.Regina Klaers,the district spokeswoman,says most parents don’t seem bothered by the Happy Meals rewards.“There are many ways we try to urge students to do well,and sometimes it’s through the stomach,and sometimes it’s the probability of students winning a car,” she says,“One size doesn’t fit all.”

1.According to the text,it is a common practice for schools to________.

A. offer free meals to students with high scores

B. educate students to form a business sense

C. cooperate with business to improve teaching

D. tie students’ grades to material rewards

2.According to the text,the long-term results of giving students cash as rewards in education are_____.

A. negative B. optimistic

C. uncertain D. disappointing

3.The tutoring program run by Charles McVean_______.

A. hires some excellent teachers to teach the struggling students

B. has a meaningful effect in inspiring students’ enthusiasm on study

C. is a program combining tutoring,competition and future job offers

D. rewards the student with the highest scores with cash prize of $100

4.We can learn that in Seminole County_____.

A. there are various ways to inspire students to study hard

B. many parents are not satisfied with the Happy Meals rewards

C. the local McDonald’s restaurants provide the rewards for poor students

D. people are searching for a good-for-all method to urge students to do well

Here are Travelbag, we’ve seen the world---we want you t o as well. To help you on your way, we’ve put the World on Sale. The offers you see below are just a taste of the great deals we have available. To find out more, call us on 0800 804 8911 and let our experts make your perfect trip, at the perfect price. Book by: 30 Apr.

Middle East & Indian Ocean

Dubai

was £349 now £299

Includes fligths

3nts.4* Coral Oriental (B&B)

Valid(有效的):01 Sep----30 Sep

Mauritius

was £1,085 now £835

Includes flights

7nts,3+*Le Tropical (AI), Mauritius

Valid: 01 May---22 Jun

Far East

Thailand Beach (Cha Am)

was £700 now £575

Includes flights

10nts, 3* Holiday Inn Regent Beach,

Cha Am

5 FREE nts included in price

Valid: 01 Sep---31 Oct.

Malaysia, Langkawi

was £689 now £599

Includes fliglhts

7nts, 3* Mutiara Burau Bay Beach

Resort, Langkawi

Valid: 01 May---31 May.

Australiasia

New Zealand

was £1,059 now £989

Self-drive, 5-day car hire

2nts, 3* Best Western President,

Auckland, Scenic Wonders Self-drive

Valid: 05 Apr---13 Jun

Sydney

was £1,049 now £979

Includes fligths

3nts, 3* Quality Inn Cambridge

2nts, 3* York Gardens Resort

2nts, 2 * Comfort Inn, Cessnoc

Valid: 15 Apr.----15 Jun.

Americas

Rio

was £799 now £649

includes flights

7nts, 3* Golden Tulip Continental (B&B), Rio

Las Vagas

was £540 now £485

Includes flights

5nts, 3* Circus Circus, Las Vagas

Valid: 01 May---30 Jun.

1.The underlined words in the first offer most probably mean ______________.

A. 3 nights at 4 stars B. 3 nights and 4 days

C. 3 or 4 places D. $3.4

2.In which of the following places may you have to change your hotel?

A. Rio B. Mauritius

C. Sydney D. Malaysia, Langkawi

3.If you want to enjoy the scenery along the driving way, you can visit_________.

A. Dubai B. Thailand Beach(Cha Am)

C. Las Vagas D. New Zealand

4.It can be inferred from the text that ___________.

A. the ad is intended for foreign travelers

B. the offer to Rio has the longest valid time

C. the booking service will last until the end of May

D. taking planes is the only way to go to those places

5.The writer’s purpose of writing this article is to __________.

A. have more people to buy from Travelbag

B. compare travel costs in different countries

C. teach tourist how to save more money

D. inform tourists of some places of interest

Tu Youyou, born in December, 1930, is a Chinese scientist and educator. She is best known for discovering artemisinin (青蒿素) used to treat malaria (疟疾), which has saved millions of lives. For her work, Tu received the 2015 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Scientists worldwide had tried over 240, 000 medicines to treat malaria without success. In 1969, Tu Youyou, then 39 years old, decided to turn to traditional Chinese herbs(草药) for possible solutions. She looked into the Chinese medical classics in history, visiting traditional Chinese doctors all over the country on her own. She gathered her findings in a notebook, in which she recorded 640 methods of treating malaria. She and her team also experimented with over 2, 000 traditional Chinese herbs.

During this time, her husband was forced to work in the countryside, and their young daughter had to take care of herself in Beijing.

Years of research all came down to one type of herb named qinghao. The animal tests showed it was completely effective in mice and monkeys, So Tu volunteered to be the first human subject. “As head of this research group, I had the responsibility’ she said. It was safe with, her; so she continued to try it out with more human patients.

In 2007, her office was in an old apartment building in Beijing. Before 2011, Tu Youyou had been described as “almost completely forgotten by people1”, Yet in 2015, the Nobel Prize committee said her discoveries had given the world powerful new ways to fight a powerful disease which affected hundreds of millions of people every year. In terms of improving human health and reducing suffering, Mrs. Tu’s contribution is beyond words.

1.How did Tu Youyou find qinghao as a treatment?

A. By testing it on children. B. By researching for years.

C. By reading foreign books. C. By asking malaria patients.

2.What does the underlined word “effective” mean in Paragraph 4?

A. Successful. B. Useless. C. Unclear. D. Normal

3.What can we infer from the last paragraph about Mrs. Tu?

A. She couldn’t afford an apartment in Beijing.

B. She didn’t want her findings to be known.

C. She didn’t care much, for fame while researching.

D. She wasn’t able to describe her findings dearly

In 2005, I had a stroke and was taken into hospital. I was paralyzed down one side, with only a pad and a pen to ______ . But on my first day, after writing a note to the nurse, I found my right _______ wandering across the page. It was so ______ because I just copied a cartoon as a child, and I hadn’t drawn since then. The act was ______; ______ when a nurse asked me what I was doing did I look down to see patterns all over the paper.

From then on I woke up every night at 2 a.m. And kept drawing until dawn. It didn’t feel _______. I’d never drawn before in my life but now couldn’t _______.

The _______explained that very occasionally, following a stroke, a patient’s brain rewired itself to avoid the damaged area. Sometimes this can ______ a new ability in a patient: in my case, _______.

I’d never had the ______ interest in art in my life. I was an engineer by trade, and now, ______, memories and thoughts appeared to me as abstract ______ . It was just something that happened. Drawing had become like breathing: something I did instinctively and without _______.

In 2007, I heard about Second Life, the online virtual world. Inside, I _______art galleries selling digital art for real ______ and I decided to ______ my work for the first time. Two months later, someone ______ me saying he had bought two of my pictures online and wanted one in real life.

Now I’m a ______ artist—in my first year I’ve earned around £30,000. I’ve been featured in some art exhibitions, ______ many of my pictures appeared on the cover.

1.A. remember B. touch C. communicate D. grasp

2.A. leg B. arm C. foot D. hand

3.A. annoying B. comfortable C. boring D. strange

4.A. unconscious B. powerful C. useless D. stable

5.A. merely B. only C. just D. hardly

6.A. valuable B. normal C. complicated D. fascinating

7.A. ignore B. stand C. insist D. stop

8.A. artist B. scientist C. actor D. doctor

9.A. forbid B. adjust C. expose D. arrange

10.A. drawing B. writing C. singing D. thinking

11.A. deepest B. slightest C. strongest D. hardest

12.A. actually B. fluently C. logically D. suddenly

13.A. images B. ideas C. methods D. affairs

14.A. change B. style C. choice D. reaction

15.A. suggested B. enjoyed C. avoided D. discovered

16.A. money B. life C. interest D. program

17.A. show B. buy C. quit D. record

18.A. commanded B. praised C. contacted D. impressed

19.A. gifted B. hard-working C. professional D. wealthy

20.A. so B. but C. while D. through

In 1917 Orville Wright predicted that "the aeroplane will help peace in many ways –in particular I think it will have a tendency to make war impossible.” Earlier in 1904, American journalist John Walker declared, “As a peace machine, the value of the aeroplane to the world will be beyond computation.” This wasn’t the first grand promise of technology. In that same year Jules Verne announced, “The submarine(潜艇)may be the cause of bringing battle to a stoppage.”

Alfred Nobel, sincerely believe his dynamite(火药) would be a war obstacle: “My dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions(公约).” Similarly, when Hiran Maxim, inventor of the machine gun, was asked in 1893, “Will this gun not make war more terrible?” he answered, “No, it will make war impossible.” Gugliemo Mareconi, inventor of the radio, told the world in 1912. “The coming of the wireless time will make war impossible, because it will make war ridiculous.” General James Harbord, chairman of the board of RCA in 1925, believed, “Radio will serve to make the concept of Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men a reality.”

David Nye, a historian of technology, adds to the list of inventions imagined as abolishing war forever and leading to universal peace the hot-air balloon, poison gas, land mines and laser guns.

It is not that all these inventions are without benefits—even benefits toward democracy. Rather, it’s the case that each new technology creates more problems than it solves. “Problems are the answers to solutions,” says Brian Arthur.

Most of the new problems in the world are problems created by previous technology. These problems are nearly invisible to us. Every year 1.2 million people die in automobile accidents. The technological transportation system kills more people than cancer. Global warming, environmental poisons, nuclear terrorism, and species loss, are only a few of the many other serious problems troubling people.

If we embrace(拥抱) technology we need to face its costs.

1.What will new inventions do according to the first two paragraphs?

A. They will increase wars.

B. They will lead to peace.

C. They will serve people.

D. They will break conventions.

2.What does the author list so many inventions?

A. To show people’s creativity.

B. To appreciate their benefits.

C. To contradict the original ideas.

D. To prove grand promises.

3.What does the author hope to tell us about new technology through the text?

A. It will experience many tests.

B. It will bring about huge costs in the world.

C. It provides answers to many problems.

D. It presents more problems than it solves.

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