Many Americans are turning to Japan, they think, a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers. However, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find. In most Japanese preschools, surprisingly little emphasis is put on academic instruction. In one survey, 300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education. Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents (答问卷者) listed “to give children a good start academically” as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices. To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese preschools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as determination, concentration, and the ability to work as a member of a group. The huge majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents.

Like in America, there is diversity (多样性) in Japanese early childhood education. Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential development. In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary schools. Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children’s chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated(一流的) schools and universities. Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing (智能化) in some Japanese kindergartens.

We learn from the first paragraph that many Americans believe     .

       A. Japanese parents are more involved in preschool education than American parents

       B. Japan’s economic success is a result of its scientific achievements

       C. Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic instruction

       D. Japan’s higher education is superior to theirs

In Japan’s preschool education, the focus is on     .

       A. preparing children academically      B. developing children’s artistic interests

       C. developing children’s potential       D. shaping children’s character

Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?

       A. They can do better in their future studies.

       B. They can make more group experience grow there.

       C. They can be self-centered when they grow up.

       D. They can have better chances of getting a first-rate education.

Free play has been introduced in some Japanese kindergartens in order to      .

       A. broaden children’s knowledge        B. train children’s creativity

       C. lighten children’s study load    D. enrich children’s experience

  A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess(女家庭教师)Julia to come into my study. “Be seated, Julia, ”I said, “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

  “Forty.”

  “No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, um, you’ve been here two months, so...”

  “Two months and five days.”

  “Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... you know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but - not a word.

  “Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven - nineteen. Take nineteen off ... that leaves. hmm.... forty one dollars. Correct?”

  Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but - still not a word.

  “Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer; take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but- forget it. When didn’t I take a loss! Then, due to your neglect (疏忽), Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave ten dollars.”

  “You didn’t. ”sobbed Julia.

  “But I made a note of it.”

  “Well... if you say so.”

  “Take twenty seven from forty one -that leaves fourteen.”

  Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!

  “Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”

  “Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen.. leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is !”

  I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

  “Merci (法语: 谢谢),”she whispered.

  I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. “For what, this - ‘merci’?” I asked.

  “For the money. ”

  “But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you ! I have actually stolen from you ! Why this‘merci’?”

  “In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

  “They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... I m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you... Is it really possible to be so spineless (懦弱)?Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws(爪)—to be such a fool?”

  Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression,“It is possible.”

  I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little“merci”several times and went out. I looked after her and thought,“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world !”

  While talking to Julia, the wrier expected from her ________.

  A. a protest           B. gratitude

  C. obedience           D. an explanation

  What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.

  A. nervousness in front of her boss

  B. acceptance of injustice

  C. shyness when talking about money

  D. reluctance to express herself

  The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.

  A. to be more aggressive

  B. to be more careful in her work

  C. to protect her right

  D. to live independently

  At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”to show ________.

  A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety

  B. his worry about Julia’s future

  C. his concern on the living condition of working - class people

  D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited

Why play games? Because they are fun, and a lot more besides. Following the rules...planning your next move...acting as a team member...these are all “game” ideas that you will come across throughout your life.

Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek. Such games are entertaining and fun. But perhaps more importantly, they translate_life_into_exciting_dramas that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking turns and cooperating(合作).

Many children's games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups. For instance, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones. Which sharpens the hand-eye coordination(协调)needed in hunting.

Many sports encourage national or local pride. The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competition. People who watch the event wave flags, knowing that a gold medal is a win for an entire country, not just the athlete who earned it. For countries experiencing natural disasters or war, an Olympic win can mean so much.

Sports are also an event that unites people. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. People on all continents play it—some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian soccer player, has discovered a way to spread hope through soccer. He created a foundation to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a promising future.

Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other aspects of your life.

1. Through playing hide-and-seek, children are expected to learn to ________.

A. be a team leader     B. obey the basic rules

C. act as a grown-up    D. predict possible danger

2. The underlined part in Paragraph 2 most probably means that games can________.

A. describe life in an exciting way

B. turn real-life experiences into a play

C. make learning life skills more interesting

D. change people's views of sporting events

3. According to the passage, why is winning Olympic medals so encouraging?

A. It inspires people's deep love for the country.

B. It proves the exceptional skills of the winners.

C. It helps the country out of natural disasters.

D. It earns the winners fame and fortune.

4. Iribarne's goal of forming the foundation is to ________.

A. bring fun to poor kids

B. provide soccer balls for children

C. give poor kids a chance for a better life

D. appeal to soccer players to help poor kids

5. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Games  benefit people all their lives.

B. Sports can get all athletes together.

C. People are advised to play games for fun.

D. Sports increase a country's competitiveness.

A child who has once been pleased with a tale likes, as a rule, to have it retold in almost the same words, but this should not lead parents to treat printed fairy stories as formal texts. It is always much better to tell a story than read it out of a book, and, if a parent can produce what, in the actual situation of the time and the child, is an improvement on the printed text, so much the better.

A charge made against fairy tales is that they harm the child by frightening him or making him sad thinking. To prove the latter, one would have to show in a controlled experiment that children who have read fairy stories were more often sorry for cruelty than those who had not. As to fears, there are, I think, some cases of children being dangerously terrified by some fairy story. Often, however, this arises from the child having heard the story once. Familiarity with the story by repetition turns the pain of fear into the pleasure of a fear faced and mastered.

There are also people who object to fairy stories on the grounds that they are not objectively true, that giants, witches, two-headed dragons, magic carpets, etc. do not exist; and that, instead of being fond of the strange side in fairy tales, the child should be taught to learn the reality by studying history. I find such people, I must say so peculiar that I do not know how to argue with them. If their case were sound, the world should be full of mad men attempting to fly from New York to Philadelphia on a stick or covering a telephone with kisses in the belief that it was their beloved girl -friend.

No fairy story ever declared to be a description of the real world and no clever child has ever believed that it was.

1.The author considers that a fairy story is more effective when it is ____.

A.repeated without any change              B.treated as a joke

C.made some changes by the parent          D.set in the present

2.According to the passage, great fear can take place in a child when the story is ____.

A.in a realistic setting                      B.heard for the first time

C.repeated too often                      D.told in a different way

3.The advantage claimed (提出) for repeating fairy stories to young children is that it ____.

A.makes them less fearful

B.develops their power of memory

C.makes them believe there is nothing to be afraid of

D.encourages them not to have strange beliefs

4.The author's mention of sticks and telephones is meant to suggest that ______.

A.fairy stories are still being made up

B.there is some misunderstanding about fairy tales

C.people try to modernize old fairy stories

D.there is more concern for children's fears nowadays

5.One of the reasons why some people are not in favor of fairy tales is that _______.

A.they are full of imagination

B.they just make up the stories which are far from the truth

C.they are not interesting

D.they make teachers of history difficult to teach

 

It’s not uncommon in America for a person to belong to some kind of volunteer group. Donating one’s time and services is very much a part of the American way of life. Most charitable activities are organized by churches and groups around the nation and even encouraged by the government. The helping hand is extended to the poor, the homeless and the disabled. Some people work to teach youngsters how to read. Others open up soup kitchens to feed the homeless. Volunteers also take care of the disabled by making reading tapes for the blind and working in orphanages(孤儿院)to help children without parents.

High school students are often encouraged to become volunteers and many school club activities center around volunteer services. Students may work with disabled children during a summer program, or participate in a club activity which helps to bring meal to senior citizens who are shut-ins. With their sense of idealism(理想主义)students are often eager to donate their spare time. They see such activities as a way of becoming involved in the community and the adult-world. Social action for them becomes as   important as their academic studies.

In a like manner, throughout the year,fund raising drives are also conducted by schools and community groups to raise money for a worthy cause. They may respond to a recent earthquake in a foreign country, a flood somewhere within their own, or another natural disaster which has left people destitute and homeless. They may organize drives to collect food, clothing and medicines to serve an immediate need. Today even the Halloween custom of ‘trick or treat’has become an occasion to collect money for a charitable cause.

The motive to help those less fortunate comes from the poor origins of the American nation. Those immigrants who were poor and downtrodden(受压迫的)became dependent on the kindness of their neighbors to make a new life for themselves.

American volunteers work throughout the world in less developed countries. They volunteer by serving as a champion of goodwill both at home and abroad, which no doubt enriches both his life and those whom he serves.

1. Which of the following charitable activities is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A.Some people open up soup kitchens to feed homeless people.

B.Some students bring meals to old people who can’t go out easily.

C.Some people collect money to help a foreign country with a recent earthquake.

D.Some students donate books to children in mountainous areas.

2. Why are American high school students eager to do voluntary work?

A.Because they want to participate in some social activities.

B.Because they want to go to better universities.

C.Because they can get higher scores at school.

D.Because they can realize their dream sooner.

3.The underlined word “destitute” in Paragraph 4 probably means           .

A.lifeless

B. penniless

C.useless

D.valueless

4. American charitable activities started because ___________.

A.Americans are always ready to share with others

B.Americans are mostly kind

C.poor immigrants needed help badly

D.poor Americans couldn’t live on without help

5. What’s the best title of the passage?

A.The Call from the Poor

B.Voluntary Work in the US

C.Ways to help the Poor

D.American Volunteers Around the World

 

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