The New York Times’ Room for Debate blog has a panel (专门小组) considering the pluses and minuses of summer homework. This has been the subject of debate in our house. Our 11th-grade daughter’s summer assignments were very challenging, to the point where I sometimes wondered if more of her time would have been better spent just riding a bicycle or swimming around a pool.

Here are some opinions from the panel:

Harris Cooper, psychologist, Duke University: “The long summer vacation disrupts the rhythm of instruction, leads to forgetting and requires time be spent reviewing old material when students return to school in the fall. My advice? Teachers, you need to be careful about what and how much summer homework you assign. Summer homework shouldn’t be expected to overcome a student’s learning deficits; that’s what summer school is for. Parents, if the assignments are clear and reasonable, support the teachers.”

Nancy Kalish, co-author of the Case Against Homework: “Schools should rethink summer homework, and not just because it stresses out kids (and parents). The truth is, homework doesn’t accomplish what we assume it does. According to a Duke University review of more than 175 studies, there is little or no connection between homework and standardized test score or long-term achievement in primary school.”

Mark Bauerlein, professor of English at Emory University: “To the general question of whether or not schools should assign summer homework, the answer is ‘Yes.’ The reason comes not only from the brain drain of summer. It relates also to an attitude young people take toward education. They tie knowledge to the syllabus, not to themselves. They read and study to write the paper and score highly in the test, not to furnish their minds. In a word, they regard learning as a classroom thing. That’s all.”

It seems to me that summer homework is a good idea to keep the brain cells moving, but like everything else it should be given in moderation.

1.Harris Cooper seems to believe that ________.

A. more summer homework causes students’ learning difficulties

B. students should go to summer school if they have no homework

C. teachers should give careful consideration to summer homework

D. parents should tell teachers how much homework their kids need

2.In the 4th paragraph, Nancy Kalish explains her idea by________.

A. making comparisons B. giving research findings

C. raising questions D. telling stories

3.Mark Bauerlein might agree that summer homework ________.

A. should be based on the school’s teaching program

B. has no direct connection to students’ higher grades

C. brings more pressure to both students and their parents

D. helps students develop the right attitude toward learning

阅读理解。

When six the very best students from different cities in Guangdong province all together chose universities in Hong Kong; when the very best students of Beijing picked up HK University while giving up the nearby Peking or Tsinghua University; when the highest enrollment (录取) rate of Hong Kong Science and Industry University reached 48:1, it’s the high time to ask where the real education heaven for students in China is.

Years ago, the answer certainly would be “Peking or Tsinghua University”. But now no one could give the exact reaction without hesitation. The only sure thing is that HK universities have gradually showed an unusual attraction to a great many mainland students.

It's no doubt to call this HK craze (狂热), which is even out of the expectation of those HK universities themselves.

How can HK universities shake the steady foundations of Peking and Tsinghua and attract so many mainland students?

First, Hong Kong universities offer large-amount scholarship, especially for the top students who can receive the sum scholarship as much as 400,000 HK dollars. Since higher education has become a kind of heavy burden of many families, it’s easy to understand why the reaction to the generous offering of HK universities is great.

Second, most HK universities receive professors and students from all over the world and carry out bilingual (双语) education. This kind of excellent language atmosphere is another attraction for mainland students.

Furthermore, university students in Hong Kong have a better chance to study abroad as exchange students.

Can mainland top universities like Peking or Tsinghua University calm as before when facing the unexpected competition from HK? Will they take relevant measures to win back the top students who once help them set the worldwide reputation? Time will explain it.

The fierce competition brought by HK universities can be a good thing for an entire improvement of education in China.After the awakening and action taking of mainland universities, they can perform better together with HK universities.

At least, it reminded the mainland universities the tuition fees (学费) are among students’ top concern when they are choosing universities. It’s time to move.

1.What is the passage mainly talking about?

A.Some thought brought by the enrollment of HK universities.

B.Higher education in Hong Kong.

C.The competition between HK University and Peking University.

D.The fall of mainland universities.

2.Top students from mainland apply for (申请) HK universities because ______.

A.many students now would love to study abroad to get a better experience

B.they concern only about the tuition fees when choosing universities

C.HK universities offer higher scholarship, better environment and more opportunities for their further study

D.Peking university has lost its worldwide reputation

3.From the passage we can see HK universities _______.

A.didn’t mean to enroll top students from mainland

B.didn’t expect their enrollment of mainland students would be so popular

C.have strict enrollment rules and only 1 out of 48 students can get the chance to study there

D.are proud of their teaching staff and facilities

4.What does the author mean by saying “It’s time to move” in the last paragraph?

A.Mainland universities should take measures as soon as possible to attract students.

B.The opportunities come for top students to study abroad.

C.Mainland universities should make full preparations to challenge HK universities.

D.Top students should be offered further education free of charge.

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

For the question of how to set goals, we have a very simple process that you can go through to set your personal goals. 1.

Identify your personal values and task statements. 2. If you can identity your personal values, your personal goal will not go wrong. The starting point of all achievements is desire.

3. After you know your personal values, find out what you really want to achieve in every life aspect. Life has many aspects and in order to lead a happy life, you should set goals in every aspect.

Write your goals down. Please pay attention to this. 4. If not, they will only become dreams. You should limit your goals to between 5 and 6 at any one time. To achieve your goals you have to focus your efforts and energy. As you progress and complete your goals, you may add new goals.

Develop a personal action plan. You need to make a detailed schedule according to your goals. Develop a personal action plan and follow it.

Review your progress and update your goals accordingly. 5. If not, analyze why the goal is not being met. Find a coach or friend to help you if you have trouble. Realize your goals step by step. Find out more of monitoring the process of goal setting.

A. Make sure you are making progress.

B. Your personal value is the big direction.

C. Figure out the goals you want to achieve.

D. It’s true that goal setting is a lifelong process.

E. If you want to succeed, you need prepare well.

F. You must write your goals down on a piece of paper.

G. These steps can help you achieve your goals more easily.

To be sure, only children﹙独生子女﹚ experienced some things differently from those with sisters and brothers. Many feel more pressure to succeed. In the absence of brothers and sisters, only children also tend to look more exclusively to their parents as role models.﹙只以父母为楷模﹚

In India, 10-year-old Saviraj Sankpal founded a support group for the tiny minority of only children. Among other things, the group does volunteer work to counter ﹙反驳﹚the myth﹙不真实的说法﹚ that they are not responsible. “People think we’re treated too kindly and ruined,” says Sankpal, a computer engineering student. “But I’d like to remind them how lonely it can get.”

Most only children, however, say they wish for sisters or brothers only when it comes to caring for aging, unhealthy parents. Britain’s David Emerson, coauthor of the book The Only Child, says that such a person bears a terrible burden in having to make all the decisions alone. Emerson knows from experience: After his father died, he chose to move his elderly mother from their family home, where she was vulnerable(易受攻击的) to house breakers, to a new one with more security﹙安全﹚. “The move was quite hard on her, and she might feel that I pushed her into it,” he says. “After all, I am left with that responsibility.” ﹙责无旁贷﹚

In the future, more and more only children will likely face similar choices. With working mothers increasingly the rule, many families are finding they simply don’t have the time, money or energy to have more than one child. As only children become common, perhaps the world will realize that the charge made against them is unjust.

1.It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s attitude towards only children is .

A. critical﹙批评的﹚ B. objective﹙反对的﹚

C. hostile﹙不友善的﹚D. unjust﹙不公正的﹚

2.It can be inferred from the passage that only children’s parents should .

A. find a support group for their only children

B. do volunteer work to help their only children

C. let their only children make all the decision alone

D. set good examples for their only children

3.Emerson decided to move his elderly mother to a new house because he .

A. is the only one who cares about her

B. doesn’t want to leave her alone

C. wants to share the responsibility with her

D. is worried about her safety

4.It is quite usual now for a working mother to .

A. spend all her time and money on her only child

B. be responsible for bringing up her only child

C. have and bring up only one child

D. devote all her energy to her job

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