Reading Oliver James'Affluenza, I thought about what often happens at home. My 12-year-old daughter is in tears."I have so take a test tomorrow. I don't understand any of it," she cries out. After shouting and shutting her door, she calms down enough to go through her notes. The following dry I ask her how the test went and the just says "OK,I got a nine".
"Wow. well done!" I say, before she finishes with "But I never get a ten!"
According to James, this obsession with getting top marks has been a bad development, which encourages people to think of education in terms of work and money. To test this, I asked my daughter why she was so worried about her tests. She looked at me as if I was thick. "Well, if I don't get good grades, I won't be able to afford nice things like a car and stuff."
I was quite surprised, because I don't consider myself a pushy parent. But James suggests and it leaves students feeling failures even if they are very bright. He points to the Danish system（体制）of education as a better model. Creating happy citizens who have good social skills is seen as more important than high achievements at school or the needs of business.
For me, I cannot remember the last time I had to work out the area of a circle, recite a Shakespeare poem or grammar rules, yet I have lived a happy life. What I really needed to learn at school was how to make polite conversations, or how to avoid getting into debt or how to develop good personality.
This is in fact similar to what Oliver James really has in mind. And he is looking for schools where students are encouraged to find and follow their own interests, something more like Tongjon. Tongjon has been developed in some Korean private schools. It is quite different from the more rigid system of learning things by heart that is used in Korea, and indeed in many other school systems around the world.
As the Russian poet Pushkin said," Inspiration(灵感）is needed in geometry(几何学）just as much as in poetry ",and inspiration does not come from endlessly revising for tests or getting worried about them .
【小题1】What does the writer probably think of his/her daughter?

Life comes in a package. This package includes happiness and sadness，failure and success，hope and despair. Life is a learning process. Experiences in life teach us new lessons and make us a better person. With each passing day we learn to deal with kinds of situations．

Love

Love plays an important role in our life. Love makes you feel wanted. Without love a person could become cruel. In the early stage of our life，our parents are the ones who show us with unconditional love and care, they teach us about what is right and wrong，good and bad.

Happiness and Sadness

Happiness achieved by bringing a smile on others face gives a certain level of fulfillment．Peace of mind makes you feel happy. No mind is happy without peace. We realize the true worth of happiness when we are sad．

Failure and Success

Success brings in money，fame，pride and self-respect. Failure is the way to success, and it helps us to touch the sky，teaches us to survive and shows us a specific way. Here it becomes very important to keep our head on our shoulder．

Hope and Despair

Hope is what keeps life going. Parents always hope their children will do well．Hope makes us dream．Hope builds in patience．Life teaches us not to despair even in the darkest hour，because after every night there is a day. Life teaches us not to regret over yesterday, for it has passed and is beyond our control．Tomorrow is unknown, for it could either be bright or dull. So what we can choose is to work hard today，so that we will enjoy a better tomorrow.

1. In the passage，the author compares life to ___________

A. package? ????????????? ????????????? B. happiness and sadness?

C. failure and success? ????????????? D. hope and despair

2.What does it in the passage 4? mean ?

A. success?? B. failure????? ????????????? C. sky??????? ????????????? D. way

3.What’s the general meaning of the last sentence of the whole passage?

A. What you only can choose is to work hard everyday.

B. If you work hard today, you will have a better life in the future．

C.When choosing between "today”and “tomorrow”, you’d better enjoy tomorrow better.

D. Enjoying a better tomorrow is your only choice．

4.What’s the purpose of the passage?

A. To encourage people to love each other．

B. To tell people how to deal with happiness and sadness．

C. To remind people of keeping having a beautiful dream．

D. To give readers some information about life.

Amy Chua, well-known as the Tiger Mother, has held the attention of parents all across the US. She told Reader’s Digest that she’s a little strange about how her book struck so many nerves in the US. The reporter of the magazine is sharing the interview with us.

Reader’s Digest: Did you want your book to be controversial (有争议的)?

Amy: I don’t think it would have been controversial at all if it wasn’t for the Wall Street Journal headline that was called, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior”.

Reader’s Digest: What’s your view on your parenting?

Amy: My children grew up with one Western parent. My husband doesn’t believe in raising his voice with the kids and we don’t spank (打小孩). They were really raised in a half Asian family. My book’s message is that we should try to find the balance. I believe that when children are little, you should restrict (限制) their choices. I like the traditional Chinese way. Respect authority (尊重权利) and don’t just let them watch TV all the time. I don’t think kids under the age of ten can make good choices. But once they start to get older, the lesson I learnt with Lulu (Amy’s second daughter) is that you have to start listening to them. You have to start giving them more choices and more freedom. I really think it’s important to find a balance.

I like the strict Chinese way of discipline (行为准则) and hard work when children are young. But when they’re older, you have to send love to your child, you have to listen to your child and really achieve the balance between creativity, choice and freedom on the one hand, which the west is very good at, and on the other hand, hard work and self discipline, which I think traditional Chinese parenting is very good at.

1.Where can we find the passage?

A．In a novel.         B．In a magazine.      C．In a comic book.    D．In a history book.

2.The Tiger Mother thinks the reason her book became controversial is that ______.

A．she is very famous

B．parenting is such a common topic

C．traditional Chinese parenting is too strict

D．the Wall Street Journal headline was called “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior”

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to Amy’s view on parenting?

A．We should control all of the children’s choices.

B．Spanking is necessary during children’s growth.

C．Children should be raised in half Asian families.

D．When children get older, parents should listen to them.

4.According to the passage, we can see ______ in the west.

A．children respect their parents because of authority

B．all kids under the age of ten can make good choices

C．some parents don’t believe in raising their voice with the kids

D．children do all of the things according to their parents’ orders

5.What is the main idea of this passage?

A．The book that the Tiger Mother wrote is very controversial.

B．Traditional Chinese parenting is much better than that in the west.

C．The Tiger Mother shows some of her ideas about her book and parenting.

D．Parents should achieve the balance between creativity, choice and freedom.

Bai Yansong, a famous TV host, expressed his support for students wearing green scarves (绿领巾) at a primary school in Xi’an. He wore a green tie on a TV program on October 19, 2011. “I just want the students to know that I’m also wearing green. And we are all great people and are as good as those wearing red scarves.”
The First Experimental Primary School in Xi’an made children with poor schoolwork and behavior wear green scarves. Parents whose children wore green scarves were angry. “The children still need their self-esteem (自尊心) even though they are very young, and they know the green scarf means something is not quite right,” said one mother. Now, the school has stopped the practice.
Educational expert Li Zhenxi said that primary and junior high school students have strong self-esteem. They are eager to be respected and understood. Punishment will hurt them. “It’s better to encourage them rather than separating some ‘bad’ students,” he said.
A survey made by the Ministry of Education (教育部) shows that 75 percent of students feel nervous and scared when the teacher is about to announce their grades. Some schools have done better in protecting students’ privacy and encouraging them. In American schools, teachers post test results on the wall. Instead of using student names, they use secret numbers. This way, students know their secret numbers and can check their own grades only. Some teachers might call the students up to the desk and tell them their scores one at a time.
But test scores are not the only measures of a student’s ability. Everyone has his own strengths and everyone can make great progress by working hard.
【小题1】Bai Yansong wore a green tie in a TV program in order to _______.

Good morning. I’m Chen Hua. Here’s my culture report for today, Monday:
A new film starts tonight at the student cinema at eight o’clock. The film is Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s a fantastic adventure film. Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom are the stars. They are both very popular and famous, and they both act well in this film, and make their characters believable.
The story is about an old ship. It sails around the Caribbean islands. Depp and Bloom try to find some lost gold. Then they come face to face with some terrible men, and have to fight them. There's lots of action, and the fighting looks really dangerous. They also saves Keira Knightley. She plays Elisabeth, the daughter of a rich man. The scenes with Knightly and Bloom are beautiful and romantic.
The film isn't true to life, but it' s very exciting, and some of it is very funny. It' s an enjoyable film, although in my opinion there's too much fighting. But except for that, it's an excellent film. U you didn't see it when it first came out, I advise you to go and see it now. I' m sure you' 11 enjoy it. It' s showing all week.
【小题1】Pirates of the Caribbean is__________.