However important we may regard school life to be, there is no denying the fact that children spend more time at home than in the classroom. Therefore, the great influence of parents cannot be ignored or discounted by the teacher. They can become strong allies of the school personnel or they can consciously or unconsciously hinder and frustrate curricular objectives.

Administrators have been aware of the need to keep parents informed of the newer methods used in schools. Many principles have conducted workshops explaining such matters as the reading readiness program, manuscript writing and developmental mathematics. Moreover, the classroom teacher, with the permission of the supervisors, can also play an important role in enlightening parents. The informal tea and the many interviews carried on during the year, as well as new ways of reporting pupils’ progress, can significantly aid in achieving a harmonious interplay between school and home.

To illustrate, suppose that a father has been drilling Junior in arithmetic processes night after night. In a friendly interview, the teacher can help the parent sublimate (升华) his natural paternal interest into productive channels. He might be persuaded to let Junior participate in discussing the family budget, buying the food, using a standard or measuring cup at home, setting the clock, calculating mileage on a trip and engaging in scores of other activities that have a mathematical basis.

If the father follows the advice, it is reasonable to assume that he will soon realize his son is making satisfactory progress in mathematics, and at the same time, enjoying the work. Too often, however, teachers’ conferences with parents are devoted to petty (不重要的) accounts of children’s misdeeds, complaints about laziness and poor work habits, and suggestion for penalties and rewards at home.

What is needed is a more creative approach in which the teacher, as a professional adviser, plants ideas in parents’ minds for the best utilization of the many hours that the child spends out of the classroom.

In this way, the school and the home join forces in fostering the fullest development of youngsters’ capacities.

(Note:Answer the questions or complete the statements with NO MORE THAN 14 WORDS)

1.Why do parents also have great influence on children?

_________________________________________________________________________ .

2.Through which ways can the teacher play an important role in enlightening parents?

_________________________________________________________________________ .

3.According to the teacher, that parents should let the boy ____________________________ if he wants to sublimate his natural paternal interest into productive channels in teaching his son arithmetic.

4.A more creative approach is needed for ___________________of children out of classroom.

My son. The phrase felt difficult and strange the first time I said it, and I had to practice it a thousand times． I started saying the words to myself the day when the ultrasound told me we were having a baby．

Finally, my son was born.

The nurse came out of the delivery room, holding a tiny, howling human being wrapped in a white sheet, his small hands and delicate fingers shaking nervously. “Baby Sanchez?” she asked, looking at the room full of expectant fathers.

I stood up, holding my breath． She showed me my baby． “My son,” I whispered. The little guy screamed, “waaaaaaaaaah.”

But in my heart I heard him cry out, “Daaaaaaad!” I don’t care if everyone in the room will swear they didn’t hear my baby say that. I called him, “My son,” and he called me “Dad,” and that’s that.

People ask me, “What did you feel at that moment?” I can’t even begin to answer. I’m a writer yet I try hard to find the right words. Joyful isn’t powerful enough. Bliss(狂喜) is not sweet enough. Peaceful isn’t calm enough. Happy isn’t tense enough.

After my son was taken away to the nursery, I sat down and shut my eyes. But tears escaped them away. Then out of the blue, my 80-year-old father entered, and we embraced.

“Dad,” I whispered.

“My son,” my heart heard him saying.

Suddenly the past 33 years folded into the present and I was now the baby bundled in white, with my father standing over me.

“My son,” I imagined him saying.

“Daaaaaaaaaad!” I cried my little lungs out.

At that point, I knew I was going to be a great father. The old man in front of me seemed to agree. He smiled and we walked out of the room in search of the tiny human being that would change our lives for ever.

1.Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the passage?

2.The author couldn’t tell how he felt at the moment because ________．

3.We can learn the following from the passage EXCEPT that ________．

4.Why was the writer sure he was going to be a great father?

Here is a question I have often asked at dinner parties:

   You're on an island with only one other person, your best friend. He's dying of cancer. In his final days, he tells you, "I have 100,000 dollars in a bank back home. When I die, make sure my son goes to medical school." Then he dies. But his son is a no-good playboy who has no interest in going to medical school and will waste that money away in a very short time. But your son is entering college, and he is willing to become a doctor. Which one do you give the money to for medical school?

   I've asked this question of everyone from the president of a famous university to an ordinary young soldier, and it has never failed to get a discussion going. Everyone has an opinion, most of them different, but all of them correct. Sometimes this one topic lasts the whole evening.

Which of the following is TRUE to the passage?

   A. Only the clever people can answer the question rightly.

   B. Some people refuse to answer such a silly question.

   C. Most of the people have the same answer.

   D. Everyone at the dinner party seems to be interested in the question.

What the writer often says at dinner parties is _______.

   A. a true story                       B. not a true story

   C. a strange story                   D. just a joke

Why does the writer often ask people such a question? Because ______.

A. he wants to offer people a topic in which everyone could say something

B. he is interested in such a question

C. he likes to make fun of people at parties

D. he wants to find the answer for a research

Which of the following decisions is most likely NOT correct?

A. You give the money to your friend's son.

B. You give the money to your son for medical school.

C. You keep the money for your friend's son.

D. You keep the money for your future medical care

His son is very naughty and has formed some bad habits.I think he should ??? .

A.cure them of him???????????????? B.cure him of them

C.cure them off him?????????????? D.cure him off them

Black doesn’t believe his son is able to design a digital camera,_____?

A. is he         B.isn’t he      C. doesn’t he     D. does he