LIKE many teachers, Cristi Derow and Jennifer Bradley have spent most of their careers giving classroom lectures to students who sat passively in their seats.

   The Lewisvillle, Texas, school teachers were aware that the hours they spent on preparing lessons were too often wasted on many students. So Forestwood High School, Texas, used the “flipped (翻转的) classroom” method of instruction. “We’ve completely done away with our lecture,” Derow said. And homework assignments “are all done in class,” Bradley said.

   With the flipped concept, a student’s usual homework assignment is to watch pre-recorded lectures on their computers or smart phones.They walk into class ready to discuss the topic, collaborate(合作) with other students and work on assignments based on what they learned from the video. Free from lecturing, the teachers can use class time to look deeper into the subject and focus on difficult concept. As students change from a passive to an active role, they learn critical thinking skills, learn to collaborate and become independent learners.

Instead of doing homework assignments alone at home, students are now “working together, talking about it,” Bradley said. “If they don’t agree on an answer, they debate it and have to justify their answers. It’s a higher level of learning.”

Her students give the flipped classroom high marks.

Sarah Lee, 14, watches the 30-minute videos on a home computer. She likes the ability to rewind the tapes if she doesn't understand a concept. She also likes being able to watch the lessons on her own schedule.

 One of her classmates, Dawson Depperschmidt has the same idea and thinks the time she spends in the classroom is more productive. “It gives us more time to learn at school,” Dawson said. “You get more in-depth in class.

1.What can we conclude from the first two paragraphs?

A. Teachers in Lewisville enjoyed giving classroom lectures.

B. It takes time for students to concentrate and understand in class.

C. Many students took an inactive part in lecture-style classes.

D. Teachers in Lewisville found that there was no need to prepare lessons.

2.What difference does the “flipped classroom”method make to students?

A. They have more arguments with classmates.

B. They have to be independent and cooperative.

C. They need to do more homework at home.

D. They have to prepare lectures by themselves.

3.What does the underlined word “productive” mean?

A. reducing difficulties         B. trying new methods

C. achieving a lot              D. causing troubles

4.What are the benefits of the “flipped classroom” method?

a. Teachers have time to solve deeper problems

b. Students are engaged in a higher level of learning.

c. Students study according to their own schedule.

d. Teachers don’t have to design homework for students

A. a, b, c,    B. a, c, d     C. b, c, d    D. a, b, d

 The United Nations is warning that the world is not prepared to deal with the fast growth of cities. The World Economic and Social Survey 2013 calls for new ways to meet the needs of city populations. More than 6.5 billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2050.

Most new city dwellers will be in developing countries. The United Nations says the effect on limited resources in many countries will be huge. The World Economic and Social Survey points to the increasing demand for energy, water, sanitation, public services, education and health care.

The world population is expected to rise to more than nine billion by 2050, two-thirds of all people are expected to live in cities. The United Nations says about 80 percent of this growing urban population will be found in Africa and Asia.

The report says sustainable development of urban areas requires coordination and investments to deal with important issues, these include land-use, food security, job creation and transportation.

Willem Van Der Geest is with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, he says cities need to work closely with rural communities, so that food supplies can be secured, and the environment can be protected.

"We need enough integration(整合，融合) with cities... An integration between the rural and urban economies is absolutely vital for issues of nutrition, food security, and environmental sustainability."

The report says development in a sustainable（可持续发展）way is important to end poverty. The report also examines the problem of food insecurity, which affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. One in eight people still severely lack nutrition.

UN officials say some things are clear. The Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Shamshad Akhtar, says world food production will have to increase by 70%, that increase will be needed to feed the additional 2.3 billion people expected on the planet by the middle of the century. She says an important part of meeting that need is to waste less food. "There has to be efforts to reduce food wastage. ."

Food and nutrition security are core elements of the sustainable development agenda.

1.The survey includes the following statements except that ______.

A. varieties of demands are hard to meet because of the increasing population in Africa and Asia.

B. one way to put an end to poverty is to be able to develop for a long time.

C. transportation is an important issue to deal with when it comes to sustainable development of urban areas.

D. hundreds of millions of people around the world are affected by the problem of food insecurity.

2.From the passage we can infer that ______.

A. cities grow so fast that the world can’t find out new ways to deal with the growing population.

B. the growing city dwellers who mainly come from the developing countries greatly challenge limited resources in the world.

C. sustainable development of urban areas requires coordination and investments to deal with important issues

D. food wastage is an effective way to feed the additional 2.3 biilion people by the middle of the century.

3.What is the best titile of the passage?

A. The World Economic and Social Survey 2013.

B. City Population Will Increase to 9 Billion.

C. Cities Need to Cooperate with Rural Areas.

D. The World Is Not Prepared to Deal with the Fast Growth of Cities.

4.The passage is chosen from ______.

A. a textbook              B. a travel guide                  C. a novel                  D. a newspaper

As a result of the serious flood，two thirds of the buildings in the area ______.

A．needs repairingB．need repairing  C．need to repairD．needs to be repaired

When Mary Moore began her high school in 1951, her mother told her, "Be sure and take a typing course so when this show business thing doesn't work out, you'll have something to rely on. " Mary responded in typical teenage fashion. From that moment on, "the very last thing I ever thought about doing was taking a typing course," she recalls.

The show business thing worked out, of course. In her career, Mary won many awards. Only recently, when she began to write Growing Up Again, did she regret ignoring her morn," I don't know how to use a computer," she admits.

Unlike her 1995 autobiography, After All, her second book is less about life as an award-winning actress and more about living with diabetes (糖尿病). All the money from the book is intended for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), an organization she serves as international chairman. "I felt there was a need for a book like this," she says. " I didn't want to lecture, but I wanted other diabetics to know that things get better when we're self-controlled and do our part in managing the disease. "

But she hasn't always practiced what she teaches. In her book, she describes that awful day, almost 40 years ago, when she received two pieces of life-changing news. First, she had lost the baby she was carrying, and second, tests showed that she had diabetes. In a childlike act, she left the hospital and treated herself to a box of doughnuts (甜甜圈). Years would pass before she realized she had to grow u p ---again---and take control of her diabetes, not let it control her. Only then did she kick her three-pack-a-day cigarette habit, overcome her addiction to alcohol, and begin to follow a balanced diet.

Although her disease has affected her eyesight and forced her to the sidelines of the dance floor, she refuses to fall into self-pity. "Everybody on earth can ask, 'why me?' about something or other," she insists. "It doesn't do any good. No one is immune (免疫的) to heartache, pain, and disappointments. Sometimes we can make things better by helping others. I've come to realize the importance of that as I've grown up this second time. I want to speak out and be as helpful as I can be. "

1.Why did Mary feel regretful?

A．She didn't achieve her ambition.            B．She didn't take care of her mother.

C．She didn't complete her high school.         D．She didn't follow her mother's advice.

2.When Mary received the life-changing news, she         .

A．lost control of herself                    B．began a balanced diet

C．need to get a treatment                   D．behaved in an adult way

3.What can we know from the last paragraph?

A．Mary feels pity for herself.

B．Mary has recovered from her disease.

C．Mary wants to help others as much as possible.

D．Mary determines to go back to the dance floor.

A

The choice to adopt and hold gratefulness is the one that is different from those who suffer misfortune and those who enjoy a full life.

My mother died when I was 24. It was a very difficult time in my life — everything seemed to fall apart. I lost my job, and then my utilities were turned off. I had to take cold showers for six months. A neighbor who knew about my situation came to my house and made me an offer. I took care of her children as a job, and I no longer went hungry. I was surprised that someone would trust me — a young woman with her children. And it was with the very confidence that before long I began taking care of other people’s children, too. I have since moved 300 miles from Boise, Idaho. For more than 23 years I have made every effort to reach out to all the kind-hearted people who helped me when I was down and out. Without their trust, I don’t know what I would have done. I am very involved in my community and volunteer at the local food bank, and I help out whenever I can. I’d like to owe what I am to whoever has offered me generosity.

If you are grateful for what you already have, the world will work together to give you more to be grateful for. Otherwise, the world will give you more to complain about.

Moreover, the true master learns to be grateful, in advance, for the things that are desired, because, being grateful in advance for some attainment or accomplishment does two very important things: one…it tricks your subconscious into believing that the goal is certain and two…it convinces other people, with whom you must interact to achieve your desires, that you know what you are about, that you are a winner, not a whiner (哀诉者).

The underlined word “utilities” refers to __________ in the passage.

    A. water and gas supplies                  B. gas and electricity supplies

    C. shower equipment and water supply       D. heating and TV signals

The writer was grateful mainly for ___________.

        A. his neighbor’s donation        B. his community   

    C. having got the job       D. others’ trust

The writer’s personal story in the second paragraph tells us that __________.

        A. to be grateful will get you nowhere but away from home

        B. a grateful person is most likely to be successful

        C. we need to be grateful to be helpful and useful

        D. the fragrance (芳香) stays in the hand that gives the rose

The best title for the passage would be ____________.

        A. A Thank-You Note to Trusting Neighbor       

        B. You Are a Winner, Not a Whiner

        C. Be Grateful to Life in Advance     

        D. Gratefulness Brings a Great Fullness to Life