A new reading tool was put on the market this week for the two-to five-year-old set. It is sold for at least $389, an expensive purchase for a kid – and that doesn’t even include a $99 annual subscription (订阅) fee for games, e-books, and age-appropriate software.
That might be fine for parents willing and able to pay thousands for private nursery schools, but will the tool actually help kids learn language and reading skills more effectively than traditional books?
Probably not, said Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center for Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston. “There is a sensory components (感官因素) to books that isn’t there with e-books,” he explained. “You can smell it, turn the pages, and taste it, as young kids are likely to do.”
That might help little ones become more familiar with the books, helping them learn from them, but far more important is whether a person is actually sitting with them while they’re looking at the pages.
Researchers have shown time and again that kids learn better when they’re having interaction (互动) with real people, rather than electronic voices reading to them from a computer or speaking to them from the TV.
A Georgetown University study found that kids who learned to put on gloves from watching a video took six times as long to learn the process as those who watched it shown by an adult standing in front of them.
“I’m a big believer in teaching kids to live in the digital society and use what the rest of the family uses, but they do need to be supervised,” said Dr. Gwenn O’Keeffe, a Boston-based children’s doctor and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. “We don’t recommend that young kids use any type of technology for very long since they have the attention span (注意力持续时间) of a butterfly.”
【小题1】According to the text, the new tool        .

A new reading tool was put on the market this week for the two-to five-year-old set. It is sold for at least $389, an expensive purchase for a kid – and that doesn’t even include a $99 annual subscription (订阅) fee for games, e-books, and age-appropriate software.

That might be fine for parents willing and able to pay thousands for private nursery schools, but will the tool actually help kids learn language and reading skills more effectively than traditional books?

Probably not, said Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center for Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston. “There is a sensory components (感官因素) to books that isn’t there with e-books,” he explained. “You can smell it, turn the pages, and taste it, as young kids are likely to do.”

That might help little ones become more familiar with the books, helping them learn from them, but far more important is whether a person is actually sitting with them while they’re looking at the pages.

Researchers have shown time and again that kids learn better when they’re having interaction (互动) with real people, rather than electronic voices reading to them from a computer or speaking to them from the TV.

A Georgetown University study found that kids who learned to put on gloves from watching a video took six times as long to learn the process as those who watched it shown by an adult standing in front of them.

“I’m a big believer in teaching kids to live in the digital society and use what the rest of the family uses, but they do need to be supervised,” said Dr. Gwenn O’Keeffe, a Boston-based children’s doctor and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. “We don’t recommend that young kids use any type of technology for very long since they have the attention span (注意力持续时间) of a butterfly.”

1.According to the text, the new tool        .

2.Why is Dr. Michael Rich against the new tool?

3.The study mentioned in Paragraph 6 aims to        .

4.The underlined word “supervised” in the last paragraph can be replaced by “     ”.

5.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A，B，C和D）中选出最佳选项。

　　I would like to suggest that for sixty to ninety minutes each evening all television broadcasting in the United States be forbidden by law, especially after the evening news.

　　Let us take a serious reasonable look at what the results might be if such a suggestion were accepted: family members might use the time for a real family hour. They might sit together around after dinner and actually talk to one another. It is well known that most of our problems—everything, in fact, from the generation gap to the high divorce rate to some forms of mental illnesses—are caused at least in part by failure to communicate. We do not tell each other what is disturbing us. The result is emotional(情感的) difficulty of one kind or another. By using the quiet family hour to discuss our problems, we might get to know each other better.

　　On the evening when such talk is unnecessary, families could rediscover more active pastimes (娱乐). Freed from TV, forced to find their own activities, they might take a ride together to watch the sunset or they might take a walk together. With free time and no TV, children and adults might settle down to read. There is more to expect in a good book than in a TV program. Educators report that the generation growing up with television can hardly write an English sentence, even at college level. Writing is often learned from reading. A more literate new generation could be a product of the quiet hour.

　　A different form of reading might also be done as it was in the past: reading aloud. The quiet hour could become the story hour. When the quiet hour ends, the TV networks might even be forced to come up with better shows in order to get us back from our newly discovered activities.

　　At first glance, this idea seems radical (激进的). What will parents do without the electronic baby-sitter? How will we spend the time? But it's not radical at all. It has been only twenty-five years since television came to control American free time. Those of us thirty-five and older can remember childhoods without television, spent partly with radio, but also with reading, learning, talking, playing games and inventing new activities. It wasn't that difficult. The truth is we had a ball.

1．According to the writer, ________ causes many problems, such as generation gap and high divorce rate.

[　　]

A．not being able to read good books

B．failure to communicate with each other

C．not knowing each other better

D．television broadcasting

2．If the television broadcasting were forbidden after the evening news, the Americans might ________.

[　　]

A．have emotional difficulty of one kind or another

B．go to enjoy themselves on the seashore

C．discover a lot more pastimes

D．discuss the generation gap and high divorce rate

3．If there was no television, the people ________.

[　　]

A．could also enjoy themselves

B．played ball

C．lived a hard life

D．had to listen to the radio

4．A more literate generation refers to the people who ________.

[　　]

A．are well informed about English and American literature

B．can hardly write an English sentence

C．can write an English sentence at college level

D．are well educated

完形填空

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文下面各题所给A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　I would like to suggest that for sixty to ninety minutes each evening all television broadcasting in the United States be forbidden by law.

　　Let us take a 1 , reasonable look at what the results might be if such a 2 were accepted: families might use the time for a real family hour. They might 3 together after dinner and actually talk to one another. It is well known that many of our 4 - everything in fact, from the generation gap to the high divorce rate to some forms of 5 illness - are caused at least in part by 6 to communicate. By using the quiet family hour to 7 our problems, we might get to know each other better.

　　On evening when such talk is 8 , families could rediscover more active pastimes. Freed from TV, forced to find their own activities, they might take a 9 together to watch the sunset 10 they might take a walk together. 11 free time and no TV, children and adults might rediscover reading. There is more entertainment in 12 than in a TV program. 13 report that the generation growing up with television can hardly write an English sentence, 14 at the college level. 15 is often learned from reading. A more literate new generation could be a product of the quiet hour.

　　A different 16 of reading might also be done as it was in the past: reading aloud. The quiet hour could become the story hour. When the 17 ends, the TV networks might be forced to 18 with better shows in order to get us back from our newly discovered activities.

　　At first glance, this idea seems radical (激进的). How will we spend the time then? The fact is: it has been only twenty - five years 19 television came to control American free time. Those of us thirty - five and older can 20 childhoods without television. It wasn't that difficult.

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The Gold Coast family holidays are always great fun whether you are from Australia or from abroad. There are beautiful beaches, adventure parks, nature parks and so much more.

         There are so many sights to see here. It is a pity to drive in a car and you’ll miss a great part of it. Australia is home to many animals and birds that can only be seen when moving slowly and going into the areas that they live.

         When you are on a bicycle, you have the advantage of being able to stop whenever you want to see an interesting animal or bird that you have never seen before. It is a quieter mode （方式） of transportation as well, so you might even be able to take a picture. When you are on the beach, you can breathe that clean air and view the beauty of the water and sand. It is a totally different experience from either simply sunbathing or passing it in a car.

         There are many choices of hiring a bicycle to experience the Gold Coast attractions. There are stores that will fit a bike perfectly to your size. These bikes for both adults and children are in many styles and colors to please any taste. If you have ever wanted to try a tandem bike （双人单车）, now is your chance, because they have those too.

         A bicycle hire on Gold Coast is something that everyone should try at least once. This is a wonderful chance for anyone who likes to cycle and it is also a cheap way to travel with your family.

1.You’d better not drive in a car on Gold Coast because ________.

A. you will break the traffic rules

B. you will cause much noise

C. you can’t enjoy the beautiful sights well

D. you can’t drive into some parks

2.The following advantages of hiring bikes are mentioned EXCEPT that ________.

A. you can take photos of animals     

B. it is a cheap way of traveling

C. you can get a clearer sight of animals

D. it is a good way to do sunbathing

3.What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A. How to hire bikes on Gold Coast.

B. What kinds of bikes there are in stores.

C. What bikes are the most popular.

D. Who can hire bikes on Gold Coast.

4.What’s the author’s attitude towards a bike hire on Gold Coast?

A. He supports it very much.    

B. He thinks it’s a personal choice.

C. He doesn’t like this way of traveling.

D. He thinks it’s only good for adults.