Many people have described television as a passive activity that is harmful to children’s education. However, there are good and bad ways to watch television. Parents who are interested in exploiting television as a learning tool can actually turn time in front of TV into an educational chance.

Probably the most familiar educational way to use television is to simply watch educational programs. In particular, this means selecting channels and programs specially designed for educational purposes. Along with traditional educational shows for children on public broadcasting channels, cable television (有线电视) now offers kids and adults a wide variety of educational programs, with everything from nature shows to historical events in different countries.

Captioning(字幕），such as "closed captioning" for hearing disabled viewers provides another way for parents to exploit the educational possibilities of television．One study showed that children who watched captioned TV got great improvement in their vocabulary and oral reading ability. In addition, parents can make any show a learning class by watching television together with children. By actively joining children in the programs that they are watching, parents can help with the development of such skills as predicting（预见）and summarizing. In order to develop predicting skills, parents and children could first refer to a program’s description in a viewing guide．After reading the program description and guessing what might happen in the program, parents and children could watch together to see which predictions were correct. And to practice summarizing, after watching a program, parents can turn off the TV and ask what the story was about. This kind of activity helps children develop thinking skills such as arranging events in an order and memorizing information．

Although there will still be plenty of times when children watch TV simply for passive enjoyment, parents can help make at least part of their children’s viewing time a more productive activity．Used intelligently by exploiting the learning chances available through various programs, television can play an instructive role in children’s education.

Which activity is NOT suggested in the passage？

A. Talking about TV shows.     B. Watching captions on TV.

C . Enjoying films about nature.     D. Watching shows for homework.

Which of the following statements is true according to the passage？

A. Parents can simply make any show a learning class for their children．

B. To make watching TV a more productive activity parents should include themselves in the producing process.

C. Most parents have changed their attitude to their kids’ watching TV and become positive to the problem.

D. In a way, it is how parents act that leads to whether watching TV may do good or not to their children.

We can infer from the last paragraph that       ．

A. not every minute when a child watches television must be educational

B. children should not use television for passive enjoyment

C. some children prefer reading to watching television

D. television offers more learning chances than school

Which of the following questions is the major one discussed in the passage?

A. What makes television more interesting than books?

B. Why should schools put television into classrooms?

C. How can parents use television as a teaching tool？

D. Which program can actually make kids smarter?

A private group of scientists has announced plans to make an exact copy of a human being. An American member of the team says he and  the others will soon begin a serious effort to clone humans. Panos Zavos says the team hopes to manufacture the world’s first cloned baby within the next two years.
In recent years, scientists have produced exact genetic copies of sheep and a few other animals. They created these clones from a single cell of an adult animal.
Three years ago, another American doctor, Richard Seed, announced plans to clone a human being. However, there is no evidence that he has been successful.
Doctor Zavos says the new international group plans to offer human cloning only to women who are currently not able to become pregnant or produce children. He says the aim is to assist people who want to have their own biological child.
The technology would be similar to that used to clone animals. It would involve cleaning genetic material from a woman’s egg. Doctors then would place genetic material from the woman’s husband into the egg before putting it into the woman’s uterus(子宫).
Doctor Zavos says his group plans to do the work in a country near the Mediterranean Sea. He did not name the country. He says an Italian reproductive expert, Sevorino Antinori, is leading the team. Doctor Antinori has led the efforts to help many older women become pregnant. He is known for establishing pregnancies in women as old as sixty.
Many medical experts and other groups are opposed to the idea of cloning humans. Several countries ban or restrict work on human cloning. Several doctors criticize the announcement by Doctor Zavos. They say doctors do not know if cloning humans is possible or safe. They say it would be irresponsible to attempt to clone a human being. That is because the chances of success are too small and the risks are too great.
【小题1】The underlined word “manufacture” in the first paragraph  means “_________”.

How to deal successfully with a child who shows outstanding musical ability？It’s not always clear how best to develop and encourage his gift.Many parents may even fail to recognise and respond to their children’s need until frustration explodes into difficult or uncooperative(不合作的) behaviour.And while most schools are equipped to deal with children who are specially able in academic subjects，the musically gifted require special understanding which may not always be available in an ordinary school—especially one where music is regarded as a secondary activity.Such children may well benefit from the education offered by a specialist music school.

The five music schools in Britain are a relatively recent introduction.They aim to provide an environment in which gifted children aged between seven and eighteen can develop their skills to the full under the guidance of professional musicians.

Children at specialist music schools spend between one third and one half of an average day on musical activities，for example，individual lessons，orchestras，chamber(室内音乐的) groups，voice training，conducting and theory.They also spend several hours a day practising in properly equipped private rooms，sometimes with a teacher.The rest of their time is taken up with the subjects：English，maths，basic sciences and languages.All five British specialist schools are independent，classes are small by normal school standards，with a high teacher/pupil ratio(比率)．Most children attending specialist schools tend to be boarders，leaving home to live，eat and sleep full?time at school.

What are the disadvantages？An obvious problem is the cost；the fees are high(￡12,000?￡17,000 a year for boarders)．However，each school will make every effort with scholarships and other forms of financial assistance，to help parents of outstandingly gifted children to find the necessary fees.Secondly，not all parents want to send their children to boarding school，especially at a very early age.Almost all the directors of the specialist schools express doubts about the wisdom of admitting children as young as seven into such an intense and disciplined(守纪律的) environment.They stress，however，that their main aim is to turn out “rounded and well?balanced” individuals.

There is little doubt that setting musically gifted children apart from an early age can cause stress.Early signs of musical ability may disappear in their teenage years，while natural competitiveness and the pressure to succeed can lead to a deep sense of failure.But all specialist schools do keep a close watch on the progress of individual pupils，and offer help and advice if needed.

1.If a child’s musical ability is not recognized，________.

A．the child may misbehave

B．the ability may fade away

C．the child may lose interest

D．the parents may become anxious

2.What problem may musically gifted children face in ordinary schools?

A．Their academic work may suffer.

B．Schools lack musical equipment.

C．Music is not seen as an important subject.

D．Parents and teachers do not work together.

3.What makes specialist music schools different from other schools?

A．Their working day is longer.

B．A range of musical training is offered.

C．More than half the day is spent on music.

D．The children have mostly one?to?one lessons.

4.What do most school directors see as a possible disadvantage for pupils?

A．Poor children may not be included.

B．They may lose their individuality.

C．There may be a discipline problem.

D．They may not be mature enough on arrival.

A private group of scientists has announced plans to make an exact copy of a human being. An American member of the team says he and  the others will soon begin a serious effort to clone humans. Panos Zavos says the team hopes to manufacture the world’s first cloned baby within the next two years.

In recent years, scientists have produced exact genetic copies of sheep and a few other animals. They created these clones from a single cell of an adult animal.

Three years ago, another American doctor, Richard Seed, announced plans to clone a human being. However, there is no evidence that he has been successful.

Doctor Zavos says the new international group plans to offer human cloning only to women who are currently not able to become pregnant or produce children. He says the aim is to assist people who want to have their own biological child.

The technology would be similar to that used to clone animals. It would involve cleaning genetic material from a woman’s egg. Doctors then would place genetic material from the woman’s husband into the egg before putting it into the woman’s uterus(子宫).

Doctor Zavos says his group plans to do the work in a country near the Mediterranean Sea. He did not name the country. He says an Italian reproductive expert, Sevorino Antinori, is leading the team. Doctor Antinori has led the efforts to help many older women become pregnant. He is known for establishing pregnancies in women as old as sixty.

Many medical experts and other groups are opposed to the idea of cloning humans. Several countries ban or restrict work on human cloning. Several doctors criticize the announcement by Doctor Zavos. They say doctors do not know if cloning humans is possible or safe. They say it would be irresponsible to attempt to clone a human being. That is because the chances of success are too small and the risks are too great.

1.The underlined word “manufacture” in the first paragraph  means “_________”.

A．produce          B．oppose           C．attempt           D．experiment

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．In theory, scientists are unlikely to clone humans.

B．Richard Seed has fallen behind other scientists in cloning humans.

C．Cloning human beings is good for men.

D．People have different ideas about cloning humans.

3.How do many medical experts and other groups like the idea of cloning humans？

A．They are in favour of the idea.

B．They are against the idea.

C．They have an optimistic attitude to the idea.

D．They think it is none of their business.

Many people have described television as a passive activity that is harmful to children’s education. However, there are good and bad ways to watch television. Parents who are interested in exploiting television as a learning tool can actually turn time in front of TV into an educational chance.

Probably the most familiar educational way to use television is to simply watch educational programs. In particular, this means selecting channels and programs specially designed for educational purposes. Along with traditional educational shows for children on public broadcasting channels, cable television (有线电视) now offers kids and adults a wide variety of educational programs, with everything from nature shows to historical events in different countries.

Captioning(字幕），such as "closed captioning" for hearing disabled viewers provides another way for parents to exploit the educational possibilities of television．One study showed that children who watched captioned TV got great improvement in their vocabulary and oral reading ability. In addition, parents can make any show a learning class by watching television together with children. By actively joining children in the programs that they are watching, parents can help with the development of such skills as predicting（预见）and summarizing. In order to develop predicting skills, parents and children could first refer to a program’s description in a viewing guide．After reading the program description and guessing what might happen in the program, parents and children could watch together to see which predictions were correct. And to practice summarizing, after watching a program, parents can turn off the TV and ask what the story was about. This kind of activity helps children develop thinking skills such as arranging events in an order and memorizing information．

Although there will still be plenty of times when children watch TV simply for passive enjoyment, parents can help make at least part of their children’s viewing time a more productive activity．Used intelligently by exploiting the learning chances available through various programs, television can play an instructive role in children’s education.

1.Which activity is NOT suggested in the passage？

A. Talking about TV shows.        B. Watching captions on TV.

C . Enjoying films about nature.     D. Watching shows for homework.

2.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage？

A. Parents can simply make any show a learning class for their children．

B. To make watching TV a more productive activity parents should include themselves in the producing process.

C. Most parents have changed their attitude to their kids’ watching TV and become positive to the problem.

D. In a way, it is how parents act that leads to whether watching TV may do good or not to their children.

3.We can infer from the last paragraph that       ．

A. not every minute when a child watches television must be educational

B. children should not use television for passive enjoyment

C. some children prefer reading to watching television

D. television offers more learning chances than school

4.Which of the following questions is the major one discussed in the passage?

A. What makes television more interesting than books?

B. Why should schools put television into classrooms?

C. How can parents use television as a teaching tool？

D. Which program can actually make kids smarter?