New comers to the United States are often 16 by the schools. American schools 17 seem so different from schools they know in 18 parts of the world. American education is based on the 19 that children 20 to learn to think 21 themselves. The school should be the 22 where they learn to do this.  23  ,children learn the "three R's"(Reading, Writing and Arithmetic), history and government(often called Social Studies) and many other  24  . They also learn  25  be independent(独立的), how to make their own judgment(判断), and how to develop their own  26  and interests. The American teacher does not 27 the children in her class to sit 28 hands folded quietly and to say 29. She wants them to listen attentively, to ask questions. She knows that 30 children learn from books is 31 . She also knows that, it is necessary for them to know how to use this 32 for their 33 and development. During Open School Week, parents have a 34 to see how American education 35.

As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more.
Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping(录像) the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children. “In general, the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says. “And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is. ”
The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings(兄弟姐妹). Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention. “Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis. “When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child.” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event.”
【小题1】The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to ______.

Short people, studies have shown , are more likely to have a stroke , suffer from high blood pressures and heart disease and be bullied in school .
Now, researchers report that short people—at least in the past—were also more likely to die at a younger age than their taller peers.
Their study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology (流行病学) and Community Health , found that short bones have something to do with short life for more than 1,000 years. The conclusion was based on 490 sets of adult skeletal(骨架) remains from an archaeological(考古学的) site in northeastern England , YC dating from the 9th century to about 1850 .
About 55% of men and 73% of women died before the age of 45, and 39% of men and 56% of women died before age 30. The risk of death before age 30 declined as bone length increased.
“This study provides evidence from an archaeological sample that long bone length is connected with age at death—those with smaller bones tend to die younger,” according to Dr. D.J. Gunnell of the university of Bristol  in the UK and colleagues .
While it is not clear why short stature(身材) might be linked to earlier death , the researchers point out that height is an indicator of childhood nutrition, which may have long-lasting effect on health .
“Mechanism (身体结构) for height-mortality(死亡) associations in the past may differ from those today , for example , short stature may have increased the risk of death in childbirth and this may explain the higher risk of premature(未成熟的) mortality in women,” Gunnell and colleagues write .
“However, short bones, it would appear, have always been a marker of a short life,” the authors conclude.
【小题1】The title of the passage should be        .

My mother has been a true inspiration to me and changed the way I look at life. Since my birth she has made it evident that I would become   21  , that I would be one of the great ones. She has taught me that I can do anything if I put my   22   to it.

As a young boy, I struggled to achieve tasks that came   23   to most. I had problems writing, reading and especially speaking. I did not talk the way   24   kids did and did not respond to questions or stay alert to my surroundings. My reading was poor   25   with teachers helping me, and my speech was hard to   26  . My writing was not at the   27   it should have been. Even simple things like knowing my left from my right or being able to snap my fingers were   28  .

My mother   29   all my challenges and, as a professor with a Ph.D., decided to   30   the situation early in my development. She did not want me to   31  . After a while,   32   did indeed conquer all the problems that had troubled me. She spent hours every day   33   me everything I needed to know, determined to help me learn.   34   her I would not be anywhere close to the level I am now.

In addition, she gave   35   for my life. She told me what to do and what not to do. Her expectations have always been high   36   she knows that I can do it. For that, I thank her. She would not allow her son to be incapable. She never   37   on me, and to this day she tells me education is a must. I will be a   38   person if I continue to follow her lead. She encourages me to work for my   39   and attend college.

She used her gifts as a   40   to help a child - her child - and now I have the opportunity to become something.

One of the things I always believed is that no matter how bad something is, you can 36 something valuable out of it. The 37 I wasn’t sure of that was on September 11.  

I hear older people 38 about the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Kennedy’s being murdered and how greatly those events 39 them in their lives. For my 40, the tragedy of September 11 can be 41 with that of Pearl Harbor. We will be talking about the terrible effect 42 our country, and our lives as the single human being, for years to come.  

It wasn’t until a few weeks 43 September 11 that I began to see that perhaps some good did come from this tragedy. People seem 44 now, more understanding, more friendly. Little things that seemed to be such a bother before are no longer a 45 deal. Personally, I am more patient than I was. I realize life is too short and 46 to let myself get upset over unimportant things. Life is also too short to carry complaints and 47 I’ve become more forgiving and understanding. I’ve learned also that you can’t take things for granted. You know how we always say “48 you later”. One thing I’ve realized from September 11 is that you can’t ever say for sure. 49 change in the blink （眨眼） of an eye. People go to 50 and don’t come back. One minute they are living and the 51 minute they are not. And, it doesn’t 52 who you are because there is nothing you can do about it. We 53 know when our time here will be over, so we all need to make the 54 of every minute we have.  

You try to learn from what happened. You can’t live by it. All you can do is just 55.