Thousands of teenagers will be able to move to a new wave of “studio schools” at the age of 14 to improve their chances of finding a job in UK. Twelve new-style schools are open to act as a bridge to the workplace and cut the number of NEETs.
Under plans, schools will operate longer days and work outside standard school terms.
Each teenager will be expected to spend between four hours and two days a week on work placements with business related to the school and a personal coach will be sent to the teenagers to act as a school “line manager”.
The reforms (改革) are put forward because of the fears that too many teenagers are finishing full-time education at present but they are short of the skills needed to succeed in the workplace. According to a recent report, more than two thirds of employers (雇主) believe school and college leavers have less important employability skills, while 55% say they are unable to manage their time or daily routine. And the number of NEETs who are not in education has hit a record high, with almost one-in-five young people being left without a job or a training place.
The Department for Education will tell the public the building of 12 studio schools – providing for around 3,600 teenagers – in areas such as Liverpool, Stevenage, Stock-on-Trent and Fulham, west London. Each one will be connected to the local employers. Under plans, teenagers will be able to move out of ordinary schools to attend them between the ages of 14 and 19.
The government said all subjects would be taught “through projects, often prepared with employers” – with rules such as science being connected directly to local engineering companies or hospitals. Schools will operate a longer day to give teenagers a better understanding of the needs of the workplace. Along with their studies, students will carry out work placements for four hours a week, rising to two days a week of paid work for those aged 16 to 19. They will also get the chance to take professional qualifications (专业资历) connected directly to the needs of local employers.
【小题1】According to the passage, NEETs refer to those who ______.

When you are in trouble，whom will you tell the problems to and ask for help? Someone has made a survey in a middle school．500 students were asked to choose one answer among friends or classmates，parents，head teacher and teachers．Here is the result．Please read the chart and try to get some information．

1. 1.

   Most of the students would like to talk about their problems with _________．

   1. A.
      friends or classmates
   2. B.
      parents
   3. C.
      head teacher
   4. D.
      teachers
2. 2.

   Less than a quarter of the students chose parents, the most possible reason is __________．

   1. A.
      parents don't love their children
   2. B.
      children don't trust（信任） their parents
   3. C.
      parents aren't able to give good advice
   4. D.
      sometimes parents and children can't understand each other
3. 3.

   According to the fact that only 9％of the students wanted to communicate with their head teacher or teachers，what is the best suggestion?

   1. A.
      The students should work harder．
   2. B.
      The students should listen to the teachers more carefully．
   3. C.
      The teachers should be more strict with the students．
   4. D.
      The teachers should pay more attention to the students' feelings．
4. 4.

   According to the article which of the following is NOT true?

   1. A.
      Only a little part(部分) of students ask their teachers for help
   2. B.
      Students trust parents more than classmates
   3. C.
      About 400 students will ask their friends or classmates for help
   4. D.
      All the students come from the same middle school
5. 5.

   According to the article we can infer(推断)：

   1. A.
      we must be friends to them if we want the children to trust us
   2. B.
      Teachers can’t give students enough help
   3. C.
      Students have few troubles in school
   4. D.
      Students always tell their friends or classmates anything

A new term has begun．Teachers are   1   about the fact that new students are not easy to deal with．They like to bring cellphones and MP3 players to school．What is   2   , some students even use cellphones   3   out-of-class matters in class, or sometimes just for fun．Some   4   students listen to MP3 players when they are having a lesson that they are not interested in．

       Are these new students really that   5  ? “Yes．” says Delaney Kirk, a professor at Drake University．   6   she adds it’s not their fault．   7   , the teachers should be blamed（责备）． Mrs. Kirk first began thinking about students’ manners six years ago． “I had my first class in which students were sleeping or talking to each other．It seemed that   8   well had nothing to do with them．” she says．“At first, I got worried about this．” but then I said to   9   , “You’re giving   10   , and you need to manage this kind of situation．These students need to know more about manners．It’s time to help them develop some good   11   ．They shouldn’t waste time doing nothing when they are young．Sooner or later, they may regret the time they 12   ．”

       Mrs. Kirk also   13   a list of suggestions to help teachers better manage their classes．The following are among her suggestions:

l         On the first day of class, tell students how they will benefit（受益）by taking the class and the importance   14   listening carefully in class．

l         Do not allow them to bring cellphones or MP3 players to the class at all．

l         Tell them how to use cellphones or MP3 players   15   ．

（   ） 1． A． excited           B． worried                 C． surprised        D． interested

（   ） 2． A． bad                B． worse                   C． good              D． better

（   ） 3． A． do             B． doing                C． to do       D． did

（   ） 4． A． other          B． the other             C． others        D． another

（   ） 5． A． rude                     B． polite                    C． friendly          D． boring

（   ） 6． A． But                B． However               C． And               D． So

（   ） 7． A． Such as        B． For example         C． Instead of   D． Instead

（   ） 8． A． learn         B． learned             C． learning       D． learns

（   ） 9． A． me            B． myself             C． I            D． mine

（   ） 10． A． math            B． English                 C． Chinese          D． lessons

（   ） 11． A． ideas            B． speeches             C． habits            D． classes

（   ） 12． A． had wasted B． waste                       C． have wasted D． will waste

（   ） 13． A． makes          B． brings                   C． gets             D． takes

（   ） 14． A． on               B． of                       C． at                  D． by

（   ） 15． A． careful               B． carefully                C． proper           D． properly

Soon computers and other machines will be able to remember you by looking at your eyes! The program works because everyone’s eyes are different. So in the future you won’t have to remember a number when you want to use a machine or take money out of a bank. You’ll just have to look at the machine and it will be able to tell who you are.
The eye-recognition（眼睛识别 program has already been tested in shops and banks in the USA, Britain, Spain, Italy and Turkey. Soon this technology（技术） will take the place of all other ways of finding out who people are.
However, scientists are also working on other systems. Machines will soon be able to know you from the shape of your face or hand or even your smell! We already have machines that can tell who you are from your voice or the mark made by your finger.
Eye-recognition is better than other kinds because your eyes don’t change as you get older, and don’t get dirty like hands or fingers, and even twins have different eyes. So the eye-recognition program can be up to 94% correct, depending on how good the technology is. However, some other programs may only be 51% correct at present. In Britain, it was found that 91% of people who had tried it said that they liked the idea of eye-recognition.
In the future your computer will be looking you in the eye. So smile!
【小题1】Where has the eye-recognition program already been tested in a few countries? In_______.