On average, American kids aged 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more than they did in 1981．They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet(芭蕾舞)．Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50％from 1981 to 1997：boys now spend an average of four hours a week playing sports; girls log hall that time．All in all, however, children's leisure time dropped from 40％of the day in 1981 to 25％．
“Children are affected by the same time crunch(危机)that affects their parents,”says Sandra Hofferth, who headed the recent study of children's timetable．A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home．(Nevertheless, children in both double-income and“male breadwinner”households spent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents：19 hours and 22 hours respectively．In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers．)
All work and no play could make for some very messed-up kids．“Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself,”says T．Berry Brazelton, professor at Harvard Medical School．Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships with their peers, but kids aged 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaging in it．
The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing“free time”watching television．But that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news．If they're spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids aren't replacing it with reading．Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading．Let's face it, who's got the time?
(1)
By mentioning“the same time crunch”(Line 1, Para．2)Sandra Hofferth means ________．
[ ]
A．
children have little time to play with their parents
B．
children are not taken good care of by their working parents
C．
both parents and children suffer from lack of leisure time
D．
both parents and children have trouble managing their time
(2)
According to the author, the reason given by Sandra Hofferth for the time crunch is ________．
[ ]
A．
quite convincing
B．
partially true
C．
totally groundless
D．
rather confusing
(3)
According to the author, a child develops better if ________．
[ ]
A．
he has plenty of time reading and studying
B．
he is left to play with his peers in his own way
C．
he has more time participating in school activities
D．
he is free to interact with his working parents
(4)
The author is concerned about the fact that American kids ________．
[ ]
A．
are engaged in more and more structured activities
B．
are increasingly neglected by their working mothers
Student Date of Birth：19/08/1988 Department of Education and Training
International Students Centre
Hong Xue 827-839 George Street PO Box 707
60 Waratah Street Broadway NSW 21007
Croydon Park NSW 2133 Phone：(612)9217 4801 1300 302 456
Fax：(612)9212 6721
http：//www.tafensw.edu.au/international/
WARNING LETTER
Dear Hong Xue,
As you are aware, your student visa regulations set out a number of conditions applying to your visa．It has come to our attention that you are failing to meet the following conditions：You must maintain accommodation, support and general welfare arrangements that have been approved by your education provider if you：
●have not turned 18; and
●are not staying in Australia with：
－a parent
－a custodian(监护人); or
－a relative who has been nominated(指定)by your parent or a custodian, is aged at least 21 and is of good character．
Note：You must not change those arrangements without the written approval of your education provider．
You must obey the following rules：
1．During term time you must：
a)remain in your homestay during the school term;
b)come home every night; and
c)inform your guardian at all times of your whereabouts．
2．On weekends you must：
a)have your guardian's permission to stay with friends; and
b)inform your guardian of the name, address and phone numbers of people you are visiting．
3．You must return your guardian's telephone calls．
This will be your only warning．If you continue to breach(违反)your student visa regulations we will report you to the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs．Such action may lead to the cancellation(取消)of your student visa．Please contact me on(612)9217 4801 or fax(612)9212 6721 if you have questions about your enrolment．
Yours sincerely
Tracey Carlon
Student Advisor
International Students Centre
NSW Department of Education and Training
(1)
What's the purpose of writing this letter?
[ ]
A．
To remind the recipient of the conditions for applying for a student visa．
B．
To warn the recipient not to do anything against his student visa regulations again．
C．
To tell the recipient how to contact his student advisor．
D．
To inform the recipient of the student visa regulations．
(2)
What can be learned about the recipient from this letter?
[ ]
A．
He is under 18 and studies in Australia with his parents．
B．
He is required to come home every night according to the rules．
C．
He can stay with his friends on weekends if permitted．
D．
His student Visa has been cancelled．
(3)
To which address should the recipient reply if he feels like answering the letter?
[ ]
A．
Hong Xue at 60 Waratah Street, Croydon Park NSW 2133．
B．
Tracey Carlon at the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs．
C．
Hong Xue at NSW Department of Education and Training．
D．
Tracey Carlon at 827-839 George Street, PO Box 707, Broadway NSW 21007．
阅读理解
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel．Green said,“Clearly I am the most important．I am the sign of life and hope．I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves．Without me, all animals would 1 ．”
Blue interrupted,“You only think about the 2 , but consider the sky and the sea． 3 the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea．Without my peace, you would all be 4 ．”
Yellow chuckled(笑道),“You are all so serious．I bring laughter, fun, and 5 into the world．”
Orange started next to blow her trumpet,“I am the color of health and strength．I may be 6 , but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life．When I fill the sky 7 , my beauty is so striking that no one gives another 8 to any of you．”
Red could stand it 9 and he shouted out,“I am the ruler of all of you．I am the color of danger and of bravery．I am willing to 10 truth．I am also the color of passion and of love．”
Then came Purple and Indigo(深蓝)…．
The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own 11 ．Their quarreling became louder and louder．Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder．Rain started to pour down 12 ．The colors crouched(蜷缩)down 13 , drawing close to one another for comfort．
In the midst of the clamor(叫嚷), rain began to speak,“You foolish colors, fighting 14 yourselves, each trying to dominate 15 ．Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, 16 ?Join hands with 17 and come to me．”
Doing as they were told, the colors 18 and joined hands．They formed a colorful rainbow．From then on, whenever a good rain 19 the world, a rainbow appears in the sky．They remember to 20 one another．
名校课堂系列答案