题目内容
It’s against n_____ for a mother to hurt her child.Elizabeth and I are 18 now, and about to graduate.I think about our elementary-school friendship, but some memories have blurred (模糊).What happened that day in the fifth grade when Beth suddenly stopped speaking to me? Does she know that I've been thinking about her for seven years? If only we could go back, and discover what ended our relationship.
I have to speak with Beth.I see her sometimes, and find out school is "fine".It's not the same.It never will be.Someone says that she's Liz now.What happened to Beth?
I can't call her.Should I write? What if she doesn't answer me? How will I know what she's thinking?
Yes, I'll write her a letter.These things are easier to express in writing." Be-," no, " Li-," no, " Elizabeth," I begin.The words flow freely, as seven year old memories are reborn.I ask her all the questions that have been left unanswered in my mind, and pray she will answer.I seal my thoughts in the perfect white envelope, and imagine Beth looking into her mailbox.W
ill she know why I'm writing? Maybe she once thought of writing the same letter.
As the mailman takes my envelope from me forever, I wo
nder if I've made the right decision.Do I have the right to force myself into Beth's life again? Am I simply part of the past? I have taken the first step.Beth has control of the situation now.
One day has passed.Are my words lying on the bottom of the post office floor?
Two days are gone.I'm lost in thought and don't even hear the phone ting.
"Hello? It's Elizabeth."
【小题1】What can we learn about Beth?
| A.She had a quarrel with the author in the fifth grade. |
| B.She moved to another school in the fifth grade. |
| C.She is now called Liz instead of Beth. |
| D.She hasn't seen the author for seven years. |
| A.She is sure that Beth will not answer. |
| B.She's afraid that they'll quarrel on the phone. |
| C.She doesn't know Beth's telephone number. |
| D.It is easier to express her feelings in writing. |
| A.Their elementary-school friendship. |
| B.Her future plan after graduation. |
| C.Her expectations for Beth's reply. |
| D.The questions about the endings of their friendship. |
| A.Beth answers her letter two days later. |
| B.The letter doesn't reach Beth at all. |
| C.They make up their friendship. |
| D.Beth refuses to make peace with her. |
A 33-year-old financial analyst in California recently quit his job to devote himself to an unpaid job teaching math on the Internet, and his lessons are reaching almost 100,000 people a month. Salman Khan’s voice is heard every day on the net --- by tens of thousands of students around the world who are hungry for help learning math. He has posted 1,200 lessons on YouTube ... lessons that appear on an electronic blackboard, which range from basic addition to advanced mathematics for science and finance. And they are free.
Khan lives in Silicon Valley, with his wife, a doctor, and their new baby. He got the idea for his “Khan Academy” four years ago, when he taught a young cousin how to convert kilograms to grams. With Khan’s help, the cousin got good at math, and Khan began a new career.
Now, Khan records his lessons himself, but he never goes on camera. “It feels like my voice in their head. You’re looking at it and it feels like someone’s over your shoulder talking in your ear, as opposed to someone at the blackboard, which is distant from you,” he said.
When Springfield High School in Palo Alto, California invited Khan to speak in person --- he immediately connected to the students there.
The idea of short lessons that can be played over and over again attracted high school senior Bridget Meaney. She says she had trouble with math in the seventh grade. “I think the teachers are good, but they can’t teach at a speed that’s perfect for everyone,” she said. “I like the idea of learning something in class but then going back and pressing pause or rewind and actually getting a deeper understanding of it.”
Originally, Khan kept his lessons short because of YouTube restrictions. Now, he thinks short is better. “Education researchers now tell me that 10 minutes is how long someone can have a high level of concentration. And anything beyond that and your brain switches off,” he said.
For Khan, teaching math, science, and finance is just the beginning. He says he’s ready to expand his YouTube site to include other subjects as well.
【小题1】What gave Khan the idea of teaching math online?
| A.His success in helping his cousin learn math. |
| B.His discovery that many students found learning math difficult. |
| C.A suggestion made to him at a local high school. |
| D.His interest in Internet teaching. |
| A.He’s too shy to show his face on camera. |
| B.It’s restricted by YouTube for education videos. |
| C.He wants to keep distance from the viewers. |
| D.He wants to create a more relaxed learning atmosphere. |
| A.Khan travels to many schools to promote his lessons |
| B.Khan plans to include more subjects in the future |
| C.Khan gives live math lessons every day for free |
| D.Khan set up the Khan Academy with his wife |
| A.Khan teaches seventh grade math better than her teacher. |
| B.The lessons can be watched repeatedly until fully understood. |
| C.She can perfectly follow the pace of Khan’s teaching. |
| D.She cannot concentrate when learning in class. |
| A.Keeping the lessons short can ensure better concentration. |
| B.YouTube recommends short lessons for its site. |
| C.Short lessons encourage students to return to the website. |
| D.Students enjoy short mathematics lessons more. |
Philip was a nine-year-old boy in a Sunday school class of 8-year-old girls and boys. Sometimes the third graders didn’t welcome Philip into their group and usually tricked him. This was not because he was older, but because he was “different”. You see, Philip suffered from a condition called Downs’s Syndrome. This made him “different”, with his facial characteristics, slow responses and mental problems.
One Sunday after Easter, the Sunday school teacher gathered some plastic eggs that pulled apart in the middle. The teacher gave one to each child. On that beautiful spring day, the children were to go out and discover for themselves some symbol of “new life” and place it inside the plastic eggs.
After the children returned to the classroom, the teacher opened their eggs one by one, asking each child to explain that symbol of “new life”. The first opened egg contained a flower. Everyone cheered. In another was a butterfly…. When the teacher opened the last egg, it was empty. “That’s stupid,” said someone. The teacher felt a pull at his shirt. It was Philip. Looking up, Philip said, “It’s mine. I did it. It’s empty. I have new life, because the tomb is empty.” Not a sound was heard in class at all. From that day on, Philip became a real part of the group. They welcomed him, and whatever made him different was never mentioned again.
【小题1】The underlined word “condition” in the first paragraph probably means ________.
| A.grade | B.status | C.health | D.disease |
| A.The 8-year-olds were sometimes cruel |
| B.The 8-year-olds were friendly to Philip |
| C.Philip was really different in school |
| D.Philip was older and more sensitive |
| A.play around on that beautiful spring day |
| B.put some symbol of “new life” into it |
| C.try to pull it apart in the middle |
| D.go out and discover themselves |
| A.The class thought he was clever. | B.The class fell silent. |
| C.He began to study in the class. | D.He felt dying. |
| A.The teacher used to have classes outdoors |
| B.The Philip’s new life wish was empty |
| C.Philip was healthy as a whole |
| D.Philip was accepted by his classmates in the end |