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Does Using Technology in the Classroom Help College Students?

Almost anywhere in the world, you are likely to find people doing the same thing in public places, on trains and buses or wherever else you look. They spend their day looking at laptop computers, smartphones or other personal electronic devices. They are thinking mainly about their electronic devices, and not much else.

1.. More and more college students have no problem walking into a classroom and immediately opening their laptops. Others may spend an entire study period with a smartphone in hand. 2. But recent research suggests that using technology during class time may harm college students’ ability to remember and process the subject material they are learning.

Arnold Glass, a professor in Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and a student researcher investigated the issue of divided student attention. During half of their daily class periods, the students in their study were permitted to use any electronic device as much as they wanted. 3.

The students’ academic performance was measured in several ways throughout the semester. They took a short test every day, longer tests every few weeks and a final exam covering all the class material. The researchers found that the average daily quiz results showed no evidence of harmful effects from the use of technology. 4. They showed that all the students performed poorly on questions covering material taught on days when they were permitted to use technology in the classroom.

Glass says that it shows the use of electronic devices in the classroom prevents students from processing information. The students hear what the professor is saying. But they might be buying things online or reading unrelated emails at the same time, for example. So they are not thinking deeply about the subject matter as they are hearing it. 5.

A. The same can be said about the world of college education.

B. However, the average results of the larger tests and final exam told a different story.

C. And that, Glass says, makes it harder for the information to enter their long-term memory.

D. Technology, in general, is not the only way that students find to distract themselves in class.

E. But even if technology is helpful to some students, there are times when it needs to be turned off.

F. Some students argue that the increasing use of technology can have many helpful effects on society.

G. During the other half, researchers closely watched them to make sure no one was using any technology.

    Play time is in short supply for young children these days and the lifelong consequences for developing children can be more serious than many people realize.

An article in the most recent issue of the American Journal of Play details not only how much children’s play time has declined, but how this lack of play affects emotional development, leading to the rise of anxiety, depression, and problems of attention and self control. “Since about 1955, children’s free play has been continually declining, at least partly because adults have applied ever-increasing control over children’s activities.” says the author Peter Gray, Ph. D, Professor of Psychology at Boston College.

We can describe the unstructured freely-chosen play as a testing ground for life. It provides critical life experiences without which young children cannot develop into confident and competent adults. So kids need more of it, not less. Because play is how young children learn important social and emotional skills such as sharing, cooperating, communicating, and empathizing. It helps them develop fit bodies, strong minds, and brave hearts, so they can take on new challenges and risky situations.

Gray’s article is meant to serve as a wake-up call regarding the effects of lost play. We must know that lack of childhood free play time is a huge loss that must be paid attention to for the sake of our children and society. But parents who keep a lookout over and disturb their children’s play are a big part of the problem. It is hard to find groups of children outdoors at all, and, if you do find them, they are likely to be wearing school uniforms and following the directions of coaches while their parents dutifully watch and cheer.

Actually, when children are in charge of their own play, it provides a foundation for their future mental health as older children and adults. Play gives children a chance to find and develop a connection to their own self-identified and self-guided interest. It is through play that children first learn to make decisions, solve problems, improve self-control, and follow rules. Play helps children make friends and learn to get along with each other as equals. Most importantly, play is a source of happiness.

When parents realize the major role that free play can take in the development of emotionally healthy children and adults, they may wish to reassess the priorities ruling their children’s lives. The needs for childcare, academic and athletic success and children’s safety is important. But perhaps parents can begin to identify small changes——such as openings in the schedule, backing off from quite so many supervised (有监督的) activities, and possibly slightly less keeping watch on the playground that would start the slow returning to the direction of free, imaginative-directed play.

1.What do we know from the first two paragraphs?

A. The rise of children’s anxiety is more serious than people realize.

B. Lack of play time leads to kids’ unhealthy emotional development.

C. More young children are suffering from depression due to free play.

D. Playing too much leads to problems of kids’ attention and self control.

2.According to Peter Gray, unstructured freely-chosen play _______ .

A. is full of challenges and risky situations

B. should be balanced with adult-directed activities

C. does harm to children’s confidence and competence

D. has good effect on children’s social and emotional skills

3.The article is intended for ____________.

A. parents B. teachers

C. coaches D. children

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Do Children Need More Self-guided Play?

B. Are Children Interested in Guided Play?

C. Can Children Guide Themselves?

D. Are Children’s Problems Serious?

    A recent experiment proves that bees can save time and energy when they fly around to different flowers.

Dr Nigel Raine, from the Royal Holloway University of London, has always been interested in finding out why animal behave like they do. He is also interested in bees. It was not a surprise when he and some other scientists from Queen Mary University of London discovered that bees can quickly solve a problem that takes computers many days.

Flowers make pollen (花粉), and when bees visit them, they carry the pollen to other flowers. The plants need the pollen to make seeds that will grow. Dr Raine notes that we get a lot of our food from plants, so it is important to know how the bees move around and take the pollen between flowers. The scientists wanted to examine the journey that the bees take and how they save energy when they do this. They completed the experiment on the roof of Queen Mary University, using artificial flowers and a large amount of nectar, a sweet liquid produced by flowers. They taught one bee to visit all the flowers in one place at the same time. When the bee got to know the location of the flowers well, they saw how it flew around and returned home with the nectar. After this, they changed the locations of the flowers. The scientists thought the bee would follow the route it knew already. This would mean that it followed a longer route than it needed to, and so it would use more energy. They watched the bee carefully as it travelled between the flowers in their new location, and they made notes. But in the experiment, the bee changed its route and flew a shorter distance.

The problem that the bee solved is similar to a maths puzzle called the ‘travelling salesman problem’. A salesman who goes to different places to sell things wants to travel the shortest distance. But he has to calculate the length of many possible routes to know which one is the shortest. A computer can calculate this but the experiment shows bees can do the same calculation quickly with a tiny brain. Scientists are very interested in how they do this. It would help us to understand how pollen is moved around. In addition, if they find this out, it could help us to improve communication networks. This might help humans to reduce traffic jams when there is an accident, for example.

1.The underlined word “nectar” in the third paragraph means_________.

A. powder B. honey

C. vitamin D. water

2.The researcher’s experiment found _________.

A. bees could manage to avoid accidents

B. bees showed signs of being very intelligent

C. bees could take the same route they knew before

D. bees were faster at calculating distance than computers

3.According to the last paragraph, the next step of the study is to discover how _______.

A. pollen is moved around

B. traffic jams can be reduced

C. bees can calculate so quickly

D. communication networks are improved

4.Where does this passage probably come from?

A. A novel. B. A website.

C. A science magazine. D. An advertisement.

WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL REALITY CINEMA AMSTERDAM

World’s First Virtual Reality Cinema

Going to the VR CINEMA offers you the opportunity to watch movies like you’ve never done before. You can see 360 degree movies using a VR headset. In the VR CINEMA, ringing mobile phones and noisy visitors belong to the past. Furthermore, traditional red cinema chairs or the big white screen are nowhere to be found. Instead, a Samsung Galaxy S6 (smart phone) together with the Samsung Gear VR (virtual reality glasses) transports you to a completely new world. Headphones shut out background noise, and above all, offer super sound quality. Turning chairs allow you to freely look around and see what’s happening above, below, behind, in front, on the right and on the left side of you. So no sore neck, we promise.

In the VR CINEMA, you will experience 30 minutes of the coolest virtual reality films. We proudly present four film selections in different themes in order to please every virtual reality lover. Are you brave enough for our scary films? Will you immerse (沉浸于) yourself in VR documentaries from around the globe? Do you prefer to go on an adventurous journey like no other? Or do your kids want to swim with dolphins, interact with magical characters, and experience the moving stories beyond imagination? Supernatural, Documentary, Journey and Fun are waiting for you!

For kids, young and older ones, there’s the cheerful and colourful selection. The only thing you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the VR experience of your choice.

Location: Oosterdokskade 5, 1011 AD Amsterdam The Netherlands

Tel: +31(0) 6 27 00 69 16

E-mail: mail@thevrcinema.com

Ticket Price: ￡12.5

Opening hours: Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 14:00-21:00

Saturday & Sunday: 12:00-22:00

1.According to paragraph1, we know that the headphone functions as a(n)_________.

A. cellphone B. screen

C. earphone D. reader

2.What is the VR CINEMA like?

A. It has a big white screen. B. It is full of noisy visitors.

C. It offers 360 degree movies. D. It is equipped with red chairs.

3.What’s the main purpose of the text?

A. To introduce new VR films. B. To present VR film schedules.

C. To report development of VR films. D. To attract people to the VR CINEMA.

    I grew to be a tall girl but I tried to be as ordinary as possible. At school, I always chose a seat in the back of the room, and never raised my hand in class. When I was 16, I went to my new school. And I liked the English teacher. In my last year in high school, however, we were told that a new English teacher, Oliver Bascom, was going to teach us.

Oliver Bascom! The girls laughed as we imagined a short and bald（秃头的）man．The situation was not funny, because this man would teach us for the whole year. Surprisingly, after we opened the door, there in front of the blackboard, we saw a young and handsome man!

What followed was chaos, seventeen-year-old girls flying to get to seats in the front of the room. And I managed to get a front and center desk.

I really wanted to make a good impression on my new teacher, but I usually kept quiet. The day that directions were given for our first major writing assignment, I arrived late to class. A friend later gave me the guidelines and I thought I understood them. I worked the whole weekend on the essay and waited nervously for Mr. Bascom’s evaluation.

After three days, he arrived in class holding the corrected papers. “I’ve chosen the ten best essays for class discussion.” he said.

Twenty minutes later, my heart sank when he got to the last essay, and I didn’t hear my name.

“These are all great essays,” Mr. Bascom continued. “However, I am now going to read you the most successful of all…” We were all surprised as I was the author of this unusual work. A different girl walked out of the classroom that day. I knew that I had a new set of standards to live up to and that anything was possible in the future. Finally, I raised my head.

1.Before 16, the author______.

A. was not active in class B. behaved badly in class

C. couldn’t fit in high school D. disliked her English teacher

2.When the girls first saw their new teacher, they_______.

A. played a joke on his name B. rushed to get the back seats

C. became totally quiet at once D. were attracted by his appearance

3.When the teacher announced the most successful work, the author felt______.

A. calm and relaxed B. amazed and excited

C. upset and puzzled D. anxious and disappointed

4.Through the experience, the author _______.

A. gained her self-confidence

B. came top of the class in English

C. decided to work harder at writing

D. dreamed of being a teacher in the future