What inspires kids to be creative and pursue academic excellence? Some teachers use rewards in recognition of students’ effort or achievement, giving them prizes, medals, certificates, or money.
Psychologists take opposite views of how external rewards, from warm praise to cold cash, affect motivation and creativity. Behaviorists, who study the relation between actions and their consequences, argue that rewards can improve performance at work and school. Cognitive researchers, who study various aspects of mental life, believe that rewards often destroy creativity by encouraging dependence on approval and gifts from others.
The latter view has gained many supporters, especially among educators. But the careful use of small monetary(金钱的) rewards sparks creativity in primary school children, suggesting that properly given stimuli(刺激) indeed encourage creativity, according to a study in the June Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
"If kids know they're working for a reward and can focus on a relatively challenging task, they show the most creativity," says Robert Eisenberger of the University of Delaware in Newark. "But it's easy to kill creativity by giving rewards for poor performance or creating too much desire for rewards."
A teacher who continually draws attention to rewards or who hands out high grades for ordinary achievement ends up with students lacking in creativity and motivation, Eisenberger says. As an example of the latter point, he particularly mentions growing efforts to tighten grading standards and adopt failing grades at major universities.
In earlier grades, the use of rewarding system, in which students handle challenging problems and receive performance-based points toward valued rewards, shows promise in raising effort and creativity, Eisenberger claims.
1.Psychologists are divided in their attitudes toward _____.
A.the choice between spiritual encouragement and monetary rewards
B.the amount of monetary rewards for students' creativity
C.the relationship between actions and their consequences
D.the effects of external rewards on students' performance
2.Which of the following does NOT belong to examples of “external rewards”?
A.Tom received a certificate for winning a speech competition.
B.Mary was praised by the teacher for making progress in English.
C.Jacky made great efforts to enter a major university.
D.John was offered a free summer camp due to his hard work.
3.Which of the following can best raise students' creativity according to Robert Eisenberger?
A.Assigning them tasks they have not dealt with before.
B.Assigning them tasks which require creativity.
C.Giving them rewards they really deserve.
D.Giving them rewards they hope for.
4.It can be inferred from the passage that major universities are trying to tighten their grading standards because they think _____.
A.rewarding poor performance may kill the creativity of students
B.punishing students is more effective than rewarding them
C.failing unmotivated students helps improve their academic standards
D.discouraging students’ expectation of easy rewards is important
California has been facing a drought(干旱) for many years now, with certain areas even having to pump freshwater hundreds of miles to their distribution system. Luckily, new research has found deep water reserves under the state which could help solve their drought crisis. Previous drilling of wells could only reach depths of 1,000 feet, but due to new pumping practices, water deeper than this can now be extracted(抽 取). The team at Stanford investigated the aquifers(地下蓄水层) below this depth and found that reserves may be three times what was previously thought.
The aquifers range from 1,000 to 3,000 feet below the ground, which means that pumping will be expensive and there are other concerns. The biggest concern of pumping out water from this deep is the gradual settling down of the land surface. As the water is pumped out, the vacant space left is compacted(压实) by the weight of the earth above.
Even though pumping from these depths is expensive, it is still cheaper than desalinating (脱盐) the ocean water in this coastal state. Some desalination factories exist where possible, but they are costly to run and can need constant repairs. Wells are much more reliable sources of freshwater, and California is hoping that these deep wells may be the answer to their severe water shortage.
One problem with these sources is that the deep water also has a higher level of salt than shallower aquifers. This means that some wells may even need to undergo desalination after extraction, thus increasing the cost. The result of a thorough study of groundwater from over 950 drilling logs has just been published. New estimates of the water reserves in the state now go up to 2,700 billion cubic meters of freshwater.
1.How could California’s drought problem be solved according to some researchers?
A.By building more reserves of groundwater.
B.By drawing water from the depths of the earth.
C.By developing more advanced drilling machines.
D.By improving its water distribution system.
2.What is mentioned as a consequence of pumping water from deep underground?
A.The sinking of land surface. B.The harm to the ecosystem.
C.The damage to aquifers. D.The change of the climate.
3.What does the author say about deep wells?
A.They run without any need for repairs. B.They are the final solution to droughts.
C.They are entirely free from pollution. D.They provide a steady supply of freshwater.
Judy Wright and her husband decided to move closer to their son, Chris, who lived in Georgia. About a month after the move, Judy fell ill, suffering from her ongoing battle against Parkinson’s disease.
Judy’s condition worsened rapidly and she required medical care at home. The family hired a nursing aid who canceled at the last minute. Instead, a woman named TunDe Hector showed up in her place.
One day, TunDe shared a story with Judy and her family. She remembered a particularly difficult day in 2014, when a stranger helped her with a kind gesture. She had run out of gas, and with only $5 in her pocket, was walking to a gas station, gas can in hand. A man saw her walking and turned his car around. He paid for her gas and gave her all the cash left in his wallet. Upon hearing the story, Judy’s son, Chris, took off his hat and said, “That was me!” He was the stranger who had helped TunDe on that difficult day.
During the care of Judy, the Wright family learned about TunDe’s family and her own dream. The nursing aid, TunDe hoped that one day she could become an OB-GYN nurse. Her tuition was past due and she had a family to care for, but she was determined to achieve that goal for herself and her family.
Judy died on July 9, 2017. Instead of flowers, her family asked mourners to donate to TunDe’s education, to assist her in paying for her nursing school. In less than a week, they raised more than $8000 and presented her with the surprise check.
1.Why did Judy’s family choose TunDe in the end?
A.To help her with a kind gesture. B.To look after Judy in the hospital.
C.To replace another nursing aid. D.To ask her to return the money.
2.How might Chris feel when hearing TunDe’s story?
A.Surprised. B.Nervous.
C.Content. D.Puzzled.
3.What does the whole story mainly tell us?
A.Constant dropping wears away the stone. B.Actions speak louder than words.
C.The truth never fears investigation. D.Kindness comes full circle.
假定你是高中生李华，你曾在美国做交换生的学校校报给你写信约稿。“Foreign Culture” 栏目拟刊登介绍中国高中生学习生活及梦想的短文。请根据下列要点完成你的短文。
1. 介绍中国高中生的学习生活，如：学年，学科情况。
2. 介绍中国高中生的假期，课外活动情况。
3. 介绍你周围同学业余爱好和梦想。
注意：1. 词数120字左右。
2. 增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3. 高考：CEE (College Entrance Examination)
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Hello, everyone. It's nice to speak about that we can do for our school, and I think small actions can make big difference. The first thing we can do is to make our campus more beautifully. Every one of them may plant a tree in the school or to organize a thorough cleaning on the campus. We can also form a good habit of putting rubbishes into trashcans. Never forget to turn off the lights and close the doors. We should not leave the tap water run or waste any materials in the laboratory class. In that case, I believe we'll turn our school in a better place to study and live in. How I wish we can enjoy a better school life!
Thank you for listening!
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Scientists say crocodiles have outlived dinosaurs 1.some 65 million years. One reason why they are such good 2. (survive) is that they can go for a very long time without eating. And they are expert hunters,3.(use) their strong jaws to bite their prey(猎物) and then swallow it whole. When they lose a tooth they grow one right back. A crocodile can go through 8,000 4.(tooth) in one lifetime!
What does the expression “crocodile tears” mean? Simply put, “crocodile tears” are fake sadness. You pretend 5.(cry) and feel bad for something when in fact you could not care 6.(little). A great word to describe it is insincere. The phrase “crocodile tears” comes from an old myth that crocodiles would shed tears while eating their prey. A religious worker wrote that 7. a crocodile found a man by the water, it would kill him if it could. Then the crocodile would cry tears on the man, but then finally swallow 8.(he). Another myth suggests9.crocodile is very clever indeed. Crocodiles, the story goes, would cry tears as a false show of guilt or sadness to trick their prey. The prey would come closer and then become dinner.
Scientists explain that crocodiles DO create tears, but they do not cry. The tears help to clean their eyes. Crying is purely emotional and it 10. (reserve) for us humans.
