To most of us, school means classes, teachers, schedules, grades, and tests. But for the children at Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts, school is very different.
Firstly, there are no lessons. All the children, aged between 4 and 19, do whatever they want. There are no teachers, only “staff members (职员)”. The idea behind this is that you do not need to make children learn, because children want to learn anyway. “You do not need to say to a three-year-old. ‘Go explore your environment.’ You can’t stop them!” says Daniel Greenberg, a founder of the school. “But if you make children do what you want all day, they will lose all taste for learning.”
At Sudbury Valley School, you will allow children to talk, read, paint, cook, work on computers, study French, play the piano, climb trees, or just run around. Two boys spent three years just fishing!
The other way that Sudbury Valley School is different is that the children can decide the rules. Every week, there is a school meeting where both children and staff have one vote each — even the four-year-olds. They decide the school rules, how to spend the school budget（预算）, and even which staff they want and do not want any more.
When the school first opened in 1968, people said it would never work. But today, the school has 200 students, and 80% of its students go on to college. Even the two boys who went fishing all time have successful careers today. One of them is a musician and the other is a computer scientist.
1.What does the school believe?
A. Teachers cannot teach children well.
B. Children learn best when they do what they want to do.
C. Learning is for adults — children should only play.
D. Children should only learn about one thing at a time.
2.What does Daniel Greenberg say about three-year-olds?
A. They love learning.
B. They are very naughty.
C. They want to be outside all the time.
D. They are too young to learn anything.
3.What happens to the children after they leave this school?
A. They do the same things as children from other schools.
B. They have problems getting into college or getting a job.
C. They usually do very unusual jobs.
D. They are not successful in their business.
4.What is the main topic of the article?
A. Children’s hobbies B. Education in the US
C. A school without rules D. An unusual school
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1.How many days will the show be on?
A. For 10 days. B. For 12 days. C. For 9 days. D. For 15 days.
2.Lucy is 7 years old and she wants to see the show with her parents in the evening. They should pay __________ dollars for the tickets.
A. 25 B. 35 C. 60 D. 84
3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. The name of the show. B. The name of the director.
C. The telephone number. D. The name of the theatre.
Every day in China, about 200 million children go to school. Many of them take school buses. What should we do to keep these students safe on the road?
On April 5, the State Council (国务院) published new rules about school bus safety. These new rules are much stricter than the old ones.
Under the new rules, local governments must make sure that students attend nearby schools or boarding (寄宿的) schools to reduce traffic risks. Also, local governments must help kids in the countryside reach their school buses.
From now on, school buses have a speed limit of 80km per hour on highways and 60km per hour on normal roads. While on the road, other cars must let school buses go first.
The new rules also say that school buses must never be overloaded (超载的). They have a speed limit of 80 km per hour on highways and 60 km per hour on normal roads.
There are many other rules as well. A school bus must have more than seven seats. On each bus, there must be at least one adult to keep an eye on the kids. Each school bus must have a fire extinguisher (灭火器), a first aid kit (急救箱) and a GPS.
Last year, a series of school bus accidents happened in China. To stop such accidents, the Central Government decided to strengthen the rules for school buses.
The most serious accident happened in November in Gansu, when a nine-seat minibus crashed. There were 62 children inside, and 21 of them died.
1.Under the new rules, which of the following is NOT true?
A. School buses must not be overloaded.
B. School buses must drive 80 km/h or less on normal roads.
C. School buses can go first when there are other cars.
D. School buses must drive 80 km/h or less on highways.
2.The phrase “keep an eye on” in Paragraph 6 has a similar meaning to “__________”.
A. look after B. play with C. look for D. chat with
3.According to the new rule, a school bus must have the following EXCEPT __________.
A. a GPS
B. more than seven seats
C. a parent of one of the students
D. a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit
4.The government made new rules for school buses because __________.
A. 21 students died in school bus accidents last year
B. the government encourages all students to take school buses
C. 200 million children in China go to school by bus every day
D. school buses in China were not safe enough before
Mark was walking home from school one day when he saw a boy in front of him. He had dropped all of the books he was 16 , along with two sweaters, a basketball and a walkman (随身听).
Mark stopped and helped the boy pick the things up. 17 they were going the same way, he helped to carry some of his things. As they walked, Mark 18 that the boy’s name was Bill. He loved computer games, basketball, music and history, 19 he was having trouble with some of his 20 in school.
They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was 21 in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed 22 with a few laughs and some small talk, then Mark went home.
They continued to 23 each other at school, had lunch together once or twice a week, and then they 24 finished middle school. Three weeks before they left school, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.
Bill reminded Mark of the day years ago when they had first 25 . “Did you ever wonder 26 I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill.
“You see, I cleaned out my locker (锁柜) because I didn’t want to leave 27 for anyone else. I was going home to kill myself. But after we 28 some time together talking and laughing, I 29 that if I killed myself, I would have missed many good times. So you see, Mark, when you 30 those books that day, you actually saved my life.”
1.A. reading B. buying C. carrying D. writing
2.A. Since B. When C. While D. Before
3.A. asked B. learned C. believed D. answered
4.A. and B. or C. so D. but
5.A. books B. teachers C. subjects D. games
6.A. introduced B. invited C. noticed D. pushed
7.A. happily B. slowly C. quietly D. easily
8.A. help B. accept C. see D. change
9.A. all B. each C. either D. both
10.A. met B. worked C. appeared D. arrived
11.A. what B. when C. why D. how
12.A. something B. anything C. everything D. nothing
13.A. took B. wasted C. spent D. found
14.A. remembered B. wondered C. checked D. realized
15.A. threw away B. picked up C. gave out D. looked for
—John has hurt his leg.
—Really? ?
A. Who did that B. Why was he so careless
C. What’s wrong with him D. How did that happen
After we pass the exam, we by having a party next week.
A. are celebrated B. celebrate
C. will celebrate D.will be celebrated
