A public primary school in New York City has stopped giving its students homework.
P.S. 116 Principal Jane Hsu wrote a letter to parents last month, explaining that after more than a year of analyzing (分析) studies, the school had decided that students’ after-school time would be better spent on activities like reading at their own pace (步伐) and playing instead of working on homework.
Hsu’s letter says that many studies show that there is no connection between homework and academic (学业的) success. Some other studies also show that the connection between homework and success is dubious at the primary school level.
Harris Cooper, a social psychologist who researches education, found that doing homework makes students perform better in school as they grew older. In later grades, students who did homework performed increasingly better than students who did not. In 2006, Cooper published a study that analyzed 15 years’ worth of data on the influence of homework. He found that homework had a good influence on students as they aged.
Some parents are not happy with the decision to give up homework. “I think they should have homework. I want my daughter to have fun, but I also want her to be working towards a goal,” Daniel Tasman, the father of a second-grader at the school, said to the reporter.
“Students have to do homework in order to gain. Students have to do homework because they may not be able to understand everything in school,” Sharon Blake, a student’s grandmother told ABC news.
1. The passage is probably from a .
A. newspaper B. comedy C. cartoon D. novel
2. Jane Hsu wrote a letter to parents to explain .
A. how students should read at their own pace
B. what activities students could take at home
C. why the school gave up homework recently
D. how important the homework is for students
3. The word “dubious” in Paragraph 3 probably means “not ”.
A. clear B. public C. real D. special
4. What can we infer (推断) according to the passage?
A. Cooper found homework had a bad influence on students as they aged.
B. Some parents are worried about their children if there is no homework.
C. Some students are not happy with the decision to give up school homework.
D. Daniel Tasman wanted his daughter to have fun instead of working to a goal.
Nancy would like to take part in a fancy-dress party (化妆舞会). She had to go to the party with her friends because her husband has been to another city to go on a business trip. Later that night, she was busy in dressing up herself as a ghost, including putting on masks and some special costumes.
After finishing it, she went downstairs to look at herself in the mirror. Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door. She knew that it must be the baker (面包师). She had told him to come straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the kitchen table. Not wanting to frighten (使惊吓) the poor man, Nancy quickly hid in the storeroom under the stairs.
To her surprise, it was her husband who changed his plan and came back home 2 days earlier. The husband called his wife’s name happily and looked for her all around. Nancy was so excited that she ran to her husband without realizing she was a ghost at that moment. But it was too late. Her husband let out a cry and jumped back several steps. Then he lost his sense and lay on the ground.
1.At first, Nancy decided to go to the fancy-dress party with .
A. her friends B. the baker
C. some neighbors D. her husband
2.Nancy went to the storeroom under the stairs because she .
A. wanted to look at herself in the mirror
B. wanted to give her husband a big surprise
C. did not want to make the baker feel scared
D. saw a burglar at home and protected herself
3.What happened at the end of the story?
A. Nancy went to the party with her husband happily.
B. Nancy’s husband was so scared that he lost his sense.
C. Nancy had a wonderful party to welcome her husband at home.
D. Nancy’s husband was angry with her and left home alone at once.
4.What can be the best title for this passage?
A. A happy husband. B. A poor baker.
C. A short business trip. D. A ghost at home.
1.How often will the club have English activities?
A. Once a month. B. Once a week.
C. Twice a month. D. Twice a week.
2.After taking part in English activities in the club, you will .
A. have activities every day
B. be a shining English star at once
C. have fun writing English
D. speak English better than before
3.According to the poster, how can you join the Happy English Club?
A. Send an email to the club.
B. Post a letter to the headmaster.
C. Tell your own English teacher.
D. Make a phone call to the club.
“I love you” might be one of the most important combinations of three words in the English language. It’s the that a romantic relationship is serious. Besides, it also shows the closeness for parents, children or the ones who you love.
In Putonghua, “I love you” as “Wo ai ni”, but the way it’s used in China might be a little different, and most Chinese people are wondering .
The Global Times reports that some online videos showing children telling their parents “I love you” have become in China. One of them, filmed by an Anhui TV station, shows a number of college students telling their parents they love them. “Are you drunk?” asked a parent. In another video, shot by a Shanxi TV station, the parents’ responses (反应) are still mixed. For example, a father responded bluntly (率直地) — “I am going to a meeting, so much for that.”
Why don’t Chinese families use those words? “The parents’ responses show that many Chinese are not good at their feelings like that,” Xia Xueluan, a sociologist from Peking University, told the Global Times, “They are used to educating children with negative (否定的) language.”
Still, that doesn’t that love can’t be shown. In another article, Zhao Mengmeng, a 31-year-old woman, said she had never told her father she loved him face-to-face she found it a bit strange. Sometimes actions speak louder than words. However, Zhao gave her father a photo album recording photographs of them together on every one of her birthdays. The pictures were on the Internet later, being forwarded (转发) hundreds of thousands of times on Weibo.
1.A. value B. symbol C. clue D. reason
2.A. includes B. practises C. translates D. recommends
3.A. why B. what C. how D. when
4.A. humorous B. dangerous C. boring D. popular
5.A. different B. nervous C. similar D. fixed
6.A. more B. much C. little D. many
7.A. explaining B. creating C. expressing D. discovering
8.A. mean B. doubt C. allow D. know
9.A. if B. until C. but D. because
10.A. cost B. put C. solved D. dropped
— It is raining heavily! Will the rain last long?
— _______. The weather report says it will be sunny tomorrow.
A. I don’t think so B. It doesn’t matter
C. I agree D. Yes, of course
Walk along the street and turn right at the second crossing. Which of the following is correct?
