On the outside Betsy Lueth’s school looks like any other in Minneapolis. Yet inside, it is
Yinghua Academy, a public school where elementary(小学)students study subjects ranging from
math to American history in Chinese.
Yinghua, the first such immersion(沉浸式)program in the Midwest is on the leading edge (前沿) of a movement that in recent years has seen Chinese language programs spread rapidly throughout the U.S.
The idea behind Yinghua is to introduce kids to the language and culture as early as possible —ideally, before age 12. Kindergarteners and first graders are taught in Chinese and a single period of English is introduced in second grade. By sixth grade, kids are learning half in English and half in Chinese, with the expectation of fluency in both. In Yinghua’s classrooms, the walls are covered not with ABCs but with pictures and Chinese characters.
There are many challenges at Yinghua. Most teachers come from Taiwan or mainland China, and cultural misunderstandings are very common. Lueth’s teachers are learning to be tolerant of local customs — as well as a lot more parental input (家长看法) than they are used to. “In China, teachers are respected. They are not questioned,” says Luyi Lien, Yinghua’s Taiwan-born director. “In America, parents are more expressive of their opinions.”
Research has shown that in the long run, immersion programs can provide benefits, including more flexible, creative thinking. Though students from the programs fall behind for a few years in English, by fifth grade they perform as well as or better than their monolingual(单语言)peers on standardized reading and math tests. For multicultural families, the psychological (心理上的) help can also be important. Lueth, a former teacher, co-founded the school as a way to expose her adopted Chinese daughter Lucy to her native culture. Lucy used to be annoyed when cousins asked why her skin color was different from theirs; before she started at Yinghua, she resisted exploring anything related to China. Now, Lueth says, Lucy proudly answers her cousins, “Yeah, I was born in China.”
1.Yinghua is different from other schools in Minneapolis in the way that_________.
A.it offers subjects to students mostly in Chinese
B.its language program is popular in the U.S.A
C.kids there begin to learn Chinese at the age of 12
D.its students learn subjects half in English and half in Chinese
2..One of the challenges at Yinghua is that_________.
A.most parents do not respect its teachers
B.teachers need to get used to the local culture
C.its students are mostly from nontraditional families
D.there is misunderstanding between teachers and students
3.We can learn from the last paragraph that immersion program _________.
A.enables students pass tests more easily
B.benefits students in learning psychology
C.helps some students accept the local customs
D.contributes to the better development of students
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Teachers in Yinghua have difficulty in understanding the local culture.
B.Parents are discouraged to speak out their opinions of the school in Yinghua.
C.The students in Yinghua are expected to speak English and Chinese fluently.
D.Yinghua is the first school in the USA to introduce Chinese culture to students.
Recently I gave my adult students homework. It was “go to someone you love and tell them you love them.” It has to be someone you have never said those words to before or at least haven’t shared those words with for a long time.
It sounds like very tough homework since most of the men were over 35 and were raised in the generation of men that were taught expressing emotions is not “macho (阳刚之气).” Showing feelings or crying was just not done. So this was very threatening homework for some.
At the beginning of our next class, I asked if someone wanted to share what happened when they told someone they loved them. I fully expected one of the women to volunteer, as was usually the case, but on this evening one of the men raised his hand, quite moved and a bit shaken.
As he unfolded out of his chair (all 1.85 meters of him), he began by saying, “Dennis, I was quite angry with you last week when you gave us this homework. Who were you to tell me to do something that personal?”
“But as I began driving home my conscience (良心)started telling me that I knew exactly who I needed to say ‘I love you’ to.”
“Five years ago, my father and I had a severe disagreement and really never settled it since then. We avoided seeing each other unless we absolutely had to at Christmas or other family gatherings. But even then, we hardly spoke to each other.”
“So last Tuesday by the time I got home I had convinced myself. I was going to tell my father I loved him. It’s strange, but just making that decision seemed to lift a heavy load off my chest.”
1. The homework is threatening for some students because_________.
A. they are middle-aged people B. they are not macho enough
C. they were taught to hide their emotions D. they didn’t know how to show feelings
2. From the passage we know that_________.
A. the adult students have classes in the day time only
B. not all the adult students in the writer’s class are male
C. the man refused to meet his father after their quarrel
D. the man quickly decided to say “I love you” to his father
3. The underlined phrase “unfolded out of his chair” in Para 4 is closest in meaning to_________.
A. stood on his chair straight B. sat quietly in the chair
C. bent himself over his chair D. raised himself slowly from the chair
4. What does the man imply by saying the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?
A. He felt it too strange to say “I love you” to his father.
B. He felt relaxed just thinking of saying “I love you” to his father.
C. He felt very relaxed after saying “I love you” to his father.
D. He had to lift a heavy load off his chest before saying “I love you”.
完型填空 (共20小题,每小题1.5分,满分30分)
阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从下列各小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
My grandmother became a widow in 1970. Shortly after that, we went to the 36 shelter to pick out a dog to keep her 37 . Grandma decided on a little dog with a reddish-brown spot above each eye. 38 these spots, the dog was named Penny.
Grandma and Penny quickly became very 39 to each other, but that attachment grew much stronger about three years later 40 Grandma had a stroke(中风). Grandma could no longer
41 , so when she came home from the hospital, she and Penny were 42 companions.
After her stroke, it became a real 43 for Grandma to let Penny in and out because 44 was at the bottom of a flight of stairs. So a mechanism(机械装置)using a rope and pulley(滑轮)was 45 from the door to a handle at the top of the stairs. Grandma just had to pull the handle to open and close the door. If the store was 46 Penny’s favorite dog food, Grandma would make one of us 47 Penny browned beef with potatoes in it. I can remember 48 my grandmother by saying that she loved that dog better than she loved her family.
As the years passed, it was not 49 for Grandma and Penny to separate each other. If Grandma went to take her nap(打盹), Penny stayed by her side until she 50 . As Penny aged, she could no longer jump up on the bed, so she 51 on the rug (垫子)beside the bed. If Grandma went into the 52 , Penny would walk along beside her, wait outside the door and accompany her 53 to the bed or chair. Grandma never went anywhere without her 54 companion by her side.
The time came when both my grandmother’s and Penny’s 55 were failing fast. After fifteen years of loving companionship, Grandma and Penny passed away within a few hours of each other.
1.A.animal B.toy C.fish D.bird
2.A.business B.firm C.company D.friend
3.A.In spite of B.Because of C.Instead of D.In front of
4.A.linked B.fastened C.attached D.tied
5.A.before B.while C.until D.when
6.A.think B.speak C.work D.walk
7.A.contrary B.content C.confident D.constant
8.A.problem B.question C.practice D.rule
9.A.the door B.Grandma C.the window D.Penny
10.A.repaired B.fixed C.bought D.loaded
11.A. out of B.ahead of C.away from D.apart from
12.A.show B.hand C.buy D.cook
13.A.drawing attention to B.making use of
C.breaking away from D.making fun of
14.A.necessary B.possible C.important D.convenient
15.A.recovered B.awoke C.slept D.screamed
16.A.rolled B.stood C.waited D.lay
17.A.kitchen B.bedroom C.living-room D.bathroom
18.A.back B.up C.off D.down
19.A.splendid B.remote C.faithful D.legal
20.A.smell B.health C.habit D.living
Oil prices have risen by 32 percent since the start of the year,______ a record US $ 57.65 a barrel on April 4.
A. reached B. reaching C. to reach D. to be reaching
_____was known to them all is that Bob had broken his promise____he would give them a rise.
A. As; which B. What; that C. It; that D. It; which
Please tell me how the accident _________ . I am still in the dark.
A. come to B. come by C. come across D. come about