Too much TV-watching can harm children’s ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a college degree, new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on children.
One of the studies looked at nearly 400 northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedrooms TVs.
A second study, looking at nearly 1,000 grown-ups in New Zealand, found lower education levels among 26-year-olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood. But the results don’t prove that TV is the cause and don’t rule out that already poorly motivated youngsters(年轻人)may watch lots of TV.
Their study measured the TV habits of 26-year-olds between ages 5 and 15. Those with college degrees had watched an average of less than two hours of TV per weeknight during childhood, compared with an average of more than 2½ hours for those who had no education beyond high school.
In the California study, children with TVs in their rooms but no computer at home scored the lowest, while those with no bedroom TV but who had home computers scored the highest.
While this study does not prove that bedroom TV sets caused the lower scores, it adds to accumulating findings that children shouldn’t have TVs in their bedrooms.
1.According to the California study, the low-scoring group might____________.
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A．have watched a lot of TV |
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B．not be interested in math |
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C．be unable to go to college |
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D．have had computers in their bedrooms |
2.What is the researchers’ understanding of the New Zealand study results?
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A．Poorly motivated 26-year-olds watch more TV. |
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B．Habits of TV watching reduce learning interest. |
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C．TV watching leads to lower education levels of the 15-year-olds. |
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D．The connection between TV and education levels is difficult to explain. |
3. What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
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A．More time should be spent on computers. |
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B．Children should be forbidden from watching TV. |
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C．TV sets shouldn’t be allowed in children’s bedrooms. |
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D．Further studies on high-achieving students should be done. |
4. What would be the best title for this text?
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A．Computers or Television |
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B．Effects of Television on Children |
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C．Studies on TV and College Education |
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D．Television and Children’s Learning Habits |
If you ask people to name the one person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like “Shakespeare,” “Samuel Johnson,” and “Webster,” but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn’t even speak English-William the Conqueror.
Before 1066, in the land we now call Great Britain lived peoples belonging to two major language groups. In the west central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language, though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic. In the rest of the country lived the Saxons, actually a mixture of Anglos, Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we now call Anglo-Saxon (or Old English), a Germanic language. If this state of affairs had lasted, English today would be close to German.
But this state of affairs did not last. In l066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of Eng-land while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result, English words of Politics and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, modern English even shows a distinction (区别) between upper-class French and lower-class Anglo-Saxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods, meat in particular, depending on whether it is still out in the fields or at home ready to be cooked, which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming, while the upper-class Normans were doing most of the eating.
When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more "foreign" than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man's ambition.
1. The two major languages spoken in what is now called Great Britain before l066 were
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A．Welsh and Scottish |
B．Nordic and Germanic |
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C．Celtic and Old English. |
D．Anglo-Saxon and Germanic |
2. Which of the following groups of words are, by inference, rooted in French?
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A．president, Lawyer, beef |
B．president, bread, water |
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C．bread, field, sheep |
D．folk, field, cow |
3.Why does France appear less foreign than Germany to Americans on their first visit to Europe?
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A．Most advertisements in France appear in English. |
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B．They know little of the history of the English language. |
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C．Many French words are similar to English ones. |
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D．They know French better than German. |
4. What is the subject discussed in the text?
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A．The history of Great Britain. |
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B．The similarity between English and French. |
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C．The rule of England by William the Conqueror. |
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D．The French influences on the English language. |
My First Day
I was still shy in the presence of a crowd. And my first day at the new 36 made me a laughing stock（笑柄） of the classroom .I was sent to the blackboard to write my 37 . I knew my name, and knew how to write it , but standing at the blackboard with the 38 of so many pupils on my back made me 39 inside and I was unable to write a single letter.
“Write your name,” the teacher called to me. I 40 the white chalk to the blackboard, as I was about to write, my mind went blank, I could not remember my name, 41 the first letter. Somebody laughed and I became 42 .
“Just forget us and write your name,” the teacher called and walked to my side, 43 at me to give me confidence.
“What is your name?” she asked.
“Richard,” I 44
“Then write it.”
I turned to the blackboard and lifted my hand to write, but then I was 45 again. I tried to 46 my senses but I could remember nothing. I realized how totally I was 47 and I grew weak and leaned my hot forehead 48 the cold blackboard. The room burst into a loud 49 and my muscles froze. I sat and 50 myself. Why did I always appear so dumb 51 I was called upon to perform in a crowd? I knew how to write as well as any other pupil in the classroom, and there was no 52 I could read better than any of them, and I could talk 53 when I was sure of myself. Then why did strange 54 make me freeze? I sat with my ears and neck 55 , hearing the pupils around me whisper, hating myself.
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---The terrible earthquake brought about a loss of $15 million to this island country.
---___.
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A．Certainly |
B．I agree with you |
C．It’s OK |
D．That’s the case |
Haven’t I told you already that you ___ have my answer tomorrow morning?
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A．will |
B．shall |
C．should |
D．would |
---Little Tom got an “A” in the exam.
--- ___ he’s been so happy these days.
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A．No wonder that |
B．I wonder why |
C．It is a wonder that |
D．Because |
