Why should I teach my children history? That sounds like a stupid question to even ask. But, as I hear different home schooling teachers discuss history, I get the idea that there may be different reasons for teaching history. Let me briefly explain the three good reasons for studying history and two bad reasons for studying history.
The major reason I see for studying history is that we can learn from the past. I am convinced that the world would be a much better place if more people understood the successes and failures of the past and the things that made these successes and failures. However, as the unfortunately true statement goes “the one thing we seem to learn from history is that we don’t seem to learn from history ”. Perhaps at least in teaching history, to my children I can do a small part in changing this.
A second major reason for studying history is that it is hard to understand the current political climate in the absence of an understanding of its historical context. We can not even understand who we are and where we are without history, much less try to figure out where we are going or how we should get where we want to be.
I teach my children history, for one more reason. I purchased a set of historical audio tapes for our children. My seven-year-old son listened to them over and over. It was my hope that he would become inspired by the accomplishments of people like the Wright brothers to accomplish things by himself. I think that it is good that we celebrate the accomplishments of people like Martin Luther King Jr. In doing so, young people are called on to stand for the principles that he stood for and accomplish what he accomplished. I also think that by studying people like Adolph Hitler, people can learn to stand against the things that he stood for.(325words)
1. What message can we get from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2?
A. Many people aren’t clever enough to learn well from the past.
B. Many people fail to make good use of history and make the same mistakes.
C. Many people feel it hard to understand history.
D. Many people have no interest in studying history.
2. Some historical figures （人物）are mentioned in the last paragraph to show_____.
A. people can be inspired to do good, while also learning to fight against evil
B. people may also learn from bad historical figures
C. more celebrations should be held to honor their achievements
D. today’s people can also achieve what they achieved
3.What would be talked about in the following paragraph?
A. How to teach history effectively.
B. Some negative reasons for studying history.
C. How to get more people to study history.
D. Some bad historical figures.
Jamie Oliver has been invited by Gordon Brown to prepare a banquet at No．10 for President Barack Obama and other leaders of the G20, offering a cut-price menu to reflect times when trade and industry are far from prosperous and the rate of employment is decreasing.
Downing Street sources say Oliver, the well-known chef, will cook using "honest high-street products" and avoid expensive or "fancy" ingredients.
The prime minister is trying to avoid a repeat of the embarrassment last year when he sat down to an 18-course banquet at a Japanese summit to discuss world food shortages．
Obama, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and other leaders will be served by apprentices （学徒） from Fifteen, the London restaurant Oliver founded to help train young people in poverty in order to make a living by mastering a skill.
Brown wants the dinner to reflect the emphasis of the London summit, which he hopes will lead to an agreement to lift the world out of recession．"To be invited to cook for such an important group of people, who are trying to solve some of the world's major problems, is really a privilege," said Oliver.
"I'm hoping the menu I'm working on will show British food and produce is some of the best in the world, but also show we have pioneered a high-quality apprentice scheme at Fifteen London that is giving young people a skill to be proud of."
The chef has not yet finalized me menu, but is expected to draw inspiration from his latest book, Jamie's Ministry of Food, which has budget recipes for beef and ale stew （啤酒炖菜） and "impressive" chocolate fudge cake. (286 words)
1.What can we learn about Oliver from the text?
A．He is a well-known American cook．
B．He is invited to attend the G20 summit．
C．He has founded the Fifteen London．
D．He is one of the apprentices serving leaders of the G20.
2.The menu of the banquet for the leaders of the G20 is supposed to ____．
A．include all delicious British food
B．use inexpensive produce with special characteristics
C．be rich, varied and of high quality
D．imitate the menu of last Japanese summit
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A．Oliver is honored to be invited to cook for the G20 leaders.
B．Altogether three presidents are mentioned in the text．
C．President Barack Obama offers the cut-price menu．
D．The menu for the G20 dinner banquet has been decided．
4.What is the Fifteen London?
A．an apartment in London． B．a luxurious restaurant in London．
C．a restaurant as well as a training center． D．a famous avenue.
How Do Animals Catch Their ZZZ’s?
Different creatures have developed some pretty creative ways to get their rest and stay safe. The lizard（蜥蝎）likes to sleep at the far end of small branches hanging out over a pond or lake in the rain forest. If a snake tries to slither up the branch to eat it, it will shake the branch and knock the lizard off , and the lizard will fall safely into the water. Chameleons （变色龙）can change color to match their surroundings in order to hide even while sleeping.
Corillas（大猩猩）like to sleep high in the trees. They build a new bed every night, sometimes taking up to half an hour to pile branches, twigs, and leaves into a comfortable bed. Birds also find it safe to sleep in the trees, but unless they have eggs or young chicks, they don’t use a nest. They just lock their feet around a branch and hang on. A special tendon（腱）in their legs is automatically tight when they are at rest, so they won’t let go and fall.
Dolphins(海豚) live underwater, but must come to the surface to breathe. Scientists now believe that dolphins may sleep with only half their brain, while the other half stays awake to keep them safe and breathing. Seals (海豹) also do this，lying on their sides on the surface of the water with one flipper underwater paddling to keep their noses above the surface. Some ducks may also have this ability, and actually sleep with one eye closed and one eye open. (281 words)
1.How many animals are mentioned in this passage?
A．6. B．7. C．8. D．9.
2.How does a chameleon protect itself while sleeping?
A．By changing its body colors. B．By hinging out over a pond.
C．By sleeping with half their brain. D．By making beds with branches.
3.Why will not birds fall when they are at rest?
A．They build nests and sleep in them. B．They fall asleep automatically.
C．They have a loose tendon in their legs D．They lock their feet around a branch.
4.What does the writer intend to tell us?
A．The cleverest animal is the gorilla because it can make beds.
B．Differences in habitat could lead to different living habits.
C．The ways animals catch their ZZZ’s are pretty much the same .
D．In order to protect themselves most animals choose not to sleep.
Basic Study Manual (Hardcover): $37.50
Future success depends on the ability to learn. Here are the answers to the questions most often asked by students. Read this book and learn:
*What the three barriers to study are and what to do about them
* What to do if you get tired of a subject you are studying
*Twenty-six simple drills to help you learn how to study easily, rapidly and with full understanding
Buy and read the Basic Study Manual and use it to dramatically improve your ability to study.
Study Skills for Life (Hardcover): $31.99
L. Ron Hubbard’s study technology for teenagers opens the door to their future success by giving them advice on how to study and learn. Fully illustrated（插图）for easy comprehension.
Learning How to Learn (Hardcover):$24.99
The basics of effective study for 8 to 12-year-olds, fully illustrated. Children who read and apply the materials in this book can regain their liking for study. Get this book for a child you want to see win at his studies!
How to Use a Dictionary Picture Book for Children (Hardcover):$34.90
In spite of billions of dollars spent on “educational research”, children are not taught the most basic skills of learning: how to use a dictionary. Written for children 8 to 12-year-old, this fully illustrated book will teach your children:
*How to find words in a dictionary
*The different ways that words are used
*How to use a dictionary to correctly pronounce words
At last, you’ll just pay 50% for these books before May 1, 2007. （260 words）
1.The four books can mostly satisfy .
A. teachers B. children C. adults D. parents
2.If you want to improve your ability to study, you’ll probably choose .
A. Basic Study Manual B. Study Skills for Life
C. Learning How to Learn D. How to Use a Dictionary Picture Book for Children
3.If you buy all the fully illustrated books before May 1, 2007, you will pay about .
A. $56 B. $111 C. $46 D. $92
4.This passage aims to .
A. introduce new books to readers B. guide readers to choose books
C. encourage people to buy the books D. enlarge students’ knowledge about books
When I was a small child, during the war, we were very poor and we lived in a faraway village. One day, on the road, I found the __36__ pieces of a mirror. There was a German motorcycle accident.
I tried to find all the pieces and put them __37__, but it was not possible, so I kept only the __38__ piece and I made it round. I began to __39__ with it as a toy and became greatly attracted by the __40__ that I could reflect（反射）light to dark places where the sun would never shine in __41___holes and some other dark places. It became a __42__ for me to get light into the darkest places I could find.
I __43__ the little mirror, and, as I ___44__ up, I would take it out when I had nothing to do and __45__ the game. As I became a __46__, I grew to understand that this was not __47__a child’s game but a metaphor（象征）for what I might do with my life. I came to __48___ that I am not the light or the source（来源）of light, but light—truth, understanding, knowledge—is __49___, and it will shine in many dark places only if I reflect it.
I am just a single piece of a mirror whose ___50__ design and shape I do not know. __51___, with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this __52__， into the black places in the___53__ of men—and change some things __54___ some people. Perhaps others may see and do the same. This is what I am about. This is the __55___ of my life. （269 words）
1.A. broken B. dropped C. pointed D. sharpened
2.A. back B. down C. together D. up
3.A. best B. longest C. smallest D. largest
4.A. talk B. play C. flash D. share
5.A. idea B. fact C. decision D. reason
6.A. deep B. big C. pretty D. empty
7.A. job B. task C. game D. trouble
8.A. kept B. hid C. forgot D. lost
9.A. came B. stood C. grew D. went
10.A. watch B. continue C. remember D. change
11.A. man B. boy C. father D. grandfather
12.A. always B. completely C. really D. just
13.A. announce B. doubt C. understand D. expect
14.A. absent B. home C. far D. there
15.A. whole B. most C. half D. other
16.A. So B. However C. Besides D. Certainly
17.A. country B. village C. world D. city
18.A. hands B. brains C. eyes D. hearts
19.A. on B. in C. with D. like
20.A. way B. standard C. quality D. meaning
—Honey, let’s go out for dinner.
— I don’t have to cook.
A. Forgot it! B. That’s great! C. Why? D. Go ahead!
