American public education has changed in recent years. One change is that increasing numbers of American parents and teachers are starting independent public schools called charter schools.
In 1991, there were no charter schools in the Unite States. Today, more than 2300 charter schools operate in 34 states and the District of Columbia. 575000 students attend these schools. The students are from 5 years of age through 18 or older.
A charter school is created by groups of parents, teachers and community members. It is similar in some ways to a traditional public school. It receives tax money to operate a number of students. The charter school must prove to local or state governments that its students are learning. These governments provide the school with the agreement, or charter that permits it to operate.
Unlike a traditional public school, however, the charter school does not have to obey most laws governing public schools. Local, state or federal governments cannot tell it what to teach.
Each school can choose its own goals and decide the ways it wants to reach those goals. Class sizes are usually smaller than in many traditional public schools. Many students and parents say teachers in charter schools can be more creative.
However, state education agencies, local education-governing committees and unions often oppose charter schools. They say these schools may receive money badly needed by traditional public schools. Experts say some charter schools are doing well while others are struggling.
Congress provided 200 million dollars for establishing charter schools in the 2006 federal budget. But, often the schools say they lack enough money for programs. Many also lack needed space. District officials say they have provided 14 former school buildings for charter education. Yet charter school supporters say officials should try harder to find more space.
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Japan's 24-hour convenience stores, already struggling with lagging sales and growth, may soon face yet another threat - moves to limit business hours and close the stores late at night. The district of Saitama, which borders Tokyo, may follow in the footsteps of the western city of Kyoto and urge convenience stores to close during late night hours in an effort to limit carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）emissions, Japanese media reported.
Kyoto, a former capital, wants to persuade convenience and other 24-hour stores to close late at night so as to improve evening views of the city and cut down on energy use. The Nikkei business daily said closures could last from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. The move is strongly opposed by the industry, which fears a bad impact on an already troubled sector also grappling with the specter of a higher tobacco tax, which could hit overall sales.
"Even if we only operate the stores for 16 hours, we can't stop the refrigerators," said Toshiro Yamaguchi, the president of Seven-Eleven Japan Co, which is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd, at a news conference in Saitama on Tuesday. He said such cuts in operating hours would reduce each store's profit by 20 percent. "If this happens, our current business model will lose its foundation."
Analysts said that while it is difficult to estimate the potential impact of the move without a concrete plan, their overall impression was that it was likely to be negative. "This could cut profits and lead to less efficient operations and the increased loss of opportunities," said Masafumi Shoda, an analyst at Nomura Securities. "But it depends on the store -- urban stores do better than others. There are some in the countryside that are inefficient."
Some have suggested that if governments were sincere about reducing carbon emissions there were much more efficient methods, such as cutting back on the huge number of automatic vending machines（自动售货机）
1.Which of the followings was the first to try to limit convenience store hours?
A. Saitama B. Tokyo C. Kyoto D. Nomura Security
2.What's the main goal of the proposal?
A. To give employees more free time.
B. To limit carbon dioxide emissions.
C. To sell more tobacco products.
D. To reduce each store’s profit.
3.How's the convenience store sector doing in Japan?
A. It is not mentioned. B. It's doing great. Business is booming.
C. Not very well. D. It’s about to close.
4.According to the passage, which convenience stores are generally more successful?
A. The ones in big cities. B. The ones in the countryside.
C. The ones in Tokyo. D. The ones in Saitama.
5.According to the convenience store industry, what impact would closing for the night have on a typical store?
A. It could cause a 10% increase in sales.
B. Its effect would be maximal. It would close soon.
C. Its effect would be minimal. People would simply shop earlier.
D. It could cause a 20% decrease in profits.
Is early childhood education really necessary? Early childhood education primarily focuses on learning through playing to develop the child’s physical, sensory, communicational and social development. Early childhood education has become a concern of the government, who pushes poor children to be formally trained before they are old enough for Kindergarten.
There are good reasons for the government to push early childhood education. Studies have shown that orphaned children who did not receive good care and education become developmentally delayed causing failure in school, and even in life. Further studies show that poor children who take part in Head Start programs are more prepared for school, less likely to end up in Special Education classes, and are less likely to receive public help or go to jail.
There are also negative parts to putting a child in formal education programs too early. Time Magazine online explains that “the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work.” I have personally witnessed many children of my generation who went to Head Start programs become frustrated and bored with school before they finished high school. Yet patents have been sure that the earlier the child starts school, the better off he or she is, so they push to start children earlier.
Actually while early formal education of poor children does show great gains in the early elementary years, studies also show that this head start is really a “false start”, as the gains are lost in middle and high school years. It seems that environment is a bigger factor on life’s success than early education. Head Start programs have not achieved its original goal in closing the achievement gap in poor and middle school children. Perhaps it is time to find other ways to close that gap.
1. The purpose of the government valuing the early childhood education is ________.
A. to develop the children’s communication
B. to give orphaned children good care and education
C. to get the children prepared for the kindergarten
D. to train the children formally and regularly
2. According to the studies, which of the following is True?
A. Children with good early education may have a rich life.
B. The orphaned children are usually unhappy in their life.
C. Children without early education can do well at school.
D. Head Start programs are helpful to the poor children.
3. “……the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work.” suggests that _________.
A. the early childhood education is helpless to the child’s grade
B. it is good for the young children to receive early education
C. the early education can help the children follow the grade
D. the younger the children are, the more clever they will be
4.The author’s attitude toward the early childhood education is _________.
A. puzzling B. objective C. indifferent D. approving
5.The main idea of the last passage is that __________.
A. the early childhood education is very necessary
B. Head Start programs have helped the children a lot
C. environment is the most important to life’s success
D. better ways should be found to help the poor children
Hannah Oyler
21 Balsom St Ventura, CA 94120 (613) 555 – 7236
Objective To obtain a position as a photographer for a major metropolitan newspaper.
Notable Achievements Time Magazine, Top Photos of the Year 1999 for California Wildfire Banaker Excellence in Photography Fellowship, 1995.
Experience
Ventura County Times Staff photographer, 1996 --- Present, Regular coverage included: Sports, Lifestyle, & Metro. Successfully met tight deadlines.
Los Angeles Times Summer Intern, 1995 & 1996 Assisted lead sports photographer. Gained valuable knowledge of function and limitations of various types of cameras, lenses, and films.
Education University of Southern California B.A., Photography, 1996
Thomas Stanley
817 Park Ave Seattle, WA 98023 (614) 555 – 0283
Objective Legal Aid Practitioner.
Experience Johnson Industries International Legal Counsel, 1998 to Present
Acted as the in-house lawyer for the company, and was responsible for providing legal support for all company operations. Instrumental in establishing written company policies and training materials with respect to international trading laws and regulations, and general commercial practices. Provided prompt, efficient and practical legal advice to support to a busy, demanding clientele of traders.
Education Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Kathy Lorentz
608 Lincoln Ave Mobile, AL 36513 (623) 555 – 8237
Objective To obtain a managerial position that will allow me to utilize my knowledge and experience to increase profit margins, productivity and quality.
Summary Accomplished Project Manager with more than ten years experience. Proven ability to design and implement effective strategies, develop new products, and manage resources to produce profit. Proven ability to streamline processes and increase productivity.
Experience In Tech Corporation, Mobile, AL Project Manager, 1995 to Present
Worked with customers / potentials on development of product designs, tooling concepts, manufacturing methods, and costing for custom molded component applications. Directly supervised technical team of 3-5 project engineers responsible for new mold and molding systems implementation.
Education Jackson University, Tampa, FL ;M.B.A., Business Administration, 1992
Gary Wilson
809 West Cayuga St Philadelphia, PA 19037 (813) 555 – 6026
Objective Position as a Nurse of Health Care Provider.
Employment History St. Mark's Hospital, Philadelphia, PA; Surgical Nurse, 1994 to Present;
Served as a staff surgical nurse. Provided health care checks for a diverse population. Performed blood pressure tests for community health outreach programs, provided a wide range of services including women's health clinic services and care for elderly patients.
Licenses R.N. - American Medical Association.
Education B.S., Nursing, 1994; University of Scranton, Scranton, PA
Professional Affiliations Monroe County Medical Society; Pennsylvania Nursing Association
1. From the first resume, we can know that Hannah Oyler _______.
A. is an excellent journalist of New York Times
B. knows much about different photographic equipment
C. graduated from Stanford University
D. wants to get a job as a photographer no matter where he will work.
2. According to Thomas Stanley’s experience, he is most likely to be hired by_____.
A. a hospital B. a supermarket C. a company D. a school
3. The underlined word “implement ” most probably means______.
A. complete B. help C. value D. transform
4.Which of the following statements about Gary Wilson is NOT TRUE?
A. She is an experienced surgical nurse.
B. She carried out blood pressure for many people.
C. She has the experience of operating on patients.
D. She is a member of some professional groups.
5.Besides the personal information of the four people, what we can also get from the passage is______.
A. how to achieve success in our career
B. how to express your desire for a job
C. how to make yourself different from others
D. how to write a standard resume
Humans are responsible for causing changes in the environment that hurt animals and species(物种). We take up more space on Earth for our homes and cities. We pollute habitats(栖息地). 1. illegally hunt and kill animals. All of these activities take resources and habitats away 2. plants and animals.
Human activity often changes or destroys the habitats that plants and animals need to survive. 3. human populations are growing so fast, animals and plants are disappearing many times faster 4. they have in the past 65 million years.
Animals and plants have always had a 5. time surviving. Animals became extinct (灭绝的) in the past for a wide variety of reasons. In some cases, competition for resources among animals led to extinction and in 6. cases, environmental changes caused extinction.
Fortunately, we humans are beginning to realize our mistakes, 7. we could destroy everything on Earth. We must not only use our knowledge and abilities to manage the Earth, but to make the Earth 8. safe and healthy place where all animals and plants——including humans ourselves——can live.
The position of children in American family and society is no longer what it is used to be. The _36__ family in colonial North America was mainly concerned with survival and 37 that, its own economic prosperity, Thus, children were __38__ in terms of their productivity, and they played the role of producer quite early, Until they fulfilled this role, their position in the family was one of the subordination(附属).
With the __39__ of the society, the position of the children in the family and in the society became more important. In the complex and technological society that the United States has become, each member must fulfill a number of personal and occupational roles and be in contact with many other members. __40__ , viewing children as necessary members of society means that they are __41__ more as people in their own right than as those of the family is reflected in various laws __42__ the rights of children and in the social and public welfare programs.
This new __43__ of children and the frequent contact between the members of society has also __44_ an increasing interest in child-raising techniques. People today spend much time seeking the proper way to __45__ children.
Nowadays, the socialization of the child in the United States is a two-way transaction(事务) between parents and child __46___ a one-way, parent-to-child training program. As a consequence, socializing child and __47__ with them over a long period of time is for parents a mixture of pleasure, satisfaction, and problems
1.A. poor B. ordinary C. happy D. wealthy
2.A. except B. for C. beyond D. through
3.A. supported B. received C. encouraged D. valued
4.A. movement B. achievement C. development D. requirement
5.A. Besides B. However C. Instead D. Therefore
6.A. admired B. regarded C. made D. respected
7.A. enjoying B. preventing C. considering D. protecting
8.A. view B. faith C. world D. study
9.A. led in B. brought in C. resulted in D. taken in
10.A. nurse B. praise C. understand D. raise
11.A. more than B. rather than C. better than D. less than
12.A. talking B. living C. playing D. discussing
