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 prison．
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 parents 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 underlined part 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 cleverer they will be
4.The author’s attitude toward the early childhood education is _________．
A．puzzling B．negative 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
Sometimes you’ll hear people say that you can’t love others until you love yourself. Sometimes you’ll hear people say that you can’t expect someone else to love you until you love yourself. Either way, you’ve got to love yourself first and this can be tricky. Sure we all know that we’re the apple of our parents’ eyes, and that our Grandmas think we’re great talents and our Uncle Roberts think that we will go to the Olympics. But sometimes it’s a lot harder to think such nice thoughts about ourselves. If you find that believing in yourself is a challenge, it is time you build a positive self-image and learn to love yourself.
Self-image is your own mind’s picture of yourself. This image includes the way you look, the way you act, the way you talk and the way you think. Interestingly, our self-images are often quite different from the images others hold about us. Unfortunately, most of these images are more negative than they should be. Thus changing the way you think about yourself is the key to changing your self-image and your whole world.
The best way to defeat a passive self-image is to step back and decide to stress your successes. That is, make a list if you need to, but write down all of the great things you do every day. Don’t allow doubts to occur in it.
It very well might be that you are experiencing a negative self-image because you can’t move past one flaw or weakness that you see about yourself. Well, roll up your sleeves and make a change of it as your primary task. If you think you’re silly because you aren’t good at math, find a tutor. If you think you’re weak because you can’t run a mile, get to the track and practice. If you think you’re dull because you don’t wear the latest trends, buy a few new clothes. But remember, just because you think it doesn’t mean it’s true.
The best way to get rid of a negative self-image is to realize that your image is far from objective, and to actively convince yourself of your positive qualities. Changing the way you think and working on those you need to improve will go a long way towards promoting a positive self-image. When you can pat(拍) yourself on the back, you’ll know you’re well on your way. Good luck!
1.You need to build a positive self-image when you _________.
A. dare to challenge yourself B. feel it hard to change yourself
C. are unconfident about yourself D. have a high opinion of yourself
2.According to the passage, our self-images _________.
A. have positive effects B. are probably untrue
C. are often changeable D. have different functions
3.How should you change your self-image according to the passage?
A. To keep a different image of others. B. To make your life successful.
C. To understand your own world. D. To change the way you think.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. How to prepare for your success. B. How to face challenges in your life.
C. How to build a positive self-image. D. How to develop your good qualities.
5.Who are the intended readers of the passage?
A. Parents. B. Adolescents. C. Educators. D. People in general.
I used to watch her from my kitchen window. She seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. The school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during break. I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball. I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids. She managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her but no one could. I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone.
One day I asked her why she practiced so much. Without a moment of hesitation she said, “I want to go to college. The only way I can go is to get a scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be the best. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” Well, I had to give it to her—she was determined. I watched her through those junior high years and into high school. Every week, she led her school team to victory.
One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head in her arms. I walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong. “Oh, nothing,” came a soft reply, “I am just too short.” The coach told her that at 5’5” she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team—much less offered a scholarship—so she should stop dreaming about college. She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as I sensed her disappointment. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just did not understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she truly wanted a scholarship and that nothing could stop her except one thing — her own attitude.
The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was offered a scholarship and on the college team. She was going to get the college education that she had dreamed of.
1.The author was probably the girl’s .
A. brother or sister B. friend C. mother D. teacher
2.Why was the girl heartbroken ?
A. She was considered too short to be a top player.
B. Her coach stopped her training because of her height.
C. She couldn’t be on a college basketball team.
D. She wouldn’t be admitted by an ideal college.
3. We can learn from the passage that .
A. her family wouldn’t like to pay her college fee
B. her father forced her to play basketball in collage
C. being a top basketball player can win you a scholarship for college
D. she wouldn’t like to turn to his father for help when in difficulty
4.Which word can best describe her father ?
A. Encouraging. B. Optimistic. C. Stubborn. D. Cruel.
5.Which proverb best matches the story ?
A. Practice makes perfect. B. Rome was not built in a day.
C. Where there is a will, there is a way. D. Pride comes before a fall.
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填人一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空。
Chinese proverbs are rich and they are still widely used in Chinese people’s daily life. 1. these proverbs there are often interesting stories. For example, the proverb, “plucking up a crop 2. (help) it grow”, is based on the following story.
It is said that a short—tempered man in the Song Dynasty (960—1279) was very anxious to help 3. rice crop grow up quickly. He was thinking about 4. day and night. But the crop was growing much slower than he expected.
One day, he came up with an idea 5. he would pluck up all of his crop a few inches. He did so the next day.
He was very tired 6. doing this for a whole day, 7. he felt very happy since the crop did “grow” 8. (high).
His son heard about this and went to see the crop. Unfortunately the leaves of the crop began to wither.
This proverb is saying we have to let things go in their 9. (nature) course. Being too anxious to help an event develop often 10. (result) in the contrary to our intention.
I will never forget the year I was about twelve years old. My mother told us that we would not be 1 Christmas gifts because there was not enough money. I felt sad and thought, “What would I say when the other kids asked what I’d 2 ?” Just when I started to 3 that there would not be a Christmas that year, three women 4 at our house with gifts for all of us. For me they brought a doll. I felt such a sense of 5 that I would no longer have to be embarrassed when I returned to school. I wasn’t 6 . Somebody had thought enough of me to bring me a gift.
Years later, when I stood in the kitchen of my new house, thinking how I wanted to make my 7 Christmas there special and memorable, I 8 remembered the women’s visit. I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling of 9 for as many children as I could possibly reach.
So I 10 a plan and gathered forty people from my company to help. We gathered about 125 orphans (孤儿) at the Christmas party. For every child, we wrapped colorful packages filled with toys, clothes, and school supplies, 11 with a child’s name. We wanted all of them to know they were special. Before I called out their names and handed them their gifts, I 12 them that they couldn’t open their presents until every child had come forward. Finally the 13 they had been waiting for came as I called out, “One, two, three. Open your presents!” As the children opened their packages, their faces beamed and their bright smiles 14 up the room. The 15 in the room was obvious, and it wasn’t just about toys. It was a feeling –the feeling I knew from that Christmas so long ago when the women came to visit. I wasn’t forgotten. Somebody thought of me. I matter.
1. A. sending B. receiving C. making D. exchanging
2.A. found B. prepared C. got D. expected
3.A. doubt B. hope C. suggest D. accept
4.A. broke in B. settled down C. turned up D. showed off
5. A. relief B. loss C. achievement D. justice
6. A. blamed B. loved C. forgotten D. affected
7.A. present B. first C. recent D. previous
8.A. hardly B. instantly C. regularly D. occasionally
9. A. strength B. independence C. importance D. safety
10. A. kept up with B. caught up with C. came up with D. put up with
11.A. none B. few C. some D. each
12. A. reminded B. guaranteed C. convinced D. promised
13.A. chance B. gift C. moment D. reward
14.A. lit B. took C. burned D. cheered
15.A. atmosphere B. sympathy C. calmness D. joy
阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。
Helen Keller suffered from a strange sickness when she was only 19 months old. It made her completely blind and deaf. For the next five years she had no way of successfully communicating with other people. Then a teacher Anne Sullivan arrived from Boston to help her. Miss Sullivan herself had once been blind. She tried to teach Helen to live like other people. She taught her how to use her hands as a way of speaking. Miss Sullivan stayed with Helen for many years. She taught Helen how to read, how to write and how to speak. She helped her to get ready for school and college. More than anything, Helen wanted to do what others did, and do it just as well. In time Helen did go to college and completed her studies with high honors. But it was a hard struggle. Few of the books she needed were written in the Braille language that the blind could read by touching pages. Miss Sullivan and others had to teach her what was in these books by forming words in her hands. The study of geometry and physics was especially difficult. Helen could only learn about squares, triangles and other geometrical forms by making them with wires. She kept feeling the different shapes of these wires until she could see them in her mind.
Helen Keller died on June 1st, 1968. She was 87 years old. Her message of courage
and hope remains. She is respected world-widely as a pride of human beings.
[写作内容]
1．以约30个词概括短文的要点。
2．以“Efforts And Success”为主题，写一篇120字左右的短文，描写你自己的经历。要点包括：
(1) 原来的状况；
(2) 对付困难的做法；
(3) 努力后的具体表现或效果；
(4) 你自己对Efforts And Success的感想。
[写作要求]
1．可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得直接引用原文的句子；
2．描写的经历可以是真实的或者是虚构的；
3．作文中不得出现真实的姓名和学校名称。
[评分标准]
概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯。
