Rowena and Billy Wrangler are model high school students. They study hard and do extremely well on achievement tests. And next year，Rowena will be attending Harvard University．Billy，her younger brother，hopes to go to Cornell．What makes Rowena and Billy different from most students is that they don't go to school．In fact，they've never been to school．Since kindergarten，they've studied at home．Like many of more than one million people who receive home schooling in the United States, they feel as if they've gotten a good education．
The home-schooling trend began in the U.S．in the 1980s with parents keeping their children out of public schools so they could provide religious education at home. Today，as the home-schooling trend continues to grow，parents are more likely to consider home schooling as an option because they believe schools don't do a very good job of teaching and are occasionally dangerous places．But can parents really do a better job?
The answer in many cases is yes．In many studies，students taught at home ranked average or above average when compared to students who went to public schools．More importantly，these students were often more self-directed and have a greater depth of knowledge．They were well prepared for academic challenges．
One such student，Robert Conrad, now a sophomore at university, claims he really learned how to study and schedule his time during his eight years of home schooling．Still, not every student is as successful as Robert．
“For every home-schooling success story，there are an equal number of failures．”states Henry Lipscomb，an educational researcher．“There are just so many disadvantages that students taught at home have to overcome.” For example，they have fewer chances to get in touch with others of their own age．Consequently，they sometimes lack the usual social skills．“No matter what，though，”states Lipscomb，“home-schooling is a growing trend．I think we'll be seeing more and more of this．”
1.Compared with other students, Rowena and Billy are most different in the fact that ___________.
A．they preferred to teach themselves
B．they do extremely well on achievement tests
C．they don't go to school as other teenagers
D．they feel they have gotten a good education
2.According to the article, what is NOT the advantage of being educated at home?
A．Home is a safer place for children．
B．Students taught at home are more self-directed．
C．Students taught at home have a greater depth of knowledge．
D．Students taught at home can go to good universities．
3.The writer thinks __________ .
A．parents can do a better job than schools
B．home-schooling will be more and more useful
C．home-schooling is good in some aspects
D．students taught at home make greater achievements
4.The best title of this text might be ________ .
A．Home-schooling：A Growing Trend
B．Home-schooling：A Better Choice
C．Home-schooling：A Way to Success
D．Home-schooling：A New Method of Education
James Arruda Henry, a 98-year-old retired lobsterman, has written and published his first book, "In a Fisherman's Language", after learning to read at the incredible age of 91．
Mr. Henry spent most of his life without even his closest family members knowing he was illiterate (文盲）．Forced to quit school in the third grade to take some jobs, he kept the secret close to his chest - only telling to his late wife．
A family problem in his 90s sparked his encourage to restart his education．"He signed a document he could not read," Mr Henry's granddaughter said. And then, after hearing about George Dawson, a son of slaves who learned to read at the age of 98 and went on to write a book of his own, entitled "Life Is So Good" at the age of 101, Mr. Henry took up reading．
"If he can do it．I'm going to try," Mr. Henry said．Starting with his name, he eventually moved on to ABC’s and children's books. He put them down for four years after the tragic loss of his wife. But eventually he went back to reading and with the help of his tutor began to record his life．
He wrote about his family’s voyage from Portugal to the U.S. his many journeys at sea and how he was unable to save another fisherman who had fallen overboard. He became a carpenter and even a professional boxer - and eventually built his own home in Stonington Borough．
His life stories have become so popular, in fact, nearly 800 copies were sold in the first two weeks of the book's release last month．One thousand more have since been printed as requests for the book flood in from as far as Germany．And now even Hollywood producers have approached Mr. Henry about optioning the rights to his life story for a big screen adaptation．
1.Which of the following is true of Mr. Henry?
A．He couldn't read when he was retired．
B．He was not a good student at school．
C．Only his family members knew he was illiterate．
D．He published his book at the age of 91．
2.Mr. Henry made up his mind to study because he ．
A．had some trouble with his granddaughter
B．couldn't sign the document he was given
C．wanted to share his own experience with others
D．was inspired by George Dawson's story
3.In his book, Mr. Henry didn't mention ____．
A．his family story B．his school education
C．his journeys at sea D．his work experiences
4.What's the main idea of the last paragraph?
A．Nearly 800 copies of the book were sold．
B．The book was sold well in Germany．
C．His book was popular both at home and abroad．
D．Hollywood has planned to adapt his book for a movie．
It's fourteen years since I left the Philippines to live with my family in the USA. A month ago, while on summer vacation back in my motherland, I learned a lesson from mosquito (蚊子) bites. Right before 16 Kennedy Airport in New York, my grandma 17 me of the behavior of the native mosquitoes around the 18 like me. She said, "There's an old saying—the 19 you stay away from the motherland, the sweeter your blood 20 to the mosquitoes. " Not 21 it, I replied, "Grandma, that's just an old wives' tale!"
Well, less than a week 22 my arrival in Manila, I was already carpeted with a 23 of mosquito bites. I took many measures to keep myself from being 24 , but they all proved useless.
Late one 25 in my cousin's home, I couldn't bear the 26 of the bites. Hoping to find some comfort, I 27 my cousin, who was sleeping peacefully in the bed next to mine. Unhappy for being 28 she said, "There is nothing you can do. Go back to sleep. " With a few turns, she slept again. Enviously (妒嫉地) 29 her sleep, I hoped a big mosquito would 30 on her face. However, the mosquitoes would just lightly dance around her forehead and fly away quickly, never biting her. Amazed (惊奇的), I ran to others' 31 , only to find they were all sleeping 32 as the same thing occurred again and again.
From those bites, I came to 33 my grandma's silly tale. From then on, I've always tried to keep a(n) 34 mind about those strange old wives' tales 35 they do have some truth to them.
1.A. leaving B. passing C. visiting D. finding
2.A. persuaded B. reminded C. warned D. informed
3.A. students B. foreigners C. passengers D. visitors
4.A. earlier B. longer C. sooner D. later
5.A. grows B. goes C. flows D. remains
6.A. expecting B. understanding C. recognizing D. believing
7.A. after B. before C. when D. as
8.A. shade B. pile C. cloud D. blanket
9.A. touched B. bitten C. defeated D. discovered
10.A. morning B. afternoon C. evening D. night
11.A. noise B. hit C. pain D. effect
12.A. woke up B. shouted at C. looked for D. dropped on
13. A. blamed B. interrupted C. moved D. frightened
14.A. having B. watching C. making D. helping
15.A. land B. fly C. fall D. wait
16.A. houses B. flats C. rooms D. homes
17.A. joyfully B. anxiously C. soundlessly D. worriedly
18.A. tell B. know C. remember D. accept
19.A. open B. active C. clear D. honest
20.A. and B. so C. because D. until
1. —Did you spend a lot of time looking for the lost child?
—________. It took us half a month, but luckily we found him.
A. My pleasure B. Absolutely
C. Not at all D. Don’t mention it
1. ____ he told us is the news ____ China has got 32 gold medals in the Athens Olympic Games, ____, of course, made us feel very excited.
A. What; which; which B. That; that; which
C. What; that; which D. That; that; what
1. Rarely ________ such a silly thing.
A. have I heard of
B. I have heard of
C. I have been hearing of
D. have I heard from
