No one wants to be tested. We would all like to get a driver’s license without answering questions about rights of way or showing that we can parallel park a car. Many future lawyers and doctors probably wish they could join their profession without taking an exam.
But tests and standards are a necessary fact of life. They protect us from unskilled drivers, harmful products and dishonest professionals. In schools too exams play a. constructive role. They tell public officials whether new school programs are making a difference and where new investments are likely to pay off.
They tell teachers what their students have learned--and have not. They tell parents how their children are doing compared with others their age. They encourage students to make more effort.
It is important to recall that for most of century, educators used intelligence tests to decide which children should get a high-quality education. The point of IQ testing was to find out how much children were capable of learning rather than to test what they had actually learned. Based on IQ scores, millions of children
were assigned to dumbed-down programs instead of solid courses in science, math, history, literature and foreign language.
This history reminds us that tests should be used to improve education. Every child should have access to a high-quality education. Students should have full opportunity to learn what will be tested; otherwise their scores will merely reflect whether they come from an educated family.
In the past few years, we have seen the enormous benefits that flow to disadvantaged students because of the information provided by state tests. Those who fall behind are now getting extra instruction in after-school classes and summer programs. In their efforts to improve student performance, states are
increasing teachers salaries, testing new teachers and insisting on better teacher education.
Performance in education means the mastery of both knowledge and skills. This is why it is reasonable to test teachers to make sure they know their subject matter, as well as how to teach it to young children. And this is why it is reasonable to assess whether students are ready to advance to the next grade or graduate
from high school.
1.According to the passage, school exams enable ______.
A. governments to make right policies have made efforts
B. students to meet their teachers' requirements
C. teachers to understand if their students
D. parents to compare their kids' behavior across schools
2."Dumbed - down programs" in Paragraph 3 refer to the programs which .
A. lead to high-quality education
B. are less academically challenging
C. are intended for intelligent students
D. enable children to make steady progress
3.Which of the following does the author probably agree with?
A. Disadvantaged students can benefit from state tests.
B. Tests should focus on what students have actually learned.
C. Intelligent tests decide if children should get a high - quality education.
D. Intelligent tests are helpful in separating excellent students from poor ones.
4.What is the purpose of the passage?
A. To re-assess the value of IQ testing.
B. To defend the role of testing in education.
C. To explain what high-quality education means.
D. To call for thorough and complete reform in education.
STAGE
Keep it in the air: The Chaoyang Theater is one of the Beijing theaters to present acrobatics (杂技) all year round. Top acrobatic artists invited from all over the country perform for Chinese and foreign tourists. The program contains trick cycling, leaping through hoops and Chinese magic tricks. Some of the artists have won prizes in international competitions.
Time: 7:15 p.m. Daily
Place: 36, Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District
Tel: 1716, 16818
Use your head: Green Hat is a new drama given by a group of young Chinese actors. It's a rewrite of American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous novel The Scarlet Letter. It describes the heroine's great courage in finding the true love against the public disagreement.
Time: 7:15 p.m. until March 5, except Mondays
Place: China Children's Theater
Tel: 102220, 102210
Mix and match: Story of Puppets tells of a fairy, Zixia, who looks for true love in the human world. After watching a puppet play Peony Pavilion, she thinks there must be true love in reality, so she uses magic to turn the puppet characters into humans, wanting to fall in love with the puppet hero. But things don't go as she planned...Li Liuyi, the director of the play has made several successful attempts to present different traditional operas in one play. This time he combines Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, and Pingju Opera along with a band, using the structure of modem drama.
Time: 7:30 p. m. until March 10, except Mondays
Place: Small Playhouse of Beijing People's Art Theater
Tel: 121118
Peking Opera: The Beijing Peking Opera Troupe will give two performances at the Chang'an Crand Theater. Each performance includes two classical excerpts (选段). One is Wenxi (a play focusing on singing and dancing); the other is Wuxi (a play full of acrobatic dancing). The first night will be The Crossroad and Presenting a Pearl of the Rainbow Bridge. And the second night will see the performance of The Goddess of Heaven Scatte.
Place: Chang'an Grand Theater
Tel: 813108
1.We can learn from the text that _____.
A Story of Puppets is a play held in China Children's Theater
B. the artists who have won prizes will perform magic tricks
C. on March 5 there will be two plays for us to choose
D. the artists in the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe are from all over the country
2.If a tourist wants to see a performance on March 15, he can call _____ to book a ticket.
A. 813108 B. 121118 C. 102220 D. 16818
3.According to the text, which of the following statements is true?
A. The director of the Story of Puppets combines different operas in it.
B. Green Hat is based on a famous novel acted by some American artists.
C. Top Acrobatic artists will present their performances around our country.
D. The Beijing Peking Opera Troupe will give two performances with the same excerpts
Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. For example, many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities). Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian culture, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt（尝试）to “read” people from another culture as we would “read” someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions. Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to conclude about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of “reading” the other person incorrectly.
1.What does the smile usually mean in the U.S.?
A. Love. B. Politeness. C. Joy. D. Thankfulness.
2.The author mentions the smile of the Vietnamese to prove that smile can ___ .
A. show friendliness to strangers B. be used to hide true feelings
C. be used in the wrong places D. show personal habits
3.What should we do before attempting to “read” people?
A. Learn about their relations with others.
B. Understand their cultural backgrounds.
C. Find out about their past experience.
D. Figure out what they will do next.
4.What would be the best title for the test?
A. Cultural Differences B. Smiles and Relationship
C. Facial Expressiveness D. Habits and Emotions
Today, we are talking about money. I can share a bit about my history with money and my new view when it comes to using green paper.
I made a web page with links to posts about our financial journey where you can look for more details of where we’ve been and how we got where we are now. It was a big part of my story in the past and was a huge part of our downsizing journey. We got out of debt and stayed out of debt.
So I feel eager to share the benefits of being on this side. It takes planning and more careful thought whenever a dollar is spent now than it did when I had a wallet full of credit cards. I now like to think all of my dollars having a job. So many of us work for money and don’t consider that money should work for us, too. Make your dollars do the job of helping you live the life you want.
Each time money is spent or saved, it should be going toward something that you purposefully want for your life. Last week I was out and I spent $20 on food in 3 days. It made me angry because afterward I thought about eating is not at all what for my life.
On the other hand, there are times I spend $20 while out with my family and it doesn’t bother me one bit. An afternoon out with my kids during which we stop for ice cream, and do something fun together has a completely different feel to it.
In the end, I want the dollars I spend to have purpose like I can enjoy life while still planning and saving for the future.
1.What do the underlined words “green paper” in Paragraph I refer to ______.
A. money B. work C. newspaper D. book
2.You can learn about the writer’s history with money ______.
A. by making a web page
B. by reading posts about their financial journey
C. by going on a financial journey
D. by writing to him
3.In the writer’s opinion, ________.
A. more credit cards should be used in our daily life
B. we should work hard to make more money
C. money should help us live better
D. saving money is very easy
4.Why did the writer feel happy with the money spent with his family?
A. Because the money is spent on food.
B. Because the money is spent in doing something fun.
C. Because eating is what he wanted for his life.
D. Because the money went toward something that he wanted for his life.
I had a job interview this morning at 10:30 in a place which was quite far from my house.
I had asked my brother to_ ___me at the bus stop. But he was running late and it was already 9:45 before I reached the bus stop.__ __, I caught my first bus and had to wait at another stop for the second one.
Then, in front of my__ __, a little girl (who may have been a beggar) was hit by a car! The car drove off without__ __. The girl was badly hurt in her hands and legs. She was _ ____heavily and was screaming in pain. After a few seconds she fainted(昏厥).
People standing nearby didn’t seem to know_ ___ to do. I ran over and called for an auto. A_ ____, who seemed to be the girl’s grandpa, ran towards us with _ ____steaming down his cheeks. I took them both to ______ in the auto. They admitted the girl and _ ___ to start her treatment. Happily, she was well__ ___ and soon came back to consciousness. She smiled at me and hugged her grandpa. I _ ____ the bill, gave them a little money, then I __ ___ for my interview.
It was 1:30p.m. Before I got home. I was __ __hours late! The one interview who was still there asked what had__ __ me. I told him, and then gave him one of our Smile cards and _ ____ about the project. He was very impressed!
It would be __ ___ to say I got the job. ___, because I was so late he could not pass me on to the next level.
Getting the job might have made me happy, but helping that young girl and her grandpa made me even __ ____! I really thank God for giving me that__ ___ to help.
1.A. drop B. send C. take D. deliver
2.A. ActuallyB. Luckily C. Surprisingly D. Gradually
3.A. bus B. seat C. eyes D. feet
4.A. noticing B. speeding C. knockingD. stopping
5.A. crying B. bleeding C. sleeping D. trembling
6.A. how B. where C. who D. what
7.A. beggar B. driver C. policeman D. gentleman
8.A. words B. sweat C. tears D. blood
9.A. homeB. interview C. bus D. hospital
10.A. preparedB. intended C. rushed D. promised
11.A. cared aboutB. looked after C. dealt with D. carried out
12.A. boughtB. accepted C. paid D. donated
13.A. set aboutB. set off C. set out D. set up
14.A. two B. three C. four D. five
15.A. delayedB. happened C. hit D. terrified
16.A. complainedB. explained C. debated D. introduced
17.A. niceB. shameful C. hopeless D. unbelievable
18.A. and B. so C. but D. or
19.A. prouder B. greater C. happier D. harder
20.A. courageB. opportunity C. position D. situation
One Sunday morning in August I went to local music festival. I left it early because I had an appointment 1. (late) that day. My friends walked me to the bus stop and waited with me 2. the bus arrived. I got on the bus and found a seat near the back, and then I noticed a man 3. (sit) at the front. He 4. (pretend) that a tiger toy was real and giving it a voice. He must be 5. (mental) disabled.
Behind him were other people to 6. he was trying to talk, but after some minutes. 7. walked away and sat near me, looking annoyed
I didn’t want to be laughed at for talking to him but I didn’t like leaving him 8. his own either.
After a while I rose from my seat and walked to the front of the bus. I sat next to the man and introduced myself. We had 9. amazing conversation. He got off the bus before me and I felt very happy the rest of the way home.
I’m glad I made a choice. It made 10. of us feel good.
