The concept of homeschooling is not a new one. Homeschooling means educating children at home instead of sending them to public or private schools. Nowadays, homeschooling has become popular in many countries for a variety of reasons. One of them is poor quality of education in public schools and it’s also because private schools are quite expensive. Some parents believe that because they know their child’s strengths and weaknesses, they can teach him or her better. Some parents prefer homeschooling so as to prevent their children from getting into bad company. There is another group of people who choose to educate their children at home because they want them to learn spirit and values of the family and also their religious beliefs. They also think that homeschooling would help in development of strong family bonds(家庭纽带).
However, there are some negative effects of homeschooling on students as well as parents.
Homeschooling is a full-time job and not fit for parents who have their own careers. It takes a lot of time for parents’ side to make homeschooling a success. Other family members’ responsibilities may also be affected. They may give their full attention to the needs of their children. Besides, a parent may have high educational qualifications, but that does not make him or her a good teacher. Teaching is an art, which requires the ability to understand the needs of the children. It is likely that the parent might have forgotten what he or she has learned, and the curriculum(课程) of the children would also be different. This would make it difficult for the parents to explain the concepts to their children. Parents also have the responsibility of designing the curriculum of students.
In today’s world, competition(比赛) is seen in every field, and school prepares children to face these competitions. However, homeschooling does not give the children a chance to compare with other kids. They will also not be aware of where they stand in educational position among their classmates. This may affect their future lives. Education is not the only thing that the children need to become successful human beings. It is necessary that they learn to communicate in the society, and public school provides them with such an environment, where they meet many people. Schools also provide children with a chance to take part in various activities to improve their overall development.
It is true that it has many benefits, but one must realize that school teaches children skills to face and survive.
Homeschooling
Definition | Educating children at home instead of in 1.__________ schools or private ones. |
2._________for the popularity | Poor quality of education in public schools and3.__________fees in private schools. Children are taught 4.__________at home. Children are kept away from bad company. Homeschooling is5.__________in strengthening family bonds |
Negatives 6.__________ | For parents: They can’t7.__________on their full-time jobs. They can’t be good 8.___________. |
For children: They can’t get chances to 9.___________ with others. They lack an environment where they meet many people. They can’t join in10.____________activities. |
It feels like every time my mother and I start to have a conversation, it turns into an argument. We talk about something as simple as dinner plans and suddenly, my mother will push the conversation into World War. She’ll talk about my lack of a bright future because I don’t plan to be a doctor. And much to her disappointment, I don’t want to do any job related to science, either. In fact, when I was pushed to say that I planned to major(主修) in English and communications, she nearly had a heart attack.“Why can’t you be like my co-worker’s son?” she bemoans all the time. Her co-worker’s son received a four-year scholarship and is now earning 70,000 dollars a year as an engineer. I don’t know what to answer except that I simply can’t be like Mr. Perfect as I’ve called the unnamed co-worker’s son. I can’t be like him. I’m the type of person who loves to help out in the community, write until the sun goes down, and most of all, wants to achieve a career because I love it, not because of fame (名声) or salary.
I understand why my mother is worried about my future major. I’ve seen my mother struggle to raise me on her small salary and work long hours. She leaves the house around 6:30 am and usually comes home around 5 pm or even 6 pm. However, I want her to know that by becoming a doctor, it doesn’t mean I’ll be successful. I’d rather follow my dreams and create my own future.
1.Which of the following topics do the writer and his mother often talk about?
A. The writer’s studies.
B. The writer’s future job
C. Dinner plans
D. Wars around the world
2.We can infer from Paragraph 1 that the writer’s mother ____________.
A. doesn’t want the writer to major in English
B. doesn’t think the writer should be a doctor
C. gets along very well with the writer
D. doesn’t think working in the science field is a good idea
3.The underlined word “bemoans” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _____________.
A. agrees B. shouts
C. complains D. smiles
4.Which of following statements is probable TRUE about the writer?
A. He wants to be like his mother’s co-worker’s son.
B. He wants to find a job in his community in the future.
C. He doesn’t think his mother’s co-worker’s son is perfect.
D. He wants to do something he really likes in the future.
Knowing the best way to study will help you to be a better student. By using your time properly, you can do your homework more quickly. Learning to study is not difficult.
The first thing to remember is that you must be willing to learn. It doesn’t mean that you must always like the subject. It does mean, however, that you must be wil1ing to do whatever is necessary to learn. Try to understand why it is important and how it will help you now and later to do and learn other things. Knowing mathematics facts will be useful in your whole life. Knowing how to spell makes any kind of writing easier. Sometimes subject that you think is going to be uninteresting will be exciting when you begin to work at it and understand it more clearly. Learning things can be fun if you are willing to work with them.
Here’s some advice for you: have a certain time each day and a quiet place with good lighting for study, so that you can concentrate on your study without interruptions(中断); have everything ready before you sit down to study, a dictionary, paper, a pen and books; be sure you understand what you should learn before you start; read carefully and pay special attention to the most important things; when memorizing, first find out the main parts and then recite the whole thing; check your homework after you finish it; never forget the importance of review and preview.
1.The main purpose of the article is______
A. to prove that learning is not difficult
B. to make the readers be interested in study
C. to tell the importance of self teaching
D. to tell the students how to study well
2.We learn things because______
A. our parents want us to learn
B. every student learns at school
C. we may use these things in the future
D. we like the subjects
3.Which of the following is NOT the advice given in the article?
A. To put a pen, paper and books beside you before study.
B. To study at any possible time and place.
C. To review and preview.
D. To pay attention to the most important things.
Then comes July, and with it examinations, but these are soon finished and with them ends the school year. Boys and girls have nearly two months’ holiday before them as they leave school by train and car to return home to their fathers and mothers.
The summer holidays are the best part of the year for most children. The weather is usually good, so that one can spend most of one’s time playing in the garden or, if one lives in the country, out in the woods and fields. Even if one lives in a big town, one can usually go to a park to play.
The best place for a summer holiday, however, is the seaside. Some children are lucky enough to live near the sea, but for the others who do not, a week or two at one of the big seaside towns is something that they will talk about for the whole of the following year.
In England, it is not only the rich who can take their children to the seaside; if a factory worker or a bus driver, a street cleaner or a waiter wants to take his wife and children to Southend or Margate, Blackpoor or Clacton, he is usually quite able to do so.
Now, what is it that children like so much about the seaside? I think it is the sand, sea and sun more than any other things. Of course, there are lots of new things to see, nice things to eat, and exciting things to do, but it is the feeling of sand under one’s feet, of salt water on one’s skin, and of the warm sun on one’s back that make the seaside what it is.
1.After the examination, pupils leave for home________
A. by train only
B. by air
C. by bike
D. by either train or car
2.July and August are the brightest months for most children, for they can_____.
A. stay with their parents for all the vacation.
B. do more reading
C.play out-of-door
D. meet their old friends
3.Children like the seaside so much, because they can ______.
A. swim in the sea
B. play with the sand
C. take a sun bath
D. do all of the above
Miss Gogers taught physics in a New York school. Last month she explained to one of her classes about sound, and she decided to test them to see how successful she had been in her explanation. She said to them, “Now I have a brother in Los Angeles. If I was calling him on the phone and at the same time you were 75 feet away, listening to me from across the street, which of you would hear what I said earlier, my brother or you and for what reason?”
Tom at once answered, “Your brother. Because electricity travels faster than sound waves.” “That's every good,” Miss Gogers answered; but then one of the girls raised her hand, and Miss Gogers said. “Yes, Kate.”
“I disagree,” Kate said. “Your brother would hear you earlier because when it's 11 o'clock here it's only 8 o'clock in Los Angeles.”
1.Miss Gogers was teaching her class_________.
A. how to telephone
B. about electricity
C. about time zone(时区)
D. about sound
2.Miss Gogers raised this question because she wanted to know whether______.
A. it was easy to phone to Los Angeles
B. her student could hear her from 75 feet away
C. her students had grasped her lesson
D. sound waves were slower than electricity
3.Tom thought that electricity was _________.
A. slower than sound waves
B. faster than sound waves
C. not so fast as sound waves
D. as fast as sound waves
4.Kate thought Tom was wrong because _______.
A. clocks in Los Angeles showed a different time from those in New York
B. electricity was slower than sound waves
C. Tom was not good at physics at all
D. Tom's answer had nothing to do with sound waves
5.Whose answer do you think is correct according to the law of physics?
A. Tom's B. Kate's
C. Both A and B D. Neither A nor B
A couple of weeks ago, my friend offered to sell some of our things for us. I thought it was a good opportunity to my 7-year-old son’s room and some toys that were no longer suitable for him to play with. We that all the money we got from selling the toys would be his money.
The night before the , we loaded up the truck with toys and a little bike that was too for him. In the yard he the bike for the last time and then happily put it onto the truck. This little bike had at least two previous owners as far as we . It wasn’t in the best and was certainly not new, but the tires were good.
We put a price of $10 on it, but it didn’t sell. So, after the sale was , my friend put it on the sidewalk, with a sign that “FREE BIKE”. Within five minutes her doorbell rang. A little boy was there. In poor English he asked whether the bike was free. She said yes and that he could have it for . He smiled, got on the bike and rode away.
Later that evening when I told my son how much money he had made at the sale, he was very , shouting happily. He asked about a few of his things, wondering they had been sold. When he asked about the bike, I told him about the little boy and that made him . He was much happier than when I told him how much he had . He was so happy to that someone else would make good of that little bike!
1.A. clean B. check C. display D. design
2.A. look for B. go through C. show off D. deal with
3.A. refused B. agreed C. wrote D. lied
4.A. trip B. show C. sale D. decision
5.A. weak B. small C. new D. thin
6.A. rode B. found C. watched D. felt
7.A. doubted B. knew C. told D. thought
8.A. time B. chance C. place D. shape
9.A. also B. never C. still D. hardly
10.A. ahead B. on C. near D. over
11.A. said B. repeated C. copied D. expressed
12.A. jumping B. standing C. walking D. shouting
13.A. barely B. usually C. really D. always
14.A. something B. anything C. everything D. nothing
15.A. calm B. scared C. excited D. disappointed
16.A. when B. if C. why D. how
17.A. smile B. worry C. leave D. cry
18.A. enjoyed B. lost C. bought D. made
19.A. hear B. understand C. remember D. think
20.A. interest B. money C. use D. price
