Although American children still spend part of their days reading, they are spending less time doing it for pleasure than years ago, with large gaps(差距) in proficiency(熟练)，according to a recent report.
“It raises an alarm,” said Vicky Rideout, the lead author of the report. “We’re witnessing a really large drop in reading among teenagers and the speed of that drop is getting faster and faster.”
The report found that the percentage of nine-year-old children reading for pleasure once or more per week had dropped from 81 percent in 1984 to 76 percent in 2013, based on government studies. About a third of 13-year-olds and almost half of 17-year-olds reported in one study that they read for pleasure less than twice a year.
Of those who read or are read to, children often spend on average between 30 minutes and an hour daily with that activity, the report found. Older children and teenagers tend(倾向于) to read for pleasure for an equally long time each day.
Rideout warned that there may be differences in how people come across texts and the included studies may not take into account stories read on line or on social media.
The report also found that many young children are struggling with literacy(识字). Only about one-third of fourth grade students are “proficient” in reading and another one-third scored below “basic” in reading skills.
Despite the large percentage of children with below-basic reading skills, reading scores among young children have improved since the 1970s, according to one test that measures reading ability.
The reading scores among 17-year-olds, however, reminded relatively unchanged since the 1790s.
About 46 percent of white children are considered “proficient” in reading, compared with 18 percent of black children and 20 percent of Hispanic kids.
Those gap remained relatively unchanged over the past 20 years, according to the report.
“To go 20 years with no progress in that area is shameful”, Rideout said.
The report stresses some behaviors that have been tied to children being more frequent readers. Those behaviors include parents setting aside time to read with their children and parents reading themselves to model good behavior.
1.The figures in paragraph 3 show that_____.
A. fewer children read for pleasure.
B. older children are busier than young children.
C. teenagers are more interested in online reading.
D. more elder children gain pleasure from reading.
2.Which of the following is TRUE about the report findings?
A. The reading scores among older children have improved.
B. The reading scores among young children haven’t changed.
C. The gap between black children and white children has narrowed.
D. Black children have lower proficiency in reading than white children.
3.What is the Vicky Rideout’s attitude towards the report findings?
A. Uncaring. B. Doubtful.
C. Positive. D. Worried.
4.To make children frequent readers, parents should ______.
A. improve their reading skills.
B. read as many books as possible.
C. set a good example to their children.
D. spend more time with their children.
Kids are cool to wear blue jeans and T-shirts today. It is fashionable like that. Fashion refers to the styles of dress that are currently popular. Fashion goes beyond just clothes, though. It’s important for some people to wear only the latest fashions and styles. For others, though, keeping up with trends isn’t that important. The one thing that stays the same with fashion is this: it always changes!
During the 1960s and 1970s, Hippies made bell—bottomed blue jeans（喇叭裤）popular. Also, in the 1980s, Michael Jackson made parachute pants（降落伞裤）all the fashion. Now try to find these items in today’s clothing stores!
Do you know why fashions change？The answer is probably as simple as the fact that people change. Over time, the new replaces the old. People are influenced greatly by popular culture, including athletes, musicians, movies stars, as well as popular films, television shows, books and music. We are also influenced by the fashion industry’s advertising.
The stars of popular culture are always searching for a new angle to maintain（保持）their popularity. Often these new angles come in the form of new clothing or hairstyles. When people see these new styles, they often want to imitate(模仿) their favorite stars. To do so, they seek out the latest fashions to make themselves look like the people they want to imitate. In this way, fashions evolve and change over time.
Clothes have been used to separate people into groups for many years. Even today, brand-name, clothing that is more expensive than other types of clothing can be used by some people to make themselves different from others.
Unfortunately, this can often have the effect of distancing certain groups from others. Don’t forget that it’s always OK to develop your own sense of style that is unique and separate from what the fashion world determines! Stay true to yourself and let your personality — not your clothes — speak for who you are!
1. What does the example of bell—bottomed blue jeans and parachute pants in Paragraph 2 suggest?
A. Fashion always changes.
B. Stars are always influential.
C. People have different dressing styles.
D. Hippies and Michael Jackson are good designers.
2. What causes the changes of fashions?
A. Advertisements change rapidly.
B. Popular culture influences people.
C. Movie stars are changing over time.
D. New films and shows replace the old.
3.We can learn from the text that _____ .
A. fashion is all about clothes.
B. the author has gone out of fashion.
C. clothes may separate and distance people.
D. people like imitate others’ dressing style.
4.What does the author mainly want to stress in the last paragraph?
A. The advantages of staying unique.
B. The bad effects of following fashion.
C. The good influences of popular styles.
D. The importance of having one’s own personality.
I was telling my boy Sonny the story of the hare (兔子) and the tortoise (乌龟). At the end I said, “ Son, remember: Be slow and steady (镇定的), and that will win the race. Don’t you think there’s something to learn from the tortoise?”
Sonny opened his eyes wide, “Do you mean next time when I’m entering for the 60-metre race I should wish that Billy, Tony and Sandy would all fall asleep halfway?”
I was shocked, “But the tortoise didn’t wish that the hare would fall asleep!”
“He must have wished that,” Sonny said, “Otherwise how could he be so foolish as to race with the hare? He knew very well the hare ran a hundred times faster than he himself did.”
“He didn’t have such a wish,” I insisted. “He won the race by perseverance (坚忍不拔), by pushing on steadily.”
Sonny thought a while. “That’s a lie,” he said. “He won it because he was lucky. If the hare hadn’t happened to fall asleep, the tortoise would never have won the race. He could be as steady as you like, or a hundred times steadier, but he’d never have won the race. That’s for sure.”
I gave up. Today’s children are not like what we used to be. They’re just hopeless.
1.The writer argued with his son because _____.
A. he liked tortoises while his son liked hares.
B. they disagreed about whether the tortoise was foolish.
C. he tried to teach his son a moral lesson but the son had totally different opinion.
D. he liked the story of the hare and the tortoise while his son didn’t.
2.Sonny believed that the tortoise _____.
A. won the race by his own hard working.
B. took a risk (冒险) by agreeing to run a race.
C. was not given a fair chance in the race.
D. in fact did win the race luckily.
3.The writer thinks that his generation (一代人) _____.
A. are cleverer than Sonny’s generation.
B. have the same ideas about life as Sonny’s generation.
C. are more hopeful than Sonny’s generation.
D. have different ideas about life from Sonny’s generation.
假如你住在一个涉外小区，社区请你帮忙根据以下提示用英文写一封电子邮件， 将周末社区邀请居民参加乡村耕作活动的细节传达给用户。
活动宗旨 | 亲近自然， 锻炼身体 |
参加人员 | 所有感兴趣的小区居民 |
内容 | 种菜， 养花， 喂鱼等 |
时间 | 本周六上午9:00—12:00（如果天气允许） |
地点 | 距离小区5千米的一家农场 |
出行方式 | 集体骑自行车前往 |
要求：1. 短文结构完整，意思连贯，语言流畅，语法准确，符合逻辑；
2. 100词左右；
3. 参考词汇：居民resident ; 社区 community
Hi，everyone!
改错
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词； 2．只允许修改10处，从第11处起不计分。
Last Saturday the student of our class made a bike trip to Furong, a small town by the Nanxi River. We set off earlier in the morning. After get to the town, we visited some places of interest. At noon, we had a picnic near the river. Everybody is attracted by the beautiful scenery but we took a lot pictures. In the afternoon, some of them went fishing, some flew kites, and the others rowed boats on the water. We both had a wonderful time! It was a pleasant trip for us, during which the boys were offered the girls a lot of help. We have learned to help, understanding and share with others.
阅读填空There are 1. kinds of theme parks, with a different park for almost everything: food, culture, science, 2., movies or history. Some of them 3. having the biggest or longest roller coasters. 4. and whatever you like, there is a theme park for you.
In the fantasy 5. park of Disneyland, you may see Snow White or Mickey Mouse in a parade or on the street. Disneyland also has many exciting rides, from giant 6. ships to terrifying free-fall drops. With all these 7., it is 8. that tourism is increasing _9. there is a Disneyland. Dollywood, being one of the most 10. theme park in the world, shows and celebrates America’s traditional southeastern culture.
