At the age of seven, while his friends were spending pocket money on things like candy and toys, Jose Adolfo was busy saving money for more essential purchases. To try to get his peers to do the same, the youngster from Arequipa, Peru came up with the innovative idea of an eco-bank, which allows kids of all ages to gain economic independence— while also helping the environment.
Established in 2012, the Bartselana Student Bank is the world’s first bank for kids. To open an account, kids have to bring in at least 5 kilograms of solid waste (paper or plastic) and establish a savings goal. Once accepted, all bank “partners” are required to deposit(存储) at least one additional kilogram of recyclables on a monthly basis and meet other requirements, such as attending financial education and environmental management workshops.
The waste collected is sold to local recycling companies, who, thanks to Jose, pay a higher-than-market rate for everything brought in by Bartselana Student Bank members. The funds received are placed in the individual’s account until his/her savings goal is reached. The account holder can then withdraw his/her money, or choose to leave it and continue to grow for a bigger target.
“At the beginning, my teachers thought I was crazy,” Jose recalls. “They did not understand that we are not the future of the country but its present. Luckily. I had the support of the school principal.”
By 2013, the bank had over 200 members who brought in one ton of recyclable waste. Today, the eco-bank, which now has the support of several local institutions, has ten educational centers. They are designed to teach the over 3,000 members both finance and environmental management. On December 6, 2018, in response to the growing demand, Bartselana Student Bank began accepting applications from kids all across Peru.
As the teenager says, “Together we can change the world. We just need an opportunity.”
1.What is the purpose of the eco-bank?
A. To involve kids in the management of the local recycling companies.
B. To help kids get pocket money to spend on things like candy and toys.
C. To show kids how important it is to learn environmental management.
D. To get kids to help the environment and be economically independent.
2.What duty does an eco-bank member have to perform?
A. Attending financial education workshops. B. Bringing in 5 kilos of waste.
C. Saving one kilo of solid waste weekly. D. Establishing a savings goal.
3.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 4 mean?
A. Kids are more responsible when growing up.
B. The future of the country relies mainly on kids.
C. Kids can contribute to the society though young.
D. The present is a vital period for kid development.
4.Which of the following words can best describe Jose?
A. Generous. B. Crazy. C. Flexible. D. Influential.
Kiwi students have become the world’s first kids to be “taught” by a digital teacher named Will. Before you start imagining a human-like robot walking around the classroom. Will is just an avatar (化身) that appears on the student’s desktop, tablet or smartphone screen.
Auckland energy company Vector and AI company Soul Machines have worked together to model after the human brain and nervous system, allowing it to show human-like behavior. The digital teacher is now teaching primary school students about renewable energy.
Just like the humans it replaced, Will is able to instantly react to the students’ responses to the topic. He also picks up facial expressions, body language of the students. For instance, if a student smiles at Will, he smiles back. The two-way interaction(互动) not only helps capture(捕捉) the students’ attention, but also allows the program’s developers to monitor their performance, and make changes if needed.
Greg Cross, the Chief Business Officer of Soul Machines, says, “It’s well-documented that STEM teachers are in short supply in New Zealand schools. By using digital teachers, we are able to provide access to education to kids and communities that might not have access to real teachers.”
Greg believes that Will-like avatars could be a novel way to have the attention of the next generation. He says, “The program, in place since August 2018, has been a great success thus far. However, regardless of its popularity, Will is unlikely to replace human educators any time soon. For one thing, the avatar’s knowledge base is severely limited. For another, even the smartest digital avatars could never react to all the unexpected situations that educators have to deal with on a daily basis.”
1.What do we know about Will?
A. He teaches college students in the classroom.
B. He will replace human teachers in the future.
C. He can deal with unexpected issues in class.
D. He has human-like brain and nervous system.
2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. The human brain. B. The nervous system.
C. The digital teacher. D. The human-like robot.
3.Why did Vector and Soul Machines create Will?
A. To monitor students’ performance. B. To respond to the teacher shortage.
C. To capture students’ attention in class. D. To teach students renewable energy.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. World-first Digital Teacher. B. Future of Energy Company.
C. Development of AI Company. D. Shortage of Human Teachers.
Technology keeps students from focusing, right? One solution is ban phones and computers from the classroom. Another solution is to engage students with online tools that will help them complete assignments while still using electronic equipment. Here are some online tools to hold their attention.
Prezi
Presentations are an important part of the curriculum but let’s face it. PowerPoint isn’t terribly engaging. Prezi allows students to create presentations that are more creative and exciting than what PPT has to offer. Not only will this make the presentation-creating process more interesting for students, it will also make watching presentations more interesting as well.
Trello
Because so many students are in the habit of multitasking, a good skill to teach them is how to organize and simplify their assignments. Trello is a free and super easy-to-use tool for students to create workflow charts. Multiple students can be added to the same board; great for teamwork on projects.
Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey is a useful tool to reduce the number of tasks that students can do at the same time on their computers. They probably won’t love this one because it limits their access to certain websites so that students can focus on their tasks. Even having students turn it on for half of a period for some focuses on in-class writing time will make a difference in terms of their productivity.
White Noise
Whatever you want the students to engage in — activities, contents, assignments, etc. — they need to be able to focus, and classrooms aren’t always the easiest places to do that. White noise can not only drown out excess(过量) noise, but also help students keep more concentrated, for there is less noise when they’re concentrating.
1.What are these technology tools mainly used for?
A. Helping students stay focused on their lessons.
B. Banning electronic equipment from the classroom.
C. Improving the students’ creativity in class.
D. Discouraging too much use of online tools.
2.Which tool is suitable for teamwork?
A. White Nose. B. Cold Turkey. C. Trello. D. Prezi.
3.Why might students dislike Cold Turkey?
A. Because it is not practical for them at all.
B. Because it makes some websites inaccessible.
C. Because it greatly reduces their productivity.
D. Because it prevents them surfing the Internet.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What was Dane’s goal?
A. To vote at a town meeting.
B. To keep more pets at home.
C. To lift the ban on snowball throwing.
2.How did Dane achieve his goal?
A. By delivering a speech at a town meeting.
B. By discussing with his classmates.
C. By writing letters to state leaders.
3.Who does Dane want to hit first with a snowball?
A. His classmate. B. His little brother. C. The town leader.
4.Which animal isn’t permitted to keep as a pet in the city?
A. Cats. B. Dogs. C. Pigs.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What are the speakers talking about?
A. Making plans. B. Learning English. C. Taking exercise.
2.What will the woman do at nine o’clock?
A. Go swimming. B. Go to the library. C. Attend an English class.
3.Why will the man go to the library?
A. To return books. B. To prepare for exams. C. To do some reading.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Where is the closest ATM?
A. Next to the Yellow building.
B. Just on the right of the street.
C. Opposite the convenience store.
2.Where can the man do shopping at present?
A. On 3rd street. B. On 22nd street. C. On 24th street.
3.How does the woman suggest the man get to the convenience store?
A. By cab. B. By car. C. By subway.
