Blake Mycoskie set up five businesses, but later he sold them all at a profit. Feeling a bit burned out from work, Mycoskie decided to give it a break for a while and headed down to Argentina for some rest. But rest isn't really part of a businessman's make-up. It's in their nature to keep having good business ideas.
On a visit to a village outside Buenos Aires, he was shocked to see that many children didn’t have any shoes or, if they did，the shoes were badly worn. Since shoes—particularly the local farmers，canvas(帆布的)shoes—can be bought cheaply in Argentina, Mycoskie5s first instinct(本能) was to set up a charity to donate shoes to the children. But after giving it some thought, he realized that this was not a model that would work. One pair of shoes per child would not make that much difference，because they wear out(磨损). And if he asked people to donate repeatedly —to provide new shoes for the same child every six months—the donors，sympathy(同情)for the cause might also wear out pretty quickly.
Instead he came up with the idea of ''TOMS: one-for-one shoes''. He would take the canvas shoe to America, manufacture it and sell it as a high end fashion item at around $ 50 a pair. For each pair he sold he would donate one pair to shoeless village children. That way he could guarantee a continual supply.
Several years on，the business is very successful, supplying shoes not only to children in Argentina but also other parts of the world. But is the one-for-one model one that can be repeated with other products? Mycoskie is doubtful. TOMS is a for-profit business, but does not yet make a profit. He says one-for-one is not an offer that you can just add to your existing business model; you have to build it in from the beginning.
Some would also argue that the charity aspect is just a marketing tool，but in the end does that matter? TOMS is making a real difference to poor children all over the world and Mycoskie is enjoying being a businessman more than ever.
1.Why did Blake Mycoskie go to Argentina?
A.To go for relaxation. B.To seek business cooperation.
C.To look for new business ideas. D.To learn to make canvas shoes.
2.Why didn’t Blake Mycoskie set up a charity?
A.He wasn't interested in running a charity.
B.He had no real experience of running a charity.
C.A charity would make no difference to the children.
D.A charity could not donate shoes to the children continually.
3.Why did Blake Mycoskie set up TOMS?
A.To help poor children. B.To support a charity.
C.To win national fame. D.To expand his business.
4.What do we know about TOMS?
A.It has made a profit.
B.It only supplies shoes to children in Argentina.
C.It gives Mycoskie a sense of achievement.
D.It can be a model for other kinds of products
Teenagers who spend more than six hours online on school days are more likely to be lonely and skip school, according to an international study.
The study examined the home Internet use，well-being(幸福)and behaviour of 296,000 15-year-olds in 41 countries. More than one in four spent more than four hours per day online outside of school. The study found lower levels of well-being among students who spent more than six hours per day online. They were twice as likely as teenagers spending one and two hours per day online to report that they felt lonely at school. These ''extreme Internet users'' were also especially at risk of ''behaving in problematic ways at school, such as arriving late or skipping class''.
The report said, ''Lower levels of engagement(密切关系)with school may be connected to less sense of belonging at school. It is also possible that skipping class and arriving late for school are the consequence of lack of sleep among extreme Internet users. '' It adds，'' Parents， schools and health professionals can work together to watch and plan children's use of new media. ''
The study also found that countries that invest (投资)heavily in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools have seen no ''considerable'' difference in 15-year-olds5 achievement in reading, math or science tests. The study results suggest ''limited'' use of computers at school ''may be better'' than not using them at all. However, students who use computers ''very frequently'' at school ''do a lot worse in most learning outcomes''. The report says，'' In the end，technology can strengthen great teaching，but great technology cannot replace poor teaching. ''
1.The international study showed that .
A.half of the students spent six hours online every day
B.extreme Internet users had lower levels of well-being
C.teenagers spent much time online when they felt lonely
D.most of the students were late for school after extreme Internet use
2.What can we learn from the study results?
A.Schools should invest more in ICT.
B.Proper use of computers is helpful at school.
C.Technology sometimes leads to poor teaching.
D.Computer users perform well in maths at school.
3.Where does this text most probably come from?
A.An engineer textbook. B.A personal diary.
C.A science news report. D.A computer book.
More students than ever before are taking a gap year (间隔年) before going to university. It used to be called the “year off” between school and university. The gap-year phenomenon originated (起源) with the months left over to Oxbridge applicants between entrance exams in November and the start of the next academic year.
This year, 25,310 students who have accepted places in higher education institutions have put off their entry until next year, according to statistics on university entrance provided by the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS).
That is a record 14.7% increase in the number of students taking a gap year. Tony Higgins from UCAS said that the statistics are good news for everyone in higher education. “Students who take a well-planned year out are more likely to be satisfied with, and complete, their chosen course. Students who take a gap year are often more mature and responsible.” he said.
But not everyone is happy. Owain James, the president of the National Union of Students (NUS), argued that the increase is evidence of student hardship—young people are being forced into earning money before finishing their education. “New students are now aware that they are likely to leave university up to £ 15,000 in debt. It is not surprising that more and more students are taking a gap year to earn money to support their study for the degree. NUS statistics show that over 40% of students are forced to work during term time and the figure increases to 90% during vacation periods,” he said.
1.What do we learn about the gap year from the text?
A.It is flexible in length. B.It is a time for relaxation.
C.It is increasingly popular. D.It is required by universities.
2.According to Tony Higgins, students taking a gap year .
A.are better prepared for college studies
B.know a lot more about their future jobs
C.are more likely to leave university in debt
D.have a better chance to enter top universities
3.How does Owain James feel about the gap-year phenomenon?
A.He’s puzzled. B.He’s worried.
C.He’s surprised. D.He’s annoyed.
4.What would most students do on their vacation according to NUS statistics?
A.Attend additional courses. B.Make plans for the new term.
C.Earn money for their education. D.Prepare for their graduate studies.
阅读下列材料，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
A
From the very beginning of school we make books and reading a constant source of possible failure and public humiliation. When children are little we make them read aloud, before the teacher and other children, so that we can be sure they “know” all the words they are reading. This means that when they don’t know a word, they are going to make a mistake, right in front of everyone. After having taught fifth-grade classes for four years, I decided to try at all costs to rid them of their fear and dislike of books, and to get them to read oftener and more adventurously.
One day soon after school had started, I said to them, “Now I’m going to say something about reading that you have probably never heard a teacher say before. I would like you to read a lot of books this year, but I want you to read them only for pleasure. I am not going to ask you questions to find out whether you understand the books or not. If you understand enough of a book to enjoy it and want to go on reading it, that’s enough for me. Also I’m not going to ask you what words mean. “
The children sat stunned and silent. Was this a teacher talking? One girl, who had just come to us from a school where she had had a very hard time, looked at me steadily for a long time after I had finished. Then, still looking at me, she said slowly and seriously, Mr Holt, do you really mean that?” I said just as seriously, “I mean every word of it.
During the spring she really astonished me. One day, she was reading at her desk, From a glimpse of the illustrations I thought I knew what the book was. I said to myself, “It can’t be,” and went to take a closer look. Sure enough, she was reading Moby Dick , in edition with woodcuts. I said, “Don’t you find parts of it rather heavy going?” She answered, Oh, sure, but I just skip over those parts and go on to the next good part. “
This is exactly what reading should be and in school so seldom is, an exciting, joyous adventure. Find something, dive into it, take the good parts, skip the bad parts, get what you can out of it, go on to something else. How different is our mean-spirited, picky insistence that every child get every last little scrap of “understanding” that can be dug out of a book.
1.According to the passage, children’s fear and dislike of books may result from________.
A.reading little and thinking little
B.reading often and adventurously
C.being made to read too much
D.being made to read aloud before others
2.The teacher told his students to read______ .
A.for enjoyment
B.for knowledge
C.for a larger vocabulary
D.for higher scores in exams
3.Upon hearing the teacher’s talk, the children probably felt that________.
A.it sounded stupid
B.it was not surprising at all
C.it sounded too good to be true
D.it was no different from other teachers' talk
4.Which of the following statements about the girl is TRUE according to the passage?
A.She skipped over those easy parts while reading.
B.She had a hard time finishing the required reading tasks.
C.She learned to appreciate some parts of the difficult books.
D.She turned out to be a top student after coming to this school.
5.From the teacher's point of view,_________ .
A.children cannot tell good parts from bad parts while reading
B.children should be left to decide what to read and how to read
C.reading is never a pleasant and inspiring experience in school
D.reading involves understanding every little piece of information
D
Parents who help their children with homework may actually be bringing down their school grades. Other forms of prenatal involvement, including volunteering at school and observing a child's class, also fail to help, according to the most recent study on the topic.
The findings challenge a key principle of modern parenting(养育子女) where schools except them to act as partners in their children's education. Previous generations concentrated on getting children to school on time, fed, dressed and ready to learn.
Kaith Robinson, the author of the study, said, "I really don't know if the public is ready for this but there are some ways parents can be involved in their kids' education that leads to declines in their academic performance. One of the things that was consistently negative was parents' help with homework." Robinson suggested that may be because parents themselves struggle to understand the task." They may either not remember the material their kids are studying now, or in some cases never learnt it themselves, but they're still offering advice."
Robinson assessed parental involvement performance and found one of the most damaging things a parent could do was to punish their children for poor marks. In general, about 20% of parental involvement was positive, about 45% negative and the rest statistically insignificant.
Common sense suggests it was a good thing for parents to get involved because "children with good academic success do have involved parents ", admitted Robinson. But he argued that this did not prove parental involvement was the root cause of that success." A big surprise was that Asian-American parents whose kids are doing so well in school hardly involved. They took a more reasonable approach, conveying to their children how success at school could improve their lives."
1.The underlined expression "parental involvement " in Paragraph 1 probably means .
A.parents' expectation on children's health
B.parents' participation in children's education
C.parents' control over children's life
D.parents' plan for children's future
2.What is the major finding of Robinson's study ?
A.Modern parents raise children in a more scientific way.
B.Punishing kids for bad marks is mentally damaging.
C.Parental involvement is not so beneficial as expected.
D.Parents are not able to help with children’s homework.
3.The example of Asian-American parents implies that parents should .
A.help children realize the importance of schooling
B.set a specific life goal for their children
C.spend more time improving their own lives
D.take a more active part in school management
When I was nine years old, I loved to go fishing with my dad. But the only thing that wasn’t very fun about it was that he could catch many fish while I couldn’t catch anything. I usually got pretty upset and kept asking him why. He always answered, ”Son, if you want to catch a fish, you have to think like a fish.” I remember being even more upset then because, “I’m not a fish!” I didn’t know how to think like a fish. Besides, I reasoned, how could what I think influence what a fish does?
As I got a little older I began to understand what my dad really meant. So, I read some books on fish. And I even joined the local fishing club and started attending the monthly meetings. I learned that a fish is a cold-blooded animal and therefore is very sensitive to water temperature. That is why fish prefer shallow water to deep water because the former is warmer. Besides, water is usually warmer in direct sunlight than in the shade. Yet, fish don’t have any eyelids(眼皮) and the sun hurts their eyes…The more I understood fish, the more I became effective at finding and catching them.
When I grew up and entered the business world, I remember hearing my first boss say, “We all need to think like salespeople.” But it didn’t completely make sense. My dad never once said, “If you want to catch a fish you need to think like a fisherman.” What he said was, “You need to think like a fish.” Years later, with great efforts to promote long-term services to people much older and richer than me, I gradually learned what we all need is to think more like customers. It is not an easy job. I will show you how in the following chapters.
1.Why was the author upset in fishing trips when he was nine？
A.He could not catch a fish
B.His father was not patient with him
C.His father did not teach him fishing
D.He could not influence a fish as his father did
2.What did the author’s father really mean?
A.To read about fish
B.To learn fishing by oneself
C.To understand what fish think
D.To study fishing in many ways
3.According to the author, fish are most likely to be found .
A.in deep water on sunny days
B.in deep water on cloudy days
C.in shallow water under sunlight
D.in shallow water under waterside trees
4.After entering the business world，the author found .
A.it easy to think like a customer
B.his father’s fishing advice inspiring
C.his first boss’s sales ideas reasonable
D.it difficult to sell services to poor people
5.This passage most likely comes from .
A.a fishing guide
B.a popular sales book
C.a novel on childhood
D.a millionaire’s biography
