Some students get so nervous before a test, and they do poorly even if they know the material. Sian Beilock has studied these highly anxious test-takers.
Sian Beilock: “They start worrying about the consequences. They might even start worrying about whether this exam is going to prevent them from getting into the college they want. And when we worry, it actually uses up attention and memory resources. I talk about it as your cognitive horsepower that you could otherwise be using to focus on the exam.”
Professor Beilock and another researcher, Gerardo Ramirez, have developed a possible solution. Just before an exam, highly anxious test-takers spend ten minutes writing about their worries about the test.
Sian Beilock: “what we think happens is when students put it down on paper , they think about the worst that could happen and they reassess the situation. They might realize it’s not as hard as they might think it was before and, in essence, it prevents these thoughts from popping up when they’re actually taking a test.”
The researchers tested the idea on a group of twenty anxious college students. They gave them two short math tests. After the first one, they asked the students to either sit quietly or write about their feelings about the upcoming second test.
The researchers added to the pressure. They told the students that those who did well on the second test would get money. They also told them that their performance would affect other students as part of a team effort.
Professor Beilock says those who sat quietly scored an average of twelve percent worse on the second test. But the students who had written about their fears improved their performance by an average of five percent.
Next, the researchers used younger students in a biology class. They told them before final exams either to write about their feelings or to think about things unrelated to the test.Prefessor Beilock says highly anxious students who did the writing got an average grade of B+, compared to a B- for those who did not.
Sian Beilock: “What we showed is that for students who are highly test-anxious, who’d done our writing intervention, all of a sudden there was no relationship between test anxiety and performance. Those students most likely to worry were performing just as well as their classmates who don’t normally get nervous in these testing situations.”
But what if students do not have a chance to write about their fears immediately before an exam or presentation? Professor Beilock says students can try it themselves at home or in the library and still improve their performance.
1.What may happen if students have the problem of test anxiety?
A．Test anxiety can improve students’ performance to some degree.
B．Students’ attention and memory resources run out when worried.
C．Students may not be admitted into their favorite college if worried
D．Test anxiety is sure to cause students to fail the test.
2.Which of the following is TRUE?
A．The result in the math test agrees with that in the biology test.
B．In the first math test, students who sat quietly performed better.
C．In the second math test, students who wrote about their feelings did worse.
D．Some college students are highly anxious test-takers while others are not..
3.What does the underlined phrase “popping up” mean?
A．Giving out B．Fading away
C．Becoming clear D．Appearing suddenly
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A．It is a common practice for students to get worried before a test.
B．Being worried before tests does harm to students’ performance.
C．Anxious students overcome test anxiety by writing down fears.
D．It is important for students to overcome test anxiety.
Taiwanese fishing boats that sailed to the Diaoyu Islands to protest Japan's "purchase" of part of the islands completed their voyage Tuesday morning and have set sail for home.
Local media reported that the boats finished their protest at 9:15 a.m. and are expected to return to a port in northeast Taiwan's Yilan county at noon Wednesday.
Although the boats originally numbered 75，they were joined at sea by other boats from different parts of Taiwan, raising the total number to about 100 vessels. Organizers said the voyage was made to protect Taiwanese fishing rights in nearby waters and to protest Japan's "purchase" of part of the Diaoyu Islands.
The Japanese government announced a plan to "purchase" part of the islands earlier this month despite repeated protests from the Chinese government. The action aroused demonstrations across China as well as consumers' boycott of Japanese products in recent weeks. Local authorities in Taiwan have also protested the move.
"Japan's purchase and nationalization of China's Diaoyu Islands are putting China-Japan economic and trade ties at risk due to man-made factors." An official spokesman from Beijing warned .
China-Japan economic and trade relations was back on track in 1952 when the two countries signed their first non-governmental trade agreement. Currently, China has been Japan's largest trade partner since 2007 while Japan is China’s fourth largest trade partner, after the EU, U.S. and the ASEAN. Meanwhile, China is the biggest destination for Japanese exports and biggest source of imports. In the first half of 2012, Japan's exports to China totaled 73.54 billion U.S. dollars, down 6.2 percent from the same period last year, while its import from China was 91.29 billion U.S. dollars, up 7 percent from the same period last year.
Now, China-Japan economic and trade relations are at a crossroads. Negotiation could be the way out of the rift.
1.Why are China-Japan economic and trade relations at a crossroads?
A．Because Taiwan fishing boats sailed to the island to protest Japan.
B．Because Taiwanese are deprived of their fishing right.
C．Because Japan is not China's largest trade partner.
D．Because Japan announced to purchase China's Diaoyu Islands.
2.We can infer from the passage that _____.
A．About 100 boats joined the original team later.
B．Negotiation will bring both countries out of the conflict.
C．Japan's “purchase”has cast a shadow on China-Japan export and import.
D．Japan's exports to China totaled 78 billion U.S. dollars in 2011.
3.What does the underlined word “rift” in the last paragraph mean?
A．gap B．conflict C．crash D．quarrel
4.What is the main idea of this passage?
A．Japan declared to purchase China's Diaoyu Islands.
B．Japan's purchase of Diaoyu Islands aroused nationwide protest.
C．The Diaoyu Islands belong to China!
D．China plays an important part in Japan's economy development.
Greg Woodburn, a student at the University of Southern California, spends a lot of time cleaning sneakers he collected．But soon the shoes will be sent to poor children in the United States and 20 other countries, thanks to Woodburn’s Share Our Soles (S.O.S.) charity．
A high school track star in the town of Ventura, California, Woodburn was treated in hospital for months with knee and hip injuries．
“I started thinking about the health benefits, the friendship and the confidence I got from running,” he says, “And I realized there are children who don’t even have shoes．”
Woodburn gathered up his old sneakers, then asked his friends to donate．His goal was to have 100 pairs by Christmas this year．When he collected more than 500 pairs, he decided to turn the shoe drive into a year-round endeavor．
Back then, the sneakers came from donation boxes at the YMCA and the local sporting goods store and from door-to-door pickups．Woodburn has now set up collection boxes at two high schools, city gym and recreation center．He has started accepting adult sizes and sandals．So far, S.O.S has collected and donated more than 3,000 pairs．
Woodburn has cleaned all the shoes．After sorting the shoes by size, Woodburn selects the good shoes for the washing machine and the worn-out ones for recycling．
To ship the footwear, Woodburn teamed with Sports Gift, a nonprofit organization that provides soccer and baseball equipment to children around the world．Keven Baxter, founder and president, says, “We’d send kids balls and shoes．I've heard that for many of these kids, these old sneakers are the only shoes they had．They wear them to school and to do sports．So Greg’s running shoes were a nice addition for us．”
For many recipients, the shoes represent opportunity．Two young boys in Southern California attended school on alternate days because they shared a pair of shoes．They were too big for one boy and too small for the other．Thanks to S.O.S., each brother received his own pair of shoes．The boys now attend school daily and enjoy their learning．When they graduate, they say, they will help a stranger, just as Woodburn helped them．
1.What caused Greg Woodburn to donate old shoes for poor children?
A．The benefits from playing sports．
B．News about some poor children．
C．His reflection to school life．
D．The medical treatment he received．
2.When collecting more sneakers than expected, Woodburn decided to ．
A．include adult sizes and sandals
B．set up branches in different cities
C．collect shoes throughout the year
D．expand his endeavor in the whole city
3.How did Woodburn manage to deliver the shoes collected?
A．By sending them by mail．
B．By working with Sports Gift．
C．By advertising for those in need．
D．By offering them from door to door．
4.What can we learn from Keven Baxter’s remarks?
A．Sports Gift is popular around the world．
B．Many children need Greg’s old sneakers．
C．Greg’s running shoes are the best gifts for children．
D．International organization should provide more help．
Going to school from 8 am until 5 pm may sound terrible，but Sydney Shaw，a seventh grader at the Alain Locke Charter Academy on Chicago's West Side，has come to like it—as well as the extra 20 or so days that she's in class every year．“I'm sure every kid at this school says bad things about the schedule sometimes，”says Sydney, who was at school on Columbus Day, when most Chicago schools had a holiday．“But we all know it's for our benefit.”
Finding ways to give kids more classroom time，through longer hours，a longer school year，or both，is getting more attention．“If you want to look at schools where the achievement gap is narrowing, they're saying they couldn't do it without the added time，”says Jennifer Davis．“Even when you get good teachers into schools，you also need more time．”
According to studies, low-income students fall back more than two months in their reading skills over summer vacations．“It's over the summer months that poor kids fall behind，”says Karl Alexander，a sociologist．“If you have parents who themselves didn't succeed at school and aren't highly educated，kids aren't going to get those skills at home．”
Schools are asked to take a full year to plan how to best use the extra time—a process involving teachers，principals，students and parents．They are given outside support to help them base their plans on the best available analyses of student needs．It's still early，but officials are already seeing stronger test scores and a narrowing achievement gap．
But some critics are worried．“We risk producing something that's very expensive and time-consuming, and that will give educators a lot of trouble，”says Frederick Hess．“Before we spend all that extra money，I'd much rather see if we can figure out how to get 50 percent more instructional time out of the current school day．”
1.From the first paragraph，we learn that ．
A．the longer schedule is harmful to kid's health
B．all Chicago students had a holiday on Columbus Day
C．Sydney Shaw supports the added time
D．few kids are bored with the lack of holidays
2.Low-income students fall behind in summer because ．
A．no good teachers are willing to teach them
B．they can't get help from their parents
C．their parents are unwilling to hire private teachers
D．they themselves have no desire to learn
3.Some people are worried about adding school hours mainly because ．
A．it will have a bad effect on the kids’ futures
B．the current school day has been too busy
C．no one supports the idea
D．it will be costly and time-consuming
4.The text is mainly about ．
A．whether a longer school day will help narrow the achievement gap
B．how students have benefited from additional school hours
C．why the achievement gap among students needs to be narrowed
D．what causes the achievement gap among students
One day my 5-year-old daughter, Mini, ran to the window crying: “A Cabuliwallah! A Cabuliwallah（从喀布尔来的水果商贩）!” In the street below was a Cbuliwallah,1 slowly along. Mini called him loudly but when he looked at her，she ran away, 2 . Shortly after this, the two became friends. They started to 3 together, laughing and talking. Mini’s new friend would give her sweets and nuts, 4 the little money he had on her.The Cabuliwallah, called Rahmum, would joke: “Well, little one, when are you going to the father-in-law’s house?” Mini did not understand this and was 5 .
One morning, I heard noise in the street, and saw Rahmum being led 6 by the police. There were bloodstains on his clothes. I gathered that a neighbor had 7 Rahmum money for a shawl (披肩)but had falsely 8 having bought it, and that in the course of the quarrel Rahmum had struck him. On a charge of murderous attack, Rahmum was 9 to jail.
Time passed, and he was not remembered. Mini grew up and we were making 10 for her wedding. I was sitting in my study when someone entered. It was Rahmum, 11 from prison.12 recognizable now, he asked to see Mini and said that all those years ago she had 13 him of his own daughter in Kabul. It was his belief that Mini was still the same. He had 14 her running to him calling “Cabuliwallah!”. He had imagined that they would laugh and talk together. In fact, he had brought her,15 in paper, a few nuts and grapes. The two were 16 but Mini had grown up. She now understood the meaning of the word “father-in-law,” and when he made this joke once more she was 17 in the face at the question. He could not revive(还原) their old friendship.
When Rahmum left, I gave him a bank note, saying:“Go back to your own daughter, and 18 the happiness of your meeting bring good fortune to my child! ”
Having made this present, I had to 19 the electric lights and the military band I had 20 for the wedding and the ladies in the house were disappointed. But to me the wedding feast was all the brighter for the thought that in a distant land a long-lost father met again with his child.
1. A．running B．passing C．driving D．taking
2. A．scared B．excited C．interested D．disappointed
3. A．put out B．set out C．take out D．hang out
4. A．paying B．spending C．offering D．wasting
5. A．angry B．joyful C．puzzled D．upset
6. A．away B．down C．in D．out
7. A．lent B．stolen C．borrowed D．owed
8. A．admitted B．denied C．declined D．refused
9. A．abused B．taken C．sentenced D．accused
10. A．appointments B．jokes C．plans D．arrangements
11. A．released B．escaped C．come D．removed
12. A．Immediately B．Hardly C．Directly D．Instantly
13. A．thought B．approved C．reminded D．informed
14. A．observed B．seen C．spotted D．pictured
15. A．picked up B．wrapped up C．brought up D．held up
16. A．reunited B．connected C．joined D．combined
17. A．blue B．pink C．red D．pale
18. A．must B．should C．can D．may
19. A．give up B．give off C．give in D．give out
20. A．designed B．made C．intended D．expected
---- Brad was Jane’s brother!
------ ______________he reminded me so much of Jane!
A．No doubt B．Above all C．No wonder D．After all
