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 variety of 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 in1.__________ schools or private ones. |
Reasons for the 2.__________ | Poor quality of education in public schools and 3.__________fees in private schools. Children are taught 4.________at home. Children are kept away from bad company. Homeschooling is5._________in strengthening family bonds |
Negative 6.__________ | For parents: They can’t 7.__________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 in 10.____________activities. |
People in South Korea who feel they can no longer bear the stress of everyday life now can choose to stay in a prison to relax and think deeply.
In a society where pressure to do well in school and find highly-paid jobs is intense, a former lawyer came up with an extreme relaxation idea. Kwon Yong-seok created the “Prison Inside Me”—a stress-reduction center with a punishment theme. People come here to cut themselves off from the outside world and pay to be kept in 60-square-foot (5.6-square-meter) cells (囚室).
Located on the outskirts of Hongcheon, about 58 miles (93 km) northeast of Seoul, “Prison Inside Me” came to life after Mr. Kwon voluntarily asked to spend time behind bars for “healing reasons,” but his request was turned down. “I didn’t know how to stop working back then,” he said. “I felt like I was being swept away against my will, and it seemed I couldn’t control my own life.” So, Kwon and his wife Roh Ji-hyang decided to take matters into their own hands, and designed and built a prison-like spiritual center. The construction was completed in June last year and cost about 2 billion won ($19 million).
The facility includes 28 cells, furnished with only a toilet, a sink and a small table, where guests can spend time alone, thinking about life and enjoying private thinking periods. Moreover, guests can also join group thinking periods in the hall, where they are given instructions on how to free themselves from what Mr. Kwon calls the “inner prison” to find inner peace.
According to the Wall Street Journal, hundreds of stressed South Koreans are checking in at the stress-reduction facility to think about their lives and regain control of it. A two-night stay at “Prison Inside Me” costs 150,000 won ($146).
Mr. Kwon and his wife explained that at the beginning they had a different plan for the “relaxation center,” and imagined a longer stay for their guests, but, given that people weren’t able to take more time off, they had to reduce the length of stays to just two days.
Park Woo-sub, a guest at “Prison Inside Me,” said the experience helped him a lot. “This is my third time in prison. Being kept in a prison makes me hard to breathe, but it also offers time to focus only on me and spend some quiet time with myself.”
Others said the experience would have been more helpful if the conditions had been poorer, like in a real prison.
1.Paragraph 3 mainly tells us _______________.
A. where “Prison Inside Me” is located
B. what people can do in “Prison Inside Me”
C. how “Prison Inside Me” came into being
D. when “Prison Inside Me” was completed
2.Which of the statements is true?
A. people in South Korea prefer living under great pressure
B. Mr. Kwon had intended to let guests stay at “Prison Inside Me” for over two days
C. most people in South Korea can not afford to stay at “Prison Inside Me”
D. the 28 cells are well furnished, but with no toilets in them
3.We can know from the passage that _______________.
A. many people have been kept in such a prison at least three times
B. it is not a good idea for people to focus only on themselves
C. people find it not difficult to breathe though the prison is small
D. some still felt a bit unsatisfied as the conditions weren’t poor enough
4.Who should go to the “Prison Inside Me”?
A. A successful businessman
B. A criminal at large
C. A primary student
D. A stressed man
5.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Many South Koreans voluntarily go to “prison” to reduce stress.
B. Many South Koreans can hardly bear the stress of daily life.
C. South Koreans should spend more time alone thinking about life.
D. South Koreans have found the best way to deal with everyday pressure.
Most people agree that honesty is a good thing. But does Mother Nature agree? Animals can’t talk, but can they lie in other ways? Can they lie with their bodies and behavior?
Animal experts may not call it lying, but they do agree that many animals, from birds to chimpanzees, behave dishonestly to fool other animals. Why? Dishonesty often helps them survive.
Many kinds of birds are very successful at fooling other animals. For example, a bird called the plover sometimes pretends to be hurt in order to protect its young. When a predator (猎食动物) gets close to its nest, the plover leads the predator away from the nest. How? It pretends to have a broken wing. The predator follows the “hurt” adult, leaving the baby birds safe in the nest.
Another kind of bird, the scrub jay, buries its food so it always has something to eat. Scrub jays are also thieves. They watch where others bury their food and steal it. But clever scrub jays seem to know when a thief is watching them. So they go back later, unbury the food, and bury it again somewhere else.
Birds called cuckoos have found a way to have babies without doing much work. How? They don’t make nests. Instead, they get into other birds’ nests secretly. Then they lay their eggs and fly away. When the baby birds come out, their adoptive parents feed them.
Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky. After a fight, the losing chimp will give its hand to the other. When the winning chimp puts out its hand, too, the chimps are friendly again. But an animal expert once saw a losing chimp take the winner’s hand and start fighting again.
Chimps are sneaky in other ways, too. When chimps find food that they love, such as bananas, it is natural for them to cry out. Then other chimps come running. But some clever chimps learn to cry very softly when they find food. That way, other chimps don’t hear them, and they don’t need to share their food.
As children, many of us learn the saying "You can't fool Mother Nature." But maybe you can't trust her, either.
1.A plover protects its young from a predator by _______________.
A. getting closer to its young
B. driving away the adult predator
C. leaving its young in another nest
D. pretending to be injured
2.By "Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky", the author means _______________.
A. chimps are ready to attack others
B. chimps are sometimes dishonest
C. chimps are jealous of the winners
D. chimps can be selfish too
3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Some chimps lower their cry to keep food away from others.
B. The losing chimp won the fight by taking the winner's hand.
C. Cuckoos fool their adoptive parents by making no nests.
D. Some clever scrub jays often steal their food back.
4.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
A. Do animals lie?
B. Does Mother Nature fool animals?
C. How do animals learn to lie?
D. How does honesty help animals survive?
My wife Laura and I were on the beach, with three of our children, taking pictures of shore birds near our home in Alaska when we spotted a bear. The bear was thin and small, moving aimlessly.
Just a few minutes later, I heard my daughter shouting, “Dad! The bear is right behind us!” An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back— the sign (迹象) of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear behaved abnormally, probably because of hunger.
I held my camera tripod (三脚架) in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was level with my chest and shoulders, and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.
Even so, this was a fight I had to win: I was all that stood between the bear and my family, who would stand little chance of running faster than a brown bear.
The bear hit at the camera, cutting it off the tripod. I raised my left arm to protect my face; the beast held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side. My arm could not move, and I sensed that my bones were going to break.
Drawing back my free hand, I struck the bear as hard as I could for five to six times. The bear opened its mouth and I grasped its fur, trying to push it away. I was actually wrestling (扭打) with the bear at this point. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the fight ended. The bear moved back toward the forest, before returning for another attack— the first time I felt panic.
Apparently satisfied that we caused no further threat, the bear moved off, destroying a fence as it went. My arm was injured, but the outcome for us could hardly have been better. I’m proud that my family remained clear-headed when panic could have led to a very different outcome.
1.The brown bear approached the family in order to _______________.
A. catch shore birds
B. start an attack
C. protect the children
D. set up a barrier for itself
2.The bear finally went away after it _______________.
A. felt safe B. got injured
C. found some food D. took away the camera
3.The writer and his family survived mainly due to their _______________.
A. pride B. patience
C. calmness D. cautiousness
Discover Nature Schools programs
Becoming Bears (Kindergarten-2 grade)
By becoming baby bears, children learn from their “parent” to survive the seasons. Kids will find safety in the spring and learn kinds of food bears eat during the summer, and then create a cave for winter hibernation(冬眠). After learning the skills needed to survive, students will go out of the cave as an independent black bear able to care for themselves. (1.5-2 hours)
Whose Clues? (3-5 grade)
Kids will discover how plants and animals use their special structures to survive. Through outdoor study of plants and animals, kids will recognize their special structures and learn how they enable species to eat, avoid their enemies and survive. Using what they have learned, kids will choose one species and tell how they survive in their living places. (3-4 hours)
Winged Wonders (3-5 grade)
Birds add color and sound to our world and play an important ecological (生态的) role. Students will learn the basics of birds, understand the role birds play in food chains and go bird watching using field guides and telescopes. Students will do hands-on activities. Students will use tools to build bird feeders, allowing them to attract birds at home.(3-4 hours)
Exploring Your Watershed (6-8 grade)
We all depend on clean water. Examining how our actions shape the waterways around us. Go on a hike to see first-hand some of the challenging water quality problems in a city. Students will test the water quality to determine the health of an ecosystem.
● Each program is taught for a class with at least 10 students.
● All programs include plenty of time outdoors. So please prepare proper clothing, sunscreen and insect killers for children.
● To take part in a program , please email dcprograms@mdc.mo.gov.
1.What can kids do at Becoming Bears?
A. Watch bears’ performances.
B. Take care of bears
C. Dress up as baby bears to learn about bears.
D. Learn how to survive a bear attack.
2.Kids who are interested in plants will choose _______________.
A. Winged Wonders B. Exploring your Watershed
C. Becoming Bears D. Whose Clues?
3.According to the passage, all the four programs _______________.
A. have the same teaching hours
B. have outdoor activities
C. are offered during summer holidays
D. are designed for primary school students
Zigfried, a little mouse, blew his breath on the frosty window of the farmhouse and rubbed it to see the outside. Still nobody came. Maybe today, he thought . It was only a few days before Christmas and he was watching for a miracle.
This farmhouse had been too long. It needed a family. Zigfried’s made a noise. He realized that he hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday. He jumped from the windowsill (窗沿), grabbed a from his home, and went next door to Farmer Mike’s.
Farmer Mike’s house had been a great place for the little mouse the farmer married a wife who had a cat. Zigfried when he thought of it. He looked around cautiously as he into the room where grain was stored and was quite as he filled his bag with wheat. He was turning to leave when suddenly he a hot breath about his ear. His heart beat , and without thinking he started to run and luckily the cat’s paws.
The next afternoon Zigfried heard some good news: a family would be moving into the farmhouse soon. Zigfried’s granny would arrive on Christmas Eve to with him. He hoped that the family would come before his granny came. Before long, a car came the road leading to the house, with butter sandwiches, cheese and chocolate.
Zigfried’s Christmas miracle did arrive!
The house came the next few days. Zigfried every single hour of them. , the day before Christmas when he was drinking hot chocolate with a smile at the door of his home, he heard the of the children of the family about what they might get for Christmas. What? A cat? The froze on his face; his mouth fell wide open. After a long while, he at last found his voice: “Hey! Whose Christmas miracle is this?”
1.A. carefully B. excitedly C. hopefully D. proudly
2.A. shabby B. noisy C. messy D. empty
3.A. mouth B. nose C. stomach D. throat
4.A. bag B. stick C. bowl D. coat
5.A. although B. until C. whereas D. unless
6.A. leapt B. sniffed C. trembled D. withdrew
7.A. broke B. marched C. paced D. stole
8.A. curious B. nervous C. pitiful D. sensible
9.A. took B. released C. felt D. drew
10.A. strongly B. irregularly C. slowly D. wildly
11.A. escaped B. seized C. rubbed D. scratched
12.A. close B. happy C. new D. young
13.A. celebrate B. communicate C. compete D. compromise
14.A. across B. from C. off D. up
15.A. alive B. loose C. open D. still
16.A. counted B. enjoyed C. missed D. wasted
17.A. However B. Instead C. Moreover D. Therefore
18.A. bitter B. forced C. polite D. satisfied
19.A. introduction B. discussion C. comment D. debate
20.A. blood B. smile C. tear D. sweat
