In the spring of my career, I found myself questioning the choice of my life’s work. The students did not appear to be motivated; the paperwork was overwhelming (巨大的) and the constant changes of educational direction were discouraging. But I just could not bring myself to do anything else. “Next year,” I would say, “next year I will switch jobs, make more money and have far less stress.” Next year just never came. I am now in my forties. And while I am no longer in the classroom or at the schoolhouse, I remain an educator. It finally dawns on me that there is no other profession that will let me change children’s minds and have an impact on their future. For every student that finally “got it”, for every new teacher that said, “You inspired me to stay,” I get the raise that has never quite made it to my paycheck.
I was on a plane recently and the flight attendant asked my name. When I told him, he said, “I knew that was you! You taught at my elementary school. You made me take my cap off in the building and told me I was handsome.” He then paused and said, “I think I kept my hat on until you saw me, just so I could get that compliment (赞美). Thank you for making me feel special.”
We have now entered an age where nothing is private and secrets are hard to keep. Your “friends” are counted by simply clicking a button. Face-to-face interactions are seen by many as unnecessary and time-consuming. Of course, we can do anything online, including teaching and learning. But I guess I am just old school. I want to look into your eyes when the answer finally dawns on you.
1.From the first paragraph, we can learn that the author ________.
A. never wanted to change the job
B. wasn’t a success as a teacher
C. doesn’t regret being an educator
D. was not happy with her paycheck
2.The author told us the experience in Paragraph 2 mainly to show ________.
A. feedback on teachers’ classes from students
B. the friendship between teachers and students
C. an important role praise plays in people’s life
D. the great influence teachers have on students
3.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. The author is out of fashion in today’s world.
B. The author still prefers face-to-face communication.
C. The author thinks online communication is boring.
D. The author suggests that people stay away from the Internet.
4.What could be the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A. To make a summary of her teaching career.
B. To express her views on the Internet.
C. To show the influence of a teacher.
D. To share her belief as a teacher.
When I was a child, I had to go to church and obey many other rules, though these rules at times caused resentment (怨恨). Perhaps the most extreme parenting decision my parents made for my four brothers and sisters and me was to create a home environment without a television.
We hated this decision at that time, because there was seemingly no way to keep this embarrassing fact a secret at school. Naturally, simple pleasures like cartoons, football games, and movies became huge novelties (新奇事物). I would go over to friends’ or relatives’ houses for that access alone.
When I reached high school, my parents bought a television, though it had no cable. However, I did spend most of my childhood in a home without a television. In fact not having a television did contribute a great deal to my skills, and it also forced me to develop other valuable interests. We grew up in a small town, so my brothers and sisters and I spent time exploring streets, fields and woods. And of course I read and wrote and studied, which pushed me toward a career path.
So would I give a similar situation to my own children if I had them? I doubt it, at least not in the most extreme sense. I’m too much of a football fan, not to mention the TV serials (连续剧) like The Wire. But television or almost anything for that matter is unhealthy for kids. It can prevent them from living a full life. So maybe a reasonable answer is no cable or no video-game systems or simply setting the time limit, but I haven’t exactly worked out how to confine it yet. Although some people are against my idea, we do need limits after all.
1.From the text we can learn that ________.
A. the author didn’t like watching TV as a child
B. the author’s family seldom went to church
C. not having a TV set brought the author many benefits
D. few homes had a TV set when the author was a child
2.From the last paragraph we can learn the author thinks that ________.
A. children shouldn’t watch TV too much
B. children should be forbidden to watch TV
C. children should only watch serials and sports on TV
D. watching TV is unhealthy for both adults and children
3.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “confine” in the last paragraph?
A. Limit.B. Punish.C. Reject.D. Support.
Ray Kurzweil is a computer scientist and an employee of Google, ________ specializes in Internet-related services.
A. thatB. whenC. whereD. which
The famous singer made a promise to the public that he would ________ half of the year’s income to help the disabled.
A. give outB. give awayC. give inD. give up
Stephen Hawking, ________ “the greatest genius of the late 20th century”, announced that there are really grey holes in the universe.
A. callingB. to callC. to be calledD. called
Miss Lee didn’t notice little Tom slide out of the classroom; she ________ something on the blackboard.
A. was writingB. wroteC. had writtenD. has written
