Just what is a tiger mother? Amy Chua is a law professor at America’s Yale University and her recent book on the subject is making waves. She’s been called “dangerous”，“outrageous”，even a “monster” for her descriptions of how she brought up her two daughters.
Her book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother describes fighting with a daughter for hours at the piano to ensure the child gets a piece of music right. She rejected birthday cards made for her by her girls because she didn’t think they had made enough effort. She compared one child negatively with the other, threatening to burn their toys. Her rules include: schoolwork always comes first; an A-minus is a bad grade; children must be two years ahead of their classmates in math, and playing the violin or the piano is a must. Ms. Chua considers the Chinese hard work ethic as a way of creating happy, successful children—at least in her case. Although she’s had a large amount of flak for her theories, one thing can’t be ignored—the success of Chinese children in the education system.
In Britain, shocking research shows that Chinese girls, for example, are outperforming all other foreign groups at GCSE—79 percent getting 5 A—C Grades, compared with 58 percent of white British girls. So what is it about Chinese parenting that’s leading to high achievers? And how do Amy Chua’s theories play into that success?
She told me that if her daughter came back from school with 96/100 in a test, Chua would ask her what happened to the other 4 points. It’s about always knowing “you can do better”，she told me. Interestingly, in China, the birthplace of the tiger mother, people are moving away from traditional Chinese parenting. They are following more western parenting styles.
1.What can we learn about Amy Chua according to Paragraph 2?
A．She is very strict with her children.
B．She doesn’t think her children are clever.
C．She is very interested in playing the piano.
D．She knows playing is important to children.
2.The underlined word “flak” in the third paragraph probably means“________”．
A．attentionB．criticismC．curiosityD．contribution
3.It can be inferred from the text that ________.
A．Amy Chua will change her methods
B．Amy Chua considers her methods useful
C．Amy Chua’s children don’t love their mother
D．Amy Chua’s children prefer western parenting styles
Among various programmes, TV talk shows have covered every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one is different in style. But no two shows are more opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows.
Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of rubbish talk. The contents on his show are as surprising as can be. For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show titles of love, sex, cheating, and hate, to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is about the dark side of society, yet people are willing to eat up the troubles of other people's lives.
Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its top, but Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show is mainly about the improvement of society and different quality of life. Contents are from teaching your children lessons, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors.
Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being poured into society. Jerry ends every show with a "final word". He makes a small speech about the entire idea of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.
Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show's main viewers are middleclass Americans. Most of these people have the time, money, and ability to deal with life's tougher problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of a connection with the young adults of society. These are 18-to-21-year-olds whose main troubles in life include love, relationship, sex, money and drug. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned through the show's exploitation.
1.Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey are ________.
A. more interestingB. unusually popular
C. more detailedD. more formal
2.Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear unpleasant, people who watch the shows ________.
A. remain interested in them
B. are ready to face up to them
C. remain cold to them
D. are willing to get away from them
3.Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?
A. A new type of robot.
B. Nation hatred.
C. Family income planning.
D. Street accident.
4.We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows ________.
A. have become the only ones of its kind
B. exploit the weaknesses in human nature
C. appear at different times of the day
D. attract different people
How do you improve your English speaking skills, so that you can communicate more easily and effectively? These tips will help you to become a more confident speaker.
Practice where you can and when you can. Any practice is good—whether you speak to someone who is a native English speaker or not.
It’s important to build your confidence. If possible, use simple sentence structure that you know is correct so that you can concentrate on getting your message across.
Try to experiment with the English you know. Apply words and phrases you know to new situations. Native English speakers are more likely to correct you if you use the wrong word than if you use the wrong grammar. Experimenting with vocabulary is a really good way of getting feedback(反馈).
Try to respond to what people say to you. You can often get clues to what people think by looking at their body language. Respond to them in a natural way.
Try not to translate into and from your own language. It takes too much time and you will find it difficult to get an English answer right away. You don’t know how to do well. The more you want to act well, the more slowly you act. This will make you more shilly-shally.
If you forget a word, do what native English speakers do all the time,and say things that ‘fill’ the conversation. This is better than remaining completely silent. Try using ‘um’，or ‘er’，if you forget the word.
Don't speak too fast! It’s important to use a natural rhythm in speaking English, but if you speak too fast it will be difficult for people to understand you.
Try to relax when you speak and you’ll find that your mouth does most of the pronunciation work for you. Speak English at normal speed.
Final tips
—Try to become less hesitant and more confident.
—Don’t be shy to speak—the more you do it, the more confident you’11 become.
—Remember to be polite—use "please" and "thank you" if you ask someone to do something for you.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A．Good ways of studying English well.
B．Suggestions on becoming a confident speaker.
C. Things to pay attention to when learning English.
D. How to correct your mistakes as you speak English.
2.How many tips does the author offer in the passage?
A. 9.B. 10.C. 11.D. 12.
3.The underlined word "shilly-shally" means in the passage ________.
A. sure about what to do
B. fast to make a good decision
C. successful in answering some questions
D. uncertain about how to express oneself
4.Which of the following will the writer agree with?
A. It’s not necessary to pay attention to others′body language.
B. It doesn’t matter that you forget a word when you are speaking.
C. When practising English, you must talk with native English speakers.
D. Native English speakers will correct your grammar mistakes when you speak.
I still clearly remember that day. I was on the side of the road for about four hours with my big jeep. I put signs in the windows that said, "Need a jack (千斤顶）.”
As I was about to give up，a truck stopped and a man got off. He looked at the situation, made a judgment and went back to take a jack. After about two hours, we finished the job with sweats. We were both dirty. His wife took a large bottle of water for us to wash our hands.
I tried to put $ 20 in the man’s hand, but he wouldn’t take it, so I went to give it to his wife as quietly as I could. I asked their little girl where they lived, thinking maybe Pd send them a gift. She said they lived in Mexico. They were in Oregon now，so Mommy and Daddy could pick cherries for the next few weeks. After that, they were going to pick peaches and then go back home.
After I said goodbye and started going back to my jeep, the girl ran to me and handed me a tamale (玉米粽子）for lunch. I thanked them again and walked back to my jeep. When I opened the tamale, what did I find inside? My $ 20! I ran to the truck and the guy rolled down his window. He started shaking his head, smiled, and with what looked like great concentration said in English, "Today you, tomorrow me. ” Then he drove away, with his daughter waving to me from the back.
This family, working on a seasonal basis where time is money, took a couple of hours to help a stranger while others passed by quietly.
Since then I’ve helped many people like the Mexican family. I didn’t accept their money. Every time I was able to help，I felt as if I was putting something in the bank.
1.From the passage we can know that ________.
A．the Mexican man couldn’t speak English
B．the author’s jeep broke down on the road
C．the Mexican family came to Oregon for a visit
D．$20 was a small amount for the Mexican family
2.Why did the author hand the money quietly to the man’s wife?
A．Because the Mexican man had refused to accept it.
B．Because the Mexican man’s wife needn’t wash her hands.
C．Because the author thought the Mexican man’s wife was a bit greedy.
D．Because the author thought the wife wanted to use the money to buy peaches.
3.The Mexican man helped the author because he tended to think that ________.
A．it was completely wrong for others to pass by quietly
B．it was quite easy to help the author repair the jeep
C．it was possible that everyone might get into trouble
D．the author was a polite stranger and deserved the help
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A. The Mexican family lived a richer life than the author.
B. The Mexican family did seasonal work in Oregon in previous years.
C. The author was inspired to help others by the Mexican family.
D. What made the author cry was the tamale given by the girl.
今年4月23日是第21个世界读书日（World Book Day or World Book and Copyright Day），请你以“I Like Reading”为题目写一篇稿,参加校学生会在读书日来临之际举办的征文活动。要点如下：
1. 你为什么喜欢读书；
2. 你喜欢哪一类的书（例如：历史、科学、文学等）？请给出至少两个理由。
注意：词数120左右。
短文改错
以下短文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者 (从第11处起) 不计分。
One night, while Xiao Ming and his father were sleeping, a thief which face was covered with a piece of cloth entered into the room quietly, held a knife in his hand. Although he tried to walk as quietly as possibly, Xiao Ming and his father were woken up. Realising what had happened, they fight bravely against the thief. Suddenly Xiao Ming came up an idea. He threw a drawing pin on the floor where the thief might pass. Like expected, the thief stepped on a pin and was badly hurt. Screaming in great pain, the thieves fell down. Xiao Ming and his father took the chance to tie the thief up. With Xiao Ming’s clever, they finally won the unexpected battle.
