Research shows that childhood friendships are important indicators of future success and social adjustment. Children’s relationships with peers (同龄人) strongly influence their success in school, and children with fewer friends are more at risk of dropping out of school, becoming depressed and other problems.
Making and Keeping Friends Is More than Child’s Play
When 6yearold Rachel returned to school on a recent Monday morning, her eyes immediately scanned the playground for her friend Abbie. “Though they were only separated by a weekend, the girls ran right into each other’s arms and hugged,” recalls Rachel’s mother Kathryn Willis of Gilbert. “It was like a scene from a movie.”
Most parents instinctively (本能地) know that having friends is good for their child. Experts agree that friendship is not simply child’s play, but a powerful predictor of social adjustment throughout life.
A Skill for Life
“Childhood friendships serve as a very important training ground for adulthood,” says Dr.Robbie AdlerTapia, psychologist with the Center for Children’s Health & Life Development at the East Valley Family Resource Center.
Researcher William Hartup states, “Peer relations contribute significantly to both social and cognitive (认知的) development.” Hartup concludes that the single best childhood predictor of adult social adaptation is not school grades or classroom behavior, but rather, how well a child gets along with other children.
The work of Arizona State University professor of Developmental Psychology Gary Ladd proves that being able to make and keep friends is beneficial to kids while the lack of friends is detrimental.
Good Friendships Don’t Just Happen
Experts agree that it is essential for children to establish highquality friendships. But, researchers warn, these friendships don’t necessarily just happen. Often, a good friendship begins with involved parents.
Psychologist Dr.Lynne Kenney Markan believes kids should be taught social skills in much the same way they are taught math and reading.
Bad Company
Many parents worry about the quality as well as the quantity of their child’s friendships. “When she was in 1st grade, her supposed ‘best friend’ began calling her names and threatening to hurt her,” says Mindy Miller. “My daughter wasn’t allowed to talk to or even look at other girls in her class. It really crushed her spirit. I told my daughter she didn’t need a ‘friend’ like that.”
“I’ll bend over backwards(拼命) to help my son get together with a friend I think is good for him,” AdlerTapia says. “I don’t look at it as manipulation (操纵)，just positive parental involvement.”
1.The example of Rachel and Abbie is used to indicate that ________.
A. childhood friendship is of great significance to their growth
B. a positive friendship helps children solve emotional and physical problems
C. it is a proven fact that peer friendship is the most rewarding experience throughout life
D. Rachel missed her friend Abbie very much because of their separation of one weekend
2.The underlined word “detrimental” could be replaced by ________.
A. aggressive B. disappointing C. ridiculous D. harmful
3.We can learn from the passage that highquality friendship most probably results from ________.
A. social skills and good study habits
B. school grades and classroom behaviors
C. academic success and social adaptation
D. positive parental involvement and social skills
4.From the last paragraph we can conclude that Dr.Robbie AdlerTapia agrees that ________.
A. parents should regard making friends as something that just happens
B. it’s wise for parents to support and encourage healthy peer relationships
C. parents only need to help their children to cope with difficult social situations
D. parents are supposed to encourage their children to make as many friends as they can
One of the main challenges facing many countries is how to maintain their identity in the face of globalization and the growing multi-language trend. "One of the main reasons for economic failure in many African countries is the fact that, with a few important exceptions, mother-tongue education is not practiced in any of the independent African states." said Neville Alexander, Director of the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa at the University of Cape Town.
In response to the spread of English and the increased multi-language trends arising from immigration, many countries have introduced language laws in the last decade. In some, the use of languages other than the national language is banned in public spaces such as advertising posters. One of the first such legal provisions(规定) was the 1994 "Toubon law" in France, and the idea has been copied in many countries since then. Such efforts to govern language use are often considered as futile by language experts, who are well aware of the difficulty in controlling fashions in speech and know from research that language switching among bilinguals is a natural process.
It is especially difficult for native speakers of English to understand the desire to maintain the "purity" of a language by law. Since the time of Shakespeare, English has continually absorbed foreign words into its own language. English is one of the most mixed and rapidly changing languages in the world, but that has not been a barrier to acquiring superiority and power. Another reason for the failure of many native English speakers to understand the role of the state regulation is that it has never been the Anglo-Saxon way of doing things. English has never had a state-controlled authority for the language, similar, for example, to the Academic Francaise in France.
The need to protect national languages is, for most western Europeans, a recent phenomenon-------especially the need to ensure that English does not unnecessarily take over too many fields. Public communication, education and new ways of communication promoted by technology, may be key fields to defend.
1.Neville Alexander believes that __________.
A. mother-tongue education is not practiced in all African countries
B. globalization has resulted in the economic failure of Africa
C. globalization has led to the rise of multi-language trend
D. lack of mother-tongue education can lead to economic failure
2.The underlined word "futile" (in paragraph 2) most probably means " ___________".
A. workable B. practical
C. useless D. unnecessary
3.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. English has taken over fields like public communication and education.
B. Many aspects of national culture are threatened by the spread of English.
C. Most language experts believe it is important to promote a national language.
D. Europeans have long realized the need to protect a national language.
4.The best title for the passage is __________.
A. Fighting against the rule of English
B. Protecting local languages and identities
C. Globalization and multi-language trend
D. To maintain the purity of language by law
假定你是李华，是你校模拟联合国大会[Model United Nations（MUN）] 主席。你校将举办第五次模联活动，请给你们的外教Smith老师写封信，邀请他担任指导老师（advisor）。信的内容包括：
1. 主题：全球气候；
2. 举办时间和地点
3. 指导老师的任务。
注意：
1. 词数100词左右；
2.可以适当的增加细节，以使行文连贯。
假如英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。
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：在错的词下面划一横线，并在该次下面写出改正后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；2.只允许修改10处，多者不计分。
Last month I moved to the new school. At the beginning, I felt lonely because few friends. Later,I met a girl which name is Mary. She is my fist new friend. She is tall and my hair is very beautiful. She is so outgoing that every student like her. Besides, she has been changed my study habit a lot. In the old school, I liked to spend much time play with my friends, and now I have to spend most of my time on my schoolwork. I become more interesting in my studies now, and all my grades are improving a lot. What rapid progresses I have made！
1.Taking exercise helps us ________ ________ ________ ________ and keep a clear mind. (增强体质）
2.Success ________ ________ (需要）hard work.
3.They just ________(执行）the order as they were told.
4.He succeeded ________ ________ ________ ________ his health. (以……为代价）
5.________ ________ ________（和……一样）other students, Tom is seldom late for school.
1.The head office of the bank is in Beijing, but it has _____________ all over the country. (分支，分行）
2.Reaching the top of the tower, he was out of ___________.（到了塔顶他就上气不接下气了。）
3.They held a party in ______________ of his promotion.（庆祝）
4.Good _________________ skills include learning body language.（交流）
5.The program reminds me of many things from my own _____________ (童年）
