When Jane put out the idea of homeschooling to her parents, the first reaction they gave was, “You are cutting the child off the world.” “Did the child really get cut off or did the child socialize better?”
The moment we hear of homeschooling, we think the child will have no opportunities to interact with their peers. However, in my friend’s opinion, we forget that when attending a regular school, the child is not into socializing all the while. The child is restricted to so many other activities. Studies take a major role in a child’s life. The child hardly has the time to interact at school.
The child might be meeting and studying along with many peers; however, how many kids interact with all the kids in a class? But in homeschooling system, as my friend mentioned, the kid has all the time and can plan his day accordingly. During the day the child studies just like other school-going kids but with no burden of homework and project work, the child has so much free time in the evening as to effectively interact and play with peers. The quality time the child spends in education is really impressive.
Homeschooled kids have the opportunity to socialize more often as they have a lot of time in their hands. They can also make socializing a regular habit. Just as my friend said, her child goes to a neighboring park almost every day and has a set of friends who go there daily. Other children get back home to finish off homework and project work whereas her child who is already through with studies gets the opportunity to spend time with family members.
When I heard this, I really felt how lucky the child was. Definitely the child had a better opportunity to socialize when compared with my kid. However, I might not consider homeschooling for my kid, as I am so used to the conventional schooling system and feel regular schooling the safest bet.
1.The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to _________.
A. express his views on homeschooling
B. explain what homeschooling is
C. share his ways of teaching his children
D. promote homeschooling
2.What is the biggest advantage of homeschooled children?
A. They will become braver.
B. They can be more popular.
C. They can socialize better.
D. They will know how to arrange time.
3.What do we know about homeschooled children?
A. They don’t interact with their peers often.
B. They have more spare time to play.
C. They are restricted to certain activities
D. They can’t gain enough knowledge.
4.How does the passage mainly develop?
A. By following the order of importance.
B. By following the order of time.
C. By making comparisons.
D. By presenting data.
阅读下面短文，根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。
If you take a look at the best-selling books in the UK these days, it is almost certain that there will be a lot of autobiographies (自传) in that list. Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and actor Michael J Fox have all written them. An autobiography is the story of a persons life, written by that person. It is usually a very famous person who might tell us all about their childhood, how they became famous and any other interesting things that have happened in their lives.
Traditionally, someone would write an autobiography when they were older because they had had a long, successful life. However, these days there are many magazines with stories and photos of the stars which sell very well. Reality TV shows are extremely popular and lots of people become famous very easily just from being on the TV rather than being able to sing or act well. As a result, people become famous very quickly and as soon as they are famous, a lot of money can be made from writing an autobiography, even if they are very young.
So now you can find an autobiography from almost everyone who is in the public eye. Even though we can follow the lives of the stars very closely on TV or in magazines nowadays, we maybe dont know how they live their lives from day to day. Autobiographies often give the information we never knew about the stars. The British public are very curious to find out more so they are very eager to read autobiographies.
Not every star wants to write though. Sometimes stars employ writers to write their life stories for them. The writer will interview the stars, listen to everything they want to say, record interviews and then write books based on their words. David Beckham did this with his book My Side.
Not everyone likes to read books regularly but they might like to read about the lives of stars. Autobiographies are helping to get more British people reading books. About 100 million autobiographies are sold in Britain every year. More stars depend on them for extra income and as more of these books appear in the shops, more people are sure to keep buying them.
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假定你是李华。校学生会打算举办一个美国文化节，急需一些美国杂志。请你给美国笔友Jimmy写一封email求助，让他帮忙选购一些能反映美国社会、适合中国学生的杂志寄过来，并告知会承担相关费用。
内容包括：
1. 求助的原因；
2. 对杂志的要求；
3. 费用。
注意：
1. 词数80左右。
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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Alex and Donna Voutsinas are like many couples; they met at work, fell in love and were preparing for the coming 1. (marry). Days before their wedding, the couple was looking at old family 2. (photo) when Donna came across a picture of herself as a child 3. vacation at Disney and showed it to her boyfriend.
But Alex was more interested in the man 4. (walk) in the background behind Donnas smiling family and the character Mr. Smee from Disneys Peter Pan. Alex recognized the man in the background because it was his father, 5. was pushing a stroller (婴儿车) during their own family trip to Disney.
Decades before they met as adults, the couple 6. (cross) paths at Disney as kids.
“Just 7. (be) in the same picture with my wife when we were 8. (basic) babies, it’s unbelievable,” Alex Voutsinas said. The chance meeting is more unbelievable because the two families lived countries apart. 9. 
the photo was taken, Donnas family was living in Florida and Alexs family called Montreal home. I was glad he asked me to marry him before the picture, Donna said, because I know that its because he loves me and 10. because he thought it was meant to be, it was fate.
As a high school coach, I did all I could to help my boys win their games. I cheered as hard for ________ as they did. A dramatic ________, however, following a game in which I was a referee, changed my ________ on victories and defeats.
It was a league championship basketball game between New Rochelle and Yonkers High. New Rochelle was ________ by Dan O’Brien, Yonkers by Les Beck. The gym was ________, and the noise made it impossible to hear. The game was well played and ________ competed. Yonkers was ________ by one point as I ________ at the clock and discovered there were but 10 seconds left to play. New Rochelle,________ the ball, passed off and shot. The ball ________ around the rim (篮筐边沿) and off. The fans ________. New Rochelle recovered the ball, and tapped it in for what looked like victory. The noise was ________.
I looked at the clock and saw that the game was over. I hadn’t heard the final buzzer (终场哨) because of the noise. I ________ with the other official, but he could not help me. So, I ________ the timekeeper, a young man of 17 or so. He said, “Sir, the buzzer ________ before the final tap-in was made.” Yonkers won!
I had to tell O'Brien the sad news. His face ________. The young timekeeper came up and said, Im sorry, Dad. The ________ ran out before the final basket.”________, like the sun coming out from behind a cloud, OBriens face lit up. He said, Thats okay, Joe. You did what you had to. Im ________ of you. The two of them then walked off the ________ together, the coachs arm around his sons shoulder.
1.A. honesty B. devotion C. victory D. glory
2.A. conversation B. incident C. gesture D. challenge
3.A. view B. comment C. theory D. impression
4.A. organized B. represented C. fancied D. coached
5.A. crowded B. cleared C. quaked D. arranged
6.A. happily B. closely C. smartly D. randomly
7.A. moving B. progressing C. leading D. shooting
8.A. waved B. glanced C. signaled D. stared
9.A. in possession of B. in charge of C. in need of D. in place of
10.A. stuck B. fell C. swung D. rolled
11.A. laughed B. jumped C. yelled D. danced
12.A. annoying B. amazing C. thrilling D. deafening
13.A. examined B. watched C. researched D. checked
14.A. criticized B. approached C. interviewed D. reminded
15.A. broke down B. faded away C. went off D. carried on
16.A. clouded over B. softened up C. sweated over D. wrinkled up
17.A. audience B. ball C. time D. player
18.A. Certainly B. Similarly C. Fortunately D. Suddenly
19.A. ashamed B. proud C. aware D. fond
20.A. court B. course C. track D. field
Make Your Brain Smarter
You know that eating a proper diet and getting plenty of exercise help make your body healthy and strong. But did you know that there are ways to make your brain healthier and smarter? Studies show that when the brain is forced to do something new, it creates new neural (神经的) pathways. 1.
● Limit your TV viewing.
Watching an average TV show requires very little brain power and brings the same result as neglecting (忽视) physical exercise. 2. If you watch TV, choose something educational and informative.
● Use your non-dominant (非支配的) hand.
If you are right-handed, use your left hand for everyday activities, or use your right hand if you are left-handed. Doing familiar things in a new way will cause your brain to create new neural networks. Brushing our teeth is something we do daily. 3. But maybe we should. Experts suggest that we can force the brain to work by changing things up and working with our non-dominant hand. So the next time you brush your teeth, open the tube, apply your toothpaste and brush with the opposite hand.
● 4.
Jump in the shower and shut your eyes. Even if you drop the soap---that’s okay. 5.Searching for the soap while feeling the textures (质地) with your eyes cl
osed works. Using your fingers to make fine distinctions between objects or textures can reconnect the brain areas involved in touch, suggests Larry Katz, a professor of neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center and author.
A. Shower with your eyes closed.
B. Smart people rarely follow a set pattern.
C. The more pathways you have, the smarter you will be.
D. Use your different senses.
E. We really don’t put that much thought into it.
F. Put your brain to best use.
G. Your brain will become weak just as your muscles do.
