Facing increasing pressure to raise students’ scores on standardized tests,schools a
re urging kids to work harder by offering them obvious encouragements.Happy Meals are at the low end of the scale.With the help of businesses, schools are also giving away cars,iPods,seats to basketball games,and—in a growing number of cases—cold,hard cash.The appeal of such programs is obvious,but the consequences of tying grades to goods are still uncertain.It’s been a common tradition in middle-class families to reward top grades with cash as a way to teach that success in school leads to success in life.But for many disadvantaged minority children,the long-term benefits of getting an education are not so clear,according to experts.
No one knows for sure how well cash and other big-ticket rewards work in education in the long run.But there are plenty of concerns that this kind of practice could have negative effects on kids.Virginia Shiller,a clinical psychologist,says that it’s worth experimenting with cash encouragements but that tying them to success on a test is not a worthwhile goal.“I’d rather see rewards based on effort and responsibility—things that will lead to success in life,” she says.
Even if rewards don’t lead to individual achievement on a test,they could have a meaningful effect in the school.Charles McVean, a businessman and philanthropist（慈善家）,started a tutoring program，which pays higher-achieving students $10 an hour to tutor struggling classmates and divides them into teams.During the course of the year,students bond and compete.The team posting the highest math scores wins the top cash prize of $100. McVean calls the combination of peer（同龄人）tutoring,competition,and cash encouragements a recipe for “nothing less than magic”.[
For its part,the Seminole County Public Schools system in Florida plans to continue its report card encouragement program through the rest of the school year.The local McDonald’s restaurants help the poor district by paying the $1,600 cost of printing the report card.Regina Klaers,the district spokeswoman,says most parents don’t seem bothered by the Happy Meals rewards.“There are many ways we try to urge students to do well,and sometimes it’s through the stomach,and sometimes it’s the probability of students winning a car,” she says,“One size doesn’t fit all.”
1.According to the text,it is a common practice for schools to________.
A. offer free meals to students with high scores
B. educate students to form a business sense
C. cooperate with business to improve teaching
D. tie students’ grades to material rewards
2.According to the text,the long-term results of giving students cash as rewards in education are_____.
A. negative B. optimistic
C. uncertain D. disappointing
3.The tutoring program run by Charles McVean_______.
A. hires some excellent teachers to teach the struggling students
B. has a meaningful effect in inspiring students’ enthusiasm on study
C. is a program combining tutoring,competition and future job offers
D. rewards the student with the highest scores with cash prize of $100
4.We can learn that in Seminole County_____.
A. there are various ways to inspire students to study hard
B. many parents are not satisfied with the Happy Meals rewards
C. the local McDonald’s restaurants provide the rewards for poor students
D. people are searching for a good-for-all method to urge students to do well
Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known to all over the world as Mark Twain, his penname.
Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother’s care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all his friends and neighbors. He didn’t like to go to school, and he often ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi. He was nearly drowned nine times.
After his father’s death, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards, he became a full-time writer.
In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1876, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him great fortune.
Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments(投资) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of his children passed away.
At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.
1.In Mark Twain’s childhood, ____________.
A. he learned a lot at school
B. he often went swimming with other boys
C. his mother often worried about his safety
D. he often played games with other boys
2.Which of the following shows the right order about Mark Twain?
a. He became a miner.
b. He worked as a printer.
c. He got into debts.
d. His father died.
e. He became a full-time writer.
f. He joined the army.
A. a-d-b-c-e-f B. c-b-d-f-e-a
C. d-a-f-e-b-c D. d-b-f-a-e-c
3.In order to make a living, Mark Twain ____________.
A. did many kinds of work
B. first worked as a printer
C. wrote stories in the beginning
D. joined the army after he worked in a mine
4.In the later years of his life, Mark Twain ____________.
A. wrote many stories and earned a lot of money
B. must have been very sad because he lost his family
C. continued writing until his death
D. lent too much money to others
Amazing Facts About Elf Owls
Brief Introduction
The elf owl (a kind of owl) is mostly found in the southwestern parts of the United States and Mexico. During the spring and summer seasons, it moves to Arizona and New Mexico. It returns to Mexico for the winter. The elf owl doesn’t build its nest. It lives in tree holes.
Features
The elf owl is a yellow bird. Its wings are dark and about .48-61 centimeters long. Its eyes are bright yellow. Its feet are large. It is the smallest owl of the species. It is about 12.5-14.5 centimeters long. It is also the world’s lightest owl, weighing not more than 40 grams. In general, female elf owls weigh more than male ones.
The female usually lays three eggs at a time. After the young elf owls are born，their mothe
r will feed them with worms(蠕虫) for up to 3-4 weeks. After 10 weeks, the young ones are fully grown and ready to take flight.
Living Habits
The elf owls are not aggressive birds. When danger comes, they will fly away in the other direction, rather than stay and fact the danger or the enemies. Besides flying，the elf owl can also walk and climb like a parrot. The elf owl is most active after dusk，during the night, and just before dawn. It can produce many different kinds of sounds. It can live for 3-6 years in the wild. If they are kept in cages, they can live for 10-14 years. The elf owls are now in danger because of the loss of habitat. Cutting down trees will result in lack of places for them to live in.
1.According to the first and second paragraphs, an elf owl may _________ .
A. build its nest in trees B. have yellow wings
C. have big and dark eyes D. live in Mexico in winter
2.What can we learn from the text?
A. The female elf owl takes care of her children for about four weeks.
B. The elf owl sleeps at night and looks for food during the daytime.
C. The female elf owl lays one egg at one time.
D. The elf owl can live no longer than six years.
3.What is the character of the elf owl?
A. Shy. B. Peace-loving.
C. Hard-working. D. Selfish.
假定你是李华，你的英国朋友Alice对中国艺术感兴趣，特写信请你向她介绍中国传统艺术。请依据下列要点，给其写封回信。
要点：1.介绍传统艺术―年画；
2.欢迎Alice来中国体验中国年画的创作。
注意：1.词数100左右。
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
提示词：年画Chinese New Year paintings
Dear Alice,
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Yours truly,
Li Hua
假定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。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：在错的词下划一横线，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限一词。
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I’m Li Hua, a senior three student in our school. Last Monday I received three America students. We had a wonderful time. And I tasted the pleased feeling of friendship.
In the afternoon, after divided into two groups, we began to work for the coming English speech context. Just as I was wondering what to do next, I saw a familiar figure passed by our classroom. It was my English teacher. I wondered that he would say. He said that it was a competition that everyone would like to take part in it. He added that was pretty fluent with English, but I needed to arrange my time good.
In the evening, at about half past ten, we finished working. I don’t know the result, but I’m sure without our help, winning the championship will be the effort.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Pinyin is a useful tool, which 1. (teach)in China to school kids. It is not merely used by westerners like us. It has proved to be a useful tool for Chinese people 2. (they)to learn standard pronunciation in their early education.
The first step is to learn how 3. (pronounce) each letter in pinyin correctly and the meaning of the tone markers. Then you have to do4. (drill) as many as you can. Turn that into a game. It can be5. (much) fun than you would expect. Start 6.single syllables and to that a lot and then syllable（音节）pairs. Slowly move on to larger groups. Understand the initial, final and the tones.
But most importantly, what you need is good feedback. You’d better have someone that can correct your mistakes immediately.
Find a native Chinese, 7. pronunciation is quite perfect to correct you. If you take Chinese classes, the teacher will8. (probable) have you do exercises every class. Do this very seriously.
If you are self-studying, try to meet native Chinese people and ask them to give you some feedback.
Otherwise, try to be self-critical and listen very carefully. Good9. (listen) is more than 50% of 10. it takes to pronounce correctly.
