假设你是红星中学高三学生李华．你的英国朋友Jim 想了解中国人起名字的习惯，并请你帮他起一个中文名字．请给他写封信，内容包括：
1．介绍中国人起名字的习惯；
2．给他起一个中文名字；
3．说明起此名字的理由．
注意：1．词数不少于50；
2．开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数．
Dear Jim，
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Yours，
Li Hua
Why are so many people afraid of failure? Quite simply because no one tells us how to fail so that failure becomes an experience that will lead to growth. 1.
Most parents work hard at either preventing failure or protecting their children from the knowledge that they have failed. One way is to lower standards. A mother describes her child's hastily made table as "Perfect!" in spite of its uneven legs. Another way is to pin the blame on someone else. If John fails science, his teacher is unfair or stupid.
The trouble with failure-prevention ways is that they leave a child unequipped for life in the real world. The young need to learn that no one can be best at everything, no one can win all the time—and that it's possible to enjoy a game even when you don't win. A child who is not invited to a birthday party, who does not make the honor roll on the baseball team, feels terrible, of course. 2. The young should be allowed to experience disappointment, and be helped to master it.
Failure is never pleasurable. It hurts adults and children alike. 3. Step one is to ask "Why did I fail?" Resist the natural impulse (冲动) to blame someone else. Ask yourself what you did wrong and how you can improve. If someone else can help, don't be shy about inquiring.
Success, which encourages repetition of old behavior, is not nearly as good a teacher as failure. You can learn from a disastrous party how to give a good one, from an ill-chosen first house what to look for in a second. 4. After 12 years of studying ballet a friend of mine went to an interview for a professional company. She was turned down. "Would further training help?" she asked. The ballet master shook his head. "You will never be a dancer. You haven't the body for it."
In such cases, the way to use failure is to take stock (清点存货，清理) bravely asking "What have I left? What else can I do?" My friend put away her toe shoes and moved into dance therapy, a field where she's both competent and useful. 5. Often there is a resurgence (复活) of energy--an awareness of new possibilities.
A. Even a failure that seems definite can promote fresh thinking, a change of direction.
B. However, it can make a positive contribution to your life once you learn to use it.
C. You can also learn that failure is the mother of success.
D. And we forget that failure is part of the human condition and that every person has the right to fail.
E. Failure frees one to take risks because there's little to lose.
F. So be strong and never lose heart in the face of failure.
G. But parents should not offer a quick comfort, prize or say, "It doesn't matter" because it does.
As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results. That's partly because most people who set realistic goals actually work more efficiently, and put more effort, to achieve those goals.
What's far less understood by scientists, however, are the potentially harmful effects of goal-setting. Newspapers convey daily accounts of goal-setting widespread in industries and businesses up and down both Wall Street and Main Street, yet there has been surprisingly little research on how the long-advocated practice of setting goals may have contributed to the current economic crisis, and immoral behavior in general.
"Goals are widely used and promoted as having really beneficial effects. And yet, the same motivation that can push people to put more effort in a constructive way could also motivate people to be more likely to engage in immoral behaviors," says Maurice Schweitzer, an associate professor at Penn's Wharton School. His paper, entitled "'Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Praised Goal Setting," appears in the February issue of the Academy of Management Perspectives.
"It turns out there's no financial benefit to just having a goal-you just get a psychological benefit." Schweitzer says. "But in many cases, goals have financial rewards that make them more powerful." A major example Schweitzer and his colleagues give is the 2004 breakdown of energy-trading giant Enron(德国安然公司), where managers used financial rewards to motivate salesmen to meet specific goals. The problem, Schweitzer says, is that the actual trades were not profitable.
Other studies have shown that burdening employees with unrealistic goals can force them to lie, cheat or steal. Such was the case in the early 1990s when Sears (西尔斯公司) placed a sales quota (销售限额) on its auto repair staff. It inspired employees to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on a companywide basis.
Schweitzer admits his research runs counter to a very large body of literature that praises the many benefits of goal-setting. Advocates of the practice have argued with his team's use of such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widely over-praised.
In a rebuttal (反驳) paper, Dr. Edwin Locke writes: "Goal-setting is not going away. Organizations cannot grow without being focused on their desired end results any more than an individual can grow without goals to provide a sense of purpose." But Schweitzer argues the "evidence" linking goal-setting and harmful behavior should be studied to help draw attention to issues that deserve attention and further investigation. "Even a few negative effects could be so large that they outweigh many positive effects," he says.
The debate is likely to get heated on in future papers, and the practice of setting goals no doubt will continue. For now, though, the lesson seems to be to put more thought into setting goals.
"Goal-setting does help motivate people. My idea would be to combine that with careful management, a strong organizational culture, and make sure the goals that you use are going to be constructive and not significantly harmful to the organization," Schweitzer says.
1.What does Maurice Schweitzer want to show by mentioning the example of Enron?
A. Setting realistic goals can turn a failing business into success.
B. Businesses are likely to succeed without realistic goals.
C. Companies are certain to meet specific goals with financial rewards.
D. Goals with financial rewards have strong motivational power.
2.How did Sears' goal-setting affect its employees?
A. They had to work more hours to increase their sales.
B. They competed with one another to attract more customers.
C. They turned to immoral practice to reach their goals.
D. They improved their customer service on a companywide basis.
3.The underlined words "runs counter to" (Paragraph 6) can be replaced by ________.
A. agrees with B. goes against
C. fits in with D. applies to
4.What is Edwin Locke's argument against Schweitzer?
A. The practice of setting goals only helps people to develop.
B. Goal-setting is of no use motivating people to accomplish their tasks.
C. The positive effects of goal-setting outweigh its negative effects.
D. Studying goal-setting can contribute to successful business practices.
Adding math talk to story time at home is a winning factor for children's math achievement, according to a new research from the University of Chicago. The study from psychologists Sian Beilock and Susan Levine shows a marked increase in math achievement among children whose families used Bedtime Math, an iPad app that delivers engaging math story problems for parents and children to solve together.
Even children who used the app with their parents as little as once a week saw gains in math achievement by the end of the school year. The app's effect was especially strong for children whose parents tend to be anxious or uncomfortable with math.
Previous research from this group has demonstrated the importance of adults' attitudes about math for children's math success. For example, a recent study found that math-anxious parents who help their children with math homework actually weaken their children's math achievement.
The new findings demonstrate that structured, positive interactions around math at home can cut the link between parents' uneasiness about math and children's low math achievement.
"Many people experience high levels of anxiety when they have to solve a math problem, with a majority of adults feeling at least some worries about math," said Beilock, professor in Psychology and author of Choke, a book about stress and performance. "These math-anxious parents are probably less likely to talk about math at home, which affects how competent their children are in math. Bedtime Math encourages a dialogue between parents and kids about math, and offers a way to engage in high-quality math interactions in a low-effort, high-impact way."
Study participants included 587 first-grade students and their parents. Families were given an iPad installed with a version of the Bedtime Math app, with which parents and their children read stories and answer questions involving math, including topics like counting, shapes and problem-solving. A control group received a reading app that had similar stories without the math content and questions related to reading comprehension instead. Children's math achievement was assessed at the beginning and end of the school year. Parents completed a questionnaire about their nervousness with math.
The more times parents and children in the math group used the app, the higher children's achievement on a math assessment at the end of the school year. Indeed, children who frequently used the math app with their parents outperformed similar students in the reading group by almost three months in math achievement at year's end.
1.Bedtime Math is an iPad app that ________.
A. requires parents and children to answer reading comprehension questions
B. assesses children's math achievement and parents' nervousness with math
C. encourages children together with their parents to solve math story problems
D. teaches children how to count, recognize shapes and solve practical problems
2.The previous study found that ________.
A. help from math-anxious parents improves children's math achievement
B. interactions around math at home will cut off the family relationship
C. children's math achievement is related to parents' attitude about math
D. children can achieve more success if they see the importance of math
3.We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. it is the math problems related to the stories that make the great difference
B. children whose parents are uneasy about math outperform other students
C. children using the app for three months can see gains in math achievement
D. the frequency of using the app has nothing to do with children's achievement
4.Which does the author want to tell us?
A. High-anxiety parents influence children's attitude about math.
B. Frequent use of app can develop problem- solving ability.
C. Low-effort activities create good parent-child relationship.
D. High-quality math interactions improve children's performance.
Bertie knew there was something in the wind. His mother had been sad in recent days, not sick, just strangely sad. The lion had just lain down beside him, his head warm on Bertie's feet, when Father cleared his throat and began, "You'll soon be eight, Bertie. A boy needs a proper education. We've found the right place for you, a school near Salisbury in England."
His heart filled with a terrible fear, all Bertie could think of was his white lion. "But the lion," he cried, "What about the lion?"
"I'm afraid there's something else I have to tell you," his father said. Looking across at Bertie's mother, he took a deep breath. Then he told Bertie he had met a circus owner from France, who was over in Africa looking for lions to buy. He would come to their farm in a few days.
"No! You can't send him to a circus!" said Bertie. "People will come to see him. He'll be shut up behind bars. I promised him he never would be. And they will laugh at him. He'd rather die. Any animal would!" But as he looked across the table at them, he knew their minds were quite made up.
Bertie felt completely betrayed. He waited until he heard his father's deep breathing next door. With his white lion at his heels, he crept downstairs in his pyjamas, took down his father's rifle from the rack and stepped out into the night. He ran and ran till his legs could run no more. As the sun came up over the grassland, he climbed to the top of a hill and sat down, his arms round the lion's neck. The time had come.
"Be wild now," he whispered. "You've got to be wild. Don't ever come home. All my life I'll think of you, I promise I will." He buried his head in the lion's neck. Then, Bertie clambered down off the hill and walked away.
When he looked back, the lion was still sitting there watching him; but then he stood up, yawned, stretched, and sprang down after him. Bertie shouted at him, but he kept coming. He threw sticks. He threw stones. Nothing worked.
There was only one thing left to do. With tears filling his eyes and his mouth, he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired over the lion's head.
1.Bertie's mother was sad probably because she _______.
A. had been seriously ill recently
B. had decided to send Bertie to school
C. knew selling the lion would upset Bertie
D. knew Bertie would hate to go to England
2.The underlined word "they" in Para. 4 probably refers to _______.
A. some audience B. other animals
C. Bertie's parents D. circus's owners
3.In the last paragraph, the boy lifted the rifle at the lion to _______.
A. kill the lion out of fear B. threaten the lion back to the wild
C. protect himself from the lion D. show his anger towards his father
4.The passage intends to show that _______.
A. animal-hunting is popular in Africa
B. parents are sometimes cruel to their children
C. animals usually lead a miserable life in circuses
D. people and animals can be faithful to each othe
Northern Ireland Visitor Guide | |
Passport/Visa Requirements Passport Advice Line (UK) T: 0300 222 0000 www.ips.gov.uk UK nationals can travel without a passport but will need photographic identification. Passports are not required for travel between Northern Ireland and the Republic. For further information, contact the British Embassy in your country of origin. | Money Sterling currency. Most large stores accept Euro. Main credit cards are in general use but bring cash too. In main towns, bank hours are 09:30-16:30. Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) dispense cash at hundreds of locations, banks, garages and shopping centres. Bureau de Change are in larger bank branches, travel agents, the Belfast Welcome Centre, some other tourist information centres, big hotels and at a few visitor attractions. |
Telephone To call Northern Ireland from abroad, dial 0044 + area code (without 0) + local number. From the Republic of Ireland, dial 048 + area code (without 0) + local number. From elsewhere in UK or to make an internal call, dial area code (with 0) + local number. To call the Republic from Northern Ireland, dial 00353 + the area code (without 0) + local number. | |
Tipping Check your bill to see if a service charge has been made. If not and you're satisfied with the service, add 10-15%. Left Luggage T: +44 (0) 28 9024 6609 Belfast Welcome Centre is the only place that provides this service. ￡ 3 per item for up to 4hrs. ￡ 4.50 4hrs+. Last pick up is 15 minutes before closing. | |
Shopping Victoria Square, Castle Court and many Belfast City centre stores have extended opening hours from 09:00 until 19:00 each weekday evening. Thursday is late night shopping until 21:00. On Sundays shops are open from 12:00/13:00 and stay open until 17:00/18:00. | |
Medical Insurance T: 0845 606 0707 (UK), +44 (0) 191 212 7500 www.ehic.org.uk You need to obtain a European Health Insurance card (EHIC) which will allow you to access state-provided healthcare in all European Economic Area (EEA) countries at a reduced cost or sometimes free of charge. You can apply online at their website or by telephone. Visitors are strongly advised to take out private travel insurance. | |
Public Holidays Banks are closed and transport services | |
are reduced on public holidays. See www.discovernorthernireland.com for up-to-date details. New Year's Day January St. Patrick's Day March Good Friday start April Easter Monday start April May Bank Holiday start May May Bank Holiday end May July Holiday mid July August Bank Holiday end August Christmas Day December Boxing Day December | |
Emergency Services Dial 999 for emergency services. If your passport is lost or stolen, contact the local police station, embassy or consulate. | |
All Ireland Information For details on the rest of Ireland visit: www.diseoverireland.com. | |
1.If Jack wants to call his friend in Northern Ireland from London, he should dial _______.
A. 0044 + area code (without 0) + local number
B. 048 + area code (without 0) + local number
C. area code (with 0) + local number
D. 00353 + the area code (without 0) + local number
2.While travelling in Northern Ireland, you _______.
A. can shop until 21:00 on Thursdays
B. needn't leave a tip after receiving service
C. can use American dollars to buy what you want
D. can draw money from banks from 9:00 to 16:30 every day
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the above Visitor Guide?
A. A German needn't a passport to travel in Northern Ireland.
B. A visitor can dial 999 in emergency situations while in Northern Ireland.
C. Any European can get healthcare in Northern Ireland at a reduced cost or free of charge.
D. A visitor will be charged ￡3 for leaving luggage in Belfast Welcome Centre for 6 hours.
