American middle school students don’t seem to care that they’re worse at maths t

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American middle school students don’t seem to care that they’re worse at maths than their counterparts (同龄人) in China’s Hong Kong and Finland. “I don’t need it,” my student says, “I’m going to be a basketball star.” Or a car mechanic, or a singer.
Middle school students’ maths skills were tested by the International Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The United States ranked 28th out of 41 countries tested. After all, when was the last time you used algebra (代数)？
But maths isn’t just about training Americans to become scientists. It has its own value. It helps you see patterns and develops your logic skills, and it teaches you to concentrate and to separate truth from falsehood. Maths helps you make wise financial decisions, so you can avoid false claims from advertisers, politicians and others. It helps you determine risk. For example, after an airplane crash, studies show that people are more likely to drive than to take a plane in spite of the fact that they are much more likely to be killed or injured while driving. Planes are not like criminals who repeat the same crime over and over. One plane is not more likely to crash just because another plane recently did. In fact, the most dangerous time to drive is probably right after a plane crash because so many people are on the road.
It is not possible to really understand science and the scientific method without understanding maths. A rainbow is even more beautiful and amazing when we understand it.
The precision (精确性) of maths helps us think in a very special way. How do we bring the learning of maths back to life? I don’t have the big answer. I try my best to help pupils find answers to some maths problems. When I can get one to say, “Wow, that’s great,” I feel the joy of a small victory.
小题1:Some American students don’t care about their poor maths results because __________.

A．maths is useless to most people

B．they have no interest in maths

C．they think maths has nothing to do with their future

D．they don’t do well in maths

小题2:The example in Paragraph 3 is used to show __________.

A．every coin has its two sides

B．we should not be cheated by fault facts

C．maths is close to our daily life

D．a simple fact shows complicated rules

小题3:The writer would agree that __________.

A．it’s normal that America kids are weak in maths

B．without maths we’ll miss much in our life

C．maths is the most important subject at school

D．American kids don’t work hard at school

小题4:This text is most probably written by __________.

A．a student career guide	B．a researcher on students’ problems
C．a specialist in students’ studies	D．a maths teacher

答案

小题1:C
小题1:C
小题1:B
小题1:D

解析

小题1:C推理题：从第一段学生说的话：“I don’t need it,” my student says, “I’m going to be a basketball star.” Or a car mechanic, or a singer.说明他们认为数学和他们的未来无关。
小题1:C细节题：从第三段的句子：Maths helps you make wise financial decisions, so you can avoid false claims from advertisers, politicians and others. It helps you determine risk.看出数学和我们的生活是密切相关的。
小题1:B推理题：从文章第四段的句子It is not possible to really understand science and the scientific method without understanding maths.看出没有数学我们会失去很多东西。
小题1:D推理题：从文章最后一段的：I try my best to help pupils find answers to some maths problems.可以看出作者是个数学老师。

举一反三

Here are a few tips we’ve put together to help you learn English well.
Speak, speak, speak
Practise speaking as often as you can—even speaking to yourself is good practice.
Try recording yourself whenever you can. Compare your pronunciation with the master version, see how you can do better and have another go. If you do this several times, you will find that each version is better than the last.
Why not learn with someone else?
It helps if you can learn with someone else. If you can persuade a friend or a family member to study with you, it will make you keep working.
Don’t get stuck by a word you don’t know.
Practise improvising（即兴的）ways of getting your meaning across when speaking spontaneously（本能地）, even if you don’t know the exact words or phrases. Think of things you might want to say whenever you have spare time. Use facial expressions, hand movements, anything to get your meaning across.
Language learning is also about intuition（直觉）.
Guesswork is an important way to learn a new language. When listening to recorded material, you aren’t expected to understand everything first round. If you play the same piece several times, you will most probably understand something new each time.
Build up your vocabulary.
A wide vocabulary is the key to successful language learning but don’t try to learn too much at once. It’s best to study frequently, for short periods of time. Take at most six or seven items of vocabulary and learn them. Put them into sentences to fix them in your mind, then come back to them later.
And above all, have fun!
小题1:Why should one have himself recorded when practicing speaking?

A．To improve his speaking.	B．To record his own progress.
C．To encourage others to start.	D．To compare himself with others.

小题2:In the writer’s opinion, which of the following is the most important in leaning English?

A．Speaking.

B．Pleasure.

C．Intuition.

D．Vocabulary.

小题3:It is implied in the passage that _______ is helpful when you are learning English.

A．body language	B．a good material
C．a good friend	D．a proper dictionary

小题4: According to the passage, one should ______ when you are learning English.

A．always work with other people	B．be able to guess everything new
C．often review what he has learnt	D．take little notice of grammar

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It is Saturday afternoon. You and your friends are planning to go to the movies and then spend the night together. Just as you start to get ready, your dad reminds you it is your aunt"s birthday and the whole family is going out to dinner to celebrate. How can this possibly end without a huge argument?
One of the greatest sources of tension(紧张情绪)between teenagers and their families is the struggle to balance personal desires with family expectations. As you are getting older, you are becoming more independent and more interested in being with your friends.
However, at the same time，your family is trying to figure out how to deal with these changes. While you once spent most of your free time with your family, you are now often absent from home. Parents may get their feelings hurt. Or they might feel that they are losing control of their family during this period. You might feel angry that so many family demands are placed on you.
There are a few things you can try to make it a little easier to ease(缓解)the tension.
* Make your plans in advance．Ask your parents if there is anything else planned at that time.
* When something with your friends interferes(干扰；冲突)with a family event, try to figure out if there is any way you can do both.
* Suggest something you would really like to do with your family. Sometimes parents feel better just knowing their teenager wants to spend time with them.
Some of the time you won’t be happy with the outcome(结果). You might either have to disappoint your parents or have to miss out being with your friends. However, if you show consideration(体谅)for the feelings of both your family and your friends, you can solve the problem in a tender way.
小题1:The purpose of the first paragraph is to _________.

A．show a disagreement of views

B．serve as a description of teenager trouble

C．serve as an introduction to the discussion

D．show the popularity of teenager problem

小题2:The tension between teenagers and their families is caused by the fact that____________.

A．teenagers don’t like to take family demands

B．parents want to keep their family under control

C．parents feel unhappy t

hat their children make so many friends

D．both parents and teenagers don’t pay attention to each other’s feeling much

小题3:Which of the following is NOT the advice given in the passage?

A．Don’t feel angry if your parents ask you to do something．

B．Try to think of ways to balance family event with friend event．

C．Tell your parents before you decide to spend time with your friends．

D．Advise your parents to do something that you are interested in with you．

小题4:What’s the purpose of the passage?

A．To inform us of parent and teenager tension．

B．To tell us about a common teenager problem．

C．To persuade parents to show consideration for teenagers．

D．To advise teenagers how to deal with their tension with their family．

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

It"s only 4 hours flying time from Sydney, but a world away. What better place to rest than a country where the only place people hurry is on the football field and things are done in "Fiji time"?
Viti Levu is Fiji’s the largest island and here you"ll find the capital Suva and the international airport at Nadi Vatoa, on the other hand, is a tiny island in the farthest part of Fiji. Then there are 331 other islands, many of them with places to stay.
With less than a million people living on islands, you"ll never feel crowded. And with a climate（气候）that changes only for five degrees between seasons, there’s never a bad time to come. From cities to villages, from mountains to beaches, from water sports to wooden artworks, Fiji can give you more adventures and special experiences than you could find almost any where in the world.
Whenever you come , wherever you go ,you’re sure to see some unforgettable events , from war dances to religious songs, from market days to religious days. It"s not just staged for tourists; it"s still a part of everyday life in Fiji. And any one of us can enjoy Fiji"s spirit by being part of the traditional sharing of yaqona—a drink made from the root of a Fiji plant
So why not join us for the experience of a lifetime?
小题1:Where is the international airport of Fiji?

A．In Suva

B．In Sydney

C．On the island of Vatoa

D．On the island of Viti Levu

小题2:What does the text tell us about Fiji people?

A．They invented “Fiji time”

for visitors

B．They stick to a traditional way of life

C．They like to travel from place to place

D．They love taking adventures abroad

小题3: One of the things that make Fiji a tourist attraction is

A．its comfortable hotels

B．its good weather all year round

C．its exciting football matches

D．its religious beliefs

小题4:Where can we most probably read this text?

A．In a personal diary	B．In a science report
C．In a travel magazine	D．In a geography textbook

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

Temperature is part of my married romance.   36  to New York from Baltimore——where there is just one small snowstorm each year——I was seated by a fireplace in my new home, with fires   37  all day, just as what ancient people did at a wedding.
My husband, Peter, comes from northern Ontario（加拿大的安大略省）, where winter   38  from September to May and cold wind is   39 . “When Canadians have -30℃, they   40  it bravely,” he says, “Cold wind is for crybabies.（爱哭的人）”
So to marry this man I had to learn to   41  for serious cold. To get me from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to Albany’s frozen Hudson, Peter piled me   42  jackets and sweaters, scarves and gloves, even a hat with earflaps. The gift of Sorel boots——comfortably warm at Canada’s 30 below, was a   43  meaning getting serious.
That first winter together, living in upstate New York, I thought I’d   44 . My boots were good below freezing, but my fingers could   45  tie them. Physical adaptation is real, but it came slowly. And there is also emotional   46  to cold. Some days I tell myself that I have enough beach memories to stick to on   47   days and other days I am reminded that living cold does indeed build   48 .
49 , having a warm house is important. After my first marriage ended, for years I   50  went on a second date with a man whose response to my “I’m cold.” was, “Put on a sweater.” Now I’m married to a man who   51  that cold hands do not mean a warm heart, and that a big oil bill is better than roses. But surprisingly, I’ve grown, too. I am   52  , in this new life and climate, to go and look for that cost-saving sweater.
The word comfortable did not   53  refer to being satisfied. It’s from Latin, comfortare, meaning to strengthen. The Holy Spirit is Comforter；not

to make us comfortable, but to make us 54 . We 55 not be warm but we are indeed comforted.

小题1:

A．Coming	B． Having been coming
C． To come	D． Came

小题2:

A．lightning

B． burning

C． going

D． flashing

小题3:

A．appears

B． starts

C． keeps

D． runs

小题4:

A．something

B． everything

C． nothing

D． none

小题5:

A．suggest

B． face

C． neglect

D． love

小题6:

A．drink

B． receive

C． dress

D． ride

小题7:

A．under

B． over

C． inside

D． with

小题8:

A．remark

B． sign

C． comment

D． show

小题9:

A． sleep	B． forget
C． die	D．continue

小题10:

A． hardly

B． easily

C． tightly

D． loosely

小题11:

A．health	B． reaction
C． feelings	D． adaptation

小题12:

A．rainy

B． freezing

C． sunny

D． happy

小题13:

A．character	B． love
C． hope	D． hardship

小题14:

A．Meanwhile	B． However
C． Therefore	D． Besides

小题15:

A．merely

B． ever

C． never

D． just

小题16:

A．wonders

B． knows

C． states

D． decides

小题17:

A．unable	B． accustomed
C． interested	D． willing

小题18:

A．originally

B． exactly

C． actually

D． namely

小题19:

A．wild

B． cold

C． strong

D． warm

小题20:

A．will

B． must

C． can

D． may

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

Beldon and Canfield are two seashore towns, not far apart．Both towns have many hotels, and in summer the hotels are full of holiday-makers and other tourists．
Last August there was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel in Beldon．The next day, this news appeared on page two of the town’s newspaper．The Beldon Post:
FIRE AT SEABREEZE
Late last night firemen hurried to the Seabreeze Hotel and quickly put out a small fire in a bedroom．The hotel manager said that a cigarette started the fire．We say again to all our visitors： “Please don’t smoke cigarettes in bed．” This was Beldon’s first hotel fire for five years．
The Canfield Times gave the news in these words on page one：
ANOTHER BELDON HOTEL CATCHES FIRE
Last night Beldon firemen arrived just too late to save clothing, bedclothes and some furniture at the Seabreeze Hotel．An angry holiday-maker said, “An electric lamp probably started the fire．The bedroom lamps are very old at some of these hotels．When I put my bedside light on, I heard a funny noise from the lamp．” We are glad to tell our readers that this sort of adventure does not happen in Canfield．
What are the facts, then? It is never easy to find out the exact truth about an accident．There was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel last August: that is one fact．Do we know anything else? Yes, we know that firemen went to the hotel．
Now what do you think of the rest of the “news” ?
小题1:Which of the following best gives the main idea of this text?

A．Beldon and Canfield are both good places for tourists in summer．

B．A fire broke out at night in Seabreeze Hotel last summer．

C．It was not easy to find out exact truth from newspapers．

D．Two newspapers gave reports on the same matter．

小题2:Which of the following are probably facts?
a．The fire broke out in a bedroom at the hotel．
b．A cigarette started the fire．
c．An old lamp started the fire．
d．The fire broke out at night．
e．There has never been a fire in Canfield．

A．b and c

B．a and d

C．c and e

D．a and c

小题3:The Canfield Times used the headline like this in order to make its readers think _______．

A．hotels in Beldon often catch fire

B．hotels in Beldon don’t often catch fire

C．this was the second fire at the Seabreeze Hotel

D．Beldon was a good place except that hotels there are not quite safe

小题4:The Canfield newspaper gave a report just the opposite to the Beldon Post by saying that _______．

A．the bedroom lamps were very old at the Seabreeze Hotel

B．the bedroom lights made funny noise when the fire took place

C．the firemen failed to save clothing, bedclothes and other things

D．such accidents never happened in Canfield for the past 5 years

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案