Long school day = More learning? Not necessarily

Recently we talked about how some American schools have made changes in the traditional school year. Their goal is to improve student learning.

Some have extended the school year, or reorganized it to avoid a long summer break. Another choice is to extend the school day. A new report from the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University examines research into how effective this is.

The traditional school day has not changed much in more than a century. Activities or special programs might mean a longer day. But younger children usually go to school from about nine o'clock in the morning until about three in the afternoon. Older ones are traditionally in school from about seven a. m. until around two p. m.

Some high schools have changed to later start times because of findings that teenagers learn better that way. But the new report says results have been mixed. Teachers say students are more awake. But students say the changes interfere with after-school activities or jobs.

By 2001, almost one-third of all secondary schools had some form of block scheduling（区段时间表）. The idea is to provide longer periods in the school day to teach basic subjects.

More class time should mean better results. This is the thinking, at least. Yet a 2001study found that secondary schools with traditional schedules had higher test scores by comparison. Schools with block scheduling did have higher scores in science, though.

In any case, the study agreed with earlier findings that students feel better about their schools in systems with nontraditional scheduling.

So how useful is a longer school day? Not surprisingly, the policy experts at Indiana say it is what educators do with the extra time that has the largest effect on student learning. They note a criticism that education leaders often make scheduling changes without changing the learning environment of a school.

The experts say teachers must be trained to use the added time effectively. Professional development is needed. The report notes that simply adding time to a program that is not very good or very interesting will not increase student learning.

Community（社会） support is also valuable for any changes. And there is another consideration. Schools may need a lot of extra money to pay for an extended day.

A new report by the International Monetary Fund（the I. M. F. ）estimates（估计） that the world economy will shrink by one and three-tenths percent this year. That would be the worst performance in more than sixty years.  Three months ago, the I. M. F. predicted a small growth for this year.

Major industrialized economies are expected to see the biggest decreases, shrinking by almost four percent. The I. M. F. predicts developing economies will continue to grow for the year, but only by about one and one-half percent.

The I. M. F. says the world will slowly return to growth of almost two percent next year. But the lending organization warns that strong policies to supervise（监管） and support the financial system are needed if the world economy is to fully recovery.

Olivier Blanchard is the chief economist for the I. M. F.  He has said that banks are still in the process of rebuilding their financial positions. He added that securities markets（证券市场）are still operating poorly

Economic experts believe the world financial industry is moving towards recovery but with more losses to come. In all, the I. M. F. says worldwide financial losses could be as high as four trillion dollars by the end of next year.  World trade is expected to drop eleven percent this year, after expanding by three percent last year.

The I. M. F. report says international lending may not fully recover until two thousand eleven. The financial crisis has made the I. M. F. more important than ever. The world's largest economies promised to increase the size of the fund by about five hundred billion dollars. They did so at the G-Twenty meeting in London earlier this month. This week, President Obama proposed that the United States lend the I. M. F. one hundred billion dollars as part of that promise

Last week, Mexico became the first nation to borrow from the I. M. F. under a new program to provide emergency credit to nations with strong economies. Mexico received a forty-seven billion dollar line of credit for one year. Poland and Colombia are also seeking loans from the program.

59. Because of ______, the I. M. F is playing an even more important role than ever.

   A. the G―20 meeting in London        B. the financial crisis

   C. Olivier Blanchard                          D. President Obama

60. The world economy won’t full recover until_________________.

   A. developing economies play a more important role than major industrialized economies

   B. the International Monetary Fund lends more money to more countries

   C. there has been a strong supervising and supporting financial system

   D. securities markets operate well enough

61. We can know from the passage that ________________.

   A. at least three countries have borrowed from the I. M. F. since last week

   B. the world financial industry is recovering and will suffer no more losses

   C. developing economies are likely to continue to grow slowly for the year

   D. worldwide financial losses have been as high as four trillion dollars so far

62. What is this news report mainly about?

   A. The biggest decreases that the world economy is suffering.

   B. The slow recovery that the world financial industry is moving towards.

   C. The steadily growing International Monetary Fund.

   D. The recent world economic situation.

Rain to come to Shanghai in May

Xinmin Evening Post reports that a much anticipated live concert of South Korea singer Rain is scheduled to be held in Shanghai on May 20.

The concert has been planned since two years ago, but has met with various problems. Earlier this year, a Chinese performing company even filed a law suit（诉讼）against the star’s agency companies for failing to lay on the concert last March, citing Rain’s “tight schedule”. The stars South Korean agency then promised to set a clear date for a later Shanghai concert.

Before the concert, Rain is expected to hold a meeting with his fans in Shanghai.

Transformers to be shown in China

BEIJING, May 12―Paramount’s latest work Transformers will be able to meet its Chinese fans on July 11^th, just one week after its premiere in the USA.

The domestic portal, sina. com, reported on Friday that the movie has passed that scrutiny（审查）of the state film bureau, citing a sourse from the Huaxia Film Group, the importer of the movie.

16 bands to tout capital audiences

May 12―16 jazz bands from Beijing, Shanghai and other countries like the United States, Russia and Austria will bring a jazz banquet to Beijing audiences starting from May 25.

The second Beijing Ninegates Jazz Week, which was named after the nine city gates of old Beijing, is part of the Sino-French Cultural Exchanges.

Big names like violinist Didier Lockwood from France, drummer Rony Holan from Israel and veteran jazz pianist Emil Viklicky from Czech Republic are expected to team up with local jazz musicians like Liu Yuan and Xia Jia’s band and jazz singer Coco from Shanghai.

51. Why did Rain’s South Korean agency promise to set a clear date for the Shanghai concert?

A. Because Rain wants to make more money.

B. Because Rain’s schedule is very tight.

C. Because he once failed to lay on a concert as planned.

D. Because he has come across a variety of trouble in his personal life.

52. What does the underlined word “premiere” mean?

A. First being made                 B. Being planned

C. Being shot                          D. First being shown

53. What can Li Lei do to celebrate his birthday on May 31^st ?

A. Attend Rain’s Shanghai concert.

B. Enjoy jazz music brought by the 16 bands.

C. Make an interaction with Rain on his meeting with fans in Shanghai.

D. See the movie Transformers in a cinema.

54. Which section of a newspaper would this article probably be from?

A. Economy.             B. Politics.           C. Entertainment.            D. Culture.

My only daughter, Sindu, looked frightened；tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl __31   with curd rice. She hates curd rice, but my wife believes it’s good for health and   32   her to eat it.

I   33   my throat, and picked up the bowl. “Sindu, darling, why don’t you take a few mouthfuls of it？ If you don’t , your mom will   34   at me. ”

Sindu softened a bit and   35   her tears with the back of her hands. “OK, Dad. I will eat―not just a few mouthfuls, but all of this. But you should…” Sindu   36  , “Dad, if I eat this entire curd rice, will you give me   37   I ask for？” “Yes, within   38  . ” I replied.

Slowly and   39  , she finished the food. Then she came to me with her eyes wide with   40  . “Dad, I want to have the hair on my head shaved（剃）   41  , this Sunday！” “  42  ！” shouted my wife. “Sindu, darling, why don’t you ask for something else？ We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head. ” I said.

 “Dad, you promised! Was it not you who told me that we should honor our promises no matter what？” In that case, I had to   43   my promise.

  44  her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big and beautiful.

On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. About to go, I heard a shout from a boy, “Sindu, wait for me！” What struck me was the   45   head of that boy.

 “Sir, your daughter is great indeed!” Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, and continued “That boy is my son Harish. He is   46   from …leukemia（白血病）. ”She cried. “He lost all his hair due to the side   47   of the treatment and he’s afraid to come back to school. But,I   48   imagined Sindu would   49   her lovely hair to make him feel less different. She is a noble girl!”

 I stood for a while, and then wept. “My little Angel, you are teaching me how   50   real love is！”

The happiest people on this planet are not those who live on their own terms（信条）but are those who change their terms for the ones they love.

The teacher was still speaking when the bell rang, ______ the end of class.

A. to announce            B. to be announced      C. announced              D. announcing

―______ was it that you managed to get yourself excused this time? A flat tire or the heavy traffic?

 ―What are you talking about ? My bike really broke down.

A. How             B. What              C. Why              D. Where

The whole world are fighting against the N1H1 flu and will ______ defeat it.

A. generally           B. extremely          C. eventually         D. gradually

―What do you think makes the painter so well received?  

 ―______, I think.

A. Because of his unique style                  B. As a result of his unique style              

C. His unique style                                  D. Because he invented his unique style

The new building,______ our new lab building, will be opened for use next term.

A. to be intended as                     B. intends to be              

C. intending for                           D. intended for

There are instructions on the bottle to prevent the medicine from being ______.

A. reused           B. abused                C. used            D. useless