Parents are a child’s first teachers. But some parents never learned from good examples. In New York City, Covenant House tries to help homeless young mothers become good parents.
The twelve or so teenagers who live at the shelter attend parenting classes four days a week. The class is called Mommy and Me.
Teacher Delores Clemens is a mother of five and a grandmother. She teaches basic skills, like how to give a baby a bath and how to dress a baby in different seasons.
She remembers one student who learned from her mother not to pick up a crying baby. The mother said that would only make the child needy.
“I said ‘That’s not true. You have to hold your baby! He is crying for a reason. If you never pick him up, he’s going to keep crying. Pick your baby up. Hug(拥抱)him! And she started to do that. They just want a little hugging and a little love. And it works!” Delores Clemens said.
Delores Clemens says her students also learn how to be good mothers by letting themselves be mothered. “I’m doing something for them that never has been done for them before.”
In class, with her baby son, is Natasha. She lived on the streets. She is glad not only for the warmth and shelter of Covenant House. As she told reporter Adam Phillips, she is also glad for the help they offer in looking for a safer life.
“Did you go to high school?”
“Yes.”
“Did you graduate?”
“No, I didn’t. I was in my last year and then, I got pregnant(怀孕)and I got lazy.”
“You look like you are willing to accept responsibility(责任)for that.”
“Yes, I am, and I would like to finish.”
Some teenage mothers wish they themselves could be children again. 18-year-old Placida knows that feeling. “Because you have to get up every two hours in the middle of the night, and you can’t go out and say ‘I am going to buy this for myself.’ No. I have to buy pampers, clothes and food. So now it’s two. So it’s very hard.” Placida said.
【小题1】What did Natasha want to finish high school for?

There was a boy in India who was sent to a boarding school by his parents．   1  being sent away this boy was the best student in his class．   2   the boy changed when he went to the boarding school．His grades started dropping． He   3   being in a group．He was lonely （孤独的）all the time．And sometimes he even felt like killing   4  ．All of this because he felt no one loved him．

     His parents started   5   the boy．So his dad decided to travel to the school and talk with him．

     They sat on the beach near the school． The father started asking him casual questions about his classes, teachers and sports, After some time his dad said, "Do you know   6   I am here today, my dear son?"

     The boy answered back, "to check my grades．"

     "No, no, I don't care about your   7  ," his dad replied．"I am here to tell you that you are the most important person for me． I only care about you．I only want to see you   8 ．YOU ARE MY LIFE．"

     These words   9   the boy's eyes to fill with tears （泪水）．He hugged （拥抱） his dad． They didn't say anything to each other for a long time．

     Now the boy knew there was   10   on this Earth who cared for him deeply．He meant the world to someone. And today this young man is one of the best students in a university and no one has ever seen him sad!

1．A．After                  B．Before              C．By                D．For

2．A．But                 B．And               C．Although         D．Since

3．A．liked                B．enjoyed             C．hated            D．appreciated

4．A．yourself             B．herself             C．myself             D．himself

5．A．worrying about                            B．laughing at

      C．giving up                              D．staying away from

6．A．how                  B．when              C．where           D．why

7．A．sports                B．classes            C．grades            D．teachers

8．A．awful                       B．happy              C．hard-working      D．angry

9．A．caused               B．allowed             C．taught           D．told

10．A．nobody             B．someone           C．anyone            D．everybody

Now, there is a new-type school in New York, which has no everyday lessons, no class teachers and even no school buildings. It is called “City-as-School”. The name just means the city itself is the place where students learn their lessons. They are from the age of 15 to 18. The students choose areas of work which interest them. Then they help to do that work. One girl spends her week in a government office helping the public with problems like housing. Then she goes to help in a theatre for a day and she spends a week for first-year courses at college.

Well, students have to pass Maths and science exams before they enter the “school”. These subjects are not easy to provide in“City-as-School”. Teachers watch the progress of the students. The success rate (比率) is high. 80% of the students go to college after the “City-as-School”.

The students like the duty of their work. They have the sense of purpose. They know a lot about different kinds of work in the city. One of the students, Lizette Martinez, writes “ I want to say that I do not know where I would be right now if I had never become part of City-as-School. Leaving my regular high school and going to City-as-School was the best decision I have ever made. The way the school works to get you to go out there and learn different fields instead of sitting in a classroom is wonderful. For all those who are in between school and dropping out, go to CAS and it will change your life forever.”

City-as-School High School is the nation’s leading (引导) external (外部地) learning or experiential (来自经验的) learning model for high school students.

1.What can we learn about“City-as-School”?

A. It has no teachers.                

B. It has no school buildings.

C. It has only girl students.             

D. It is the only school in the city.

2.What do students do in“City-as-School”most of the time?

A. They do whatever they like.        

B. They learn Maths and Science.

C. They help with work in a certain area. 

D. They learn all the college courses.

3.According to the passage,“City-as–School” can help _________.

A. all the students go to college      

B. students forget the duty of their work

C. students earn much money while studying

D. students learn a lot about different kinds of work

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. A New City                   B. A New School   

C. A New-type School              D. A Girl in New York

Beyond Baby Mozart, Students Who Rock
Music education hasn’t changed much since the 1970s. Students are still taught to read notation(乐谱) so they can recite compositions that they would never listen to on their MP3 players or play with friends. Playing music enriches life. The question is: Why do schools teach music in a way that turns off so many young people rather than catch their imagination? Can we do a better job of using the power of music to get kids excited about school?
The experience of an organization called Little Kids Rock suggests the answer is yes — if we change the way music is taught. Little Kids Rock has helped music programs in over a thousand public schools and served 150,000 children. The organization has given 30,000 free instruments out, mainly guitars, and trained 1,500 teachers to run music classes in which students quickly experience the joys of playing their favorite songs, performing in bands(乐队), and writing their own music.

The key to Little Kids Rock is that it teaches children to play music the way many musicians learn to play it — not by notation, but by listening, imitation(模仿) and meaningful experimentation. “The knowledge you need to get started playing rock music is very limited,” explains Dave Wish, the founder of Little Kids Rock. “In high school, my friend Paul taught me a couple of chords(和弦) and my life was changed forever. On the first day of class, Little Kids Rock teachers place guitars in the hands of their students and get them practicing chords that will enable them to play thousands of songs. The kids decide what songs they want to learn and the class is off and running. Their progress is surprising. Within a year, eight and nine-year-olds are playing musical instruments, and giving concerts, even performing their own songs.
One of the biggest advantages that music offers is the ability to encourage students who are otherwise bored by school. “I’ve had students start coming back to school because of this program,” said Adkison Thomas, who heads up music for the Dallas Independent School District. He added, “One of the best things is that the teachers discover a new side of their students. They see kids become successful who weren’t before.”
【小题1】The expression “turn off” in Paragraph 1 means “______”.