People in the United States honor their parents with two special days：Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days make us think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child care.

These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.

Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.

Which of the following is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?

A. Parents bring up children.   

B. Parents give love and care to children.

C. Parents educate children to be good persons.  

D. Parents pass away before children grow up.

What do you think “florists” do?

A. They sell flowers.                       

B. They make and sell bread.

C. They offer enough room for having family parties.

D. They sell special gifts for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Which do you think is right about “carnation”?

A. It has only two kinds of colors.

B. It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

C. It’s a kind of flower showing love and best wishes.

D. People can wear carnations only on the second Sunday in May.

What do you know from the passage?

A. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May.  

B. Fewer women worked outside the home in the past.

C. Not all the children respect their parents.         

D. Fathers are not as important as mothers at home.

On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day,        .

A. people usually have family parties   B. everyone goes to visit the cemetery

C. children always go to parents’ home D. hand-made cards are the most valuable gifts

In any family with more than one child, chidren seem to naturally compete for their parents’ love and attention. Parents say they love every child equally. But is that true?

       Susan, founder of a consulting firm in Chicago, interviewed 216 women and found that even though none of her questions asked directly about a parent favoring one child over another, about two-thirds of the women said there was a favored child. And they also remembered their experience when they were young. One of the women said, “My mother always liked my brother better, and he got to go to summer camp in 1968 and I didn’t.”

       Plumez, who interviewed parents with both biological children and adoptive children for an adoption book in 2008, found that what matters most is whether your temperaments(性情) are pleasing. “In some cases, parents would say they felt closer to their adopted children,” she says, “Some parents like the children with characters similar to theirs. Two people who are shy and withdrawn might get along well, unless the shy parent doesn’t like that aspect of themselves and they try to push the naturally withdrawn child to be more extroverted.”

       It could be a result of gender, birth order or how easy or difficult a child’s temperament may be, but a parent’s different treatment has far-reaching effects. Students have found that less-favored children may suffer emotionally, with decreased self-esteem and behavioral problems in childhood. Favoritism is a reason for the next generation not to like each other.

       Experts say it is not realistic to say everyone should be treated equally, because no two people are the same and they relate differently to others.

       “It does not mean that parent loves or likes one child more. It has to do with which one of them is independent,” says psychologist Laurie Kramer of the University of Illinois.

The study carried out by Susan shows that ______.

       A. showing favoritism is common in many families

       B. most mothers like their sons better than their daughters

       C. only two-thirds of the women interviewed have more than a child

       D. it is a favoritism that leads to absence of harmony in most families

The underlined word “extroverted” in the third paragraph means _______.

       A. independent              B. outgoing           C. clever               D. brave

What can we infer from the passage?

       A. Favoritism is not beneficial to the development of children

       B. Parents’ favoritism to a certain child can’t be avoided in families

       C. Parents may be favoring one of their children and don’t realize it

       D. People are very much shaped by how they were treated by their parents

What is the best title for the passage?

       A. Parents’ favoritism can affect children deeply

       B. Why do parents show favoritism to children?

       C. Parents should give attention to all their children

       D. Building a harmonious family is important to children

Eleven-year-old Evan Green doesn’t want to save just one tree－he wants to save a whole rainforest!

In the Redwood City, Calif., a boy started a group called the Red Dragon Conservation Team four years ago to do just that. So far, the team’s members have raised $4,500. That’s enough to purchase and protect more than 16 acres of rainforest in Costa Rica through the Center for Ecosystem survival.

Every year, thousands of square miles of rainforest are destroyed worldwide. Logging（伐木）and farming are mostly likely to blame, scientists say. The loss is terrible news for animals and people. Even though rainforests cover less than 2 percent of the earth, they are home to half the world’s plants and animals. Rainforests also provide water and help control the earth’s climate.

Evan’s work to save the rainforests recently earned him a Barron prize for Young Heroes. The prizes are given to children or teenagers who have made a positive difference in the world. Evan’s goal is “to save enough rainforests to last forever”. He won’t have to do it alone. His actions have already inspired other kids to chip in. One girl asked for donations instead of presents on her birthday. She raised $850. Other kids are starting their own conservation teams.

Evan says everyone can help the planet－even by taking small steps such as recycling. He and his family try to make a difference every day. “We recycle, we try to limit our garbage… we’ve been walking a little more, and we buy local food,” Evan said.

48. How much does it cost to buy and protect an acre of rainforest in Costa Rica?

A. About $4,500.      B. About $850.     C. About $280.     D. About $1,000.

49. The underlined phrase “chip in” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”.

A. look at                                    B. contribute money

C. ask for birthday presents               D. donate gifts

50. What Evan said in the last paragraph suggests that _________.

A. we can all do something to protect the earth

B. actions speak louder than words

C. we should learn to recycle from now on

51. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Evan Green-a famous teenager    B. The Red Dragon Conservation Team

C. Rainforests are being destroyed    D. Boy gathers support for rainforests 

 

The question of what children learn, and how they should learn, is continually being debated and redebated. Nobody dares any longer to defend the old system, the learning of lessons parrot-fashion, the grammar-with-a-whip system, which was good enough for our grandparents. The theories of modem psychology have stepped in to argue that we must understand the need of children. Children are not just small adults; they are children who must be respected as much.

Well, you may say, this is as it should be, a good idea. But think further. What happens? "Education" becomes the responsibility not of teachers, but of psychologists (心里学家). What happens then? Teachers worry too much about the psychological implications (暗示) of their lessons, and forget about the subjects themselves. If a child dislikes a lesson, the teacher feels that it is his fault, not the child’s. So teachers worry whether history is "relevant" to modern young children. And do they dare to recount stories about violence? Or will this make the children themselves violent? Can they tell their classes about children of different races, or will this encourage racial hatred? Why teach children to write grammatical sentences? Verbal expression is better. Sums? Arithmetic? No: Real-life mathematical situations are more understandable.

You see, you can go too far. Influenced by educational theorists, who have nothing better to do than to write books about their ideas, teachers leave their teacher-training colleges filled with grand, psychological ideas about children and their needs. They make elaborate, sophisticated (精致的，复杂的) preparations and try out their "modem methods" on the long-suffering children. Since one "modem method" rapidly replaces another the poor kids will have had a good bellyful by the time they leave school. Frequently the modem methods are so sophisticated that they fail to be understood by the teachers, let alone the children; even more often, the relaxed discipline so essential for the " informal" feelings the class must have, prevents all but a handful of children from learning anything.

People do not dare defend the old system mainly because under the old system________.

A. too much grammar was taught to children

B. children were spoiled (宠坏)

C. children were treated as grown-ups

D. children were made to learn passively(被动的)

What view do the modem psychologists hold?

A. Children must be understood and respected.

B. Children are small adults and know what they need.

C. Children are better off without learning lessons.

D. Education of children is the responsibility of psychologists.

What happens when teachers pay too much attention to the psychology of their lessons?

A. They find that the children dislike the lessons.

B. They tend to blame students for their failure.

C. They do not pay enough attention to the actual lessons.

D. They no longer want to teach children history.

Grammatical sentences are regarded as unimportant because ________.

A. it is better to use verbs only

B. words are said out of natural feelings only

C. talking freely and naturally without sentences is a better form of expression

D. it is felt that formal grammar rules might cause unnatural expressions

according to the passage, the modern methods are understood by ________.

A. neither teachers nor pupils

B. only a handful of teachers and pupils

C. the more sophisticated teachers

D. everyone who enjoys the relaxed discipline of the informal classes

In most developed countries the government provides free education for children because it realizes that educated citizens are useful to the country in their later life. Most countries also have private (私立的)education. This means that parents can pay to send their children to certain schools. People who agree with this system say that it gives parents a larger choice of schools. Other people think that private schools give the children who go to them an unfair advantage over other children.

At the age of three, many children go to nursery school. Two or three years later, they enter a primary school. At the age of 11 they go to a secondary school. Then they may have a chance .of continuing their studies at a university or college.

Universities and colleges are places where some young people go to continue their education after leaving school. Most university students study one main subject, though they may also study a number of others. Teaching is usually by lectures, or by discussions between a lecturer and students.

Most students stay at university for three or four years. At the end of that, they take an examination. If they pass, they receive their Bachelor’s degree, usually a BA, which is short for Bachelor of Arts, or a BS for Bachelor of Science. Some students study for several more years in order to get higher degree, such as a MA or a PhD

Most university courses don’t train students to do a certain job. Colleges, on the other hand, usually teach skills which enable students to follow a career（职业）, such as clothing design, or business studies.

1.The passage mainly tells us_______.

A Something about the private schools in developed countries

B. How developed countries pay attention to education

C. Some general information about education in developed countries

Why education is important

2. Why do most developed countries provide free education to children?

A．Because the children don’t have money to go to school.

B．Because the government want their citizens to be useful to the country.

C．Because education doesn’t cost the country too much money.

D．Because there are not enough private schools.

3.In the first paragraph the underlined word “citizen” refer to________.

A．the cities                              B．members of a country

C．the children                           D．people who lives in cities

4.Which of the following statement is true according to the passage?

All the university students study one subject.

After studying at the university for three or four years, all the students can get a Bachelor’s degree.

C. Students usually receive a master’s degree before receiving a Bachelor’s degree.

D. Unlike university, colleges usually teach students some useful skills for a career