For many years there’s been a debate about rewarding our children. Does it work? Is it effective?

   Some people think we should establish a standard with our kids and give them something for meeting this standard as a reward. Punishment is given out in much the same way, but it’s used when certain standards of performance, behavior, etc. have not been met. Kids will often become more dutiful when threatened with punishment, and work harder when promised a valuable reward. The problem is what happens when you aren’t around.

   To develop responsible, self-disciplined kids, parents need to promote certain ideas. One of these ideas is that everyone pitches in and helps in your family. Another idea is that there can be enjoyment in doing any task if we choose to make it so. When a task is for a worthy cause ( our family can enjoy the house more because I helped clean it), this message can have a big impact.

This is how we help our kids develop a sense of responsibility. When our children develop this responsibility, they’ll be more disciplined, and they’ll control their emotions better. When we give rewards to our kids, we reduce the sense of responsibility. We also create children who may temporarily perform to a certain standard, but who aren’t likely to continue the performance without the carrot hanging in front of them. 

“Rewards and punishment can change behavior for a while, but they cannot change the person who engages in the behavior,” said Alfie Kohn, author of Punished by Rewards. “Good values have to be grown from the inside out.” Parents can help give their children a sense of shared responsibility and discipline which can last a life time. The real rewards that your children receive will be their readiness for the complex and demanding world that waits for them—a world that rewards those who have learned the secrets of discipline responsibility. So keep those shiny rewarding to yourself, and let your kids find their own rewards.

1.According to the passage, when children are threatened with punishment, ______.

    A. they may lose interest in their work

    B. they may appear to be well-behaved

    C. they may change to another person

    D. the results will be worse than usual

2.What can we know from Paragraph 3?

    A. Parents should promote certain ideas to help children develop.

    B. Children should be responsible for their discipline.

    C. Children should help build a good family atmosphere.

    D. No children will adapt to society without their parents’ help

3. The underlined part “the carrot” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to _____.

    A. rewards     B. aims     C. apologies    D. doubts

4.According to the passage, Alfie Kohn would agree that parents should ______.

    A. never pay attention to the way their children do things

    B. show their children how to behave by example

    C. never punish their children

    D. help their children establish good values

5.What’s the best title for the passage?

    A. Do you often reward your children?

    B. Should parents reward their children?

    C. When should parents reward their children?

    D. What can parents reward their children with?

 

My students often tell me that they don’t have “enough time” to do all their schoolwork.
My reply is often a brief “You have as much time as the president.” I usually carry on a bit about there being twenty-four hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that “not enough time” is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done.
Once in graduate school, I tried to prove to one of my professors by saying that I was working hard. His answer to me was, “That’s irrelevant (无关的). What’s important is the quality of your work.” Since then I have had time to think carefully about the “hard worker” dodge (诀窍), and I have come to some conclusions — all relevant to the problem of how much time we have.
If you analyze the matter, you can identify two parts of the problem: There is, of course, the matter of “time”, which we can think of as fixed. Then there is the problem of “work” during that time. But, as my professor suggested, it’s not how hard one works but the quality of the product that’s important.
That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work. That concept is perhaps best explained by a sign I once saw on the wall in someone’s office: “Don’t work harder. Work smarter.” There is a lot of sense in that idea.
If you can’t get more time, and few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of the work. That means thinking of ways to get more out of the same time than we might otherwise get. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits. Since “work” for students usually means “homework”, the expression “work habits” should be read as “study habits”.
Then, as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you learn to read better and write better, there are big benefits that pay off in all your studies.
【小题1】
From the passage, we know that the author is probably ______ .

A．a poet

B．an educator

C．a novelist

D．an engineer

【小题2】
We can infer from the 2^nd paragraph that we students still _____ .

A．have enough time	B．can meet the president
C．get everything done well	D．should accept the explanation

【小题3】
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The author’s students make good use of their time to do all their homework.

B．The author tried to tell the professor that he/she (author) had done a good job.

C．You can’t improve the quality of the work if you can’t get more time.

D．You’ll try to improve your skills in reading and writing if you’re a clever student

In recent years many countries of the world have been faced with the problem of how to make their workers more productive. Some experts claim the answer is to make jobs more varied. But do more various jobs lead to greater productivity? There is evidence to suggest that while variety certainly makes the worker’s life more enjoyable, it does not actually make him work harder. As far as increasing productivity is concerned, then variety is not an important factor.

Other experts feel that giving the worker freedom to do his job in his own way is important, and there is no doubt that this is true. The problem is that this kind of freedom cannot easily be given in the modern factory with its complicated machinery which must be used in a fixed way. Thus while freedom of choice may be important, there is usually very little that can be done to create it.

Another very important consideration is how each worker contributes to the product he is making. In most factories the worker sees only one part of the product. Some car factories are now experimenting with having many small production lines rather than one large one, so that each worker contributes more to the production of the cars on his line. It would seem that not only is degree of the worker contribution an important factor, therefore, but it is also one we can do something about.

To what extent does more money lead to greater productivity? The workers themselves certainly think this is important. But perhaps they want more money only because the work they do is boring. Money just lets them enjoy their spare time more. A similar argument may explain demands for shorter working hours. Perhaps if we succeed in making their jobs more interesting, they will neither want more money, nor will shorter working hours be so important to them.

Which of the following is the best way to make workers work harder according to the author?

A. Increasing their pay.

B. Giving them more spare time.

C. Making the work itself meaningful.

D. Replacing large production lines with small ones.

The reason why a worker cannot have freedom in doing the job in his own way is that _______.

A. the machinery is so complex that it should be fixed

B. the production lines are too large in modern factories

C. the bosses can create very little freedom of choices for workers

D. the machines must be operated strictly according to instructions and rules

For a worker on an assembly line in a car factory, the job is not enjoyable because _______.

A. he can only make a part of a car

B. he does not know what he is doing

C. his life in spare time is more interesting

D. the importance of his job is not clear to him

In the article, the word “productivity” means _______.

A. the activity of producing something

B. the production volume in a time unit

C. the plan and the method of production

D. both the quantity and quality of a product

The best title for this passage may be _______.

A. Problems of Modern Workers

B. Making Jobs More Interesting

C. Pushing Workers to Produce More

D. How to Improve Labor Conditions

__________ you work harder than before, you will pass this exam.

A．As soon as

B．As long as

C．As if

D．Even if

 

Open Letter to an Editor
I had an interesting conversation with a reporter recently --- one who works for you. In fact, he’s one of your best reporters. He wants to leave.
Your reporter gave me a copy of his resume(简历) and photocopies of six stories that he wrote for you. The headlines showed you played them proudly. With great enthusiasm, he talked about how he finds issues(问题), approaches them, and writes about them, which tells me he is one of your best. I’m sure you would hate to lose him. Surprisingly, your reporter is not unhappy. In fact, he told me he really likes his job. He has a great assignment (分工), and said you run a great paper. It would be easy for you to keep him, he said. He knows that the paper values him. He appreciates the responsibility you’ve given him, takes ownership of his profession, and enjoys his freedom.
So why is he looking for a way out?
He talked to me because he wants his editors to demand so much more of him. He wants to be pushed, challenged, coached to new heights.
The reporter believes that good stories spring from good questions, but his editors usually ask how long the story will be, when it will be in, where it can play, and what the budget is.
He longs for conversations with an editor who will help him turn his good ideas into great ones. He wants someone to get excited about what he’s doing and to help him turn his story idea upside down and inside out, exploring the best ways to report it. He wants to be more valuable for your paper. That’s what you want for him, too, isn’t it?
So your reporter has set me thinking.
Our best hope in keeping our best reporters, copy editors, photographers, artists --- everyone --- is to work harder to make sure they get the help they are demanding to reach their potential. If we can’t do it, they’ll find someone who can.
【小题1】What does the writer think of the reporter?

A．Optimistic.

B．Imaginative.

C．Ambitious.

D．Proud.

【小题2】What does the reporter want most from his editors in their talks?

A．Finding the news value of his stories.	B．Giving him financial support.
C．Helping him to find issues.	D．Improving his good ideas.

【小题3】Who probably wrote the letter?

A．An editor.

B．An artist.

C．A reporter.

D．A reader.

【小题4】The letter aims to remind editors that they should ______.

A．keep their best reporters at all costs

B．give more freedom to their reporters

C．be aware of their reporters’ professional development

D．appreciate their reporters’ working styles and attitudes