As the summer time approaches, more and more commercials and advertisements can be seen on the mass media encouraging students to join English study tours abroad. The purpose of these tours is to provide students with an opportunity to learn English in a native speaking environment and use English in real situations. Parents always believe that their children will automatically speak good English after attending these study tours. However, for me, as an English major and former participant of many English study tours, I find these summer tours ineffective.
Parents who send their children abroad for a summer to study English usually believe that the native speaking environment, including the courses, teachers, and host families, can help their children to learn English better. This might be true if the students really study hard and they really get an all-English environment. But the fact is that, most of the time, the tour part is more important than the study part. Although these tours take place in foreign countries, students are rarely exposed in an all-English environment. You will find that, in the morning classes, Taiwanese students would like to stick together and speak Chinese with each other, even though there are some students from other countries. In the afternoon, the students go on a sightseeing excursion with their companions from Taiwan; they speak Chinese of course. In the evening, when students return to the host families, they would stay in their room and share the day with their roommate, another Taiwanese student. People who speak the same language with you is like a log（原木）in the ocean when living in a foreign country where you can not express yourself well, so that you would naturally stick with them. This is especially true with children.
Another unrealistic expectation parents have for these tours is that the experience of living abroad can make their children more independent and mature. However, maturity does not come overnight. It takes time and practice. The most important of all is that they need a good mentor（顾问）. None of these exist in the study tours.
【小题1】Which of the following is the most important thing for children who study in an English environment according to the writer?

As the summer time approaches, more and more commercials and advertisements can be seen on the mass media encouraging students to join English study tours abroad. The purpose of these tours is to provide students with an opportunity to learn English in a native speaking environment and use English in real situations. Parents always believe that their children will automatically speak good English after attending these study tours. However, for me, as an English major and former participant of many English study tours, I find these summer tours ineffective.
Parents who send their children abroad for a summer to study English usually believe that the native speaking environment, including the courses, teachers, and host families, can help their children to learn English better. This might be true if the students really study hard and they really get an all-English environment. But the fact is that, most of the time, the tour part is more important than the study part. Although these tours take place in foreign countries, students are rarely exposed in an all-English environment. You will find that, in the morning classes, Taiwanese students would like to stick together and speak Chinese with each other, even though there are some students from other countries. In the afternoon, the students go on a sightseeing excursion with their companions from Taiwan; they speak Chinese of course. In the evening, when students return to the host families, they would stay in their room and share the day with their roommate, another Taiwanese student. People who speak the same language with you is like a log（原木）in the ocean when living in a foreign country where you can not express yourself well, so that you would naturally stick with them. This is especially true with children.
Another unrealistic expectation parents have for these tours is that the experience of living abroad can make their children more independent and mature. However, maturity does not come overnight. It takes time and practice. The most important of all is that they need a good mentor（顾问）. None of these exist in the study tours.

1. 1.

   Which of the following is the most important thing for children who study in an English environment according to the writer?

   1. A.
      Host families.
   2. B.
      Hard work.
   3. C.
      Courses.
   4. D.
      Teachers.
2. 2.

   The underlined word “mature” in the last paragraph probably means    .

   1. A.
      active
   2. B.
      free
   3. C.
      outgoing
   4. D.
      grown-up
3. 3.

   What’s the author’s attitude towards the English study tours abroad?

   1. A.
      Doubtful.
   2. B.
      Negative.
   3. C.
      Positive.
   4. D.
      Neutral.

Living away from your country can be a really interesting and unforgettable experience, but at the same time it has very important effects on your life．

       The major effect, and also a very common one, is that once you start a regular life away from home, you miss everything．This fact doesn't mean that you are unhappy but that you are aware of being on your own．Missing your family and the attention they all paid to you is a very unusual thing．Little details like sitting on a Sunday morning watching TV alone instead of helping your dad organizing his things or having a nice chat with your mom makes you realize how valuable your family really is．It's clear that you have started to appreciate everything you had before．

       The second main effect is that you may learn how to accept another type of society and culture into your daily life．Since you are living in a place with different customs and traditions from yours, you have to be able to develop yourself in unknown conditions．This means making new friends, learning other points of view, accepting different opinions and values, and seizing every opportunity you have to go to new places．Therefore, you'll be able to achieve true knowledge．Suggesting to change your mind totally would be foolish; the best thing to do would be to stick to your most important values and then change those that you believe could be improved.

       The most important effect of living away from home is the independent Behavior（行为） that grows inside of you．Living on your own far from your family gives you a lot of experiences toward organizing your life．Since it is up to you and no one else to go to school, clean your room, wash your clothes, and organize your expenses, it is certain that you will have a good and strong sense of responsibility．Being independent and responsible will help you get through life．

       Living far from home, even for a short period of time, can be really hard at the beginning．We have to remember that all changes are difficult but it is necessary for us to go through them to build our character．Most important of all, it helps us appreciate everything we have．

1．According to the text, which of the following statements is NOT true?

      A．Once living away from home, you should change your mind wholly．

     B．Once living away from home, you would think about common things that ever happened to you．

      C．Once living away from home, you have to arrange everything by yourself．

      D．Living away from home helps you have a sense of responsibility．

2．While living away from home, you can do all of the following EXCEPT ____．

      A．build up a sense of responsibility         B．experience another type of society

      C．become more independent                 D．be proud of yourself

3．It is clear from the text that the writer____．

      A．is in favor of living away from home     B．is against living away from home

     C．is sad about living away from home

     D．is a little worried about living away from home

4．The underlined words "go through" in the last paragraph probably means ____．

     A．examine carefully                          B．experience

     C．walk through                             D．take part in