Contrary to many people believe, highly intelligent children are not necessarily certain to achieve academic success. In fact, so-called gifted students may fail to do well because they are unusually smart. Ensuring that a gifted child reaches his or her potential requires an understanding of what can go wrong and how to satisfy the unusual learning requirements of extremely bright young people.

One common problem gifted kids face is that they, and those around them, place too much importance on being smart. Such an emphasis can encourage a belief that bright people do not have to work hard to do well. Although smart kids may not need to work hard in the lower grades, when the work is easy, they may struggle and perform poorly when the work gets harder because they do not make the effort to learn. If the academic achievement of highly intelligent children remains below average for an extended period, many teachers will fail to recognize their potential. As a result, such students may not get the encouragement they need, further depressing their desire to learn. They may fall far behind in their schoolwork and even develop behavior problems.

IQ is just one element among many in the recipe for success—Children develop well or struggle in school for a host of reasons apart from IQ. These include motivation and persistence, social competence, and the support of family, educators and friends.

Because highly gifted children solve the most varied thought problems faster and more thoroughly than those with more average talents do, they need additional intellectual stimulation while they wait for the rest of the kids to learn the basics. Two central approaches are used to satisfy the educational needs of such children: acceleration and enrichment. Acceleration means studying material that is part of the standard subjects for older students. Enrichment involves learning information that falls outside the usual subjects.

A child might skip one or more grades as a way of accelerating in school. But being with older children for the entire school day—and perhaps for grade-based extracurricular activities such as sports—can make a child feel inferior in every filed outside of academics. One very bright fourth-grader who had skipped two grades remained far ahead of his classmates intellectually, but as his classmates reached adolescence, his social and other shortcomings became painfully apparent. While acceleration is not an option, or not a good one, enrichment can be. After all, school is not a race but an adventure in learning. As such, the goal is not finishing first but absorbing as much knowledge as possible in the time assigned. Thus, providing opportunities for a child to study topics outside the regular subjects can be at least as valuable as pushing him or her through the required material faster.

1. What is the basic reason for the low academic achievement of highly intelligent children?

A. Teachers’ failure to recognize their potential.

B. Too much emphasis on being intelligent.

C. Studying topics outside the regular subjects.

D. Lack of encouragement from teachers.

2. According to the passage, which of the following belongs to enrichment activities for talented children?

   A. Skipping one of more grades and studying together with older children.

   B. Learning the same material in the standard subjects for older students.

   C. Learning information that is not included in the regular subjects.

   D. Learning how to read with fluency even in their pre-school days.

3.Which of the following statements do you think is true about the writer?

A. He is in favor of enrichment rather than acceleration.

B. He is in favor of acceleration rather than enrichment.

C. He speaks highly of both enrichment and acceleration.

D. He thinks neither enrichment nor acceleration is a good choice.

4. In this article, the writer wants to ______.

A. point out the weaknesses of acceleration for gifted children

B. compare acceleration with enrichment for gifted children

C. stress the importance of enrichment for gifted children

D. discuss how to bring out gifted children’s potential

 

What an exciting day it was for Jennifer and Valerie! They　26　　friends since Grade Three and had  27　many of their high school experiences. Now they were driving together to their final high school event. Today was　28　day at Laman High School.　 29　they were close friends, they were different in many ways. Jennifer was a fairly　30　　student while Valerie did just enough to get by and was mainly　31　　in a good social life.

"Isn't it　32　　that we're all finished?" said Valerie. "I'm really looking forward to having a　33　　time this summer."

"　 34　　be nice,"　Jennifer replied. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to work most of the summer to help pay for my college expenses. "

Jennifer's parents had only a small　35　　and she had made up her mind to have a career in which he could　36　　all the things her　37　　could not.

Valerie,　 38　　, came firm a fairly wealthy family. She had little desire to work hard for　　39　　she had always taken for granted.

"I really don't want to go to college for a while," she　40　 . "My uncle　41 a restaurant in the Bahamas and he has　42　　me to spend a year there　43　　a waitress. That should give me plenty of　44　　for the beach. "

"It seems　45　　will really be going different ways now," thought Jennifer.

1.A.has been　　     B. were　C. had been　　　         D. would be

2.A.learned　　　    B. obtained　 C. remembered　　    D. shared

3.A.exam　　　　    B. sports　　   C. graduatioD. working

4.A.If　　　　　    B. Because　　   C. Although　　　 D. When

5.A.diligent　　        B. polite　　 C. active　　　　    D. favorite

6.A.specialized　       B. relievedC. envied　  D. interested

7.A.certain　　　       B. great　　　  C. unfortunate  　　    D. annoying

8.A.nice　　　　    B. high         C. bad　　　　　　  D. happy

9.A.Can　　　　　   B. Shall　　　  C. Must　　　　　   D. Need

10.A.income　　　   B. problem  　  C. family　　　　   D. difference

11.A .afford　　　      B. give　　　   C. support　　  　　    D. send

12.A .teachers　    B. parents　　  C. friends　　　 　 D. relatives

13.A.in fact　　　B. in a way  C. as a result　       D.on the contrary

14.A.what　　　         B. whom　　　   C. that　　　　　   D. these

15.A.admitted　B. complain　    C. proposed　　　   D. screamed

16.A.opens　　  B. runs　　　   C. works　　　　        D. makes

17.A.helped　　B. assured　　   C. invited　　　　      D. promised

18.A.on　　　　　   B. do　　　　   C. like　　　　         D. as

19.A.peace　　　　  B. work　　　   C. energy　　　         D. time

20.A.I　　　　　　  B. we　　　　   C. she　　　　　        D. they

 

A new idea called “business at the speed of thought” is quite popular in our business world. It makes quick marketing progress, but it also presents a terribly dangerous way to run a company. Here’re the main points: The businesses today that will succeed are those able to jump around in high spirits. Chances must be seized immediately and decisions made quickly. Everyone needs more immediate answers, and the window of expected response to any questions has dropped from weeks to days even to hours.

The problem with this way of thinking is that too often such quickness comes at the expense of properly understanding the details of a situation. Sure, the networked society allows us to gather information within a short time, but does it really speed up our ability to make better decisions? How do you balance the need for speed with sharp and correct thinking? That’s the puzzler on the minds of a lot of people these days, including Future Shock author, Alvin Toffler, who studies the idea in our cover story. It’s also a subject of a new study by Kepner Tregoe. It reports that 77 percent of managers believe that during the past three years the number of decisions they made each workday has increased. But 85 percent of those same people say the time given to making those decisions has either decreased or stayed the same. Result: Speed kills. Different opinions are not shared. Other choices are dismissed too easily. Aims never seem to be clear. On the contrary, good records aren’t kept about how successful decisions are made. If your company really does well, the Kepner report suggests taking apart the decision-making process and figuring out what you did right. Study your successes, as well as your failures. Fast decision-making is a necessity sometimes-no question about that. But decisions are only as good as the brains that go into them. By that measure, many of today’s decisions are weak and could cut some companies off at the knees. Business may be keeping the quickness of thought, but it’s going to be torn to pieces if managers are not thinking with great care and patience.

1．The underlined word “window” in the first paragraph can be replaced by _________.

       A．a period of time (during which an activity can or must take place)

       B．means (of observing and learning about people)

       C．opening (in the wall or roof of a building, car)

       D．screen (on which a film is shown)

2．The Kepner report shows that _________.

       A．managers should make efforts to pay attention to the weaknesses of fast decision-making

       B．when mangers make a decision, they should make full use of their brains

       C．if mangers don’t think quickly, business may be torn to bits

       D．managers should make records of successful decisions

3．What is the author’s attitude towards quick decision-making?

       A．Quick decision-making has proved of great help in marketing.

       B．The fact of quick decision-making does business much good.

       C．Quick decision-making makes some managers work harder.

       D．The idea of quick decision-making has some disadvantages.

Contrary to many people believe, highly intelligent children are not necessarily certain to achieve academic success. In fact, so-called gifted students may fail to do well because they are unusually smart. Ensuring that a gifted child reaches his or her potential requires an understanding of what can go wrong and how to satisfy the unusual learning requirements of extremely bright young people.
One common problem gifted kids face is that they, and those around them, place too much importance on being smart. Such an emphasis can encourage a belief that bright people do not have to work hard to do well. Although smart kids may not need to work hard in the lower grades, when the work is easy, they may struggle and perform poorly when the work gets harder because they do not make the effort to learn. If the academic achievement of highly intelligent children remains below average for an extended period, many teachers will fail to recognize their potential. As a result, such students may not get the encouragement they need, further depressing their desire to learn. They may fall far behind in their schoolwork and even develop behavior problems.
IQ is just one element among many in the recipe for success—Children develop well or struggle in school for a host of reasons apart from IQ. These include motivation and persistence, social competence, and the support of family, educators and friends.
Because highly gifted children solve the most varied thought problems faster and more thoroughly than those with more average talents do, they need additional intellectual stimulation while they wait for the rest of the kids to learn the basics. Two central approaches are used to satisfy the educational needs of such children: acceleration and enrichment. Acceleration means studying material that is part of the standard subjects for older students. Enrichment involves learning information that falls outside the usual subjects.
A child might skip one or more grades as a way of accelerating in school. But being with older children for the entire school day—and perhaps for grade-based extracurricular activities such as sports—can make a child feel inferior in every filed outside of academics. One very bright fourth-grader who had skipped two grades remained far ahead of his classmates intellectually, but as his classmates reached adolescence, his social and other shortcomings became painfully apparent. While acceleration is not an option, or not a good one, enrichment can be. After all, school is not a race but an adventure in learning. As such, the goal is not finishing first but absorbing as much knowledge as possible in the time assigned. Thus, providing opportunities for a child to study topics outside the regular subjects can be at least as valuable as pushing him or her through the required material faster.
【小题1】What is the basic reason for the low academic achievement of highly intelligent children?

A．Teachers’ failure to recognize their potential.

B．Too much emphasis on being intelligent.

C．Studying topics outside the regular subjects.

D．Lack of encouragement from teachers.

【小题2】According to the passage, which of the following belongs to enrichment activities for talented children?

A．Skipping one of more grades and studying together with older children.

B．Learning the same material in the standard subjects for older students.

C．Learning information that is not included in the regular subjects.

D．Learning how to read with fluency even in their pre-school days.

【小题3】Which of the following statements do you think is true about the writer?

A．He is in favor of enrichment rather than acceleration.

B．He is in favor of acceleration rather than enrichment.

C．He speaks highly of both enrichment and acceleration.

D．He thinks neither enrichment nor acceleration is a good choice.

【小题4】 In this article, the writer wants to ______.

A．point out the weaknesses of acceleration for gifted children

B．compare acceleration with enrichment for gifted children

C．stress the importance of enrichment for gifted children

D．discuss how to bring out gifted children’s potential