Forty-two of the fifty American states offered some kind of public online learning this past school year．One state，Michigan，now requires all students to have an online learning experience before they finish high school．Even the idea of a school has changed since the rise of the Internet in the 1990s．

  A new report from the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University says eighteen states have full-time virtual schools．There are no buildings．All classes are online．

  Florida started the first statewide public virtual school in the United States in 1997．Today，the Florida Virtual School offers more man ninety courses．56,000 students were enrolled as of December．Almost sixty percent were female．The school's website says each student was enrolled in an average of two classes．

  Florida Virtual School has now opened the Florida Virtual Global School．Students in other countries pay for classes．Janet Heiking teaches an English class．She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana．Her students live as far away as Africa and Japan．She says they are taking her Advanced Placement class to prepare for attending an American college．They can earn college credits by passing the AP test．

    So how good are virtual schools? Studies have shown mixed results, as a new report from Indiana University notes．For example, students at Florida Virtual School earned higher grades than those taking the same courses the traditional way．And they scored higher on a statewide

test．But virtual school students in Kansas and Colorado had lower test scores or performed at a lower level than traditional learners．Studies also find that virtual schools may not save much in operating costs．

   Education experts say the mixed results suggest the need for more research to find the best ways to teach in virtual schools．A1so, they say schools of education need to train more teachers to work in both real and virtual classrooms．

1.A virtual school is one that___________．

    A．is set up after the rise of the Internet

    B．uses textbooks as a main teaching resource

    C．uses computer-based resources and has no teachers

    D．has online classes and no real classrooms

2.The first statewide public virtual school in the USA was started in ________ ．

    A．Florida    B．Indiana  C．Michigan    D．Colorado

3.Florida Virtual School is open to ________．

    A．students in Indiana

    B．students only around the USA

    C．students across the world

    D．only foreign students

4.Foreign students take Advanced Placement classes for the eventual purpose of __________ ．

   A．earning college credits

   B．entering an American college

   C．learning advanced science

   D．passing the AP test

5.From the passage we learn that________．

    A．the majority of virtual school students in Florida are male

    B．all senior students m Michigan have an online learning experience

    C．virtual schools are better than traditional schools

D．both real and virtual classrooms need more trained teachers

 

Forty-two of the fifty American states offered some kind of public online learning this past school year．One state，Michigan，now requires all students to have an online learning experience before they finish high school．Even the idea of a school has changed since the rise ofthe Internet in the 1990s．
A new report from the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University says eighteen states have full-time virtual schools．There are no buildings．All classes are online．
Florida started the first statewide public virtual school in the United States in 1997．Today，the Florida Virtual School offers more man ninety courses．56,000 students were enrolled as of December．Almost sixty percent were female．The school's website says each student was enrolled in an average of two classes．
Florida Virtual School has now opened the Florida Virtual Global School．Students in other countries pay for classes．Janet Heiking teaches an English class．She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana．Her students live as far away as Africa and Japan．She says they are taking her Advanced Placement class to prepare for attending an American college．They can earn college credits by passing the AP test．
So how good are virtual schools? Studies have shown mixed results, as a new report from Indiana University notes．For example, students at Florida Virtual School earned higher grades than those taking the same courses the traditional way．And they scored higher on a statewide
test．But virtual school students in Kansas and Colorado had lower test scores or performed at a lower level than traditional learners．Studies also find that virtual schools may not save much in operating costs．
Education experts say the mixed results suggest the need for more research to find the best ways to teach in virtual schools．A1so, they say schools of education need to train more teachers to work in both real and virtual classrooms．
【小题1】A virtual school is one that___________．

A．is set up after the rise of the Internet

B．uses textbooks as a main teaching resource

C．uses computer-based resources and has no teachers

D．has online classes and no real classrooms

【小题2】The first statewide public virtual school in the USA was started in ________ ．

A．Florida

B．Indiana

C．Michigan

D．Colorado

【小题3】Florida Virtual School is open to ________．

A．students in Indiana

B．students only around the USA

C．students across the world

D．only foreign students

【小题4】Foreign students take Advanced Placement classes for the eventual purpose of __________ ．

A．earning college credits

B．entering an American college

C．learning advanced science

D．passing the AP test

【小题5】From the passage we learn that________．

A．the majority of virtual school students in Florida are male

B．all senior students m Michigan have an online learning experience

C．virtual schools are better than traditional schools

D．both real and virtual classrooms need more trained teachers

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。

注意：请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。每个空格只填一个单词。

Trust is in rare supply these days. People are having trouble trusting each other, according to an AP-GFK poll conducted in November 2013, which found that Americans are suspicious of each other in their everyday life. Only one-third of Americans say most people can be trusted—down from half who felt that way in 1972. A record high of nearly two-thirds says “you can’t be too careful” in dealing with people in 2013.

This can be carried over into the workplace, where employees want their leaders to be more trustworthy. Employees have grown tired of unexpected outcomes resulting from the lack of preparation. They want to be informed of any change management efforts before—not after the fact. Employees desire to know what is expected of them and be given the opportunity to better themselves, rather than be told they are not qualified for new roles and responsibilities.

Here are four early warning signs for you to course-correct when employees are having trouble trusting their leaders.

Lack courage

Leaders that don’t stand up for what they believe in are difficult to respect and trust. Too many leaders waste too much of their valuable time trying to act like other leaders in the organization—rather than attempting to establish their own identity and leadership style. Employees know that if their leaders are not savvy (精明) enough to move themselves into a position of greater influence, it will make it much more difficult for them to get noticed and discovered as well. When leaders lack the courage to enable their full potential and that of others, it becomes a challenge to trust.

Self-centered

When a leader is only looking out for themselves and lacks any sense of commitment to the advancement of their employees—this shuts off employees quickly. Great leaders are great coaches and are always looking to help their employees grow. When leaders lack any real desire to coach or 'guide the career advancement of their employees—it becomes increasingly difficult for employees to trust them. But when leaders are too disruptive (指手画脚), their employees sense that they are in it for themselves and/or don’t trust the talent around them.

Reputation issues

When people begin to speak negatively about their leader, it makes it more difficult for others to trust their intentions. For example, look at what has happened to President Barack Obama since December 2009 when his approval rating was 69%. Four years later, Obama’s approval rating is at 43%. Many who have followed him for years are now having trouble trusting him.

Every leader must be aware that they are constantly being evaluated and thus they can never grow self-satisfied. When they do, this begins to negatively impact their reputation and the trust employees have in their leadership.

Inconsistent Behavior

People are more inclined to trust those who are consistent with their behavior. Isn’t it easy to begin questioning one’s judgment when they are inconsistent? When everyone but the leader is on board with a strategy—you begin to wonder if their intentions are to support the organization’s advancement or their own. Leaders need to refresh their leadership style before they lose the trust of their employees.

This is what today leaders must consider: how to lead in new ways that focus less on oneself, but more on the betterment of a healthier whole.

Trust between employees and their leaders
Problem	1. _________ has been declining among Americans in their daily life as well as in the workplace.
Employees’ hopes for leaders 2. _________ trust	● Employees want to be 3. _________ to get prepared for any change management efforts in advance. ● Employees desire to know their leaders’ expectations of them and want to get 4. _________ to better themselves.
Warnings for leaders to 5. _________ the breakdown of trust	● Don’t 6. _________ other leaders and stand up for what you believe in. ● Be 7. _________ to helping your employees grow. ● Never let 8. _________ negatively impact your reputation. ● Behave9. _________ or your judgment will be questioned.
Suggestion	For leaders, more focus on the betterment of a healthier whole should be taken into 10. _________.

 

Students in America have to get required credits (学分) in order to graduate. The average workload at my school, Hotchkiss, is five courses. But at a school full of overachievers (成绩超过预料的学生), it’s very common to see people taking six or more classes.   

I am currently taking six and half classes, including Advanced Placement (AP) Physics, Senior English, AP art, piano (with music history and theory), chorus, US history and AP economics. AP is the more advanced level of courses. It's usually equivalent to first year college courses.   

By taking the AP exams in May every year, high school students in America get credits for college. In the US, most science classes are designed for one year. For example, we are covering the same amount of material in my AP physics class as we did in three years in China. The difference is that here, we get a broad education without studying the subjects in depth. Because of the fast speed, students are expected to study more independently.   

Teachers won’t go through everything in class. But if you want to have an in-depth study of a subject, you could design your own independent study with an instructor.   

As part of our graduation requirements, every student not only has to take US history for one year but also has to write a research paper on a certain topic. Thus, during the whole winter term, my close friends became the library and five thick books on the historic meeting between US President Richard Nixon and Chairman Mao in 1972．My research paper turned out to be 13 pages long and I made a lot of note cards in the process of researching. We took classes on how to write scholarly essays, how to narrow down a topic, how to find sources and how to cite (引证) properly.

In America, academic honesty is considered incredibly important. Paraphrasing (改述) a scholarly work without proper citation (引用) is regarded as academic dishonesty and may get you into trouble with the school’s discipline committee.

1．What does the underlined word “equivalent” in the second paragraph mean?

       A．near                    B．equal                  C．opposite               D．certain

2．Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?

       A．American high school students spend only a year’s time studying physics as we do in

China.

       B．In American high schools, students are expected to study more by themselves.

       C．In American high schools teachers will explain everything clearly to students.

       D．In America, when it comes to a research paper, proper citation is not important.

3．From the passage we can infer that the author is a (an) ______ student.

       A．diligent                B．lazy                    C．excellent             D．clever

4．In the passage, the author mainly tells us about ______.

       A．the differences between American school life and Chinese school life.

       B．courses in American high schools

       C．graduation requirements for American high school students

       D．American school workload