The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before a huge pile of troublesome stuff they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day. "When can I go to bed?" I asked myself. I didn’t answer, in fact I dared not.
The clock struck 12. "Oh, dear!" I cried, "ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to study so hard when he was a boy ."
The clock struck one. I was quite hopeless now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God, Please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.”  My eyes were heavy, so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.
【小题1】When the author was going over his lessons, all the others in the house were_____ .

A．asleep	B．working in bed
C．outside	D．quietly laughing at him

【小题2】Reviewing his lessons didn’t help him because ________.

A．it was too late at night

B．he was very tired

C．his eyes lids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open

D．he hadn’t studied hard before the examination

【小题3】What do you suppose happened to the author？

A．He went to a church to pray again

B．He passed the exam by luck

C．He failed in the exam

D．He was punished by his teacher

【小题4】The best title for the passage would be __________ .

A．The Night Before the Examination

B．Working Far into the Night

C．A Slow Student

D．Going Over My Lessons

Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time: if corrected too much, he will stop talking. He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s.
In the same way, children are learning to do all the other things: they learn to do without being taught to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle, compare their own performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them for himself. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to. Let him work out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says, what the answer is to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not.
If it is a matter of right answer, as it may be in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such routine(常规) work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer. Let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn, how to judge their own understanding, and how to know what they know or do not know.
【小题1】The first paragraph is written mainly to _________.

A．give advice on children’s language learning

B．tell us the fewer mistakes we correct, the better children will learn a language

C．suggest children are often too stubborn to accept advice

D．lead to the topic of the passage

【小题2】Which of the following does the writer think teachers should NOT do?

A．Give children correct answers.

B．Allow children to make mistakes.

C．Point out children’s mistakes to them.

D．Let children mark their own work.

【小题3】According to the writer, teachers in school should ________.

A．allow children to learn from each other

B．point out children’s mistakes whenever found

C．give children more book knowledge

D．correct children’s mistakes as soon as possible

【小题4】According to the passage, the best way for children to learn things is by _______.

A．listening to skilled people’s advice

B．asking older people many questions

C．making mistakes and having them corrected

D．doing what other people do

For many young people, having to attend school with a parent would be their worst nightmare. However, Senior 1 student Li Qinmei is happy taking her father with her as long as she can go to classes. He is disabled and unable to take care of himself.
The 16-year-old country girl in Zhucheng, Shandong Province has experienced one disaster after another in her short life. Li lost her mother at three. Four years later, her father became paralyzed after a tractor accident. At 12, her misfortune returned with the death of her grandma. Since then she has been forced to shoulder all the responsibility for her broken family.
Li learnt to cook and managed to live a life with an allowance of only 24 yuan per month. The most difficult thing she had to deal with was helping her father bathe, dress and use the toilet as he could hardly move.
"I felt embarrassed, and so did my dad. It was really hard at the beginning," she recalled.
During most of her junior school years, Li went to classes only once a month as her father was seriously ill at the time.
"I taught myself at home and asked teachers for help on my school days," she explained.
Li's hard work paid off this fall. She was admitted by Zhucheng No 1 High School, a local key school, based on her good performance in the entrance exams.
The school offered Li and her father a room on campus to live in so she could look after him during breaks.
Once in a while, Li felt sad when she saw her classmates going shopping or hanging out with friends.
"I envy them sometimes because they have both mum and dad to look after them. However, I soon feel relieved as I still have my dad with me," she said.
Li admitted that the difficulties in life had taught her to be strong.
"I believe I will go on and continue my studies at a good university," she said, in a confident tone.
Her teacher Mr. Wang has the same belief. Li made great progress in the recent monthly exams. "She works hard and is always eager to excel . It's not easy for her never to be late for school, but she has managed to make it work," Wang said.
【小题1】Li Qinmei has to shoulder the family because ________.

A．her father was badly injured in a car accident

B．her mother passed away when she was 3

C．her grandma died when she was 12

D．misfortune in her life forced her to do so

【小题2】From the passage we can infer that _________.

A．Li Qinmei doesn’t like others talking about her father

B．many young students hate going to school with their parents

C．Li Qinmei has made little progress in her study

D．Li Qinmei has lost three relatives and has to take care of her father

【小题3】What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “hanging out” in the passage?_________.

A．playing outside

B．working hard

C．exchanging ideas

D．talking happily

【小题4】What’s the best title of the story?

A．Difficulties make strong

B．A touching story

C．A strong-minded girl-Li Qinmei

D．Li Qinmei’s successful study life

Everyone has good days and bad days.
Sometimes, you feel as if you’re on top of the world and all the questions on your maths test might seem easy. But occasionally you feel horrible, and you lose things and cannot focus on our schoolwork.
For more than 20 years, scientists have suggested that high self-esteem(自尊) is the key to success.Now, new research shows that focusing just on building self-esteem may not be helpful. In some cases, having high self-esteem can make people less likeable or more upset when they fail in something.
“Forget about self-esteem,” says Jennifer Crocker, a psychologist at the University of Michigan, US. “It’s not the important thing.”
Feeling good
Crocker’s advice may sound a bit strange. After all, feeling good can be good for you.Studies show that people with high self-esteem are less likely to be depressed, anxious, shy, or lonely than those with low self-esteem.
However, after reviewing about 18,000 studies on self-esteem, Roy Baumeister, a psychologist at Florida State University, has found that building up your self-esteem will not necessarily make you a better person.
He believes that violent people often have the highest self-esteem of all. He also said:“ There’s no evidence that kids with high self-esteem do better in school.”
Problems
All types of people have problems. People with high self-esteem can have big egos(自我) that can make them less likeable, said Kathleen Vohs, a psychology professor at Columbia University.People with high self-esteem tend to think more of themselves, VOhs says. People with low self-esteem are more likely to rely on their friends when they need help.
What to do
Researchers say it is best to listen to and support other people. Find positive ways to contribute to society. If you fail in something, try to learn from the experience. “The best therapy(药方) is to recognize your faults,” Vohs says. “It’s OK to say, ‘I’ m not so good at that,’ and then move on.”
【小题1】What does the underlined part “on top of the world” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Quite helpful.

B．Extremely happy.

C．Very unlucky.

D．Rather upset.

【小题2】The conclusion drawn from the new research shows that high self-esteem_____.

A．is not important at all	B．makes people more likeable
C．may not be the key to success	D．helps you do better at school

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

A．Feeling good doesn’t mean you lead a happy life.

B．People with high self-esteem always seek others’ help.

C．People with high self-esteem tend to be selfish.

D．People with low self-esteem are often more popular.

【小题4】We can infer from the text that the best therapy mentioned in the last paragraph is mainly for people_____.

A．with high self-esteem	B．with low self-esteem
C．who contribute significantly to society	D．who are in need of support

Kindergarten outside? Yes, indeed. It’s part of a growing worldwide trend toward outdoor education. The schools are called forest kindergartens.
The numbers are small so far in the U.S., but the idea is well established in Europe, with schools in Scotland, England, and Switzerland. By far the most such schools are in Germany, which has more than 400 forest kindergartens.
Some schools feature several hours of outdoor schooling. This is certainly the case with the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs. Children there will be venturing out on the nearby Hemlock Trail to learn more about the natural world. Some lessons are focused on nature; others are academic topics delivered in a natural setting. In all cases, students are active-not sitting at desks or on mats on the floor but walking, running, jumping, solving problems like how to get the mud off the bottoms of their shoes before their parents find out.
Seriously, the focus is on activity at these schools. Studies have shown that children’s immune systems actually get stronger after all of the outdoor activity, and that graduates of forest kindergartens show a higher ability to learn when they progress through their academic careers.
Other schools are all outdoors, all the time. This is the case with the Cedar Song Nature School, on Vashon Island, Washington. Students at this school spend their whole three–hour day outdoors, in a private five-acre forest, doing all kinds of physical activities.
At these forest kindergartens, students learn science by observing and doing it, learn math by applying it to the natural world around them, learn letters and words by putting them together using sights and sounds. These students learn how to get along with one another, individually and in a group. They also develop healthy levels of self-confidence.
Nowadays many children become obese(肥胖的) because of sedentary（久坐的） activities like watching television and playing video games. These outdoor schools give children chances to learn just as much, if not more, from opening their eyes to the real world around them.
【小题1】What do we know about forest kindergartens?

A．The first one was created in England.	B．They are very popular in Germany.
C．There are 400 all over the world.	D．Their number is huge in the U.S.

【小题2】What is special about forest kindergartens?

A．Kids learn more than those at ordinary kindergartens.

B．Students go outside when weather permits.

C．They value activity very much.

D．They are situated in forests.

【小题3】The main difference between the Waldorf School and Cedar Song Nature School lies in______.

A．the subjects	B．the activities
C．the outdoor time	D．the teaching methods

【小题4】Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A．Get close to nature	B．A new trend of education
C．Forest kindergartens are popular	D．Outdoor education benefits kids a lot

Today’s children are the “result” of the modern society. Our parents have jobs that keep them busy almost all day long. They only have a free day in a week. This doesn’t allow them to keep an eye on their children.
On the other hand, the modern society gives more freedom to the children than they could “handle”. As a child, you don’t know how to grow up by yourself until you reach a certain age. That is why you need school and parents to be by your side all the time. If you don’t have either of them you may make a lot of mistakes. The social system of the modern society is very lenient especially with the children.
Most of the children today are rebels (判逆者). They are rude. They are given too much freedom by their families. This is their parent’s mistake. They ought to know that the freedom they give to their children is misunderstood.
For example it is a bad thing for a 17 – year – old child to go out in the evening on weekends. Parents are also guilty of the way their children show up in the street or at school. The same guilt belongs to the teaching system as well. Pupils shouldn’t be allowed to dress like they were on a fashion presentation at school.
Another important fact we can think of regarding the freedom of children is their free will of spending money. Parents shouldn’t allow their children to spend money on whatever they want.
I think children are given too much freedom not only by their parents, but also by the society. The latter is more to be blamed!
【小题1】The writer implies that parents’ busy lifestyle         .

A．makes their children become independent

B．may lead to a tense parent – child relationship

C．is harmful to their children’s health

D．is likely to create a troubled generation

【小题2】What does the underlined word “lenient” (in Para 2) mean?

A．Not responsible

B．Not strict.

C．Unkind.

D．Unfair.

【小题3】It seems that the writer agrees that students          .

A．should stay at home on weekends

B．can wear trendy clothes at school

C．had better wear school uniform at school

D．can be allowed to go out in the evenings

【小题4】According to the writer, which of the following takes the primary responsibility for children’s problems?

A．The social environment.	B．The educational system.
C．Each family.	D．The school.

Parents should stop blaming themselves because there’s not a lot they can do about it. I mean the teenager problem. Whatever you do or however you choose to deal with it, at certain times a wonderful, reasonable and helpful child will turn into a terrible animal.
I’ve seen friends deal with it in all kinds of different ways. One strict mother insisted that her son, right from a child, should stand up whenever anyone entered the room, open doors and shake hands like a gentleman. I saw him last week when I called round. Sprawling himself (懒散地躺) on the sofa in full length, he made no attempt to turn off the loud TV he was watching as I walked in, and his greeting was no more than a quick glance at me. His mother was ashamed. “I don't know what to do with him these days,” she said. “He’s forgotten all the manners we taught him.”
He hasn’t forgotten them. He’s just decided that he’s not going to use them. She confessed (坦白) that she would like to come up behind him and throw him down from the sofa onto the floor.
Another good friend of mine let her two daughters climb all over the furniture, reach across the table, stare at me and say, “I don’t like your dress; it’s ugly.” One of the daughters has recently been driven out of school. The other has left home.
“Where did we go wrong?” her parents are now very sad. Probably nowhere much. At least, no more than the rest of that unfortunate race, parents.
【小题1】This text is most probably written by ______.

A．a doctor for mental health problems

B．a headmaster of a middle school

C．a parent with teenage children

D．a specialist in teenager studies

【小题2】The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to ______.

A．the advice that parents want their children to follow

B．the change from good to bad that’s seen in a child

C．the opinion that a child has of his parents

D．the way that parents often blame themselves

【小题3】From the second example we can infer that the parents of the two daughters ______.

A．pay no attention to them

B．feel helpless to do much about them

C．have come to hate them

D．are too busy to look after them

【小题4】What is the author's opinion about the sudden change in teenage children?

A．Parents should work more closely with school teachers.

B．Parents should pay still sore attention to the change.

C．Parents have no choice but to try to accept it.

D．Parents are at fault for the change in their children.

One period of our lives when better results are demanded of us is, strangely enough, childhood. Despite being young we are expected to achieve good grades, stay out of trouble, make friends at school, do well on tests, perform chores (杂务)at home and so on. It’s not easy.
Likeable children enjoy many advantages, including the ability to deal more easily with stresses of growing up.In her book Understanding Child Stress, Dr. Carolyn Leonard states that children who are likeable and optimistic are able to gain support from others. This leads to focus and resilience（适应力）, the ability to recover from or adjust early to life stress. Much research shows that resilience has enabled children to succeed in school, avoid drug abuse, and develop a healthy self-awareness(自我意识).
Why does a likeable child more easily handle stress and do better in his or her life? Because likeability helps create what’s known as a positive feedback loop(回馈圈). The positive feelings you want to see in other people are returned to you, creating constant encouragement and motivation to deal with the daily stress of life.
This feedback loop continues into adulthood. To return once again to the example of teaching, learning becomes easier with a likeable personality. Michael Delucchi of the University of Hawaii reviewed dozens of studies to determine if likeable teachers received good ratings because of their likeability or because they in fact taught well. Delucchi found that “Students who perceive(察觉) a teacher as likeable, in contrast to(比照) those who do not, may be more attentive to the information that the teacher delivers and they’ll work harder on assignments, and they will learn more.”
You may have noticed this pattern in your own life when you try to give some advice. The more positive your relationship with that person, the more he or she seems to listen, and the more you feel certain that that person has heard you and intends to act on your words.
【小题1】The writer implies in the first paragraph that __________.

A．life is not easy for every one of us

B．children are expected much than we usually think

C．better education results in smarter children

D．to be a likable child is almost impossible

【小题2】According to Dr. Leonard, likeable children __________.

A．will work harder on assignments and learn more

B．can deal more easily with stress independently

C．can achieve more and understand themselves better

D．are always optimistic and ready to help those in need

【小题3】The main purpose of the studies done by Michael Delucchi is to find __________.

A．how a likeable teacher’s teaching style is formed

B．how a teacher’s likeability gains popularity

C．if a likeable teacher draws more attention

D．if a likeable teacher has a positive personality

【小题4】The passage aims at proving that __________.

A．likeable people give better advice

B．likeable people do better in their childhood

C．social creatures enjoy more advantages

D．likeable people do better in life generally

When you think of all the ways your body can get hurt---falling off a bike, stepping on a nail, being bitten by a crazed dog---the aches and pains that come from sitting at a computer may not seem like much.
But more doctors are getting worried about just that. If you sit at a PC the wrong way, the nerves and muscles in your back, neck and arms can get out of line.
Ergonomics is the study of how people work and how jobs and equipment can be designed so that people are safer and more comfortable in the things they do---whether that’s working on a factory assembly line or sitting in front of a computer.
The monitor
You should not have to tilt（倾斜） your neck up or down to lock at the screen. Your eyes should be level with the top of the screen.
How far away should you sit? Reach your arm out so your fingertips just touch the screen.
The keyboard
It should be directly in front of you. Don’t unfold the legs on the bottom of the keyboard so that it tilts up toward you---it should be as flat as possible, or even tilted away from you. You want your wrists “neutral,” which means straight, not bent. This puts less strain on your nerves and muscles.
Arms should be close to the body. Don’t look at your fingers as you type. Use a document holder to hold papers at the same level as the monitor. Keep the mouse on the same level as the keyboard and close by--- so you don’t have to reach for it.
The chair
Your feet shouldn’t dangle---the blood will pool in your feet. They should rest flat on the floor, or on phone books, if necessary. Your back needs support. Roll up a towel and stick it there.
The Body
If you think of your body as a collection of right angles when you sit at a computer, you should be just fine.
Your hips should be at a 90-degree angle to your back. That takes the pressure off the spine. And your knees should bend at a 90 degree angle so your feet are flat.
【小题1】The passage mainly talks about        .

A．avoiding pains caused by using PC	B．the science of ergonomics
C．illness caused by a computer	D．how to keep fit

【小题2】The underlined word “ergonomics” most probably means ______ in Chinese.  

A．管理学

B．人机工程学

C．机械工程学

D．经济学

【小题3】How high should a monitor be placed according to the passage?

A．As high as your arms.

B．A little higher than your eyes.

C．A little lower than your eyes.

D．At the same level as your eyes.

【小题4】How shouldn’t a keyboard be placed?

A．Tilting away from you.	B．Tilting up toward you.
C．Flat.	D．Not mentioned.

【小题5】How should you place your foot?

A．Rest them on a phone book.	B．Rest them on the floor.
C．They should rest flat.	D．They should dangle.

Some students get so nervous before a test, and they do poorly even if they know the material. Sian Beilock has studied these highly anxious test-takers.
Sian Beilock: “They start worrying about the consequences. They might even start worrying about whether this exam is going to prevent them from getting into the college they want. And when we worry, it actually uses up attention and memory resources. I talk about it as your cognitive horsepower that you could otherwise be using to focus on the exam.”
Professor Beilock and another researcher, Gerardo Ramirez, have developed a possible solution. Just before an exam, highly anxious test-takers spend ten minutes writing about their worries about the test.
Sian Beilock: “what we think happens is when students put it down on paper , they think about the worst that could happen and they reassess the situation. They might realize it’s not as hard as they might think it was before and, in essence, it prevents these thoughts from popping up when they’re actually taking a test.”
The researchers tested the idea on a group of twenty anxious college students. They gave them two short math tests. After the first one, they asked the students to either sit quietly or write about their feelings about the upcoming second test.
The researchers added to the pressure. They told the students that those who did well on the second test would get money. They also told them that their performance would affect other students as part of a team effort.
Professor Beilock says those who sat quietly scored an average of twelve percent worse on the second test. But the students who had written about their fears improved their performance by an average of five percent.
Next, the researchers used younger students in a biology class. They told them before final exams either to write about their feelings or to think about things unrelated to the test.Prefessor Beilock says highly anxious students who did the writing got an average grade of B+, compared to a B- for those who did not.
Sian Beilock: “What we showed is that for students who are highly test-anxious, who’d done our writing intervention, all of a sudden there was no relationship between test anxiety and performance. Those students most likely to worry were performing just as well as their classmates who don’t normally get nervous in these testing situations.”
But what if students do not have a chance to write about their fears immediately before an exam or presentation? Professor Beilock says students can try it themselves at home or in the library and still improve their performance.
【小题1】What may happen if students have the problem of test anxiety?

A．Test anxiety can improve students’ performance to some degree.

B．Students’ attention and memory resources run out when worried.

C．Students may not be admitted into their favorite college if worried

D．Test anxiety is sure to cause students to fail the test.

【小题2】Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The result in the math test agrees with that in the biology test.

B．In the first math test, students who sat quietly performed better.

C．In the second math test, students who wrote about their feelings did worse.

D．Some college students are highly anxious test-takers while others are not..

【小题3】What does the underlined phrase “popping up” mean?

A．Giving out	B．Fading away
C．Becoming clear	D．Appearing suddenly

【小题4】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．It is a common practice for students to get worried before a test.

B．Being worried before tests does harm to students’ performance.

C．Anxious students overcome test anxiety by writing down fears.

D．It is important for students to overcome test anxiety.