Reading Oliver James'Affluenza, I thought about what often happens at home. My 12-year-old daughter is in tears."I have so take a test tomorrow. I don't understand any of it," she cries out. After shouting and shutting her door, she calms down enough to go through her notes. The following dry I ask her how the test went and the just says "OK,I got a nine".

"Wow. well done!" I say, before she finishes with "But I never get a ten!"

According to James, this obsession with getting top marks has been a bad development, which encourages people to think of education in terms of work and money. To test this, I asked my daughter why she was so worried about her tests. She looked at me as if I was thick. "Well, if I don't get good grades, I won't be able to afford nice things like a car and stuff."

I was quite surprised, because I don't consider myself a pushy parent. But James suggests and it leaves students feeling failures even if they are very bright. He points to the Danish system（体制）of education as a better model. Creating happy citizens who have good social skills is seen as more important than high achievements at school or the needs of business.

For me, I cannot remember the last time I had to work out the area of a circle, recite a Shakespeare poem or grammar rules, yet I have lived a happy life. What I really needed to learn at school was how to make polite conversations, or how to avoid getting into debt or how to develop good personality.

This is in fact similar to what Oliver James really has in mind. And he is looking for schools where students are encouraged to find and follow their own interests, something more like Tongjon. Tongjon has been developed in some Korean private schools. It is quite different from the more rigid system of learning things by heart that is used in Korea, and indeed in many other school systems around the world.

As the Russian poet Pushkin said," Inspiration(灵感）is needed in geometry(几何学）just as much as in poetry ",and inspiration does not come from endlessly revising for tests or getting worried about them .

1.What does the writer probably think of his/her daughter?

A. She sets herself a goal too high to reach.

B. She should be more polite to her parents.

C. She is hard-working but not very bright.

D. She takes her grades much too seriously.

2.What does the word "obsession"in paragraph 3 mean?

A.A plain and unavoidable fact.

B.A satisfied and very proud state.

C.A practical and widely-used way.

D.A fixed and often unreasonable idea.

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A. Social skills are as important as high grades.

B. Interest in grades can shake self-confidence.

C. The writer regrets not having studied hard at school.

D. Danish educational system is for very smart students.

4.The writer wants to tell us that____.

A.learning happily is the key to self-development.

B. top marks may be helpful to increase one's interest.

C. tests should be improved to give children inspiration.

D. education should meet one's needs for word and money.

This is an online discussion group where people can post(发布) comments about a topic.
Read the post from the travel forum(论坛).

A young girl called Ida in Sweden decided to travel to a place she hadn't seen for 22 years. She had a happy life until some kids asked, "Why don't you look like your mom?" Ida was sent to her adopted(收养) family in Sweden right after she was born. She really didn't know anything about her birthplace, Korea, except for some information she recently heard about her birthparents.

During her schooldays, she was often questioned about her looks. Ida considered herself a normal Swedish person. She tried to be part of the group in her school, but she found it hard. She was still seen as an outsider.

    As she grew older, she accepted(接受)who she  was. Still, she

wanted to find the missing piece of the puzzle (困惑). After finding out the place of her birthparents, Ida went to Korea in 2008. When she first arrived, she was surprised to see so many people who looked like her. However, apart from her looks, not much could be shared (分享) with others. She knew little about the culture, food, especially the language. Being in Korea wasn't always easy for her.

Perhaps Ida can never truly fit in either culture, but it's worth visiting her birthplace because she finally realized how special and different she is. She has two loving families, and most of all a better understanding of who she is. This helps her to have a positive view of her life.

1. Where was Ida born?

A. In Japan. B. In Sweden. C. In England.        D. In Korea.

2.Why was she seen as an outsider in Sweden?

A. Because of the culture. B. Because of her looks.

C. Because of the food. D. Because of the language.

3.What does the phrase "apart from" in Paragraph 3 mean?

A. except B. as for C. as well as D. besides

4.What can we learn from the passage?

A. Ida hadn't seen her birthparents for at least 22 years.

B. Ida found it easy for her to get used to living in Korea.

C. Ida still couldn't accept who she was after she went back to Sweden.

D. Ida realized she can't live a happy life either in Sweden or in Korea.

根据语境和句意，从括号中选择一个可填入句子的正确选项，并将答案填写在答题卡上指定的位置。

1.The cook added salt into the soup but it still wasn’t_______ enough. (salt, salty)

2.The story book is interesting and it was______ by Mark Twain. (written, writing)

3.“What do people in Korea do when they meet _______the first time?” “They usually bow.” ( in, for)

4.Singapore has a night_______, you can watch many kinds of animals there.(zoo, party)

5.Every year, Guiyang attracts larger numbers of tourists, ______in summer.( especial, especially)