Why should I teach my children history? That sounds like a stupid question to even ask．But，as I hear different home schooling teachers discuss history，I get the idea that there may be different reasons for teaching history．Let me briefly explain the three good reasons for studying history and two bad reasons for studying history．

The major reason I see for studying history is that we can learn from the past．I believe that the world would be a much better place if more people understood the successes and failures of the past and the things that made these successes and failures．However，as the unfortunately(不幸地)true statement goes ‘‘the one thing we seem to learn from history is that we don't seem to

learn from history”，perhaps at least in teaching history, to my children I can do a small part in changing this．

    A second major reason for studying history is that it is hard to understand the current(目前的)political climate in the absence of an understanding of its historical context(背景)．We can not

even understand why we are and where we are without history，much less try to figure out where we are going or how we should get where we want to be．

    I teach my children history，for one more reason．I bought a set of historical audio tapes for our children．My seven-year-old son listened to them over and over．It was my hope that he would

become inspired by the accomplishments(成就)of people like the Wright brothers to accomplish things by himself．I think that it is good that we celebrate the accomplishments of people like Martin Luther King Jr. By doing so，young people are called on to stand for the principles that he stood for and accomplish what he didn’t accomplish．I also think that by studying people like Adolph Hitler，people can learn to stand against the things that he stood for．

1.What message can we get from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 ?

  A．Many people aren’t clever enough to learn well from the past．

  B．Many people fail to make good use of history and make the same mistakes．

  C．Many people feel it hard to understand history．

  D．Many people have no interest in studying history．

2.In Paragraph 3，the author shows that history is useful because

  A．it makes the current political situation go smoothly

  B．it helps us realize the importance of historical events

  C．it helps us understand why things are the way they are

  D．it helps people accept the present situation where they live

3.Some historical figures are mentioned in the last paragraph to show____．

  A．people can be inspired to do good and also learn to fight against evil

  B．people may also learn from bad historical figures

  C．more celebrations should be held to honor their achievements

  D．today’s people can also achieve what they achieved

4.What would be talked about in the following paragraph?

  A．How to teach history effectively．

  B．Some negative reasons for studying history．

  C．How to get more people to study history．

  D．Some bad historical figures．

We find that bright children are rarely held back by mix-ability teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all, it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade!

Besides, it is rather unusual to grade pupils just according to their intellectual ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning.

In our classrooms, we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to deal with personal problems as well as learning how to think, to make decisions, to analyze and evaluate, and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.

Sometimes the pupils work in pairs; sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments, and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is proper. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently. And advanced pupil can do advanced work. It doesn’t matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement to obtain this goal.

1.By “held back” (the underlined part of the first sentence) the author means “______”.

A．drawn to their studies                    B．prevented from advancing

C．made to remain in the same class           D．forced to study in the lower class

2.The author argues that a teacher’s chief concern should be the development of the pupil’s ______.

A．total personality                        B．intellectual ability

C．personal qualities                       D．communicative skills

3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the third paragraph?

A．Pupils also learn to develop their reasoning abilities.

B．Pupils also learn how to participate in teaching activities.

C．Group work gives pupils the opportunity to learn to work together with others.

D．Group work provides pupils with the opportunity to learn to be good organizers.

We find that bright children are rarely held back by mix-ability teaching. On the contrary, both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all, it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade!
Besides, it is rather unusual to grade pupils just according to their intellectual ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full, not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills, and we find that mixed ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning.
In our classrooms, we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate, to share, and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to deal with personal problems as well as learning how to think, to make decisions, to analyze and evaluate, and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.
Sometimes the pupils work in pairs; sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments, and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is proper. We encourage our pupils to use the library, and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently. And advanced pupil can do advanced work. It doesn’t matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best, not their least, and we give them every encouragement to obtain this goal

1. 1.

   By “held back” (the underlined part of the first sentence) the author means “______”

   1. A.
      drawn to their studies
   2. B.
      prevented from advancing
   3. C.
      made to remain in the same class
   4. D.
      forced to study in the lower class
2. 2.

   The author argues that a teacher’s chief concern should be the development of the pupil’s ______

   1. A.
      total personality
   2. B.
      intellectual ability
   3. C.
      personal qualities
   4. D.
      communicative skills
3. 3.

   Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the third paragraph?

   1. A.
      Pupils also learn to develop their reasoning abilities
   2. B.
      Pupils also learn how to participate in teaching activities
   3. C.
      Group work gives pupils the opportunity to learn to work together with others
   4. D.
      Group work provides pupils with the opportunity to learn to be good organizers

One hot night last July, when our new baby wouldn’t or couldn’t sleep, I tried everything I could think of : a warm bottle, songs gentle rocking. Nothing would settle him. Guessing that I had a long night ahead of me, I brought a portable TV into his room, figuring that watching the late movie was as good a way as any to kill of the hours till dawn. To my surprise, as soon as the TV lit up, the baby quieted right down, his little eyes focused brightly on the tube. Not to waste an opportunity for sleep, I then tiptoes out of the room, leaving him to watch the actors celebrate John Bellushi's forty-fifth birthday.

My wife and I heard none of the baby that night, and the next morning when I went into his room, I found him still watching TV himself.

I found in my baby's behavior a symbol of the new generation. My wife and I had given him some books to examine, but he merely spit upon them. When we read to him, he did not feel comfortable. And so it is in the schools. We find that our students don't read and they look down upon reading and scold those of us who teach it. All they want to do is watch TV. After this experience with the baby, however, I have reached a conclusion: “Let them watch it!” If television is that much more attractive to children than books, why should we fight about it? Let them watch it all they want!

1．Why did the author bring a TV set into his son's room?

　　A．To make his son keep quiet.

　　B．To spend the night by watching TV programs.

　　C．In order not to let his son feel lonely.

　　D．To make his son go to sleep as soon as possible.

2．The baby's reaction to the TV program was _______ .

　　A．unexpected         B．encouraging         C．exciting              D．calm

3．From this passage we know that the author is           .

      A．a doctor              B．a reporter            C．an editor              D．a teacher

4．According to the passage, which is true of the school children?

　　A．They prefer reading to watching TV.

　　B．They like watching TV after school.

　　C．They would rather watch TV than read books.

　　D．They like their teachers who teach them reading.

5．What does the underlined phrase fight about mean according to the passage?

       A．talk about      B．think about       C．quarrel about     D．care about