Children who spend more time reading with their parents have a greater chance of becoming better readers than those who don’t. With the help from their parents, children can learn techniques to improve their reading skills.
“A lot of parents think after their child learns to read, they should stop reading to them,” Donna George said. “They are sadly mistaken.”
George offers her services to parents at the Title I Learning Centers. She said reading aloud to children may be the most valuable thing parents can do. “It is better for children to hear things at a higher level than where they are,” George said. “Parents are their child’s first teacher.” Parents help their children build listening, phonics, comprehension and vocabulary skills when they read aloud to them.
Before parents can identify reading problems, they should escape the enemy
—television and limit the time their children spend watching television. George suggested not allowing kids to have a TV in their bedrooms, setting a schedule of when kids can watch or keeping a list of how many programs children watch. Louise Joines said while her 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son enjoy reading, the television sometimes becomes a distraction. So she tries to build the situation by suggesting books the entire family will enjoy reading together, like the Harry Potter series.
Parents who do not read themselves should not count on their children being interested in it. If parents would read to their children at least 15 minutes every day, children would not have so many problems in school. It is the parents’ job to help build that desire in their children, and of course to know what kind of books to read is also important.
【小题1】According to George, reading aloud to children_______________.

A．helps them correct mistakes

B．is helpful to their reading

C．is parents’ first duty to their children

D．can get children out of television’s attraction

【小题2】The underlined word (in Paragraph 4 ) means something that_________

A．can improve children’s reading

B．can help children’s right way of reading

C．can make children interested in reading

D．can make children not attentive

【小题3】Which of the following is important according to the fourth paragraph?

A．Reading skills.	B．Reading speed.
C．Reading materials.	D．Reading environment.

【小题4】If the passage is not completed, which of the following can follow the fifth
paragraph?

A．Parents choose reading materials for their children.

B．Advice is given to control their children.

C．What TV programs children can watch during reading.

D．How children improve their reading by themselves.

【小题5】 Which one would be the best title for the passage?

A．Children Spend More Time Reading with Parents.

B．Parents Are Their Child's First Teacher.

C．How Parents Make Their Child a Better Reader.

D．How to Improve Children's Reading Ability.

Many students feel it is difficult to remember new words when they begin to study English. Now I will give you some advice.

Do not waste time in learning the word list. It is not a good way to remember new words. The best way to learn new words is through listening. You can find radio programmes or TV programmes. And listen to them carefully. When you listen to the conversations, you will learn the pronunciation easily. Of course, it is not enough; you have to remember their spellings.

Some people find that they can learn the names of everyday objects such as box, bottle, cup, desk and so on, in the following way. They write the names of things on paper, and then they read the words on the paper. Try this and see if this way works for you. If it does not work, then go on to practise listening to the conversations.

根据短文内容，判断正（T）误（F）。

1.To remember new words is not easy for many students.

2.Learning the word list is a good way to remember new words.

3.The best way to learn new words is to listen to radio and TV programmes.

4.Listening to radio and TV is enough.

5.If you write the names of things on paper, it will help you learn new words.

 

 

Oriole’s Nest

 

Picky, Picky

Scientists have no idea exactly why birds choose certain objects to build their nests. But scientists know that the main reason birds build nests is to keep their babies safe, warm and healthy.

    Baby birds grow faster and are healthier when they are warm. They also learn to fly and leave the nests sooner than birds without warm homes.

What A Yarn (纱)

Yarn is big on an oriole’s shopping list during nest building. Scientists are still trying to work out why so many birds choose white yarn over other colors for nest building.

Scientists think that the white objects remind birds of cotton fluff (绒毛) they find in the wild.

Do It Naturally  

Even though birds can help us recycle some of our junk by using it to build nests, they also need to use lots of natural things. Long grass, dried sticks, spider’s silk and mud are some of the natural ingredients that are good for nests, too.

You can make a collection box of things to leave for birds so they can help themselves. Hang a small plastic box with holes on a tree branch. Fill the box freely with nest building goodies. Hang the box on a tree and watch birds climb on board to pick through the junk to find their treasures.

Warning: Don’t let the birds turn into a tasty treat. Keep your bird station away from places where cats hang out.

For The Birds!

Stop! Don’t throw all that garbage out! Give some to the birds. Look and see how your old junk can help beautify and warm a bird’s new home.

1.The baby birds with warm homes are able to _____.

A. choose right objects                     B. leave the nests sooner

C. build good nests                         D. learn to fly higher

2. What can people make for birds to build nests?

A. Holes on the tree.                   B. Food out of the rubbish.

C. A warning board.                     D. A collection box of things.

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A. Birds build nests to store things.

B. Birds regard white objects as cotton.

C. Birds and humans can help each other.

D. Birds and cats fight against each other.

 

Helping your children to read and write at home will improve their skills and confidence—it will also make them get ready for learning in the classroom environment.
　    　 are needed by every child in every subject in every year of their life in or outside school. Students who improve their reading and writing skills will increase their vocabulary and their ability（能力）to use the English language correctly. As parents, you can play an important role in improving your children’s literacy（读写能力）. You can make a difference by listening, asking questions, giving information, and reading with your children outside school hours.
Here are 8 tips on how to help your children to read and write:
² having everyday conversations with your children
² trying to ask more “wh-” questions instead of easy “yes” or “no” questions
² encouraging your children to talk about events you don’t know
² reading to your children each night
² listening to your children read
² teaching your children how to use dictionaries
² talking about your children’s writings
² practicing filling in forms, writing letters, sending cards or emails
You can also encourage your children to join the Reading Challenge Club and discuss the books they are reading together. In the club, children must read 15 books from the Challenge book list and 5 more books chosen by themselves. There are over 1,000 books on the list. The reading must be done in one year. What’s more, it is a wonderful way to help your children to write. For example, you can encourage them to write diaries or book reviews. Remember to make positive comments as much as possible.
【小题1】 This passage is mainly written for __________.

A．children

B．teachers

C．parents

D．doctors

【小题2】 __________ is the best for the missing part in Paragraph 2.

A．“Listening and speaking skills”	B．“Reading and writing skills”
C．“Listening and writing skills”	D．“Reading and listening skills”

【小题3】 __________ is NOT mentioned in the 8 tips above.

A．“Listening to the radio every day ”	B．“Listening to your children read”
C．“Reading to your children each night”	D．“Talking about your children’s writings”

【小题4】 In the Reading Challenge Club, children have to read __________ in one year.

A．5 books

B．10 books

C．15 books

D．20 books

【小题5】 Parents can help children to write by encouraging them to__________.

A．draw pictures or take photos	B．listen to pop music
C．write diaries or book reviews	D．play computer games

词汇运用 (共l0小题；每小题l分，计l0分)

1.Tsim Sha Tsui is regarded as the _______ center of Hongkong (文化).

2.He has ______the book with many pictures in it since two weeks ago. (借)

3.I’m afraid you should pay more _______ to your study of English grammar. (关注)

4.Are you sure this is a task well _______(在……范围内)your ability?

5.Would you please list all the _______ names on the paper?.(邮递员)

6.One of the secrets of our success is to believe in ________ (we).

7.For ________ information, you can contact Amy on 55560678 (far).

8.You have changed a lot and I can feel your _________ (improve).

9.It’s ________ for us to finish the work in such a short time. (hope)

10.The children all screamed _______ when they saw their favourite Disney characters(excite).