good grades can bring them cash and luxury gifts.
In at least a dozen states this school year, students who bring home top marks can expect more than just
thankfulness.
The most ambitious experiment began in September, when seven states - Arkansas, Alabama,
Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington-won spots in an Mobil-funded
program that, in most cases, pays students $100 for each passing grade on advanced placement (AP)
college-prep exams.
It"s an effort to get low-income and minority students interested in the courses, says Tommie Sue
Anthony, president of the Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science. "We still have students
who are not sure of the value, who are not willing to take the courses," she says. "Probably the motivation will make a difference with those students."
Gregg Fleisher of the National Math and Science Initiative, which runs the seven-state program, says
the effort is modeled on a program adopted by Dallas in the 1995-96 school year that saw AP
course-taking jump obviously. That program is now statewide.
While many educators would be against offering kids cash for good grades, Fleisher and others say
the idea is simple: "It"s an encouragement to get them to basically make the right decision and choose a
more strict class," he says. "This teaches them that if they work at something very hard and have a lot of
support, they can do something they didn"t think they could do."
An analysis of the Texas program last month by Cornell economist C. Kirabo Jackson found that it
linked to a 30% rise in the number of students with high SAT and ACT scores and an 8% rise in
college-going students.(Notes: 1.SAT: 美国学术能力评估考试;2. ACT: 美国大学入学考试.)
B .A new motivation for students.
C. Good grades deserves gratitude.
D. Success makes a difference.
B. To help poor students to keep on with education.
C. To get relatively poor students interested in their studies.
D. To make an effort to raise the value of money.
B. The program didn"t have any effect on student"s achievements.
C. The program has been going on half a dozen states this year.
D. The program was probably first adopted by Dallas.
B. makes everything possible
C. helps students choose right classes
D. teaches students to spend money
can make your child feel angry, hurt, or misunderstood by what you say without realizing it yourself. It is
important to give your child the space he needs to grow while gently letting him know that you you"ll still
be there for him when he needs you.
Expect a lot from your child, just not everything.Except for health and safety problems, such as drug
use or careless driving; consider everything else open to discussion. If your child is unwilling to discuss
something, don"t insist he tell you what"s on his mind. The more you insist, the more likely that he"ll clarn
up. Instead , let him attempt to solve(解决)things by himself. At the same time, remind him that you"re
always there for him should he seek advice or help. Show respect for your teenager"s privacy (隐私).
Never read him his mail or listen in on personal conversations.
Teach your teenager that the family phone is for the whole family. If your child talks on the family"s
telephone for too long, tell him he can talk for15 minutes, but then he must stay off the phone for at least
an equal period of time. This not only frees up the line so that other family members can make and
receive calls, but teaches your teenager moderation(节制). Or if you are open to the idea, allow your
teenager his own phone that he pays for with his own pocket money or a part -time job
B. how to respect a teenager
C. how to help a teenager grow up
D. how to understand a teenager
B. show respect
C.become excited
D. seek help
B. to pay for his own telephone
C. to share the phone quickly
D. to use the phone in a sensible way
B. Give him advice only when necessary
C. Let him have his own telephone
D. Not talk about personal things with him
and she wanted her pupils" parents to see how well their children were learning 1 her methods. She
therefore arranged for all the parents 2 and see the results of one of the 3 experiments on a Saturday
evening, 4 all of them were free. The children had been studying the growth of plants, and they 5 fou
r pots of beans a few weeks before. They had put poor soil in one pot, to see 6 effect this would
have 7 the growth of the beans in 8 ,and good soil in 9 three pots. Then they had put one of the 10
in the dark for several days, and had given 11 pot no water for the same length of time.
At the end of the lesson on Friday afternoon, the teacher put little 12 on the four pots:"The beans in
this pot were planted in poor soil.""This pot 13 in the dark for four days.""These beans have had no water
for four days.""These beans have had good soil, plenty of light and 14 water." Then the teacher went home.
When she arrived on 15 evening, half an hour before the 16 were due to come, she found this note
beside the pots:"We read your notes 17 the school servant and thought we would help him, so we
watered all the plants, changed the earth in the one with 18 soil, and 19 the light on above the one
that had been left in the dark for four days. We hope that the plants will now grow 20 ."
Your friends,
"The Boy Scouts."
( )1. A. by ( )2. A. come ( )3. A. child ( )4. A. when ( )5. A. have planted ( )6. A. how ( )7. A. in ( )8. A. them ( )9. A. the other ( )10. A. beans ( )11. A. a third ( )12. A. notes ( )13. A. had been kept ( )14. A. no ( )15. A. Friday ( )16. A. children ( )17. A. to ( )18. A. good ( )19. A. left ( )20. A. well | B. with B. came B. children B. as B. had planted B. what B. on B. that B. an other B. soil B. the third B. messages B. has been kept B. some B. Saturday B. students B. for B. wet B. leave B. strong | C. in C. to come C. child"s C. because C. planted C. which C. for C. it C. Other C. plants C. a fourth C. notices C. had been remained C. much C. Sunday C. parents C. from C. dry C. kept C. better | D. through D. coming D. children"s D. since D. had been planted D. why D. with D. one D. others D. pots D. the fourth D. announcements D. has been remained D. regular D. Monday D. teachers D. on D. poor D. keep D. good |
阅读理解 | |||
Some plants get so hungry they eat flies, and even small frogs. What"s more amazing is that these plants occur naturally (in special environments) in every state. In fact, they"re found on every continent except Antarctica. You"ve probably seen a Venus" flytrap -- a small plant, which grows 6 to 8 inches tall in a container. At the end of its stalks (茎) are leaves that act like traps (陷阱). Inside each trap is a lining of tiny hairs. When an insect lands on them, the traps suddenly shut. Over the course of a week or so, the plant feeds on its catch. The Venus" flytrap is just one of more than 500 species of meat-eating plants, says Barry Meyers-Rice, the editor of the International Carnivorous Plant Society"s Newsletter. He states although you might have read some science-fiction stories, no meat-eating plant does any danger to humans. Barry says a plant is meat-eating, only if it does all four of the following: "attract, kill, digest, and absorb" some form of insects. Meat-eating plants look and act like other green plants -- well, most of the time. All green plants make sugar to produce food. What makes meat-eating plants different is their special leaves, which need insects for one reason: nitrogen (氮). Nitrogen is a nutrient that they can"t obtain any other way. Why? Almost all green plants on our planet get nitrogen from the soil. Meat-eating plants can"t. They live in places where nutrients are hard to get from the soil because of its acidity. So they"ve come to rely on getting nitrogen from insects and small animals. In fact, nutrient-rich soft is poisonous to meat-eating plants. Never fertilize (施肥) them! But don"t worry, either, if they never seem to catch any insects. They can survive, but they"ll grow very slowly. | |||
1. According to the passage, a Venus" flytrap ______. | |||
A. is a small plant which grows in a container B. is a kind of plant which gets hungry easily C. can trap and feed on some form of insects D. can only grow 6-8 inches tall | |||
2. From the passage, we can infer that ______. | |||
A. meat-eating plants are found nowhere else except Antarctica B. all green plants get nitrogen from the soil C. meat-eating plants endanger humans in science-fiction stories D. the nutrient-poor soil is beneficial to meat-eating plants | |||
3. Meat-eating plants grow very slowly, ______. | |||
A. so you"d better fertilize them B. probably because the supply of nitrogen is cut off C. simply because they can"t absorb nitrogen from the soil D. and then they will die slowly | |||
4. Which of the following is true? | |||
A. Meat-eating plants look and act like other green plants. B. It"s hard to get nutrients in the soil when acidity is high. C. The Venus" flytrap eats flies to get nutrient from them. D. Green plants make sugar at night. | |||
阅读理解 | |||
Singing are the pupils of the remote Beau-Roc primary school in Haiti. One of them plays a guitar | |||
1. What theme is presented in this passage? | |||
A. Devotion to education. B. Poverty and hardship. C. Politics and children D. Love and beauty | |||
2. Which of the following is extremely difficult for Beau-Roc primary school? | |||
A. Teaching the women how to make embroidery and other handicrafts. B. Persuading local women to care about their children"s education. C. Encouraging those around her to use those available resources. D. Finding chalk, school books and other materials. | |||
3. In the last paragraph, "those who are really cut out for teaching" are those who are ________. | |||
A. dismissed from teaching B. unfamiliar with teaching C. qualified for teaching D. cautious about teaching | |||
As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more. Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents"efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children. "In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children"s IQ scores," Lewis says. "And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is." The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings(兄弟姐妹). Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention. "Middle children are invisible." Says Lewis. "When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it"s the middle child." There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: "When the TV is on," Lewis says, "dinner is a non-event." | |||
1. The writer"s purpose in writing the text is to ______ . | |||
A. show the relationship between parents and children B. teach parents ways to keep order at the dinner table C. report on the findings of a study D. give information about family problems | |||
2. By saying "Middle children are invisible" in paragraph 3, Lewis means that middle children ______ . | |||
A. have to help their parents to serve dinner B. get the least attention from the family C. are often kept away from the dinner table D. find it hard to keep up with other children | |||
3. Parents with large families ask fewer questions at dinner because ______ . | |||
A. they are busy serving food to their children B. they are busy keeping order at the dinner table C. they have to pay more attention to younger children D. they are tired out having prepared food for the whole family | |||
4. Lewis research provides an answer to the question ______ . | |||
A. Why TV is important in family B. why parents should keep good order C. why children in small families seem to be quiet D. why middle children seem to have more difficulties in life | |||
5. Which of the following statements would the writer agree to? | |||
A. It is important to have the right food for children. B. It is a good idea to have the TV on during dinner. C. Parents should talk to each of their children frequently. D. Elder children should help the younger ones at dinner. |