牛津上海版高二年级英语第一学期话题阅读(二)School and education(有答案)

话题阅读（二）School and Education

（A）

1.

Listening is not as easy as someone thought. Even good listeners may recall only fifty percent of what they hear. Retention, the ability to remember and recall information, decreases about twenty to twenty-five percent after a few days. So no matter how well you listen in class, you're always going to have to refresh your memory before a test! Unfortunately, many people have poor listening habits, and little listening training. To improve your listening skills, it's important to understand what causes poor listening.

If you find it difficult to concentrate solely on what a speaker is saying, there' s a good reason. The mind processes information much faster than a speaker can speak. The brain can process over 500 words per minute, while the average speaker talks at a rate of 124 to 250 words per minute. That means the mind can hear what's being said and can think about something else at the same time.

If you have a negative idea about the speaker or the topic, you'll find it difficult to listen attentively. Hostile or captive audiences often have more difficulty listening than do favorable or voluntary ones.

If a speaker speaks "above the heads" of an audience, people find it difficult to concentrate. Speakers who use unfamiliar words or who use incomplete explanations make it more difficult to listen. Speakers who "speak down" to audiences, failing to acknowledge what the audience already

knows, also create mental blocks.

When people listen selectively, they simply block out what they don't want to hear. For instance, many people have habits that are dangerous to their health, like smoking. However, they often choose to block out what a speaker says about health risks. They may listen to a speech and think that the speaker's message applies to other people, not them. In other words, they hear what they want to hear and ignore what they don't want to hear.

W ord Bank

CADFB

（B）

You are from a middle-class family, and live in a normal-size home without any showy possessions, but you are surrounded by surprising consumption. This contrast is beginning to bother your 6-year-old son. You are worried that he will want to live as they do, and wonder if you should move.

Sometimes big pocket money, joyful birthday parties, special playrooms and super-big houses tell you that your neighbors probably have more money than you do, and that they're not as careful as you are with money, but you may find that they cook and dig in the garden with their children just as often as you do, talk with them as freely and read to them every night.

Or you may find that some of these parents stay in one wing of their big house while their child plays by himself, way off in a wing of his own. In that unfortunate case, he is basically growing up alone without being looked after properly, but this can happen to a child who lives in

a normal-size house, too, if he has a TV, a computer and a few video games in his room. Even the most caring parent doesn't walk in and out of it to see what show her child is watching, what internet site he has found and if he's still playing that video games.

Too much uncontrolled screen then may lead to a certain loss of innocence, but mostly this child will lose the sense of unity and satisfaction that comes from being in a family.

A neighborhood should also provide you with a sense of unity and satisfaction, and if it doesn't you might decide to move. Don't judge your neighborhood too harshly, though. There are some things that are right with almost any neighborhood and things that are wrong with the best of them—like those super-big houses. The wealth of their owners and the way they throw

and his dad save some of the money, give some to people who don't have enough and use the rest to

pay for whatever the family needs.

Children want—should be provided with—explanations when their parents don' t give

them what they want.

1. What is the problem with the worried parent in the passage?

2. In Para. 2 and Para. 3, the author seems to agree that parents should___________________________________ .

3. By saying "throw money around" in Para. 5, the author means that rich people __________________________

4. According to the passage, what should parents do when they don't give their children what they

want?

Keys: 1 . He or she worries about the effect of the neighbors on his or her son

2. spend more time with their children

3. spend much money carelessly

4. They should provide their children with explanations.

（C）

In a recently published book, I came across some exercises with interesting names such as

fishbone diagrams, lotus flowers and clustering. As I used these exercises in my classes, I noticed

that students were interested. They said more and wrote more. They enjoyed expressing their ideas

and sharing them in groups. They were no longer passively waiting for the bell, but actively taking

part in the lesson. I find that creativity can act as a way to increase participation and improve

fluency.

Creativity has become a popular word in recent years. Scholars in arts, psychology,

business, education and science are all working to get a deeper understanding of it. Robert J.

Sternberg is a creativity specialist and Yale professor of psychology. He defines creativity as "the

ability to produce work that is both new (original) and appropriate (applicable to the situation)".

This definition is useful, as we want our students to use language in a new way and to use it

correctly and properly. Most scholars say there are two types of creativity: big "C" creativity and

small "c" creativity. Big "C" creativity refers to genius level thinking that results in artistic masterpieces and scientific breakthroughs. Small "c" creativity refers to everyday level thinking

that can be used in any situation. Our emphasis is on the latter. While it goes without saying

that any of our students could go on to be the next Picasso or Edison, our aim is to help students produce more ideas and use language in a new way.

23. The underlined words "waiting for the bell" in the first paragraph probably means

A. longing for a phone call

B. hoping to have a bell

C. expecting the end of the class

D. waiting to speak in the class

24. It can be inferred from the passage that the author thinks the exercises in the book were

.

A. popular

B. useful

C. scientific

D. creative

25. When you use a familiar word in a new way, you are________________ .

A.creative in the sense of big "C" creativity

B.creative in the sense of small "c" creativity

C.showing the sense of big "C" creativity

D.not creative in the sense of small "c"

creativity

26. The main purpose of the passage is to_______________ .

A. show how useful the book is

B. explain what creativity is

C. discuss how one can be creative

D. tell what creativity aims at

Keys:CDBB

（D）

1.

Growing numbers of foreigners are showing a desire to learn the Chinese language, according to the latest official statistics. It is estimated that the number coming to China to learn the language has maintained an average annual growth rate of 35 per cent, over the past few years.

China's continuous economic expansion and the strengthening of its trade and business ties with the rest of the world have been behind the interest in learning Chinese. These kinds of business engagements have in turn sparked a huge demand for professional employees in foreign countries with a good command of Chinese.

3.

The trend is more evident among some of China's largest trading partners, particularly Japan, the United States, the Republic of Korea and some nations in Southeast Asia. " I think good knowledge of Chinese can help me secure a good job back in my country as there is a growing number of companies setting up operations in China," said a 24-year-old female student of Peking University who comes from South Korea. She added that a certificate of the Chinese Proficiency Test, or Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) , is important when seeking a job in a large foreign trade company in South Korea.

The HSK test began in Beijing in 1988. It is a national, standardized test designed to assess foreign students' command of Chinese. So far, the Office of the State Commission for the Chinese Proficiency Test has set up 44 testing centres in 27 cities in China, including Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and 55 centres in 24 other countries in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania. Since 1991, a total of 380,000 people from 120 countries have taken the test in those centres, said Vice-Minister of Education Zhang Xinsheng.

"The Chinese language as well as Chinese culture and other languages and cultures —has played a tremendous role in developing human civilization and pushing forward social progress.” Zhang said. " Hopefully the exchange of languages can help enhance understanding and friendship between peoples of different countries," he added.

Keys: DBCAE