As children face their final month of revision before the exam season starts, many parents are looking for the words to motivate their offspring．But could they be mistakenly praising the value of ability over effort, asks Matthew Syed．
Take a glance at these expressions of encouragement:
"You learned that so quickly, you're so smart!"
"Look at that drawing．Are you -the next Picasso or what?"
They appear as the kind of confidence-boosting statements that should be given to children or, indeed, anyone else．Such phrases are used in homes and classrooms every day, particularly with exams approaching．
Intelligence-based praise leads the receiver towards the fixed thought —it suggests to them that intelligence is of primary importance rather than the effort through which intelligence can be transformed．
Let's take a quick second look into the science of expertise, and ask a question．Where does excellence come from? For a long time, it was thought the answer to this depended, to a large degree, on genetic inheritance．Or, to put it another way, it is all about talent．
It turns out that this is mistaken．Dozens of studies have found that top performers—whether in maths, mi sic or whatever—learn no faster than those who reach lower levels of achievement—hour after hour, they improve at almost the same rates．
The difference is simply that high achievers practice for more hours．Further research has shown that when students seem to possess a particular gift, it is often because they have been given extra tuition at home by their parents．
This is not to deny that some kids start out better than others—it is merely to suggest that the starting point we have in life is not particularly relevant．
Why? Because, over time, with the right, kind of practice, we change so dramatically．It is not just the body that changes, but the brain．The question of talent versus effort would not matter terribly much if it as merely theoretical．But it is so much more than that．It influences the way we think, feel, and the way we engage with our world．
【小题1】What is the best title of this passage?
| A．The Words That Could Encourage Your Child |
| B．Intelligence Says All |
| C．High and Low Achievers |
| D．Start Early, Learn More |
| A．"You're so brilliant - you passed that exam without really studying!" |
| B．"With more efforts, you can achieve more!" |
| C．" You combine study with entertainment so well!" |
| D．"You study so hard even when you are so good at it!" |
| A．simple | B．complicated | C．obvious | D．mysterious |
| A．Because they are born with great talent. |
| B．Because they start better than others. |
| C．Because they spend more of their spare time practicing what they have learnt. |
| D．Because they improve themselves at almost the same rates. |
寒假学与练系列答案科目：高中英语 来源：2011年广东省高三第三次仿真模拟英语卷 题型：阅读理解
Kids will often ignore your requests for them to shut off the TV,start their chores(杂事),or do their homework as a way to avoid following your directions.Before you know it,you’ve started to sound like a broken record as you repeatedly ask them to do their assignments,clean their room,or take out the trash.Rather than saying “Do your chores now.” you’ll be more effective if you set a target time for when the chores have to be completed.So instead of arguing about starting chores,just say,“If chores aren’t done by 4 pm,here are the consequences.”Then it’s up to your child to complete the chores.Put the ball back in their court.Don’t argue or fight with them,just say,“That’s the way it’s going to be.”It shouldn’t be punitive(惩罚性的)as much as it should be persuasive.“If your chores aren’t done by 4 pm,then no video game time until chores are done.And if finishing those chores runs into homework time,that’s going to be your loss.”On the other hand,when dealing with homework,keep it very simple.Have a time when homework starts,and at that time,all electronics go off and do not go back on until you see that their homework is done.If your kids say they have no homework,then they should use that time to study or read.Either way,there should be a time set aside when the electronics are off.
When a kid wears his iPod or headphones when you’re trying to talk to him,make no bones about it；he is not ignoring you,he is disrespecting you.At that point,everything else should stop until he takes the earplugs out of his ears.Don’t try to communicate with him when he’s wearing headphones — even if he tells you he can hear you.Wearing them while you’re talking to him is a sign of disrespect.Parents should be very tough about this kind of thing.Remember,mutual respect becomes more important as children mature.
【小题1】According to the passage,it seldom happens that ________.
| A．kids turn a deaf ear to their parents’ requests |
| B．parents’ directions sound like a broken record |
| C．children are ready to follow their parents’ directions |
| D．parents are unaware of what they are repeating to their kids |
| A．avoid direct ways of punishment | B．make them do things at their request |
| C．argue and fight with their children | D．allow their children to behave in their own way |
| A．should provide him with a good learning environment |
| B．can do whatever they like |
| C．can stay aside watching TV |
| D．must switch off the power |
| A．parents should take off his headphones when trying to have a talk with their child |
| B．it will make no difference that a kid is wearing his earplugs while talking to his parents |
| C．parents shouldn’t give in to their kid when he shows no sign of respect |
| D．kids’ purposely talking to their parents with iPod gives them a sense of power and |
| A．that respecting each other is more important than anything else |
| B．how kids behave to ignore and disrespect their parents |
| C．that children should make choices and decisions on their own |
| D．how parents can deal with their kids’ behavior effectively |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2010-2011年黑龙江省鹤岗一中高一下期末考试英语试卷 题型：阅读理解
Do you enjoy reading? Do you read newspapers or magazines? Chances are, if you do any of these activities, your pre-school child is on his way to becoming a reader.
The process of learning to read is complex, and one of the most important things to know is that parents can help their children learn to read. As children have conversations with adults, they hear both new and familiar words and their vocabulary grows.
There are many opportunities for adults and children to talk together, such as when riding in the car or in a bus, doing housework like fixing dinner, or bathing and getting ready for bed. A major part of conversation is listening. When children talk, adults listen and respond. Then children listen and respond, and so the flow of conversation happens.
Have you watched you pre-school child pretend to read to his younger sisters or brothers? Have you read his favorite story over and over? These experiences tell children that reading is fun. And when things are fun and they are repeated, your child will see letters. He begins to connect them to familiar words, especially the letters that make up his name. A natural next step for him to take is to write the letters.
When children see parents make a grocery list, they want to use a pencil and paper to make their own list. To encourage these beginning writing activities, have pencils, markers, crayons and scrap paper within your children’s reach.
The more children get connected with talking, listening, reading and writing, the easier it is for them to become active readers. While you as a parent have a big influence on these early behaviors, it is important to remember that opportunities for literacy experiences happen when you and your child share in the basic routines（日常生活）of everyday life.
【小题1】The third paragraph tells us that parents can talk with their children__________.
| A．during daily routines | B．only in quiet places |
| C．in their spare time | D．when they are eager to walk |
| A．copy the action of the adults. |
| B．prefer to talk with those of their own age. |
| C．show no interest in reading at all. |
| D．waste a lot of paper and other materials. |
| A．When their parents ask them to do so. |
| B．When they believe they can write well. |
| C．When they know what they want to know |
| D．When they can connect letters with familiar words. |
| A．talk about parents’ influence on their children’s behavior |
| B．encourage parents to set a good example to their children |
| C．advise parents to make reading a part of their children’s daily life |
| D．make parents believe in the importance of early reading |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2010—2011学年四川省绵阳中学高一下学期第一次月考英语卷 题型：阅读理解
Like every language, American English is full of special expressions, phrases that come from the day-to-day life to the people and develop in their own way. Our expression today is “to face the music”.
When someone says, “Well, I guess I’ll have to face the music.” It does not mean he’s planning to go to the concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, any why you didn’t do this or that. Sour music indeed, but it has to be faced. At some time or another, every one of us has had to face the music, especially as children. We can all remember father’s angry voice, “I want to talk to you.” and only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!
The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. And where did this expression come from? The first explanation comes from the American novelist, James Fenimore Cooper. He said, in 1851, that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on the stage. When they got their cue to go on, they often said, “Well, it’s time to face the music.” And that is exactly what they did- facing the orchestra which was just below them. And an actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience that might be friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So the expression “to face the music” came to mean “having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.”
Other explanations about the expression go back to the army. When the men faced inspection by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about hw well they looked. Was their equipment clean, whinny enough to pass inspection? Still the men had to go out, and face the music of the band, as well as the inspection. What else could they do?
Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done. As, for example, when a man is forced out of the army because he did something terrible, he is dishonored. The band does not play. Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat. The soldier is forced to leave, facing such music as it is and facing the back of his horse.
【小题1】According to the passage, how many ways does the phrase “to face the music” come from?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．To face something far less pleasant. | B．To face the stage. |
| C．To face the back of one’s horse. | D．To face one’s leader. |
| A．unfriendly | B．dislike | C．unimportant | D．unnecessary |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2013-2014学年陕西省高三2月月考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
Until the 1980s, the American homeless population is mainly made up of older males. Today, homelessness strikes much younger part of society. In fact, a 25-city survey by the U. S. Conference of Mayors in 1987 found that families with children make up the fastest growing part of the homeless population. Many homeless children gather in inner cities; this transient(变化无常的) and frequently frightened student population creates additional problems — both legal and educational — for already overburdened urban school administrators and teachers.
Estimates of the number of homeless Americans range from 350,000 to three million. Likewise, estimates of the number of homeless school children vary radically. A U.S. Department of Education report, based on state estimates, states that there are 220,000 homeless school-age children, about a third of whom do not attend school on a regular basis. But the National Coalition for the Homeless estimates that there are at least two times as many homeless children, and that less than half of them attend school regularly.
One part of the homeless population that is particularly difficult to count consists of the “throwaway” youths who have been cast of their homes. The Elementary School Center in New York City estimates that there are 1.5 million of them, many of whom are not treated as children because they do not stay in family shelters and tend to live by themselves on the streets.
Federal law, the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, includes a section that addresses the educational needs of homeless children. The educational provisions（规定） of the McKinney Act are based on the belief that all homeless children have the right to a free, appropriate education.
1.It is implied in the first paragraph that ____.
A．the writer himself is homeless, even in his eighties
B．many older homeless residents are going on strike in 25 cities
C．there is a serious shortage of academic facilities
D．homeless children are denied the opportunity of receiving free education
2.The National Coalition for the homeless believes that the number of homeless children is _____.
A．350,000? B．1,500,000? C．440,000? D．110,000
3.One part of the homeless population is difficult to estimate. The reason might well be ____.
A．the homeless children are too young to be treated as children
B．the homeless population is growing rapidly
C．the homeless children usually stay outside school
D．some homeless children are deserted by their families
4.The McKinney Act is mentioned in this passage in order to show that ___.
A．the educational problems of homeless children are being recognized
B．the estimates on homeless children are hard to determine
C．the address of grade-school children should be located
D．all homeless people should have free education
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科目：高中英语 来源：2012-2013学年陕西省高三第一次月考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：完型填空
As a child, I was truly afraid of the dark and of getting lost; these fears were very real and caused me some uncomfortable moments.
Maybe it was the strange 26 things looked and sounded in my familiar room at night that 27 me so much. There was never total 28 , but a streetlight or passing car lights 29 clothes hung over a chair take on(呈现) the 30 of a wild animal. Out of the corner of my 31 , I saw the curtains seem to move when there was no 32 . A tiny sound in the floor would seem a hundred times louder than in the daylight. My 33 would run wild, and my heart would beat fast. I would 34 very still so that the “enemy” would not discover me.
Another of my childhood fears was that I would get lost, 35 on the way home from school. Every morning I got on the school bus right near my home .That was no 36 . After school, 37 , when all the buses were 38 up along the street, I was afraid that I’d get on the wrong one and be taken to some 39 neighborhood. On school or family trips to a park or a museum, I wouldn’t let the leaders out of my 40 .
Perhaps one of the worst fears 41 all I had as a child was that of not being liked or 42 by others. Being popular was so important to me 43 , and the fear of not being liked was a 44 one.
One of the processes(过程) of growing up is being able to 45 and overcome(克服) our fears. Understanding the things that frightened us as children helps us achieve greater success later in life.
1.A. way B. time C. place D. reason
2.A. wounded B. destroyed C. surprised D. frightened
3.A. quietness B. darkness C. emptiness D. loneliness
4.A. got B. forced C. made D. caused
5.A. spirit B. height C. body D. shape
6.A. eye B. window C. mouth D. door
7.A. breath B. wind C. air D. sound
8.A. belief B. feeling C. imagination D. doubt
9.A. lay B. hide C. rest D. lie
10.A. especially B. simply C. probably D. directly
11.A. discussion B. problem C. joke D. matter
12.A. however B. yet C. although D. still
13.A. called B. backed C. lined D. packed
14.A. old B. crowded C. poor D. unfamiliar
15.A. sight B. mind C. order D. task
16.A. above B. in C. of D. at
17.A. protected B. guided C. believed D. accepted
18.A. then B. there C. once D. anyway
19.A. strict B. powerful C. heavy D. right
20.A. form B. remember C. recognize D. recover
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