Teaching a child to read at a young age gives him a valuable start in life. Reading is the basic part of education and a child’s reading ability will influence his school success greatly. Learning difficulties, many of which begin from poor reading skills, can damage a school child’s confidence and affect his future achievement. Young children are programmed to learn and they can learn better with encouragement. Ten to twenty minutes of reading a day still leaves plenty of time for play.

Many parents are concerned that learning to read is too challenging a task for a pre-school child, but they should also remember that most children learn to speak by the time they are 3. Learning a language is probably the single most challenging task any individual can undertake, yet children do it without formal instruction, achieving the fluency much better than adult language students.

There is a window of opportunity in terms of IQ development, which is most open during a child’s early years. A scientific study, carried out by Dr. Peter Huttenlocher at the University of Chicago, showed that the number of connectors, called synapses（神经元突触）, between the nerve endings in a newborn baby’s brain is similar to the number in the average adult brain. These synapses increase rapidly during early childhood. By 12-24 months a child’s brain has about 50% more synapses than the average adult brain. After that the synapses which are not in use begin to atrophy（衰退）. For most people, from age 16, the number remains steady. It begins to drop again as we move into our golden years. Doing intellectual activities at a young age, such as learning to read, can stimulate（刺激）and preserve these connectors in the brain resulting in a long-term beneficial（有益的）effect on IQ development.

Another notable study is probably the Milwaukee project. This study took a group of babies, all of whose mothers had low IQs, and gave them special training for seven hours a day, five days a week, until they started first grade. By the age of 6 these children had an average IQ 30 points higher than their contemporaries. The overwhelming conclusion is that the early intellectual stimulation can have a positive, long-term effect on a child’s brain development.

From birth you should talk to and explain things to your baby. Reading to him can be a wonderful way of spending quality time with your child. The enjoyment of books and being familiar with the idea of print will pave the way for（为……铺平道路）learning to read later.

If your child is a fast learner you can help him realize his potential by introducing him to the joy of the printed word at an early age. This will lay the foundations（基础）for both a high achieving school career and a lifelong love of reading. If your child shows early signs of reading difficulties, your efforts may help him get rid of such problems before he goes to school.

It can be difficult to teach your own child because emotional（引起情绪激动的）issues arise easily. Online programs for learning to read English are excellent options. They allow children to repeat new materials as many times as they need to, without wearing out the parents’ patience.

1.What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. Children should be taught to read at an early age.

B. Children can read better than most adult students.

C. Children have more synapses than most adults.

D. Children are supposed to learn to read on the Internet.

2.Why does the author mention the study by Dr. Peter Hutten locher?

A. To remove parents’ worry.

B. To explain IQ development.

C. To explain how a baby’s brain works.

D. To show the parents’ wrong ideas.

3.How can children benefit from learning to read at a young age?

A. It can build up great confidence in their mind.

B. It can help preserve the connectors in their brains.

C. It can help produce more connectors in their brains.   

D. It can help them find both their weaknesses and strengths.

4.At the end of this passage the author advises _______.

A. parents not to get angry too often

B. children to enjoy reading as early as possible

C. children not to wear out their parents’ patience

D. parents to get their children to take an online program

Teaching a child to read at a young age gives him a valuable start in life. Reading is the basic part of education and a child’s reading ability will influence his school success greatly. Learning difficulties, many of which begin from poor reading skills, can damage a school child’s confidence and affect his future achievement. Young children are programmed to learn and they can learn better with encouragement. Ten to twenty minutes of reading a day still leaves plenty of time for play.
Many parents are concerned that learning to read is too challenging a task for a pre-school child, but they should also remember that most children learn to speak by the time they are 3. Learning a language is probably the single most challenging task any individual can undertake, yet children do it without formal instruction, achieving the fluency much better than adult language students.
There is a window of opportunity in terms of IQ development, which is most open during a child’s early years. A scientific study, carried out by Dr. Peter Huttenlocher at the University of Chicago, showed that the number of connectors, called synapses（神经元突触）, between the nerve endings in a newborn baby’s brain is similar to the number in the average adult brain. These synapses increase rapidly during early childhood. By 12-24 months a child’s brain has about 50% more synapses than the average adult brain. After that the synapses which are not in use begin to atrophy（衰退）. For most people, from age 16, the number remains steady. It begins to drop again as we move into our golden years. Doing intellectual activities at a young age, such as learning to read, can stimulate（刺激）and preserve these connectors in the brain resulting in a long-term beneficial（有益的）effect on IQ development.
Another notable study is probably the Milwaukee project. This study took a group of babies, all of whose mothers had low IQs, and gave them special training for seven hours a day, five days a week, until they started first grade. By the age of 6 these children had an average IQ 30 points higher than their contemporaries. The overwhelming conclusion is that the early intellectual stimulation can have a positive, long-term effect on a child’s brain development.
From birth you should talk to and explain things to your baby. Reading to him can be a wonderful way of spending quality time with your child. The enjoyment of books and being familiar with the idea of print will pave the way for（为……铺平道路）learning to read later.
If your child is a fast learner you can help him realize his potential by introducing him to the joy of the printed word at an early age. This will lay the foundations（基础）for both a high achieving school career and a lifelong love of reading. If your child shows early signs of reading difficulties, your efforts may help him get rid of such problems before he goes to school.
It can be difficult to teach your own child because emotional（引起情绪激动的）issues arise easily. Online programs for learning to read English are excellent options. They allow children to repeat new materials as many times as they need to, without wearing out the parents’ patience

1. 1.

   What does the passage mainly discuss?

   1. A.
      Children should be taught to read at an early age
   2. B.
      Children can read better than most adult students
   3. C.
      Children have more synapses than most adults
   4. D.
      Children are supposed to learn to read on the Internet
2. 2.

   Why does the author mention the study by Dr. Peter Hutten locher?

   1. A.
      To remove parents’ worry
   2. B.
      To explain IQ development
   3. C.
      To explain how a baby’s brain works
   4. D.
      To show the parents’ wrong ideas
3. 3.

   How can children benefit from learning to read at a young age?

   1. A.
      It can build up great confidence in their mind
   2. B.
      It can help preserve the connectors in their brains
   3. C.
      It can help produce more connectors in their brains
   4. D.
      It can help them find both their weaknesses and strengths
4. 4.

   At the end of this passage the author advises ______.

   1. A.
      parents not to get angry too often
   2. B.
      children to enjoy reading as early as possible
   3. C.
      children not to wear out their parents’ patience
   4. D.
      parents to get their children to take an online program

As everyone knows, classroom teaching is one of the most important ways that the students learn English. In English classroom teaching, teachers have to arouse the students’ interest so that they may learn better. There are many ways to arouse the students ‘interest; body language is an effective way in English teaching practice.
　　Nowadays, with the reform of English teaching methods, more and more English teachers organize their teaching process in English. That means teachers have to instruct and explain basically in English, and the students also should use English in class contemporarily. However, the students can’t speak English very well. Besides, their vocabulary is limited and their expressive ability is not good enough, either. These limitations have made it difficult to realize the communicative English in class. According to the students’ present level and practical situation, body language is required. For example, if a teacher gives an instruction “You two, please come to the blackboard”, the students can easily understand it if the teacher looks at or points to some two students. Then, the teacher points to the blackboard. The students will carry out the order without obstacles even if they don’t hear the key word “blackboard” clearly.
In the actual English teaching, teachers frequently use body language to improve both the teaching effect and the students’ characters. In school education, body language plays a positive role in building students ‘characters. This is because teachers are usually respected and what the teachers say and do will be possibly imitated by the students. In a word, teachers’ graceful body language helps to improve students’ artistic appreciation and their characters, especially their morality. If students develop wonderful body language, they will surely have a smooth relation with each other. Teachers reflect their affection of body language on the students not only by setting a good example, but also build a bridge between teachers and students. As a matter of fact, teachers’ friendly appearance can greatly encourage students to study enthusiastically. Body language not only motivates students’ interest but also improves the effect of classroom teaching greatly.
As we know, learning English needs practice. The 45 minutes in class is very precious and should be valued, during which the students should practice as much as possible. To make good use of the limited time, teachers should adopt some effective methods. The use of body language cannot only make the students listen more attentively in class, but can also deepen their impression and imagination. Teachers usually have to explain some language points, and at this time, they can also carry out their teaching task easily with the help of body language in the teaching process.

As everyone knows, classroom teaching is one of the most important ways that the students learn English. In English classroom teaching, teachers have to arouse the students’ interest so that they may learn better. There are many ways to arouse the students ‘interest; body language is an effective way in English teaching practice.

　　Nowadays, with the reform of English teaching methods, more and more English teachers organize their teaching process in English. That means teachers have to instruct and explain basically in English, and the students also should use English in class contemporarily. However, the students can’t speak English very well. Besides, their vocabulary is limited and their expressive ability is not good enough, either. These limitations have made it difficult to realize the communicative English in class. According to the students’ present level and practical situation, body language is required. For example, if a teacher gives an instruction “You two, please come to the blackboard”, the students can easily understand it if the teacher looks at or points to some two students. Then, the teacher points to the blackboard. The students will carry out the order without obstacles even if they don’t hear the key word “blackboard” clearly.

In the actual English teaching, teachers frequently use body language to improve both the teaching effect and the students’ characters. In school education, body language plays a positive role in building students ‘characters. This is because teachers are usually respected and what the teachers say and do will be possibly imitated by the students. In a word, teachers’ graceful body language helps to improve students’ artistic appreciation and their characters, especially their morality. If students develop wonderful body language, they will surely have a smooth relation with each other. Teachers reflect their affection of body language on the students not only by setting a good example, but also build a bridge between teachers and students. As a matter of fact, teachers’ friendly appearance can greatly encourage students to study enthusiastically. Body language not only motivates students’ interest but also improves the effect of classroom teaching greatly.

As we know, learning English needs practice. The 45 minutes in class is very precious and should be valued, during which the students should practice as much as possible. To make good use of the limited time, teachers should adopt some effective methods. The use of body language cannot only make the students listen more attentively in class, but can also deepen their impression and imagination. Teachers usually have to explain some language points, and at this time, they can also carry out their teaching task easily with the help of body language in the teaching process.

Scientists have tried to come up with biological explanations for the difference between boys and girls. However, none were believable enough to explain the general picture. As one scientist points out, “There are slight genetic（遗传的）differences between the sexes at birth which may affect the subjects boys and girls choose. But the difficulty is that by the time children reach school age, there are so many other effects that it is almost impossible to tell whether girls are worse at science and maths, or they’ve been brought up to think of these subjects as boys’ ‘territory’（领域）”.

Statistics（统计数据）show that in mathematics, at least, girls are equal to boys. A recent report suggests that girls only stop studying mathematics because of social attitudes. One of the reports’ authors says, “While it is socially unacceptable for people not to be able to read and write, it is sill acceptable for women to say that they are ‘hopeless’ at maths. Our research shows that, although girls get marks which are as good as the boys’ , they have not been encouraged to do so.”

The explanation for the difference, which is very clear during the teenage years, goes as far back as early childhood experiences. From their first days in nursery school, girls are not encouraged to work on their own or to complete tasks, although boys are. For example, boys and not girls, are often asked to ‘help’ with repair work. This encouragement leads to a way of learning how to solve problems later on in life. A further report on maths teaching shows that teachers seem to give more attention to boys than to girls. Most teachers who took part in the study admitted that they expect their male students to do better at mathematics and science subjects than their females students. All of this tends to encourage boys to work harder in these subjects, gives them confidence（信心）and makes them believe that they can succeed.

Interestingly, both boys and girls tend to regard such ‘male’ subjects like mathematics and science as difficult. Yet it has been suggested that girls avoid mathematics courses, not because they are difficult, but for social reasons. Mathematics and science are mainly male subjects, and therefore, as girls become teenagers, they are less likely to take them up. Girls do not seem to want to be in open competition with boys. Neither do they want to do better than boys because they are afraid to appear less female and less attractive.

41．According to scientific studies, girls             .

       A．are poorer at maths

       B．avoid maths because of social reasons   

       C．are afraid of maths because they are the weaker sex

       D．can’t learn maths as well as boys

42．Male students do better at mathematics and science subjects because             .

       A．they get more encouragement              

       B．they want to be attractive                     

       C．they are born good at maths and science                                  

       D．they work harder in these subjects

43．Which of the following is true according to the text?

       A．It seems socially acceptable for a girl not to be able to read and write.

       B．It is a social problem rather than a problem of brains that girls are poor at maths.     

       C．Mathematics and science are no easy subjects to women.       

       D．Male scientists have stronger ability in maths.

44．What would be the best title for the text?

       A．Who’s afraid of Maths at all?               

       B．Are Boys Cleverer than Girls?               

       C．Boys are Better at Maths than Girls by Birth                          

       D．Maths A Difficult Subject

45．What can probably be regarded as “female ” subjects by boys and girls?

       A．Maths                 B．Physics               C．Chemistry           D．English