In a time of low academic (学术的) achievement by children in the United States, many Americans are turning to Japan, a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers. however, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find. In most Japanese preschools, surprisingly little emphasis is put on academic instruction. In one investigation, 300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education. Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents (答问卷者) listed "to give children a good start academically" as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices. To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese schools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as persistence, concentration, and the ability to function as a member of a group. The majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents.

In the recent comparison of Japanese and American pre??school education, 91 percent of Japanese respondents chose providing children with a group experience as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. 62 percent of the more individually oriented (强调个性发展的) Americans listed group experience as one of their top three choices. An em??phasis on the importance of the group seen in Japanese early childhood education continues into elementary school education.

Like in America, there is diversity (多样性) in Japanese early childhood education. Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential (潜力) development. In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary schools.

Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children’s chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated schools and universities. Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing in some Japanese kindergartens.

We learn from the first paragraph that many Americans believe ________.

A. Japanese parents pay more attention to preschool education than American parents

B. Japan’s economic success is a result of its scientific achievements

C. Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic in??struction

D. Japan’s higher education is better than theirs

Most American respondents believe that preschools should also attach

importance to ________.

A. problem solving                B. group experience

C. parental guidance                   D. individually oriented development

In Japan’s preschool education, the focus is on ________.

A. preparing children academically       B. developing children’s artistic interests

C. tapping children’s potential              D. shaping children’s character

Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?

A. They can do better in their future studies.

B. They can gain more group experience there.

C. They can be individually oriented when they grow up.

D. They can have better chances of getting a first-rate edu??cation.

阅读下面的短文，从短文后各题所给四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。

Love cures people—both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.

——Dr. Karl Menninger

    I was being interviewed by a senior manager for a major insurance company. I told him   41  that the main reason why I was  42  with them was my need to keep my family in Boston. My wife of 26 years old had recently died of a heart attack . A(n)   43  in Boston would also help me reduce some of the pain of the loss. Bruce ,the interviewer ,was politely sympathetic, and didn’t probe(探查) any  44  .He acknowledged my loss and ,with great respect ,moved on to another  45 .

    After the next  46  of interview , Bruce took me to lunch with another manager .Then he asked me to take a  47  with him. He told me that he ,  48 , had lost his wife .And he had also been married 20 years and had three children. In his sharing, I realized that he had  49  the same pain  50  I had , a pain that was almost 51  to explain to someone who had not  52  a loved  53 . He offered his business card and home phone number and  54  that, if I needed help or just wanted someone to  55 , I should feel  56  to give him a call. No matter whether I got the job or not, he wanted me to know that he was there if I  57  needed any help.

    From that one act of kindness, when he had no idea  58  we would see each other again, he helped me  59  one of life’s greatest losses. He turned the normally  60  business interview process into an act of caring and support for another person in a time of need.

A．friendly    B．honestly       C．carefully       D．patiently

A．together      B．speaking       C．meeting      D．interviewing

A．wife       B．period       C．job                 D．experience

A．further       B．other        C．farther          D．ahead

A．problem    B．thing          C．subject         D．object

A．round      B．speaking       C．moment         D．term

A．rest           B．break        C．chance        D．walk

A．too        B．either          C．still          D．once

A．received      B．gave         C．wanted         D．experienced

A．when         B．as              C．if              D．like

A．possible    B．impossible    C．unimaginable    D．unthinkable

A． missing       B．missed          C．lost           D．past

A．one        B．girl            C．wife          D．lady

A．offered     B．suggested      C．spoke         D．said

A．refer to            B．share           C．talk to         D．help

A．free          B．sure           C．convenient    D．glad

A．never        B．once          C．ever          D．still

A．where      B．since           C．whether      D．that

A．work out    B．deal with      C．do with        D．solve

A．long       B．short        C．warm         D．cold

Coupons to spend

“How did you spend your coupons?”

On their first day back to school, many students in Hangzhou greeted each other this way.

The coupons referred to the 100 yuan coupons each student received form the city government before the Spring Festival holidays. Over 260,000 primary school and middle school students were given coupons. They could use them in local stores and supermarkets, or to see movies and buy books.

The same coupons have also been given to low income families in Hangzhou. Other cities, including Chengdu and Nanjing, also gave coupons to their citizens. More cities are expected to follow their lead.

Why are local governments doing this?

These programmes are all part of a broader effort in China to increase domestic demand in the face of the global financial crisis.

The crisis has seriously affected China’s exports and investments (投资). Many factories in southern cities have been closed down. Some companies are laying off workers or reducing their pay. The stock market and real estate market have been falling.

In a time of financial crisis, people usually respond by saving money. They are uncertain about the future and are afraid that more difficult times may be ahead. Now many people are choosing not to spend money carelessly. Major chain stores have seen a sharp slowdown in sales, analysts say.

But spending keeps an economy healthy. If people don’t spend, there will be too many products in the market. Then shops will stop buying products from factories. When factories receive no orders, they close down. The workers there accordingly lose their jobs. Also, if people don’t spend, the service industry suffers. The total result is that the whole economy breaks down.

Issuing coupons is a practical and effective way to increase domestic demand in the current situation, said Jiang Zengwei, vice-minister of China’s Ministry of Commerce. Hangzhou reported a rise in customers in local markets during Spring Festival holiday.

However, issuing coupons is only a temporary measure. To increase consumers’ confidence, the government needs to establish a sound secure social system in the long term. When people don’t have to worry about education, health care and their pension, they will be more willing to spend instead of saving.

1.Why are local governments issuing coupons?

A. To increase domestic demand in the face of the global financial crisis.

B. To enable students to use them in local stores and supermarkets, or to see movies and buy books independently.

C. To help those low income families in the global financial crisis.

D. To show the government’s ability to solve economic problems

2.What is NOT the influence that the global financial crisis has brought us?

A. China’s exports and investments have been seriously affected.

B. People begin to spend money without a second thought.

C. Workers are faced with losing jobs and the reduction of the salaries.

D. The active stock market and real estate market have gone. 

3.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Issuing coupons is a practical and effective way to increase domestic demand in a long term.

B. The total result of saving money is that the whole economy breaks down.

C. The government may carry out new policies to encourage citizens to be willing to spend in the near future.

D. After issuing the coupons, the local markets have seen a rise in customers during Spring Festival holiday.

4.If the government is to print a slogan on the coupons to restore consumers’ confidence, what might be used to promote the idea?

A. Spend now, save later.

B. Spend money like there’s no tomorrow; come on!

C. Spend money like it’s going out of style; let’s do it!

D. Big spender, wise spender.

 

I was being interviewed by a senior manager for a big company, I told him honestly that the principal reason that I was interviewing with them was my need to keep my family in Boston. My wife had recently died of a heart attack. A job in Boston would help me reduce some pain for my 16-year-old daughter and me. It was important to me to keep her present high school.

Bruce, the interviewer, was politely kind, but he didn’t search any further. He acknowledged(承认) my loss and, with great respect, moved on to another subject. After the next round of interviews, Bruce took me to lunch with another manager. Then he asked me to take a walk with him. He told me that he had lost his wife. And, like me, he had also been married 20 years and had 3 children. I realized that he had experienced the same pain as I had and it was almost impossible to explain to someone who had not lost a loved one. He offered his business card and home phone number and suggested that, should I need help or just want someone to talk to, I should feel free to give him a call. Whether I got the job or not, he wanted me to know that he was there if I ever needed help.

From that one act of kindness, when he had no idea if we could ever see each other again, he helped our family deal with one of life’s greatest losses. He turned the normally cold business interview process into an act of caring and supporting for another person in a time of extreme need.

1.According to the passage, the interviewer, Bruce, was very _______.

A．generous         B．kind              C．happy            D．mean

2.The underlined word "principal" in the first paragraph probably means _____.

A．main             B．unimportant       C．necessary         D．possible

3.Which of the following statement is NOT true?

A．The writer’s daughter was studying in Boston at that time.

B．Both the writer and the interviewer experienced the same pain.

C．Bruce was a senior manager of a big firm.

D．Bruce wanted to make friends with him because he gave him his business card and home phone number.

 

In a time of low academic（学术的）achievement by children in the United States, many Americans are turning to Japan ,a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers. However, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find. In most Japanese preschools, surprisingly little emphasis is put on academic instruction. In one investigation,300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education. Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents（答问卷者）listed “to give children a good start academically” as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices. To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese schools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as persistence, concentration, and the ability to function as a member of a group. The majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents.

In the recent comparison of Japanese and American preschool education,91 percent of Japanese respondents chose providing children with a group experience as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools.62 percent of the more individually oriented（强调个性发展的）Americans listed group experience as one of their top three choices. An emphasis on the importance of the group seen in Japanese early childhood education continues into elementary school education.

Like in America, there is diversity（多样性）in Japanese early childhood education .Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential（潜力）development. In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary schools.

Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children’s chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated schools and universities. Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing in some Japanese kindergartens.

1.We learn from the first paragraph that many Americans believe ____.

A. Japanese parents pay more attention to preschool education than American parents

B. Japan’s economic success is a result of its scientific achievements

C. Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic instruction

D. Japan’s higher education is better than theirs

2.Most American respondents believe that preschools should also attach importance to ____.

A. problem solving

B. group experience

C. parental guidance

D .individually oriented development

3.In Japan’s preschools education, the focus is on ____.

A. preparing children’s artistic interests

B. developing children’s artistic interests

C. tapping children’s potential

D. shaping children’s character

4.Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?

A. They can do better in their future studies.

B. They can gain more group experience there.

C. They can be individually oriented when they grows up.

D. They can have better chances of getting a first-rate education.