Many schools have established successful home visit programs. Home visits by teachers let parents and children know how much teachers care. Also, it is a way for teachers to learn more about their students , get the parents to pay more attention to their children’s education and bridge cultural gaps that might exist between students and teachers. Most teachers report that their home visits have a lasting effect on the child, the parents and on parent—teacher communication.

   The Head Start program has used home visits for many years. Head Start teachers are required to make at least two home visits for each student, regardless of their ability, during each school year in addition to regular parent-teacher conferences at school. Many U.S. kindergartens also require home visits by teachers before school starts.

The visit approach varies from school to school and usually depends on the funding the source. In some schools, teachers prefer to visit in pairs. They feel more comfortable that way and sometimes need a translator in order to communicate with a child’s parents. Other teachers visit one-on-one with parents. Some interact with both the child and the parent. Many teachers may bring along learning activities for the child that also involve the parents participation. Normally, visits can last from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the teacher and the activities.

 When teachers get to know their students and their students’ families, the parents become more active in their children’s education. Home visits, not unnecessary as some people think, can give teachers the ideas they need to help all students succeed.

Home visits by teachers can          

A. bridge cultural gaps existing between parents and teachers.

B. get students know that their teachers care about their parents.

C. get parents involved in their children’s education.

D. help establish good relationships between parents and children.

From the second paragraph we know that home visits       

A. are not a new idea

B. are traditionally done by teachers before school starts

C. are meant for students with low marks

D. have replaced parent-teacher meeting

What is the third paragraph about?

A. Reasons for home visists

B. Forms of home visits

C. Advantages of home visits

D.Tips for home visits

What is the effect of home visits?

A. Parents have more opportunities to play with children

B. Students can succeed more easily through their own efforts.

C. Parents play a decisive role in children’s education.

D. Teachers can learn more about how to help students.

Grandparents might be known for spoiling grandchildren, but a new study says they might also be helping the kids improve their social skills and behavior.

Spending time with grandma and grandpa especially appears to help children from single-parent, divorced/separated or stepfamily households, according to the report, published in the February Journal of Family Psychology.

"Grandparents are a positive force for all families but play a significant role in families undergoing difficulties," the study's lead author, Shalhevet Attar-Schwartz, of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said in an American Psychological Association news release. "They can reduce the negative influence of parents separating and be a resource for children who are going through these family changes."

In interviewing 11- to 16-year olds from England and Wales, Attar-Schwartz and her team found that the more conversations the youths had with a grandparent, including asking for advice or even money, the better they got along with their peers and the fewer problems they had, such as hyperactivity and disruptive behavior.

"This was found across all three family structures," she said. "But adolescents in single-parent households and stepfamilies benefited the most. The effect of their grandparents' involvement was stronger compared to children from two biological parent families."

The study did not look at children who lived solely with their grandparents, though.

The findings have great implications for people in the United States, the authors said, because American grandparents are increasingly sharing living space with their grandchildren. A 2004 U.S. Census Bureau survey found that more than 5 million households include a grandparent and a grandchild under 18, up 30 percent since 1990, according to background information in the news release.

1. It is generally believed that a grandmother __________ .

A. can help a child through hard times

B. can help kids develop social skills

C. can spoil a child

D. is a positive force for all families

2.  According to the passage, grandparents will be of least benefit to a child __________ .

A. from two biological parent families

B. from a single—parent household

C. from a divorced household

D. from a stepfamily household

3. A child who asks his grandmother for money will __________ .

A. have difficulty in getting along with his peers

B. still get along well with his peers

C. be easier to be spoiled than his peers

D. not be popular with peers

4.  We can learn from the last paragraph that ___________ .

A. there are more families in America undergoing difficulties

B. American parents are much busier than those from other countries

C. American grandparents are much better at bringing up their grandchildren

D. American kids like to share more living space with their grandparents

5.  The passage implies that __________ .

A. children who live solely with their grandparents may benefit the most

B. grandparents are a source of comfort to children from families undergoing difficulties

C. grandparents play a more positive role than parents in children’s growth

D. all families should leave their children to be brought up by grandparents

 

Many schools have established successful home visit programs. Home visits by teachers let parents and children know how much teachers care. Also, it is a way for teachers to learn more about their students , get the parents to pay more attention to their children’s education and bridge cultural gaps that might exist between students and teachers. Most teachers report that their home visits have a lasting effect on the child, the parents and on parent—teacher communication.

   The Head Start program has used home visits for many years. Head Start teachers are required to make at least two home visits for each student, regardless of their ability, during each school year in addition to regular parent-teacher conferences at school. Many U.S. kindergartens also require home visits by teachers before school starts.

The visit approach varies from school to school and usually depends on the funding the source. In some schools, teachers prefer to visit in pairs. They feel more comfortable that way and sometimes need a translator in order to communicate with a child’s parents. Other teachers visit one-on-one with parents. Some interact with both the child and the parent. Many teachers may bring along learning activities for the child that also involve the parents participation. Normally, visits can last from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the teacher and the activities.

 When teachers get to know their students and their students’ families, the parents become more active in their children’s education. Home visits, not unnecessary as some people think, can give teachers the ideas they need to help all students succeed.

1. Home visits by teachers can          

A. bridge cultural gaps existing between parents and teachers.

B. get students know that their teachers care about their parents.

C. get parents involved in their children’s education.

D. help establish good relationships between parents and children.

2.From the second paragraph we know that home visits       

A. are not a new idea

B. are traditionally done by teachers before school starts

C. are meant for students with low marks

D. have replaced parent-teacher meeting

3.What is the third paragraph about?

A. Reasons for home visists

B. Forms of home visits

C. Advantages of home visits

D.Tips for home visits

4. What is the effect of home visits?

A. Parents have more opportunities to play with children

B. Students can succeed more easily through their own efforts.

C. Parents play a decisive role in children’s education.

D. Teachers can learn more about how to help students.

 

 

Poet William Stafford once said that we are defined more by the detours(绕行路) in life than by the narrow road toward goals. I like this image. But it was quite by accident that I discovered the deep meaning of his words.

For years we made the long drive from our home in Seattle to my parents' home in Boise in nine hours. We traveled the way most people do: the fastest, shortest, easiest road, especially when I was alone with four noisy, restless kids who hate confinement(限制) and have strong opinions about everything.

Road trips felt risky, so I would drive fast, stopping only when 1 had to. We would stick to the freeways and arrive tired.

But then Banner, our lamb was bent. He was reeled by h, mama days before our planned trip to Boise, I had two choices: leave Banner with my husband, or take him with me. My husband made the decision for me.

That is how I found myself on the road with four kids, a baby lamb and nothing but my everlasting optimism to see me through. We took the country roads out of necessity. We had to stop every hour, let Banner shake out his legs and feed him. The kids chased him and one another. They'd get back in the car breathless and energized, smelling fresh from the cold air.

We explored side roads, catching grasshopper in waist-high grass. Even if we simply looked out of the car window, at baby p.gs following their mother, or fish leaping out of the water, it was better than the best ride down the freeway. Here was life. And new horizons(见识).

We eventually arrived at my parents' doorstep astonishingly fresh and full of stories.

I grew brave with the trip back home and creative with my disciplining technique. On an empty section of road, everyone started quarreling. I stopped the car, ordered all kids out and told them to meet mc up ahead. I parked my car half a mile away and read my book in sweet silence.

Some road trips are by necessity fast and straight. But that trip with Banner opened our eyes to a world available to anyone adventurous enough to wander around and made me realize that a detour may uncover the best part of a journey-and the best part of yourself.

46. Why did the author use to take freeways to her parents' home?

A. It was less tiring.

B. It would be fester and safer.

C. Her kids would feel less confined.

D. She felt better with other drivers nearby.

47. The author stopped regularly on the country roads to ______.

A. relax in the fresh air

B. take a deep breath

C. take care of the lamb

D. let the kids play with Banner

48. What does the author discover from the trip according to Paragraph 6?

A. Freeways are where beauty hides.

B. Getting close to nature adds to the joy of life.

C. Enjoying the beauty of nature benefits one's health.

D. One should follow side roads to watch wild animals.

49. Why did the author ask the kids to get out of the car on their way back home?

A. To give herself some time to read.

B. To order some food for them

C. To play a game with them

D. To let them cool down.

50. What could be the best title for the passage?

A. Charm of the Detour

B. The Road to Bravery

C. Creativity out of Necessity

D. Road Trip and Country Life

Plants are flowering faster than scientists predict in reaction to climate change, which could have long damaging effects on food chains and ecosystems.

“Global warming is having a great effect on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some living patterns.” scientists say.

Increased carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air from burning coal and oil can have an effect on how plants produce oxygen, while higher temperatures and changeable rainfall patterns can change their patterns of growth.

“Predicting species’ reaction to climate change is a major challenge in ecology,” said the researchers of several U.S. Universities. They said plants had been the key object of study because their reaction to climate change could have an effect on food chains and ecosystem services.

The study, published on the Nature website, uses the findings from plant life cycle studies and experiments across four continents and 1,634 species. It found that some experiments had underestimated the speed of flowering by 8.5 times and leafing by 4 times.

“Across all species, the experiments underestimated the speed of the advance—for both leafing and flowering—that results from temperature increases,” the study said.

“The design of future experiments may need to be improved to better predict how plants will react to climate change,” it said.

Plants are necessary for life on the Earth. They are the base of the food chain, using photosynthesis (光合作用) to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water. They let out oxygen which is needed by nearly every organism on the planet.

Scientists believe the world’s average temperature has risen by about 0.8 ℃ since 1900, and nearly 0.2 ℃ every ten years since 1979.

So far, efforts to cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases are not seen as enough to prevent the Earth heating up beyond 2 ℃ this century—a point scientists say will bring the danger of a changeable climate in which weather extremes are common, leading to drought, floods, crop failures and rising sea levels.

1.What is the key information the author wants to give in Paragraph 1?

A. The increasing speed of flowering is beyond scientists’ expectation.

B. Climate change leads to the change of food production patterns.

C. Plants’ reaction to weather could have damaging effects on ecosystem.   

D. Food chains have been seriously damaged because of weather.

2.We can learn from the study published on the Nature website that _____.    

A. scientists should improve the design of the experiments

B. plants’ flowering is 8.5 times faster than leafing

C. there are 1,634 plant species on the four continents

D. the experiments failed to predict how plants react to climate change

3.Scientists pay special attention to the study of plants because _____.     

A. they can prove the climate change clearly

B. they are very important in the food chains

C. they play a leading role in reducing global warming

D. they are growing and flowering much faster than before

4.What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs about the world’s temperature?    

A. It has risen nearly 0.2 ℃ since 1979.

B. It is 0.8 ℃ higher in 1979 than that of 1990. 

C. It needs to be controlled within 2 ℃ in this century.

D. Its change will lead to weather extremes.