As children face their final month of revisio...

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．

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

2.Which statement is intelligence-based praise?

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!"

3.The writer thinks the answer to the question of talent versus effort is _____．

A．simple           B．complicated      C．obvious          D．mysterious

4.Why do some people have higher achievements?

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.

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Children are getting so fat that they may be the first generation to die before their parents, an expert says.

Today's young people will be affected by potential (潜在的) killers such as heart disease because of their weight. Fatty fast－food diets combined with the lifestyles with televisions and computers could mean kids will die young, says Professor Andrew Prentice, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. At the same time, the shape of the human body is going through a great change because adults are getting so fat.

Here in Britain, the latest research shows that the average waist size for a man is 36～38 inches and may be 42～44 inches by 2032.This compares with only 32.6 inches in 1972. Women's waists have grown from an average of 22 inches in the 1920s to 24 inches in the 1950s and 30 inches now. One of the major reasons why children now are at greater risk is that we are getting fatter younger. In the UK alone, more than one million under 16 years old are thought

to be overweight or fat—double the number in the 1980s. One in ten of four－year－olds are also medically said to be obese.

The obesity which started in the US, has now spread to Europe, Australia, Central America and the Middle East. Many nations now record more than 20 percent of their population as obese and well over half of the population as overweight.

Professor Prentice says the change in our shape has been caused by high－energy foods combined with a dramatic (急剧的) drop in the energy we use as a result of technology developments.

He is not alone in his concern. Only last week one medical magazine revealed how obesity was fuelling a rise in cancer cases. Obesity also increases the risk factor for heart disease and so on. An averagely obese person's lifespan (寿命) is shortened by around nine years while a seriously obese person by much more.

Professor Prentice says,

“So_will_parents_live_longer_than_their_children,_as_an_American_obesity_expert_said_recently？”

“The answer is yes—and no.” Yes, when most children become obese. No, because this is now becoming an alarmingly serious problem in the US. “Such children will have a greatly reduced quality of life on both body and mind.”

So say “No” to sandwiches and hamburgers.

1.From the second paragraph, we know that ________.

2.According to Professor Prentice, people become fatter because ________.

3.For the underlined question, the answer “no” suggests ________.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

After months of a hard voyage on the rough sea, they finally came to _____they called their “promised land”.

A. where            B. what               C. how                D. which

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Their efforts finally ________when the New York Time picked the group as one of the top 10 bands of the year.

A. sent off            B. paid off          C. set off        D. took off

高三英语单项填空困难题查看答案及解析

From bankers to factory staff, employees in the west face the bleak prospect of losing their jobs as a global recession starts to bite. For colleagues in the East the pain is more likely to come through a pay cut.

Human resource experts say cultural differences explain why Asian firms try harder to keep jobs in difficult times, which will stop unemployment and may help keep Asian economies afloat at a time of slowing exports.

The East Asian attitude may also make it easier for firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn since they will not need to rehire or train new staff, leaving some experts predicting Western shift to Eastern flexibility.

“In the Confucian attitude, the right thing to do is to share the burden. There is the sense of collective responsibility whereas in the west, it’s more about the individual survival,” said Michael Benotlel, associate professor of organizational behavior at Singapore Management University.

Steven Pang, Asian Regional director for Aquent, a headhunting firm, said in many East Asian companies there was an responsibility “ to take care of the members of the family and go through the pain together” even if that meant causing losses.

Us firms from General Motors to Goldman Sachs plan to lay off workers by the thousands. But at the Asian units of Western multinationals, jobs cuts will probably be less severe.

Japan’s jobless rate was 4 percent in September, up from 3.8 percent in January, while Hong Kong’s was flat at 3.4 percent. But US unemployment is expected to have jumped to 6.3 percent last month from below 5 percent in January.

Experts say that while there are noticeable differences in labor practices in East

and West, the gap will narrow as more firms become more multinational and competition forces firms to adopt the best practices of rivals from abroad.

1.According to the passage, what does “to share the burden” mean?

( less than 6 words)

____________________________________________________________________

2. Why would firms in the west lay off workers when facing a bleak prospect?

( no more than 5 words)

____________________________________________________________________

3.Why is it easier for the East Asian firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn? (no more than 12 words)

____________________________________________________________________

4.What’s the passage talking about? (no more than 15 words)

____________________________________________________________________

高三英语其他题中等难度题查看答案及解析

As soon as the children were _____， their mother got them out of bed and into the bathroom.

A.woke B.waken C.wake D.awake

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Before your child's final exam: and the graduation announcements, you face a significant task together: choosing the right college or university. There is no "one size fits all" approach to selecting a college—it's a very personal process for most teenagers. Consider a wide range of factors to help your child make the best possible choice.

Discuss with your child her post-high school choices, such as college, finding work or starting a business, or joining the army. If you determine together that college is the best choice for your child, talk about the importance of college, and her longer-term goals by going to college.

Talk to your child about what she thinks is important in a college experience and share your opinions as well. Identify the issues that will directly impact her college choice, such as her grades, test scores and family finances. Then make a list of the key criteria for her dream school, including factors such as the school's location, its size, the types of prograM:, the after school activities available and the type of financial aid available.

Prioritize the item: on your child's list, at least to the extent of sorting it into "must-haves," "highly desirable" and "nice-to-have" categories. Put these factors into an online search engine specifically designed to identify colleges and universities that best meet your criteria, such as that offered by CollegeBoard.org. Start with the most important criteria, then experiment with additional factors to narrow the search results to a number you can work with, such as 10 or 20 different schools.

Use the search results as a guide to further focus your college search. Research each school by reviewing its website, requesting information directly from the school and attending local presentations about the school.

1.The underlined word "prioritize" in Paragraph 4 probably means "______".

A. list in order of importance B. write down

C. add to　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　 D. do research into

2.What can we learn from the passage?

A. It's better to decide the college for your child.

B. It's necessary to take your child's opinion into consideration.

C. There is a "one size fits all" way to select a college.

D. An online search engine is of great help to you.

3.What's the author's purpose of writing the passage?

A. To argue　 　　 B. To persuade

C. To introduce　 D. To amuse

4.Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Nearly half a million people are believed _________ their homes in the past months as a result of the disaster.

A. to leave        B. to have left      C. to be leaving    D. to be left

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

I believe that the stories we tell our children shape the future stories of their lives.

As a father of four, I consider storytelling a vital part of family life because it provides ______ nourishment (营养) children need. However, that’s really not ______ I’m talking about.

All the bedtime storytelling I did to my kids was just ______ the groundwork for the lives I wanted them to have. With my kids, the typical bedtime stories, like Snow White and Little Red Cap, ______ the stories of my own life. One ______ like this: Uncle Rick fell asleep on the bus coming home from school. My Dad had to run after the bus, ______ and begging the bus driver to ______ him. My children never tired of hearing them. Soon, the place of the storytelling changed from the ______ to the dinner table.

My stories are ______ of who they’re now. They like to repeat them at family get-togethers and I ______ they’ve learned valuable life ______ during the retelling. They’re beginning to tell their own stories now too. There’s ______ sweeter to my ear than hearing my twenty-one-year-old kids say: “Remember the time when...” It’s like a(n) ______ of the old scenes.

These stories built a ______ of family that could never have been ______ in any school. What my kids were ______ in these stories was the ______ that they were part of something larger. ______ to me, these stories gave me a way to ______ each child with the other and then with me. This is how we ______ present the world to them and finally begin to change it.

1.A. physical B. abundant C. temporary D. imaginative

2.A. what B. how C. that D. when

3.A. recovering B. exploring C. laying D. arranging

4.A. gave way to B. kept in with C. set apart from D. made up for

5.A. moved B. went C. spoke D. passed

6.A. whispering B. cursing C. shouting D. murmuring

7.A. wake B. hit C. amuse D. disturb

8.A. office B. living room C. playground D. bedroom

9.A. whole B. one C. none D. part

10.A. doubt B. remember C. imagine D. believe

11.A. rules B. lessons C. experiences D. purposes

12.A. nothing B. something C. everything D. anything

13.A. reappearance B. challenge C. origin D. standard

14.A. change B. future C. sense D. model

15.A. observed B. taught C. ignored D. improved

16.A. playing with B. turning down C. setting aside D. picking up

17.A. explaining B. understanding C. leaving D. teaching

18.A. However B. So C. But D. Though

19.A. unite B. compare C. match D. concern

20.A. last B. secretly C. first D. immediately

高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

During the school year many parents take on the role of driver as they drive their children from one lesson to another. Many of us want our children to have a little taste of everything, from organized sports to music, dance and more. But we can overdo it, leaving our children feeling a little burnt out, and according to parent educator Diane Loisie, it's their school work that suffers the most. "After school, if they're busy in a number of sporting events, besides they need to do their homework, then the time they'll feel sleepy is in the classroom. Your child needs free time. So if you're filling up that after school time, then it's during the day that they're going to be taking a break. "

Professor Claire McDermott agrees that there's a lot to be gained from sometimes putting those scheduled lessons and activities away. "Relaxing time is important for children. It's time just to do the things they want to do. A child can go up to their room, or they can play around. It doesn't look like productive time; parents certainly wouldn't be saying ‘Wow, are they ever learning things now?’  But this relaxing time gives both the body and the brain just a wonderful chance to relax after a day. It helps a child prepare for sleep, and it also helps to understand the learning that's gone on that day. "

It's hard to prevent signing our kids up for some activities and lessons. After all, many of us want our children to have a head start in life and the chance to join in great activities in the arts or sports is a part of that. However, Loisie feels that in the long run most children feel better with just a few key activities because it gives them an opportunity to master them. "When we get our children in too many activities because we want our children to experience everything, then what we're doing is setting them up not to be good at one thing or gaining a skill." So choose your children's activities wisely. It may be one of the best things you've ever done for your kids.

1. What is the biggest disadvantage for children to attend too many lessons after school?

A. They can get bored easily about everything.

B. They might have no time to do the homework.

C. They might not pay much attention to learning.

D. They can not easily focus on learning during the day.

2. What should we think of children's playing around aimlessly?

A. It is productive.

B. It is helpful.

C. It is a bad habit.

D. It is a waste of time.

3. Why should parents limit the activities our children attend?

A. Because children have no time.

B. Because children cannot learn many things.

C. Because children do not have enough sleep.

D. Because children cannot focus on too many activities.

4. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Don't be children's drivers after school.

B. Choose activities for your children wisely.

C. Make your children learn as much as possible.

D. Let children learn something from various subjects.

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析