Almost two-thirds of children want their pare...

Almost two-thirds of children want their parents to spend more time reading to them before bed, and most prefer Mum’s storytelling to Dad’s, researchers said.

They carried out a study that showed younger children aged 3-4 were most hungry for more stories, with over three-quarters saying they wished their parents read to them more often.

More than half of all children aged 3-8 said story time was their favourite pastime with their parents.

"The results of our research confirm the traditional activity of storytelling continues to be a powerful learning and emotional resource in children's lives," said child psychologist Richard Woolfson.

Storytelling ranked higher than television or video games among pastimes for kids, and 82 percent said reading a story with their parents helped them sleep better, according the survey of 500 children aged 3-8 in Britain.

The best storytellers were mothers who used funny voices to illustrate different characters or made their own special sound effects to keep the story moving, researchers said.

When mum and dad are not at hand, celebrities(名人) will do: over 30 percent of children said they would like to hear a bedtime story from Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, with teen idols(偶像) Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus and Emma Watson.

"It can be very difficult for parents to find the time to read with their children, but these moments can help build strong relations and play a vital part in their child's development," said Woolfson.

1.The underlined word “pastime” in the passage most probably means ________.

A．old time          B．entertainment      C．emotion           D．character

2.The author develops the passage mainly by ________.

A．pointing out similarities and differences      B．following the natural time order

C．comparing opinions from different fields      D．providing examples and statistics

3.Reading a story with their parents helped most kids aged 3-8 ________.

A．grow stronger      B．become more emotional                  C．sleep better D．become more powerful

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Almost two-thirds of children want their parents to spend more time reading to them before bed, and most prefer Mum’s storytelling to Dad’s, researchers said.

They conducted a study that showed younger children aged 3-4 were most hungry for more stories, with over three-quarters saying they wished their parents read to them more often.

More than half of all children aged 3-8 said story time was their favourite pastime with their parents.

"The results of our research confirm the traditional activity of storytelling continues to be a powerful learning and emotional resource in children's lives," said child psychologist Richard Woolfson.

Storytelling ranked higher than television or video games among pastimes for kids, and 82 percent said reading a story with their parents helped them sleep better, according the survey of 500 children aged 3-8 in Britain.

The best storytellers were mothers who used funny voices to illustrate different characters or made their own special sound effects to keep the story moving, researchers said.

When mum and dad are not at hand, celebrities will do: over 30 percent of children said they would like to hear a bedtime story from Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, with teen idols Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus and Emma Watson.

"It can be very difficult for parents to find the time to read with their children, but these moments can help build strong bonds and play a vital part in their child's development," said Woolfson.

1.The underlined word “pastime” in the passage mot probably means________.

2.The author develops the passage mainly by________.

3.Reading a story with their parents helped most kids aged 3-8________.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Four out of ten parents in the UK spend between ￡100 and ￡500 on their children’s birthday parties, according to a survey. Four in ten parents of children under 18, who were questioned in a survey, admitted that they felt pressured into organizing more expensive birthday parties for their children than they would like to.

How much parents spend on their children’s birthday parties is one of the most frequently discussed topics on parenting websites. Here is one comment on Mumsnet summing up the thoughts of many parents: “Where we live everyone hires places, entertainers and so on. I don’t want to compare with my rich neighbors, but I want my son to have what all his classmates have.”

The research was carried out on behalf of the children’s charity, Lumos, set up by the author JK Rowling. Just 13 percent of parents spent ￡50 or less in the past year on their children’s parties.

Many children’s clowns(小丑) or entertainers charge ￡150 or more for an hour, and parents often feel it necessary to book a special place. Even without these, the cost of plates, the cake and party bags can mount up. Party Pieces, a company set up by Carole and Michael Middleton, charge about ￡16 for a birthday cake for a party with 16 guests, ￡22 for table decorations and up to ￡48 for party bags.

Many children of famous people have increasingly expensive parties, often seen in famous magazines. Suri Cruise, the daughter of actor Tom Cruise and actress Katie Holmes, enjoyed a ￡100,000 birthday party according to a report.

Georgette Mulheir of Lumos, said,“Parents in the UK are under increasing pressure to spend more and more money on birthday parties for their children and their children’s friends.”

1.What’s the main idea of this passage?

A. Children’s birthday parties put their parents under financial pressure in the UK.

B. Many parents are willing to spend more on their children’s birthday parties.

C. Parents pay more and more attention to their children’s birthday parties.

D. Children in the UK hope for more and more expensive birthday parties.

2. What does the underlined part “mount up” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. Increase.　　　　　　 B. Change.　　　　　　 C. Exist.　　　　　　　 D. Count.

3.By the example of the birthday party for Suri Cruise, the writer probably wants to show that________.

A. famous people love their children very much

B. children of famous people can get whatever they want

C. some children of famous people have really expensive birthday parties

D. holding expensive birthday parties is common nowadays

4.In which of the following sections would you most probably read this passage?

A. Business　　　　　　 B. Education　　　　　　 C. Science　　　　　 D. Family

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Children who spend more time reading with their parents have a greater chance of becoming better readers than those who don’t. With the help from their parents, children can learn techniques to improve their reading skills.

“A lot of parents think after their child learns to read, they should stop reading to them,” Donna George said. “They are sadly mistaken.”

George offers her services to parents at the Title I Learning Centers. She said reading aloud to children may be the most valuable thing parents can do. “It is better for children to hear things at a higher level than where they are,” George said. “Parents are their child’s first teacher.” Parents help their children build listening, phonics, comprehension and vocabulary skills when they read aloud to them.

Before parents can identify reading problems, they should escape the enemy —television and limit the time their children spend watching television. George suggested not allowing kids to have a TV in their bedrooms, setting a schedule of when kids can watch or keeping a list of how many programs children watch. Louise Joines said while her 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son enjoy reading, the television sometimes becomes a distraction. So she tries to build the situation by suggesting books the entire family will enjoy reading together, like the Harry Potter series.

Parents who do not read themselves should not count on their children being interested in it. If parents would read to their children at least 15 minutes every day, children would not have so many problems in school. It is the parents’ job to help build that desire in their children, and of course to know what kind of books to read is also important.

1.According to George, reading aloud to children_______________.

A. helps them correct mistakes

B. is helpful to their reading

C. is parents’ first duty to their children

D. can get children out of television’s attraction

2.The underlined word “distraction”(in Paragraph 4) means something that_________

A. can improve children’s reading

B. can help children’s right way of reading

C. can make children interested in reading

D. stop children from concentrating on reading

3.Which of the following is important according to the fourth paragraph?

A. Reading skills.

B. Reading speed.

C. Reading materials.

D. Reading environment.

4.If the passage is not completed, which of the following can follow the fifth paragraph?

A. Parents choose reading materials for their children.

B. Advice is given to control their children.

C. What TV programs children can watch during reading.

D. How children improve their reading by themselves.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Nowadays, parents worry a lot because their children spend hours and hours in front of the TV screen. Because this doesn’t happen to only one specific family, many experts warn us that there can be some serious effects of children watching violence on television.

Children who become addicted(上瘾的) to TV sit down and turn on the TV as soon as they get home. Although they have lots of homework, they become absorbed in TV programs.

Since they spend tons of time watching TV, they have less time to enjoy real life activities such as playing with friends, playing outdoor sports, or enjoying other kinds of entertainment.

There are too many violent scenes on TV. Some experts say there are 25 acts of violence per hour on TV. In addition, there are many experiments by psychologists which show how TV violence influences children. Finally, people worry that children tend to imitate what they watch on TV and may start to behave more violently.

What should be done? First of all, the government should regulate TV violence. It should also encourage people to invent and develop new technology which can block violent scenes from the programs children watch. For example, with a rating system(分级制度) and the V-chip, unfit scenes of violence and sex can be blocked out. Second, parents should monitor what their children watch. At the same time, they should make their children interested in real life activities. Then when the children start to spend more time playing with friends or reading books, parents can stop their monitoring.

It is a fact that there is more violence on TV today than there was ten years ago. Moreover, violent incidents occur more frequently in real life. It’s time to realize how harmful watching TV violence is, and it’s time to keep our children from watching violence.

1.What experts really worry is that 　　　　　　 .

A. children spend too much time watching TV

B. TV violence has a bad influence on children

C. children become addicted to TV programs

D. children have less time to do their homework

2.The author explain how the government should control TV violence by　　 .

A. giving a definition　　 B. giving an example

C. making a comparison　　 D. presenting research findings

3.What does the underlined word “imitate” in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?

A. explain.　　 B. avoid.

C. ignore.　　 D. copy.

4.What is the author’s purpose for writing this text?

A. To express his own worries about TV violence.

B. To ask parents to take good care of their children.

C. To inform readers of the latest situation about TV violence.

D. To call on the whole society to save children from violence.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

任务型阅读

Teenagers who spend quality time with their parents are more likely to want to further their studies， according to research from the University of Warwick． Researchers found that adolescents who take part in cultural activities with their mother and father were more likely to aspire（渴望） to continue their studies post-16than those who didn't． This is compared to even those who attended homework clubs or participated in extra-curricular activities．

Dr Hartas led the research． She said： "Filial（子女的） dynamics such as emotional closeness to parents and cultural capital were better predictors than more school-driven parent-child interactions．" Factors relating to family emotional closeness， bullying， friendships， homework， extra-curricular activities and perception of parental interest in the child's education were examined． The researchers measured responses to questions about a variety of topics such as visiting art galleries， discussing books at home， the number of evenings spent doing homework， relationship with siblings and quarrelling with parents．

Dr Hartas and her team found that the willingness to solve problems was a strong predictor of educational aspiration． Adolescents who indicated they were less confident at handling problems were 30% less likely to rate gaining GCSEs important． In addition those who expressed a lower level of general well-being were 18% more likely to choose not to go to university． Closeness to parents was an indicator of attitude towards GCSEs； those who did not feel emotionally close to their parents were two times higher to consider GCSEs unimportant． However， emotional closeness to parents was not found to be significant in predicting a desire to attend university．

What the researchers termed ‘cultural capital' or participating in cultural activities also appeared to affect the desire to study further． Those who weren't exposed to cultural activity were 14% and 20% respectively less likely to consider university or GCSEs as important． Those who did go to museums， galleries， concerts etc． were found to be 23% less likely to consider training or employment post-16．

Implications of the research

Dr Hartas said that these findings had significant implications for family and educational policy， especially with regard to "raising aspirations and reducing early school leaving．" They also raised the issue of reconsidering the role of the home environment as a web of emotionally and intellectually charged relationships between parents and children rather than an extension of the school day．

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高二英语完形填空简单题查看答案及解析

Are your children liked by their teachers? All parents want their children to impress(给...的印象) their teachers and succeed in school. You can get your children to impress their teachers by following these easy steps.

Make sure they’re prepared. Teachers are impressed by children coming to school prepared to learn. Make sure they have everything they need—pencils textbooks, erasers and so on.

Require them to be active in class. Teach them to ask teachers questions when they don’t understand something. Some children think teachers are bothered by questions, but most teachers are impressed when children take the initiative(采取主动) in asking questions. They should take part in class discussions, giving their opinions politely.

Keep your children healthy. If your children are tired and hungry, they won’t be ready to learn. Children need at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night. Feed your children a solid breakfast and prepare a healthy lunch. Provide them with fruit and other healthy foods—apples or bananas are better for them than cookies.

Make sure that your children do their homework. If they really don’t understand it, discuss it with them patiently. Don’t help them do their homework. Teachers can always tell who it is that does the work.

Teach your children good manners and habits. Children need to arrive at the school punctually, and be polite to their teachers and classmates. Parents need to teach these skills at home. Nothing is sweeter than children who say “please” and “thank you”, and these are children their teachers are certain to love.

1. The first paragraph serves as ________.

2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

3.The passage mainly tells us that being parents, you should ________.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Busy as they are, parents should ______ at least two hours to spend with their children。

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Parents today are wealthier than their parents and they want their children to have more than what they had. Yet parents often 　　 to give their children what they had when they were young.

For example, today’s generations of children mostly have their own private 　　 　 with a television, their own cell phone, their own computer, and finally when they are 　 　　 enough they will even have their own cars. 　　 　　 all of these things, children do not 　 　　 　 these gifts as much as previous generations did. 　 　　 , children are often __ 　　 _　 just spoiled(被宠坏的) , and all these things give them 　 　　 　 enjoyment when they really need some 　 　　 　 to their own development. Finally, children 　　 these short-term activities in order to fight against their boredom, and as a result of this, kids 　 　　 　 shorter periods of attention with little 　 　　 .

The obvious question that you may be asking is probably that: 　 　　 　 patience is a virtue, then why don’t parents 　 　　 　 it?

In today’s society, it is far easier to make children lose concentration than to teach personal development 　　 　　 and that’s a common problem. For example, it is much easier for parents to buy a new toy or turn on the television for their children than to 　　 　 their curiosity (好奇)in a natural way. This strong 　 　　 to know the world will lead them through self-learning, by which they would slowly value the 　 　　 of hard work and patience.

Basically, the easiest method for parents to teach patience to their children is not by 　 　　 　 them things, but by giving their children an opportunity to learn what they are interested in. Thus, parents can teach their children the same 　 　　 　 lessons that they have painfully learned too. The point is, realize what they lack and take action immediately.

1.A. neglect (忽略)　 B. refuse　　 C. promise　　 D. hesitate

2.A. teachers　　 B. doctors　　 C. houses　　 D. bedrooms

3.A. clever　　 B. old　　 C. rich　　 D. good

4.A. As a result of B. For the purpose of C. Instead of　　 D. Regardless of

5.A. prepare　　 B. understand　　 C. value　　　　 D. accept

6.A. Besides　　 B. Otherwise　　 C. Somehow　　 D. Therefore

7.A. less than　　 B. more than　　 C. not more than　 D. no more than

8.A. positive　　 B. little　　 C. natural　　 D. immediate

9.A. attention　　　　 B. help　　 C. attitude　　 D. contribution

10.A. provide　　 B. organize　　 C. watch　　 D. require

11.A. need　　 B. develop　　 C. draw　　 D. improve

12.A. time　　 B. patience　　 C. effort　　 D. hope

13.A. As　　　 B. Unless　　 C. Since　　　 D. Though

14.A. learn　　 B. research　　 C. teach　　 D. have

15.A. directions　　 B. experiences　　 C. courses　　 D. skills

16.A. satisfy　　 B. show　　 C. study　　 D. follow

17.A. position　　 B. point　　 C. order　　 D. desire

18.A. cost　　 B. rewards　　 C. relations　　 D. differences

19.A. passing　　 B. reading　　 C. buying　　 D. making

20.A. interesting　　 B. hard　　 C. special　　 D. strange

高二英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

All children want to have pocket money. Why do their parents just give them a certain amount? 51

The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family.  52 Some children get weekly pocket money. Others get monthly pocket money.

First of all, children are expected to make a choice between spending and saving. Then parents should make the children understand what is expected to pay for with the money. At first, some young children may spend all of the money soon after they receive it. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until it is the right time.  53

In order to encourage their children to do some housework, some parents give pocket money if the children help around the home. Some experts think it not wise to pay the children for doing that.  54

Pocket money can give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with the money. They can spend it by giving it to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. 55Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice. Saving can also open the door to future saving and investing for children.

A One main purpose is to let kids learn how to manage their own money.

B They can save it for future use.

C Timing is another consideration.

D As helping at home is a normal part of family life.

E Some children are not good at managing their pocket money.

F Learning how to get money is very important for every child.

G By doing so, these children will learn that spending must be done with a budget.

高二英语填空题中等难度题查看答案及解析