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New Jersey Middle School Makes Students Go Phone-Free
A middle school in Union County, New Jersey, is forcing its students to stay disconnected in class, by prohibiting cellphones. Maxson Middle School Principal Kevin Stansbury put forward the phone ban last week after he noticed some major issues in the school. “Our test scores were down, discipline was up,” he says. According to him, students were too focused on their phones to pay attention to their lessons. So, he purchased Yondr pouches for the school.
Yondr pouch
When students come into class each morning, they place their phones in the pouch, which is then locked up tight. It can only be opened using a special device at the end of the day. The ban on mobile devices applies not just during class time but during breaks, with the only exceptions being in times of emergency or in cases of students who need such devices to help with disabilities.
Eighth-graders who spoke with News 12 New Jersey say that they noticed a change in a matter of hours. “It’s just better for everyone because you’ll understand how it feels to get more work done instead of paying attention to the phone,” says student Charlene V. “I’m usually listening to music, but today I got to communicate with all my friends,” says student Desiree Duncan.
The program was originally met with resistance from students and parents, so the process was not that smooth. But teachers and administrators say that the program will have a major impact. “Students were talking and laughing and there were no cellphones other than being carried in the pouches,” Stansbury says.
Teacher Nia Cummings says she even noticed students bouncing ideas off each other in class. She says students used to give up quickly and just look for answers on their phones. She says they now try to figure it out themselves. “Everyone is socializing and eating lunch together. That’s what I wasn’t seeing enough of when phone usage was at its worst,” she adds.
Maxson Middle School is currently the only one in the district to use these pouches. Kevin Stansbury also called on all the schools in the community that it’s worth paying close attention to cellphone issues at secondary schools and taking actions when necessary.
1.Maxson Middle School put forward the phone ban because students _____.
A.weren’t focused on school work B.were always listening to music
C.used phones to cheat on exams D.stopped talking with others
2.What did the two eighth-graders tell the newspaper?
A.Opposition from students. B.Teamwork with friends.
C.Daily routine at school. D.Effect of the program.
3.According to Nia Cummings, what change has the phone ban brought?
A.Students discuss more in class. B.Students finish their work on time.
C.Students guess the answers themselves. D.Students check messages during the break.
4.It can be inferred from the passage that the phone ban _____.
A.has brought little change to teaching and learning
B.has gained support from every student and parent
C.might be carried out in other schools in the community
D.might have good influence on students'health conditions
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New rules for middle school students came out in March. Middle school is going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. The top students won’t only have high marks. They will also be kids who don’t dye（color）their hair, smoke or drink. The following are some of the new rules.
Tell the truth. Have you ever copied someone else’s work on an exam? Don’t do it again! That’s not something an honest student should do. If you have played computer games for two hours in your room, don’t tell your parents you have done homework.
Do more at school. Good students love animals and care for other people. April is Bird-Loving Month in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate? You should join! That way, you can learn more about animals and how to protect them. When more people work together, it makes it more fun for everyone. Have you ever quarreled with your teammates when your basketball team lost? Only working together can make your team stronger. Be friendly to the people you are with. Try to think of others not only yourself.
Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? Maybe you’ll discover Earth II someday. Don’t look down on new ideas. Everyone’s ideas are important. You should welcome them, because new ideas make life better for everyone.
Protect yourself. Has someone ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don’t let it happen to you. If you have to go home late, you should let your parents know.
Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your studies. But some things on the Internet aren’t for kids, so try to look at Web pages that are good for you. You can use the Web for fun or homework.
66. How did the author construct the passage?
1.Which of the following persons can be a top student?
A. Tom who dyes his hair has good marks.
B. John is good at study and easy to accept new ideas.
C. Mary is always helping others and never uses the Internet.
D. Jack, a caring boy, likes quarreled with his classmates
2.According to the third paragraph, a top student should ______.
A. make the team stronger B. work together with others
C. be a good friend to others D. get on well with others
3.The passage tells us how to ______.
A. be top students B. do more at school
C. care for others D. use the Internet
4.According to the new rules, a top student should do all the following except ______.
A. tell the truth B. be open to new ideas
C. use the Internet carefully D. think only other people
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New rules and behavior standards（行为规范）for middle school students came out in March. 1. The best students won't only have high marks. They will also be kids who don't dye（染）their hair，smoke or drink. The following are some of the new rules.
Tell the truth. Have you ever copied someone else’ work in an exam? Don’t do it again! 2. If you have played computer games for two hours in your room，don't tell your parents you have done homework.
Do more at school. Good students are kind to other people and love animals. April is a bird loving month in China．Is your school doing anything to celebrate? You should join! That way，you can learn more about animals and how to protect them. When mote people work together，it makes it more fun for everyone. Have you ever quarreled with your teammates when your basketball team lost? Only working together can make your team stronger. Be friendly to the people you are with. 3.
Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? Maybe we will discover Earth Ⅱsome day. 4. Everyone's ideas are important. You should welcome them，because new ideas make life better for everyone.
Protect yourself. Has someone ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don't let it happen to you. If you have to go home late，you should take care of yourself and let your parents know.
Use the internet carefully. 5. But something on the internet isn't good for kids，so try to look at Web pages that are good sites for children. Here are some：http：//kiks.Dastday.com；http：//www. chinakids.net.com
A．Middle School is going to use a new way to decide who the top students are．
B．Try to think of others，not only yourself．
C．That's not what an honest student should do．
D．The internet can be useful for your studies．
E．The Internet is not helpful for you.
F．The students are getting on very well with each other.
G．Don't look down on new ideas．
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Most middle school students find it boring to learn math. But students in Yet Sen Middle School in New York, US, don’t think so. Why? Because they are in the school of One Program, which asks students to work on their own or in small groups on computers to have math lessons.
“The program gives the students a new learning style. No traditional classroom can compare with it. We give each lesson according to the students’ interest and their strong and weak points, ”said Joel. Klein, the school’s headteacher, “We’re looking for a new way that interests students. ”
Students enjoy these math lessons, especially lessons with video games. They must find out the answers to math problems to get through the game. One such game is Dimension M. As students move through mazes(迷宫)with their keyboards, some questions come up.
Caleb Deng had to answer the question: What is 5+(6×3)? He calculated on paper quickly because there was just a minute left to play.
“I was right, ”said Deng, 14, as he ended the game with a high score(高分). “This really makes math lessons more exciting, since we are fighting to learn better. ”
1.Students in Yet Sen Middle School like math because .
A. they work in large groups
B. they can work on computer
C. the teachers are interesting
D. math questions are easy there
2.Which is NOT true of the program?
A. It is very successful.
B. It is boring to most students.
C. It makes learning math more interesting.
D. It gives the students a new way to learn.
3.The underlined word“calculated”in Paragraph 4 most probably means .
A. worked out B. wrote down
C. threw away D. gave up
4.Caleb Deng’s story serves as an example to show .
A. how students work in small groups
B. how to end a game with a high score
C. how the question 5+(6×3)should be solved
D. how students learn math through video games
5.This article is mainly about .
A. how to learn math well
B. an interesting math lesson
C. a new way to learn math
D. kids in Yet Sen Middle School
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With the widespread use of the computer, many middle school and primary school students can type very fast. 1. , their handwriting is becoming worse 2. before. Wrongly written characters and untidy writing are the common problems. The biggest problem is3. they don’t think it is necessary to practice handwriting any more since typing can take the place of4. . To me, I always prefer handwriting 5. ______ typing. I think handwriting is 6. better way to express my feeling. 7. , Chinese characters are the important part of Chinese culture and typing can never take the place of it. Therefore as a Chinese, we should 8. stop practicing writing them to avoid the wrongly written character and the untidy writing.
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Indiana middle school and high school students can receive free help with their math and science homework, 1. ___is great news for parents, teachers, kids in grades six through twelve in the state of Indiana. The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has 2. _ homework hotline that makes 3. possible, and the homework hotline provides this 4. ___ (value) tutoring(辅导) service for free. Not only is homework help 5. __ (complete) free to Indianan middle school and high school kids, but the call is also free 6. charge.
Since 1991, the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 7. ___(help) middle school and high school kids in the state of Indiana develop the skills they need 8. __(solve) math and science problems, and Rose-Hulman college students help in a way that makes kids think and solve problems without 9.____ (provide) the answers. This free tutoring program is a great benefit 10. ____middle school and high school students in Indiana.
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Almost 70 percent of Chinese middle school students have serious problems with their parents, the Beijing Morning Post quoted a survey as saying.
The survey showed 6.62 percent of the surveyed students are afraid of their parents while 13.13 percent of them dislike their parents and 56.28 percent were extremely disgusted with or even hate their parents. Only 4.75 percent of the young people surveyed said they like their parents.
The recently conducted survey among 3,000 middle school students in a Beijing district asked questions about their attitude toward their parents and family education, the paper said.
For many families, conflict between parents and children center on the student's school grades, their weight and their friends. The survey showed that parental influence over children is decreasing, the paper said.
Xiao Xiao, a third year junior middle school student is perhaps typical of most kids when she complains; "I was scolded by my mother because I didn't come first in the class in a mid-term exam."
Xiao Xiao in fact is already one of the top students in her class, the paper said, stressing Xiao Xiao's parents hope she can study at the Beijing University or even attend Harvard in the future.
Sun Yunxiao, an expert with the China Youth and Children Research Center, said "parents expect unrealistically high expectations from their children."
The research centre's own survey of parents showed about 55 percent of parents hope their children will study for a doctoral degree and 83.6 percent require their children to rank in the top 15 of their class.
Conflicts between parents and their children not only come from too high education expectations. Other causes of disconnection between parents and children are family violence, parents' old fashioned ideas, interference in a child's privacy including their choice of friends and time spent surfing the web, the paper said.
Mr Hu, a father of a middle school student, wasn't surprised by the survey results. He says too much concern over school marks is putting tremendous pressure on families.
1. How many young people surveyed said they like their parents?
A. 39390. B. 19860.
C. 14250 D. 168840
2. What is the central conflict between parents and children in many families?
A. Family violence and divorce.
B. Parents’ old fashioned ideas.
C. Interference in a child’s privacy.
D. Students’ school grades, weight and friends.
3. Xiao Xiao is mentioned as an example to show that ______ .
A. parental influence over children is decreasing.
B. one should study hard to attend Beijing University as a student.
C. Parents today expect too high from their children.
D. today’s children spend too much time surfing the web.
4. As is indicated in the passage, _______ .
A. Most parents require their children to be the top ones in the class.
B. More and more parents have old fashioned ideas.
C. More and more families got divorced due to the high education expectations.
D. Most parents hope their children will attend Harvard in the future.
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Recently, Whitewater Middle School students in the US looked at 200 pounds (90.7 kg) of food. Their classmates threw it away after a meal in the cafeteria. They found the remains of pizzas. They saw untouched green salads and pieces of bread bitten only once. It was，they said, both disgusting and educational.
"You don't realize how much food waste you're making till you see it," said student Cody Gist.
To deal with this problem, Whitewater added environmental science as a school-wide program this year. Teachers are guiding their students through research on the ways food is linked to environment, poverty, and people's health.
The school changed to compostable (可用作堆肥的)paper trays (托盘)as well. Working with Every Tray Counts, a US nonprofit group, the school hopes for a change from disposable trays to compostable paper trays.
This isn't just an exercise at school. Whitewater is joining a network of schools, businesses and neighborhoods. They try to make composting as mainstream as recycling.
"The larger issue is protection of landfill (垃圾填埋场)space," said Laurette Hall, an environmental management official. The area has enough space to last for maybe 25 more years, she said. That isn't as much as it sounds in such a rapidly growing area.
Principal Beth Thompson said students advise each other on new ways to deal with trash.
"Students understand why it matters so not one student refused to do extra work when throwing away their waste," Thompson said.
Whitewater teachers make sure students know how their own eating habits are part of bigger problems. In environmental literature class, students read books such as Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal.
Mollie Lyman works with several language arts classrooms. Their classes discuss such issues as how poor neighborhoods often have less access (使用权)to healthy food.
Lyman says she wants students to ask some basic questions: "What do we eat? What do we waste?”
1.Why did Whitewater Middle School students look at the food?
A.To prepare students for the environmental science course.
B.To find out the calories of different kinds of food.
C.To see how food was connected with other problems.
D.To check what foods were most popular among students.
2.What measures did Whitewater Middle School take?
① Introducing a new course about the environment.
② Using compostable paper trays in the cafeteria.
③ Setting up a group called Every Tray Counts.
④ Joining others to make composting common.
A.①②④ B.①②③ C.①③④ D.②③④
3.What did Laurette Hall worry about?
A.People don't want to protect landfill space.
B.Students don't know how to recycle trash.
C.There won't be enough landfill space in the future.
D.Students don't understand the waste problem.
4.What is the purpose of the article?
A.To tell readers how important it is to save food.
B.To share how a US school is making an effort for the environment.
C.To encourage schools to have environmental protection classes.
D.To call on students to care about poor people.
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Teachers and students at Herbert Slater Middle School in Santa Rosa, California are used to seeing 7th grader Raquel Zuniga holding a stuffed Kermit the Frog doll as she goes about her school day.
Raquel, aged 12, attends classes for students with mild to serious disabilities. Having her favorite frog doll Kermit by her side makes school life much easier for her, yet there are still times when Kermit’s cheery presence isn’t enough to help her through her anxiety.
One day Raquel was having a hard time changing halfway from inside the classroom to outside. Several teachers approached Raquel as she held Kermit tight and walked back and forth in the hallway, yet none could get through to the child. After nearly an hour, school resource officer Chris Morrison happened to wander by to see if she could help.
Chris herself was a teacher for high-risk students in Los Angeles for twelve years before joining the Santa Rosa Police. She’s now been on the job as a cop for eighteen years, but those teaching wisdoms still run deeply through her mind.
Without hesitation Chris approached the student and bean to speak to her in a comforting voice. Chris did something simple yet extraordinary: she began to sing. Not only does music have a calming effect on its own but also the song she selected was especially meaningful: “Rainbow Connection”, the 1997 song made famous by Kermit the Frog himself.
Raquel’s face lights up in a beautiful smile as she turns to her teacher as if to say, “She’s singing my song!”
“The three of us were standing there in awe,” said Assistant Principal Jessica Romero, adding that she wasn’t the least bit surprised that this kind act came from Officer Morrison. “She’s a very special soul,” Jessica explained. “She comes to everything she does with heart, with empathy, and is able to build close relationship with students.”
1.Why does Raquel always hold the Kermit frog doll in her school days?
A.Because she is mentally disabled. B.Because students are used to seeing it.
C.Because it gives her a sense of safety. D.Because the teachers there encourage it.
2.According to the article, what do we know about Chris Morrison?
A.She has been a teacher for high-risk students in Los Angeles for 12 years.
B.She is working both as a teacher at the middle school and a policewomen.
C.She is understanding and knows what to do to comfort the children in anxiety.
D.She is warm-hearted and always surprises the teachers around with her wisdom.
3.Chris chose the song “Rainbow Connection” because _______.
A.it is a song meaningful to Raquel
B.it is a song popular among children
C.it is a song familiar to Chris
D.it is a song to calm children
4.What is the last paragraph mainly about?
A.The satisfying ending of the warm story. B.Teacher’s impression about Chris Morrison.
C.Teachers’ reaction to Chris Morrison’s method. D.The unique method to get through to a child.
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Students who date (约会) in middle school have significantly worse study skills, are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol and tobacco use than their single classmates, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
“Romantic relationships are a symbol of adolescence（青春期）, but very few studies have examined how adolescents are different in the development of these relationships.” said Pamela Orpinas, study author and professor in the College of Public Health.
Orpinas followed a group of 624 students over a seven-year period from 6th to 12th grade. Each year, the group of students completed a survey indicating whether they had dated and reported the frequency of different behaviors, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Their teachers completed questionnaires (调查表) about the students' academic efforts. He found some students never or hardly ever reported dating from middle to high school, and these students had the best study skills according to their teachers. Other students dated infrequently in middle school but increased the frequency of dating in high school.
“At all points in time, teachers rated the students who reported the lowest frequency of dating as having the best study skills and the students with the highest dating as having the worst study skills,” according to the journal article. Study skills refer to behaviors that lead to academic success such as doing work for extra credit, being well organized, finishing homework, working hard and reading assigned chapters.
“Dating a classmate may have the same emotional complications of dating a co-worker,” Orpinas said, “When the couple break up, they have to continue to see each other in class and perhaps witness the ex-partner dating someone else. It is reasonable to think this could be linked to depression and divert (转移) attention from studying.”
“Dating should not be considered a ceremony of growth in middle school.”Orpinas concluded.
1.According to the passage, students who date in middle school may_____.
A.have poorer academic performances
B.be more likely to hurt others
C.enjoy better school lives
D.are less likely to use alcohol and tobacco
2.When doing his study, Orpinas _____.
A.followed a group of students of 6th and 12th grade
B.found that the students' study skills have connection with their frequency of dating
C.completed questionnaires about the students' academic efforts
D.completed a survey and a report each year
3.What can possibly happen to the school couples after they break up?
A.They will miss their ex-partners sometimes.
B.They don't want to see each other any longer.
C.Their attention to studying will be affected.
D.They will think it's reasonable to get depressed.
4.Orpinas’ attitude towards dating in middle school is _____.
A.supportive B.negative
C.indifferent D.positive
