In the Harry Potter films, Hermione Granger is better than her male friends and is considered the brightest pupil in her grade. Isn't it often the same in schools of our real world? A great many boys fall behind their female classmates. "It's surprising but true that most of the top students have been girls since primary school. Girls are class leaders, club presidents and the top ones in exams," said Wang Feixuan, 15, who studies at a Chengdu school. By any measure, Wang herself is a high-achiever. She is a top student, a team leader in her school's sports club and a winner in national English and IT competitions. But why do so many girls _ their male peers ? In Sun Yunxiao's latest book Save Our Boys, he points out that the education system is "more suited to girls, who are good at memorizing and like to sit quietly and read." Yet he also says that girls have to do so much more when they compete with males for honors, top universities and later good jobs. They can feel great pressure nearly every day. This seems to be the same in most countries in the world. Young women in the United States are also reported to feel the same pressure to be perfect. "Let's look at what we ask of our teenage girls," says an American professor Stephen Hinshaw in an interview. He thinks that it's no longer enough that a girl does well in school and is a caring friend. On the TV, on the Internet, and everywhere, girls see images of impossible perfection . Today's young women must be good learners, good athletes, and fill their after-school lives with other activities. But they're also asked to have the styles and looks of popular stars. "Be pretty, sweet and nice. Be athletic, competitive and get straight. Be impossibly perfect." Stephen Hinshaw sums up. The passage suggests that _ . A) our society asks far too much of teenage girls B) teenage girls shouldn't be so perfect at school C) boys are always lazy ones rather than girls D) American girls have less pressure than Chinese girls
A
Arthur Miller was born on October 17th, 1915 and died on February 10th, 2005.Over the course of seven decades of literature career , Arthur Miller created some of the most memorable stage plays in American Literature. He is the author ofDeathofaSalesmanandTheCrucible. Born and raised in Manhattan, Miller went through the best and the worst of American society. Arthur Miller's childhood:His father was a productive shopkeeper and clothing manufacturer until the Great Depression dried up nearly all business opportunities.Yet, despite being faced with poverty, Miller made the best of his childhood. He was a very active young man, in love with such sports as football and baseball. When he wasn't playing outside, he enjoyed reading adventure stories. He was also kept busy by his many boyhood jobs. He often worked alongside his father. During other times in his life, he delivered bakery goods and worked as a clerk in a car parts warehouse. College life: In 1934, Miller left the east coast to attend the University of Michigan. He was accepted into their school of journalism. His experiences during the Depression made him skeptical about religion. Politically, he began leaning towards the "Left".And since the theater was the cutting edge way for socioeconomic liberals to express their views, he decided to enter the Hopwood Drama competition. His first play,NoVillain, received an award from the university.It was an impressive beginning for the young playwright; he had never studied plays or playwriting, and he had written his play in just five days! Miller's later years: In 1987, his autobiography was published. Many of his later plays dealt with personal experience. In particular, his final play,FinishingthePicturemirrors the last days of his marriage to Marilyn Monroe.In 2005, Arthur Miller passed away at the age of 89. The passage is intended to _ . A) introduce Arthur Miller's plays B) tell us about Arthur Miller's childhood C) explain how Arthur Miller started to write plays D) give us a brief introduction to Arthur Miller's life
D
Q: Any mistake, which is made in the printing of a stamp, raises its value to stamp collectors. A mistake on a two-penny stamp has made it worth a million and a half times its face value. Do you think it possible? However, it is true. The mistake was made more than 100 years ago in Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean, which was a British colony at that time. In 1847, an order for stamps was sent to London. Thus prefix = st1 /Mauritiusbecame the fourth country in the world which had the stamps made in other countries. Before the order was filled ,that is, the stamps arrived from England, a big dance party was planned by the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces on the island. The party would be held in his house and letters of invitation would be sent to all the important people in Mauritius. So stamps were badly needed to post the letters. Therefore, an islander, who was a good printer, was told to copy the pattern of the stamps. He carelessly put the words "Post Office" instead of "Post Paid", two words seen on the stamps at that time, on several hundred that he printed. Today, there are only 26 of these misprinted stamps left: fourteen One-penny Reds and twelve Two-penny Blues. Because of so few Two-penny Blues and because of their age, collectors have paid as much as $16,800 for each of them. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? A) The commander-in-chief invited many important people ofMauritius. B) The face value of a stamp raises its value. C) The two valuable stamps were printed inMauritius. D) The two kinds of stamps were at that time not so badly needed
A: A
(Q).
Understanding one's own history is important for young people's learning and development. Students are often asked to write a story about their own family's history or about a special person in their family. But too rarely do students focus on the history of their own community or their own people, in a way that helps them to understand why they find themselves in a particular situation. When people understand their own history, they are able to _ the influence of the social structures that sometimes limit the possibilities in their lives. Taking this approach opens the door for young people to be managers of their own learning and development as they understand why they find themselves where they are. , Many people I have been talking to about this issue agree that not only schools but also public bodies and families have failed to educate young people about their own history. And I know from my own experience how difficult it was for my father to talk about his family's experience in 1944.This may be a reflection of the sadness that people feel about that history and not wanting to make it a burden on their young people. But in today's situation, those I spoke with now clearly see that as a mistake. If our society is ever to find a way to properly deal with the influence of our own history, including what has happened to our Native American, African-American and Latino friends, our schools must step up to help young people understand their own stories. Families and related social bodies must do the same. The passage mainly encourages us to _ . A) write our own stories B) learn our own history C) understand the importance of history D) have a proper attitude towards history
(A).
B