LIKE many teachers, Cristi Derow and Jennifer Bradley have spent most of their careers giving classroom lectures to students who sat passively in their seats. The Lewisvillle, Texas, school teachers were aware that the hours they spent on preparing lessons were too often wasted on many students. So Forestwood High School, Texas, used the "flipped classroom" method of instruction. "We've completely done away with our lecture," Derow said. And homework assignments "are all done in class," Bradley said. With the flipped concept, a student's usual homework assignment is to watch pre-recorded lectures on their computers or smart phones.They walk into class ready to discuss the topic, collaborate with other students and work on assignments based on what they learned from the video. Free from lecturing, the teachers can use class time to look deeper into the subject and focus on difficult concept. As students change from a passive to an active role, they learn critical thinking skills, learn to collaborate and become independent learners. Instead of doing homework assignments alone at home, students are now "working together, talking about it," Bradley said. "If they don't agree on an answer, they debate it and have to justify their answers. It's a higher level of learning." Her students give the flipped classroom high marks. Sarah Lee, 14, watches the 30-minute videos on a home computer. She likes the ability to rewind the tapes if she doesn't understand a concept. She also likes being able to watch the lessons on her own schedule. One of her classmates, Dawson Depperschmidt has the same idea and thinks the time she spends in the classroom is more _ . "It gives us more time to learn at school," Dawson said. "You get more in-depth in class. What difference does the "flipped classroom"method make to students? A) They have more arguments with classmates. B) They have to be independent and cooperative. C) They need to do more homework at home. D) They have to prepare lectures by themselves.
B
When a 13-year-old Virginal girl started sneezing, her parents thought it was merely a cold. But when the sneezes continued for hours, they called in a doctor. Nearly two months later the girl was still sneezing, thousands of times a day, and her case had attracted worldwide attention. Hundreds of suggestions, ranging from poured in. But nothing did any good. Finally, she was taken to Dr. Leo Kanner, one of the world's top authorities on sneezing, who solved the problem with great speed. He used neither drugs nor surgery for, curiously enough, the clue for the treatment was found in an ancient superstition about the amazing bodily reaction we call the sneeze.It was all in her mind, he said, a view which Aristotle, some 3,000 years earlier, would have agreed with heartily. Dr. Kanner simply gave a modern psychological interpretation to the ancient belief that too much Sneezing was an indication that the spirit was troubled; and he began to treat the girl accordingly. "Less than two days in a hospital room, a plan for better scholastic and vocational adjustment, and reassurance about her unreasonable fear of tuberculosis quickly changed her from a sneezer to an ex-sneezer," he reported. Sneezing has always been a subject of wonder, awe and puzzlement. Dr Kanner has collected thousands of superstitions concerning it. The most universal one is the custom of begging for the blessing of God when a person sneezes-- a practice Dr. Kanner traces back to the ancient belief that a sneeze was an indication that the sneezer was possessed of an evil spirit. Strangely, people over the world still continue the custom with the traditional, "God bless you" or something else. When scientists look at the sneeze, they see a remarkable mechanism which, without any conscious help from you, takes on a job that has to be done. When you need to sneeze you sneeze, this being nature's clever way of getting rid of an annoying object from the nose. The object may be just some dust in the nose which nature is trying to remove. The girl sneezed continuously because she _ . A) was ill B) was mentally ill C) had heavy mental burden D) had attracted world-wide attention
C
(Question)
This week is National Volunteer Week, a time for the Canadian Red Cross to recognize our dedicated volunteers who devote their time and talents from coast to coast. Over the course of the week we will use this blog to share stories about our volunteers and the amazing work they do --- a small part of the outstanding individuals across the country. Take Saskatchewan for example. Last year that province was hit by wide-spread flooding, a hurricane and forest fires. Canadian Red Cross staff and volunteers went to work right away and helped more than 2,100 adults and 775 children recover the basic necessities of life. It's important to share stories from volunteers to truly appreciate what they do. Christine Hoffman is a Disaster Response Volunteer in Canadian Red Cross in Saskatchewan. She's a _ Red Crosser for about 16 years. Still nothing could have prepared her for the call she took in the Recovery Center last year in response to flooding in Maple Greek. This story is best told in her own words. This is what she said: "I will never forget the first phone call I took in the Recovery Centre. A young man called asking what services Red Cross was offering in town. As we were talking, he told me he had a rope in his backyard but he thought he would be using it for other reasons. _ I told him to come to see us so we could work together on a plan to improve his situation. He came in a little while later. Nearly two hours later he left standing straight up with tear- filled eyes. He thanked me for convincing him to come in. His home had been destroyed, but together we put together a plan and he was eventually able to move back into his own home." During National Volunteer Week 2011, let's thank Christine, and the many other volunteers like her. Thanks for making us proud! What can we infer from what Christine Hoffman said? A) The young man felt sad for Christine Hoffman because of her poor experience B) The young man was persuaded by Christine Hoffman and decided to live on C) Christine Hoffman made the young man sad and he cried D) Christine Hoffman offered to give the young man a little money to help him
(Answer)
B