Roughly speaking, teachers in traditional education may feel that students are too young to know much about the world, and have to be told what to do most of the time. By contrast, open education offers teachers quite different feelings. Students are expected to be responsible for their own education--to discover subjects by themselves instead of being made to study them. This way of teaching allows the students to grow independently and to develop their own interests in many subjects. Some students who do badly in a traditional classroom will be happier in an open classroom and enjoy learning. They will not have to worry about grades or rules at all. However, many students won't do well in an open classroom. For these students, they will do little in school if there are too few rules. They will not make good use of open education, which is so different from traditional class, because they may have a problem getting used to making so many choices on their own. For them it is important to have some rules to direct them. They may worry about the rules even when there are no rules. In addition to that, some traditional teachers do not believe in open education and do not like it either. Since both of some good points and bad points of the open education have been explained clearly, you may have your own opinion on the issue. Personally, I think that the concept of open education is good only in theory. In actual fact, it may not work very well in a real class or school. I believe, most students, but of course not all students, need some structure in their classes. They may want and need to have rules. In some cases, they must be made to study some subjects. Many students are pleased to find subjects they have to study interesting. They would not study those subjects if they did not have to. Which of the following best summarizes the passage? A) Open education is a really complex idea. B) Open education is better than traditional education. C) Traditional teachers don't believe in open education. D) The writer thinks open education is practical.
A
Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty. In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old. The findings came from a survey of more than three hundred forty thousand adults in the United States. The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in two thousand eight. At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five. The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress. Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties. Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties. The findings appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences. Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry. The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age. The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men. What do you think the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is? A) A Gallup organization. B) A university in New York. C) A popular science magazine. D) A research institution
C
Q: Many boys love reading about the legends of old pirates and dreaming of their own wild adventures. But modern pirates are not a thing of the past. Last month Somali pirates did their boldest hijacking to date. They seized the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star carrying crude oil worth about $100 million. They demanded $15 million to free the ship and its crew. The pirates have kept hitting the headlines this year: 92 attacks have been attempted, with 36 successful hijackings and 268 crew members taken hostage . The Chinese fishing ship Tianyu 8, with 17 Chinese and 8 foreigners on board, has been in their hands since November 14. Of course piracy is nothing new. Even since there has been water and ships there have been pirates. The earliest documented history of pirates dates back to the 13thcentury in the Mediterranean Sea. Even the famous Roman emperor Julius Caesar was once kidnapped by pirates. Piracy reached its peak in the mid-1700s. It was during this time in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa that men like "Blackbeard the Pirate" made this profession attractive. But with the creation of stronger national Navies piracy became less popular around the world. In the mid-20thcentury, most pirates were petty thieves. They used hooks to sneak on board ships at anchor, and grabbed all that they could find. _ However, nowadays piracy has become a multi-million-dollar business at tracting many in poor countries. Pirates are treated like heroes among local fishermen. They use satellite phones and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Once they spot their target, they swarm the ship with fast boats and shoot it by firing AK-47s or even rocket-propelled grenades . Then they hold the ship and its crews for money. "The world should take forceful actions together to fight piracy," said leaders at the Asian and Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru. "However, putting in anti-piracy army can only be half of the solution. We have to protect the fair chance of Somali fishermen to get a good... According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE? A) The pirates have committed 92 crimes successfully this year. B) Piracy became more and more popular as the national Navies became powerful. C) Nowadays, pirates are learning to use modern weapons to commit crimes at sea. D) On November 18, a Chinese ship was attacked by a suspected pirate ship.
A: C
(Q).
AAAGH! The Generation 90s is coming! Wearing earphones, using complex Net language and constantly text messaging friends, the Gen-90s following the Gen-80s begin to make their world debut . Each generation or age group has its own symbols and lifestyle. Read on and judge for yourselves if you fit the Gen-90s group. Earphones These little devices seem to grow on the heads of the Gen-90s. They might lead to MP3, MP4 or MP101 players, giving these young people a plugged-in, cool and perhaps self-addicted look, of course, life is not always music to the ears. Martian language They have created their own code-like online language. It's a mixture of English, Japanese and Chinese that perhaps only Martians can understand. This is an imaginative generation, though they need to be careful to keep it out of their term papers. Self-Portrait Saying "cheese" to their own digital cameras is usual for this generation. A little bit of narcissism never hurts anyone. It helps them reflect a little on their own lives. But be aware of the risks of posting private photos online. Text-messaging They can type their mobile phones as fast as they can speak. This is a generation that respects efficiency . However, oral communication is important and will never go out of style. The main idea of the passage is about _ . A) the Gen-90s' happy life B) the difference between the Gen-80s and the Gen-90s C) the Gen-90s' unique lifestyle and some practical warnings D) the similarities between the Gen-80s and the Gen-90s
(A).
C