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Reading for pleasure is declining among primary-age pupils, and increasing numbers of "time poor"parents are dropping the practice of sharing bedtime stories with their children once they start school.
Research presented to a conference last week found that, while parents read to preschoolers, this later tails off, and by the final year of primary school only around 2% read to their children every day. Once children can read skillfully, parents tend to step back, and this usually happens at the age of seven or eight. The report also found that 820-/o of teachers blame the government's "target-. driven" education policies for the fact that fewer children are reading for pleasure.
They believe that a straitjacket (束缚) of strictly organized schooling is containing young people's ability to read more widely. Two-thirds of teachers surveyed said they lacked time in the school day to introduce a variety of books and that this was a "major obstacle to being able to develop a level of reading". Teachers also cited as main factors the reduction in the number of school librarians, who could put interesting books before children, and the rise in "screen time", switching children from reading to playing games.
The majority of teachers said the curriculum's (课程) "emphasis on reading as a skill to be mastered"was increasing the pressure. This was compounded by parents who saw reading just as a focus of learning, a skill critical to career advancement in a competitive world.
Reading habits and the digital revolution in publishing were key topics of debate at the conference. The theme of the lack of British culture was supported by children's writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, who wrote the scripts(手稿 ) for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics.
"We discovered the whole nation had forgotten that they did the industrial revolution," he said.
"Books are so central to it; books can be written by anyone. A lot of the pleasure of a book is listening to somebody read it to you. "
"We found a real love of reading al110ng teachers, and a strong desire, to encourage more children to read for pleasure," said Rob Cheney,"However, the teachers also had an overpowering sense of frustration with their situation.""Touch-screen phone and tablets ( 平板电脑）are naturally attractive to children, "the survey Said, and predicted a period of awkwardness as everyone else adapts . By 2018, children's television will have adopted the presence of this second screen, and it "will be strange not to have children, at home drawing along on tablets and then having these appearing live in the show ".
The hope is “that user-friendly screens could, if material is adapted and downloaded easily, present an opportunity for more ambitious publishing - for example, books children can either read or choose to have read to them; or digital books with moving pictures instead of photos to clarify factual and scientific points. Parental controls that are easy to use would be key, the conference was told, such as "a warning for when devices use the Wi-Fi, especially after bedtimes", to allow parents to shut off access to children in the home.
50. What leads to parents' dropping the practice of sharing bedtime stories with their children?
A. Children have less time to spend with their parents after they start school.
B. Parents chink it unnecessary to do so when children can read themselves.
C. The government’s education policies have placed much burden on children.
D. Children don't like parents reading stories to them when they are seven or eight.
51. Which of the following is not teachers' point of view?
A. Children are prevented from reading widely enough in school.
B. Schools pay attention to reading skills instead of reading for fun.
C. Playing video games reduces children's time spent on reading.
D. School libraries can't provide good books for lack of money.
52. The word "compounded" ( Paragraph 4) most probably means ______.
A. worsened B. preserved C. reduced D. improved
53. It can be inferred from the article that ______ .
A. children don't like reading because books are not attractive
B. British people enjoyed reading books very much in the past
C. teachers forbid their students co read more books for fun
D. children should enjoy more freedom to use the Wi-Fi at home
54. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Parents should set a limit to their children's using electric devices at hoI11e.
B. Children are encouraged to read as l11any interesting books as they can.
C. Children miss out on pleasures of reading a good book in modern life.
D. Experts appeals to the government to reduce the heavy burden on children.
D
Mo was waiting in the corridor outside her class. She was feeling sick. She had tow exams that day and physics was first .She really hated physics. It was her worst subject. Terry Looked back at her from the front of the line, and then looked away quickly. Mo thought she looked guilty. She didn't have a problem with physics, She didn't have a problem with anything ...Miss Perfect!
"Hi, Mo,it's your foavourite exam today "said Nima, laughing as she joined the line .Terry was looking at Mo again ."So what's wrong with her? "asked Nima."I thought you were friends." "Yes, so did I,"said Mo. "I)ut she hasn't spoken to me for two weeks now. She promised to help me review for the physics exam too, but then she's ignored all my calls and texts .And when I rang her house, her mum just told me she was busy. She's forgotten who her friends are!"said Mo angrily. "Are you listening to me?"Mr. Reed was talking to the class and the other students were going into the exam room. Mo gave Nima a worried look and followed them.
Mo couldn't answer question number five. She looked up and saw Terry sitting two rows in front of her. Mo couldn't believe it! Terry was holding her phone on her knee under the table and reading from it. Is that how Terry always got such good grades? She felt really angry at Terry, but she didn't know what to do. She thought about telling the teacher, but what would everyone else think of her? "Stop writing and put your pens down"said Mr. Reed as he started to collect the exam papers. Oh no, Mo hadn't answered two of the questions. She was going to fail again!
Mo wanted to talk to Terry at lunch time, but she couldn't find her anywhere. The next exam was history. That was Mo's favourite subject but she wasn't feeling good. Mo went to the library to study, but she couldn't concentrate. She didn't know what to do about Terry. She thought about telling a teacher, but everyone would hate her if she did that. "It wasn't fair! "she thought. "Terry was getting good grades by cheating all that time. "thought Mo. Just then, Mr. Reed walked past her table. "Mr. Reed. . . "
Mo was sitting behind Terry again in the history exam that afternoon. Mo was feeling terrible. Why had she told Mr. Reed? But it was too late now. And anyway, Terry didn't want to be her friend ! Mr. Reed wanted her to look at him and nod if she saw that Terry was cheating in the exam. She was working on the last question when she saw that Terry had her phone under the table Without thinking, Mo looked up and nodded to Mr. Reed. Terry was too busy looking at her phone and she didn't hear him as he walked silently up to her table. Mr. Reed didn't say anything. He jus picked up her exam paper, tore it in half and pointed to the door, to tell Terry to leave the room. Terry was crying as she walked to the door. Everyone was staring at her and Mo felt really guilty now. Why did she tell Mr. Reed?
Mo was walking towards the school gate, when she heard footsteps behind her. It was Terry. "Mo, please wait I want to talk to you. " Mo could see that Terry had been crying, her face was pale and her eyes were red. Mo couldn't say a word. "Listen,"said Terry. "I'm really sorry I haven't answered any of your calls, but we're having a terrible time at home. My dad had a heart attack two weeks ago and he's in hospital. He had a big heart operation today and I was very worried about him. I know it was stupid, but I was reading texts from my mum to see how the operation was going, but Mr. Reed caught me with my phone. He thought I was cheating. He believes me now, but I have to take the exam again. I'm sorry I didn't tell you what was happening. I haven't forgotten that you're a good friend'. Will you forgive me?“
55. At the beginning of the story Mo felt sick most probably because ______.
A.Terry was looking at her form the front of the line
B. she was worried that she would fail the physics exam
C. she had to take two different exams within one day
D. she had been waiting in the line for too long a time
56. Who does "Miss Perfect" in the first paragraph refer to?
A. Mo B. Nima C. Terry D. Terry's mum
57. It can be inferred from the above passage that
A. students didn't like those who were not faithful to their friends
B. Mr. Reed was a strict teacher who never corrected his mistakes
C. The physics exam was much more difficult than the history exam
D. Mo was angry because Nima laughed at her relationship with Terry
58. Terry didn't help Mo review for the physics exam because
A. she didn't consider Mo as a true friend
B. she herself was quite bad at physics
C. she had to look after her sick father
D. she was selfish and hated to waste time
59. At the end of the story Mo probably felt
A. confident and optimistic B. glad and inspired
C. sad and angry D. regretful and guilt
60. What lesson can we learn from this passage?
A. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
B. Friendship should be based on trust.
C. Old friends and old wines are the best.
D. A life without a friend is a life without a sun.
