上海市回民高级中学校2022-2023学年高一下学期英语期中...

According to a research, the average reading score of students in the USA this year declined in comparison to the previous study last year. The study indicates that there is a significant1in reading ability levels in grades 7-12. The result confirms what American secondary teachers have been saying, that both high and low achieving students are often unmotivated to read. This2of motivation has been the major reason for their poor reading ability.

Perhaps it is no surprise to researchers that the decline in reading ability3American students' decreasing freedom in choosing reading method and time. One of the best ways to deal with the situation is for teachers to provide time in the academic day for voluntary reading of texts. There may be objections to the use of already4academic time, but the research indicates that time spent reading in school5academic performance. Most students who are given    extra reading time in school get higher scores in reading tests. This is true even for the "light" or 6reading of young adult literature.

An argument for providing7 in the school day for reading  practice  is  the comparison to the necessary practice one needs in order to become skilled at a sport: the increased practice hours increase performance. Even 10 minutes a day of reading can have dramatic effects by simply 8 students to multiple texts. Ten minutes of daily book reading in middle school will increase about 700,000 words of reading each year for a student. And this additional volume of reading can bring huge9to the students.

Besides, compared with the crowded casual classroom environment, independent reading libraries in school can help students produce a sense of being10. Students can discover authors, explore topics that11them, and improve their reading habits.

The research concludes that there are millions of students who do not have the basic reading12that are needed to locate relevant information or make simple judgement. The effects of underdeveloped reading ability on the student and on the economy of the American society can mean the13of billions of dollars in wages and earnings over a lifetime.

Therefore, secondary educators need to guide students to associate reading with enjoyment by offering time and choices. This14can result in making reading a desired activity and   making students15to read.

I was grocery shopping recently in my hometown, N.Y., when I heard a young voice rise. "Mom, come here, you've gotten see this! There's this lady here my size!"

The mother was mortified and rushed to a boy she called Mikey, who looked to be about seven; then she turned to me to apologize. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

I smiled and told her, "It's okay." Then I looked at her wide-eyed son and said, "Hi, Mikey, I'm Darryl Kramer. How are you?"

He studied me from head to toe, and asked, "Are you a little mommy?" "Yes, I have a son," I answered.

"Why are you so little?" he asked.

"It's the way I was made," I said.

It takes only one glance to see my uniqueness. I stand three feet, nine inches tall. I am an achondroplasia dwarf (软骨发育不全的侏儒). Like most achondroplasia dwarfs, I have two average-height parents, as well as an average-height brother. When I was born, my mother was told in the hospital that I was a dwarf. Not knowing a lot about dwarfism, my mom's main concern was my health. Our family doctor put her mind at ease when he told her he felt I would not have any major medical concerns. He was right.

When I was growing up, my parents encouraged me to do all the things the kids around me did. So when my neighbors got two-wheel bikes, I got a two-wheel bike. When they roller-skated, I roller-skated. I didn't see anything different in my parents' eyes about me. Why should I look at myself differently? Therefore, I just tried to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. I was determined to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. And when I accepted myself as I was, life wasn't that difficult after all. Most people around me were friendly and protective.

I'm 47 now, and it's the children's questions that make my life special. "Why are you so short? How old are you? Are you a mommy?" When I talk with children, they leave content that their questions have been answered.

My hope is that in taking time with them, I will encourage them to accept their peers, whatever size and shape they come in, to know that every human deserves due respect.

Classics for Kids--A concert for kids but open to all

Our annual children's concert is here again! Enjoy a delightful afternoon of light classical music by the Municipal Orchestra (MO) that is sure to impress the young ones and the adults as well.

1st to 3rd June 2 pm to 3:30 pm At the Esplanade

$20 for standard seats

$30 for premium seats

Ticketing office at the Esplanade

Online purchase from our website: www.tickets-online.org

Download the MO from our website and purchase your tickets via your smartphone.

10% discount if you book online by 1st May and receive a free CD. "Pomp and Circumstance", containing pieces that will not be played at the concert.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Jilly Santos set three successive alarms on her phone, skipped breakfast, and hastily packed everything while her father drove. But last year she rarely made it to the doors of Rock Bridge High School by the first bell, at 7:50 a.m.

Then she heard that the school board was about to make the day start even earlier, at 7:20 a.m.

"I think if that happens," recalled Jilly, 17. "I will have to drop out of school. And I will complain to the end!"

The nearly 20-year movement to start high schools later has recently gained momentum as hundreds of schools in dozens of districts across the country have adopted later school starting time.

These schools have referred to the accumulating research results on the adolescent body clock.  Evidence suggests that later high school starts have widespread benefits. Researchers at the University of Minnesota found that the later a school's start time, the better off the students were on many measures, including mental health, car crash rates, attendance and, in some schools, grades and standardized test scores.

"The research was not a randomized controlled trial. Its methods were practical and findings were promising. Even schools with limited resources can make this one policy change with what appears to be benefits for their students," Dr. Elizabeth Miller said.

Researchers have found that during adolescence, as hormones (荷尔蒙) rise and the brain develops, teenagers who regularly sleep eight to nine hours a night are less likely to be tardy, get in fights or sustain athletic injuries. Sleeping well can also help to stop their tendency toward uncontrolled or risky decision-making.

During adolescence, teenagers have a later release of the "sleep" hormone melatonin (褪黑素), which means they tend not to feel sleepy until around 11 p.m. This explains mainly for their late bed time and naturally leads to late rising time. Other minor factors include the presence of electronic devices, which excites the brain and slows the onset of sleep. The Minnesota study noted that 88 percent of the students kept a cellphone in their bedroom.

But many parents object to shifting the start of the day later. They say doing so makes sports practices end late, jeopardizes student jobs and bites into time for homework.

At heart, though, experts say, the resistance is driven by mistrust about the primacy of sleep. "It's still a badge of honor to get five hours of sleep," said Dr. Judith Owens. "It supposedly means you're working harder, and that's a good thing. So there has to be a cultural shift around sleep."

Is lying ever morally acceptable? However, there seem to be several instances in which lying seems the most moral choice. Besides, if a broad definition of "lying" is adopted, it seems completely impossible to escape lies.

According to authors such as Kant, a society that accepts lies is a society in which trust is destroyed. And the sense of collectivity is also harmed. However, A less questionable sort of cases in which lying is accepted includes so-called "white lies." In some circumstances, it seems better to tell a small lie than having someone worrying unnecessarily, or becoming sad. People accept these cases in terms of their results.

Some favourable attitudes toward lying come from the consideration of more dramatic situations. Consider the situation in which someone is angered, out of control, and asks you where she can find a friend of yours so that she can kill that friend. You know where the friend is and lying will help the angry lady calm down. Should you tell the truth? Once you start thinking about it, there are plenty of circumstances where lying seems to be morally excusable.

But who is to say whether the situation is qualified to excuse you from lying? There are plenty of circumstances in which humans seem to convince themselves of being able to be excused from lying. But in the eyes of their peers, they actually are not.

Today, many cases of lying may be seen as the outcome of self-cheating, perhaps a subconscious one.  Besides, once we broaden our definition for what a lie may be, we come to   see that lies are deeply-seated in our society. Clothing, makeup, plastic surgeries are all topics for discussion.

And people unhesitatingly accept them, or even welcome them.

Therefore, before you criticize lying, think again.