Rowena and Billy Wrangler are model high school students. They study hard and do extremely well on achievement tests. And next year, Rowena will be attending Harvard University. Billy, her younger brother, hopes to go to Cornell. What makes Rowena and Billy different from most students is that they don’t go to school. In fact, they’ve never been to school. Since kindergarten, they’ve studied at home. Neither Rowena nor Billy feels as if they’ve missed out on anything by being taught at home. Like many of more than one million people who receive home schooling in the United States, they feel as if they’ve gotten a good education. The home-schooling trend began in the U. S. in the 1980s with parents keeping their children out of public schools so they could provide religious education at home. Today, as the home-schooling trend continues to grow, parents are more likely to consider home schooling as an option because they believe schools don’t do a very good job of teaching and are occasionally dangerous places. But can parents really do a better job? The answer in many cases is yes. In many studies, students taught at home ranked average or above average when compared to students who went to public schools. More importantly, these students were often more self-directed and have a greater depth of knowledge. “They are very well prepared for academic challenges, “ says Patricia Riordan, the dean of admissions at George Mason University. One such student, Robert Conrad, now a sophomore at university, claims he really learned how to study and schedule his time during his eight years of home schooling. Still, not every student is as successful as Robert. “For every home-schooling success story, there are an equal number of failures, “ states Henry Lipscomb, an educational researcher. “There are just so many disadvantages that students taught at home have to overcome. “ For example, they have fewer chances to interact with others of their own age. Consequently, they sometimes lack the usual social skills. “No matter what, though, “ states Lipscomb, “home-schooling is a growing trend. I think we’ll be seeing more and more of this. “

What does the telegram say?M: Something very unusual happened to me this morning. W: Really? What was it? M: I was studying in the classroom when Tom came rushing in. W: Yes? M: He told me there was a telegram for me at the gate house! Someone was ill in my family. W: Goodness me! I hate telegrams. They seldom bring any good news. M: Yes, that’ s just how I felt. My legs turned to water, so I asked Tom to accompany me to the school gate. W: I can imagine how you felt. M: So when I tore the telegram open, my fingers were trembling. W: Dear me! M: But when I read the telegram, I just couldn’ t make heads or tails out of it. W: How strange! What did it say? M: It said: Return immediately. Uncle seriously ill. W: Oh, I am sorry to hear that. M: But the surprising part about it is that I have no uncle. W: Indeed! M: I could hardly believe my own eyes. But it was written there in black and white. Then I happened to glance at the address to a “Carl“ , not “Carol“. W: Well, I never! M: You can never imagine how relieved I was. W: Yes. What a relief! But what did Tom have to say? M: Tom was so embarrassed. He kept apologizing all the way back. W: He has always been quite careless. Return immediately for his parents missed him badly. Return immediately for his aunt is expecting him. Return immediately for something unusual happened at home. Return immediately for his uncle was seriously ill at home.

What will the man do tonight?W: Bill, is that really you? I haven’t seen you for months. M: Hello, Christina. Yes, it has been a long time. Good to see you. How have you been? W: I’ ve been okay. I’ ve just been so busy with school. We really should get together and catch up. How about joining me for dinner tonight? M: I’ d love to, but I’ m taking off for Miami at 8: 00 tonight if everything goes well. I’ m going home because my brother is getting married on Saturday morning. W: That’ s great. Congratulations! I hope that you have a nice time at home. You’ll just have to take a rain check on that dinner invitation. M: Well, what are you doing now? Maybe we can go to the coffee shop and chat for a while. There is an attractive, little place I know of down the street. W: I really wish I could, but I’ m on my way to the tennis courts. M: Tennis courts? I didn’t know you could play tennis. W: It sounds like that, but actually I can’ t. I’m taking lessons so I can learn. My roommate is on the tennis team and she’ s gotten me interested in the sport. Do you know how to play? M: A little, but I haven’t played for years. I really like the game, though. When I come back from my trip, I think I’ll join you in taking lessons. W: It’ s a deal. Just give me a call when you get back. M: You got it. He will return to his hometown. He will play tennis. He will join the woman for dinner. He will go to a coffee shop with the woman.

About 10 years ago I met an advertising executive in New York who explained the difficulty of advertising a new brand of deodorant(除臭剂)to consumers. “Most people never change their deodorant, “I remember him saying. “They pick one brand when they are young, and stick with it for a long, long time. If it works, why switch?“ 【B1】______Once they have picked a type of phone, whether it’ s Apple iOS, Google Android or something else, it’ s difficult, and often expensive, to switch. Consumers become comfortable with the interface and design of the phone and the apps they have purchased on that platform. 【B2】______ That is why the race to pull in smartphone buyers is going to be especially severe over the next 18 to 24 months.【B3】______there are still hundreds of millions of mobile phone owners around the world who have yet to move from a standard mobile or feature phone to its smarter, more intelligent big brother:the smart phone. Yet the change is happening at a much quicker pace than technology analysts and companies originally theorized. A report issued this week by Nielsen, the market research firm, found that among Americans【B4】______55 percent opted for a smart phone. This is up from 34 percent a year ago. At this point, who will lead that market is not up for debate. Android has been growing at a pace no one could have imagined, even Google. The company said this week that it now activates more than 500,000 Android devices each day. Mr. Llamas said Apple, which changed the smart phone game in 2007 when it introduced the iPhone, potentially has a ceiling with consumers as its mobile phone is often more expensive than those of its competitors. Although millions of customers flock to Apple products for their beauty, simplicity and powerful brand, many can’t afford a new iPhone. This could change【B5】______as some analysts expect. “ Right now the iPhone only comes in one flavor; it’ s not like other Apple products like the iPod where there are several different sizes, shapes and prices, “ Mr. Llamas said. [A]Although it may seem that everyone owns a smart phone these days, [B]if Apple offers a less expensive model of the iPhone later this year, [C]If it works, why switch? [D]who purchased a new mobile phone in the last three months, [E]The smart phone race is still raging. [F]The same theory can be applied to customers who are making the switch to smart phones today. [G]iPhone is too expensive for most people.

What are these people planning to do?W: I can’t make it now. Is tomorrow evening all right? M: I guess so. The movie will be here through next week. To see a movie. To make some coffee. To borrow money. To prepare a dinner party.

When Carly Fiorina became Hewlett Packards first female chief executive officer, the existence of her househusband, Frank Fiorina, who had retired early from AT&T to support her career, was a minisensation(小轰动); now this arrangement isn’ t【C1】______at all. Seven of the 18 women who are【C2】______CEOs of Fortune 500 companies—including Xerox’ s Ursula Burns and PepsiCo’ s Indra Nooyi—have, or at some point have had, a stay at home husband. So do scores of【C3】______CEOs of smaller companies and women in other senior executive jobs. This role change is【C4】______more and more as women edge past men at work. Women now【C5】______a majority of jobs in the US, including 51. 4 percent of managerial and professional【C6】______, according to US Census Bureau data. Some 23 percent of wives now earn more than their husbands. And this earnings trend is more dramatic among younger people. Women 30 and under make more money, on【C7】______than their male counterparts(年龄相当的人)in many large cities in the US. During the recent【C8】______, three men lost their jobs for every woman. Many unemployed fathers have ended up caring for their children full-time while their wives are the【C9】______wage earners. The number of men in the US who【C10】______care for children under age five increased to 32 percent in 2010 from 19 percent in 1988, according to Census figures. [A]appealing[B]average [C]conflict[D]currently [E]elementary[F]ensure [G]female[H]fill [I]occupations[J]occurring [K]positions[L]primary [M]recession[N]regularly [O]unusual

Simon: I work not because I like it but that I have to, so I often count the minutes until stopping work or holidays. However, my sister is totally different. She enjoys her work so much that she often spends extra time on her job even take work home with her. I think she is so crazy about work just as some people are about drugs or alcohol. I could hardly understand it. Matthew: Work is a core element of our lives. It gives us a sense of identity in the larger world outside the personal circle of family and friends. However, there are some people for whom work occupies an even more central place in their lives. Workaholics are a stereotype of modern life, and they are both praised and criticized. On the one hand, it may be the accepted way of earning promotion. On the other hand, workaholics are often viewed as neglecting aspects of life such as family and leisure that are important for maintaining a healthy equilibrium. Andrew: In cities, workaholism is so common that people do not regard it as unusual. I think workaholics prefer to work rather than do anything else because they don’ t know how to kill time if they don’ t work. They can only get pleasure from work. Work is everything for them. Colin: Workaholism is dangerous in a sense because it can cause some problems. First of all, workaholics often have health problems because they don’ t have time to relax and keep themselves occupied all the time. Secondly, their family life is not happy since they spend little time with their family. Their marriage may even ends in divorce. Vincent: Being a workaholic can mean you achieve great things, but more people achieve great things without being addicted to work. Workaholics need time away from work and when I say “ away from“ I mean psychologically distanced from it as well as physically. If you are still obsessing about work when you should be focused on your loved ones or an outside of work activity then you are still basically working. Statements [A]Some people appreciate those who pay almost all their attention on work. [B]If you don’t get rid of workaholism, you may get ill. [C]To get promotion, you need to be a workaholic. [D]Workaholics’ behaviors are hard to understand. [E]Workaholics had better have some time with no work. [F]It’ s hard for workaholics to be away from work psychologically. [G]Workaholics don’t know how to enjoy themselves except working.

You have made an appointment with Prof. Wang, but failed to keep it. Write a letter to your teacher. Your letter should include: 1)apologize for your failure to keep the appointment 2)explain your reason to your teacher 3)express your wish to make another appointment You should write approximately 100 words. Do not sign your name at the end of your letter. Use “Li Ming“ instead. You do not need to write the address.

Read the text below. Write an essay in about 120 words, in which you should summarize the key points of the text and make comments on them. Try to use you own words. Hengshui No. 2 High School in northeast China’ s Hebei province has installed metal bars on all balconies to prevent students from committing suicide. The move came after two students jumped to their deaths within six months. The high school is considered one of the best in the country. To guarantee that their students would be admitted by top universities, Hengshui No. 2 is run with military-style management. All students must get up at 5:30 a. m. and study 10 hours a day. All meals must be finished within 15 minutes and toilet breaks are less than three minutes. Pictures of the school’ s new balcony fences first appeared on Weibo last week, along with banners bearing inspiring slogans such as “ key to the success of the college entrance examination is to succeed every day in every subject and every question. “ Most Chinese netizens were shocked by the metal bars. They agreed that instead of installing metal bars, why doesn’ t the school provide psychological counseling and guidance? That may help! Some others think protecting students was not the school’ s first intention. The school is attempt to shirk responsibilities. However a few people showed understanding. They think that in a small city like Hengshui, succeeding in the college entrance examination is the only to lead to a bright future. If the students can survive it, they can make it.

How did the woman know about the Student Action Union?W: Hmm, hi. M: Hi, I’m going door to door tonight to tell people about the Student Action Union. Do you have a few minutes? W: Sure. You know, I think I read something in the newspaper last week. M: Yeah, there was an article about us since the last issue. See, we are trying to protect and preserve some of the open spaces on campus. W: That’ s right. You are the group that’ s opposing the extension of the parking lot next to Darwin Hall, right? M: That’ s us. We just feel it is important to save some of the natural beauty of the campus. Some of those trees are hundreds of years old. W: It’ s a pretty spot. My friends and I had picnics over there by the stream. M: Then you understand how we feel. We are going to organize a protest on Thursday afternoon to get the administration to reconsider the parking lot plan. W: Well, I have a class on Thursday afternoon. M: But maybe you could sign this appeal letter. We are going to submit it to the administration to demonstrate how the students feel about this. W: Sure, let me get a pen and I will sign it. M: I have a pen right here. And let me leave you this booklet about the Student Action Union. Maybe you could come to some of our meetings. We get together once a month. W: Yeah, I’ d like to know more about your group. Let me know when the next meeting is and I will try to be there. She knew about it by reading a booklet. She knew about it by reading a student union introduction. She knew about it by reading a newspaper. She knew about it by reading a magazine.

How did the name of “computer virus“ come into being?The computer virus is an outcome of the computer overgrowth in the 1980s. The cause of the term “computer virus“ is the likeness between the biological virus and the evil program infected with computers. The origin of this term came from an American science fiction The Adolescence of P- written by Thomas J. Ryan, published in 1977. Human viruses invade a living cell and turn it into a factory for manufacturing viruses. However, computer viruses are small programs. They expand by attaching a copy of themselves to another program. Once attached to the host program, the viruses then look for other programs to “infect“. In this way, the virus can spread quickly throughout a hard disk or an entire organization when it infects a LAN or a multi-user system. The timing of the attack can be linked to a number of situations, including a certain time or date, the presence of a particular file, the security level of the user, and the number of times a file is used. Likewise, the mode of attack varies. So called “benign“ or the harmless viruses might simply display a message, like the one that infected IBM’ s main computer system last Christmas with a season’ s greeting. Malignant or the harmful viruses are designed to damage the system. The attack is to wipe out data, to delete files, or to format the hard disk. There are several kinds of anti-virus software providing the services for prevent the virus from attacking your computer. So you should install the anti-virus software before your access to the Internet. It will be no use to install the software after you’ ve got infected. It resembles the biological virus. It works the same way as the human virus. It influences the human as the biological viruses do. It spreads to people who use the infected computers.

A smile is a strong sign of a friendly and open attitude and a willingness to communicate. It is a positive, silent sign sent with the hope the other person will smile back. When you smile, you show you have noticed the person in a positive way. The result? That person will usually smile back. You might not realize a closed position is the cause of many conversational problems. A common closed position is sitting with your arms and legs crossed and your hand covering your mouth or chin. This is often called the “thinking pose“. Ask yourself this question; Are you going to interrupt someone who appears to be deep in thought? This position gives off “stay away“ signs and prevents your main “sign sender“(your mouth)from being seen by others looking for inviting conversational signs. The open body position is most effective when you place yourself within communicating distance of the other person—that is, within about five feet. Take care, however, not to enter someone’s “personal space“ by getting too close, too soon. Leaning forward a little while a person is talking shows your interest and how you are listening to what the person is saying. By doing this, you are saying: I hear what you’re saying, and I’m interested in—keep talking! Often people will lean back with their hands over their mouth, chin, or behind their head in the “thinking“ pose. This position gives off signs of judgment, doubt, and lack of interest from the listener. Since most people do not feel comfortable when they think they are being judged, this leaning-back position serves to prevent the speaker from continuing. In many cultures the most common form of first contact between two people is a handshake. Be the first to extend your hand in greeting. Couple this with a friendly “Hello“ , a nice smile, and your name and you have made the first step to open the lines of communication. Eye contact should be natural, not forced or overdone. Direct eye contact shows you are listening to the other person and that you want to know about her.

Compared with other students, the most different thing Rowena and Billy do is that______.

At first in the 1980s parents gave home-schooling to children for______.

According to the article, what is NOT the advantage of being educated at home?

The writer thinks______.

The best title of this text might be______.