The most hopeful data shared in the report shows clear evidence of parents serving as examples and important guides for their kids when it comes to reading. Data shows that kids and teens who do read frequently, compared to infrequent readers, have more books in the home, more books purchased for them, parents who read more often, and parents who set aside time for them to read.
As the end of school approaches, and school vacation reading lists loom(逼近) ahead, parents might take this chance to step in and make their own summer reading list and plan a family trip to the library or bookstore.
28. What is the Common Sense Media report probably about? A. Children’s reading habits. B. Quality of children’s books. C. Children’s after-class activities. D. Parent-child relationships.
29. Where can you find the data that best supports “children are reading a lot less for fun”?
A. In paragraph 2. B. In paragraph 3. C. In paragraph 4. D. In paragraph 5. 30. Why do many parents limit electronic reading? A. E-books are of poor quality. B. It could be a waste of time.
C. It may harm children’s health. D. E-readers are expensive.
31. How should parents encourage their children to read more? A. Act as role models for them. B. Ask them to write book reports. C. Set up reading groups for them. D. Talk with their reading class teachers.
二、对点专练
Passage 1
Please take a few seconds and think of your personal biggest goal. Imagine telling someone you meet today what you’re going to do. Imagine their congratulations and their high image of you. Doesn’t it feel good to say it out loud? Don’t you feel one step closer already? Well, bad news: you should have kept your mouth shut, because that good feeling will make you less likely to do it.
Any time you have a goal, there is some work that needs to be done to achieve it. Ideally, you would not be satisfied until you’d actually done the work. But when you tell someone your goal and he acknowledges(认可) it, psychologists have found it’s called a “social reality”. The mind is kind of tricked into feeling that it’s already done. And then, because you’ve felt that satisfaction, you’re less motivated to do the actual hard work necessary. This goes against the traditional wisdom that we should tell our friends our goals, right?
In 1982, Peter Gollwitzer, a Professor of Psychology, wrote a whole book about this. And in 2009, he did some new tests that were published. It goes like this: 163 people across four separate tests — everyone wrote down their personal goal. Then half of them announced their commitment(许诺) to this goal to the room, and half didn’t. Then everyone was given 45 minutes of work that would directly lead them towards their goal, but they were told that they could stop at any time. Now those who kept their mouths shut worked the entire 45 minutes on average, and when asked afterwards, said they felt they had a long way to go to achieve their goal. But those who had announced it quit after only 33 minutes on average, and when asked afterwards, said that they felt much closer to achieving their goal.
1. What do the words “social reality” in Paragraph 2 mean? A. Completion of the goal. B. Necessary hard work. C. People’s acknowledgement. D.A sense of satisfaction. 2. What does Peter Gollwitzer try to tell us? A. Writing down the goal is very helpful. B. Achieving personal goal needs more time.
C. Keeping the goal secret makes people work harder. D. Making the goal public makes people less satisfied.
3. How did Peter Gollwitzer prove his idea about people’s goal? A. By giving figures. B. By giving examples.
C. By making a survey. D. By making comparison tests.
4. What will probably happen if you tell your friends your goal? A. You will be more confident. B. You will not gain satisfaction. C. You are less likely to realize it. D. You’ll be much more motivated.
Passage 2
Increasing numbers of airports, especially in Europe, are promoting a “silent airport” idea. It is to reduce noise pollution, such as airport-wide announcements, without sacrificing timely and helpful updates of information.
International airports were once characterized by their high voices, competing gate announcements and so on. This is all changing. Angela Gittens, director general of Airports Council International (ACI), says there is a growing desire among airports and airlines they serve to create a calm, relaxed atmosphere without being disturbed by announcements. “Passengers can relax while they wait for their flight to board in the common airside lounges(休闲区), and food and drink areas,” she says.
In June, Helsinki Airport in Finland — a country where the tourism slogan(口号) is “silence, please” — became the most recent airport to adopt the silent concept. As part of its commitment to quieting things down, announcements for flights are made only in boarding gate areas.
Lost track of time in the shops? Too bad.
Nobody’s going to call you to your flight, as announcements in all terminals will be made only in exceptional(尤其) emergency circumstances.