Galloway, a mostly middle-class community northwest of Atlantic City, is part of a wave of districts across the nation trying to remake homework amid concerns that high-stakes testing and competition for college have fueled a nightly grind that is stressing out children and depriving them of play and rest, yet doing little to raise achievement, particularly in elementary grades.
Such efforts have drawn criticism from some teachers and some parents who counter that students must study more, not less, if they are to succeed. Even so, the anti-homework movement has been reignited in recent months by the documentary Race to Nowhere, about burned-out students caught in a pressure-cooker educational system. "There is simply no proof that most homework as we know it improves school performance," said Vicki Abeles, the filmmaker and a mother of three from California. "And by expecting kids to work a ’second shift’ in what should be their downtime, the presence of schoolwork at home is negatively affecting the health of our young people and the quality of family time. "
So teachers at Mango Elementary School in Fontana, Calif., are replacing homework with "goal work" that is specific to individual student’s needs and that can be completed in class or at home at his or her own pace. The Brooklyn School of Inquiry, a gifted and talented program, has made homework optional. "I think people confuse homework with rigor," said Donna Taylor, the Brooklyn School’s principal, who views homework for children under 11 as primarily benefiting parents by helping them feel connected to the classroom.
Research has long suggested that homework in small doses can reinforce basic skills and help young children develop study habits, but that there are diminishing returns. Still, efforts to roll back homework have been opposed by those who counter that there is not enough time in the school day to cover required topics and that homework reinforces classroom learning. In Coronado, Calif. , the school board rejected a proposal by the superintendent to eliminate homework on weekends and holidays after some parents said that was when they had time to help their children and others worried it would result in more homework on weeknights.
Homework wars have divided communities for over a century. In the 1950s, the Sputnik launching ushered in heavier workloads for American students in the race to keep up with the Soviet Union. The 1983 report "A Nation at Risk" and, more recently, the testing pressures of the No Child Left Behind law, also resulted in more homework for children at younger ages. A few public and private schools have renounced homework in recent years, but most have sought a middle ground. In Galloway, the policy would stipulate that homework cover only topics already addressed in class. Dr. Giaquinto, Galloway’s superintendent, said the goal of the proposed policy was to make homework "meaningful and manageable," noting that teachers would have to coordinate assignments so that a student’s total homework would not exceed the time limit.

The school board in Coronado believes that（）

A:reduction in homework does harm to students’ acquisition of basic skills B:students should have enough time in school day to study the required topics C:eliminating homework actually benefits nobody other than parents D:parents feel connected to school when their children do schoolwork at home

John is not (enough intelligent) to (pass) (this) (economics) class without help.

A:enough intelligent B:pass C:this D:economics

(Despite) the time of (the year), the temperature was (enough hot) to (turn on) the air-conditioner.

A:Despite B:the year C:enough hot D:turn on

Jill lived with her grandma. The old woman was strong enough that she could do everything herself at home.
As soon as Jill began to tidy the rooms or wash something, her grandma stopped her and told her to work hard at her lessons. Jill had to listen to her grandma and spent all her time on her study. So she went to college at last.
Now the girl has left college. She did well in all her subjects and easily found work in Mr. Brown’s company. She was sure Mr. Brown would put her in an important position(位置).
On the first day the boss gave her a broom and said, "Your first work is to sweep the offices. "
"What" the girl called out in surprise," I’m a college student, you know. "
"I’m sorry I don’t know that. Here, give me the broom and let me show you!/
Jill had enough time, so ______.

A:she put her heart into her study B:she had time to rest C:she could play games D:she did not learn to do the housework

When you are learning English, listening, speaking and writing are important, but reading can also be very helpful. When you read, you can not only learn some new words, but also you can learn how to use these English words. When you read, it gives you a good example for writing.
Good reading tips.
Try to read at the right level(水平). Read something that you can(more or less) understand. If you need to stop every three words to use a dictionary, it is not interesting.
Try to increase the number of your new words. If there are four or five new words on a page, write them in your notebook. But you don’t have to write them while you read. Instead, try to guess their meaning as you read: mark them with a pen. Then come back when you have finished reading to look them up in a dictionary and write them in your own vocabulary book. Then try to remember them.
Try to read regularly. For example, read for a short time once a day. Fifteen minutes every day is better than two hours every Sunday. Fix(固定的) a time to read and keep to it. You could read for fifteen minutes when you go to bed, or when you get up or at lunchtime.
Read what interests you. Choose a book or a magazine about a subject that you like, because you are going to spend time and money reading it. So, choose an interesting book. You can also read newspapers. There are many English newspapers in China. For example, 21 st Century Teens. It is easy enough for you to understand it. There is something interesting in it.
To make your reading better, ______.

A:it’s enough for you to read 21st Century Teens B:only read a magazine about a subject that you like C:you should read something that you like for a short time once a day at least D:reading English for two hours every Sunday is much better than for a short time once a day

Passage 2 Newspapers are not only as popular today as they were in the past. There are not many people who seriously read a newspaper every day. Most people read only the sports pages, the advice or gossip columns, the comics and perhaps the classified advertisements. Most people dont take the time to read the real news. Newspaper editors say that their readers are lazy. They say they have to trick people into reading the news. They attempt to catch the readers interest with pictures and exciting headlines. These techniques are used on the front page because it is the first thing you see when you pick up the paper. The first page attracts attention and encourages the reader to look through the rest of the paper. This is why editors always look for a good first page story and headlines that make you stop and look. If the headline is horrible enough or frightening enough or wild enough, perhaps you will go on to read the rest of the story. Just the same, there are a lot of people who do not even read the front page anymore. They may read the headlines, but that is all. Then they turn to the sports page, or comics, or advertisements. It seems that people do not want the news from a newspaper anymore. They say they get the news on the television now. More people watch television news because it is easier and more interesting than reading a newspaper. What about you？ Do you read news from a newspaper Do you watch the news on television Do you think it easier to get the news from television Do you listen to the radio or do you even care about news at all Would you mind if there were no news

A lot of newspaper readers do not even read the front page anymore because .（）

A:they don’t have time B:they are lazy C:the front page is not attractive enough D:the headines are too horrible and frightening

When you are learning English, listening, speaking and writing are important, but reading can also be very helpful. When you read, you can not only learn some new words, but also you can learn how to use these English words. When you read, it gives you a good example for writing.
Good reading tips.
Try to read at the right level(水平). Read something that you can(more or less) understand. If you need to stop every three words to use a dictionary, it is not interesting.
Try to increase the number of your new words. If there are four or five new words on a page, write them in your notebook. But you don’t have to write them while you read. Instead, try to guess their meaning as you read: mark them with a pen. Then come back when you have finished reading to look them up in a dictionary and write them in your own vocabulary book. Then try to remember them.
Try to read regularly. For example, read for a short time once a day. Fifteen minutes every day is better than two hours every Sunday. Fix(固定的) a time to read and keep to it. You could read for fifteen minutes when you go to bed, or when you get up or at lunchtime.
Read what interests you. Choose a book or a magazine about a subject that you like, because you are going to spend time and money reading it. So, choose an interesting book. You can also read newspapers. There are many English newspapers in China. For example, 21 st Century Teens. It is easy enough for you to understand it. There is something interesting in it.
To make your reading better, ______.

A:it’s enough for you to read 21st Century Teens B:only read a magazine about a subject that you like C:you should read something that you like for a short time once a day at least D:reading English for two hours every Sunday is much better than for a short time once a day

Passage 2 Newspapers are not only as popular today as they were in the past. There are not many people who seriously read a newspaper every day. Most people read only the sports pages, the advice or gossip columns, the comics and perhaps the classified advertisements. Most people dont take the time to read the real news. Newspaper editors say that their readers are lazy. They say they have to trick people into reading the news. They attempt to catch the readers interest with pictures and exciting headlines. These techniques are used on the front page because it is the first thing you see when you pick up the paper. The first page attracts attention and encourages the reader to look through the rest of the paper. This is why editors always look for a good first page story and headlines that make you stop and look. If the headline is horrible enough or frightening enough or wild enough, perhaps you will go on to read the rest of the story. Just the same, there are a lot of people who do not even read the front page anymore. They may read the headlines, but that is all. Then they turn to the sports page, or comics, or advertisements. It seems that people do not want the news from a newspaper anymore. They say they get the news on the television now. More people watch television news because it is easier and more interesting than reading a newspaper. What about you？ Do you read news from a newspaper Do you watch the news on television Do you think it easier to get the news from television Do you listen to the radio or do you even care about news at all Would you mind if there were no news

A lot of newspaper readers do not even read the front page anymore because .（）

A:they don’t have time B:they are lazy C:the front page is not attractive enough D:the headines are too horrible and frightening