第1篇

Losing Weight

Girls as young as 1 0 years old are dieting and in danger of developing unhealthy attitudes
about weight，body image and food，a group of Toronto researchers reported Tuesday．
Their study of 2,279 girls aged 10 to 14 showed that while the vast majority had healthy
weights，nearly a third felt they were overweight and were trying to lose pounds．Even at the tender agez of 10，nearly 32 per cent of girls felt“too fat'’and 31 per cent said they were trying to diet．
McVey，a researcher at．the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto，and her colleagues
analyzed data collected in a number of surveys of southern Ontario school girls between 1 993 and 2003，reporting their findings in Tuesday’s issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal．
Nearly 80 per cent of the girls had a healthy body weight and only 7．2 per cent were
considered overweight using standard weight-to．height ratios．Most researchers suggest the rate of overweight children in this country is several times higher than that figure．
Nearly 30 per cent of the girls reported they Were currently trying to lose weight，though few admitted to dangerous behavior such as self-induced vomiting．
Still，a test that measured attitudes towards eating showed 10．5 per cent of survey
Participants were already at risk of developing an eating disorder．
‘'We’re not talking about kids who’ve been prescribed a diet because they’re above average weight or overweight. We’re talking about children who are within a healthy weight range。And they have taken it upon themselves to diet to lose weight，”McVey said，acknowledging she found the rates disturbing．She said striking a balance between healthy weights and healthy attitudes towards food and body image is a complex task，with no easy solutions．

词汇：
overweight adj．超重的；过重的
induce vt．引起，导致
prescribe vt．处方；开药；嘱咐

1．The study showed that most of the girls
A)were overweight．
B) were on a diet．
C)had unhealthy attitudes about weight
D)had a healthy body weight．

2．What percentage of the girls considered themselves overweight?
A)Nearly 80 percent．
B)7．2 percent．
C)Nearly 30percent．
D)10．5 percent．

3．The survey participants were girls
A)whowere 10．
B)who were 14．
C)who were 10 to 14．
D)who were 10 to 18．

4． What kind of institution does the lead researcher work with?
A)A schoo1．
B)A hospital．
C)An association．
D)A charity．

5． Unhealthy attitudes about weight，body image and food may
A)lead to an eating disorder．
B)result from self-induced vomiting．
C)make it easier to gain weight．
D)bring about greater competition．

第2篇

Mother knows Best

Once while being prepped‘ for a television interview,1 was chatting with the host about stay—at—home fathers．I made the point that one reason we’re seeing more stay．at．home dads may be that it’s no longer a given that a man makes more money than his wife．Many families now take earning power into account when deciding which parent will stay home．
At that point，one of the male crew members commented，almost to himself but loud enough for my benefit，“It should be the better parent who stays home．”A 10t of guys say things like that．Usually it’s code for。，”My wife(read：any woman)is the better parent．”
1 was a stay-at-home father for eight years。so his declaration made me bristle．It implied mat our family’s choice could only have been correct if was a“better”parent than my wife．
I think men shoot themselves in the foot with this kind of thinking4．I suppose an argument could have been made that when I began staying home my wife was the“better”parent：She had spent more time with Ry，could read him better and calm him more quickly．And given a choice，he’d have picked her over me。．But as she was the more employable one．my wife went out to work and looked after our son．
Know what? I caught up．Because of the increased time I spent with him，I soon knew Ry well，understood what he needed and could 100k after him more or less as well as my wife could．Actually, the experience helped me unlock one of the world’s great secrets。：Women are good at looking after children because they do it．It’s not because。of any innate female aptitude or a mother’s instinct--which I think is mostly learned anyway．It’s because they put in the time and attention required to become good at the job．
Women obviously get a biological head start from giving birth and nursing，but over the long term experience is more important．Ⅵmen I got the experience myself,1 was good．too．As good? I don’t know．Who cares? Children are not made of glass．Other people are capable of looking after them besides Morn．
词汇：
host n．(电视)主持人
given n．假定的事实，已知的情况
aptitude n．天资，才能
biological adj．生物的
nursing n．抚养，喂养
bristle v．紧张；激动
innate adj．内在的
instinct n．本能
head start n．占先，领先
练习：
1．Which of the following does the first paragraph imply?
A)Men are no longer given the opportunity to stay at home．
B)In more and more families the wife earning more than the husband．
C)111e author works at a TV station．
D)More and more men choose to stay at home to look after their children．
2．The author decided to stay at home to look after their son eight years ago because
A)he though the was the better parent．
B)it was easier for his wife to find a job． -
C1 their sonly liked him better．
D)he was earning less than his wife．
3．which of the following is NOT mentioned as a thing that a good parent should do with his
or her child? ?
A)Spending more time with him．
B)Taking’ him to sch001.
C)Reading stories to him．
D)Being able to calm him down．
4．Women generally are better than men at taking care of children because
A)they were born with the ability．
B)they just enjoy doing it．
C)they spend more time with them．
D)they have learned to do it at sch001．
5．which of the following is the conclusion the author draws at the end of the article?
A)He is better than his wife at taking care of children．．
B)He is as good as his wife at taking care of children．
C)Anyone Can take good care of children as far as he has the experience．
D)Children prefer to be taken care of by their mother than by anyone else．

第3篇

Goal of American Education

Education is all enormous and expensive part of American life. Its size is matched by its variety.
Differences in American schools compared with those found in the majority of other
countries lie in the fact that education here has long been intended for everyone—not just
for a privileged elite. Schools ale expected to meet the needs of every child, regardless
of ability,and also the needs of society itself．This means that public schools offer more
than academic subjects．It surprises many people when t11ey come here to find high schools
offering such courses as typing，sewing，radio repair, computer programming or driver training，along with traditional academic subjects such as mathematics，history, and languages．Students choose their curricula depending on their interests，future goals，and level of ability．The underlying goal of American education is to develop every child to the utmost of his or her own possibilities，and to give each one a sense of civic and community consciousness。．
Schools have traditionally played an important role in creating national unity and
“Americanizing”the millions of immigrants who have poured into this country from many
different backgrounds and origins. Schools still play a large role in the community, especially in the small towns．
The approach to teaching may seem unfamiliar to many, not only because it is informal，
but also because there is not much emphasis on learning facts．Instead，Americans try to
teach their children toⅡ1ink for themselves and to develop their own intellectual and
creative abilities．Students spend much time，learning how to use resource materials libraries, statistics and computers．Americans believe that if children are taught to reason well and to research well, they will be able to find whatever facts they need throughout the rest of their lives．Knowing how to solve problems is considered more important than the
accumulation of facts．
This is America’s answer to the searching question that thoughtful parents all over the world are asking themselves in the fast-moving time：“How Can one prepare today’s child for a tomorrow that one can neither predict nor understand?”