Passage Three
It may look like just another playgroup, but a unique educational center in Manhattan is really giving babies something to talk about.“It’s a school to teach languages to babies and young children with games, songs—some of the classes also have arts and crafts,”said Francois Thibaut, the founder of the Langrage Workshop for Children, a place where babies become bilingual.
Children as young as few months are exposed to French and Spanish before many of them can even speak English. Educators use special songs and visual(视觉的)aids to ensure that when a child is ready to talk, the languages will not be so foreign. “Children have a unique capacity to learn many languages at the same time,”said Thibaut.“Already at nine months, a child can tell the differences between the sounds he or she has heard since birth and the sounds he or she has never heard yet.”Thibaut says the best time to expose children to language is from birth to 3 years old. For the last 30 years, the school has been using what it calls the Thibarut Technique, a system that combines language lessons with child’s play.
“I always wanted to learn Spanish, but by the time I got to high school it was too late to pick it up and speak fluently,”said Marc Lazare, who enrolled his son at the school. “I figured at this age, two, it’s a perfect time for him to learn.”
Aside from learning a language, the kids also gain a tremendous sense of confidence. One young student boasted that aside from French, she can speak five languages (though that included “monkey”and“lion”). The school gives children the tools to communicate, and sometimes that gives them an advantage over their parents.“I think they sometimes speak French when they think I won’t understand them,”said parent Foster Gibbons.
Depending on the age group, classes run from 45 minute up to 2 hours. Even when students are not in class, the program is designed to make sure the learning continues at home. Tapes and books are included so kids can practice on their own.
46. The word“bilingual”in the first paragraph probably means .
A. capable of using two languages
B. both clever and confident
C. aware of their own limitations and strengths
D. independent of their parents
47. The passage tells us that the best time for a child to learn languages is .
A. before seven years old B. from birth to three years old
C. in his childhood D. in his teens
48. According to Thibaut, it is possible .
A. for children to take advantage of their parents by using a foreign language
B. to expose children to a foreign language after they can speak English
C. to combine language lessons with sports games
D. for children to learn several languages at the same time
49. The school teaches language by .
A. exposing children to the new environment
B. using modern facilities and equipment
C. combining language lessons with games
D. giving children confidence
50. The best title for this text is .
A. A Unique Language School for Children
B. The Foreign Language for Children to Learn
C. Special Songs and Visual Aids in Learning
D. The Best Way to Learn a Foreign Language
Passage Four
The girls in this sixth grade class in East Palo Alto, California, all have the same access to computers as boys. But researchers say, by the time they get to high school, they are victims of what the researchers call a major new gender (性别) gap in technology. Janice Weinman of the American Association of University Women says,“Girls tend to be less comfortable than boys with the computer. They use it more for word processing rather than for problem solving, rather than to discover new ways in which to understand information.”
After re-examining a thousand studies, the American Association of University Women researchers found that girls make up only a small percentage of students in computer science classes. Girls consistently rate themselves significantly lower than boys in their ability and confidence in using computers. And they use computers less often than boys outside the classroom.
An instructor of a computer lab says he’s already noticed some differences. Charles Cheadle of Cesar Chavez School says, “Boys are not so afraid they might do something that will harm the computer, whereas girls are afraid they might break it somehow.”
Six years ago, the software company Purple Moon noticed that girls’ computer usage was falling behind boys. Karen Gould says,“The number one reason girls told us they don’t like computer games is not that they’re too violent, or too competitive. Girls just said they’re incredibly boring.”
Purple Monn says it found what girls want, characters they can relate to and story lines relative to what’s going on in their own lives. Karen Gould of Purple Moon Software ways,“What we definitely found from girls is that there is no intrinsic (固有的) reason why they wouldn’t want to play on a computer;it was just a content thing.”
The sponsor of the study says it all boils down to this:the technology gender gap that separates the girls from the boys must be closed if women are to compete effectively with men in the 21st century.
51. According to the passage, girls are victims of the gender gap in technology because
.
A. they can not discover new ways to use computers
B. they have the same access to computers as boys
C. they are likely to be less comfortable with computers
D. they can only use computers for word processing
52. Girls often feel
.
A. bored with computer games
B. comfortable using computers
C. it hard to use computers in word processing
D. worried about using computers
53. The research on girls and computers is
.
A. based on a few recent articles B. presented by one person
C. based on thousands of studies D. not considered well grounded
54. The software company seems to think
.
A. if girls had an equal chance of playing games, they would like computers
B. if the software was more violent, girls would be more interested
C. if the software content was changed, girls would be more interested
D. if the character were funny, girls would like them better
55. The gender gap needs to be closed because
.
A. it isn’t fair that boys are allowed to use computers all the time
B. there isn’t enough money for upgrading computers
C. most of the causes may boil down to a question of money
D. the ability to use computers is important in today’s world
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