眾所周知，作文是英語考試的重中之重，而英語作文要提升的方法就是要多練習多背誦，我們可以多看看一下英語的文章，寫的時候可以靈活套用的話，就可以快速提高作文水平了。

　　課外閱讀1

　　Sending your child to piano or violin lessons in a bid to boost their academic achievement isa waste of money, according to scientists.

　　科學家稱，為了提高孩子的學習成績而把孩子送去學彈鋼琴或拉小提琴，純屬浪費錢。

　　Although research has shown that youngsters who take music lessons are more likely to be topof their class, psychologist Glenn Schellenberg claims this link is misleading.

　　盡管有研究顯示，學音樂的小孩更可能在班上名列前茅，但心理學家格倫•舍倫貝格指出，將這兩者聯(lián)系在一起有誤導性。

　　Instead, improved academic performance may be because brighter children from privilegedbackgrounds are more likely to learn an instrument, rather than music classes helping toboost their intelligence.

　　事實上，更優(yōu)秀的學習成績可能是因為這些家庭背景更優(yōu)越的小孩更聰明，更可能去學習樂器，而并非學音樂有助于提高他們的智力。

　　‘Music may change you a bit, but it’s also the case that different children take music lessons,’ said Professor Schellenberg of the University of Toronto, who added that parents’ education wasthe most influential factor on musicality.

　　多倫多大學的舍倫貝格教授說：“音樂也許能讓你有些改變，但是實際情形是，學音樂的小孩本就不同。”他補充說，父母的教育是對音樂才能最重要的影響因素。

　　‘Children who take music lessons come from families with higher incomes, they come fromfamilies with more educated parents, they also do more extra-curricular activities, they havehigher IQs, and they do better at school.’

　　“上音樂班的小孩來自收入更高的家庭，他們的父母受教育程度更高，他們參加的課外活動也更多，而且他們的智商也更高，在學校的成績也更好。”

　　In tests on 167 children who played piano or other instruments, they found their answer topersonality tests could predict how likely it was for them to continue their music lessons.

　　研究人員對167個彈鋼琴或其他樂器的小孩進行了性格測試，發(fā)現(xiàn)從他們的回答可以預測出他們繼續(xù)學音樂的可能性。

　　Those who were more outgoing and conscientious were more likely to continue to play.

　　那些性格更外向、更認真的小孩更可能繼續(xù)彈奏樂器。

　　‘We were motivated by the fact that kids who take music lessons are particularly goodstudents, in school they actually do better than you would predict from their IQ, so obviouslysomething else is going on,’ Professor Schellenberg told the American Association for theAdvancement of Science (AAAS) annual conference in Boston.

　　舍倫貝格教授在波斯頓舉行的美國科學促進會年會上說：“我們因為上音樂班的小孩學習成績特別好的事實而受到鼓舞，實際上這些小孩在學校的學習成績超出了他們的智商讓人產(chǎn)生的預期，所以顯然還有其他一些因素在起作用。”

　　‘So we thought that personality might be the thing.

　　“因此我們認為這一影響因素可能是性格。

　　Asked if so-called helicopter parents were wasting their money sending their children to musiclessons in the belief they could boost their school results, he said ‘yes’.

　　在被問及那些送孩子去上音樂班、以為這樣能提高孩子學習成績的“直升機父母”是否在浪費錢時，舍倫貝格教授回答說“是的”。

　　‘Clearly studying music changes the brain, but so does any learning. In fact, that is whatlearning is,’ he said.

　　他說：“無疑學音樂會改變大腦，但是學習其他任何東西也會這樣。事實上，學習本就如此。”

　　課外閱讀2

　　Spring Festival is a time to get together and do all the little things you enjoy.

　　春節(jié)是個團聚的日子，你可以盡情做點兒自己喜歡的事。

　　As most university students are packing their bags, boarding trains or flying home, some willstay behind to spend the holiday on campus.

　　當多數(shù)大學生都在打包行李、乘火車、坐飛機返鄉(xiāng)之時，還有一些人選擇留在校園里過寒假。

　　Zhou Yunyun, 22, a senior finance major at Jilin University, has decided that instead oftraveling to Hainan province he will kill the time by playing computer games with his onlinefriends.

　　就讀于吉林大學金融專業(yè)大四年級、22歲的周云昀(音譯)決定取消去海南的計劃，選擇與網(wǎng)友一起玩網(wǎng)游來過春節(jié)。

　　“I’m used to chatting and playing with them every day. We send each other gifts frequently. It’s just fun to make friends this way,” he said.

　　“我已經(jīng)習慣每天和他們打打游戲、聊聊天。我們經(jīng)常會給對方寄些小禮物。這種交友方式挺有趣的。”他說。

　　Zhou found it too expensive to fly all the way home, which would have cost him about 6,000 yuan for a return trip.

　　周云昀覺得坐飛機回家太貴了，往返機票大約要6000元。

　　Now he can save that money for job-hunting.

　　如今他可以把這些錢存下來，以備求職之需。

　　“When I returned home in past years, my relatives always asked me a lot of questions about myplans after graduation. They had high expectations for me, which made me feel stressed,” saidZhou.

　　“以前每年回家，親戚們都會盤問我畢業(yè)后打算做什么。他們對我期望很高，這讓我壓力很大。”周云昀說。

　　The campus, usually bustling with life, will probably turn into a ghost town, with mostrestaurants, shops and student centers closing during the break.

　　以往熙熙攘攘、人聲鼎沸的校園到了春節(jié)可能就會變成一座空城，因為大部分餐館、商店和學生中心都放假關門了。

　　But there are a few advantages, according to Jia Debao, 21, a junior majoring inadministration at China Agricultural University.

　　而中國農(nóng)業(yè)大學管理學專業(yè)大三學生、21歲的賈德寶(音譯)則認為冷清也有冷清的好處。

　　“I might feel a bit lonely, but at least I can stay away from my parents’ nagging and enjoy thepeace and quiet,” he said. “More importantly, I can enjoy the high speed of the Internet, I canalways find empty seats in classrooms, and I don’t have to wait to use the bathroom.”

　　“也許我會覺得有點孤單，但是至少我可以遠離父母的嘮叨，享受這份清凈。”他說，“更重要的是，網(wǎng)速很快，自習室里也不必擔心找不到空座，洗澡時也不用再排隊了。”

　　Students who are employed by universities will also stay on campus. Library assistant Lan Zini, 19, a sophomore majoring in law at Sichuan University, is one of them.

　　那些留校打工的學生們也會在校園里度過春節(jié)。來自四川大學法律專業(yè)大二年級、19歲的藍子霓(音譯)便是其中一員，他選擇留校做圖書館管理員。

　　“I will stock up on instant noodles before the holiday starts,” he explained. “That way I can stayin the dormitory all day long to watch movies and TV dramas.”

　　“我會在假期開始前囤好方便面。”他解釋說：“這樣我就可以整天宅在宿舍里看影視劇了。”

　　But education experts recommend students who stay on campus to come up with moreinteractive plans. That’s because communication in the virtual world can’t replace real lifeinterpersonal relationships.

　　但是教育專家建議校園留守族們應該多參加一些社交活動。因為虛擬世界中的溝通無法替代現(xiàn)實生活中的人際交往。

　　Society has promoted a kind of “couch potato” or shut-in culture among young people, according to Shi Tongyu, a researcher at the Journalism and Communication StudiesDepartment of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

　　中國社會科學院新聞傳播與研究所研究員石同宇(音譯)表示，當今社會，年輕人已然都崇尚一種“宅”文化。

　　He warned that this trendy lifestyle can damage students physiological and psychologicaldevelopment.

　　他提醒大家說，這種流行的生活方式會阻礙身心健康發(fā)展。

　　“When you constantly stare at a computer screen and type on your keyboard, you graduallylose the ability to socialize and survive normally,” said Shi.

　　石同宇說：“當你目不轉睛地盯著電腦，敲擊鍵盤時，你會逐漸喪失正常的社交以及生存能力。”

　　“A human’s most important task is to survive, which cannot be accomplished by staying athome all the time. Instead, it must be achieved through real life experience andcommunication.”

　　“人的首要任務是生存，而整日宅在家中是無法完成這個任務的。相反，這必須經(jīng)由真實生活體驗與溝通才能實現(xiàn)。”

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