C

In England children now start formal schooling at the age of 4.  Recently , around 130 education experts signed a letter. They advocated a delay to the start of formal schooling in England from the current effective start until the age of 7.

This is a brief review of the relevant research evidence which strongly supports a later start to formal education. This evidence relates to the benefits of playing to children’s development as learners, and the results of starting formal learning at the age of 4 to 5.

There are several strands of evidence which all point towards the importance of play in young children’s development, and the value of an extended period of playful learning before the start of formal schooling. These arise from anthropological, psychological, neuroscientific and educational studies. Previous studies have also shown the superior learning and motivation arising from playful approaches to learning in children. Programs based on play support children’s early development more powerfully than direct instruction. Physical and social play supports children in developing their skills of intellectual 智力的 and emotional “self-control”. Perhaps most worrying, a number of studies have shown the loss of play chances for children is linked with stress and mental health problems.

Within educational research, some studies have shown superior academic outcomes for children who had attended programs based on play. Among them is a particular study of 3000 children across England. It showed that an extended period of high quality, play-based pre-school education was of particular advantage to children from struggling households.

Studies have compared groups of children in New Zealand who started formal literacy lessons at ages 5 and 7. their results show that the early introduction of formal learning approaches to literacy does not improve children’s reading development, and may be damaging. By the age of 11 there was no difference in the reading ability level between the two groups. But the children who started at 5 developed less positive attitudes to reading. And they showed poorer reading skills than those who had started later. In a separate study of reading achievement in 15 year olds across 55 countries, researchers showed that there was no clear relationship between reading achievement and school entry age.

This body of evidence raises important and serious questions concerning the direction of travel of early childhood education policy currently in England. In the interests of children’s academic achievements and their emotional well-being,the UK government should take this evidence seriously.

59. What is the author’s attitude towards early school starting age?

A. Cautious    B. Approving   C. Disapproving    D. Unconcerned

60. The author develops this text mainly by______________

A. setting down general rules 

B. telling an interesting story

C. presenting research findings

D. providing examples

61. Compared with the current school starting age, a later age_____________

A. may lead to a lower level of academic achievment 

B. does a lot of good to children’s development

C. fails to attract the UK governmnt’s attention

D. has gained more support around the country

62. Which of the following shows the structure of the text?

D

 One baobab tree in South Africa is so large that a popular pub has been established inside its trunk. Many local cultures consider baobab trees to be sacred 神圣的. Others use them for their nutritious fruits, eatable leaves and beautiful flowers.

But the size has not necessarily protected them. According to research published in Biological Conservation, two of Madagascar’s baobab tree species will lose much of their available habitat in the next 70 years. One species may not survive to the next century. Madagascar is home to seven of the world’s eight baobab species, six of which can be found nowhere else.

The study-----by scientists from the French agricultural research center CIRAD--- relied on satellite images and field work to develop population estimates and distribution models for three babab species. All three trees are currently listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. The study suggests that two of the species should now be reclassified as seriously endangered.

One of those species, A. perrieri, had the lowest current population, with just 99 trees observed during ten years of field study. The researchers estimate that climate change will decrease the habitat of this species from about 21000 square kilometers today to just over 6500 square kilometers in 2080.

The second species, A.suarezensis, had a higher estimated current population of 15000 trees but a far smaller distribution area of just 1200 square kilometers. Based on climate change models, the researchers estimated that the distribution of this species will cover just 17 square kilometers by 2050 and could face potential extinction by 2080.

The one bright spot in their study was A.grandidieri, the largest and most populous baobab species. The researchers counted an estimated one million trees with a distribution of more than 26000 square kilometers. This isn’t expected to change much by 2050.

As the researchers point out, there’s nowhere left for the baobabs to go. Many baobab trees currently are in Protected Area Networks (PANs) established to preserve Madagascar’s biodiversity, but the areas outside many PANs have been almost completely changed to agriculture or cattle feeding areas, leaving no room for the trees to expand their distribution.

The researchers wrote that the existing PAN system in Madagascar“is not likely to be effective for biodiversity conservation in the future” because the PANs will not always contain the ecological features necessary for the survival of the species that live inside them today. They suggest that the PAN system will need to be adapted.

63. According to the text, baobab trees_________.

A. don’t bear fruits

B .can only be seen in Africa

C. are treated with respect in Madagascar

D. have about a dozen species 

64. It can be inferred from CIRAN’s study that_______________

A. it’s not easy to estimate baobab trees’ population

B. the IUCN Red List needs to be adjusted

C. satellite images are not totally reliable

D. field work plays a great role in saving baobab trees

65. Of the three baobab species researched by CIRAD,___________

  A. A.perrieri had the smallest distibution area

B. all of them currently are in PANs 

C. A. grandidieri is the least endangered species

D. A.suarezensis is likely to disappear in 2050

66.  What is the best title for the text?

A. There is an amazing big tree species in South Africa

B. Climate change could wipe out baobab trees in Madagascar.

C. Expanding baobab trees’ distribution is an urgent task

D. More efforts should be made to protect native wildlife
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