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众所周知，作文是英语考试的重中之重，而英语作文要提升的方法就是要多练习多背诵，我们可以多看看一下英语的文章，写的时候可以灵活套用的话，就可以快速提高作文水平了。
课外阅读1
Sending your child to piano or violin lessons in a bid to boost their academic achievement isa waste of money, according to scientists.
科学家称，为了提高孩子的学习成绩而把孩子送去学弹钢琴或拉小提琴，纯属浪费钱。
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.
尽管有研究显示，学音乐的小孩更可能在班上名列前茅，但心理学家格伦•舍伦贝格指出，将这两者联系在一起有误导性。
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.
事实上，更优秀的学习成绩可能是因为这些家庭背景更优越的小孩更聪明，更可能去学习乐器，而并非学音乐有助于提高他们的智力。
‘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.
多伦多大学的舍伦贝格教授说：“音乐也许能让你有些改变，但是实际情形是，学音乐的小孩本就不同。”他补充说，父母的教育是对音乐才能最重要的影响因素。
‘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.’
“上音乐班的小孩来自收入更高的家庭，他们的父母受教育程度更高，他们参加的课外活动也更多，而且他们的智商也更高，在学校的成绩也更好。”
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.
研究人员对167个弹钢琴或其他乐器的小孩进行了性格测试，发现从他们的回答可以预测出他们继续学音乐的可能性。
Those who were more outgoing and conscientious were more likely to continue to play.
那些性格更外向、更认真的小孩更可能继续弹奏乐器。
‘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.
舍伦贝格教授在波斯顿举行的美国科学促进会年会上说：“我们因为上音乐班的小孩学习成绩特别好的事实而受到鼓舞，实际上这些小孩在学校的学习成绩超出了他们的智商让人产生的预期，所以显然还有其他一些因素在起作用。”
‘So we thought that personality might be the thing.
“因此我们认为这一影响因素可能是性格。
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’.
在被问及那些送孩子去上音乐班、以为这样能提高孩子学习成绩的“直升机父母”是否在浪费钱时，舍伦贝格教授回答说“是的”。
‘Clearly studying music changes the brain, but so does any learning. In fact, that is whatlearning is,’ he said.
他说：“无疑学音乐会改变大脑，但是学习其他任何东西也会这样。事实上，学习本就如此。”
课外阅读2
Spring Festival is a time to get together and do all the little things you enjoy.
春节是个团聚的日子，你可以尽情做点儿自己喜欢的事。
As most university students are packing their bags, boarding trains or flying home, some willstay behind to spend the holiday on campus.
当多数大学生都在打包行李、乘火车、坐飞机返乡之时，还有一些人选择留在校园里过寒假。
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.
就读于吉林大学金融专业大四年级、22岁的周云昀(音译)决定取消去海南的计划，选择与网友一起玩网游来过春节。
“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.
“我已经习惯每天和他们打打游戏、聊聊天。我们经常会给对方寄些小礼物。这种交友方式挺有趣的。”他说。
Zhou found it too expensive to fly all the way home, which would have cost him about 6,000 yuan for a return trip.
周云昀觉得坐飞机回家太贵了，往返机票大约要6000元。
Now he can save that money for job-hunting.
如今他可以把这些钱存下来，以备求职之需。
“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，亲戚们都会盘问我毕业后打算做什么。他们对我期望很高，这让我压力很大。”周云昀说。
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、人声鼎沸的校园到了春节可能就会变成一座空城，因为大部分餐馆、商店和学生中心都放假关门了。
But there are a few advantages, according to Jia Debao, 21, a junior majoring inadministration at China Agricultural University.
而中国农业大学管理学专业大三学生、21岁的贾德宝(音译)则认为冷清也有冷清的好处。
“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.”
“也许我会觉得有点孤单，但是至少我可以远离父母的唠叨，享受这份清净。”他说，“更重要的是，网速很快，自习室里也不必担心找不到空座，洗澡时也不用再排队了。”
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.
那些留校打工的学生们也会在校园里度过春节。来自四川大学法律专业大二年级、19岁的蓝子霓(音译)便是其中一员，他选择留校做图书馆管理员。
“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.”
“我会在假期开始前囤好方便面。”他解释说：“这样我就可以整天宅在宿舍里看影视剧了。”
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.
但是教育专家建议校园留守族们应该多参加一些社交活动。因为虚拟世界中的沟通无法替代现实生活中的人际交往。
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.
中国社会科学院新闻传播与研究所研究员石同宇(音译)表示，当今社会，年轻人已然都崇尚一种“宅”文化。
He warned that this trendy lifestyle can damage students physiological and psychologicaldevelopment.
他提醒大家说，这种流行的生活方式会阻碍身心健康发展。
“When you constantly stare at a computer screen and type on your keyboard, you graduallylose the ability to socialize and survive normally,” said Shi.
石同宇说：“当你目不转睛地盯着电脑，敲击键盘时，你会逐渐丧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.”
“人的首要任务是生存，而整日宅在家中是无法完成这个任务的。相反，这必须经由真实生活体验与沟通才能实现。”
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