A
A primary school in County Cork, Ireland, has decided to do away with all homework for the entire month of December, replacing it instead with acts of kindness.
For the third year in a row, students at Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Uí Choileáin will not have any homework for the month of December. Instead, they are being asked to undertake acts of kindness for friends, family and the community — and to record these in a special “Kindness Diary” which each student will fill in daily and then get signed by their parents.
“Building on the overwhelming success and positivity of last year’s Gratitude Diaries, when children and their families documented the small things they were grateful for in their lives, this year they are asked to undertake little acts of kindness that could make a big difference in somebody’s life,” Vice Principal Íde Ní Mhuirí said.
The school suggests doing something nice for an elderly neighbor, or performing an act of kindness for a relative or friend who may be feeling lonely, but the act can be anything as long as it brightens someone’s day.
Alongside this Kindness Diary initiative (倡议), there will be a kindness bucket in school, where the children can place kind observations about their peers which will boost the self-respect of those around them. Each Friday morning at the gathering a random selection of these observations will be shared to stress how small acts and kind words can make huge differences in somebody’s life. And finally, each class will put their heads together and come up with a class-wide project which can help the community.
“In this world, consumed by social media, where our young people are constantly experiencing pressure, there is no better way to show them the way forward in the world than by practicing kindness,” Íde Ní Mhuirí said.
21. What does the school require the pupils to do this December?
A. Keep a diary of their daily lives. B. Show kindness to someone else.
C. Express their gratitude to others. D. Finish their homework on time.
22. What Does the Vice Principal think of the Gratitude Diary?
A. It needs improving. B. It ended in failure.
C. It is quite satisfactory. D. It will be continued.
23. Why are the students encouraged to make kind observations about each other?
A. To monitor their behaviour.
B. To evaluate their moral character.
C. To share their ways of dealing with stress.
D. To give them a sense of pride and importance.
24. What’s the best title for the text?
A. Homework or Acts of Kindness?
B. How to Make a Big Difference in Life?
C. Irish School Relieves students of Homework.
D. Irish School Replaces Homework with Acts of Kindness.
【答案】21. B 22. C 23. D 24. D
【解析】
【分析】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要内容是关于爱尔兰一所学校用友善的行为来代替家庭作业的事情，此做法是为了让学生了解善举给他人带来的积极影响，并付之行动。
【21题详解】
细节理解题。根据第二段“For the third year in a row, students at Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Uí Choileáin will not have any homework for the month of December. Instead, they are being asked to undertake acts of kindness for friends, family and the community — and to record these in a special “Kindness Diary” which each student will fill in daily and then get signed by their parents.(盖尔斯科尔Mhíchíl Uí Choileáin的学生们已经连续第三年在12月份没有作业了。取而代之的是，他们被要求为朋友、家人和社区做一些善举，并将这些善举记录在一个特殊的“善举日记”中，每个学生每天都要填写，然后由父母签名。)”可知今年12月，学校要求学生们对别人做一些善举，故选B项。
【22题详解】
推理判断题。根据第三段““Building on the overwhelming success and positivity of last year’s Gratitude Diaries, when children and their families documented the small things they were grateful for in their lives, this year they are asked to undertake little acts of kindness that could make a big difference in somebody’s life,” Vice Principal Íde Ní Mhuirí said.(副校长Íde Ní Mhuirí 说：“去年的感恩日记取得了压倒性的成功，积极向上，当孩子们和他们的家人记录下他们生活中感激的小事时，今年他们被要求做一些小的善举，这些善举可能会给别人的生活带来很大的改变。”)”可知副校长觉得善举对孩子们非常有意义，且这个做法取得了成功，由此可知副校长Íde Ní Mhuirí 对感恩日记非常满意，故选C项。
【23题详解】
推理判断题。根据倒数第二段“Alongside this Kindness Diary initiative (倡议), there will be a kindness bucket in school, where the children can place kind observations about their peers which will boost the self-respect of those around them.Each Friday morning at the gathering a random selection of these observations will be shared to stress how small acts and kind words can make huge differences in somebody’s life. (除了这项“感恩日记”计划之外，学校里还会有一个“友善桶”，孩子们可以在那里对同龄人进行善意的观察，这将提高周围人的自尊。每个星期五的早晨，在聚会上，人们会随机选择这些观察结果来强调小的行为和善意的话语会给人们的生活带来多大的不同。)”可知学校鼓励学生观察彼此的善举是为了给学生们一种自豪感和让他们了解善举的重要性。故选D项。
【24题详解】
主旨大意题。根据第一段“A primary school in County Cork, Ireland, has decided to do away with all homework for the entire month of December, replacing it instead with acts of kindness.(爱尔兰科克郡的一所小学决定取消整个12月份的所有家庭作业，取而代之的是善举。)”结合全文内容可知，本文介绍了爱尔兰一所学校用友善的行为来代替家庭作业的事情。所以D项符合文章主旨，适合作为本文的标题。故选D项。
