学 海 无 涯 Unit1 Passage 1 I began learning Spanish when I was in high school using a traditional academic method of studying verbs sentence structures and grammar by using textbooks and not much else I found it very easy to learn but was frustrated with the slow pace and repetitive nature of all my Spanish classes So I worked extra hard in my spare time and asked my teacher if I could skip a level by the end of the semester This was unsuccessful however because the school was not willing to test me or otherwise prove that I could be successful in the top level after skipping a level This made things even more frustrating as then I was stuck in a class where I already knew the material Then I went on to college where I then used the language extensively both in and out of the classroom I studied Spanish literature culture and linguistics and very much enjoyed the cultural and linguistic elements but found the in depth study of literature a very unbalanced way to study Spanish I got a lot out of using my Spanish outside of the classroom including a trip to Mexico with a church group where I found myself acting as an interpreter It was certainly challenging but it was also a lot of fun I then also volunteered to be an interpreter in the community schools and also used my Spanish to teach English to some Spanish speakers This is probably where I learned the most Passage 2 Have you ever heard of homeschooling It is a legal choice for parents in most countries to provide their children with a learning environment as an 1 alternative to public or private schools outside the home Parents cite 2 numerous reasons for homeschooling their children The three reasons that are selected by the majority of parents in the United States are the concern about the 3 traditional school environment the lack of religious or moral instruction and the dissatisfaction with the 4 academic instruction at public and private schools Homeschooling may also be a factor in the choice of parenting style Homeschooling can be a choice for families living in isolated 5 countryside or living briefly abroad Also many young 6 athletes and actors are taught at home Homeschoolers often 7 take advantage of educational opportunities at museums libraries community centers athletic clubs after school programs churches parks and other community resources 8 Secondary school level students may take classes at community colleges which typically have open admission policies 学 海 无 涯 Groups of homeschooling families often join up together to create homeschool co ops These groups typically meet once a week and provide a classroom environment These are family centered support groups whose members seek to pool their talents and resources 9 in a collective effort to broaden the scope of their children s education They provide a classroom environment where students can do hands on and group learning such as performing science experiments art projects foreign language study spelling contests discussions etc Parents whose children take the classes 10 serve as volunteers to keep costs low and make the program a success Test Many people go to school for an education They learn languages history 1 political methods geography physics chemistry and mathematics Others go to school to learn skills in order to make a living 2 Traditional education is very useful and important Yet no one can 3 acquire everything from school A teacher no matter how much he knows cannot teach his students everything they want to know The teacher s main job is to show his students how to learn He teaches them how to read and how to think So much more is to be learned outside school by the students themselves It is always more important to know how to study by oneself than to 4 bear in mind some facts or some skills It is quite easy to learn a certain fact in history or a formula in mathematics But it is very 5 difficult to use a formula in working out a math problem Great scientists didn t get everything from school Edison didn t even finish junior school And yet he 6 invented so many new things These scientists were so 7 successful but their teachers only showed them the way The 8 reason for their success was that they knew how to study They read books that they were not taught at school They would ask many questions as they read They did 9 thousands of experiments They worked hard all their lives wasting not a single moment Most important was that they knew how to use their 10 brains Unit 2 Passage 1 I believe watching nature programs on television is not going to give us and our children a real experience of nature On the contrary they may distance us from nature actual nature even further Because real nature experiences mean contact with nature It means being with and within nature to experience it with all five senses True TV programs give us joy but they will never be able to help us form a relationship with nature We watch our small screens come alive with the vivid 学 海 无 涯 colors and we al